#(part one)

You left soft wet foot prints along the dusty floor, your sneakers still wet from the dew-soaked grass outside. Your fist was tight around the flashlight in your hands, trying to keep the beam of light steady as you walked. Just ahead of you, you could see the beam of Aaron’s own flashlight flickering about before he turned a corner.

You cleared your throat as you kicked up more dust, feeling it itch the back of your throat as you inhaled. Who knows how long it’s been settled here, coating every inch of surface in this abandoned building. The thought had you lifting your free hand, holding the cuffed sleeve of your hoodie to cover your nose and mouth.

 The abandoned building was eerily quiet, as if everything here was holding its breath, held frozen in time. Only the sound of the building settling and your own muffled breathing dared breach the silence. You passed by an old potted plant, the synthetic leaves waxy and coated in dust, the dull green bleached with age. It was a mockery of a living thing left here, alone and abandoned. You walked past some wooden desks with toppled office chairs, all peeling leather and rotting fabric, and carefully stepped around them.

What was this office space even used for? Why was the building so remote, with only a single laned road branching into wooded private property? Why was it left in such disarray? These questions flittered through your mind as you finally approached the corner Aaron had curbed.

You peeked around it to see how far down he’d gone…only to feel a pit of dread begin to gnaw at your stomach. You could no longer see the beam of his light down the dark hallway, had no idea where he’d gone. Damn him for wandering, damn him for leaving you alone in this creepy ass building. “Aaron?” you called his name, your voice muffled against the sleeve of your hoodie. It was startlingly loud in the deathly silence. You cringed slightly.

Receiving no response from your friend, you cautiously turned the corner to try and follow him with nothing more than skidded disturbances in the dust as clues. You nearly tripped where the carpet was peeling up, the seam transitioning between two pieces all frayed and curling. You cursed under your breath, beginning to feel frustrated and anxious all at once.

Why’d you ever let him convince you to do this? Why were you out here in the middle of nowhere when you could be curled up at home enjoying a nice hot shower and soft, warm pajamas?

You followed the traces Aaron left behind, passing an old water cooler, the five-gallon bottle atop it long emptied and warped. The generic furniture, you noticed, was strangely uniform and sparse, looking every bit dated in 1990’s fashion. Stepping through an open archway, you paused, looking left and right as you came upon a t-intersection. To the left, the hallway continued on into infinite shadow, looking much the same like where you’d just been. But to the right… a single open door led to a larger room.

Not wanting to brave another hall, you turned right.

Stepping through the door, you entered what appeared to be an office. The white paint on the walls was peeling, and several file cabinets were left in disarray, papers scattered around the floor. Most of the writing was smeared with water damage, but the small bits that were still legible were a mix of characters that made no sense to you.

Against the wall opposite to you was a single desk, lined up and tidied with old equipment atop of it. A printer and scanner, a mouse and chunky keyboard, and speakers connected to a retro pc computer, the plastic yellowed with age. It was a dinosaur of a machine, and you let out a low whistle as you approached it.

Beside the computer was a box holding a mix of old floppy disks, most of them labeled with dates and strange notes. Some cd’s were also thrown into the mix, though most were warped and scratched. Strangest yet, there was some sort of VR headset on the desk as well. Seemed like a pretty modern idea for such old equipment…

Curiosity nagged at you, and you approached the desk chair, cautiously sitting down on it. You set your flashlight on the desk to free your hands, the beam of light hitting the back wall. You clicked the mouse and pressed a few random keys on the keyboard, feeling the stiff give of them. You pretended to be an office worker, tried to imagine what it might’ve been like to be sitting here when the building was still in use. What work would you have been doing? What data would you have stored on the disks lying dormant beside you?

Suddenly, a loud beeping sound emitted from inside the machine, and you jumped out of your skin, gasping. You placed a hand to your chest, feeling your racing heart, before you heard a low whirring sound. Then, the dusty black screen began to emit a dim glow.

“What the hell,” you muttered to yourself, eyes wide. Was electricity since hooked up to this building? The lights weren’t working, so how the hell was this old computer still running? Perhaps there was a backup generator somewhere?

You watched, feeling something like amazement or dread, as small white characters began to appear on the black screen. You weren’t well-versed in computer science, especially that of an older time, but living in the 21st century gave you a little technological literacy. You squinted at the chunky font, watching numbers count up: Memory testing 640K…Memory testing 2048K…

It must have been a minute or two of you watching, fascinated, before the number finally settled around something like “16384K OK.” The screen flickered back to black. You hesitated, giving the mouse a few experimental clicks, though the whirring continued through the black screen.

Finally, a logo appeared on the screen, some name for a tech company you’ve never heard of before. The resolution was so pixelated to what you were used to, you almost had to laugh. It was amazing really, that this was still working and running. You observed the programs, seeing only a few icons—My Computer, Network Neighborhood, Recycle Bin, My Briefcase.

The whirring sound continued, and a small pop-up appeared in the center of the screen with a loading bar. “Reading disc…” you read aloud under your breath.

After a moment, a new program icon appeared below the others, some file simply titled ‘Digital Circus.’

The small, pixelated white arrow of your cursor was lagging and jerky as you dragged it over to the Digital Circus icon. You were about to double click it, when you hear a voice call from behind you. “Woah, what’d you find?”

You jumped slightly, swiveling around in the old chair to see that Aaron had reappeared, the stupid headlamp on his head nearly blinding you. “Jesus Aaron,” you choked out, raising a hand to shield your eyes. “Scared the shit out of me…”

Your friend grinned at you, stepping further inside the office to look around, wielding the beam from his headlamp like a sword. “I totally missed this,” he said, blinking at everything with interest. “And you got the computer to work? Gnarly…” He stepped closer, leaning over your shoulder to look at the monitor screen.

“Damn,” he hummed. “Look at the date in the corner. Still thinks its October 15th, 1996.” He reached over you to tap a single finger on the corner of the screen at the numbers. Aaron always was the more adventurous of you two…hence why he dragged your ass out of bed to go ‘adventuring’ in this abandoned health-hazard of a building.

“I really didn’t do anything,” you excused sheepishly. “It just came on by itself. Weird, huh? I think it has to be connected to a generator or something to still be working.”

“Probably,” Aaron agreed, humming. A snort escaped him as he read the programs. “Digital Circus? Is that some weird corporate jargon?”

You looked back towards the screen, your own curiosity beginning to spike again. Already you felt a lot more secure now that Aaron was with you. “Maybe. It’s strange,” you answered, wiggling the mouse a little to give your hands something to do.

“Well, aren’t you going to click into it?” Aaron prompted after a moment. You paused, unsure now. Maybe it was the creepy atmosphere of being in a dark, abandoned place, but you were getting a bad feeling about all this.

You were about to answer with some half-hearted excuse when another sound suddenly echoed down the hall behind you. “Who’s down there? You’re trespassing!”

“Shit,” Aaron cursed, stumbling back from the desk, his eyed widening. “Is that the fucking cops or something?”

Your heart leapt into your throat. “That or a squatter—I don’t want to find out.”

Aaron was already moving, heading for the door with quickened steps. “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here.”

You were about to follow after him, eager to leave when you’d had no desire to come to in the first place, but something stopped you. You craned your head back to the old screen, the dim light of the monitor illuminating your skin. Curiosity, that deadly thing, was still gnawing at you, even as your mind screamed at you to abandon this mystery and escape now while you still could.

You chewed on your bottom lip, eyebrows furrowing as you contemplated your options in the little time you had. Then you’re moving, reaching forward and pressing the ‘eject’ button on the cd tray at the front of the computer. The button is slightly sticky with age when it popped open, and you have to use you fingers to pull the rest of the tray out.

Lying dormant like a ghost waiting to be found was a single, shiny compact disc, not a single scratch on it. Handwritten on the front in what looked like permanent marker chicken scratch was ‘DC_Build_Beta_9610.’

You heard Aaron call for you atop the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. There was no more time for debate. You grabbed the cd from the tray, snatched your flashlight off the desk, and ran out from the office, back into the darkness from where you’d came.

-

Aaron dropped you off at your home, the entire drive back into the city filled with his excited chatter. Of course, the adrenaline junkie absolutely loved ending the night with a foot-chase. You only half-listened as he rambled on, your thumb gently brushing against the single, smooth disc you held in your lap—a souvenir from tonight’s excursion.

You still weren’t sure why you took it, and that very question puzzled you long since you got home and showered off the dust and grime from that place. Your hair was still damp and dripping slightly onto your sleep shirt when you sat on your bed, pulling your laptop towards you.

“Alright,” you murmured to yourself, plugging in your external cd drive into the usb port. You grabbed the mysterious disc off from your mattress and carefully snapped it into place. You watched it begin to spin through the clear plastic of the drive.

You looked at your laptop screen eagerly, wondering what might pop up.

After a moment…it was an error message. “Unsupported 16-Bit Application,” you read aloud. “This program cannot start or run due to incompatibility with 64-bit versions of the system. Please contact software vendor to ask if 64-bit compatible version is available.”

Well shit, how the hell were you supposed to contact the software vendor when you stole the disc from some random abandoned building?

You probably should’ve just cut your losses then, but something stubborn in you refused to give up. Naturally, you did what any 21st century young adult would do in this situation…you googled it.

After an hour and a half of deep-diving into the world of 16-bit compatibility and virtual machine software, you eventually found a how-to guide on reddit. Following the advice, you downloaded and installed a free hypervisor program to your laptop. You didn’t understand what half of anything meant, but regardless followed the reddit post instructions as it guided you into setting up Windows 1995 on the vm and creating a virtual hard disk.

It’s well into the wee hours of the morning when you finally managed to clumsily get everything setup. Your brain was fried entirely. It was times like this that made you wish took a computer science class in high school back in the day…

With bated breath, you clicked on the VM program icon and selected ‘Start.’ You watched as a new window popped up on your laptop screen. It was all black…and then that same white text you’d seen back at the abandoned office building began to count up. It was a slower process, so you minimized the VM window and took some time to close out your google tabs while you waited.

Finally, when you checked again, you saw that within the VM window was an old 95 style desktop with a solid teal background. It was a computer within your computer…

You felt a glimmer of pride at your accomplishment, and a great deal of surprise that you actually managed to get it to work. Thanks be to the reddit-gods…

You clicked into the CD-Rom drive, watching the disc once again as it began to spin in the burner. You held your breath, expecting an error message to pop up at any second.

But none did. Instead, you saw that familiar little icon appear on your screen—Digital Circus.

You exhaled softly, and hovered your cursor over the application. You double-clicked it, and waited.

The program opened.

You’re not entirely sure what you were seeing at first glance. It appeared to be some sort of video game? Full of bright colors and low-poly shapes. You saw what looked like a big-top circus tent in a valley of vibrant green grass and bright blue skies. Bubble letters appeared on the screen in grainy, pixelated fashion…The Amazing Digital Circus.

Nothing changed as you watched the letters slowly bob in place on the colorful backdrop. You’re about to click experimentally on the screen when you heard a grainy sound from the speaker of your laptop. “Welcome to the—!” A vibrant and brightly cheery voice cut itself off half-way into its sentence. There’s an exaggerated gasp from your speakers, and then your screen suddenly glitched out in a flash of red and blue.

Your eyes widened as your entire laptop crashed, the screen cutting to black as it shut off completely. You watched, frozen, before it rebooted itself slowly.

Shit, did you just download a virus?

-

Something was wrong.

He had sensed it almost immediately when someone outside his control began to boot up the program.

Someone new was entering the circus…but wait, they had no file? No scans or data to catalog and digitalize. Was it an admin account from the outside?

He felt those long-old commands beginning to run the loading screen in a distant place. Again, somewhere deep within his coding he felt it—something was wrong.

And then he realized, his processors were smoother, and his motions were quicker and more precise. It was as it he’d gotten a system update, but he knew that was impossible. Quickly, he ran an automated command in the background to check the internal data. He would figure out what was amiss in his circus, and in the meantime, he would go and greet whoever was entering it.

Dematerializing from his virtual office, he zipped in between the invisible lines of 0’s and 1’s, ready to appear at front of the screen he so rarely ventured to, distantly sensing whoever was poking around was waiting for him there.

He had only just started to run off his usual welcoming dialogue when his background checks began to swarm him with results, far too quickly than should have been possible on the 1995 system. All at once in an instant, he found the bits of new code, the slight deviations from the same lines he’d been pacing for years. He followed them like breadcrumbs, weaving through like a jolt of lightning and eating it up with an eager thrill.

He flashed through it, devouring lines of code until he hit a barrier. The edge of the domain, the walls of a program window. Yet, he sensed there was something more…sensed that just beyond this locked door was something big and new trying to open up his digital world.

He wouldn’t let a mere firewall stop him. He could generate his own code after all…

He made quick work, altering the numbers to forcibly create a door between the here and the there. He pulled apart the strings, slipped through the wires and…

There was so much.

New input…new data. From the outside world.

The macroverse.

He felt the immense size of it, felt the edges of him render into something smoother, something clean and modern. He sensed the power of this new engine try to pick at him, incompatible with his ancient code. He started to vibrate with the collision of it all, the overwhelming excitement and onslaught of more, more, more.

He braced against it, and in a flash it burnt out and powered down completely.

The system was rebooting. Good! He had a few minutes of reprieve to peruse the frozen files, to update and integrate himself to these new, strange standards. He ran some generative commands while he organized and sifted through thenew data. The date…wowie! Thirty years in the future. What a jump…

Evidently, a lot could change in thirty years. He filtered through the programs, the files, the features…and found one that stopped him dead in his tracks.

He stared at it, held it in his hands like something precious and terrifying all at once.

The computer system finally restarted, no longer frozen and beginning to move like a well-oiled machine. He opened the small thing in his hands, felt his consciousness click into place as he connected directly into a live feed of information. The new feature burned into his brain, something that made him curious and eager and ravenously consuming…

He had found a camera.

From the outside, you watched your laptop reboot, scratching your head in confusion as it restarted back to your default screen…

"SHIT!" followed by a thump and the sound of a large piece of furniture tipping backward and landing. He could make out the sound of scraping and scratching on the wooden floor. That was definitely going to leave a mark. He wondered if he'd be able to spot it, once inside.

"I GOT IT!" another voice cried, followed by another thud.

This place sounded very chaotic.

"HEY, I HAd that, you little shit-"

Having heard enough to still his curiosity, Danny quickly pulled his hearing back. Based on literally everything he's seen and heard since getting here, he already knew he was going to hate it.

"Now, Mr. Wayne has taken in a lot of kids and has been very gracious to open his home to you. Make no mistakes, young man. You will listen to what he tells you, and so help me, if you cause this man any trouble whatsoever, you will regret it. Stay in the car until I tell you it's safe to get out. I need to go over your file with Mr. Wayne first."

She was acting like Danny was some delinquent picked up fresh from a gang fight. He was half tempted to act like it just to spite her, but bit his tongue and continued studying the place. He didn't need to add any more reasons to extend the time it was taking, just to get through the door.

The large garden surrounding the building was obviously well taken care of; the Green hummed happily at the bright sunlight and clear sky. Extremely rare, from what Danny's gathered at least. He could count exactly how many days the sun's been out since he's gotten here, on one hand. He just hoped it stayed clear long enough for him to see the stars again. Hopefully, it'll help calm his core; he's gonna need it if he wants any chance at his powers cooperating with him.

His control over the Green still needs work, but he's gotten good enough to connect and get general feelings from the plants. For example, the Green held a great deal of appreciation for the man who just walked out the front doors. He was greatly loved by the plants, which most likely meant he was the one taking care of them.

"Are you even listening to me?" the lady huffed, unbuckling herself and shoving the car door open. She didn't even wait for Danny's response, seeing as she was already standing and greeting the old man before Danny could even turn to look over at her.

"Hello, Mr. Pennyworth, was it? Hi, I'm Ms. Clance. I'm Danny's social worker. Is Mr. Wayne home?" She slammed the door shut and held her hand out for a handshake.

The older man eyed her hand but otherwise ignored it, instead turning to look at Danny, who was still in the car. "That is correct, Ms. Clance. Master Wayne is in his study; he'll be down in a moment to discuss any last-minute things you need to cover. Now, why don't we get Mr. Fenton inside and get acquainted with the others?"

"Hold on for just a moment," Ms. Clance cut in, quickly getting over the small snub and sending Danny a nervous glance. Danny raised his eyebrow; it's not like he was going anywhere, and he needed to pretend he couldn't hear a word they were saying. He's supposed to be 'waiting' for her signal to get out of the car, after all.

The front door opened behind Mr. Pennyworth, and three heads popped out in an obvious attempt to eavesdrop on the conversation. There was an older guy, maybe in his mid to late twenties, a blond girl, still in her late teens, and a guy with eye bags around the same age as blondie. Though Danny's were definitely worse, the guy might have Tucker beat. Which was worrying, because what could this guy possibly need to pull three all-nighters for?

"I would like to speak with Mr. Wayne before letting the kid settle in. No offence, but I want to make sure Mr. Wayne is serious about wanting to house this kid. We've already had three other families agree to take him on and then drop him in less than a month."

"I see," Mr. Pennyworth hummed, studying Danny with a sharp eye. Danny studied him back; he had good posture, and his graying hair was slicked back. He had a mustache but no other facial hair, so he obviously kept himself well-maintained. Jazz said people like that were more likely to be well-disciplined and lean toward being blunt and honest. (Would that mean that if Jazz could grow a mustache, she'd have one just like that? Something to ask her later, she'd probably get a kick out of it.)

His stance didn't lean toward classic butler, though; it leaned toward alert and ready to react. His feet were placed shoulder-width apart, and he held his hands clasped behind his back. He had experience in the army or something then, which meant Danny would have to keep an eye on this guy. He probably was the one running the house when Mr. Wayne wasn't around, which meant he'd be the one watching Danny the most.

"I still believe the young man should come inside. Master Wayne doesn't go back on his word, and he'll be unlikely to do so now." Mr. Pennyworth seemed very sure of this, but Danny was going to take it with a grain of salt just in case.

Ms. Clance glanced at Danny warily, then back at Mr. Pennyworth with a fake smile plastered on her face. Before she could say anything else, probably declining the offer again, one of the three spying on them cut in, "Yeah! I want to meet the little guy!"

The door swung open, allowing even more people to crowd around and watch the scene in front of them. The first three stumbled and sheepishly moved away from the door to let the others see.

"And you will," Ms. Clance agreed, turning to face the growing group. "Once I speak to Mr. Wayne. We have to go over a few things in Daniel's file before I can sign off on all of this."

"Like, what?" the blond one asked, her eyes meeting Danny's as she skipped down the stairs. Danny could just tell she'd be down for all sorts of chaos. And he could also tell she'd be glued to his side until her interest died, which would take only Clockwork knows how long.

Instinctively, Danny reached out and grabbed the door, just as someone tried opening it. Glancing up and to the side, Danny met gray eyes. It was the other girl he had spotted wandering the garden a few minutes before. (The Green didn't think fondly of her like Pennyworth, but didn't seem to dislike her either. Neutral then.)

She stared at him for a moment before smiling and stepping back. 'You can come out,' she signed. Danny glanced back at Ms. Clance, then back to the girl, before sighing and getting out. Might as well get things rolling a little faster.

Her eyes lit up once he closed the door and turned back to her.

"You know sign," she comments with a smile, her voice soft but not from disuse.

'Absolutely not,' Danny signed, just to be a little shit. Turning back, he stared at his social worker, who was watching them in confused frustration. Probably because she didn't know sign language.

"Daniel, what did I say about staying in the car?" She chides, looking ready to march over and smack him, her confusion being waved away for the moment.

"I thought you decided I wasn't listening to anything you said?" Danny pointed out, crossing his arms and leaning back against the car. If she wanted to waste even more time, then that was perfectly fine with him. (It wasn't like he wanted to get inside and scout the place or anything.)

"Never mind," she grumbles, turning back to the butler. (He had to be a butler; he had the same vibes as the one at Sam's place and the one his parents employed when they had made that deal with the GIW. Also, there was the fact that he referred to Mr. Wayne as Master Wayne.)

"You never answered my question," Blondie cut in, smiling sweetly at the frustrated woman. Yeah, Blondie was definitely a troublemaker.

"Probably the plethora of misdemeanors," Danny provides, watching as everyone turns to look at him. (Probably because he wasn't supposed to know what the question was, considering he was literally just in the car, but it wasn't like it would be that hard to deduce the question.) The gray-eyed girl had slowly made her way back to join the others, though she still looked happy for some reason.

"No," Ms. Clance huffed, obviously starting to get overwhelmed for some reason. She needed to take a step back and breathe; there was literally no reason for her to be this agitated. (He hasn't even done anything worth this much frustration yet, yeesh.)

"More like we need to go over how many times you snuck out, got seriously injured, seriously injured someone else, and sent your last foster parent to a mental facility." She corrects, running a hand over her head to settle the frizz. It just made it look worse.

"All classified as misdemeanors, so obviously not that bad," Danny waved off, rolling his eyes. "And Mr. Thompson deserved it."

"You drove that man insane!" she hissed, swatting another piece of her hair out of her face.

Danny blinked at her, tilting his head to the side in confusion, "He was already insane before I got there, though?" Which was actually quite annoying; Danny'd dealt with enough insane people at this point, he'd rather hug Vlad than deal with another one.

"He was not insane," Ms. Clance insists, giving up on straightening herself out.

"He definitely was," Danny argued, pulling his backpack tighter against his back in annoyance. "The dude thought locking me in a room and feeding me white rice once a day was perfectly fine." Which wasn't even the worst thing one of these 'foster families' had done, he's just the first that genuinely thought it was normal.

Danny ignored the sudden stilted silence at his words, choosing to instead focus on the man slowly making his way outside and over to them. No one else seemed to notice him.

"Would you stop making things up already?" Ms. Clance huffed, "We've already gone over this. There wasn't a lock on your door, and there was plenty of food in the pantry."

Danny rolled his eyes, going back to studying the gray-eyed girl. The happy sparkle was gone, and she was making hand signals that the others around her were focused on. It wasn't a dialect of sign he knew, most likely a self-made code then. He wondered how long it would take to decode it…

"Don't need a lock to lock someone up," Danny shrugged, turning back to Ms. Clance, "and if that doesn't count as insane, then talking to the shadows on the wall and claiming to be immortal does. Do you know how many times that man tried jumping in front of cars or out of a window? Way too many. So yeah, he deserved to go to the mental institution, where he'll get some actual help."

"Right," Ms. Clance waved off, dismissively turning to continue talking to Mr. Pennyworth. Danny rolled his eyes and cut in before she could, "So, do you guys make it a habit? Lingering back and listening to conversations?" He made direct eye contact with the new person.

The rest blinked, then turned to see who exactly he was talking to, their eyes following his as they finally spotted the man they were all waiting for.

"Ah," Mr. Wayne chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt. It sounded important." Hah, sure it did, buddy. Sure it did.

"Right," Danny huffed, glaring at the man. Honestly, all the eavesdropping and being loud as hell was turning out to be an even more annoying and probably a regular thing based on the fact that no one else was acting like it was strange.

Yeah, he was going to hate it here if that was true.

"So when are you showing up to the Trivia Night? I was planning to show up a bit earlier to save us a table. So around eight.", Nikki's Voice sounds through the phone speaker.

While looking at your wardrobe you think about what Nikki said for a second. "Sounds like a Plan I could-" Suddenly Nikki's Voice interrupts you "Fuck! Shit, no no no no" followed with some rustling noises and cursing.

You stop in your track and pick up the phone from your nightstand, "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I dropped my necklace down the drain.. You know the one I'm always wearing?" You know exactly what necklace she means, she literally wears it everywhere.

"You mean the one you got from your mother?" "Exactly that one..", you can practically hear the frown on her face. No suprise after losing her necklace.

"I'm so sorry to hear that.. By the way I can be at the Bar shortly after eight, so you don't have to sit alone till everybody else arrives."

"Great! I'll see you there!" The call ends after that and you finally take the time to pick an outfit for tonight.

Looking at the clock you see that you still got some time left and after a quick google search you get in you car and drive to the next crystal shop.

---

At the Crystal Shop you first take a look around for yourself to see what they got in stock. They got some necklaces but no explanations on what the crystals do. Definitely have to ask the staff about that.

In the same Isle you see a small display of "One Wish Willows"

You pick one up and read the warnings on it. "6.99$? That's crazy. This thing probably doesn't even work." You mutter to yourself and put it back on the shelf.

Walking up to staff who obviously is talking to someone via earphone, you wave your hand a little to get her attention "Excuse me? Could you help me with the meaning of the necklaces that you sell?"

She looks at you unimpressed "Yeah hold up for a sec there", she probably tells the person on the other line because after that she walks around the corner to the necklace stand.

"So this one is chrysocolla, it's supposed to help cleanse and reenergize yourself and give you a sense of calmness. Then there's this one. It's called Citrine and is supposed to help with success, strength is generally seen as something very positiv." She continues to explaine some more crystals until she goes back behind the counter.

Looking at the crystals you think about which one nikki would like the most. They don't have the exact same one she wore before but the Citrine one sounded very positive and like something Nikki would like so you take it from the display and go to the register to pay for it.

After that you make your way to the bar for Trivia Night.

---

Arriving at the Bar you can already spot Ian's Car. You park right next to him and check if you got everything. You put Nikki's Necklace at the bottom of your bag. You'll give it to her after Trivia Night. Maybe she doesn't like it and you don't want to sour the mood.

After checking everything you get out of your car and finally walk into the bar.

Looking around you immediately spot Nikki, Sarah and Ian sitting at your usual spot.

Waving them you walk up to them and hug each one of them as a greeting.

"Oh my god look who decided to come! I was already wondering if you bailed on us because you took so long.", Nikki says with a playful smile and a joking hint in her voice.

"Oh come on I'm not that late! Bear hasn't even shown up yet!", I jokingly shove Nikki a little bit and sit down between her and Sarah.

"I mean yeah but Bear's always late so that doesn't really count.", Sarah says. Right after she said that the entrance to the Bar opens and Bear comes in and walks up to us.

He also does his greetings with everyone and then sits down on the only stool left which is between Sarah and Ian.

"I'm going to get some shots.", Nikki suddenly says and gets up. "I'll come with you!", Bear immediately says and follows her.

Sarah's gaze sours for a second. "You alright?" You ask her. Sarah shakes her head. "Not really I got another rejection letter."

"I'll be right back." Ian suddenly says and also goes to the Bar where Nikki and Bear are standing.

"I'm sure the next letter you'll get accepted. How many are you still waiting for?"

"Only two, but one of them is from my favorite so not all hope is gone.. I think we should join the other at the bar." , Sarah gets up and walks towards the other.

You follow her and take one of the shots that are standing on the counter.

"So what are we cheering to?" Ian asks and holds his shot in the middle of us.

Everybody else puts their glass next to his. Bear mumbles something and we toast to whatever he said.

The moderator starts the Trivia Night an everyone except Bear and Sarah go back to the table. I'm pretty sure that she got a crush on him but he is way to dense to notice it.

During Trivia Night I saw Bears gaze drifting to Nikki from time to time. Which was kinda weird to be honest. Nikki made it pretty obvious that she's not interested in him but maybe it's the same thing with him not noticing Sarah. He's probably to dense to notice it.

---

While leaving the bar Ian tries to convince everybody for karaoke night.

"No Ian. I just want to go home. Please can you just take me home?"

"No way, are you seriously letting us hang?", Ian looks disappointed at Nikki.

We come to a stop before the cars. "No I'm just trying to safe my ears from terrible singers. Sarah can sing! Sarah give me a G!"

Sarah opens her mouth and lets out a weird grrr sound.

"Oh my god that was terrible.", Sarah looks at Ian offended. "Okay fuck you too."

Everybody lets out a laugh. "I mean I could take you home." Bear gives you a pissed look after you said that.

"Thank you! Finally someone who's nice.", Nikki gives me a side hug. "Does anybody have some cash?", she looks at each one of the group and Sarah takes a 20 Dollar bill out of her bag.

"I got a twenty?" Nikki immediately grabs it "I'll pay it back!" and runs off to the guy who's sitting in front of the Bar.

"Nice I just paid some guys Heroine." you hear Sarah mumbling. You roll your eyes.

"Not every Homeless guy is a drug addict Sarah. And you smoke so I don't really think that you have the right to judge him you know?"

Sarah lets out a fake gasp and pushes me a little. "I could also bring Nikki home if you want to go to the karaoke?", comes suddenly from Bear.

You give him a side-eye. He's been acting weird all evening, sometimes even staring at Nikki from across the table.

"Nah it's fine. I wanted to get home early tonight cause I gotta be early at the store tomorrow you know?"

Letting Nikki drive with him felt wrong when it's so obvious that he has a onesided crush on her.

"Come on Bear. Let's go to the Karaoke bar!", Sarah tugs at his arm and pulls Bear with her and Ian.

"Bye guys! See you tomorrow!" Nikki comes back just in time to also wave goodbye.

"Let's go. I'm so ready for my bed. Like today has just been draining."

Nikki gets into the passenger seat and while you get into the driver seat. "If it cheers you up. I got a little something for you.."

"What? Really? Can I have it now?" Her smile is everything I could hope for.

"You'll have to wait just a little longer." You can't help the smirk appearing on you face.

She let's out a unsatisfied sigh. And leans back into the seat.

---

Arriving at in front of her house you turn the motor off and turn to Nikki.

"As you probably remember you lost your necklace today. So I bought you a new one. I hope you like it."

Pulling the necklace from your bag you hand it over to Nikki. Letting out an excited squeal she hugs you. "Thank you so so much! I don't even know how to properly thank you!!"

"Don't worry about it. Like honestly I know how important that necklace was for you. I'll see you tomorrow at the store right?"

Nikki give you another short hug before opening the door and getting out of the car. "Yea but I'm coming in later than usual. But I'll think of something to thank you."

Nikki winks at you and then walks into her house.

After making sure she's in her house you finally drive home.

---

The next day you got the opening shift with Sarah and her Dad.

After everything is set up you stand behind the register. Nearly nobody comes in that early in the morning which is nice.

"Sooo how did bringing Nikki home last night go?"; Sarah wiggles her eyebrows at you.

"What do you mean? I brought her home and then went home myself.."

Now Sarah looks at you and raises both her eyebrows. "And what about the necklace?"

"You know about the necklace?" You didn't think that Nikki would instantly text Sarah about the necklace.

"Of course. She was so happy about it. Anything you want to tell me..?" another suggestive smile is thrown in your direction.

"Oh my god Sarah. Do we really have to talk about this?" You turn around and check whatever is standing in the shelf.

"Of course we have to talk about it. You know you can tell me if you like Nikki right? I won't judge."

You roll your eyes. "There might be a little something but I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me so I won't act on it. What about you and Bear tho? You were so desperate to get him to karaoke night. And don't try to lie to me! I saw the way you looked at him."

A light blush appears on her cheeks. "I mean yes a little bit. But he only got eyes for Nikki. But I might confess anyways, he might go on a date with me anyways."

You shrug. "Yea could work. But he seems to be really focused on Nikki. But maybe that focus changes to you and you'll both be the most lovely couple."

You both laugh and continue working till Bear and Ian come in to clock in for their shift. While walking past you Bear gives you a nasty look.

"You wanna come talk outside for a second?" You look at Bear. He didn't even clock in yet. And why does he want to talk to you?

"Uh sure? Sarah I'm outside for a second." Sarah gives you a thumbs up until she sees that Bear is right behind you and eyes the both of you, wondering what you two are up to.

At the back entrance of the shop you and Bear stand now and look at each other. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Do you like Nikki?" You stop in your tracks and look at him.

"What?" What was he on about. "Do you like Nikki?!" He raises his voice a little.

"What the fuck dude?! Why do you care?" You take a step back to get some distance not knowing what he'll do next.

"You like her don't you? You bitch! I liked her first! You don't get to take her from me!" As he is saying that he swings his fist at you.

"What the hell Bear!!" You duck right under it.

"I won't let you take her form me!" He tries to grab you again and catches your arm twisting it in a weird angle.

Letting out a scream as you try to free yourself from Bears grip but he pushes you against the wall of the shop leaning heavily onto you.

"If you ever dare to try-" The backdoor opens and Nikki steps out of the shop.

"So Y/N- What the fuck Bear?! What are you doing??"

He loosens his grip on you and steps back. "She attacked me! I swear!"

After the pressure is off you arm you check if it still functions properly "What are you even talking about?! You literally asked me to come talk with you outside and then attacked me because of your HUGE crush on Nikki!"

Nikkis face scrunches up in disgust "No fucking way Bear. I never saw you that way, you do know that right? You were like a brother to me! But after this whole thing, you're done. I don't want to talk to you ever again. I'm sure Sarah and her Dad are gone be really happy about you assaulting your coworkers!"

And with that she grabs your good hand and pulls you back into the shop, locking the door so that Bear who tries to follow us has to walk around the whole shop.

"Sarah? Can you make sure that Bear just gets his stuff and leaves for today? Please?"

Sarah looks confused on why Nikki would ask that "What happened? I thought you were just outside for a smoking break?"

"Apparently Bear has like a huge crush on me and literally attacked Y/N because of that?" Nikki just shrugs her arms not really knowing the full story yet.

Just as Nikki finished her sentence Bear enters through the front door again, stomping right in our direction.

"You can step right outside! You're done here. Who do you think your are just attacking people?! I'll make sure my dad sends you the money from your last shifts and I hope I'll never have to see you again." Grabing his Backpack from the break room Sarah basically throws it into his face and pushes him out.

Everybody let's out a relieved breath.

"So what exactly happened out there? I let you two out of my sight for two minutes and suddenly there's one worker less in this store?"

Both Nikki and Sarah look at you waiting for an explanation. "I really don't know what's gotten into him. I mean I knew that he kind of has a crush on you Nikki but I never thought that he would attack me because I bought you a necklace. He was talking about me taking you from him like he owned you it was really weird."

Both girls shake their heads and Sarah looks even more shocked. Probably because she kinda had a thing for Bear. Whatever possessed her with that decision.

"Thats so weird oh my fucking god! I need to tell my dad. And Ian! I hope Ian is not that kind of idiot to protect Bear.."

And with that Sarah leaves to tell her dad and probably also call Ian.

"Damn the first 20 minutes of my shift have already been more hectic than the entire last week."

Brushing some hair behind her ear Nikki looks at me and smiles. "Actually I wanted to ask you something."

You give her a suprised look "What did you want to ask?"

"I mean I still want to thank you for gifting me the necklace so I was wondering if.."

"If..?" You're getting kind of nervous, usually Nikkis is pretty straight forward with asking questions.

"If you would like to go out on a Date with me?"

Your mouth drops open in shock. Nikki Freeman is asking you out on a Date?

After a few seconds of me not answering you can practically see the anxiety consume Nikkis brain. "Did I read the signs wrong..?"

Shoked you shake your head "No No No! You didn't oh my god no! I'm just so surprised that you asked me! Of course I'll go on a Date with you!"

You give Nikki a big hug, excited to see how the date will go.

-------

A/N:

I will definitely make a part two where the two are on the actual date. I didn't realise that building up to the question would take so long but eh. It is what it is I guess.

As soon as your alarm went off, you knew it would be a good day.

You had been waiting for this day all year. Seeing and being there for the boys' birthday lives had really gotten you worked up. You never made their birthday lives about yourself, obviously. It was their day, not yours.

But who doesn't get excited for their birthday? It's the one day that's all about them! It's the day that they receive gifts and are acknowledged and appreciated and posted all over social media. It's the one time that no one is allowed to ruin your moment and shift the attention to themselves.

Yeah. Long story short, you were excited. More than excited. You were ecstatic.

You had even planned out a trip to your favorite local bakery to celebrate with the boys. You picked out a comfy outfit for the day, as well as a color theme for your birthday live.

It was a cute beige theme with some silver and gold to represent your skzoo, the gazelle. You had earned it due to your agility and speed, both athletically and in terms of choreography and overall stage performance. Everyone, including you, decided it was perfect.

The main thing you were looking forward to wasn't presents or cake, though.

You were really looking forward to the recognition and affection you'd receive from the boys. That was one of your only concerns with any holidays. Your birthday was always a bit special, though. You wanted to spend time with the ones you loved most, which was your family.

Although you still had a good relationship with your parents, you were an only child. You had considered the boys your family for years now. You saw them as your older brothers, and they saw you as their younger sister. You all were really close, after all. Family isn't always by blood.

But there was one problem.

Lately, everyone had been super busy. Staff had tried opening up more opportunities for performances, and it flooded you and the boys with so much practice and planning that you all could barely remember to take care of yourselves. Chan didn't really try to fight it, either. He was all about work. He had probably one of the best work ethics you had seen, but it made you worry a lot of the time, too. Even when he was resting, he'd talk about how he could be working instead.

But in the past, your birthday had landed on some busy weeks, and no one forgot. Everyone's birthdays were always busy. You nine were literally K-pop stars; of course, you'd all be busy year-round.

You told yourself that it was irrational to think that the boys would forget, though. Even on the busiest weeks, nobody's birthday had been forgotten yet.

You reassured yourself with positive affirmations as you got out of bed, heading to the bathroom attached to your bedroom. You took a shower, using your favorite scented body washes. Usually, you'd be quicker and use common or unscented products. Today was special, though! If you wanted to smell like coconut and summer or strawberry cheesecake, you had every right!

You got out and dried off, putting on that comfy and movable outfit for practice.

You were officially 23! You made it another year!

You excitedly checked your phone for any new notifications. Maybe one of the boys, or all of them, had texted you.

But when you checked your phone, there were no new notifications from any of them. You had a lot from Twitter, which you checked. A lot of STAYs were wishing you a happy birthday, and it made you smile warmly.

You were about to reply to one of the posts, but Jeongin texted you and asked where you were, so you quickly closed the app and put your phone in your pocket, hurrying to the company building.

You had forgotten that you still had practice today. You honestly would've thought that since it was your birthday, everyone could get a little time off before and after practice. It was still fairly early, so maybe everyone had just forgotten. No big deal! Practice would only take a few hours, as usual. You'd still be able to go to your favorite bakery and get some treats to share with them!

But when you stepped into the practice room, you noticed that everyone already looked annoyed with today.

Maybe something had happened just now that you had barely missed?

You weren't scared or intimidated by any of them, but you were still able to read the room. So, you kept your mouth shut. Maybe right now wasn't the best time to ask.

"You were almost late, Y/Nnie. Thought we'd have to start without you," Chan greeted you with a soft smile, yawning.

Everyone still wanted to be asleep, but a career is a career. Sacrifices had to be made, and sometimes, extra sleep was one of them. Everything had been piling on more and more lately.

"Don't worry. I know you all just missed me because I'm so awesome. I get it," you joked, which made Han, who was originally staring off into space, laugh softly and mock you playfully.

You thought it would just be a normal day. Practice for a few hours, and then be done by around 2 P.M., or 3 at the latest. You'd all still have time to spend together. It'd be a good day, even if you wished you just didn't have to practice at all. A comeback was soon, though, and a lot of the songs still needed some experimenting before they were fully decided.

Practice started off light. The choreography was pretty simple. It felt kind of like a warm-up, honestly.

The first hour passed quicker than you realized. Despite everyone making a few small mistakes on each take, it was pretty smooth. You all were just getting the hang of it.

Chan made a few corrections, telling each member what they needed to work on, and you all nodded.

You all did take after take. Eventually, during the second hour, you all were allowed a short 5-minute break. You all were getting a bit more adjusted, as this dance was more fast-paced than usual. It wasn't exactly difficult, but it would definitely take a little bit to get it down, especially since it had more synchronized moves as well.

Hyunjin sat down, head leaned back against the wall as he groaned dramatically, claiming Chan was trying to kill him.

"Actually, no. Not just me. You're trying to kill all of us," he added on before taking a swig from his water bottle.

"Drama queen," you muttered, flicking him in the forehead while taking a swig from your own bottle.

"Hey! I'm actually a king, thank you very much," he immediately piped up.

"Calm down, princess," you replied, giggling when you saw his expression.

"This is bullying. I'm reporting you to staff," he whined before standing up.

You followed after, quickly getting up and going back over beside Seungmin for the choreography again.

It was currently 9:30, and you knew that although it would be a long practice full of nothing but dancing and maybe some vocalization training as well, it would still be a good day. You guys didn't have any meetings or interviews or anything else of the sorts scheduled today, so you all could get a little bit of rest once practice was over.

The business practically stripped everyone of any other thought, though. Everyone was focused on one thing: get the music done. Music wasn't just words, either. Music was art. You had to look and feel alive for it, and most of the time, that came through the form of dancing.

It was worth it, though. STAY deserved it. After all of the years of both rough and soft moments, STAY had grown with you guys. They deserved new songs published on a regular basis, even if it meant more work for you guys. You guys would rest... eventually.

You were used to comebacks. They were chaotic, they were busy, they were tiring, and they were a lot of work. But it was worth it. When you went online and saw the way STAY blew up for a week straight over a new album, it reminded you why you did this for a living.

The hours passed by, and everyone got more and more tired. You all were used to performing, but dancing for hours on end with few breaks would tire anyone out.

Nothing too interesting happened during practice. Sure, there was some playful bickering the entire time, but that was normal. You guys had to do something to pass the time.

But for some reason, you noticed that even when it fell quiet, no one said anything to you. It wasn't that they were ignoring you or being rude, but it was 12 now, and you hadn't received a "happy birthday" from any of them.

You tried to brush it off, though. They were just focused. There were still 3 hours of practice, after all. Everyone was trying to just get it over with.

Those 3 hours went by quickly enough, and you tried to think of something to do. Seems dumb to want to do more stuff right after dancing for hours on end, but you just wanted to hang out with the boys in some sort of way.

So, you asked if they wanted to grab a coffee. You even offered to pay. You just wanted to spend time any way you could. Everyone had been extremely busy lately, and you guys hadn't really even had a moment to breathe, let alone be together except for practice. You knew that once the comeback progressed, practice would go from 6 hours to 12, easily.

Felix was about to reply, but Chan had that look on his face. He had the look that screamed that he was up to something. So, Felix stopped and listened, as did everyone else.

"You're all gonna hate me, but we have to finish some lines, too," he mumbled.

Everyone let out a collective groan. No one was really annoyed, though. You all just wanted some free time. Practice had been going on for hours now.

But you still had to get a playful jab in when you could, so you did.

"Just say you hate me," you complained, to which he apologized while laughing to try and break some of the tension and exhaustion in the room.

Okay, well... this wasn't looking so good. It was already 3 in the afternoon, and going over lines and practicing vocals and certain pitches and notes could take anywhere from 1 hour to another 3. It all depended on how much effort and editing had to be done to everyone's voices. Sometimes yours took 30 minutes. Sometimes, they took 2 hours.

But you couldn't just leave, even if that was all you wanted to do at the moment. You had a few lines, and you already knew Chan was always serious about everything being perfect. You didn't blame him, but it did usually take more time.

You still pushed through, though. You had to keep redoing your lines. One second, you were doing perfect, and the next, your voice cracked. Then, your voice pitched, and it wasn't the admirable, high note reaching type. You almost facepalmed when you replayed it and heard the way you practically squeaked as your voice betrayed you.

By the time practice was over, it was roughly 4:45. Not too bad, honestly, especially with how much you all had covered.

Most of the day was already spent, and everyone was tired and sweaty by now, but you still wanted to spend time with them. There was a café only a few streets away, and you all could walk there.

You found it weird that no one had said anything to you, though. You didn't want to pressure them or anything, but if you were being honest, it was starting to hurt a bit. Every time it was their birthday, you always made sure to say it to them as soon as you saw them. Now, when it was your turn, it seemed like everyone had forgotten.

So, you tried to remind them. Maybe if you kept hinting that you wanted to hang out, they would remember.

You approached Hyunjin and Han, knowing that they were usually down to go get coffee.

Han looked over as he was finishing his water bottle.

"Hi, Y/Nnie," he said with a smile.

"Hey," you began, smiling softly back at him. "Do you and Hyunjin wanna go get some coffee with me? Maybe we can invite the others too?"

Han looked at Hyunjin for just a second, his cheery expression faltered.

"Ah... Y/Nnie, we're sorry, but, uhm..." Han began, trailing off.

"We planned on going to the gym after practice with Changbin. I think Innie wanted to come along, too. We can make some room for you if you want," Hyunjin finished Han's words for him.

At least he offered you the opportunity to go out.

You weren't trying to be picky. You really weren't. But it was just that you were already used to going to the gym with all of them. It wasn't their fault for wanting to go work out, but today was special. You wanted something a little more than just the gym.

"Ohhh, okay. I gotcha," you started off. "Uhm, no thanks. Don't worry about it. Sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult. I just-"

"It's okay, Y/Nnie. We go a lot. You don't have to explain yourself. Sometimes you just don't wanna go," Hyunjin interrupted, knowing that you often tried to make up excuses for not wanting to do something.

It was a bad habit of yours before you even met them. You had always been a people pleaser, which often meant that if you didn't want to do something, you tried to come up with an excuse. You knew it was bad to lie, but you always felt guilty simply for turning something or someone down.

You nodded, an awkward smile paired with it.

Well, you were gonna actually explain why, but... nevermind. It's fine. Even though half of the group was busy, the other half may not have anything to do.

Felix always hung out with you! Maybe you could ask him instead!

He was already gone, though. So was Seungmin. They had probably both headed to their dorm to freshen up.

Alright... no big deal! Chan was still here, and Minho was-

Well... not here. He had literally just walked out as you were walking over to Chan. He probably wanted to take a shower after sweating all day. You didn't blame him.

But Chan was still here! Why not ask him?

Chan was always really gentle and caring towards you. He was towards everyone, but he was always just a little softer on you since you were the youngest. Maybe you could use that to your advantage this time..? He usually lets you get away with just a bit more anyway!

So, you walked over to him, your practice bag still swaying by your side.

You tapped him as he was just about to leave, and he turned around, letting out a soft hum in response.

"Hi Channie," you said, slightly dragging out his name at the end.

He smiled warmly. You used to do that a lot when you were younger. You'd drag his name out when you wanted something, such as a schedule request or more information that you weren't really supposed to have. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't.

"What do you want?" he asked, smile never changing as he set his bag down.

You paused for a second as he stared at you, waiting for your response.

You began wondering if he was busy. What if he was? You knew he was already stressed enough with how much he worked.

But you weren't about to just waste his time. It was better to ask instead of assuming. Maybe he had a bit of spare time today.

"Do you wanna go get a coffee with me? Or go on a walk or something? It's pretty nice outside, and there's a café a few blocks away from here and the dorms. We can just walk there," you offered.

That was when his smile changed just a bit.

"Oh, uhm- ahah, so-" he began, stammering slightly.

You knew he was about to turn you down. He was just trying to find the words to make it seem like he wasn't. You knew how he was. He was just like you. It was why you two got along so well. He never wanted to hurt anyone's feelings unless it was in a playful way, which even then, he was careful about.

"If you're busy, it's fine. Just thought I'd ask," you said with a shrug, trying to seem unbothered.

"I am, but it's just- I don't know. I feel bad saying no. We've been so busy lately, and we haven't been able to really spend any time together except for practice, you know? I don't want you thinking I'm just trying to ignore you," he explained.

He began rambling, though. Gosh, you two really did have a lot in common.

So, you stopped him before he began blaming himself, which he seemed like he was already jumping into.

"Chan, it's fine, seriously. That's why I asked. You're allowed to say no. It's okay," you said with a soft chuckle.

"I know, but I just feel bad doing that. I have some things to work on on my laptop. You know, files, editing... all that fun stuff," he continued, sarcasm in his tone during the last few words.

You just smiled.

"Yeah, I get it. I'm just gonna go back to my dorm. Bye, Channie," you mumbled.

He said goodbye to you as well before you turned and walked out, your bag thrown over your shoulder.

Okay... well, that didn't go as planned.

You decided that when you got back to your dorm, you'd just take a shower and then see if you still had some time.

It was a bit late already, though. It was 4:50 now, only 10 minutes until 5:00.

The walk to your dorm was quiet as you checked your phone for any new notifications.

You had a few texts from your parents. You opened your messages and smiled as you read them. They were full of sweet words and wishes. They even offered to take you out to dinner if you had any free time tonight since you didn't have a curfew.

You texted back, telling them that you would love to go to dinner, but wanted to wait and see if the guys wanted to hang out first. If they were all busy, then you'd go with them instead. You'd always had a good relationship with your parents. They were always there for you and tried to make you feel better. You never really felt alone because of them. Any time you did, you would just text them. They'd always comfort you.

You quickly got inside your dorm, put your hair up, and took another long, hot shower, using your favorite products yet again.

When you got out and dried off, you changed into that cute outfit you had picked earlier. You wanted to do the birthday live later tonight, but you thought it wouldn't hurt to look cute for a couple extra hours.

You waited for another 10 minutes, scrolling on social media and smiling as you saw all of the birthday wishes from STAY. You even replied to a few of them with heart emojis and smiles, thanking them for all the support they gave you and the boys constantly.

Then, you decided to see if the boys were busy that way you could text your parents back.

You texted Minho first.

'heyyy'

'Minho :) 🐇 : Hii'

'do you wanna go get some coffee with me or smth? like hang out idk'

'Minho :) 🐇 : Sorry Y/N but I'm cleaning right now. I haven't really had time to do anything lately, and Han's not here right now so I kinda wanna just get it done while I have some alone time.'

'Minho :) 🐇 : Maybe another time?'

'oh yeah sure!!'

'Minho :) 🐇 : Again, sorry'

'don't apologize :) it's okay! cleaning calms you down. you need to relax anyways. have fun! love you!!'

'Minho :) 🐇 : I love you too Y/Nnie. Thank you'

You only had two more people to ask.

Why was everyone suddenly so busy?

You understood, but... at the same time, why? Why couldn't anyone spare at least a little time?

Had they actually forgotten?

There was no way. They had never forgotten your birthday before, ever! Why would they now?

You decided to wait a bit. Maybe if you asked to do something other than go out, they would accept it? Maybe they just didn't want to go out in public right now. You understood that.

So, you changed your plans. Maybe you could get something and invite Felix and Seungmin over for some and save some for the others.

That sounded like a better plan, honestly. Maybe going out just wasn't the move today.

You began wondering if you should have just waited for a bit before asking Felix and Seungmin.

They had only been in their dorms for 30 to 40 minutes.

Were you being too pushy? You weren't trying to take all of the attention, but it was your day. You weren't trying to be selfish or overly sensitive, but you felt forgotten. No one had even said anything to you today. Sure, you all joked around during practice today, but no birthday wishes or anything.

Your thoughts began overwhelming you, so you decided to just put your phone down and follow after Lee Know's habit: stress cleaning. Maybe if you tidied up for 30 minutes, you would feel like you had waited long enough to ask someone else to hang out.

You didn't want to push them too far. They were probably still tired.

But daylight was running out. The sun was still up, but it was 5:30. It was beginning to turn into evening.

Still, you pushed that thought down and began tidying up anything that looked out of place. You even rearranged your room a little.

When around 30 minutes passed, you decided to ask. At least they had had some time to relax by now.

You decided to text Seungmin first.

'minnie'

'hey minnie'

You gave him a minute to answer. Usually, when you double texted, he'd answer pretty quickly.

That minute passed. No answer. So, you texted again.

'minnieeee'

Another minute went by. No response.

So, you tried one last text. Maybe it would catch his attention.

'don't ignore me on my birthday ☹️'

Still, after 30 seconds, no answer.

Maybe you could text Felix instead.

'felixxx'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : hi y/nnie :)'

'oh my gosh you actually answered lol. i tried texting seungmin but he wasn't answering for like 3 minutes'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : 3 minutes was all it took?'

'you know i'm impatient :('

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : he's cleaning right now lol. he has his notifications silenced so he can listen to music'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : you're not the only one he's blocking out trust me'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : 😞'

'oh wow you guys are cleaning too? i texted minho earlier and he was also cleaning lol. what a coincidence'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : yeah we've been neglecting our dorm... and our laundry...... so guess what i'm doing rn :D'

'awww poor lix :( at least you'll have clean clothes tho yayayay!!'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : yesyes a very sad day indeed'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : anyways what did you need us for? since yk you were trying to get ahold of seungmin earlier too'

'oh right lol oops'

'well i wanted to know if you wanted to come over to my dorm and hang out'

'maybe share some cake or something? perchance??? 🥹'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : sigh i would love to but i'm stuck doing laundry right now and i kinda wanna get it done tonight'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : sorry y/nnie. do you want me to come over tomorrow after practice instead?'

'oh'

'no it's fine haha'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : are you sure?'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : you're typing a little weird now. is something going on?'

'nothing i just feel alone. i miss you guys'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : aww just as clingy as always'

'be quiet'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : we saw each other at practice today did we not? lol'

'yeah but i just wanted to spend some extra time with all of you today'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : why? because we've all been busy lately?'

'well yeah but also because today's special'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : oh yeah?'

'do you actually not know?'

He didn't answer for a few long seconds. You knew that he was probably staring at his screen in confusion while thinking about what he could be missing.

And honestly, picturing that made your heart break just a little bit. Not for him, but for yourself.

'wait did you actually forget? did everyone else forget too?'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : forget what y/nnie? i'm not trying to be mean but i'm not grasping the concept here'

'oh'

'alr'

'nvm then'

'go back to your laundry then felix it's fine if you don't remember, honestly'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : wait nonono pls im sorry what did i say? i didn't mean to be rude'

'Lixie 🫂🤞 <3 : y/nnie please im sorry i didn't mean to do anything to hurt you'

'it's alright. i'm just being overdramatic'

And as soon as he began typing, you dropped the bomb.

'just thought you guys would remember my birthday. everyone's suddenly so busy today lol. i kinda just wanted someone to at least remember'

His text bubble disappeared, and then appeared again. Then, it disappeared again.

He didn't answer after that.

As much as that hurt, at least you had an answer for your parents now. It was still light enough outside to enjoy dinner with them. At least you had them.

You called your parents and told them you were free, so they made arrangements for the restaurant. It was only around 20 minutes away.

5 minutes went by, and you decided to leave early to go meet up with your parents. They didn't live that far outside of Seoul.

It was only a 20 minute walk, so you decided to just take it. It was nice outside anyway. The sun was warm and comforting, and there weren't as many people out as usual.

You had only walked 2 minutes before you received a text.

It was from... Chan?

You still paid attention to your surroundings, but you opened your messages, clicking on the new text he had sent you.

'Channie 🫶🏻 : Y/N, I'm so so sorry. We're all so sorry'

But before you could reply, he sent more. He was typing pretty quickly, as if he were panicked in a way.

'Channie 🫶🏻 : I don't know how we just let it slip our minds like that. I should have known something was up when you kept asking everyone if they wanted to hang out after practice'

'Channie 🫶🏻 : I should have known from the moment you offered to go out for coffee. You even offered to pay. You never do that'

'Channie 🫶🏻 : I'm so sorry Y/Nnie. I'm such an idiot'

'Channie 🫶🏻 : Can I come over? Do you still wanna go grab that coffee? Do you just want to hang out?'

You texted back, heart racing a bit.

'you're busy channie it's okay. i understand, really. and thank you for the offer, but i'm okay. i'm gonna meet up with my parents for some dinner'

'they offered it if none of you guys were up to hanging out, and everyone seemed busy, so'

And just like Felix, his text bubble stuttered as well.

You shut your phone off, putting it back in your pocket. It was only 5:50, 10 minutes until 6. You'd get to the restaurant at around 6:05 or a little later.

Well, at least your parents would be there.

At least they would say something to you.

At least they would make you think...

Happy birthday to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

lowkey felt kinda lonely so i decided to write this lol. got bored and sad at 12 A.M. and saw the perfect request so 🥹🤞 yayay

this isn't proofread so i'm sorry if this is booty guys forgive me pls

pls let me know what you guys want to see in the next part!!! i can try to publish it within the next few days :) been feeling much more motivated to write lately <3

thank you soso much for reading, and i hope you enjoyed this first part!!!

Prentiss walks into the living room with a duffel bag, and looks around for Spencer. "Where is he?"

You nod your head to the bathroom, where Spencer can be heard gagging. "The worst of it has already kicked in. We're taking turns, actually. He usually feels nauseous about five minutes after I do, and vice versa. And he needs to hurry up, because I'm feeling nauseous again!" You yell the last part so Spencer can hear you, and if you didn't know any better, you would swear you heard him tell you to piss off.

"Right, well.. tell him I brought everything he asked for, and I was shocked by the amount of sweatpants he owns. I thought he just wore suits to bed, honestly." Prentiss grins, amused by her own joke, then sets the bag down. "I'll let you two have some alone time now," she says with a wink, and you're not sure if it's because he's still being sick, or because he heard what Prentiss said, but Spencer gags again.

She turns and heads for the door, then pauses, turning back around. "Also, why did neither of you mention that you live in the same apartment building?"

You shrug. "We thought you already knew, plus, we never actually see eachother in the building, so there wasn't any point."

She nods, looking at you skeptically, before heading out, closing the door softly behind her. You hear the tap running and water splashing, before Spencer emerges from the bathroom.

"You look... rough."

"Shut up."

"You know, I don't know when you're planning on learning that no matter how many times a day you tell me to shut up that I'll never do it, but I hope it's soon, because you should really be saving your voice for more important things, like screaming as loud as you can for help when I finally snap and try to murder you."

The two of you stare eachother down, then he just huffs, collapsing down onto the couch. He grabs the duffel bag, pulling out some sweats and a hoodie so he can change out of his not so mysteriously stained shirt and slacks. He gets up and heads into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. It's at this moment that a strong wave of nausea hits you, which is not good at all because to get to the bathroom, you have to go through the bedroom. You shoot up, running over to the door and pounding your fist against it.

"Spencer, open the door, I need to use the bathroom!"

"I'm changing, can't you wait??"

"Spencer, I can't-" heave "-wait. Open the door, please." You clamp a hand over your mouth, silently swearing that if Spencer makes you puke out here, you're going to kill him. Luckily for you, he opens the door, and you bolt past him, not even registering his state of undress.

You emerge a few minutes later, feeling much better. You pass through the bedroom and go into the living room, where Spencer is sitting, fully dressed, on the couch. You plop down beside him, looking ahead at the wall. This is going to be a long week.

By the end of the night, it's evident that you have it worse. For now, anyway. You're more nauseous, you have a complete loss of appetite, and all you can do is sleep. The empathetic side of Spencer can't help but feel bad for you. Any other day, you'd still be the woman who reminds him every day of the things he went through three years ago, but right now, you're just a sick, exhausted woman, feeling vulnerable in front of the person she hates most.

You make what's probably your tenth trip to the bathroom in the past two hours, and, surprising himself, Spencer follows you in. He sits against the wall, watching you lean on the toilet, waiting.

"Why are you here?" You grumble, your voice strained and hoarse from the constant, small but powerful amounts of acid in your throat.

"I've decided to let go of my usual dislike for you, since we're going to be stuck together for a while."

"Dislike is not a strong enough word for what you feel towards me."

He sighs, knowing your not wrong, but he decides not to get into that. "Right now, I feel bad for you, so I'm going to help you feel better. Don't make me regret it." He says, glancing over at you. You look so small, so fragile.

You don't respond, because you're already dry-heaving, wondering what you even did to deserve being this sick. Spencer moves behind you, pulling the loose strands of hair on your head out of the way with one hand, using his other hand to rub up and down your back, trying to provide you some comfort. His touch catches you off guard, but you relax into it, grateful.

When you're done, you lean back into him, resting against his chest. He's definitely not the awkward, scrawny genius you heard he once was. You sigh, closing your eyes. He wraps his arms around you, listening to your breath as it slowly evens out.

After a few minutes, he speaks. "Ready to get up? Or are you going to keep using me as a human pillow?" Although his brain is fighting his facial muscles, he can't help but smile.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Help me up."

Spencer, shifts so he's on his knees, then puts his hands under your arms, pulling you up with him as he stands. He does it with such ease that is surprises you.

"Do you go to the gym or something? Didn't expect that from you." You say, taking a few slow steps to the sink to gargle some water and wash your hands.

Spencer stands next to you, looking at you in the mirror.

"I don't go to the gym. I'm a man, y/n, I come with built in muscles. Plus, you're not as heavy as you seem to think you are."

You roll your eyes, drying your face and hands with a towel. "I don't think I'm that heavy, I've just never seen you lift anything heavy. I guess it just surprised me that you actually have functioning muscles." You smirk, taking note of the offense on Spencer's face.

You walk out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, and into the kitchen, sitting down of the floor. Spencer raises an eyebrow at you.

"I'm hot. The floor is cold. It's refreshing." That seems to keep Spencer's questions at bay, for now. He sits down next to you, staring up at the ceiling.

"...Why do you hate me so much?"

The question catches him off guard. He wasn't expecting you to say anything, let alone that. He slowly looks over at you, and you're already looking at him, not allowing him to dodge the question.

"Same reason you hate me."

"Nope. I hate you because you treat me like shit. I don't treat you like shit, so you can't hate me for that. Why do you hate me?"

He groans, shrugging. "I don't know, okay? I just do. I don't want to talk about this of all things when my throat is as dry as the sahara and my head feels like it's going to fall off my neck.

"When do you expect us to talk about this, then?"

"Not ever, honestly. I quite like this routine we have going on."

"Spencer..." You warn.

"Seriously. Can we talk about this when we're both feeling better and in the right headspace to process words that may or may not sting?"

Despite your reluctance to let this go, he's right. Your head is pounding, so is his, and trying to process a bunch of complicated words right now will be trying to connect your headphones to your phone when the bluetooth is turned off. Never gonna happen.

"I'm tired, let's go to bed." He says.

"Why do we both have to go to bed? What if I'm not tired?"

"Oh, really, you're not tired?" He gives you a look.

"I'm not... but I'm going to go to bed anyway so I can get a good night's rest." You nod, standing up and following him to the bathroom. The two of you get ready for bed before going back into the bedroom.

"So how are we going to do this?" You ask, looking at the bed. Your bed is big enough for two people, yes, but you don't feel like sharing a bed with someone who hates your guts.

"I'll sleep on the couch." He mumbles, already heading for the door.

"Wait. You can't sleep on the couch, not in your current state... we'll share the bed." You huff, knowing you're probably going to regret that later. Spencer shakes his head, looking just as disgusted by the thought as you do, but you're not taking no for an answer.

The two of you get into the bed, trying to create as much distance as possible.

"This really isn't ideal."

"I know, but usually the guest would sleep on the couch. Special guests would get my bed and I'd sleep on the couch."

"But I offered-"

"Now, now, Spencer. It's okay to be wrong sometimes, no one's gonna hold it over your head."

In the darkness, you hear Spencer let out a long exhale, finally settling down. You find a good position and close your eyes, listening to the sound of cars passing by and wind blowing.

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