Forced Night Out

  “Are you coming tonight?”

  You rolled your eyes at your friends facetiming you from the party they were all at, your arm outstretched as you were chilling on the couch in your living room. Home safe and sound, hoping it would stay that way despite knowing the reason why your friends were calling you, especially now when they could be having fun at the social event of a lifetime. 

  “You all should already know that I’m staying home, large crowds like that are not my cup of tea” You shook your head as you spoke, stretching your body out as you heard your friends groan through your phone’s speakers, already laughing at their displeased sounds. 

  “Oh, come on! We wanna see you homebody, this party is no fun without you.” The eldest of your friend group, Chris spoke up, pouting at you through the screen as you saw the rest of your friends nod along in agreement, making you laugh further.

  “Oh really? Why don’t you show me how boring that party is looking right now then, hmm?” Your eyebrows raised as you watched the guys glance at each other before sneaking you a shy glimpse at the party going on around them. The blaring lights and crowded dance floor made the party look like any other night club here in the city, you could even compare it to one of the popular clubs nearby judging from how hyped up the crowd looked as the music was probably drumming loud through their eardrums. You couldn’t help the sigh that escaped your lips as you took in the sight through your phone. Yep, definitely not somewhere you would want to be. You could already feel how uncomfortable and claustrophobic you would be as the thought of actually attending that kind of party crossed your mind. The looks on your friends' faces already expressed clearly how much they knew you’d probably wouldn’t like it there as they panned the camera back to them, your small smile only reassuring them a little bit.

  “Guys, first of all that party looks absolutely bussin'! I’d be surprised if it was at all boring. And second, I would have a heart attack in that kind of environment. No way am I leaving the comfort of my home for that.” As much as the sad faces they were all pulling were tugging on your heart strings. You stood by your statement fully, not expecting them to practically beg you otherwise. 

  “Please bubba? We miss you, it's been forever since we last saw you!”

  “We promise you’ll have fun! So, please come out with us. We miss you so much”

  “Come on baby bear, just this once! We promise you’ll have fun.”

  “Look, we even got Jisung to be out here and he’s a homebody like you!”

  “Hey!”

  “Pretty please bubba? Come on~” The constant whining and begging coming from your friends was non-stop over the phone and with there being eight of them, it became too much noise for you to handle. Your resolve was crumbling and they could tell by your facial expressions that they were winning, so they kept at it till you spoke up yourself, looking guilty enough for them to stop talking for a second.

  “I wouldn’t have a ride to the party anyway, I told you guys about my car troubles a week ago and it still hasn’t been fixed yet. So, I think it’s better for me to just stay home anyway.” You expected the boys to be disappointed by your response, but instead you saw all of their happy smiles and smirks instead of frowns which was enough of a surprise for you. However, you were also worried how far they would go just to hang out with you tonight. The thought was lovely but knowing them it could be just as scary.

  “We’ll give you half an hour to get ready, so if you're not ready by the time we get there-”

  “Be prepared to get dragged out of the house no matter what state we walk in on!” The second oldest, Minho spoke out, interrupting Chris. The look evident on the oldest face expressing his displeasure. But you were more focused on what they were doing for you, very quick to object. But sadly, they were quicker.

  “See you in a few bubba, bye!” And just like that, they hung up on you. The groan that left your whole chest was involuntary as you slouched even further into the couch, absolutely dreading the party you're basically forced to attend. Although you love your friends with all of your heart, even you have limits to what you can or can’t handle when it comes to them. You’ll need the whole half hour and more to mentally prepare yourself as you stand up to get ready. Wouldn’t want the boys to drag you out of the house half naked like you absolutely knew they would. 

  The doorbell and a few knocks could be heard as soon as the half an hour time limit was up. Confident in your outfit but not in your emotional state, you could feel your own stomach drop at the sounds of your friends calling you from outside your door. You were very hesitant as you opened it, greeting the guys with an awkward smile as you grabbed onto your bag tight. Knuckles turning white as you step closer to the exit of your home.

   “Hey guys..” As soon as the words fell from your lips, you were enveloped into a group hug by all eight of your friends. Laughing as you happily returned the affection. You could feel some of the tension leaving your body as you choose to focus on the moment happening right now. Feeling a bit better with each of them here. 

   “Oh come on guys, it hasn’t even been that long!” You couldn’t help but giggle as the hug didn’t cease at all, the boys poking at your sides, making you laugh and squirm even harder as you tried to break away. But they kept you trapped in their hug just to toture you a bit longer. 

   “It was long enough for us to miss our little baby bear~~” Changbin spoke up, third oldest of the group and someone who just loves to tease you and everyone younger than him amongst your friend group. Despite him actually being made fun of the most. Ruffling your hair as he cooed at how cute you were, you had to hit him a couple of times and pull away just so he could stop messing with you for even just a minute.

   “Stop~! This reunion was touching but now my hair is all messed up.” You spoke as you tried to fix your hair, making your friends laugh and preach at how cute you were being again. The sigh of defeat you exhaled only scratched the surface of how you truly felt about being babied all the time. To this very day, you will never get used to the feeling. 

   “Doesn’t feel so good now, does it?” Jeongin whispered to you, he used to be the youngest of the group before you came along. But now, he uses his smug new authority over you as someone only two years older. 

   “If you ever want to take back that title, please be my guest.” You whispered back, crossing your arms as you watched him shake his head in response. His teasing smirk back on his face just to rub it in a little.

   “So, are you ready to go now?” Chris spoke to you softly, watching you tense up with a slight frown on his face as you were reminded of why they came to visit in the first place. Your hands tightening on your bag once again as you nodded while keeping your eyes glued to the floor. Not very convincing to the boys now is it?

   “You’ll be fine, promise. We’ll have fun, just the nine of us.” Chris’s reassuring tone was helping you ease up a bit, making you flash him a small smile while the boys made way for you to leave your home first. Some pats on the back were felt as you headed out the door. Waiting for the rest of them to follow before you had to lock the door. The dread came back tenfold as you heard the click to your door lock in place, securing the safety of your home from the outside world. You felt another sigh escape while putting your keys away. Soon feeling arms wrap around you from behind before their chin was resting on your shoulder. 

   “Hey, just relax and we’ll have fun. Trust me.” You smiled after hearing Felix speak, leaning in to his much needed back hugs. His hugs in general were the absolute best. 

   “I trust you guys, just uneasy.” You felt him nod through the pressure on your shoulder before going to follow the rest of the boys who started to head out of your apartment complex first. However, you couldn’t walk with ease like you normally could with Felix still clinging onto you from behind. His refusal to let go is evident with the tight grip he had on you.

   “Felix, are you gonna let go of me anytime soon?”

   “Nope.” His immediate response made you laugh as you struggled to keep up with the others for a bit, waddling away with Felix till you decided to just carry him on your back so you could at least stay close to the others. His giggles being heard as you surprised him with a piggy back ride. You were lucky he was so skinny otherwise you would have to endure waddling till you all arrived at the parking lot. You could use the little exercise anyway as you were quick to stay close to the others. Some looking back and laughing at both you and Felix as they led the way to where they were parked. You finally let Felix hop off once the car was in sight, stretching a bit before stepping closer to the vehicle. Watching everyone climb inside and take their seats, with a few bickering happening back and forth. 

   “I’m sitting next to our bubba.” 

   “Jisung, that’s my seat. I don’t want to switch.”

   “Please Seungmin? Just for a bit I wanna sit next to them.”

   “Jisung, just take your usual seat.”

   “No, Seungmin please!” Jisung continued to whine, making a few of the others laugh before Chris had to break it up. Whispering something into Seungmin’s ear which caused him to sigh out loud before Chris has to whisper the same thing into Jisung’s ear judging by their polar opposite reactions. 

   “This is only temporary Jisung, you're so annoying.” Seungmin glared at Jisung before going to take Jisung’s seat instead while the latter happily took the spot next to you, flashing you his lovely heart smile. You had to cover your mouth in hopes not to laugh too loud at the situation happening before you. It was enduring as it was hilarious. 

   “You missed me that much?” You had to tease Jisung a bit, which made him blush a bit in response. 

   “Of course, I missed you the most.” You cooed as you went to grab his chubby cheeks, squishing them gently as he whined at you to let go. You continued despite his protests. 

   “Oh my Sungie, you are absolutely adorable! Love your little chipmunk cheeks~.” You laughed as he was quick to pull away, pouting before going to lean his head on your shoulder. 

   “Thanks for taking revenge for me, pinch his cheeks harder next time.” Seungmin whispered from behind you, biting your lip to hold back your laughter. You gave Seungmin a quick fist bump before Jisung could notice.

   “Alright, let’s go!” Excited cheers and screams could be heard through the small confined space as Chris could only laugh along as he started the car while Minho who was sitting in the passenger seat was just mindlessly screaming along with the rest of the knuckleheads who were making too much noise for anyone to handle. You smiled further as you rested your head on top of Jisungs’, watching him play with your hands with amusement. This is certainly helping you take your mind off things. 

   After a bit of driving, you could finally see the party’s flashing lights in the distance. You felt your heartbeat escalate too quickly for your liking, having to stop and take deep breaths as you saw the party draw closer. Once you saw Chris slow down, assuming he was looking for a good spot to park. Your heart nearly stopped as you saw the amount of people both inside and outside the house. How could anyone have that many party guests in one house like that? That’s literally insane. You might as well compare that nightmare to packed sardines or some shit. Are your friends really that set on having fun in a place so packed?? You could already feel yourself hyperventilating a bit, so much so you felt Jisung place a hand over yours, and once you thought Chris found a good place to park. He suddenly put the pedal to the metal and drove away from the party, you blinked in pure confusion as you watched the party disappear from your line of sight. You weren’t complaining really, if that feeling of pure relief that washed over you had anything to say about that. But, you thought the boys really wanted to stay at the party so you were more confused than anything and just had to ask.

   “Um, Chris? Where are we going? I thought-”

   “We’re not gonna make you go somewhere you don’t want to bubba, that party was a waste of time anyway.”

   “You mean complete bullshit. The alcohol was shit, and there were too many assholes for us to deal with.” 

   “Minho!”

   “What! Am I wrong?”

   “He’s right bubba, wouldn’t want you to get harassed over there either.” Hyunjin spoke up this time, patting your head from behind. 

   “Dude! Minho was so close to getting into a fight with one of those assholes. It was kinda scary.”

   “That’s because they were messing with you Jisung, we were all ready to show those fuckers a lesson.”

   “Please stop with the bad language Minho.” 

   “Dad, let me live.”

   “I think both Chris and Changbin were terrifying, their glares were probably the reason those guys ran off in a hurry. I would too if I were them.” Felix spoke up this time, still looking down at his hands playing with Changbin’s, sitting all the way in the back with Jeongin as well. 

   “Yeah...We just wanted to surprise you.” Chris spoke, a little flustered with the memory of how he acted back at the party. You were shocked as you tried to process the information being thrown at you, not even noticing Jisung’s concerned gaze directed towards you. 

   “Let’s not prank them like that again though. I could hear them hyperventilating from back here.” Seungmin spoke up this time, eyes directed back to his book. Jisung nodded as his grip on your hand tightened, making you direct your attention to him. 

   “Yeah, you ok?” You could hear the concern clear in his tone, already feeling quite guilty for making your friends worry like this. Nevertheless, you nodded, taking your hand back gently before speaking. 

   “Yeah I am, don’t worry. That party was just...insane to me. That many people in a house that wasn’t fit to hold half of the people there? I was feeling claustrophobic just looking at the place.” You felt goosebumps form on your skin from just the memory alone. Most of your friends nodded in response while you felt a few head pats from the people behind you. 

   “I can understand where you’re coming from, although I’ll let you know this. The house is actually bigger on the inside compared to the outside. Still amazes me how they could fit that many people though.” You chuckled a bit at Chris’s attempt to lighten the mood, which I guess worked with the slight ease in everyone’s laughs and smiles. 

   “I understand how you feel too, we’re all here for you.” Jisung let out a small smile as he patted the hand he was holding, having someone with social anxiety just as bad as yours makes things a lot more comforting in this entire friend group full of social butterflies and extroverts. 

   “This is why you're my favorite, us introverts and homebodys gotta stick together.” You smiled as you ruffled Jisung’s hair, although he was complaining as you were doing so. The smile on his face and beautiful infectious laughter told you otherwise. 

   “Wow, so cruel. Actually picking favorites.”

   “You're not my favorite then!”

   “Oh my god shut up guys, like we all aren’t literally in love with Jeongin.”

   “Keep me out of this please.” 

   “Alright, settle down. Now that we aren’t going to that stupid party. How about we stop to get something to eat first before we drive around some more and decide where we want to go, sounds good?” 

   “Yes Daddy~.”

   “Felix please.” The car erupted into laughter from Chris’s negative reaction, Changbin and Jeongin gently hitting at their seating partner for making such a joke. You smiled as the sounds of your friend’s laughter seemed to echo throughout the compact space, filling your heart with a kind of warmth you knew you could only feel with the people around you now. You were truly grateful, feeling these emotions swirl around your chest as you hear the laughter die down to a few quiet giggles. Taking a deep breath to calm down a bit, your smile never fading. 

   “Thank you guys, truly.” The whole space quieted down, the atmosphere fond and loving as a few glances were directed towards you, Jisung being the first to speak up as he leaned his head against yours with grace. 

   “Anything for you.”