NINETEEN

Abel wore the briefs she had given him and nothing else but those briefs. Abby could see he still had the six pack from their last comeback and that six pack was getting closer to her. She moved back but ended up hitting a wall. It was the same position she had been in earlier that day. Abel's face was mere inches from hers and he was biting his lips. He gave her a seductive look and she could feel as her panties got wet.

He leaned in close and whispered to her with his deep sexy voice. "If they're wet, why not take them off?"

She started to feel hot all of a sudden.

"If you're hot why not take off all your other clothes as well?" He grabbed a lock of her dark brown hair and wrapped it around his finger.

It was HER hair, not Cain’s blonde hair. She was herself! Shocked, she started feeling herself but instead of feeling the fabric of clothes, she felt warm skin. She was naked!

Abby woke up screaming. She wouldn't have minded if in the dream it was Cain's body instead of hers as it would have made it yaoi but it had been her in her own body. The only reason she had such a dream was because the previous night when she returned from her apartment Abel had been laying down on his bed with only briefs on. He pretended to be asleep but she could tell he really wasn't. He never before slept with only briefs and never without any kind of blanket to cover him, it was obvious he did it on purpose as he knew she was a woman.

She wanted to get back at him for doing such a thing and he was in the perfect position for her to do so. The fact he had his eyes close was also an advantage as he wouldn’t see what was coming to him. And even though she couldn’t really touch anyone or have others touch her, she could still touch someone with her feet. She didn’t think it could harm her but she had been wrong in a way, it wasn’t until later she would realize this.

Standing in just the right spot, she raised her leg and poked Abel’s butt with her feet. "How disappointing. His rear end is as flat as a pancake." She tried to sound disappointed and even sighed at the end for effect.

Abel immediately gasped. "Hey! I can't have it all, can I?!"

He turned around suddenly but as Abby still had her feet on him, she ended up losing her balance. She would have fallen to the floor had it not been for Abel's fast reflexes. He grabbed her by the waist just in time and pulled her up. He however hadn’t realized the blanket that was under him had fallen on the floor when he turned and because of this Abby slipped on it which then caused her to fall on top of him.

They were in a similar position as the first night when she tried turning him around to get him to stop snoring but this time it was worse. Abel wasn't wearing a pajama like before, he had only briefs and as Abby had just gotten out of the shower, she was only wearing a robe with briefs underneath. The robe however became undone during the fall and that in turn caused skin to skin contact between them. Had it not been for Cain being taller than Abel they would have most likely even touched lips but instead Abel's lips were on her neck. If anyone would have walked in at that exact moment they would have thought the two were gay lovers.

The skin to skin contact made Abby feel the need to take another shower so she ran off to the bathroom but the door was locked. Someone else was already taking a shower and it meant she had to wait.

"Whoever is out there can come join me if they want. The hot water will be turned off soon so I think it'll be better to share a shower while the water is still hot." It was Lucas's voice, he had heard when she tried to open the door.

"Just hurry up then." There was no way she would take a shower with someone else.

"I just got in though."

"Well guys aren't supposed to take that long anyways so just wash and rinse fast."

Abby had to practically beg him but it worked as Lucas soon came out of the shower and she was able to take her shower with hot water, just the way she liked it. It was a surprise she hadn't dreamt about Lucas as well considering he was the last person she saw before going to sleep.

It was a good thing Abel wasn’t in the room when she woke up, otherwise it would have been awkward for her to tell him she dreamt about him. She however found his absence odd as they both usually woke up around the same time. She wondered if anyone had even heard her scream. The clock on the nightstand said it was 7am and they were all usually up by that time but considering how none of them had barged into the room, it could have only meant they were still asleep.

She wasn’t sure what they were doing that day, all she knew was that the group had an activity to film. Since their comeback was approaching they had to start recording shows. Even though such a thing worried her somewhat, knowing they already recorded the music video relieved her as she didn’t think she would have been able to do such a thing.

She was zipping her hoodie when someone walked in. Startled, she almost screamed but then saw it was Abel. He had a big bouquet of flowers with him so she hadn't been able to see it was him until he peered from behind them.

"Flowers for you m'lady." He stretched the bouquet out to her.

It was a mix of lavender colored roses, purple carnations, purple stock and lavender alstroemeria. Abby knew just how pricey such an arrangement was as her mom used to own a flower shop when she was growing up. "They’re lovely but why are you giving them to me?" She couldn’t think of a reason why he would give her flowers, it wasn’t her birthday or any kind of special occasion. And the fact he was giving them to her while she was a guy only made it awkward. She wondered if the reason why he woke up early was so he wouldn’t be seen with a bouquet of flowers by any of the members.

"My grandma said the best way to win over a woman's heart is with flowers and a smile so here are your flowers and here is that smile."

If Abby had a weakness when it came to Abel it would be his smile and of course his deep voice and Australian accent, then there were those freckles of his. Well really she just had a lot of weaknesses when it came to him. He was her ideal type after all but that smile of his was special enough it could make even the worst of her days brighter. Just his smile alone was enough to light up a whole room and it was why his nickname Abel sunshine suited him so well.

She had just taken a hold of the bouquet when the door to the room flung open.

"Do you guys have a red hat I can borrow? I'm having a bad hair day but I want a hat that will match with my outfit." Simon who had just interrupted their little moment looked around the room until his eyes landed on the bouquet of flowers Abby held. "Woah. Pretty flowers dude. Did you get them for your girlfriend?"

"Uhh...yea." She nodded and smiled awkwardly.

"Don't lie. Your girlfriend was the one that got them for you."

Abby’s mouth fell open at hearing Abel ruin her perfect lie. He even had the audacity to wink at her afterwards.

"Wow. She must really like you then. Don't you think you should give her something in return?” Simon rummaged through their closet as if it were his own.

"Nah. Abel was only lying. I found them in the trash. I should probably take them back though. They reek." With this Abby stuck her tongue out at Abel but then noticed his saddened look and felt bad. "I'm just kidding. I wouldn't throw them away. They're too pretty for that. I would however advise the person that bought them to never do so again as they are only throwing their money away." She stared at Abel as she said this. She didn’t really want to hurt his feelings but she also didn't want to give him false hopes. She thought he would be better off with someone that could actually like him back and that was also worthy of him.

"Found one! Can I borrow it? How does it look?" Simon had the hat on before even being told he could borrow it.

"All that hat needs is a yellow letter A and you'll look like Alvin the chipmunk."

The fact Abel doubled over laughing after saying such a thing only made Abby want to beat him. He had after all made fun of another member. She still remembered how Abel also had fluffy cheeks when the group first debuted. It wasn’t until he lost a bit of weight that he got his sharp jawline. She wasn’t sure which look she liked on him more as he looked good either way but what she didn’t like was when people made fun of others. As a kid she had been bullied for her bigger than normal eyes and knew just how hurtful words could be. It was why she never tolerated any bullying, even if it was between friends.

"You didn't have to say that to him you meanie!” She threw a shower slipper at Abel as soon as Simon left.

"Oww! That hurt!” He rubbed his back where the slipper had hit him. “And it's not like I'm the only one! Cain makes fun of him too and so do the other members! It's just our way of joking around as friends!"

“That hurt?! Well how about his feelings?! You really don’t think those could hurt too?! You and the others may only see it as a joke but do you even know how he feels about such a thing?” Idols being bullied by others in the same group wasn’t unheard of, she only hoped Adam wasn’t one of those groups otherwise she would be really disappointed in them.

“Fine. I won’t do it again. I’m sorry. I can tell I’ve let you down but I’ll try to be considerate of other members' feelings from now on.”

Satisfied by his response, Abby went ahead to the kitchen to look for a vase to put the flowers in but as there weren’t any she had to settle with the biggest cup she could find. She arranged the flowers in the blue plastic cup while she hummed but didn’t realize what song she was humming until Joel walked into the kitchen and pointed it out to her.

"Hey, we’re leaving soon. Oh? I didn’t know you liked Elvis. Can't Help Falling In Love is a nice song though. Are you perhaps falling in love with your girlfriend?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Of course not." She already learned her lesson and didn’t plan on making the same mistake twice.

"Why are you denying it? I can see it in your face. You love your girlfriend."

“Sheesh. You sure are delusional, aren't you?” She scoffed at him and went back to her room for her black bag. Just the fact she didn’t know where they were going made her more anxious as she wasn’t sure what to expect. The whole thing was meant to be a surprise for all the members with the exception of Joel who as the leader had been allowed to pick the place. He however wouldn’t tell her where they were going even when she tried to bribe him with a bag full of snacks the previous night.

"Is the place we’re going to near a hospital?" They had been in the van for over an hour when Abby asked this. Were they still in Seoul, she wouldn’t have needed to ask such a question as she had already memorized all the hospital locations within the city but they were further out than she had ever been. They were past her limits and the further they went, the worse she felt.

As Joel was in the same van as her, she figured she could at least get an accurate answer from him. The other two members with them were Abel and Lucas but the one who sat next to her was Abel. She however didn't mind as he knew not to touch her and it was all thanks to his grandma that told him about her. Normally she didn't like people telling other people her business but in this case she had been grateful.

"Are you okay?" Abel looked at her worriedly.

If anyone there could understand her it would be him but even he didn't know all the details of her disabilities. He hadn't known her long enough to know that as an Agoraphobe whenever she went out somewhere she had to know if there was a hospital nearby. By knowing there was one close to where she would be was like an assurance to her. An assurance that everything would be fine because if an occasion arose, a hospital would be close by to take her in. For someone like her who constantly felt like she was in danger, knowing she could be taken care of was important.

"Why? Are you feeling sick? Do you need to go to a hospital?" Joel signaled for the driver to pull over. Once the van stopped, he took his seatbelt off and went to sit in between her and Abel.

The back row was big enough to sit three people but not enough to give them much space in between them, it was why the leader’s arms touched hers as he leaned in close to look at her. Even if she wanted to move away, she couldn’t, not without hitting her head on the window that was to her side.

“Woah dude, back up. We don’t know if he’s sick.” Abel pulled Joel away. If there was anything he could do now that he knew about Abby was to keep the members away from her. And not because it made him feel jealous but because he knew she didn’t like the contact with others. He already started to regret some of the things he had done when he didn’t know about her and this was his way of making it up to her.

Abby appreciated the gesture but knew the only way to get rid of the worried leader was to answer his question. She didn’t really have an answer, at least not one she could give him but that didn’t mean she couldn’t come up with one. She noticed the other van with the rest of the members had stopped behind them and that meant she was not only holding back half the group but the group as a whole. Even though she wasn't sure what they were going to do, she knew it was something important for both the group and the fans. "Uhh...you know me.” Her gaze ping-ponged from Joel to Abel. “I'm just being over dramatic as always. I had a migraine earlier but I took a pill so I’m okay now. I was only worried it would return."

Abby could tell Abel didn’t believe her but it seemed like Joel did.

"Shouldn't you have stayed at the dorms then?"

The thought of coming up with an excuse to not go with them had occurred to her but she had quickly dismissed it. She didn't want Cain to become a disappointment to his group members and fans just because of her. She knew if he were still in his own body he wouldn’t have stayed behind and it was why she was determined to go. "I already said I'm fine so never mind. Tell the driver to keep driving."

"Well if you say so." Joel went back to his seat and signaled the driver to go.

They had just passed a sign for the next exit when Abby felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her hoodie, it was a text from Abel. She turned to look at him and opened her mouth to say something but figured he must have had a reason to text her so she opened the text instead.

She wasn’t sure what he meant but then remembered not having yet asked him if he was a psychic like his grandma.

He turned to look at her but as she was taking a long time to type out her text, he scooted closer and leaned in to read as she typed.

<Relax. I'm not. It's just my Agoraphobia acting up. It's hard to explain but needing to know if a hospital is near a place I'm going sorta helps my anxiety a bit. So it's not like I actually NEED to go to a hospital, I just sort of need one to be nearby. Get what I mean? You probably don't, no one ever does...Anyways, can you answer my question now? I'm really curious to know if you're a psychic.>

People often told her she was lucky to not be homebound anymore but just because her Agoraphobia was no longer to those extremities, it didn’t mean it couldn’t regress. The pandemic had been proof of that as it was then she started to once again keep herself locked in and just like that all the progress she had made was lost. She needed to start all over except now she had another obstacle, her Germaphobia. It was a new fear for her, one that was harder to beat. It made her think perhaps the reason why the twig had “chosen her” was because it felt bad for her.

<I’m not like my grandma if that’s what you’re thinking but my mom and sisters are. The psychic ability is only inherited in females. The only thing I'm good at is being able to tell if people are lying but that's pretty much it. I however am not able to know what the truth is, I can only tell when something is a lie. That's why I was suspicious of you this whole time but I also didn't know what exactly I was suspicious of.>

<Cool! Sounds like something that would come in handy!>

He didn't just want her to not lie to him so he wouldn't have to wonder what the truth was but he wanted her to trust him so she could rely on him. He wanted to be the shoulder she could lean on and the shoulder she could cry on. Although of course he preferred if there was nothing that made her cry but he knew crying was human nature and therefore inevitable so he wanted to be the one to comfort her when she did. To be the one to wipe away the tears from her beautiful face and make her smile.

<Yup. I knew it was a lie from the beginning. The whole time I just wanted to know why you would lie about such a thing when Adam members aren’t even allowed to date yet. It made me wonder if perhaps you wanted to rebel or maybe even hide something, like being gay. Obviously I know now that you aren’t because you're not Cain.>

Abby giggled at this. It seemed like both of them had been thinking the same thing. She thought he was gay while he thought the same of her. It however somewhat saddened her to know that none of her favorite ships were real. One of her favorite ships had actually been Cain and Abel although she shipped Cain with Josiah more.

She already knew what his answer would be but still wanted to mess with him.

<Huh? Of course not! I may look like one now but I can assure you I'm all woman!>

She had of course only tried to tease him so to see such a reply from him made her jaw drop.

<It's ajumma to you little boy!>

<Hey! I'm not that little and you're not that old to be called an ajumma!>

Abby didn't respond to his text as she got a text from Cain just then. She had to exit out of their messages so she could open up Cain’s.

<Heyyy. I was originally planning on surprising you but I thought you might be feeling nervous about where you're going right now so I wanted to tell you I'll be there as well. The makeup artist you guys have called in sick and since none of the members of the new boygroup have anything in their schedule, I'll be Adam's makeup artist for the day!>

Having Abel around especially now that he knew the truth had definitely helped calm her anxiety but just knowing that Cain would be there as well already made her feel somewhat better. And instead of dreading where they were going, she started to feel excited and couldn't wait to get there to see Cain.