Chapter Text
Jake nods to himself and stares at the wall before standing up and heading to the kitchen to make his breakfast he never got to earlier. Once he reaches the kitchen, he opens the fridge and grabs his eggs and a slab of butter. Jake is about to close the fridge door but freezes when he hears multiple soft thuds right behind him.
Jake turns around and jumps backwards, startled when he sees the six newly learned hybrids staring straight at him. He smiles at them awkwardly before pushing through Sunoo and Heeseung to get to the oven to make his long awaited sunny side up egg, with salt and pepper dusted lightly on it.
He ate this for breakfast everyday because it was what his mom would cook him for breakfast and after moving to korea, he often felt homesick and this was one of his few coping mechanisms to rid that feeling.
However, when he was about to turn the stove on he felt a pair of arms enclose him around his waist and warm breath on his ear. Jake turned around at the feeling and immediately recoiled in an attempt to hide his flushed cheeks when he’s met with Sunghoons face right next to his.
“Have I ever told you how cute you are Jakey?” Sunghoon says with a smirk on his face.
Jake fakes a laugh not wanting to make the situation awkward but is ultimately confused by his best friend's behavior. Jake turns around and stands still for a few moments, expecting Sunghoon to let go and wander off somewhere in his apartment but instead, he just lowers his head into the crook of Jake’s neck.
Jake takes a moment to himself to try and figure out what is really happening with his friends and why they are acting so clingy all of a sudden. Especially when he found out that they are actually mythical creatures, that he never even knew were a thing.
Jake pulled himself out of his thoughts and continued to make his long awaited breakfast after his stomach rumbled embarrassingly, which made the others chuckled lovingly at. This once again reminded that something had definitely switched in his friend's minds when they revealed their secret to him.
Pushing that aside, he finishes his breakfast and shakes Sunghoon off of him, ignoring the pout that had formed on Sunghoon’s face. He walks past them, again, ignoring how he hears them immediately follow after him and sits down on the chair.
He flinches when he hears the two chairs beside be pulled out from under the table and two people sit in them in a flash, earning groans from the rest who didn’t manage to be fast enough.
Jake looks up from his eggs and is not surprised when he sees Jungwon and Sunoo beside him, with them being hybrids with super fast animals.
What does surprise him is how the two seem to scoot their chairs closer and closer to Jake as he eats his breakfast, as if he was the magnet and they were the iron. Jake tries to ignore the stares from his friends and one other hybrid who isn’t included in the friend group, but feels like it's impossible with it eating up his mind, not being able to think about anything else at the moment. The way they stare at him like he was the prey to their predator made him feel impossibly small under their gaze.
Jake loses his mind when he feels his hands grip his thighs, already knowing it was the two beside him, and he slams his fork down on the table and slaps the hands which are placed on his thighs away. This makes everyone at the table jump when they hear Jake’s sudden outburst.
“What the heck is going on with you guys!? Ever since you revealed this weird animal side of yours you’ve been coddling me like a parent with their newborn baby. What happened to all the teasing I would get for being the only one who likes my eggs sunny side up??” Jake says, with an astounded tone.
The others look down with a dejected look on their face, mainly focusing on the part where Jake called them weird for being born different.
“You think we’re weird..?” Heeseung says in a sad, uncertain tone.
“No that’s what I-” Jake says but cuts himself off with a sigh as he rubs his temple.
“I don’t think you're weird, in fact, I think you guys look really cool with different hair colors if that helps any. What I mean is it's only been a few hours since you revealed this secret to me and now you’ve done a whole 180 with the way you act. What changed?” Jake asks with a rather softer tone compared to last time. It is silent for a few moments until Sunoo decides to speak up.
“Do you not like the affection we give..?” Sunoo asks in the same tone Heeseung had.
“I don’t not like it but why is everyone avoiding my initial question?!” Jake says, raising his voice at the end.
Silence fills the room as everyone but Jake looks around the room, clearly not willing to answer Jake’s question. This causes Jake to huff and get up to go nap, having lost sleep last night because of the panther-turned-human half way on him. However,
When he reaches the start of the hallway he hears them all get up so he runs to his bedroom and tries to lock the door but it gets stopped by 6 pairs of hands. Jake uses all his strength to shut the door but to his dismay, he only gets pushed backwards as his strength is no match for his strength tripled.
Jake yelps as he falls onto the floor and groans when he feels his butt aching from the fall but quickly forgets that pain when he is picked up and carried to the bed. He looks over Sunoo’s shoulder, the one who's carrying him and sees the rest of guys following behind Sunoo and him. Jake slumps in Sunoo’s hold and stares at the ceiling until he gets gently set down on the bed. He quickly gets up and grabs a set of clothes for Jay to put on before he gets dragged into the bed by the others. Throwing them at Jay, he pushes him into the bathroom, letting him figure out how to put them on on his own. He walks back to the bed and lays down, making himself comfortable.
Jake closes his eyes and waits for the sound of the door closing, so he can finally have alone time to himself after this exhausting day he's had, but a frown makes its way onto his face once again when he just feels a weight pushing his bed down beside him.
He feels a pair of arms snake around his waist and another pair settle around his hips, a face in his neck, a head on his arm, and lastly, seemingly someone laying down on his legs. The body parts cage him in and make it to where he can’t move.
Almost as if they want it that way.
He opens his eyes to see Jay is the one who has his arms around Jake’s waist, Ni-ki is the one to have his hands on Jake's hips. Jungwon is laying sideways so that his head can be settle in Jake’s neck in a comfortable position, Heeseung has his head on Jake’s arm, Sunghoon is laying across his legs, and Sunoo is propped against Jake’s other arm, covering his hand and lower arm but leaving his upper arm to feel the air graze is skin, making him tremble, as a cold sensation suddenly shoots down Jake’s spine.
This only causes the 6 to tighten or cuddle more into Jake, thinking he's cold and completely ignoring that there is a blanket to keep him warm without them.
Although, as much as he can complain, he can’t help but sigh in contentment in this new found warmth. He runs through all the events and realizes how he secretly likes all the affection and attention he’s getting. But everyone knows he will never admit that being the stubborn person he is. Jake clears his mind and allows himself to fall asleep, with six people attached to him to keep him safe.
_____________________________________
Jake’s eyes flutter open and he looks around, realizing how long he actually slept. He yawns and attempts to roll over but is stopped by an arm wrapped around his waist. He lifts his head to see who it belonged to and is met with Jungwon, who is now cuddled up around Jake, their limbs entangled with each other in a somehow comfortable position. Jake sighs, not wanting to get up but wiggles his way out of bed, fortunately not waking up anyone else in the process.
Jake tiptoes to the door and quietly opens and closes it. He walks to his fridge to make his daily egg, glancing at the calendar, only to look back and panic when he sees ‘First Day Of Senior Year’ labeled in 2 days. Wait… 2 DAYS?!
Jake stares in disbelief before sprinting to his room to wake the guys up. He slams the door open, causing them to groan and fast walks over to the bed and grabs a pillow, proceeding to hit them all with it. He keeps going, not realizing they’re awake and doesn’t stop until Heeseung grabs his hand gently.
Heeseung, Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki all worry when they notice Jake’s heavy breathing. Heeseung uses the grip on Jake's hand to pull him to sit on the bed and hugs him, and is about to ask what's wrong when he stands right back up and starts rambling nonsense.
“Jakey stop, talk to where we can understand.” Heeseung says clearly.
“Senior Year starts in 3 days. Do you know what that means? We have to get clothes and school supplies shopping done, and run to the school and get our schedules in three days.” Jake says, still a little fast but understandable.
Heeseung, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki take a minute to process Jake’s words before shooting up out of bed and running out, Sunoo not forgetting to drag Jake with them. However, Jay is left there confused on what ‘school’ is, being that he’s never gone or heard of it before.
However, they get stopped when they hear someone yell all of a sudden.
“What’s school?” Jay asks, confusion prominent on his sharp features.
The rest pause for a second, remembering that Jay is a wild hybrid and doesn’t know the basic human customs. They look at Jay as he just stares at them curiously, obviously waiting for an answer.
Jake walks over to Jay and pulls him to the rest of the group. At this, Jay just wraps his arms around Jake’s shoulder wanting to be close.
“I’ll tell you in the car, now all of you need to hide your animal parts cause I don’t feel like getting weird stares more than I already do.” Jake says as he goes to grab his bag but gets stopped when he gets spun around by Sunghoon.
“Who’s giving you weird stares?” Sunghoon asks incredulously.
“Nobody important, but when I come back after grabbing my bag you all better be normal looking.” Jake says as he shakes Sunghoon’s grip off his arm and goes to grab his bag.
Heeseung, Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki all return to their human form, looking as if the past night had never actually happened. They look at Jay to see that he still has jet black hair and green eyes, with his tan skin but his ears and tails are now gone just like his. And while Jake is gone, Ni-ki asks a question he's been thinking about.
“Not to pry or anything.. But is everyone here an Alpha?” Ni-ki asks.
They all nod and groan when they realize none of them can have Jake all to themselves. They get brought on by their thoughts when Jake comes back out of the hallway with his bag and stuff.But he stops and turns around to look at the six.
“Whose car are we taking?” Jake asks.
“We can take mine so you don’t have to worry about driving.” Heeseung says as he smiles at Jake. And Jake walks up to Heeseung and hugs him, while Heeseung smirks at the rest before hugging Jake back. They glare at Heeseung and Jungwon tells them to hurry, actually wanting to get done with shopping and to stop whatever Heeseung is doing.
Jake breaks the hug and walks out the door, yelling at them to lock the door if they are the last one out and starts walking to the elevator. For the first time in a day or two, Jake feels at ease and that everything will be fine after all.
Jake thinks about his new discovery while waiting for the elevator to ding. He can’t help but feel a little scared for the future but he comes to the conclusion that he will have to get used to his friend's new behavior, and even if it’s hard, he wants to try for his and his friend’s sake. But Jake gets brought out of his thoughts when he feels a pair of hands snake around his waist once again. Jake giggles, having felt ticklish and looks back and sees Ni-ki looking at the door. Jake looks around and sees the boys standing around him, staring everywhere but him.
Jake's head whips around when he hears the elevator door open and he walks in, ignoring the fact that he is sort of waddling because of Ni-ki attached to his back. Heeseung, Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Jungwon follow behind the two and they all get in the elevator.
However, Jake is too busy coming up with a list of what he needs in his head to notice how Heeseung, Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki all exchange mischievous looks between each other and move around Jake to wear they are all around him..
Jay and Sunghoon are behind Jake, Sunoo and Jungwon are on both sides of Jake, and Heeseung and Ni-ki are both in front of Jake. They are all staring at him, admiring him and the way he is blankly staring at the floor, still not having noticed them surrounding him.
Suddenly, the Elevator door opens and Jake looks up and sees that they have stopped on the 4th floor, 2 down from theirs and a group of about 8 people shuffle in. This causes Heeseung, Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki to get closer around Jake, enclosing him in their little circle.
This causes Jake to just now notice how the rest are around him. He looks in all of their eyes and sees the same mischievous glint they had earlier this morning.
Jake gasps when he feels a pair of arms wrap around his waist for what seems like the hundredth time today and frowns when he feels warm breath on his ear. He glares at Sunghoon and Jay, who both have an arm around his waist from behind him and Jay is leaning on Jake’s shoulder, weighing it down uncomfortably.
Jake turns back around and wiggles trying to shake the two off of him because there are other people in the elevator with him. His efforts are unfortunately wasted when he feels a hand grip his thigh, holding him in place. He looks and sees Jungwon avoiding his gaze, all while keeping a tight grip on his thigh.
Jake’s cheeks flush as he suddenly feels the elevator getting hot. Jake's eyes widen when he feels a hand cup his butt. Jake’s head whips around and sees Sunoo staring at his bottom while gripping it which causes Jake to grow increasingly embarrassed. Jake moves his hand to remove the other hand on him but gets stopped when he sees Ni-ki and Heeseung in front of him holding each of his hands in place.
‘What the heck?! What is going on with them? Why now of all times too, there are other people around, don’t they notice?’ Jake thinks while silently panicking inside.
“What do you guys think you're doing?!” Jake whispers loud enough only for them to hear.
“What do you mean Jake hyung?” Ni-ki asks with fake innocence, causing Jake to scoff.
“You know exactly what you're doing, now get your hands off me there's other people around!” Jake scolds quietly.
“No can do Jakey.” Sunghoon says from behind him with a coy smile plastered on his face.
Jake closes his eyes and sighs, attempting to rub his eyes but can’t and remembers his hands are currently being held by Ni-ki and Heeseung.
Jake grumbles incoherent words and just lets his head fall back onto Jay's head. He expects Jay to move but isn’t really surprised when he just tightens his grip on Jake’s waist.
He pops one eye open when he hears the elevator door ding after what felt like forever. Jake sees that the elevator door is open and the other people have already left. Jake prys his friends' grip off of him and he walks out of the door and into the parking garage, looking for Heeseung’s car.
The rest follow after him making sure there is not too much distance between them and Jake because they seem to think something will happen to Jake if they’re not.
After multiple minutes of walking around, Jake finally spots Heeseung's car and he walks over to it, stopping and turning around once he gets there. He looks at his friends, impatiently tapping his foot because they seem to be taking forever to get there.
Once they get there, Heeseung take’s his keys out of his pocket and unlocks the car. Jake goes to sit in the passenger but yelps when he gets dragged into the backseat.
“Naauurr!! I wanted to sit in the front!” Jake said with an annoyed tone.
“Too bad, you're sitting in the back with me.” Sunoo says while laughing at the pout on Jake’s face.
Sunoo pushes Jake into the backseat of Heeseung’s car and once Jake is in, He slides in as well and wraps an arm around Jake’s shoulder. Jake looks up at Sunoo and eyes him weirdly when he sees Sunoo already staring down at him while smiling.
Jake looks away and watches Heeseung and Jungwon sit in the front. However, he looks to his side and gasps when he sees Jay, Sunghoon, and Ni-ki pushing and shoving each other while trying to get in Heeseung’s car.
Not wanting to disrupt their wrestling, he turns to Sunoo and decides to ask him what their wrestling over.
“What are they fighting over?” Jake asks with an innocent look on his face making Sunoo silently coo.
“Whoever gets to sit beside you, little do they know there's not enough room for all of them so 2 of them are gonna have to sit in the trunk.” Sunoo says before turning to the 3 and yelling at them.
“Yah stop fighting! You're scaring Jake, and besides one of you will have to sit in the trunk.” Sunoo says annoyed.
The three stop and look at Jake, confused because he does not look scared one bit. However, Ni-ki takes this chance and slides in next to Jake, turning around and sticking his tongue out at Sunghoon and Jay. Sunghoon and Jay just glare at him in return but Sunghoon comes up with an idea.
“I’m not scared-”Jake says but gets cut off when he feels two hands grip his shoulders and yank him sideways.
Sunghoon grabs Jake and throws him over his shoulder, running to sit in the trunk. Sunghoon throws Jake in the trunk and gets in behind him, closing the trunk in Jay’s face, noticing how he ran after them.
Jay gets in the back seat where Ni-ki and Sunoo are and starts to crawl over the backseat.
Chaos breaks out and Jay is trying to get in the trunk with Sunghoon and Jake while Sunghoon is trying to push him back. Sunoo and Ni-ki are also trying to yank Jay back because not only do they not want him sitting with Jake out of jealousy, they really need to get their school stuff for their senior year of college.
Seeing all of this, Jake sighs and tries to sit up, but is sort of stuck in a certain position. Jake is laying down against the back of the back row and Sunghoon is in front of him, caging him into where he can’t move or else Jake’s face would be touching Sunghoon’s stomach.
Jake yelps when he feels Sunghoon fall on top of him.
‘When was Sunghoon this freaking heavy?!’ Jake thinks.
Jake opens his eyes and screams when he sees Jay and Sunghoon both staring down at him. Jake turns around and slaps his hand over his chest, catching his breath after being scared shitless.
“Ughhh, guys, what did I say about scaring me like that?” Jake says.
“You said absolutely nothing about scaring you actually.” Sunghoon says while sitting Jake up.
However, Jake takes this chance to get away and he attempts to crawl over to the back seat so he can sit with Sunoo and Ni-ki but he feels a strong grip on his waist that pulls him back down. He looks over and sees that he was pulled into Sunghoons lap and he flinches when he is nose to nose with Sunghoon.
“Can’t we just go already??” Jake questions annoyed.
“We’re leaving now, chill Jakey.” Heeseung says with a calm tone.
After Jake hears that, he lets his body go limp in Sunghoon’s hold and sighs in contemptment quietly, not wanting to make it obvious he was actually enjoying all the attention he was getting. At this, Sunghoon tightens his grip on Jake and Jay lays his head down in Jake’s lap, wrapping his arms around Jake’s leg as if he is trying to keep them from moving any.
Soon enough, Jake hears the engine rev and he notices the drowsiness making its way into his body. Jake tries to fight the sleepiness, to pay attention to Jay’s ranting but he feels himself giving in when he notices how his eyes flutter closed and he has to force them open.
Jay and Sunghoon both notice this so Sunghoon starts to rub Jake’s stomach in a comforting way and Jay does the same as Sunghoon with Jake’s thighs. Jake notices this and lets his head drop onto Sunghoon’s shoulder.
Finally having silence, Jake seizes the opportunity and closes his eyes, not taking any time to fall asleep, with the help of Sunghoon’s and Jay’s warm embrace.
Sunghoon and Jay both notice this and rest their head on Jake’s shoulder and thigh, deciding to also try and sleep. They listen to Jake’s soft snores and soon all three of them are asleep, not caring about anyone else in the car, almost like they have this little bubble only between them.
From the backseat, Sunoo and Ni-ki both look back and coo at the sight of a sleeping Jake. After a few minutes of staring at the three, they decided that it would also be a good idea to get some rest, because they all knew they didn’t sleep in the most comfortable position last night.
Both rest their heads on their respective windows and close their eyes, letting Jake’s soft snores guide them to rest. Up and down their chests go as they both drift off into dreamland.
With everyone asleep except for Jungwon and Heeseung, they decide to talk properly about what has happened over the last few days.
“So… what are you thinking?” Jungwon asks, noticing how his Heeseung hyung was deeper in thought than usual.
It takes a few moments for Heeseung to respond but when he does, it is a loud, drawn out sigh.
“ I guess I’m just worried about Jake. He called us for help because he ever so stupidly brought a panther home that turned out to be a hybrid just like us. Not to mention the fact that all our hybrids are going crazy over Jake. Even though it’s always been like that, Jake actually knows now and he is having to have all this pressure on his back, especially with school starting in a couple days. I just can’t help but feel bad for putting additional stress on his back when he already had so much of it.” Heeseung explains in a melancholy voice.
Jungwon hums and lets the silence take over their conversation, knowing that Heeseung knows Jungwon feels the same and is silently agreeing. And when he finally thinks of something to say, he continues Heeseung’s worries.
“I know, I guess all we can do now is try to keep our animal side in control and make sure we keep him safe at all times.” Jungwon says softly but firmly.
Heeseung nods and focuses his gaze back on the road. And the rest of the ride to the store was silent. With some sleeping and some trapped in their thoughts, they all were finally able to find peace and quiet after the long past few days they've had.
Time Skip…
“Jake. Jake. JAKE HUYNG!!” Ni-ki screams as he vigorously shakes Jake from
Sunghoon’s lap.
Jake just groans in return and tightens his grip on Sunghoon, seeming as if he will disappear if he doesn’t.
Ni-ki sighs and looks over at Sunghoon, silently communicating it’s up to him to get Jake to wake up. See, Jake had always been a heavy sleeper, even if an explosion happened next door, you would walk into his room and still see him sleeping.
In turn, Sunghoon sighs, not wanting to remove Jake from his embrace but knows he has to so he gently shakes Jake and whispers his name over and over again till he wakes up.
It takes about five minutes for Jake's eyes to flutter open, and when they do, he tries asking where they are but it comes out incoherent to the rest.
“What was that?” Heeseung says in a teasing voice.
“Why are we in the car? Jake asks slurred, but still more clearly than before.
“We’re going shopping for our senior year, remember?” Jungwon replies.
Jake stays still for a few seconds and his eyes open wide when he remembers that their last year started in a couple of days and none of them had anything.
Jake gets up abruptly, startling his friends and attempts to take a step but stumbles from getting up way too quickly.
Sunoo reaches out quickly to catch him since he was the closest and chuckles when he sees Jake's tired face scrunch up in embarrassment. Jake thanks Sunoo and stands up, letting himself take a sec before he starts walking again, not caring if the other 6 were behind him or not, but of course they were.
With his 6 hybrid friends following behind him, he marches into the mall and stops all of a sudden which causes Jungwon and Heeseung to crash into him with a groan since they were the one behind him.
“Jake!!” They hear someone shout.
“Felix hyung, Bangchan hyung!!” Jake says as a wide smile appears onto his face.
Jay frowns in confusion when he sees Jake run over to a pair of strangers.
“Who are they?” Jay asks with furrowed eyebrows.
“Those are Jake’s friends. He met them back in our 2nd year of college and once he found out they were also from Australia, they’ve all been great friends ever since.” Sunghoon explains.
“A little too close if you ask me.” Jay grumbles and glares at Ni-ki when he hears him scoff.
“Chill dude, they’re just friends.” Ni-ki counters in an unbothered tone.
“Whatever.” Jay says before turning back to watch the interaction shared between Jake and his two friends along with Heeseung, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki.
“How have you been Jake?” Bangchan asks.
“I’ve been busy, I’ve had a lot going on these past few days. Speaking of, I have a question, hyungs.” Jake says with a casual tone.
“Do you know what hybrids-” Jake starts but his words are muffled when Sunoo suddenly appears behind him and covers his mouth with his palm as well as wraps his other arm around his shoulder.
Jake looks over and glares at Sunoo and brings his hand to rip Sunoo’s palm off his mouth. However, he can’t seem to get it off so he just huffs and looks apologetically at Felix and Bangchan who seem confused at the interaction between him and Sunoo.
“Oh hey Sunoo, are you here with the rest of your friend group?” Felix asks while eyeing him weirdly for stopping Jake mid sentence.
“Yeah we are, for school shopping and all.” Sunoo says and forces out a smile.
“You know we really ought to be going now, it was nice seeing you.” Sunoo says and quickly drags Jake away from the two.
Jake turns back and waves apologetically at Felix and Bangchan and they just return the action with a smile before leaving to join the rest of their friends. Jake turns around when Sunoo stops and opens his mouth getting ready to ask what that was for but Heeseung beats him to it.
“Jake you cannot tell anyone we are hybrids got it? We told you it was a secret for a reason, if it got out it could put all of us in danger.” Heeseung says in a firm tone that makes Jake shiver.
Jake stares at all of them before nodding, and sensing the firm stares directed at him, he slips out of Sunoo’s hold and starts walking to the supply store located in the back of the mall.
Jake thinks about how long it has been since he has been to the mall, the last time he went was a few months back when Ni-ki had ripped his favorite sweater in a game of tug of war between the two. Feeling bad, Ni-ki took Jake to the mall as an act of apology. And because it had been longer than he liked since he had been to the mall, he got lost and found himself in a section of clothing stores. Deciding it might be nice to get some new clothes for the school year, he turns harshly into a clothing store, also secretly hoping to lose his friends to get some alone time.
As it turns out, his friends were deep into conversation of their own and didn’t notice Jake going into a clothing store and kept walking. Soon enough, they had wrapped the corner and were completely out of sight. Jake smiles and gets out of his hiding spot behind a clothing wrack and starts walking around the shop.
As he looks around, he notices that this store is actually new, and he actually quite liked the vibe coming from it. It had sort of a cool, chic vibe but was also soft and cutesy looking. He sighs in happiness and starts walking around the store.
He spots several things here and there, and after he had an amount of clothes to try on that was starting to make his arms hurt, he went to the fitting rooms.
The first thing he tries on is a crisp looking leather jacket. It is a shiny black and the leather feels soft causing Jake to smile. He puts it on and observes his reflections in the mirror. It makes him look cool, but he can’t help but notice how it looks a little long on him. He looks at it once more before carefully taking it off and putting it in a no stack.
The next thing he tries on is a classic fit striped jersey rugby shirt that is a navy blue and white color. He slips it on with ease and once again looks at himself in the mirror. He smiles, liking the baggy fit he has too it but frowns once he feels like something is missing. He looks at his other selections and nods when he notices a pair of baggy jeans with rips at the knees.
‘Who knew I was so good at styling clothes?’ said Jake in his head.
He puts those on and grins when he sees the two articles of clothing put together. He does a spin and a few poses in the mirror before taking it off and putting them in the yes pile.
The next thing he tries on is a cream colored sweater called a Sonar Roundneck and he also grabs a pair of black denim jeans to put on with it as well. He throws them on and studies the clothes. He likes the Jeans but his gaze lingers on the sweater a few moments before he comes up with an idea. He gently rolls the sleeves to where they are just a little bit past his elbows and he smiles when he sees how nicely this outfit goes with his ashy blonde colored hair.
Taking them off, he sets them in the eyes pile and turns to look at the things he has left.
He picks up a T-Shirt and looks at it for a minute or two before setting it down in the no pile because he thinks of the plethora of T-shirts he already has in the mess of a closet he has. Then he picks up the last piece of clothing he had picked out and looks at it.
It is a dodgers baseball jersey that is a few sizes up form his actually fitting size which is a small and he puts it on over the white t-shirt he was already wearing. He fluffs it up a bit and decides to unbutton it to see how it would actually look on him and he concludes that he likes it much better than when it was buttoned.
Happy with his selection of clothes, he picks everything up and hands one of the workers the clothes he didn’t want and he carries the clothes he did want to the front. Thankfully, there was no line since it was around 10:00 am and no one is usually at the mall at this time so walks straight up to the cashier.
“Hi, will this be it for you today?” The cashier asks with a smile on her face.
Jake nods while smiling warmly at her and then reaches into his bag to get his card out while the cashier is ringing up his clothes. He watches the prices add up on the card reader and is pleasantly surprised when he sees the total is only 50 dollars and 71 cents.
Jake scans his credit card and puts it up before taking the bag of clothes and bids the worker goodbye. He walks out of the store, stops and looks around to make sure his friends are still nowhere to be seen and thankfully they aren’t, so he starts walking around and hops on the glass elevator, remembering the mall had a lego store on the second floor.
He steps out and looks both ways, trying to remember where the lego store actually was, and secretly making sure once more that his other six were nowhere around.
Deciding to just go for it, he walks around, and thankfully ends up right in front of the lego store. Smiling, he walks in and gawks at the ginormous selection of legos there are.
Up and down the isles he goes and before he knows it, he ends up with 4 boxes of legos.
‘How am I gonna afford all of this, I still have to buy school supplies?’ Jake ponders while biting his lip, having a hard time deciding which one to get.
In the end, he decides on Thor's glove and he shuffles around, trying to find the correct place to put the other boxes back. Eventually he does and he walks around the isles to the front. Once he finds the check out, he goes to the front and pays.
Picking up his bag from the man’s hand, he thanks him and walks out of the store. He thinks excitedly about the new things he got but he then remembers that he still has to buy school supplies so he starts walking to the back of the store and hoped he wouldn’t run into the boys on the way because he was enjoying the quality time with himself and also because he was still upset from earlier.
He feels his stomach contort in guilt when he remembers the harsh tone his Heeseung hyung had when he reprimanded him for messing up, and the firm gazes from his other friends didn’t help either.
Him and his friends had always gotten along pretty well and had never gotten into any true arguments.
Jake knew this wasn’t an argument, it was simply Heeseung telling him he can’t go around talking about hybrids because it
‘could put us all in danger’
.
But Jake couldn’t help but feel meek under his gaze, and he walked away out of embarrassment before the others could say anything, gradually, he let himself float to the back, feeling as though his friends were now ignoring him because the usual laughter that would come from his jokes and the playful teasing towards him were now gone.
Instead of laughing, the air became awkward as silence took over them, looking around as though they never heard him.
Instead of light teasing, he felt excluded from the chatter coming from his six friends in front of him.
Sighing, Jake looks up and sees the store he was looking for a few stores down from him so he picks his pace up and walks into the supply store that he always went to for school supplies and whips his phone out of his bag, pulling up the list of things they needed.
He navigates himself through the store, picking out all the things he needs for his class and once his basket is filled with things, he starts walking while looking down at his basket, not noticing the boy who was in front of him, looking around the store as if he were looking for someone.
With a thud, Jake bumps into the boy and falls to the floor, wincing when he lands on his arm. Rubbing it soothingly, Jake looks up to apologize but his face pales when he is met with Jungwon, who looks at him with a frustrated gaze.
However, Jake doesn’t notice the worry evident in Jungwon’s eyes. Because of this he quickly stands up and walks out of the store, discarding the basket and ignores Jungwon’s voice yelling for him to stop walking off.
Jungwon sighs when Jake is out of sight and takes out his phone.
“Did you find him?” Heeseung’s voice comes through the phone.
“Well I did but he ran off again once he saw me.” Jungwon says and hangs up before heeseung can get another word in. Jungwon walks out of the store and once again goes to find Jake.
Earlier
“So what’s this place?” Jay asks.
“I forgot you are from the wild. It’s the mall, do you know what a mall is?” Ni-ki asks,
“What do you think?” Jay asks sarcastically.
“It’s a place where you buy things like clothing, accessories, home decor, practically anything you can think of.” Jungwon chimes in.
“And why are we here again?” Jay asks.
“To buy things for school, and to answer your question from earlier, school is a place where you go to learn things like math, science, and much more. But if you ask me, school is just prison for kids.
You might not have to go though since you haven’t even attended primary school.” Sunghoon responds as they turn a corner of the mall, not noticing that Jake’s slipped away several minutes ago.
“And don’t you guys think you were a little harsh back there, Jake didn’t know, he’s still learning this. Under no circumstances will my mate's feelings be hurt.” Jay says with a concerned expression on his face when he thinks back to his Mate’s sad looking expression.
“Slow down there, he’s fine, besides he is the one who got pouty and walked away first, isn’t that right Jake?” Heeseung responds.
But when he doesn’t get an answer, he turns around annoyed but his eyes widen when he sees Jake gone.
“Jake? Jake, where did you go?” Heeseung says panicked, and the others turn around and start to panic as well when they see Jake nowhere.
“What do we do? He’s just gone out of nowhere?” Sunoo says in distress.
“Okay uh.. Everyone split up except for Jay. You stick with me since you are unfamiliar with this place, and everyone look everywhere for him. If you find him, call me or text the group chat and just don’t let him out of your sight.” Heeseung says, out of breath by the end, and they all break apart, going everywhere to search for Jake.
They all worry for him because they know how he trusts people too easily and with the words he blurted out earlier, they are even more paranoid because they knew what happened to hybrids, especially Jay and none of them want Jake to go through that even if he isn’t a hybrid himself.
From the first floor to the second they look everywhere but their worries only grow when Jake is nowhere to be found.
Jungwon, seeing the supply store and knowing that Jake would end up being there, decided to go in the store and look for him there. He looks around and stops by the marking, scanning each aisle he can see from there and sighs.
However, he turns around frustrated when he feels someone bump into his back. He looks down and the frustration leaves his body when he sees Jake, the one who he and the others had been ever so worriedly looking for, staring up at him with pretty doe eyes.
But he grows confused when he sees Jake with several other bags on his arms, but the confusion is replaced with more worry when he sees Jake run out of the store, leaving Jungwon behind.
And Jungwon tries shouting for Jake to come back but it is no use because Jake had been too fast.
Sighing, he gets his phone out from his back pocket and clicks on Heeseung’s contact.
“Did you find him?” Heeseung’s voice comes through the phone.
“Well I did but he ran off again once he saw me.” Jungwon says and hangs up before heeseung can get another word in. Jungwon walks out of the store and once again goes to find Jake.
_____________________________
Jake turns a corner and hides himself in the corner of a store that no one seemed to be in.
He sinks to the ground and leans on the wall, holding his face in his hands out of embarrassment.
‘How stupid am I? Why did I run? Literally what part of me thought that was a good idea?’ Jake thinks to himself.
Sighing, Jake leans his head onto the wall, closing his eyes wanting this day to be over.
‘If only I had never-’ Jake thinks but his thoughts get cut short when he feels a hand in his hair.
In fear, he flinches and whips his head around to see who it was but visibly relaxes when he sees Jay looking fondly at him.
Jake stares at him, but suddenly Jay opens his arms, and knowing what he meant, Jake jumps into Jay arms and wraps his arms around Jay’s neck, searching for comfort he didn't know he needed. Jay wraps his arms around Jake’s waist and brings him closer, resting his head onto Jake’s shoulder.
“Was Heeseung hyung too mean?” Jay asks in a soft tone.
All he gets is a nod back, but he just hugs Jake tighter, moving to put his nose in Jake’s neck. Jay inhales Jake’s scent while rubbing soothing circles on Jake’s back which causes Jake to melt in his hold.
“Thought you all were mad at me.” Jake says in a hushed voice.
Jay takes Jake's face in his hands and caresses his cheek with his thumb.
“I’m not mad at you Jakey.” Jay says.
“The others are.” Jake counters.
“They were just worried, were walking and all of a sudden you disappeared out of nowhere, how could they not be?” Jay says kindly.
“Come on now, we have to get back to the others.” Jay says as he helps Jake stand up and bends down to pick up Jake’s bag not caring what they are.
Not having a phone, Jay just decides to wait at the food court. So that is where he took Jake, hand in hand as they walked to a table and sat down.
“Where are the others?” asks Jake.
“Looking for you, and because I don’t have a phone we are just gonna have to wait.” Jay says while looping an arm around Jake’s shoulder.
Silence lands between them as they sit next to each other, personal space a foreign concept, as Jake rests his head on Jay’s shoulder and lets his eyes drift closed.
Even though they just met a week ago, it feels as if they have known each other for a lifetime. The level of peace they bring each other is immaculate. Their presence brings happiness without any words.
Jake feels the connection between him and Jay and thinks back to when he first took him home. Those same hunter green eyes peering up at him in curiosity now stare down at him with a gaze that holds such gentleness one could have.
Ruining Jay and Jake’s moment, a cough sounds from behind them causing Jay to turn around and see Heeseung, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki staring down at the two. Turning back, Jay taps Jake on the head and stands him up, not forgetting to grab Jake’s bags.
Jake looks at his friends and he feels the guilt coming back when he sees the firm gazes his friends are directing toward.
“Everyone in the car, let’s go.” Heeseung's hard voice sounds from the group and they all start walking to Heeseung’s car in a flat of silence.
They walk out of the mall and Jake has to walk at an unfortunate fast pace because for some reason everyone seems to be walking extra fast, except for Jay who is still next to Jake, holding his hand and gazing upon him with a relaxed smile that makes Jake smile back at him in fondness.
Soon enough, they reach Heeseung's car and this time, the trunk is forgotten because they all somehow squeeze in the front two rows of the car.
Heeseung and Jungwon both claim their spots from last time in the front row, and somehow, Heeseung’s car is big enough to fit the other five.
Sunoo and Ni-ki are on one side of Jake and Jay and Sunghoon are on the other side of him. Being the closest to Jake, Ni-ki and Jay both place a comforting hand on Jake as they notice his distress. Ni-ki’s hand finds itself wrapped around Jake’s shoulder and Jay places a gentle hand on his thigh, rubbing his thumb back and forth in an attempt at comfort that Jake won’t admit works.
“What were you thinking?” Heeseung asks, directed to Jake.
But Jake stays silent because the words get jumbled up in his throat before he can let them out.
“Jake, what in the world were you thinking? You can’t just disappear like that! We thought you got kidnapped or something!” Heeseung says, raising his voice.
“It’s not like you guys wanted to talk to me, you let me stay at the back and you guys held your own conversation and you acted like I was invisible when I spoke. You didn’t even notice when I went into the clothing store!” Jake counters back.
“Oh don’t put the blame on us, you were the one who walked away first!” Heeseung argues back.
“What am I supposed to do when you're glaring at me like I just insulted your whole existence, do you guys even realize the look you gave me?” Jake says, also raising his voice at Heeseung, which just in turn made Heeseung more frustrated.
“Honestly Jake just-” Heeseung starts but gets cut off by Jungwon.
“Stop yelling! That is only gonna make things worse.” Jungwon says having had enough of the two arguing.
“Jake, we are all sorry for making you feel that way, but either way, you cannot just run off like that, we were worried.” Jungwon says with sympathy that Jake can tell is genuine.
“I’m sorry too, it was childish of me.” Jake says with a sigh while looking down at his lap.
Silence takes over the group of friends as Heeseung starts the car and starts driving back to Jake’s apartment.
“By the way, we will be staying at your house from now on. I hope you don’t mind because we will not be changing our mind.” Sunghoon says.
Jake freezes for a moment before slowly turning to Sunghoona with a crazed look on his face.
“You what?” Jake asks with a monotone voice.
“He said we will stay at your house, since you can’t seem to keep quiet about us being hybrids.” Heeseung says while keeping his eyes on the road in front of him.
“Heeseung!” Jay scolds.
“Shut up Jay, you're only here because Jake was stupid enough to bring a random panther into his house.” Heeseung says in a firm tone.
Hearing this, Jake looks down at his lap and fiddles with Jay’s hand that is placed on his thigh out of nervousness. He never liked it when the guys fought and knowing he was the cause of it this time, Jake felt extra guilty.
Seeing Jake’s reaction, Sunoo decides to speak up.
“What has gotten into you Heeseung? All of us are already over it, why can’t you get over too. Jake already apologized, there is no need for you to be a jerk about it!” Sunoo says while glaring at Heeseung who is looking in the mirror back at them with unsure eyes.
Sunoo looks at Jay and smiles apologetically for this mess because believe it or not, Sunoo actually thought Jay was a pretty cool hybrid. Jay gives a small smile back before turning his attention back to Jake.
The rest of the drive is silent, seeing that none of them could come up with the right words to break it.
After what seemed like forever to the 7, they pulled to a stop in the parking garage. They clammer out of the car, and Jake grabs his bags of stuff he bought from the mall and runs a little to catch up with them.
Once he is caught up, they all walk to the elevator, and Jake being Jake, he runs ahead so he could be the one to press the button for the elevator to open.
This makes Heeseung, Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki smile at Jake's antics and they stand behind once they catch up to him. While waiting, Heeseung takes the chance to sneak up behind Jake and wrap his arms around him.
“Hyung’s sorry Jakey,” Heeseung whispers into Jake’s ear which makes Heeseung smile when he sees Jake shiver from the sensation of his warm breath on his ear.
“It’s okay hyung.” Jake says with a small smile on his face.
Jake giggles when he feels Heeseung’s nose brush the crook of his neck because that is one of his most ticklish spots.
“Yah! Wait till we get into Jake’s apartment to do that, we know you're about to break.” Sunghoon says with an annoyed expression on his face. Heeseung grumbles but moves away from Jake, still keeping an arm around his waist, because he knows what Sunghoon means by break and he doesn’t want to risk letting his hybrid parts out in the open.
Interrupting their conversation, the elevator door dings and they all walk into the elevator, and Jake once again pushes himself to the front so he is able to press the 6th floor button before anyone else could. The door to the elevator closes and Jake watches the screen closely and gets more impatient for the amount of time it takes to go at least one floor up. Finally, the door opens and Jake walks out with the rest following behind him and while walking, he takes his keys out of his bag and stops at his door.
Jake pushes the key into the lock and once the door opens with a crack, the 7 all shuffle into his apartment and after jake turns around and closes then locks the door, Heeseung, Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki sigh in contemptment after they let out their hybrid parts.
“I never knew hiding my hybrid side would be so uncomfortable.” Jay says as he stretches his arms out.
“Well you won’t have to get used to it because I just checked my email and apparently the lunch room caught on fire cause one of the cooks forgot to turn the stove off so they are postponing school for a couple months so they can repair it.” Jake says with a surprised expression on his face as he looks down at his phone.
A smile breaks out onto the rest of their faces as they realize they won’t have to start waking up early for a few more months and the fact that this gives them so much more time to spend with Jake.
Walking to his bedroom, he sets his bags down and goes to the bathroom, and after he gets out he flinches when he sees Sunoo and Jungwon standing at the doorway staring at him.
“How many times are you guys gonna do this?” Jake says while looking up at the two with an unimpressed face.
“As long as we're here, now come on.” Jungwon says as he drags Jake out to the living room with Sunoo following close behind.
Jake stumbles behind Jungwon as he gets pulled down the hall and once they reach the living room, Jungwon gently, but firmly pushes Jake down onto the couch, stunning Jake.
Jake grows even more surprised when Heeseung comes up and puts a blanket around and starts tucking him. Next Jay comes over and sits down next to Jake with a bowl of popcorn in his lap and Sunoo comes to the other side of Jake and wraps an arm around his shoulder.
Ni-ki out of nowhere picks Jake and sits down on the couch in between Sunoo and Jay, and places a flushed, surprised Jake into his lap. Heeseung and Jungwon sit on the floor in front of Jake and both rest their head on Jake’s leg.
Seeing all of this, Jake laughs in confusion and looks at his friends weirdly.
“What are you guys doing?” Jake asks.
“We are having a movie night, any suggestions?” Jungwon voices from below him.
“The quiet place!” Ni-ki says, his deep voice making Jake quiver form his lap.
“Why that one? Can’t we watch the Garfield movie or something?” Jake says, he knows his friends know he hates scary movies so why would they suggest something like that?
“Aww, is Jake hyung scared?” Ni-ki says behind Jake.
“N-no! Turn it on right now!” Jake says, cursing silently when he stutters over his words.
This causes the rest to grin at Jake’s silliness and Jay just leans back on the couch and closes his eyes, hoping to get some sleep.
Jungwon trunks the TV on and clicks on netflix, he leans back on Jake’s right leg while waiting for it to load and once it does, he types in The Quiet Place . Jake anxiously watches the TV, dreading having to watch the movie because he cannot stand the feeling of being scared.
However, he gets brought out of his thoughts when he feels something light land in his lap. Jake looks down and sees a multi-colored, fluffy tail in his lap. Jake looks over to Sunoo but looks back when he sees his gaze directed at the TV.
Getting curious, Jake’s hand creeps slowly to the soft tail in his lap and he carefully puts hands on it, looking over to see Sunoo’s reaction. And once he sees no discomfort on Sunoo’s face, he wraps his hands around the tail and strokes it gently, finding that his fear is slowly slipping away and he is becoming more and more relaxed.
Jake averts his attention back to the TV when he hears the volume sound. He watches the screen carefully as the open scene is nothing too scary. It seems like a family is driving home from a vacation from somewhere, that he couldn’t hear, for the summer. Unfortunately for them, traffic seems to be bad so Jake frowns at all the honking and arguing going on between the people in the road.
Suddenly, a loud boom sounds, which causes Jake to flinch slightly, not going unnoticed by Ni-ki, who is holding Jake in his embrace, and Sunoo, who feels Jake's grip tighten slightly then loosen back up on his tail.
Suddenly, a dark black figure pops out of nowhere and lands on the car next to the family, crushing the people in it. Out of fear, the people in other cars start to get out and run, and more of the same black, tall creatures come out and start killing everybody.
Jake tenses when he sees the family get out of their car and run into a shop nearby, and Jake assumes it is in hopes of not being out in the open to get caught by the scary monsters. Contrary to his beliefs however, after the family sat in silence, A monster appeared out of nowhere and this caused Jake to flinch hard, immediately bringing his hands to cover his eyes and ducking his face into Ni-ki’s chest.
Ni-ki looks down in surprise, not thinking Jake would actually be scared of the movie. He brings his right arm up and places it on Jake’s hair, rubbing soothing circles in Jake’s soft hair.
Jake peeks his eyes open from Ni-ki’s chest and looks around to make sure nobody is looking at him, and he quietly sighs in relief when he sees everyone gaze directed towards the TV. However, Jake feels too scared to look back so he is about to get up and go to bed early like he usually does but stops when he feels a hand in his hair.
He remembers how he got scared from the movie and out of instinct, he hid into the nearest thing there was, and that just so happened to be in Ni-ki’s chest. Embarrassment washes over him and he looks up at Ni-ki who is already looking down at him with soft, curious looking eyes.
Jake looks at him with a guilty expression, his puppy eyes working their magic without him even realizing it and Ni-ki just laughs lightly at him and smiles, then directs his gaze back to the TV.
Jake looks at the TV once more, and knowing he doesn’t like what it is showing, he lays his head back onto Ni-ki’s chest and lets himself close his eyes, relaxing into Ni-ki’s soft touch. Jake peeks an eye open once more and looks to see if Sunoo’s tail is still in his lap and it is so Jake takes the chance to sneakily but gently grab it and cuddle it to his chest.
Jake once more leans back against Ni-ki and his eyes flutter closed as he relishes in the new found affection he is getting, and even though it has been a couple days since he found out his friends were actually hybrids, he still couldn’t get used to the affection he has been getting. However, Jake pushes those thoughts away and clears his mind, letting the comfort of Sunoo’s fluffy tail and Ni-ki’s warm hand rubbing relaxing circles in his hair, guide him into dreamland. And just like that, Jake lets himself succumb to the tempting drowsiness, letting all of his awareness drift away about everything going on around him.
Ni-ki and Sunoo both look over to Jake when they hear soft snores and smile once they see a sleeping Jake in Ni-ki’s lap.
Sunoo coos at the way Jake is ever so carefully and gently but still firmly cuddles his tail to his chest, as if it was his life support and he would break if it was taken away from him. Sunoo reaches over and pulls the blanket that has almost completely fallen off of Jake and drags it back over him, careful not to wake Jake up. And once he deems his mission of making Jake comfy, he trunks his gaze back to the movie and focuses on the screen in front of him.
Ni-ki, while Sunoo was having his own moment of his own, takes his time to observe Jake's features.
Jake’s face is contorted in a cute pout, with his eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly like he is dreaming of something irritating. His plushy, pink lips are pressed together in a thin line but they somehow still manage to look as plump as ever. His eyelashes twitch every so often, probably a reaction from whatever he could be dreaming of and the light from the TV reflects off of Jake’s face and makes it glow. Not to mention it gives his lips a pretty shine, even though he has no gloss on his lips whatsoever.
Ni-ki’s gaze drifts to a streak of blonde hair that falls from Jake’s head and Ni-ki quietly brings his hand up and gently tucks the ever-so-soft piece of blond hair behind Jake’s ear, revealing the soft, natural blush on his cheeks.
A small smile makes its way onto Ni-ki’s face and his ears and tail twitch in comfort, knowing someone he cared so deeply about felt safe with him, and he lets his gaze shift back to the TV, letting Jake rest peacefully in his arms.
The movie finishes about45 minutes later and silence erupts in the room.
Sunghoon stretches, feeling the tiredness creep up to him. The rest laugh and silently agree in their minds.
However, their attention turns to Sunoo, when they hear a squeak.
“What was that?” Heeseung asks.
Sunoo just looks down at Jake In response and the rest coo at the sight Jake curled up against Ni-ki in his lap with Sunoo’s tail cuddled to his chest. Everyone thinks back to how the past few days have been. Chaotic would be the word to describe them.
They all let their eyes close and they let the sound of Jake’s soft breathes lull them to sleep, Happy for now.