"-need to wake up!"

My face collided with the desk and I jolted awake. I looked up to find Sungyeol, my seat-mate, holding my arm and wearing a sheepish grin on his face. I glared and sat upright.

"What'd I miss?"

"Class is over sleepy-head. You slept through the whole lecture."

"Oh. Hey, Yeollie let me borrow your notes later, okay?" I shot him a pleading look. Sometimes, he could be incredibly stingy. But he just laughed and shrugged. I could only assume it meant "sure."

"Are you heading to lunch?"

"What time is it?"

"12:45. When's your next class?" 

"Not until 5."

"You're coming to lunch then!" With that, he handed me my bag and dragged me out of the lecture hall. I love how I have a say in these things. Sungyeol's just too forceful to argue with, the little elementary-schooler.

Allow me this moment to explain something important. Sungyeol is not, by any means, my "best friend." He's more of a "we're-pretty-close-but-it-wasn't-my-doing" kind of friend. He was the one who had started talking to me in our sophomore year and wouldn't leave me alone afterwards. He had then felt the need to introduce me to two of his friends. I guess they're my friends now too.

No, I'm not shy - try antisocial. I just don't get along well with most people. My mom was probably the only person who didn't see that. I still don't know how my dad had managed to talk her out of forcing me to make friends. But, I digress.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, yes, Sungyeol, Sunggyu, and Hoya are my only friends. I'm perfectly okay with that. The less friends you have, the easier it is to keep secrets.

"Oh yeah, you've only met Sunggyu and Hoya, haven't you?"

"Yeah, they're in a couple of my classes and you introduced me to them at the end of last semester. Why?" Why did I get the feeling I didn't like where this was going? He nodded, almost to himself, and smirked mischievously. Definitely didn't like where this was going.

"I'll have to introduce you to the other four guys then."

"Wait, there's more of you?"

"Yep! Seven of us!" His broad smile was a little unnerving.  Reluctantly, and a little begrudgingly, I followed him into the dining hall. While he loaded up with as much food as he could hold (he was really taking advantage of that unlimited meal plan), I grabbed something and swiped my id. I still don't understand how he managed to swipe his card and not drop all the food he was carrying. He grinned and I glared.

Laughing, he nudged me over to a table where six other guys were sitting and talking. I recognized Sunggyu and Hoya, who waved at us, and I assumed the others were my soon-to-be new friends. Oy vey.

"Sam, you know Sunggyu and Hoya, so I want you to meet Woohyun, Dongwoo, Myungsoo, and Sungjong - he's not a freshman!" He pointed at each of his friends in turn. Woohyun had cheeks that could probably rival Yeollie's (he looks very... tree-like), Dongwoo had one of the broadest smiles I have ever seen, Myungsoo didn't even bother looking up (I would probably lose every poker game I play against him), and Sungjong looked like the kind of person who was always happy. What a bunch.

"Together, we make up the band Infinite! So if you ever want to refer to all seven of us, just call us that. Guys, this is Sam. She's in five of my classes." He made a broad, sweeping gesture with his hand and plopped down next to Woohyun to start digging in. I sighed and took a seat by Sunggyu. He nudged me in the side and smiled.

"I'm technically in charge of them because I'm the oldest. What a job, right?" He winked at me and I laughed. Sunggyu was really sweet. A little bit of a dork, but then again, he was friends with Sungyeol. "Hey Sam, can I borrow your notes from Econ?"

"Were you reading again?" I sighed. He nodded sheepishly. Rolling my eyes, I dug through my bag and pulled out the pile of notes we had taken that day.

"I need them back by tomorrow."

"Thanks!" He shoved them into one of his books and resumed eating. Out of all the others (besides Sungyeol), Gyu was probably my favourite. He was so genuine, and I don't think he ever minded going out of his way to do you a favor. I could see someone like him as my best friend, assuming I ever found one that stayed. But that's a whole other story I'd rather not get in to. You wanted to know about this one and none of the others, so that's what you get.

I decided it was time for me to semi-gracefully bow out. I stood up and slung my bag over my shoulder. Woohyun noticed the movement and glanced up from his food. "Leaving?" He asked through his mouthful of rice.

"Yeah. I've got to get to work. It was nice meeting you guys."

"Where do you work?" Woohyun stood up and discarded his plate. He was a lot taller than I had originally thought.

"Uh... the auto-shop. I fix cars."

"Oh cool! My next class is in the same direction, I'll walk with you." He flashed me a bright smile and grabbed the rest of his stuff. Looks like I didn't have a choice. I may be a bit antisocial, but I'm not rude.

It was a bit awkward at first. Neither of us said anything and just walked. Woohyun cleared his throat and looked at me.

"So you, uh, fix cars? My dad used to do that and taught me a thing or too, but you probably know more than me."

"Yeah, I've been doing it since I was ten. My mom was a mechanic. She taught me how to 'fix 'em and race 'em.'" I imitated my mother's voice and laughed. His eyes widened a little and he smiled.

"You race too? Now, I'm jealous."

"What's your on-campus job?"

"Coffee place." He shrugged. I made a "ah" sound and nodded. See, we're not allowed to have jobs off-campus until we've completed four years of school, which is the normal time if we want to get a bachelor's degree. If the school finds out that you have a second job, they have every right to make you quit or drop your enrollment, since it would be considered breaking a pretty big rule.

"I'll have to come by sometime. I love coffee."

"Yeah. I assure you, I make quite a mean latte." He winked.

"I'll take your word for it." I laughed.

Pretty soon, we had reached the auto shop. Woohyun said goodbye and headed off towards his class. Okay, he was pretty nice too. A little greasy, but nice. He seemed like a bit of a ladies man.

"I'm here!" I called out and stepped into the locker room to grab my stained uniform and tie my hair up. We hadn't had a lot of customers lately. Business usually tended to pick up before and after vacation, when everyone was traveling and needed to make sure their car was in good condition. Yonghwa called my name from the back, where I found him working on a particularly expensive-looking car.

"Hey, Hongki was looking for you a while ago. Said he had a new project for you."

"Where is he?" I was getting excited. A new "project" usually meant it was another car I could tune up for racing. Yeah, our school doesn't let us have an off-campus job, but it lets us professionaly race cars. Go figure.

"Not sure. I think he went out to get a few things. He might be in the office though, why don't you go check?"

I nodded and left Yonghwa with his car. Sure enough, I found Hongki in the office chattering away on the phone with what sounded like a pretty annoyed old woman. After a few minutes of watching him attempt to negotiate, I shook my head and knocked on the door. He looked up and smiled once he recognized me, holding up a finger and turning back to the phone.

"No ma'am, your brakes were not fine. Any longer and they would have failed. Of course I had to charge you for it, it required new parts. Yes ma'am, I did tell you about them before I fixed them. No ma'am, you told me to go ahead. I'm sorry ma'am, but that's how it works. Okay. Wait ma'am-" He sighed and dropped the phone back onto the reciever.

"She hung up on you?" I snickered. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"That's the second time she's called and hung up on me today. I fixed her car, I don't see what the problem is. It's not like it cost that much extra. Anyway, did Yonghwa send you here?" 

"Yeah, he said you had a new project for me."

"Right this way, Miss Sam."

He led me over to our "personal corner" of the shop - the spot we reserved specifically for projects like this one. He already had the car up on the vehicle lift.

"It's a piece of junk."

"You like it?" Hongki nudged me and smirked. I nodded.

"I love it." I'm always up for a challenge. And let me tell you, getting this car ready to race would be just that. It was practically falling apart at the seams - bolts missing, paint peeling. I circled it once to get a better idea of the amount of work that would go into it.

"Did it come with the door missing?"

"Yup!" He sounded a bit to happy. I finished my "vulturing" (as he called it) and joined him again. "I've ordered a few basic parts but the rest will be up to you." He patted me on the back and handed me a clipboard.

"Paperwork?" I groaned. He nodded.

"There's always paperwork, Sammy." He laughed. I hit him playfully and flipped through the papers on the clipboard. "It shouldn't be too bad. Just a few things here and there. There's also a checklist for racing in case you need it an I think - " Brrrring! "Ugh, not again!" He stormed into the office to answer the persistant phone. It didn't take long until his exhasperated "ma'am's" started echoing out of the office. Poor Hongki.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the car. I had decided the best approach was to just tear it apart and rebuild from the frame. Bless Hongki's soul for getting so many parts. I didn't want to go downtown anytime soon. I didn't even bother to check the clock and before I knew it, Sungyeol was knocking on the shop door and yelling for me.

"Sam! We're gonna be late for class so get your out here!"

"Sorry! I'm coming!" I rushed into the locker room and changed before joining Yeollie outside. He shook his head when he saw me and ruffled my hair.

"You've still got car grease on your face, you dork." He made a face at me. I returned the gesture and rubbed at my face a little. Well, wherever it was it wouldn't come off without a shower's assistance. I'd have to take one before I headed out that night.

"I'll get it off later." I shrugged. He nodded. A few moments of silence passed before he ruffled my hair again.

"Are you still going to dye it?"

"Mmhm."

"What colour?"

"I think I'm going to bleach it this time."

He nodded again and kept looking at my hair before smiling.

"It'll suit you. You going to get it done this weekend?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. It'll be a surprise." I winked at him.

We both sped into the lecture hall and took our seats just as the professor strode up to the podium. Sungyeol nudged me and smirked as if to say "right on time." Hoya tapped Sungyeol on the shoulder and waved from behind. Looks like he just arrived, too. I glanced up at the clock. This is going to be a long two hours.

We spent the time doodling on each other's paper and writing absurd notes. We always goofed off like this, and Yeollie was usually the instigator. But since this wasn't an important class to either of us, I didn't really mind. Occasionally, Hoya would throw a note at us or just a random piece of paper. I'm still amazed at how blind our professor must have been - we sit right in front and he never noticed our antics once. Soon (but not soon enough) he announced our dismissal.

Sungyeol practically launched out of his seat to grab Hoya and me, making a break for the door and ranting about "having a fun night." I shook his hand off and slowed down.

"Sam, aren't you coming with?"

"Coming with where?" Although I was pretty sure I had a good idea what he meant.

"Out clubbing with us. I thought I asked you earlier."

"No, you didn't. I can't tonight anyway, I've got a lot of work for my major class."

Sungyeol shrugged and resumed his dragging of Hoya.

"I'll see you tomorrow then!"

"Yeah, see you."

Okay, time to go back to the dorm, shower, and head out for work.

Oh yeah, I may have forgotten to mention this. I was kind of-sort of breaking school rules by having a second job. And not the most tasteful off-campus job either. But I was short on money and needed some way to pay tuition. The way I saw it, I didn't have a choice. And I was fine as long as nobody found out. Easy enough, right?

Wrong.

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Ta-da! And here is the start of a big step for me. I've never written a mult-chapter fanfic before, so here's hoping it goes well (knock on wood). I hope you all enjoy, and please let me know if the chapters are too long or the font is hard to read, because I'll be happy to fix it! I'll still be writing oneshots too, so look out for any of those that might magically appear. Thank you for taking time to read, lovelies. 

Peace!