THIRTEEN

It was Abby's first night sleeping at the dorms and she couldn't sleep. Abel was snoring loudly. She didn't even think earplugs would be able to help. Cain had told her about Abel being messy but he hadn't told her about him being a snorer. She wondered if Cain was still awake because she wanted to know how he put up with the snoring. She would have to text him to find out. It wasn't that late, it was barely 11. If he didn't reply after a few minutes then that just meant he was asleep and she too would have to try to sleep. She doubted she could but she was going to have to try.

<You awake?>

She had barely started scrolling on her Instagram feed when she received a reply from him.

<Wide awake. Your next door neighbor's dog has been barking all night.>

<And your roommate has been snoring all night.>

It looked like neither of them had been able to go to sleep.

<Ah. I forgot to tell you. Sorry. But don't worry, he doesn't snore every night. He only snores when he's extra tired. He must have practiced hard today.>

<Nice to know. But what do you do when he does snore? Are you really able to sleep like that?>

<Well usually I'll go to sleep with Josiah.>

<And I thought you said you two weren't a couple. Did you lie to me mister? Because I will find out if the boy tries to kiss me.>

<Don't make me throw up on your bed. Have you ever not slept with a younger sibling before?>

<No because I am the younger sibling.>

She was the youngest out of four. One sister and two brothers.

<Well did any of your siblings ever sleep with you?>

<No because I would kick them off the bed if they did.>

Her sister was 11 years older than her and she had moved out when she was only 7. Her brothers were close to her age but because of this they would always fight, at least when they were younger.

<Well I'm an only child and I always wanted a younger sibling so that's what Josiah is to me so stop being a perv and stop having dirty thoughts! You probably read too many fanfics. SMH.>

<You sir have just sunk my favorite ship. What about the other ships? CasMon? AbeTh? Are any of you dating each other?>

She knew it was highly unlikely but she still couldn't help fangirling whenever she saw these "ships" interacting with one another.

<AbeTh broke up because Seth was jealous of Abel's friendship with Joel. And Simon actually has a thing for Seth but he doesn't know.>

<OMG! Really?!>

She couldn't believe it. AbeTh had actually been real?! She looked over to where Abel was sleeping. She had never actually thought he was into guys but she still did like the ship.

<Of course not. I was only messing with you. As far as I know all of the guys are straight and only into girls.>

<My heart has just been broken at least three times.>

<Do you want to know how to stop Abel from snoring?>

Cain thought that perhaps she had texted him for that reason.

<How?>

She didn't even know it was possible to stop someone's snoring.

<He's sleeping on his back right now, isn't he? He's a back sleeper and that's actually one of the reasons he snores. So if you want him to stop just roll him over. Make sure that he's on his stomach instead of on his back. This way his face will be planted on the pillow so even if he does still manage to snore, the snores will be muffled and they won't be nearly as loud.>

<And yet you choose to sleep with Josiah instead of just doing this?>

She found that suspicious.

<Shut up and just do it.>

<He's not a light sleeper, is he?>

Abby was nervous that she would end up waking him up.

<Nope. He isn't. He does however sometimes do things and talks in his sleep.>

Do things? She didn't know what he meant by that but she proceeded to do what Cain suggested. She felt bad having to do this but she was tired and wanted to sleep.

"Sorry Abel." 

She whispered before putting her hands (with gloves) on him to roll him over.

He was heavier than she thought. She had barely managed to get him on his side when she felt a grip on her. Abel had one of his hands around her arm. He was touching her but he was still asleep. He was mumbling something when all of a sudden he pulled her down to him. She was basically on top of him and he had a tight hold on her. If by "do things" Cain meant this, then yes, he definitely did do things while he slept. 

This was not a good situation for Abby despite it probably being every fangirl's dream scenario. Not only had he touched her but her body was laying on top of his. She couldn't believe he could not feel the weight on him. That only proved that he wasn't a light sleeper.

She tried to pull away but the harder she tried, the harder he hold onto her. He had even managed to wrap his arms around her waist somehow. It was almost as if he was hugging her. Abby hadn't even liked the idea of sharing a room but now she was basically sharing a bed with someone. She had to get off. All she could think about were all the germs that had just gotten on her and how she was going to have to wash them all off. And if she couldn't shake him off then she was going to have to wake him up. 

"Abel! Let go of me!"

Her yelling finally managed to wake him up. 

"Huh? Cain is that you? What are you doing on my bed?" 

Abel tried to sit up but then he noticed that she was on top of him, luckily she was only laying across him and not actually fully on top of him. 

"Dude. You're heavy. Get off me." 

"That's what I've been trying to do but you're the one that has a tight hold on me." 

"Oh. Sorry." 

Abel saw that he was indeed holding onto her so he let go. 

"You were snoring so I was just trying to flip you over. I wanted to get you on your stomach so that you would be snoring on your pillow and your snores wouldn't be so loud." 

"Ohhh. Ok. Well that's better. I actually thought you were trying to rape me for a moment."

"Would I really do something like that?" 

"Well I mean I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to cuz you know, I'm irresistible." 

He was indeed. Had it not been for her Germaphobia, Abby might have actually enjoyed being held by him. She might have even wanted to stay in bed with him and not just to sleep but to do other things as well. But that was impossible, not only because of her Germaphobia but also because she was a guy at the moment. The only reason she had even asked Abel that question was because she had wanted to know if Cain would actually do such a thing but of course he wouldn't, no matter how sexy his roommate was. He had already told her he wasn't into guys but oh! the yaoi fanfics she was going to be able to write once she was back in her body! They were going to be so good!

Since she was finally out of Abel's hold, she needed to get new clothes so that she could take a shower. It was too dark so she had to turn on the lights. 

"What are you doing?" 

Abel looked at her as she was rummaging through the drawers. She was holding one of Cain's underwear, she had noticed he had mostly briefs so she thought it was safe to assume that he wasn't much of a boxers guy. Abby actually liked it more when guys wore briefs because she was able to see their packaging better, that and their tight ass and yummy thighs. She wondered if Abel preferred briefs as well or if he liked boxers more.

"I'll answer your question if you answer mine."

"Fine" 

Abel rolled his eyes and plopped himself back into his bed. 

"Which do you prefer, briefs or boxers?" 

If she really wanted to know she could just look through his drawers whenever he wasn't there but she didn't want to do that. She wasn't a sasaeng but just a curious fan. A perverted fan but not a sasaeng and she didn't want to cross that line. 

"Uhhh...should I sleep with one eye open tonight?" 

"Don't worry dude. I'm not going to do anything creepy. Just wanted to know cuz there's a buy one get one free sale going on right now for boxers and briefs. I'm getting myself briefs but I wanted to know which you would prefer so I could give you the free ones." 

It wasn't completely a lie. She had wanted to buy some new briefs since it had felt weird wearing someone else's used ones so she could just get a pair for Abel while she was at it.

"Oh. Cool. I'm actually fine with either. I wear them both equally depending on my mood." 

If he was fine with either then she was definitely going to get him the briefs. Perhaps if she was lucky enough she would get to see him wearing them.

He had answered her question so she felt she needed to answer his. 

"I'm going to take a shower." 

If she was in her own body at that moment and if she wasn't so disgusted by germs, the old her would have asked him if he wanted to join her. Just because she no longer believed in love it didn't mean she didn't feel attraction for guys and she was very attracted to Abel. Too bad he was like a forbidden fruit. He looked so yum that she would have loved to bite him but she knew she would quickly have to brush her teeth and rinse her mouth out with mouthwash. And that would just be a turn off.

Abby had always preferred taking her showers in the morning right before starting out her day but ever since she became a Germaphobe, she would take them at any time. Because sometimes one shower a day wasn't enough. She would need at least a second or a third shower on some occasions. It all depended on how dirty she felt that day. She knew it wasn't good for hair to be washed so often though since it could cause hair loss so she would put on a shower cap for those extra showers. But washing her hands as much as she did was also not good for her hands, yet she still did it.

Looking down at Cain's hands she noticed how beautiful they were. She felt bad that her habit of frequent hand washing could end up ruining them. Her own hands had been so dry from all the hand washing and it would get to the point that her hands would crack and even start bleeding. She had to put on hand lotion almost as often as she washed her hands but not even that fully helped. Her hands would still become red from all the scrubbing and because of this they were not nearly as beautiful as Cain's hands.

Abby had just turned off the shower when she heard someone yawning inside the bathroom. There hadn't been anyone when she got in there and she had locked the door as well. 

"Who's out there?" 

The shower curtains prevented her from being able to see who was in the bathroom but whoever it was, she could hear that they were peeing. She didn't know why someone would even go inside a bathroom to pee when there was someone else already there taking a shower. Guys could pee anywhere so it wasn't like whoever was there really had to go in to relieve themselves, there were other options. She remembered her brothers would go outside to take a piss when all the bathrooms in the house were occupied. That was the normal thing to do. Someone peeing while someone else was taking a shower was just creepy to her.

"Cain? Was that you who was taking a shower? I thought you hated taking showers at night. You always prefer taking them in the morning." 

It was her first night there and she already made a mistake. She didn't know how much longer the act could go on if she was already messing up on the first day.

"Lucas, is that you?" 

It had sounded like his voice, her third favorite member. 

"Yea..." 

"Well I was sweaty so I couldn't go to sleep. I thought a shower might help." 

It was the only excuse she could come up with and she hoped he would believe it. 

"Oh. Ok." 

"Did you open the door just so you could get in to pee?" 

She had been sure she locked the door but perhaps she just hadn't fully pushed it all the way. She was going to have to make sure next time if that was the case. 

"No. I opened the door just so that I could take a peek at whoever was taking a shower. Of course I opened it so I could pee. You were taking a long time and I couldn't hold it in." 

Something new Abby learned about Lucas, he was sarcastic.

"Well you're done now, aren't you? So would you mind leaving?" 

The guys had probably already seen each other at least partially naked but she didn't see a need for him to be there while she changed. 

"Of course. I was going to do that anyways. It's not like I actually wanted to see you naked. I just came in to take a piss."

Abby got out of the shower as soon as she heard the door shut. That had been a close one. Luckily he had yawned just as she had turned off the shower otherwise she would have ended up seeing him while he was still doing his business and that would have probably caused her to scream. If she screamed then all of the members would have woken up and they would have asked her why she screamed. And if Lucas hadn't seemed to mind going in there to pee while someone was taking a shower then most likely the other guys didn't either. So screaming because someone else was peeing while she was taking a shower wouldn't really seem like reason to scream for them. 

She thanked the gods that they had shower curtains. As much as she thought all the members were good looking, seeing them peeing as she was coming out from a shower was something she didn't want happening. She might be a bit perverted at times but not to that extent. She still had some dignity to her. If she was going to be seeing a guy naked it was going to be because he actually wanted her to see him naked.

Abby had ended up falling asleep later than usual that night, not only because she had taken a late shower but also because she had forgotten she had a job she needed to finish. The deadline for the job wasn't going to be till later that day but she knew she was going to be at practice at that time. She had been lucky that she had already started the job and only had a few pages of corrections left to do but despite that she still ended up going to sleep close to 3am. The good thing was that Abel had stopped snoring but the bad thing was that she was only left with about 4 hours left to sleep. 

Joel had to send Josiah in to wake her up since not even the alarm had been able to. But as soon as she felt a weight on her covers, she jumped out immediately. She had taken a shower less than a few hours ago but if someone touched her she was going to have to take yet another one and she was sure that there wasn't enough time for that.

Even though she was already awake and out of bed, Josiah still sat cross-legged on the bed. He was smiling and it was like he was waiting for something. He looked so cute and Abby couldn't help but smile back. It was no wonder Cain saw him as a younger sibling, even she would have loved a younger sibling like him. That smile and dimples combined just melted her heart. She noticed that his hair was wet and that he smelled nice so that could have only meant one thing and that was that he had just taken a shower. She couldn't believe she was going to do this but she reached out and ruffled his hair. 

"Good morning fennie. Thanks for waking me up." 

Fennie was what Cain said he called Josiah sometimes, it was a nickname to him since he looked like a fennec fox.

"You must have slept really late. You didn't hear the alarm go on, did you? Because if you didn't then I guess you also didn't hear the text you got just a few minutes ago. Who is other me? Are you perhaps dating someone?" 

Abby quickly grabbed the phone that was on top of the nightstand. She hoped Josiah didn't read whatever message she had gotten. "Other me" was what she had saved her phone number as on Cain's phone. So that meant it was a text from Cain. 

"You didn't read the text message, did you?" 

"Of course not. I just saw the notification on the screen. So who is texting you this early in the morning?" 

"A friend with the same name, that's why I saved him under other me." 

It looked like Josiah had believed her because he left the room without even asking any more questions. That was another close one for her though. She didn't know how many that made.

She unlocked the phone with face recognition and opened up the text messages.

<Good morning other me. Yea, I saw when you saved your phone number on my phone so I'm going to start calling you that too. I know we just texted last night but I got an email this morning. I hadn't told you but I applied for a few jobs and one of them emailed me back asking if I could start working today. I didn't want to reply though, not without you being okay with it. It is your body that I would be taking to work after all. So...would it be fine to you if I work? It's a small café and it's very clean. I made sure to check it out before applying. I would also make sure to clean myself well along with your apartment so that there won't be any germs.>

The small café Cain was talking about was near EVE and it was one he and the guys frequented. It was the perfect place to work at since not only was he going to be near Abby but he would also be able to run into her once she ended up going with the other members. And not only did he want to see how she was doing but he also wanted to see how she was doing interacting with the guys. He knew it was going to take time for her to adjust but he was willing to help her in any way he could.

Abby didn't think it was necessary for her to give him permission, because that's what he had basically been doing, asking for permission. She had already told him that her body was his until they were able to switch back and that he was free to do whatever he wanted to do. He didn't have to tell her every little thing he was going to do. All she asked of him was to tell her when something directly involved her, for example family matters.

<Thanks for being considerate and taking my opinion into account but for something like this it's not necessary. I understand that you might be bored being stuck in an apartment now that you're not an idol. And unlike you, I'm not actually able to give you something purposeful to do other than to clean but I don't want that lifestyle for you. So just remember to always just be you...unless of course my parents are present. Because the Agoraphobic Germaphobe facade is really only meant for them.>

<How about other people? People that know you? Wouldn't it be a problem if someone that knows you were to see you working at a café?>

Normally it would but for that she would have to know more than a handful of people but she didn't. So he should be fine working at a café since it wasn't like anyone would really recognize her.

<No problems there. I've been an Agoraphobe most of my time here in Korea so I don't really know all that many people. So if you want that job don't let me stop you. Take it if you want.>

<I will. Thanks. Have a nice day at practice.>

She doubted she was going to have a nice day. Going to the EVE Entertainment building had actually been a dream of hers for a long time but she had only ever wanted to go there to see the idols and not to actually be one.

The two vans had arrived. Abby didn't know which one to take or even who to sit next to. Cain had told her it didn't really matter who she chose to sit next to since they all just really changed seats all the time. One thing she knew for certain though was that she did not want to sit next to Josiah. She knew if she did that he was most likely going to want to cuddle up to her. And despite her having that one moment with him earlier, touching his recently washed hair was a lot different than having him cuddling her. It wasn't like she wouldn't like a hug from him, the guy was loveable but she just didn't want any of the germs that came with that physical contact. 

She got on the other van, the one where Josiah wasn't in. There were already three members there so she had to take the only empty seat there was. Luckily it was the seat next to Joel. He was the oldest member so she doubted he was going to want to cuddle. But sitting behind her was one of her favorite ships, AbeTh. She couldn't help but keep a watch on them through the rear view mirror the whole way. She was fangirling inside.

Once they arrived Joel was the first one to get off since he was the one sitting next to the door. Abby followed after him but then she felt someone pushing her from behind. She turned around and saw that it was Abel. 

"Hurry up. Move. I have to take a piss." 

She wished he would have just told her that instead of having actually touched her only to push her. She moved to the side just to get him to stop touching her. She was glad she was wearing a hoodie and that it was all he had really touched and not her skin. Once she was inside she was going to be able to take it off along with all the germs that had gotten on it.

She was sure she had probably gotten more germs from having sat on that van though. She had gotten the urge to clean the seat she was going to sit on as soon as she stepped inside but she knew that wasn't going to be possible. It had actually been the reason why she wore the hoodie and brought along extra pants. She was going to change into new clothes as soon as they were inside. She had even put a whole extra change of clothes in her backpack which was now bulky and heavy but without it she was sure she wouldn't have even been able to leave the dorms. She had also made sure to take her meds with her.

Abby had been sitting down watching the guys dance practice when she felt a sudden abdominal pain. It felt like a cramp. It couldn't be though. She was a guy now. She took out Cain's phone from the pocket of her sweats and saw that it was indeed that day of the month. She hadn't thought it would be possible for her to get her period while in Cain's body. And the more she thought about it, it just couldn't be possible but the persisting cramps said otherwise. 

She had to check just in case. She was wearing gray sweats so if she somehow did end up having her period while in Cain's body, she didn't want any of that blood to show through. She was going to need to get a pad somehow. It wasn't like she could wear tampons, she would have nowhere to put them in. But there was no way she could go out to buy pads while she was a guy. Restrooms usually had dispensers that sold pads but that was only inside women's restrooms. She had no other choice though. She was going to have to go in.

"Woah there. Are you even seeing where you're going?" 

It was Ryu from TwIt, her bias. And she had just been caught by her as she was trying to go into the women's restroom while she was a guy. Not only that but she was also holding her from the arm and she had just come out of the restroom.

"Did you wash your hands?" 

She noticed that her hands were dry. She really hoped she did and that she had just dried them off. 

"Uh. What kind of a question is that? Anyways, I only went inside to check my makeup." 

That meant she hadn't washed her hands and Abby was only wearing a short sleeve shirt since she had taken off the hoodie from earlier. She had another change of clothes but that wouldn't do her any good considering that it was her bare arm that Ryu was touching.

"Are there showers here?" 

"Of course, but they're not where you were going." 

It didn't seem like she was going to tell her where the showers were since that was something Cain was supposed to already know. Abby yanked her arm out of her grasp and continued on to the men's restroom which was next door. She couldn't get any pads from there but she could at least wash her arm and while she was at it, check to see if she had indeed gotten her period. And if she did, she was just going to have to settle with using toilet paper.

Not a single spot of red. She hadn't gotten her period but that didn't mean that Cain hadn't. He was in her body and her body was used to getting periods that time of the month. But he had no idea of that and he was going to be working. Abby was worried that he would end up getting a spot on his clothes while he was working at the café. That would be extremely embarrassing for him. She hoped she wasn't too late. She took out his phone and texted him.

<I know this is going to sound weird but could you go to the restroom and check...check down there...for any blood...I'm supposed to be getting my period today.>

It had been embarrassing for her to type that and even more to actually send it to Cain but he had to know.

<Oh…Ok…>

It took only a few minutes for Abby to receive another text from Cain but those few minutes felt like a long time to her. She was worried and scared for him that he might actually have to go through having a period and all because he was stuck in her body.

<What do I do?>

Those four words could have only meant one thing and that was that he had indeed gotten "her" period.

<You're working at the café, right? If you are, check to see if they have a machine that sells pads, it should be inside the women's restroom. Tampons might feel too weird for you so definitely go with the pads. They will feel weird but tampons would only feel weirder. And if they don't have a machine that sells them, go to the nearest convenience store. Get a size small but with wings.>

<Wings? Am I going to fly or what?>

<Wings help keep the pad stay in place. Just do as I say and don't ask any more questions unless you want to spend the rest of the day wearing clothes with blood stains on them.>

Luckily the café where Cain worked at had restrooms with machines that sold pads so he didn't have to leave his workplace to get them. He didn't think a need to get pads would have been a good excuse for his boss and especially not on his first day on the job. He only hoped he got that interview at EVE soon. He knew he would have more liberty there as a makeup artist.