Alien On This Earth

Piece of a Puzzle (Don't Let It Fall Apart)

I am so sorry this took so long to get out. I have abandoned my outline for this story, and I don't even know how it's going to end at this point LOL

BTW, Han is sick in this but what Chan is talking about with Hannah is called Hypovolemic Shock. It happens when you lose too many body fluids - so blood, or when you're throwing up way too much without replacing the water you've lost. So yes, there's throwing up in this - if you're sensitive to that you can skip all the parts with Felix and Han and just read Minho and Chan parts. 

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Minho knew something was up the moment the 3Racha + Hyunjin dorm joined the rest of the members in the practice room. How could anyone miss the way the light, playful atmosphere twisted into something dark and terrifying. Even Felix's ever-present smile faltered when he looked at the group as they entered. 

"Good morning." Chan greeted them and their dance instructor as soon as he entered. Minho would applaud him for his valiant efforts to seem casual and happy, but the dancer knew the leader too well and knew that his smile wasn't what to base his emotions off of. Chan's eyes gave it away. It gave away an emotion Minho hadn't expected: anger. 

And not just mad anger, it was pure, burning, raw seething hatred that was coming from Chan's eyes. A type of anger Minho hadn't seen from the leader's eyes since the day he was eliminated. It terrified even him and he could only manage a short bow of his head while the boys put their bags down for practice. 

Minho made a mental note to ask Chan what was going on later, but it didn't seem like he'd need it. He went to switch out his street shoes with his dance shoes, which so happened to be by the wall, the same spot that Hyunjin and Han were getting ready. Even with Hyunjin's barely audible whispering, the dancer's ears were tuned to the members hushed voices. 

"You really don't look good, Ji. Are you sure you're okay to be here today?" Hyunjin whispered, standing over the younger as he dug through his bag for his water bottle. "No one would blame you if you wanted to go home." 

"I'm fine, Jinnie." Han sighed, and Minho's heart broke at the absolute exhaustion in his voice. It sounded like the younger's world was falling apart around him and that he'd just given up trying to patch it together. He wanted to hug Han, tell him not to give up on himself - he'd only been at therapy for two sessions, nothing was going to change that fast. But he kept his mouth shut, because sometimes, listening tells you more than asking. 

"You're not fine, Ji, please don't say that." Hyunjin whispered back, running a hand through his hair. "Just... promise me that if your leg hurts too much you'll stop. Okay?" 

"Sure." Han mumbled and stood up, abandoning his search for his water bottle. As soon as he stood up though he froze and blinked rapidly. 

"Are you okay?" Hyunjin asked in a normal tone, attracted the attention of the other members. They all turned to look at the two rappers. 

"Just give me- give me a second." Han panted, reaching a hand up to dig his palm into his eye. 

"Are you dizzy?" Minho decided to ask, though he didn't exactly need to ask it, he could see Han swaying on his feet even though his entire body had gone rigid. 

"Fine. I'm fine. Just..." He opened his eyes to find seven boys plus their dance instructor staring at him. Humiliation painted his face red. How was he supposed to admit that when he was "eating" he was stuffing food into his pockets to flush down the toilet later? He felt guilty enough wasting the food. But he felt a million times guiltier lying to the others. He was still being forced to eat - he couldn't avoid their eyes enough to escape everything. He hated his reflection. And he hated that they could see him here now and see the truth that he wasn't eating what they deemed proper.