'LUUUHAAAEEENNNN!!!

The familiar voice made him snap out of his thoughts and he looked up.

'SURPRISE!' Chen and Chanyeol popped party poppers in his face, covering him with glitter. Baekhyun blew a horn right in his ear, making him momentarily deaf. He was dragged into the house by multiple people, smothered in hugs and backslaps.

'I missed you soo much!!!' Baekhyun pouted at him, ducking when Chanyeol tackled him. 'Hey, let goo!!!' His loud voice rang around the house as he tried to escape.

Luhan got dragged in their antics again as Chen pushed him from behind and it was a tangle of arms and legs as they tried to drag each other down. Chanyeol found a cushion and threw it at Luhan, who ducked. It hit Lay, who'd just entered the room, in the face.

There was sudden silence as they stared, wondering if it'd hit him too hard – he was still wrapped in bandages – but Lay merely blinked. A collective sigh of relief went through them and they immediately started attacking each other again, careful not to hit Lay again.

D.O., who'd just cleaned the room, stared in dismay at the mess they were creating.

'YA!' His angry yell had no effect on them, whatsoever. Finally, D.O. put Baekhyun in a headlock.

'Aw, I missed you too!' Baekhyun blew him a kiss that escalated into a groan when D.O. tightened his hold.

Sehun, Tao and Kai came out of their rooms, to see what the commotion was. Saw their elders making utter fools of themselves and happily joined them. Someone produced another set of party poppers and blowers, cushions were being thrown around and then, Chanyeol had the bright idea to turn on music. Baekhyun climbed on the table, to show off his dancing skills, someone's tie tied around his head; the rest just danced around him, cheering and screaming 'Encore' when the song ended.

Their impromptu party was in full swing when Suho came back. He glared at the scene, eyes going to Lay who was at the center now, moonwalking.

'Lay! You're not supposed to move like that!' He snapped, rushing inside to stop him. 'You shouldn't be moving, period!' He glared at all of them. 'And you guys are letting him!?!'

Tao hit his foot to switch the player off and they all stood guiltily, ready for a scolding.

Suho sighed, rubbing his forehead. 'You guys… seriously…' he looked around the room, at the glitter covering the floor, his ties tied around Baekhyun's and Chen's heads, cushions thrown about and sofas pushed right into the corners of the room to make a dance floor. Looked like they were having fun.

'Just… notch it down a bit.' He finally gave in. 'Lay, you're staying out of it. Enjoy from the sidelines.' Lay pouted but Suho ignored him and turned to smile at the newcomers. 'Chen, Baekhyun, welcome back!'  

Just like that, the party was resumed and it was a long time before they finally tired of messing around and collapsed.

'Aah! I've missed this so much!' Chen groaned. 'You guys have no idea how boring it was!!'

'Where's Kris?' Luhan asked from the floor.

'He said he'd stay back and keep lookout.' They all knew this wasn't the real reason but they didn't comment. Silence fell in the room again, then Baekhyun spoke up. 'I want to eat.'

'I'm not cooking!' D.O. announced.

'Let's order.'

'Chicken!' Kai's cry was taken up by everyone. 'Chicken! Chicken! Chick chick chick chicken!!!'

'Only…' Suho spoke over their chant, 'if you clean up the room first.'

There was a loud groan but they got up, eager for chicken more than anything else. When the room was clean, they gathered in the living room once again. And Sehun brought up the topic that had been annoying him all this time.

'Hey… you said we shouldn't use our powers randomly!' He pointed his finger accusingly at Suho. 'But you used yours today! Why??? And for what? A girl???' he stamped his feet.

Since he was the one who garnered most criticism for misusing his powers – to look up girls' skirts and not anything useful – he was feeling exceptionally indignant. Suho knew where he was coming from but didn't feel like justifying himself – he leaned his head back on the sofa. 'It was for the pack's good.' Standard leader response.

'How?'

'Ask Luhan.'

Luhan, lost in Mei's thoughts, raised his thumb in approval, not really hearing the question. 'It was as the leader says.'

Sehun shut up, sulking in the corner muttering about how girls messed up rational minds. Luhan shook his head. Maybe they did but really, who was he to complain? Suho's little trick had helped him a lot.  

He took out his cell phone, finding Mei's number. Soul mates should always have each other's number. Grinning, he texted.

……………………

Miss me? >.<

Mei smiled at the cute emoticon he'd added. She hadn't expected him to really text her when they'd exchanged numbers. They'd flirted a lot when they'd been together but she knew she was a joker – her fun side almost always overpowered her softer side – and that it was potential turn off for guys.

It was a good defense mechanism whenever she was in an uncomfortable situation – and sitting in the greenhouse, all cozy and isolated, with Luhan – a guy she'd been sort of… okay definitely crushing on since day one –  positively came under that.

She wanted him to see her in her best condition – not when her hair were stuck to her like that and her shirt stuck in all the wrong places and she looked like a mess. She had her pride.

So she'd reverted to the jokester. Often. Whenever it felt like the mood might get serious, in fact – unable to do anything else as she internally panicked. What if he thinks I'm too much?

But his text relieved her worry quite a bit. She took her time to reply, so she wouldn't appear too eager.

U didn’t call *pouts*

Hitting send, she leaned back against her pillow and went about browsing through the net. She was sure his reply would take some time – he was probably thinking along the same lines as her. To her surprise, her phone beeped almost immediately indicating she had a new text message.

I'm sorry *pouts* should I call now? *_*

Grinning, she typed, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

Forget it. I won't be taken in by false promises again  :P

He replied and they started talking – again – going over everything and anything they could think off. Flirting subtly throughout – she'd been told numerous times she was an expert at flirting but honestly, this was the first time she was appreciating her own skills.

She didn’t feel bad, though, because he was quite the expert himself – dropping suggestive hints here and there, making his interest in her clear but not seeming too eager. It was fun if two could play the game on equal terms. And who knew? They might even end up falling for each other. 

She smiled at the prospect.

………………………

A/N

Return of the Beagles!!! :D I was trying to have some fun and things got out of had (its baekhyun's fault, he got me drunk O_O) I'll admit that this was nothing but a chance for the Beagle King and Queen Diva to make an entrance worthy of their style - I hope I succeeded :3 

On another note... let me explain a few things before hand. When I write, I try to talk to my characters and those that talk back are the ones who get portrayed most naturally... cause I can feel them, you feel me? Suho and Angel are quite the chatterboxes - they just don't shut up :3 where as Mei and Luhan... gah, I had to fight tooth and nail for every word I wrote and all Luhan had to say was 'Yo' -  which isn't half as cool as he thinks it is - so whenever I got stuck on them, I'd bring in the others :/ anyway, that's my excuse, please accept it. Good thing, other characters get more screen time and my baby Kai... well, you'll see :) enjoy as the story turns more dramatic (excuse my hyperbole i.e. don't take it too seriously)

And yes, I'm perfectly aware that I've fixed roles for all characters - that's the point. If you miss someone, you can tell me and I'll incorporate them in the bonus story - currently its Tao but its the EXO journal so everyone gets a shot at it, 'kay? Do comment :3 

Later