They had went home early since Johnny agreed to Donghyuck's request. Donghyuck went straight to his room and changed in pajamas and grabbed his blanket to comfort himself. He sighed knowing he messed up already on the first day and possibly made Johnny look like he had a freak of a brother. He laid down folding into himself. Johnny knocked and walked in. "Hyuckie, are you okay?" He asked softly and walked over sitting on the edge of the bed and running his fingers through Donghyuck's hair.
"S-sorry I caused a scene hyung" Donghyuck apologized. Johnny sighed.
"It's okay Hyuck, don't beat yourself up over it okay?" He said and Donghyuck nodded. They talk about random things for awhile before Johnny left saying he'll let him rest.

-

The next day they arrived at school. The day had gone by quickly without any hiccups and now Donghyuck was at dance class. He looked at his hyungs and Taeyong walked over to greet him. "Hey Hyuck" he smiled and Donghyuck smiled back.
"Hey hyung" he said softly.
"How are you feeling?" He asked. Donghyuck felt embarrassed by his episode yesterday and blushed.
"B-better" he said.
"I'm glad" his hyung smiled and ruffled his hair. Donghyuck laughed.
"Oh who's this?" a buff male walked over and Donghyuck secretly looked him over.
"U-uh hi, my name is Donghyuck" he smiled timidly. He wished Johnny were here.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Jongin but you can call me Kai" he smiled and offered his hand. Donghyuck hesitated but then shook it. Their dance instructor came in a few minutes later and Donghyuck saw Mark walk out of the changing room with a simple black shirt and sweatpants. Donghyuck looked at his own clothing; a white t-shirt and grey joggers along with his black baseball cap to keep his hair away from his face.
"Ready everyone?" the instructor said and everyone nodded or said "yes." Honestly, Donghyuck was scared. What if he wasn't good enough?

They were taking a break and Donghyuck grabbed his water and quickly gulped it down and took off his hat to push back his hair and place the cap on his head again. He looked around and saw people had brought snacks, Taeyong being one of them. He saw Taeyong, Kai, and Mark sitting in a small triangle on the floor eating chips and laughing. Donghyuck eyed Mark feeling a smile make it's way to his lips from seeing Mark laugh. Mark's nose scrunching and eyes narrowing was quite adorable. He patted his cheeks because they felt a bit hot. He went to his bag and grabbed the small towel he brought and started to pat the sweat off of him. "Hey Hyuck!" Taeyong hollered and Donghyuck turned and Taeyong beckoned him over. "Come on, join us down here. I have snacks" he said.
"You're such a mom" Mark laughed.
"That's Doyoung, not me" Taeyong said. Donghyuck sat between Kai and Mark since they made room for him.
"Here" Mark said and offered a bag of chips. Donghyuck smiled and took it.
"Thank you hyung" he said happily and opened it.
"You're a ball of sunshine huh? How do you have this much energy?" Kai chuckled. Donghyuck looked at him a bit shy and shrugged.
"I-I'm in a good mood today" he said and popped a chip in his mouth.
"You have ten more minutes!" the instructor said. Some people groaned while others hurriedly ate their food.
"Hey, wanna go out for some hot pot tonight?" Taeyong asked.
"Shit I wish but I have a paper to write" Kai groaned.
"Sure" Mark said. Donghyuck bit his lip. Was he really ready to go without Johnny? Shoot! He can't keep depending on his older brother.
"O-Okay" he smiled timidly. Taeyong smiled and patted Donghyuck's knee.
"I'm glad you're coming" Mark nudged Donghyuck "I'm glad we're getting along now" he added. Haechan must've been mean.
"Yeah sorry, yesterday was... rough. Friends?" he asked offering his hand praising himself for being so confident.
"Friends" Mark smiled brightly and shook his hand.
Donghyuck liked the way their hands fit together, but nobody needs to know that.
Taeyong continued making plans and asked Donghyuck for his number so he could share the plans.

-

After his last class he called Johnny to tell him he's going to eat with Taeyong and Mark.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Johnny asked worriedly over the phone.
"Yeah I'm sure, h-hyung I think I can do it. I should be more independent right?" he giggled at himself for a second. Johnny went silent for a few seconds and Donghyuck felt unsure if he said the wrong thing.
"I'm proud of you Hyuckie" Johnny said. Donghyuck smiled.
"Thank you" he said.
"Call me if you need me okay?"
"Okay" Donghyuck answered.
"Love ya" Johnny said.
"Love you too" Donghyuck said and hung up. He took a deep breath and went into the bathroom to make sure he looked alright. He had changed back into regular clothes. A baby blue sweater and a pair of black ripped jeans. He fixed his hair and walked out. His phone buzzed and he saw he had a message from Taeyong to meet him outside the college near the doors. He noticed it was a group chat, another number was there. He assumed it was Mark's. He walked out and took a deep breath looking around.
"There you are" Taeyong smiled.
"Sorry if I took too long" Donghyuck said softly and Taeyong waved him off.
"Let's go kids" he said with a laugh.
"We're not kids" Mark said back with a pout and Donghyuck laughed as Taeyong rolled his eyes and led them to his car. "I call shotgun" Mark called and jogged to the passenger door.
"We're not kids" Taeyong mocked and Mark glared playfully. Donghyuck got in the back as they got in up front. He can do this.

Okay maybe he can't. It was crowded and he was scared to lose them. He clutched onto Mark's shirt and the older turned back to look at him. Donghyuck bit his lip. He's fine, he's okay he doesn't need Johnny. He should be honest right? He found his voice after a few seconds. "C-can I hold your hand so we don't get separated?" He said shyly. Mark raised a brow and then smiled and grabbed Donghyuck's hand and led him through the crowd. He felt his face flush as he followed Mark. He felt grounded.
They finally made if inside and Mark didn't let go until they had to sit down. Taeyong opposite of Donghyuck and Mark.
"Jeez it was so crowded" Taeyong groaned and grabbed a menu and handed two over to the younger males. Donghyuck looked at the menu, they were coming here for hot pot so he'll just let Taeyong order. He looks at the drinks and sees they pop and tea along with water of course. The waitress came over.
"What would you like to drink?" She questioned the table with a smile.
"Water" Taeyong said.
"Same" Mark said.
"M-me too" Donghyuck blushed after he stuttered.
"What was that?" The waitress asked leaning closer to hear him.
"I'd like a water too" he managed to raise his voice to a normal tone and she smiled and wrote it down.
"Okay, I'll be right back" she walked off. He took a deep breath and saw Taeyong smiling at him.
"How's college for you so far?" The older asked and Donghyuck shrugged.
"Not too bad" he laughed slightly.
"It's a pain" Mark groaned.
"I didn't ask you" Taeyong shot back at Mark jokingly. Mark gave a fake glare and then laughed. Taeyong leaned over the table and flicked Mark's forehead, the younger groaned and rubbed the red spot as Taeyong sat back with a satisfied smile. "Anyways Hyuck, you can come to me if any of your classes get hard. I can help you!" He smiled brightly. Donghyuck nodded with a smile feeling much better.
"Thank you hyung!" He said just as their drinks arrived. The woman set them down and the younger males let Taeyong order. While they waited they chatted about random stuff and their classes.
"How's your classes going? Do you like them?" Taeyong asked Donghyuck and took a drink of his water. Donghyuck nodded.
"Yeah, I'm struggling a bit with English since Professor Park is moving so quickly" he said shyly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I can help you" Mark said and Donghyuck faced him.
"You speak English?" He asked and Mark laughed.
"I was born in Canada" he said. Donghyuck oh-ed and nodded.
"Okay, thank you hyung" he said. Mark patted his shoulder.
"No problem Haechan" he said. Donghyuck blanked out at that. Haechan. He met Haechan first. Donghyuck nodded and then took a drink to distract himself. The food soon came and they were quickly gathering their portions of it as they ate hungrily.
After the meal Taeyong paid and they got out of the booth and left after leaving a tip. It was still crowded and it seemed like it got worse. Donghyuck's mind was running. He met Haechan first. He met him first. What happens if Haechan doesn't like Mark? Gosh! I should focus! He tried to follow close behind but soon got lost. People were everywhere and he lost the older males. He bit his lip and turned looking around for blue hair but there's too many people. If Johnny were here you'd find him easily. Donghyuck felt his eyes sting, he was so overwhelmed by all the people and he was shoved along, people bumping into him and glares. "T-Taeyong hyung" he whispered. "Mark hyung" he whispered once more too scared to raise his voice and draw attention. A tear slid down his cheek as he shook not knowing where to go. He grabbed his phone with shaky hands but couldn't focus on the screen as he attempted to put in his password.
He slipped.

-

Haechan groaned shoving past people and managed to make it to a less crowded area and looked around. He wiped his cheeks. Donghyuck cried. He grabbed Donghyuck's phone after feeling it buzz in his pocket. He saw Taeyong was calling so he answered and placed it against his ear. "Hey" he said simply.
"Hyuck? Where are you?" The male said worriedly. Haechan looked around and saw a big fountain.
"I'm by the big fountain" he said and Taeyong told him they're on their way.
He stood by it and waited for the two males. He looked down at his palms to see Donghyuck had clenched his fist so hard his nails cut half moon-shaped indents in his palms. He shoved his hands in his pocket.
"Hyuck!" He heard Taeyong and looked towards the two males who ran towards him looking worried. "Are you okay?" Taeyong asked and Haechan nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine" he said. Both males looked at him strange. Fuck I don't know if I can fake being Donghyuck. "L-let's just go" he tried to make his voice softer and the males nodded. Haechan watched as Mark offered his hand and Haechan raised a brow. Mark's face flushed.
"I-I thought you'd want to hold onto me again since it's crowded..." he explained. Again. Gosh Donghyuck is causing trouble for the both of us. He nodded and took Mark's hand. They finally made it to Taeyong's car and all got in.

Haechan arrived back at Johnny's apartment and shut the door behind him and sighed. "Hey Hyuck, how was dinner with Taeyong and Mark?" He asked.
"I don't know but my stomach feels full and it seems like it tasted nice. So I'm gonna assume it was good" Haechan said slipping off his shoes. Johnny hummed in acknowledgment. "Why weren't you there hyung?" Haechan asked. Johnny frowned as he made himself some coffee. Haechan noticed Johnny had been studying.
"Donghyuck didn't want me to g-" he started.
"So what? You should've watched him still. He got lost hyung. Plus he held hands with Mark" he rolled his eyes and set his bag down and stretched.
"He held Mark's hand?" Johnny asked.
"I guess when they were heading there he didn't want to get lost so he held Mark's hand" Haechan said and grabbed a pop from the fridge. "Anyways the point is you should've been there. Donghyuck was freaking out. He got lost in the crowd on the way back and didn't have a fucking flag-pole to find. He was so overwhelmed and he cried." Haechan spat and Johnny ruffled his own hair looking down.
"Donghyuck said he could handle it. Listen Haechan, I know we both want to protect Donghyuck but we have to let him be independent. Things like this are going to happen" Johnny said calmly.
"Whatever" Haechan said and walked off to his room.