It was surprising to Naty how early she had woken up. That was until she realized that she was on a different coast and so her waking up "early" was actually her waking up three hours later than normal. She looked over to her phone to immediately go over the messages of the group chat. She added her status as alive and well.

Naty wished she could tell them what happened the night before with Tara and Ashley. The thought of them made her gut twist with anxiety. She decided before bed that she would stay the duration of the trip without making any fuss. With effort, Naty decided to move her mindset into a position of gratefulness. She was in a different state, in a beautiful hotel, and going to see an incredible concert. All of which free! She had to appreciate it.

A bitter sting reminded her of the twisting disappointment that coursed through her veins. The fantasy of a trip with Bang Chan was dead. Her mind went through the information that had been unloaded onto her the evening before. The first that tugged on her mind was that Chan had missed his flight for her. Equal parts of butterflies and anxiety swam through her at just that fact. Naty had no idea that he was missing his flight to talk to her but it did make her feel special that he thought their conversation decent enough to do so—though it was being used against her currently.

The other information was that airport photo scandal. She thought it had been so low-level it wouldn't get his team's attention. The photo itself only had twenty thousand likes! Naty wondered if Chan had been able to see it or what he thought of it. She did think it was a lovely picture and it was still her phone wallpaper—though it was being used against her currently.

The last bit of information that stood out to her was the fact that they were attempting to "smuggle" her in. She didn't gas herself up too much. There were others on the list of contraband with her. What did make her so curious was that she seemed to be the only individual they made their stand for. Ashley and Tara kept referring to "the Kids," meaning the whole eight members of Stray Kids seemed to want her to be present.

Naty wondered what that could mean. She didn't delight herself enough to imagine that she was special in any way. The only thing she could imagine was that they—obviously—knew that Chan wanted her there and so had his back. He had probably invited many other people but Naty was the only one that had agreed to come. It was that fact alone that made them take their stand. They wanted Chan to have a friend there to watch their performance. That was the only thing that made sense to her.

Ugh, but Chan was so adorable!

Her mind replayed seeing him at the airport and the car ride to the hotel. He was cuter than she recalled. Perhaps it was simply that seeing him on a phone screen did not live up to the full thing. She had avoided watching too much of Chan's room since meeting him in person for that very reason. He was just so cute!

Though Naty had no hope of alone time with him, she knew she could still enjoy her trip and seeing him perform on stage. There was always hope for time to hangout the next time there was a hiatus. Until then, Naty had to enjoy her time in California…which meant getting on better terms with Tara and Ashley. They were just doing their jobs and she couldn't fault them for that. She decided she would make it her mission to be on their good side for the remained of her trip.

Knock, knock.

Naty got up from the bed immediately. The only person it could be was Tara or Ashley or hotel staff with her clothes. She rushed to the door to avoid keeping them waiting. With a big smile she opened the door, "Good mor—"

It was Bang Chan.

"Good morning," he smiled happily before looking down at her pajamas, "Oh, sweet. Aren't they so comfy?"

"You aren't supposed to be here," Naty felt her body twisting in opposite directions.

The man let out a deep sigh, "Can I come in? I have a few minutes and I'd like to apologize for everything that happened last night."

Naty knew this would get her on even worse terms with Tara and Ashley but she could not deny seeing Chan. She stepped aside for him to walk into the room but to her surprise he grasped her into a tight embrace that made her melt into his arms. She only had a second of thought to shut the door completely before wrapping her arms around him and returning the tight hug.

It was better than she had remembered.

The nurturing feeling swam its way through each limb to fight off the anxiety that had taken over her. Chan was warm and comfortable and, most of all, safe. She felt as if no consequence laid out for her was really that bad. Nothing was bad in Chan's arms. She felt almost completely at home. Plus, he smelled so good!

After a moment Chan pulled away with a shy smile that made him actually look like he was five, "I'm sorry. I just…wanted to do that at the airport but you know…Fred."

"Yeah, Fred. And Ashley and Tara," Naty nervous laughed, still getting the feeling back in her feet that had been completely swept.

"Oh…yeah. They came together," Chan shook his head as he walked further into the hotel room. He paused at the sight of it, "Oh, this is disappointing. Your original room was much larger than this."

"How is that possible?" Naty looked around, "This is the loveliest hotel room I've ever been in and the bed is the most comfortable. I'm in heaven!"

"Oh, the beds are nice," he grinned. He looked down at it with a small laugh.

"What's so funny?" she frowned.

"It's nothing. It just looked like you barely slept in it," he motioned to one side still being tucked in.

"I was really tired. When I'm tired I move around a lot less," Naty looked down to avoid meeting his eyes.

"Do you mind if I?" he motioned to the bed, "I promise I just showered and these are all fresh clothes!"

She laughed, "Of course! Go on!"

Just as she wanted to the night before, Chan did a belly flop onto the bed that made him bounce twice, "Wow! This bed is quite nice!"

"Let me try it out," she did her own version of a belly flop was able to bounce the both of them once.

"Han and Changbin have been doing this since we got here. I haven't gotten a chance to try," Chan smiled to himself before looking a bit more serious, "I have some explaining to do."

"Just a little bit," she lifted her fingers to show a small inch between them.

The man rolled onto his back and let out a heavy sigh, "Our schedule's been pretty hectic and we haven't had much time to see any of our friends. Without me knowing, the Kids decided to invite some people so that we could catch up. It's nothing we haven't done before but staff has been extra cautious. I immediately told them no but then…they convinced me that I should try to invite you. We all thought it was innocent enough. We had done this before! But staff really…yeah. They're not happy."

"They said they can't have a scandal break out right now and threatened to call me a sasaeng if anything slips," Naty frowned, touching along the comfortable fabric of the bed.

Chan rolled onto his side which brought him closer to her than she expected, "I am so sorry. I really didn't think it would be this much of an issue. I don't want you to feel any pressure or stress from being here. I want you to be here. I want you to see the show but if this is too much…"

He trailed off as if he didn't want to say what he was already implying. She shook her head, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I know we won't get to hang out but I'm just happy to be here and happy for the chance to see you perform."

"You're even better than I remember, Naty," the smile on his face made her feel as though she had fallen into a million silk clouds. He looked to her with sparkling eyes, "Have you been keeping up with Stray Kids?"

"I heard your new album!" she grinned at the way his face lit up, "Wow. Just an absolute masterpiece. My favorite album I've heard in a very long time. Every song was incredible and complimented each other so well. As far as Chan's Room or any other stuff…"

He frowned, "You haven't been watching Chan's Room?"

"I've seen some!" she tried to explain, "It's just difficult watching you talk that way. I got to experience the real thing and it just made me wish to talk in person again, you know. But my followers keep me updated enough without me needing to ask."

"What have they mentioned?" he teased.

"The dating scandals," she smirked.

"Oh, I am NOT dating anyone. That is just a ridiculous rumor. Right now, I only have friends," his eyes pointed in her direction and she took it to imply that she was the example of such friends.

"I know," she couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed though still happy to be among the lucky ones that considered themselves as such, "I told them last night. We're just friends. They don't really care though. Just like they won't care if they see you in here with me."

Chan rolled onto his back again, "They really said they'd call you a sasaeng?"

"Yeah," she rolled onto her back too, "They were pretty tough. I decided though…I'm going to get on their good side and try to fix what's happening here. I hope to make good friends with them so the next time I see one of your shows they won't be so harsh."

Chan looked to her with a shy smile, "You want to come to another show? You haven't even been to the first! You don't know if you'll even like it!"

"You'll be on stage. I know I'll love it," Naty grinned.

A small, nervous laugh left him that she couldn't help but to admire. Naty wondered how someone could be a sexy Idol and a cute guy at the same time. Some people were just magic, she supposed.

"That means we have to be on good behavior for the rest of my time here," Naty looked up to the ceiling.

"Right, right," Chan didn't sound so convincing but reluctantly he sat up, "I should probably get going before they realize I'm gone."

Naty stood up with him, "I'm really happy you came to visit."

His hand reached out to her arm softly, "I'm really happy you're here."

He turned to walk to the door, giving her enough time to inwardly scream at the wonderful contact he had given her. At the door they paused for a moment before giving each other a short, yet still wonderful, embrace. She let out a soft sigh, "I'll see you tonight."

"Don't be late," he winked and with that he was gone.