A/N: Ari has a nightmare and scares all of her members.

Italics - English dialogue

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Seonghwa had been deep in sleep when he heard something (or rather, someone) rustling about at around 2 am. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked around the room to see where the sound was coming from. It wasn't coming from Hongjoong — the leader could sleep through just about anything.

It had to be Ari; she was the only other person in the room.

The eldest stretched as he stood up from the comfort of his bed, shuffling over to his angel's bed. He was wide awake as soon as he realized what was going on.

Ari was thrashing about in her bed, mumbling incoherent words to herself in her sleep. She looked pained and upset.

She was having a nightmare.

Seonghwa tried to shake her awake, but he was unsuccessful, as Ari was still thrashing around. Whimpers and small cries left her lips, causing the eldest member's heart to break. He hated seeing her in pain like this; whatever she was dreaming about must've been so scary, and there was nothing he could do to help her.

"Ari. Ari, wake up. It's Seonghwa; you're just dreaming, angel." Seonghwa told her quietly, so he didn't disturb Hongjoong's sleep.

"NO!!!" Ari screamed suddenly, her voice filling the silent dorms.

Seonghwa's heart jumped from her scream, having been so close to Ari. Hongjoong sat straight up in his own bed, frantic to untangle himself from his sheets and see what was wrong with his baby girl.

Before Hongjoong could get a word out, Ari screamed again. Her voice sounded broken and sorrowful, as if she was mourning the loss of a loved one. It broke his heart to see someone he considered to be his daughter be hurt by whatever hellish images that were playing in her head. He just sat by her side, gently rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand as tears built up in his eyes.

Seonghwa couldn't bear to hear her pleas and cries of desperation, and he allowed his own tears to fall down his cheeks. "Oh, sweet girl... what could have caused you to become so terrified?"

Meanwhile in the next room over, Wooyoung and Jongho sat straight up in their beds at the sound of Ari's screams.

Wooyoung got out of bed and dashed to his best friend's room, taking in the heartbreaking sight of his favorite ray of sunshine thrashing around in her bed and cries leaving her lips. Taking a seat next to Seonghwa, Wooyoung grabbed Ari's other hand, hoping to provide some form of comfort for the girl.

Jongho walked in the bedroom a minute later, his heart shattering at the state his friend was in. How could someone who was generally so bright and bubbly have such terrifying dreams? He walked around her bed and sat next to Hongjoong, worry written all over his face for Ari.

Yunho and San were the next to be startled awake by the sound of their friend's shouts. The two of them stumbled their way out of their beds and to Ari, Hongjoong, and Seonghwa's room.

Seeing his fellow golden retriever in such a state, Yunho immediately dropped to his knees. He'd never seen her cry before, and it made him want to cry, too.

San sat at the foot of Ari's bed, just watching as his friend/little sister continued to suffer from her horrible dream. It saddened him to know there wasn't anything he could do to help her while she was suffering.

Mingi was the next to awaken. Immediately recognizing Ari's voice, he sprinted down the hallway, entering the bedroom that everyone was accompanying.

Letting his gaze fall upon Ari and hearing the pained sounds leave her lips, his heart instantly broke. But his mind began racing, which caused the younger rapper to begin pacing back and forth out of worry.

The last member to walk into the room was Yeosang. Yeosang hadn't been asleep when Ari screamed — he'd been downstairs getting a drink of water. Having heard his best friend/crush's screams of terror, he dropped his empty cup and made a beeline for the stairs.

Yeosang's eyes were set on Ari, his heart now completely broken at the sound of her cries. This was someone he cared about, and she was hurting, but he didn't know what to do to help her.

"She hasn't woken up yet," Hongjoong said shakily as he continued to hold her hand.

Seonghwa didn't bother wiping away his tears, as it would be useless. "I tried to wake her up. She must be very deep in her sleep if she didn't wake up yet."

"Hyungs, what if we just comfort her? Ari might sleep better if she has some comfort," Jongho spoke up.

"What did you have in mind, Jongho?" Hongjoong asked their youngest member.

Jongho looked to his leader. "Maybe I could sing a little for Ari?"

The eldest members looked at each other with teary eyes before Hongjoong looked back at the male maknae.

"Here, Jongho. I'll move so you can hold her hand while you sing."

Hongjoong put Ari's hand in Jongho's, scooting a few inches away so he didn't hover over the youngest member.

Jongho gently squeezed his fellow maknae's hand, beginning to sing a lullaby to Ari. He watched as she began to calm down, her body ceasing all movements when he let his soothing singing voice flow through the air.

Everyone seemed to calm down a bit, as well... until Ari jolted up in her bed.

The second youngest could hear her heart beating in her ears, the images from her sleep still flashing through her mind. She squeezed Jongho's hand, attempting to bite back any tears that wanted to escape her misty eyes. She knew her members were there — she was most likely very vocal about her nightmare. Her eyes darted around the room, landing on her fellow golden retriever.

"Y-Yunho?"

The dancer lifted his head up, his eyes equally as teary as Ari's were. He got up off his knees when he realized that she was holding her arms out for him.

Yunho watched as Jongho, Seonghwa, Hongjoong, and San got off the bed when he walked forward. Wooyoung had already backed up, wanting his fellow dancer to have enough space to sit with Ari on the bed.

Ari immediately clung to Yunho when he sat next to her on the bed. She buried her face into his shoulder, finally letting out the cries she'd been so desperate to hold back.

Hearing their sunshine cry... it made the boys cry. To see her so broken and afraid was truly heartbreaking for all 8 of them.

"Shh, sunshine. Oppa's got you. It was just a dream, Ari; you're okay," Yunho coaxed. Though he was crying alongside his members, he knew that they had to be there for Ari during her time of need.

"I-It felt s-so r-r-real. I was s-s-s-so scared, oppa." She hiccuped.

Yunho pressed a brotherly kiss to her hair, resting his chin on top of her head. "I know, sunshine. But it's okay; it wasn't real. It was just a dream. Nobody's ever going to hurt you, sweetheart, I promise."

"I-I'm sorry," Ari whispered into the comforting embrace of Yunho.

Yunho gave her a look of confusion. "Why are you apologizing, hmm? You have nothing to be sorry for, darling."

"I woke everyone up... and made you all cry. I'm so sorry — I didn't mean to, I swear." Ari choked out.

"Ohh, angel... don't ever apologize for something like this," Seonghwa said and sat at the foot of her bed. "You never have to be sorry for things you can't control, and don't feel bad for waking us up, Ari. If you hadn't woken us all up, we never would've known you weren't sleeping well. You know we'd do anything for you, Ari; we love you so much."

Ari peeked up from Yunho's shoulder, seeing the faces of her members. She could clearly see the worry and love they had for her etched into their features. "I love you guys, too."

Yunho could tell that with every passing second she was in his embrace, Ari was becoming more and more exhausted. He figured that she had tired herself out during her nightmare, and that her body was aching for sleep. But every time she went to close her eyes, Ari would keep herself awake.

"Ari, if you're tired, you should go back to sleep." Mingi stated, taking notice of her nodding off every now and then.

The second youngest shook her head. "I-I can't. If I go back to sleep... I'll be pulled back into that god awful dream again. I can't go through that again, Mingi oppa. I refuse to go through that ever again."

"What if we all stayed in here tonight?" Wooyoung spoke up. "It'll be like a huge sleepover. And we'll all be in the same room, so in case you do have another nightmare, we'll all be here if you need us."

The young dancer's idea got nods of approval from the others, but all heads turned to the younger girl in Yunho's arms.

"It's up to you, Ari." Jongho said softly. "Do you want us to stay in here tonight with you?"

Ari took a minute to think, speaking up once she'd made up her mind. "I-I would love for everyone to stay in here tonight. But... you all can't fit on my bed, so, where will everyone sleep?"

"All of our beds can fit up to 3 at a time," San interjected. "Ari can choose two of us to stay with her, and everyone else can share a bed with Hongjoong hyung and Seonghwa hyung."

"Good thinking, San-ah." Hongjoong praised before turning his attention to his 'daughter.' "Ari, sweetheart, who do you want to stay with you tonight?"

"No one's feelings will get hurt if I don't pick them?" Ari asked her leader almost shyly.

Hongjoong chuckled at her question. "No, princess. No one's feelings will be hurt if you don't pick them."

Ari nodded. "Okay," she said softly. She looked around the room, her eyes landing on someone.

"Yeosang?"

Said boy looked up, meeting his crush's eyes and nodding at her calling his name. "Of course I'll stay with you, sunshine. You're my best friend; I'm always here for you when you need me."

"Yunho oppa? Will you stay with me, too? It feels like I'm hugging a teddy bear when I hug you." Ari said gently to the boy who was holding her.

Yunho gave her a smile. "Of course I'll stay, sweetheart. Teddy bear Yunho will help keep the bad dreams away."

Jongho and Mingi decided to share a bed with Hongjoong, and Wooyoung and San decided to share a bed with Seonghwa.

Yunho briefly let go of Ari so he could get comfortable in her bed. Yeosang laid on the other end of the bed, sandwiching the female maknae in between both males.

When Ari got comfortable again, she laid down facing Yeosang and her back to Yunho. The taller male had an arm draped over her midsection, and Yeosang held her hands in his own. This was to let Ari know that they were there with her in case she had another bad dream.

"Goodnight," Hongjoong called from his bed.

"Goodnight," chorused the boys.

"Goodnight, oppas. Goodnight, Jongho. I love you all." Ari bid before closing her eyes, instantly falling asleep.

Once Ari had gone to sleep, the others followed... with one exception.

"We love you, too, Ari." Yeosang whispered as he gazed upon the girl's sleeping face. "I love you... more than anything in this world."

With that, the fourth eldest closed his eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

For the remainder of the night, Ari didn't have any other nightmares. Being surrounded by the people who loved her made it easier for her to sleep, and because of what they'd done for her tonight, she would be forever grateful for the 8 boys that she cared so deeply about with her whole heart and soul.

These boys meant everything and so much more to Ari, and they had no idea how much she loved them all.

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Published:  9/19/2021

2076 words