Tao shook the man next to him furiously. "Krisit'stimetogetupwalethefuckupnothtetimetoplaygetup!"

Kris rubbed his eyes but didn't open them. Tao grabbed pants quickly off the floor and tossed them at Kris' face.

"Wha? Tao what is.." He opened his eyes and saw the man in the doorway, "oh shit."

"Oh shit is right. I repeat, what the fuck are you doing here?"

Kris slipped his jeans on under the sheet and and crawled out of the bed. He held up his hands and took a step foreward, trying to show he didn't want to cause any trouble.

"Look, Tao called me last night and I ca.." His words were cut off by fist connecting with his stomach.

Chen shook out his hand as Tao jumped up to grab Kris, who was leaning forward with his hands on his knees.

"Tao please put on some pants," Chen half-laughed as he entered thhe room closing the door behind him. "No need to alert the other two."

Kris stood, "Ow, fucker what was that?"

Tao let go of the taller boy and set out to find a pair of jeans from his dresser. He felt himself wanting to laugh out of sheer relief that it was just Chen.

"I told you that the next time I saw you out of the public eye I was gonna punch you in the stomach. How I was to know that I would ever get such a golden opportunity?" at that all three boys laughed.

"That was eight months ago! How did you even?" Kris said.

"Speaking of how?" Chen waived a hand at Kris instead of elaborating his question with words.

"Call, car, window."

"I do not miss that," Tao said from the bed where he was now sitting fully dressed.

"What?" the two asked in unison.

"Your conversations sound like bad cell reception. You leave out half of your words," they shot eachother a look and Kris laughed, "or all of them."

Chen laughed and made crazy gestusres with hands in Kris' direction. Kris returned the mock sign language and earned himself a pillow to the side of the face.

"It's like when parents spell things out infront of little kids," Chen picked the pillow off the ground and lobbed it back at Tao.

"Yeah except this toddler isn't tired he is h-u-n-g-o-v-e-r," Kris joked.

"UGH," Tao flopped backwards on the bed and the group laughed again.

They stayed there for a minute or two before Kris spoke.

"Are the other's up? Shit, when does the manager get here? He isn't here is he? Where are my keys?" He began to turn in a circle patting his pockets

"Yeah they're up. Manager isn't coming today. Tao didn't tell you? We have today off, finally."

Kris spun to face Tao, his jaw slack.

"You had me thinking I might get arrested!"

Tao shrugged and sat back up.

"That doesn't change much, you know. You still can't walk out the front door, you still have to leave sometime," Tao felt his stomach churn and he stood. "I need coffee!" He declared and walked to the door.

He left Kris and Chen to talk as he went to the kitchen, growing more and more aware of the pounding in his head.

Xiumin and Lay stood by the coffee maker and when they spotted Tao, Xiumin smiled wickedly.

"Hi! Sleep well?" He asked almost at a shout. Lay looked at his friend oddly at first but after he got a good look at Tao he understood.

"Can I please just get some coffee?" Tao rubbed his eyes with a fist, hoping a bit of aegyo would make Xiumin play a little nicer, to no avail.

"No coffee for you silly!" Xiumin blared leading Tao to the table,"You need a good breakfast!"

The sheer volume of Xiumin's voice made him want to hurl. "I'm not hungry actually."

"Nonsense!" He was already pulling pots out banging them together with what Tao could only guess was malicious delibracy. Every sound wave sent fresh stabs of pain through his skull.

When the bulk of the noise had stopped Tao rested his head on the table. "I just want coffee," he whispered

Tao didn't know whether Lay had heared him or just felt bad for him but before he knew it there a warm mug of brown liquid set next to his head. He held it with both hands taking long sips. Lay always made perfect coffee. He also made perfect tea and chose perfect snacks and could order the perfect meal for you at a restaurant before you ever saw a menu. It was like he kept a file on all the eating habits of his band mates, actually they had thrown that theory around for a while and were never completely convinced he didn't do precisely that. It would be a creepy thought if it were any one but Lay.

The only sound in the kitchen now was the simmering of whatever Xiumin was going to use to torture his hungover friend. That's when the cackle echoed down the hallway.

They all exchanged looks, Tao only slightly less confused than the other two.

"What is Chen doing? What could be so funny?" Lay craned his neck to see down the hall without actualy walking that way.

"Something the internet I'm sure." Tao said so nonchelantly that he almost believed himself.

"Probably," Xiumin replied.

Lay shrugged and that would have been the end of it, if not for the next bout of laughter, this time much deeper and much dorkier sounding.

Xiumin turned from the stove eyeing Tao, "Is someone here?"

"No, it's just Jong Dae being wierd." Tao answered much less convincing in his lie this time.

"That isn't Jong Dae's laugh," Xiumin shook his head and Lay was already on his way down the hall, Tao trying frantically to stop him.

Tao wasn't fast enough and Lay reached his door and placed his hand on the knob.

"Why is Chen in your room," two voices could be heard clearly from this sde of the door, "with...whoever is here with him, why is someone here?" He asked the questions all in one breath and Tao could only offer an uhh in response.

Lay turned the handle, pushed open the door, and turned his head over his shoulder, "Minseok we've been left out!"