LO$ER=LO♡ER

Chapter 44

Amara stood in her living room and watched as Riki let TXT inside her apartment. The moment they stepped inside, she could feel her heart sink into her stomach. She swallowed a nervous lump in her throat, trying to keep herself together. She took slow breaths, keeping calm. They headed in her direction. Instinctively, she wanted to move away from them and hide. But, she stood where she was. She told herself she would face them today. And that's what she was going to do.

Soobin was the first to approach her. "Happy birthday," he said, holding out a bouquet of flowers.

They were all orchids; her favorite flower. She accepted them, smiling softly. It was a real smile.

"Thank you. I didn't think you remembered," she said quietly, smelling them. They smelled amazing.

"Of course we did. You were our girlfriend for several months. We would never forget," Soobin said, with a soft smile.

She looked at him and nodded. "Thank you again. They're lovely," Amara smiled.

He gave her his own smile, before moving elsewhere. She put the flowers on her coffee table, looking at everyone. She noticed that all but Sunghoon and Heeseung seemed to be off put by TXT's presence. Well, those two were a bit on guard too. But, not as bad as the others. She could see that Jay was glaring at them, and not even trying to be subtle about it. The others were doing the same. They didn't care if they were seen. They only cared about how they were feeling right now. And that was angry.

Jungwon came to stand next to the others, still glaring. "I don't like that they're here. Why did they have to invite them?" he mumbled,

"I don't like it, either," Riki scoffed, looking away and rolling his eyes.

"They shouldn't even be allowed to step foot in her apartment. This is so stupid," Seonwoo sighed, reaching up and rubbing his temple.

"We should be civil. We're all angry about them being here, but this isn't our occasion. This is about Amara. We need to try for her sake," Jake spoke up, not happy about any of this, but wanting to make their fiance happy.

"As much as I hate to say it, you're right. I'll try to be nice," Jay sighed heavily, crossing his arms.

While they were talking, Sunghoon was with Heeseung. They were having their own conversation.

"My only real concern was Kai coming and causing a scene. But, he didn't come," Sunghoon mumbled.

"It's a good thing, too. Nothing has happened for a while. He's the cause of all of it. Without him here, I don't think we have too much to worry about. But, it doesn't mean we shouldn't watch them," Heeseung said, making sure to keep a close eye on TXT.

He didn't want them doing anything stupid or cruel. He doubted it, but it didn't hurt to be sure.

"I just hope we don't need to watch too much. I want to have fun and I want her to have fun," Sunghoon moved his eyes to their fiance.

She had gone into the kitchen and was passing out cold drinks to the others.

"We'll be able to spend time with her after this. I think we'll all feel better once that happens," Heeseung said, clearing his throat.

Sunghoon could only hope.

Thankfully, nothing bad happened during the event. TXT behaved, but the others were convinced it was because Kai didn't come with them. Which was for the best, because everyone felt if he had, he would've only caused an uproar. And that's something nobody wanted.

The only real bad thing to happen, was the big storm going on outside, which ended up causing the power to go out. Everyone was having their own conversation when it happened. Amara had been talking to TXT, when her living room was suddenly thrown into darkness.

"Damn it," she mumbled at the power outage.

"I knew the storm was bad, but I didn't think it would be that bad. I should've known," Jay said from somewhere nearby, sighing.

"I'll go get some candles and light them," Amara said, pulling out her phone.

She turned on her flashlight and made her way to the kitchen. She opened one of her drawers, pulling out a few candles. She rummaged around in the drawer, finally finding the lighter.

"Let me help you," Taehyun said, making her look up.

She nodded, accepting his help. The two of them lit the candles and brought them into the living room. It didn't bring too much light, but it was enough to be able to see where everyone was going.

Amara was about to put a battery powered candle in the bathroom, when the power flickered back on. She looked up as the lights flickered a couple of times, before turning on normally.

"Oh, that was quick," Riki's voice came from the living room.

She returned to the front, to see Seonwoo blowing out the candles that had been lit. She clicked off the battery candle.

"We should get back to the dorm. It's really storming outside. Hopefully the streets aren't flooded," Yeonjun stated, looking outside the window.

"That's a good idea. It might be dangerous," Amara agreed with him.

She watched as they said decent and civil goodbyes to Enhypen.

"Thank you for inviting us. And thank you for letting us in your home. I'm sure it was hard for you to face us, but you did. We really do appreciate you allowing us to come," Soobin tells her, as he came to stand next to her.

Amara looked up at him and smiled softly.

"You're right; It was hard for me. But, I'm glad I let you guys come. It was a good night," she nodded,

"And... I'm sorry about everything. About what happened and... How it happened. I'm sure Beomgyu already told you everything on our side," Soobin said, reaching up and rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, he told me," she said softly, looking down.

"We really are sorry for everything. Truly. You don't have to believe us. You can decide on believing us. And it's your choice on whether you decide to forgive us or not. Whatever you choose, we'll support your decision. I'm sure it doesn't look like it, but we're here for you. If you let us, that is,"

His words surprised her, making her look up at him. She didn't hide the shock on her face. She blinked a couple of times, before finally speaking.

"That's... That's really sweet of you, Soobin. I'd love it if we could be friends. And the extra support would be really nice," Amara smiled genuinely at him, which he returned with his own smile.

"That's great. I'm glad that you're letting us back into your life. Even if it might not... Be the way we want," he chuckled nervously, running a hand through his black hair.

She laughed just as nervously.

"But..."

He looked away from her to look at Enhypen still talking to the other TXT members.

"If they make you happy, that's all that matters. That's all we want; Is your happiness. And if they're your happiness, then that's what I want for you," Soobin said softly, smiling softly.

Amara reached over taking his hand in hers, surprising him. He looked down at their hands, before looking at her.

"Thank you for accepting that and supporting me. I really appreciate it. It means so much to me," she whispered.

Soobin smiled and pulled her into a tight hug. She was a bit shocked at first, before finally returning the hug. They hugged for a moment, before pulling away from each other. He put a gentle hand on her head, ruffling her hair softly.

"Happy birthday."