Hell and Back (EXO x Reader)

Spree (Trial 14)

Word count: 1086

Chapter warnings: Mild language

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"Whose power is out?"

"Chanyeol."

"So who wants to go?" As they were all breezing through the trials, (even though a few were less than pleasurable cuisine experiences), they were spending less and less time on deliberation.

"I can go," Xiumin offered. "I'm one of the people who hasn't been put up yet, and we'll all have to do it eventually."

"Yeah, sounds good." Suho agreed, indicating for Y/N to push the button for the boy's name. Waiting for the challenge to load up, the familiar lettering appeared.

Trial 14: Tabasco sauce

Use at least a quarter of a bottle (or enough to adequately cover the majority of your skin) of tabasco sauce and rub it into your skin.

Limited power: Chanyeol

Drop-out Fee: $500

"That's... strange." Kyungsoo commented, face twisting in confusion. "You'd think that they'd block Xiumin's power in this case, since he'd easily be able to counteract the heat."

"You got lucky with the pick, as well." Sehun added. Shrugging, Xiumin didn't seem to have any particular emotions toward the trial.

"Do we even have any in the house?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Um, I'm not sure." He responded, thinking. "I thought Kyungsoo was the one into spicy stuff?"

"Luhan and Kai both like it too-" Kyungsoo argued.

"Guys, guys, calm down." Baekhyun raised his hands. "A lot of us like spicy food, but I'm pretty sure all we have is sriracha. We can either go to someone's house, or one of us can run to the store, or-"

"We should all go to the story!" Sehun said excitedly. It was a bit strange to see him so excited about rubbing chilis into Xiumin's skin, but he was moreso hyped for a group shopping trip. They had done it before, but it had been a decently long while since it had happened. She had to admit it seemed nice, and it gave them a break from the monotony of completing all the trials in such a boring fashion. Plus, if they were out, they could pick a new setting for some of the next trials.

Everyone piled into Kris' car again, prompting a round of warnings from him to treat it properly. There were still candy bar wrappers littered from the night before, but thankfully he couldn't see them from the driver's seat. There was a grocery store not even ten minutes down the road, so they were content to be packed in like sardines again. Thankfully they weren't pulled over. Pulling into the parking lot, everyone jumped out, walking into the store in a large, disruptive group. The boys argued for much longer than necessary over where the Tabasco was, leaving Y/N to shake her head and split off to grab it herself.

As she turned into the spices aisle, she heard soft footsteps behind her. Turning, she noted that Chen was following her, purposely averting his eyes so as to avoid awkward contact.

"Hey... did you need something?" She asked, unsure of how to mention that she'd noticed him.

"Oh, uh... not particularly. They were just kind of loud, so... I figured I'd come with you." She didn't really have a problem with that, so she paused, allowing him to catch up and walk beside her, occasionally brushing his upper arm against hers due to the thin build of the aisle. Coming up on the sauce, they saw several different sizes. Chen's immediate reaction was to grab the biggest one, but she grabbed his forearm, stopping him.

"Wait, just find the smallest one."

"What? Why? We're gonna use it all anyway."

"It said he had to use a quarter of the bottle, but it didn't give an ounce requirement. The smaller the bottle, the less he has to use."

"Oh... Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Unfortunately, they weren't able to locate those shotglass-like bottles that barely contained anything, but they did manage to find a small-ish 12oz bottle. That meant he only had to use three of the ounces. Seeing it as a win, they took it back to the group, who were all still arguing and messing around in the front of the store.

"Alright, we got the bottle, let's checkout." Y/N called their attention.

"Oh, already?" Luhan asked. "That was fast."

"No, you were just busy running your mouth." Lay snickered.

"Cut it out!"

"Wait, can we get that boxed sushi before we leave?" Sehun asked, eyes pleading like a five year old child.

"No, wait! Get something sweet, like cupcakes or something!" Baekhyun changed excitedly. Another argument broke out as Y/N rolled her eyes.

"Stop! You can all get one little thing, just make it quick." She'd never seen twelve grown-ass men cheer so loud in their life, obviously pissing off the employees. They would be glad when the group was gone. They rang it all up together, Kris constantly going on about how he'd 'better not find all that crap in the back of his car'. As everyone piled back in, Xiumin pulled out the tabasco bottle, popping the seal.

"Can't you do that outside?" Kris complained.

"I'm not gonna spill it." Xiumin promised, opening the cap and pouring a bit out into his hand. Rubbing it into the top of his arm, his eye twitched just a bit.

"You good?" Suho asked.

"Yeah, just stings a bit. I'm gonna do a little bit more just to be sure."

"I can heal it if you want," Lay offered.

"It's not really an injury." Xiumin said, capping the bottle. "Make sure that goes through?" Sure enough, the completion banner flashed. As soon as he saw it, he hovered his hand over the now-red area, letting the others watch in fascination as the translucent, white crystals slowly grew over his skin. Creating a small, crystalline glass-like skin, his features relaxed, the temperature already making him feel better.

"Alright, I'm good. Who's restricted next?"

"Uh-" Y/N looked down. "Sehun. So should we put up

"Well, when Sehun went we said we were gonna go in that order we mentioned... Sehun, Xiumin, me, Chanyeol, Luhan, and Y/N," Lay started, "We kind of forgot, but Xiumin volunteered anyway, so I'm happy to go next."

"Sounds good to me." Y/N agreed, expecting the same boring little process as before. This time, though... The trial seemed.... different. Off. It wasn't quite the fun little challenge the others had been. Looking up as she swallowed in nervousness, she told Lay his challenge.