Lily let out a soft moan as she shifted in bed. Her soft covers wrapped her in a warm, comforting embrace. She didn't want to open her eyes, wishing to sleep forever...

But then she sat up, panicking at the silence that filled the house.

Usually there were dishes and glasses banging in the kitchen as her father rummaged around for his morning beer and something to eat.

Today, there was nothing.

She slowly made her way to her bedroom door, pausing to take note of the now purpling bruise around her neck. Time froze as she looked at herself. Her golden blonde hair was ratty from tangles, her neck looked like it would never go back to her natural skin tone, and her wrist looked redder than ever. She could even make out some slight bruising from when her father squeezed.

Hazel eyes stared back at her, completely lifeless.

Lily stared for a moment longer before making her way down to the kitchen. She walked slowly, keeping her caution radars up, ready to move at the slightest sound.

There was no one.

She relaxed slightly and make a quick pass through the house. Her confusion rose. Where is he? What is going on?

When she entered the kitchen again, she saw a note waiting for her on the island. Slowly, she picked it up and read through her father's recognizable chicken scratch:

SONG BIRD

I HAVE BEEN CALLED AWAY ON IMPORTANT BUSINESS.

I WILL RETURN IN A FEW DAYS.

BEHAVE. I WILL KNOW IF YOU DON'T.

I EXPECT YOU TO BE WAITING FOR ME.

Lily felt her jaw drop as she read through the note several more times. He's gone? He's really gone?

A sudden weight was lifted off her shoulders and a smile crossed her face. He had never left her home alone before. Never. When she was younger, he used to pull her from school so she could go with him, and he would keep her locked in the hotel room all day.

She didn't pause to think about the reasoning behind this, instead she ran up to her room, got dressed in her usual hoodie and packed a change of clothes for her dance class today, humming and singing to herself brightly.

When she got to class, she saw eight boys sitting in a circle in the back of the room talking rapidly. She didn't recognize three of them, but she just shrugged and made her way over.

"Hey guys!" She said, having a hard time hiding just how happy she was.

"Lily!" San and Yunho said at the same time, both smiling and motioning for her to join them. She did, sitting between the two.

"How are you today?" San asked, leaning closer to her.

"I'm excited to get started. I think I have an idea for one of the songs."

The group stared at her and most of them smiled.

"Well, I guess we should go back to our own group them," one boy said as he stood and stretched his arms above his head. Lily was surprised to see his hair styled like a mullet. Not many people could pull, but some how he did. "I'm Hongjoong by the way, I don't think we've officially met." He smiled and wiggled his fingers in a soft, but cute wave.

"Lily," she introduced herself.

"This is Mingi and Jongho," Yunho said motioning to both in turn. They both smiled before following after Hongjoong.

The only one who stayed was Seonghwa. He looked almost cross.

"What's the matter Hwa?" Yunho asked.

"Where is the brace I gave you?" He asked quickly, not taking his eyes off Lily.

She froze, feeling her chest tighten. Oh no...

"O-oh. I'm so sorry, Seonghwa... It b-broke. I've been trying to be careful though." Lily looked at the ground. She wasn't technically lying, but she couldn't tell him that her father was the one who broke it as soon as he saw she was wearing it.

Seonghwa looked sad as he nodded once and walked away.

Lily bit her lip, I'm sorry... she glanced down at her wrist, and her fingers traveled to her charm.

The group of five sat in silence for a moment before Yeosang spoke up. "So, Lily, what was your idea?" He quiet voice made her head snap up, making her forget about everything for a moment.

"Oh! Right, let me show you!" She hopped up and grabbed her iPod. She quickly picked one of her songs and turned up the volume so they could all hear it.

As the intro started, she rolled her neck once to get into her zone. The first heavy beat drove her over the edge and she smirked before going into a complicated routine she had made. She could hear a few gasps from behind her while the four boys watched.

When she finished, she bent over, placing her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. She looked up to see four stunned faces watching her.

"Um... Wh-what did you think?" She asked, shyly. She could feel her cheeks flushing under their gazes and she silently thanked herself that she was already red from the intense dance.

"Show me again."

Lily looked at the last person she thought would have spoken up.

Wooyoung stood and walked over to her, shedding his jacket to reveal a loose t-shirt but tones, graceful arms and shoulders. He stood next to her and raised his eyebrows.

Yeosang grabbed her iPod and started the song over again. She blinked a couple times to clear her thoughts before she turned to face the mirror again. As she went through the steps, she was surprised when Wooyoung was able to pick them up quickly. After another two run throughs, he was dancing it almost as well as she was. Even Yunho had joined in, and by the end of the class period San and Yeosang had started to pick it up too.

At the end, all five of them were panting. The four boys were stripped down to a t-shirt and their sweatpants. Only Lily remained fully dressed, her hoodie soaked in placed from sweat. She used the collar to try and fan herself as she leaned against the wall.

"Damn. You're better than I expected." Wooyoung panted, shooting her a quick smile that made her heart skip a beat.

"Thanks, you're not half bad yourself." She felt herself smirking a little bit, especially when the other three 'ooo'd' in response.

Wooyoung stood up straight, preparing to respond, when Seonghwa walked over to them. The boys stood to greet him, but he walked right by them and straight to Lily. "Here." He said, holding out another wrist brace.

"Seonghwa..." She said softly, reaching out to take it. Did he just go buy me a new one...?

"You need to take care of yourself." He said softly. Then, he took the brace back and carefully pushed up the sleeve of her hoodie. Lily watched as he undid the brace, and then pause as he looked closely at the skin. His fingers brushed against the finger shaped bruises. "Lily... what happened?" He asked, his voice getting even softer as he locked eyes with her. The blue irises seemed to swim with concern.

The rest of the group moved closer to see what he was talking about and a couple gasped.

Lily didn't know what to say, so she stayed silent, looking anywhere but at the five boys in front of her.

When he didn't get an answer, Seonghwa signed and pushed her bracelet up her wrist before fastening the brace around her wrist. She had to admit that it felt better almost instantly.

"Thank you..." She mumbled, not really intending for any one to hear.

Seonghwa smiled sadly, then he grabbed her good hand and started dragging her behind him. "Let's go get something to eat. I'm sure you guys are starving; I know the others are."

"Food!" San cried out and shuffled to stand next to Lily, grinning brightly. "I'd say we all deserve some food after that practice.

"Yes, I could go for some chicken right now." Yeosang said thoughtfully from her other side.

"What sounds good to you?" Yunho asked, pushing his way between Lily and San and draping an arm around her shoulder. San said nothing and stepped back to start talking with Wooyoung about what he wanted to eat.

"U-um, I'm fine with a-anything." She stuttered, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. But... It was a good feeling.

---

The finally settled on stopped at a small chicken wing place that they could place a to go order at and take them to a nearby park. Lily felt like they ordered way too much food but was soon proven wrong.

The rate the eight boys could put back food after a workout was astounding. She was fascinated as she watched them pass wings back and forth, holding four or five different conversations at the same time. Seonghwa would hand her wings as well, even when he was talking to one of the other members, like it was a reflex. She couldn't help but smile at the kind action.

She watched as San leaned over with a napkin to wipe sauce of Woo young's mouth. Yunho feigned jealousy before taking the napkin from San and continuing to dab at the youngers' lips. San pouted for a moment before the three of them broke out in a fit of laughter, gripping their stomachs and rocking back and forth.

Soon she felt herself laughing along with them, feeling pure joy for the first time in a long time.

"Let's go back to Hwa's place!" Mingi pipped up after a while. "We should have a movie marathon."

The other's all nodded in agreement, all speaking at once again.

Seonghwa leaned over to Lily, "Would you like to join us?"

She hesitated for a second, but then she remembered that she had complete freedom and nodded quickly. "I would love to, actually." The man nodded in approval before clapping his hands and calling out for them to clean up.

The boys politely followed Lily as she went to collect her bike. Most of them had driven there, so most went to get their cars. San and Wooyoung elected to walk with Lily, even though she protested. They just waved her off and Wooyoung took her bike from her and started pushing it. Then San took her hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world and they made their way to Seonghwa's house, all three talking about other ideas for their dance routine.

The house was crazy when they got there. Jongho and Mingi were running around moving furniture around to make room for everyone. Yeosang and Hongjoong were pushing other things out of the way. Seonghwa followed after all of them flapping his arms, crying out for them to be careful.

Wooyoung burst out into laughter next to her, clapping his hands. The high pitched, dolphin-like laugh cause both her and San to start laughing too.

Yeosang walked over to them and said, "Welcome to the Mad-House." He chuckled softly before taking Lily's backpack and gym back from her and placing them in the dining room.

"Sit with me!" San said, jumping up and down slightly before pulling her to the corner of the couch. He let her get settled in the corner before sitting next to her. She pulled her knees to her chest, trying to take up the least amount of room possible on the L-shaped couch.

Wooyoung sat on San's other side, placing an arm around his shoulder. Yunho sat on Lily's other side and the rest found places on other sections of the couch and a couple chairs that had to be brought in.

They had decided to watch Harry Potter, trying to convince each other that they could stay awake for all eight movies.

Lily smiled as most passed out by the third one. As that one came to an end, she knew she should probably head home, but she was trapped in her corner. San was leaning into Wooyoung's shoulder, muttering softly in his sleep. Wooyoung's hand was wrapped around the others' shoulder and his head leaned against the red and black hair. Yunho had his arms crossed across his chest and his legs sprawled in from of him. Yeosang had curled up into a little ball, with his had resting in Wooyoung's lap and his legs on top of Jongho's. Mingi was sitting in a chair, his head hanging back, mouth open, and arms reaching to the floor. Hongjoong, sitting on Yunho's other side, had his head tilted to the side, his mouth also slightly open. Seonghwa, who had been sitting behind Lily in a chair, had his head resting in his arms, braced on the couch.

She knew if she tried to get up, she would disturb at least one of the sleeping beauties. So, instead, she settled into the couch, resting her head on the soft cushion, and joined them in dreamland.