Day 6 of Cooldown Mode:

Evangeline along with Samantha and Scarlett walked into the room that Sage and Aisha shared, a plan formulating in each of their minds.

“Alright it’s time for an intervention.” Samantha said, plopping beside Aisha on the stiff twin bed.

“Why are we having an intervention?” Sage asked, bewildered.

“Because you two have been acting mopey ever since you found out the truth about Luhan and Sehun.” Evangeline said, surveying their reactions.

Sage gave a small flinch and Aisha tensed up. Scarlett sat beside her blonde best friend, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder. “We know that they hurt you...but it hurts us to see you in pain.”

Samantha nodded. “Aish you're even more enclosed than before...that's saying something...and G you avoid being in the same room as him. I understand, trust me I do and I want them to pay for all the pain you’re feeling but we need them to get V back. You can’t continue to go on like this.”

Aisha bit her lip. "I'm not hurt." she spoke with defiance.

Evangeline pulled up the squeaky wooden chair that sat in the corner of the room. “Look all we’re saying is, help us understand so we can help you.”

Aisha pursed her lips into a thin white line. Sage fiddled with a loose string on her cream colored Minnie Mouse hoodie. Samantha rubbed soothing circles into the small of Aisha’s back through her purplish-black and white galaxy T-shirt. Sage could feel with tears start to well up. She had been on such a good streak; she hadn’t thought about him near as much and she hadn’t seen him but only once or twice a day-which helped. Aisha bit her lip again, harder. White hot pain exploded from her lip as the crimson liquid’s iron taste filled ; this new pain helped dull the numbness she was feeling.

“Please talk to us.” Scarlett murmured, leaning Sage’s head onto her shoulder.

Sage let out a soft sniffle. “I don’t think I have the strength to forget him.”

Scarlett hugged her tighter. “Then don’t.”

She sobbed into Scarlett’s dainty shoulder. “I don’t want to miss him but I do. I don’t want to like him but I can’t help that he’s always in the back of my mind. I can’t get rid of the image of him.”

Evangeline moved to sit between her sobbing cousin and stone cold best friend. “You can’t help who you fall for.” She responded gently. “In the week since this happened I’ve seen that boy put himself through hell.”

“I don’t want to be a toy. I don’t want to be something that he likes for a little bit then gets tired and throws away.”

Samantha looked away guiltily. “Sage I didn’t mean it like that. I was just mad. I’m sure he wouldn’t do that to you. I think he genuinely likes you.”

Aisha tried to block out Sage’s crying, she tried to not let it affect her. She finally gave into the gut-wrenching pain she was feeling. “I-I think I like Sehun…”

Samantha had to strain to hear what she said. “Well...that's surprising....It’s okay Aish. Like Ev said you can’t help who you fall for.” Small tears leaked out from Aisha’s closed eyes. Samantha pulled Aisha into her arms, letting her minimal tears soak her black shirt.

“I should have known! I’m so stupid! Everything makes sense now! Why didn’t I notice it earlier!?" Aisha said through gritted teeth. "And I'm not falling for him."

“Hey, you're not stupid okay Aish? You're the freakin brains of this group! If you're 'stupid,' then we're royally screwed. Sometimes we just have to deal with the fact that life doesn’t always go our way.” Samantha said sternly.

“Deep down I think I knew." Aisha said softly, feeling the walls she had built up begin to fall. "I think I knew that it was too good to be true. Why would he be interested in me? I think I knew that everything just seemed too easy. Meeting them, all the help they gave us, everything. Too suspicious..."

“Why wouldn’t he like you? You’re an amazing person that anyone would be lucky to end up with.” Evangeline exclaimed.

Aisha stopped the tears from leaking out, tired of crying. “I lied when I said I wasn't hurt.”

Sage in a big breath. “No it’s okay. It only hurts a lot.”

The girls continued to comforting their weeping friends. “It’s not always easy to choose what’s the best decision.” Evangeline explained. “Sometimes it’s hard to pick right from wrong. The best thing we can do is go with our heart and hope it all goes well.”

Aisha let out a breath of chuckle. “Did you just quote Mac Miller?”

Evangeline winked. “You know it.”

Aisha laid back on the mattress, and suddenly a sharp metal object jabbed at her back, making her gasp and jump. The girls looked at her curiously. Aisha turned around and rolled her eyes.

"Oh look...a spring popped up."

Some of the tension left the room as the girls laughed at their terrible sleeping quarters. Sage lifted her head off of Scarlett’s shoulder, her face and eyes slightly red. Scarlett smoothed down some of the blonde frizz. “Yeah, those two boneheads made mistakes but they're trying to fix themselves as well. Mistakes are proof that they’re trying right?”

“And besides the greatest revenge is to accomplish what others say you cannot do. Let’s go save V and you two get your happily ever after with your boys.” Evangeline declared.

+*+*+*+

During the time the girls were talking amongst themselves, in another room Luhan sat twisting his rubik cube around and around; mindlessly getting the colors together then repeating it again.  Sehun walked into the room, shoulders slumping through his dark blue v neck.

“You okay?” Luhan asked dully.

Sehun rubbed his hands down his face. “No. You?”

Luhan grunted. Sehun nodded and laid his back on the unkempt bed. “Yeah, same here.”

After a few minutes of listening to the sound of the rubik’s cube twisting and grinding, and staring at the ceiling fan rotate so fast it looked like it might fly off Sehun sat up. “How are things with Sage?”

Luhan paused, brows furrowed into a frown. “She won’t talk to me. Just saying simply, 'no.' What about with Aisha?”

“She won’t talk to me either. Whenever she looks at me it’s only cold eyes full of hatred.”

“Least she’ll look at you.” Luhan muttered under his breath. He threw his rubik cube across the room. It bounced off the wall, leaving a perfect triangular indentation. “I screwed up. I messed this up so bad.”

Sehun watched as Luhan gripped the sides of his hair, then eventually run his fingers through the parts he pulled up, not that it helped much. “I screwed up too.” Sehun said quietly.

“I want to tell her how much I regret what I did. That I was an idiot....How much she actually means to me. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to cuz she hates me. I’ve lost her trust.” Luhan ranted.

Sehun bowed his head, brown hair falling in front of his dark eyes. “I know.” He replied quietly. “I’ve lost Aisha’s trust as well. I don't even think I had it in the first place...I didn’t think I would like her….but I do. I shouldn't have kissed her...”

Luhan stood up and sat beside Sehun on the queen sized bed. “Once in a lifetime you’ll meet someone who changes everything. We found our someone...but lost them.” He concluded with a harsh chuckle.

Sehun gave a low chuckle as well. “No one has ever made me feel the way she does.”

Luhan gave him a clap on the shoulder, eyes gazing off into the distance. “I know. I know.”

“Do you think they’ll ever forgive us?”

Luhan shrugged, sadness etched into his features. "I don’t know, Sehun.”

Sehun and Luhan both didn’t voice how they hoped that the girls would.

“Do you think you could ever live without Sage?” Sehun intoned.

Luhan grinned. “That’s the thing. I don’t want to live without her. I want to her to be happy but I want to be the one that brings her that happiness.”

Seh