Minho's POV
I wasn't eavesdropping... Okay, maybe I was a little. But Ryan had this tone, half amused, half older brother trying not to smack a child—that made it hard not to listen in.
"Yah! Elise, wake up!" he bellowed, and I could hear the muffled thud of a pillow being sacrificed. "It's 7:50. You have literally ten minutes to be ready or I'm dragging you down in your pajamas."
From the other side of the wall, I heard a groan, followed by, "Oh my god! Why didn't you knock like a normal person?!"
"I did. Three times. You snore."
That made me smirk. Not because Elise snored. (Though, hilarious.) But because she'd become...part of us. Which still felt weird to admit.
I threw my blanket off, shuffled into my slippers, and made my way toward the bathroom. Travis was already brushing his teeth, half-asleep, while James was trying to make his hair behave.
Twan passed behind me shirtless with a towel slung over his neck, humming something off-key. "Morning, lover boy," he said, slapping my back.
"Morning, idiot," I muttered. We were chaos in the mornings. But it was routine. A weird family kind of chaos. And Elise? She fit into it too easily.
By 7:55, we were all in the kitchen scarfing down toast, eggs, and rice Ryan had cooked, of course—and Elise slid into the chair beside Twan, still half-blinking.
Cute.
What the fuck Minho snap out of it, dumb ass. I'd say to myself as I shook my head, all while stuffing my mouth with bread.
...
We walked to school like always—me, Ryan, and Travis in front, James and Twan trailing behind, Elise in the middle of it all, bouncing between conversations. At some point, she ended up walking beside me.
"Did you really just bring plain bread and peanut butter in your bag?" she asked, side-eyeing me like I'd committed a felony.
"It's efficient." I replied.
"It's depressing."
"Peanut butter on bread slaps."
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, survivalist."
I didn't respond. But she smiled to herself and took another bite of her melon pan.
Classes were boring. PE was tolerable only because I didn't have to participate. The wound on my leg still ached, but not enough to keep me from moving. We were in the locker room when it happened.
Josh passed by our group, slinging his gym bag over his shoulder, eyes darting quickly toward Elise. Then at me. The air shifted. Ryan noticed it first—his jaw tightened as he half-slammed his locker shut. Josh's gaze lingered on Elise for a second too long.
"Hey," he said, voice soft but firm as he spoke to Elise.
"Hey," she replied, blinking. "You heading out?"
"Yeah. Seems like you guys are too," he said, his gaze flicking briefly toward Ryan, then me. No one responded to him—not even a glance.
Elise nodded slowly. "Yeah. Group thing."
"Sounds fun," he replied, tone unreadable. "Take care."
He then shoved his hands in his pockets, and kept walking.
James leaned on Elise, whispering once Josh was out of earshot, "That guy gives off NPC vibes."
"Stop," she whispered back.
Twan raised a brow. "Didn't you and Josh do something recently?"
Elise shrugged. "Yeah, he helped me with my dribbling and all" she replied.
Travis finally looked up, his brow furrowed faintly—but didn't say a word. Ryan didn't say a word. He just looked at me. I said nothing. But my knuckles were white where they clenched around the lock on my bag.
...
By the time we left school, the group was buzzing with Friday energy.
"Overlooking spot," Ryan said, grinning. "It's settled."
"You live with us. That means your vote counts," he added, nodding at Elise.
Before she could answer, Josh passed us again outside the gates. He didn't speak this time—just gave Elise a subtle glance. She shifted her weight awkwardly. Ryan cleared his throat.
James broke the silence. "We still on for snacks at 7/11?"
...
Back at the dorm, everyone split to shower and pack up. Travis double-checked his camera batteries, James was already scrolling through Spotify playlists, and I slipped into my room and stared at myself in the mirror, brushing my hair with my fingers and spraying myself with Maison Margiela's Bubble Bath fragrance.
"This is stupid". I'd say to myself.
I glanced in the mirror. For once, my reflection didn't look like I was trying too hard.
We rolled out by 8 PM sharp. I rode with Ryan and Travis in his Nissan Skyline, and Elise climbed into Twan's Supra with James and Twan himself.
The girls from earlier texted Ryan again "where u guys headed wink wink"—but he didn't reply.
Travis just cackled in the back seat and said, "They're gonna cry when they find out we're preoccupied."
...
7/11 was chaos. Elise dragged three packs of melon pan into her arms like she was stocking for winter. Twan grabbed spicy karaage and banana milk. Ryan bought salmon onigiri, three cans of beer just in case, and way too many matcha sodas.
I stood there holding soba noodles and a bottle of Pocari Sweat, watching Elise compare dorayaki brands like it was a science experiment. "This one has red bean paste. This one has custard. This one has both."
"They're all sugar," I said.
"Shut up and let me have joy."
I shrugged and went to a secluded part of the store where I saw treasure 'hakushika sake'. I looked around before grabbing three bottles as I immediately headed towards the counter to pay. Just so they wouldn't see what I bought. Surprise surprise motherfuckers.
...
We reached the overlook—Akiu Great Falls—just after 9. We didn't go near the falls themselves yet, but parked near the hidden side trail one of Ryan's upperclassmen told us about. It was secluded, still safe, with just enough space for us to set up camp chairs, snacks, and of course—the bottles.
The rest of the night passed in a blur. Games. Laughter. That other group appearing out of nowhere, acting friendly. Girls giggling. One even tossed her hair and smiled at me like we were in a romcom or something. I ignored her.
Because I was busy watching someone else. Someone who kept laughing with her entire face, cheeks puffed, eyes crinkling. Elise. She didn't belong here. Not with us. Not in this stupid campout with borrowed chairs and cheap sake and inside jokes she hadn't earned— And yet, she fit.
Fast forward to the drinking part. Elise raised her paper cup. "To not failing math."
All of us clinked our cups.
One shot.
Two.
Three.
Elise was already giggling.
Travis dared Twan to fake confess to Elise. It was cringe anyways but everyone roared, especially Elise who almost snorted while laughing. Then it was James' turn. He didn't say anything at first. Just looked at Elise and said:
"Elise... I don't fake anything" he said, oddly serious. The laughter faded for a second too long.
Then Elise chugged her drink and said, "Y'all are wild," with a laugh that didn't quite reach her eyes. I didn't laugh. I just watched her.
"Never have I ever kissed someone from school," Ryan said next. I drank. So did James, Twan and Travis.
Elise paused... then drank, too.
She caught me watching.
"Previous school," she mumbled.
I looked away.
...
Later that night, Ryan nudged me. "Let's go grab the extra blanket and flashlights." We walked off, away from the others, toward the car. I followed him without question. Not because he was older. But because he knew how to handle things I didn't want to say out loud.
We talked for a while, we took the long route back to the cars. Around some narrow path, we stopped for a bit, didn't know how many minuted had passed. Then suddenly, Ryan blurted out, knowing exactly what's been on my mind, yet I don't want to admit it.
We were a foot away from each other, near the shadows of a bent tree, he asked, "So what are you gonna do?"
"Nothing," I said quietly. "She's not ready to know. You said it yourself."
Ryan nodded, his face unreadable in the dark. "She deserves to know eventually"
"I know. But what good will it do right now?" I muttered. "She's just starting to get comfortable with us."
I pasued for a moment before continuing "Besides, Josh might already be feeding her his version of it"
Ryan let out a frustrated groan. "If she finds out through him first..."
"She won't" I quickly said.
"You better be right" Ryan replied.
Crunch.
The sound was faint, but we both heard it. A definite rustling.
Ryan looked at me sharply. "You heard that?"
I gave a short nod and immediately turned toward the noise. We crouched low behind the rocks, moving fast but quiet. Not enough for a raccoon or just the wind through trees. It was footsteps, human. After another minute of maneuvering through brush, we came to a clearing... and froze.
There she was. Elise. Talking to some guy from the other group. The one who said she looked familiar. We ducked behind a tree, both of us watching.
"I swear I've seen you before," the guy was saying. "Three weeks ago. There was this party downtown. You were wearing—"
"I think you're mistaking me for someone else," Elise said calmly, though I could see her fingers fidgeting at her side. "I don't go to random parties."
"No, but this one—there was a bonfire. Loud music. The girl I'm talking about was alone for most of the night. Looked like she was looking for someone."
That made me clench my jaw.
Elise blinked. "I'm sorry, but it wasn't me."
The guy stepped a bit closer. "I dunno. Your face is hard to forget."
Ryan moved first, standing tall and stepping into the clearing like it was planned. "Yo."
The guy flinched.
I followed behind, voice sharp. "Everything good here?"
Elise's eyes widened. "Minho—Ryan."
The guy looked between us, then took a step back, raising his hands in surrender. "Hey, I wasn't doing anything, just talking."
"Yeah?" I said flatly. "Talk to someone else."
He glanced at Elise again, mumbled a sorry, and slipped away back into the dark. As soon as he disappeared, I turned to her.
"What the hell are you doing walking around by yourself, huh?"
She stared at me like a deer caught in headlights. "I just needed air. I didn't think—"
"That's the problem," I snapped. "You didn't think."
"I can handle myself," she bit back.
"You shouldn't have to."
We stared at each other for a beat too long. Then Ryan coughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Let's get back. The others are probably wondering where we are." We said nothing else.
But as we walked back, Elise brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, avoiding eye contact, while I walked a step behind her, heart pounding for reasons I didn't want to admit. And Ryan? He looked at me with a knowing smirk that made me want to knock him into the falls.
What the fuck is actually going on...