By the time Lily finished her story, she was surrounded by all eight members. San had his face buried in her stomach, Wooyoung had pulled her face into his neck, Jongho had joined San's arms around her waist, and everyone else had a least a hand on her. No one said anything, and the boys did their best not to show any emotions. All they wanted was for her to feel their love through the gentle contact they made.

No one knew how long they sat there, but when Lily finally shifted, they all broke apart.

Yunho reached forward to wipe a few dried tears from her cheek.

"Shall we get you situated in your room?" Seonghwa said, holding out his hand for her to take. "I know you're tired.

Lily nodded, but looked at each of her friends in turn, grateful beyond words that none of them said anything to her story. Home. Loved. Safe.

In her room, the eldest pulled back the covers on her bed and patted next to him. She crawled underneath them and smiled at him. "Can I get you anything?"

"Maybe just some water?" Her mouth felt incredibly dry from all the crying she had been doing.

Seonghwa nodded, leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then left the room.

Lily could feel herself on the brink of sleep when her door opened again. She sat up quickly, her training trying to take over.

When she saw it was Wooyoung, she felt herself relax. He smiled softly as he walked over with a glass of water and a bottle of pills in his hands. "Hwa sent me with some sleeping pills, if you want to try taking some." He sat next to her on the bed.

She considered it for a second, then took the pills, hoping it would help her sleep without dreaming.

When he moved to leave, she grabbed his hand. "Wooyoung...?"

He hummed in response.

"Will you... Will you stay with me?" She felt herself flushing and looked down at the floor.

Wooyoung felt his heart pounding and did his best to stay calm.

Lily scooted over in the bed and opened up the covers. The two laid on their sides, facing each other. He took her hands in his and placed soft kisses on her fingers. Then he took his free hand and started running his fingers over her back. Goosebumps covered her skin at his delicate touch.

"We never got to talk." He whispered, staring into her eyes.

"No, we didn't. Everything happened so fast. I'm sorry..."

He shook his head in response. "Do you want to talk now?"

Lily bit her lip. "I do... But I need to tell you something first."

Wooyoung reached up to brush some of her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"Yunho... Yunho kissed me." His hand stopped, hovering above her shoulder. "It didn't mean anything to me, which of course makes me feel terrible because Yunho is such a nice person and I know he really cares about me and I know it would hurt him but I can't return his feelings because," She started talking faster and faster until the man at her side interrupted her by pulling her closer and kissing her.

It was passionate, on the verge of needy, but she returned the feeling, pressing herself against him.

"That doesn't matter." Wooyoung whispered against her lips. He had guessed his friends' feelings a long time ago and had been prepared for one of them to have their heart broken. He vowed to make it as easy for the other as possible.

"I can't tell you how many times I thought about that day when we went to the mall. How it felt. How I felt." She said softly. "I don't know if I fully understand it, but I know I feel different when I'm around you, in a good way."

A wide smile tore across Wooyoung's face and he leaned in and kissed her again. His hand cupped her cheek and he let his thumb stroke her. He squeezed her hand to anchor himself. He couldn't take it too far, no matter how much he wanted to.

Lily moaned softly into his mouth.

Oh god... He thought.

He pulled away before he lost control and pulled her head into his chest, trying to slow down his breathing.

"Thank you..." she whispered, hoping he wouldn't hear, but he did.

"For what?" He asked, staring at the top of her head.

She clutched his shirt; he could feel a couple of wet spots and knew she was crying again.

"For not treating me differently after I told you what happened. I know a lot of people wouldn't do the same. I'm damaged goods. Why would anyone want damaged, filthy, goods."

Wooyoung felt his heart break at her words. He stroked her hair for a moment, then said, "I could never feel that way about you. What happened was not your choice, so it doesn't change the way I feel. And I hope, I hope you will give me the chance to help you get those thoughts out of your mind. Because," He then shifted so he could look into her eyes once more. "I love you, Lily."

He could see the mixture of emotions flash through her eyes before she buried her face in his chest again.

Home. Loved. Safe.

Home. Safe.

Loved.

They fell asleep like that, Wooyoung holding her to him, trying to shield her from the rest of the world. He finally felt complete. He never wanted this to end.

---

The next morning, Wooyoung woke up to see Lily curled into his side. Her mouth was open slightly. She looked peaceful. The sleeping pills must have helped. He smiled and kissed her cheek before slipping out of the bed and making his way downstairs.

Seonghwa smiled at him, raising his eyebrows slightly, a knowing glint in his eyes.

Wooyoung blushed and walked past him, rubbing the back of his head. He had something to take care of and he didn't need anyone trying to stop him.

He found Yunho, dancing by himself in the studio. It was obvious he had been there for quite some time already as his shirt was soaked in sweat.

When he saw the other enter the room in the mirror, he ground his teeth together and kept dancing.

The shorter waited patiently, knowing he had to do this the right way.

Realizing the other wasn't leaving, Yunho sighed and paused the music. He grabbed a towel and started trying to soak up some of his sweat.

"Hey, Yunho..."

The taller wouldn't look at him.

"Can we talk for a moment?"

Yunho sighed and let his head fall back. "There's nothing that we really need to talk about. I already know what you came to say." He saw Wooyoung's worried face and added, "And it's ok."

Wooyoung felt his mouth open a little, shocked by his friend's words.

"Well, it's not ok... I guess what I'm trying to say is that it will be ok. I just... need some time." He chewed on his lip and finally glanced at his friend. "I think I knew, deep down, that it was going to end up this way. She was always drawn to you more than me. I probably came off a little strong," He laughed, more at himself for trying to make a joke at a time like this. "You two will be good together. But..." He rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks turning red, "Can you try and keep it on the down low until I'm ready?"

Wooyoung just ran forward and hugged his friend. He couldn't believe how understanding the other had been, but they both knew their friendship was more important than anything.

"You big baby," Yunho chuckled, but he returned the hug, squeezing the other to him.

Later that day, Lily woke up to a muffled thrumming. It sounded like the base beat from a song. She stretched and tentatively made her way down the stairs and over to the studio. She cracked open the door and saw the boys dancing and singing, faces locked on the mirror in front of them.

They sounded amazing! She had never really heard them sing before, and she didn't recognize the song either, but she loved it.

When they finished, Jongho was the first to notice her standing off to the side and he waved, a bright smile crossing his face. The others then greeted her in turn as the eldest walked over to her to tuck her hair behind her ears. "How are you feeling?"

"Better."

"You took the sleeping pills?"

"Yes, thank you."

The man nodded in approval before he went to take a long drink from his water bottle.

"What song were you singing? I've never heard it before," she asked, walking over to Wooyoung. He let his fingers brush against hers in greeting, before pressing a towel to his face.

"It's Joongie's!" San said, skipping over to give her a sweaty hug.

"I guess we haven't updated you yet," Yeosang said, smiling shyly. "We are actual performers now. That's why we got this house. We are Ateez."

"Ateez?" Lily tilted her head.

"Professor Lee set up an audition for us." Hongjoong said, pulling out his phone and selecting one of their music videos.

Lily's eyes widened as she watched, engrossed in their powerful, sharp moves and the detail that was put into the video. She watched a couple others, not fully believing this was happening.

"Is this, real?" They all nodded. "I... Oh my gosh!" She said, the pitch of her voice rising. "You guys did it!" She threw her arms around San.

"We did." Hongjoong said, puffing out his chest.

"That's actually something we need to talk to you about." Seonghwa said, ruining the mood a little. "We have obligations now that we have to fulfill. Fans to see, performances to do, but that doesn't mean we will not focus on helping you whenever we can. We already told our crew about you, not all the details, but you will be with us every step of the way. We won't leave you behind."

Lily felt the tears pooling in her eyes again. She didn't want to be a burden to them, but she couldn't stand the thought of leaving them again. Especially after her night with Wooyoung.

---

The household soon fell into a routine. The boys practiced several hours a day. Lily sat with them in the studio, giving her support when needed. They were so good at making sure she didn't feel left out, coming over to her between songs and shooting her smiles as they danced.

They always had dinner together, whether Seonghwa cooked or they ordered something. The boys ate even more than before with all the work they did.

She was never alone, and for the first time in months, she was ok with that.

Wooyoung slept with her every night, holding her close to him and murmuring words of comfort to her, feeling her slowly drift off to sleep.

I love you.