THIRTEEN

It was barely her first night at the dorms and Abby couldn't sleep because of Abel’s loud snores. Not even putting on ear plugs helped block out the noise. She wondered how Cain put up with such a thing and decided to text him. It wasn’t that late as it was barely going to be 11 so there was a chance of him still being awake.

She had barely started to scroll on her Instagram feed when he replied.

<Yup. Your neighbor's dog has been barking all night and won’t shut up.>

It looked like neither of them had been able to sleep.

<Eww! No! He’s like a brother to me. Have you ever not slept with a younger sibling before?>

<Can’t because I’m the youngest.>

Her sister was 11 years older than her and moved out when she was only 7. And her brothers were close to her age but because of this they always fought, at least when they were younger.

<How?>

<He's sleeping on his back now, isn't he? He's a back sleeper and that's actually one of the reasons why he snores. So if you want him to stop just roll him over. Have him on his stomach instead of on his back. This way his face will be planted on the pillow and his snores will be muffled so it won't be nearly as loud.>

<He's not a light sleeper, is he?>

She was afraid she would end up waking him up.

<Nope. He isn't. He does however sometimes do things in his sleep though.>

She wasn't sure what he meant by that but proceeded to do what he suggested. All she needed was to put on the gloves Cain had given her and she was ready.

Abby had barely managed to get him on his side when she felt a hand grip her arm. She didn’t even have a chance to react when she was suddenly pulled down by Abel. It surprised her to see he was still asleep. The fact he didn’t feel her weight on him proved he was no light sleeper. She tried to pull away but the harder she tried, the harder he held on. He had even managed to wrap his arms around her waist, it was as if he were hugging her. She had no other choice but to wake him up. “Abel!” She whispered yelled so as to not wake the other sleeping members but all she got from him was a moan and some squirming. “Abel!” This time she yelled louder while shaking her arm which he still had a hold on.

“Huh? Cain? What are you doing here?” Surprised to find someone in bed with him, Abel tried to sit up but then felt the weight that was on him. “Dude, you’re heavy. Get off me.”

"That's what I've been trying to do but you're the one that has a tight hold on me."

"Oh. Sorry." Seeing he was indeed doing so, he let go. “Why aren’t you in your own bed though? Don’t tell me there was a spider like last time. I’ve already told you spiders can’t do anything. They’re probably more scared of you than you are of them.”

The fact Cain was afraid of spiders still surprised Abby. Had she not seen for herself the big freak out he had over a spider in her kitchen the first week they lived together, she wouldn’t have believed it. Just the memory of him standing on top of the counter yelling out her name made her chuckle. She had to quickly clear her throat once she noticed Abel staring at her. "You were snoring and I wanted to get you on your stomach so that your snores would be muffled by the pillow."

Finally free from his hold, Abby was able to look through the dresser that was Cain’s. She had already taken a shower right before getting into bed but needed to take another otherwise she wouldn’t be able to sleep.

"What are you doing?" As she had turned on the room’s light, Abel had to put a hand over his eyes just to stare at her while she held up a pair of black Versace briefs.

One thing Abby noticed was that Cain had very few boxers but a lot of briefs. She always thought of him as more of a boxers kind of guy so it surprised her to see the opposite. It made her wonder which of the two Abel preferred "I'll answer your question if you answer mine."

"Fine." He let out a yawn and plopped himself back into bed.

"Which do you prefer, briefs or boxers?" If she really wanted to know it was as easy as looking through his drawers whenever he wasn't around but she wasn't a sasaeng and she didn't want to cross that line either.

"Uhhh...should I sleep with one eye open tonight?"

"Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything creepy. I just wanted to know because there's a buy one get one free sale going on right now for boxers and briefs. I'm getting myself briefs but I wanted to know which you would prefer so I could give you the free ones." It wasn't completely a lie as she had been wanting to buy some new briefs for herself. Wearing someone else's used ones just didn’t feel hygienic to her. And if she could choose a pair to give to Abel as a gift then all the better.

"Oh. Cool. I'm actually fine with either. I wear them both equally depending on my mood."

He had answered her question and now it was her turn to answer his. "I'm going to take a shower." She always preferred taking them first thing in the morning but ever since she became a Germaphobe she started to take them at any time of the day so long as she felt dirty. Because just one a day no longer seemed like enough to her. She knew washing her hair often was bad but it was why she wore shower caps for those extra showers. Yet washing her hands as much as she did was also bad and she still did it, there was just no way around it.

Whenever she looked down at Cain’s hands was when she felt the most guilty. They were so different from her own, his were beautiful while hers were so dry from washing them too much that they would get to the point where they would crack and start to bleed. Because of this she had to put on hand lotion almost as often as she washed her hands but not even that fully helped. She didn’t want Cain’s hands to become like hers and so as to not damage them to the extent of her own, she tried to shorten her showers as much as she could.

Abby had just turned off the shower when she heard someone yawning inside the bathroom. "Who's in here?" The shower curtains prevented her from seeing but whoever it was, she could hear they were peeing.

"Cain? Was that you who was taking a shower? I thought you hated taking showers at night. You always prefer taking them in the morning."

It was a fact she wasn’t aware of. Even though both her and Cain had discussed their habits and routines, it was impossible for them to tell each other everything. And just like he had forgotten to tell her such a thing, she was sure she too had forgotten to tell him things.

"Lucas, is that you?" It had sounded like his voice, her third favorite member.

"Yea..."

"Well I was sweaty so I couldn't go to sleep. I thought a shower might help." It was the only excuse she could come up with and she hoped he would believe it.

"Oh...Ok."

"Did you open the door so you could get in to pee?" She was certain she locked the door but it was possible that she just didn’t fully push it all the way.

"No. I opened it just so I could take a peek at whoever was taking a shower. Of course I opened it so I could pee. Why else would I? You were taking a long time and I couldn’t hold it in anymore."

She had never imagined Lucas as the sarcastic type but it seemed she wasn’t just learning more about Cain but also more about the other members. "Well you're done now, aren't you? So would you mind leaving?" She was sure they had all already seen each other at least partially naked but she didn't see a need for him to be there while she changed.

“Chill dude. I was going to anyway. It’s not like I really wanted to see you naked. I just came in to take a piss and since I already did, I’m out. Peace bro.”

As soon as Abby heard the door shut, she grabbed a towel and got out. It had been a close call and she thanked god they had shower curtains. Not only that but had he not yawned at the precise moment she turned off the water, she would have ended up seeing him while he was still doing his business. And as much as all of the members were good looking, seeing them peeing as she came out from the shower was something she didn’t want happening.

It was close to 4am when she ended up going to sleep. It wasn’t that the shower had taken her that long but she had a job that needed to be finished. The deadline wasn’t until later that day but as practice was still at that time, finishing it and submitting it before going to bed was her only option. Having to wake up at 7am left her with only three hours to sleep.

Alarms were usually enough to wake Abby up but not that morning, at least not the conventional kind. It wasn’t until she felt someone jumping on the bed that she woke up, it was her human alarm, Josiah. Despite being almost 20 years old he looked more like a little kid waking up his parents but with his arms flapping about, he looked even more so like a baby chick trying to fly.

“Hyung! It’s morning! Time to wake up!”

He was the cutest being she had ever seen that she couldn’t help but smile at him. “Good morning Fennie. Thanks for waking me up.” She called him by the nickname Cain had given him as he looked like a fennec fox.

"You must have slept really late. You didn't hear the alarm go on, did you? Because if you didn't then I guess you also didn't hear the text you got just a few minutes ago. Who is other me? Are you perhaps dating someone?"

At hearing this Abby quickly grabbed the phone that was on top of the nightstand. She hoped he hadn't read whatever message she had gotten as “other me" was what she saved her phone number as, it was Cain. "You didn't read the text message, did you?"

"Of course not. I just saw the notification on the screen. So who is it that’s texting you so early in the morning?"

"Uhh...just a friend with the same name, it's why I saved him as other me." It looked like Josiah believed her as he nodded and left the room without asking any more questions.

Once Abby unlocked the phone with facial recognition, she was able to see it was indeed a text from Cain. It was the only unread text she had.

The café was near EVE and it was one he and the members frequented. It was the perfect place to work at since not only would he be near Abby but he would also be able to run into her whenever she went with the group. And not only did he want to see how she was doing but also how she got along with the guys. He knew it would take time for her to adjust but he was willing to help her any way he could.

She didn't think it was necessary for her to give him permission as she had already told him her body was his until they were able to switch back and that meant he could do whatever he wanted. All she asked of him was to act like her when needed and to tell her when something directly involved her like family matters.

<Won't it be a problem if someone that knows you were to see you working at a café though? I mean, I’m okay with acting like you in front of other people that aren’t your parents...>

The only way it could be a problem is if she knew more than a handful of people but she didn't. Most of her life there in Korea had been spent inside her apartment so she doubted anyone would recognize her.

She doubted she would. Going to the EVE Entertainment building had actually been a dream of hers for a long time but she had only ever wanted to go see the idols and not actually be one.

When the two black vans arrived Abby wasn’t sure which one to take or even who to sit next to. Cain had told her it didn't really matter as they all tended to change seats often. So really she just needed to think smart and analyze each of the members. She had to eliminate them one by one depending on how likely they were to want to cuddle or have any kind of physical contact. The first one out was of course Josiah as he was the closest to Cain. And with that elimination came the elimination of three others as she very well couldn’t get on the same van as the maknae and not expect him to want to switch seats with whoever she ended up sitting next to. That left her with the choice of Joel, Seth and Abel. Out of the three Joel was the most serious, or at least he appeared to be. She hadn’t yet gotten to know the muscular leader much.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive but it was really no surprise considering how their entertainment company had to be close to their dorms. Abby was about to get off first as she had sat by the door but then felt someone push her from behind, it was Abel.

“Move. I have to take a piss."

She moved to the side to let him pass but wished he would have just told her so without having actually touched her. The first thing she planned to do once inside was take off the gray hoodie she was wearing. She was sure she had gotten more germs from having sat on the van but that was why she had taken a second set of clothes to change into. It was the best she could do as wiping down the seats of the van was not an option.

They all had dance practice while Abby sat on a chair against the wall. She realized that just watching them would help her improve her dancing and taking that opportunity, she paid close attention. In particular she watched Abel and Lucas as they were both lead and main dancers of the group. But even though Lucas was the better dancer, her eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to Abel. There was just something special about him. Even though his moves weren’t as showy, he made dancing seem easy. The way he moved so perfectly to the music made it seem almost as if it had been made just for him.

She had been watching him for almost an hour when all of a sudden she felt a strong abdominal pain. It almost felt like a cramp but it couldn’t have been as she was supposed to be a guy at the moment. But as she remembered the date it was, it just seemed like too much of a coincidence. Both that day and the day for her period were the same. She didn’t think it would be possible for her to get her period while in Cain's body but the persisting cramps made her question herself.

She had to check just in case. She was wearing gray sweats after all and didn't want any blood to show through if she really had gotten her period. She knew if that was the case she would need to get pads. There was however no way she could go out to buy them while being a guy. Her only option were the women’s restrooms as they usually had dispensers that sold them.

"Woah there. Are you even seeing where you're going?" It was Ryu from ZiniU, her bias. She caught her just as she was about to go inside the women's restroom. Not only that but she held her from the arm and she had just come out of the restroom.

"Did you wash your hands?" Abby noticed there was no wetness on her grip and really hoped she had just dried them off.

"Uh. What kind of a question is that? Anyways, I only went inside to check on my makeup."

Her answer meant she hadn't and as Abby had taken off the hoodie from earlier, she was left wearing only a white short sleeve shirt. She had another change of clothes but they wouldn’t help her considering how it was her bare arm that Ryu had a hold on and not clothes that could be taken off. There was only one thing she could do. "Are there any showers here?"

"Of course, but they're not where you were going." The tall blonde girl tapped her feet as she blew a bubble with the gum she was chewing.

It didn't seem like she would tell her where they were as it was something Cain was supposed to already know. There was just no use for her to stay there so she yanked her arm from her grasp and continued onto the men’s restroom which was right next door. She couldn't get pads from there but she could still wash her arm and even just check to see if she had indeed gotten her period.

There was not a single spot of red. But even though she hadn't gotten her period it didn’t mean Cain hadn't. He was in her body after all and her body was used to getting periods that time of the month but he had no idea of that and he had told her he was going to work. Worried he would end up getting a spot on his clothes while he was at the café and knowing it would be embarrassing for him, she decided to text him while hoping it wasn’t yet too late.

It was embarrassing for her to send such a text and even more so to actually have him do such a thing but he had to know.

<Oh. Ok.>

It took only a few minutes for Abby to receive another text from Cain but those few minutes felt like an eternity to her. She was worried and scared that he would actually have to go through such an experience.

Those four words could have only meant one thing and that was that he had indeed gotten her period.

<You're working at the café, right? If you are, check to see if they have a machine that sells pads. It should be inside the women's restroom. Tampons might feel too weird for you so definitely go with the pads. If they don't have a machine that sells them or they ran out then just go to the nearest convenience store and get a size small but with wings.>

<Wings? Am I going to fly or what?>

Luckily for Cain the cafe had restrooms that sold them so there was no need for him to leave his workplace. He didn't think a need to get pads would have been a good excuse for his boss especially since it was barely his first day on the job. He only hoped to get the interview at EVE soon. He knew he would have more liberty there as a makeup artist than as a waitress at a cafe.