The fight had been well-matched, too well-matched. Aemi sighed looking around the room of their base. Everyone was bruised and wounded, a lot more than she had hoped. They had treated each other wounds, and she would hide their bruises with makeup, so they wouldn’t get noticed at school.

 

One last time, she checked over everyone. A few of the scratches couldn’t be hidden, but none of them looked like they had gotten into a fight.

 

At school, she quickly spotted several of INFINITE’s members with bruises and she smirked. They didn’t have her makeup skills, so now they would definitely think FATE had survived the fight better than they had.

 

“Aemi!” a classmate yelled out to her, and ran forward as soon as she had spotted the twin tailed redhead. “Did you hear? Your boyfriend got hurt!”

 

It took her a second to figure out what the girl was talking about, but when she heard Bambam snort behind her, she remembered her stupid cover.

 

“He got hurt? Is he okay? Where is he?” she tried to sound panicked, like she didn’t know he had gotten into a fight. Like she hadn’t caused his wounds, either by herself or by proxy.

 

“I figured he wouldn’t have told you. It looks pretty bad, but he’s well enough to go to school. I’ll bring you to him…”

 

“Thanks.”

 

The girl rushed off, and Aemi had no choice but to follow, after throwing a desperate look back to her friends.

 

 

---

 

 

Sunggyu frowned when he saw Aemi walking towards them. For one, she looked good, not at all like she had had a fight yesterday and that pissed him off more than a little.

 

“Why is she coming here?” Hoya asked with a frown.

 

“Bet it’s that stupid cover,” Myungsoo muttered.

 

“I can’t believe you got trapped in a cover like that, stuck with her is the worst,” Sungjong commented. “I’m gonna go, I don’t feel like running into her again.”

 

“You got hurt? Ohmygosh, what happened?” Aemi exclaimed once she and the girl had reached INFINITE. She reached out for a bruise on his forehead, the one she was pretty sure she had put there herself.

 

“It looks really bad…” she mumbled, forcing herself to sound concerned, instead of gloating.

 

“I just got into a fight. It was no big deal…” the boy replied with a shrug.

 

“But it looks like a big deal… If only you were stronger,” Aemi commented with a pout.

 

“You shouldn’t worry your girlfriend so much, Myungsoo-sshi,” the girl who had brought Aemi there commented and at that point Myungsoo wanted nothing more than to punch the redhead for playing with him like this.

 

Sungyeol on the other hand, had gotten an idea. They had to find a way to use FATE’s love for each other against them, but maybe, just maybe, they could also use this cover to work for them. Make Aemi love Myungsoo. He was popular enough with girls, it shouldn’t be a problem. It would tear the girl down. Surely, Sunggyu would be happy with that.

 

---

 

Yeon sighed and studied her notebook. What should have been filled with notes, consisted of just blank pages. Something was bothering her, though she couldn’t figure out what it was, which frustrated her even more.

 

It had come to a point that she didn’t even want to be here.

 

She was like a hollowed figure. A blank memory, a messed up mentality and a feeling whatever lead to this moment had been big and she needed to find out why.

 

She groaned and buried her head in her hands, when it pounded with a headache.

 

She felt ill today for some reason, yesterday had freaked her out and she was scared that she’d run into them again.

 

Though she couldn’t be sure who they were…

 

Her gaze went over to the two males in her class, BamBam and Y - Yugyeom, wasn’t it?

 

Said male touched her arm

 

“You okay?”

 

No..

 

“Yeah… I’m good…”

 

Yugyeom wasn’t convinced, she looked paler than usual, and it didn’t seem like she had slept last night.

 

“Do you feel sick?”

 

“N - no.”

She covered her face, shaking a little.

 

Something was missing she knew it, but everytime she tried remember she was hit by a splitting headache.

 

Something warm trickled from her nose and splashed onto her blank notebook.

 

Wait blood?

 

Nosebleed.

 

Ugh…

 

“Are you bleeding?” Yugyeom asked quietly, and before he could do anything else, Bambam had given Yeon some tissues. They both knew she didn’t like to be sick.

 

She sighed and gave a grateful smile, before it fell away and she held the tissues to her nose.

 

So on top of her already messed up mind,  she was getting sick due to the stress too, this was ing perfect.

 

“I… I'll just ask if I can use the bathroom, clean up a little bit…” she mumbled to the two boys as she raised her hand to be excused.

 

Her hand was shaking a bit. She was honestly scared she'd run into the same males from before.

 

Once she was given permission, she stood up and left the room, almost stumbling.

 

She hoped Jinyoung had free period. She needed him right now.

 

She needed answers. Something didn't add up, and she needed to know what.

 

Yeon had been lucky. It didn’t take her long to find her brother, who had indeed had a free period. Seeing him sitting by himself in the library felt off too. Where were his friends? She was sure he had had them, though she couldn’t quite think of who those friends were.

 

“Jinyoung,” only when she said these words she realized that maybe she should have thought about this a bit more. Sure, she wanted answers. But she couldn’t very well just ask for them. If there really was something missing, and there had to be, then wasn’t her brother the one who was keeping it from her?

 

Jinyoung looked up in surprise, and seeing his sister made him worry something had happened, again. Having INFINITE at their school was not good for his peace of mind. At least they had taken quite a beating from FATE. Of course they had.

 

“Did something happen?” he asked carefully. She should be in class right now, shouldn’t she?

 

“I… I just didn’t feel too good… I feel like…” Something isn’t right. “It’s nothing… Where are your friends?”

 

“They’re in a different class, they aren’t free right now. Are you sure you are okay?”

 

Yeon looked down, before she had another pounding headache, and she gripped the table.

 

She was seeing flashes of colour in her mind again, and she couldn't understand why.

 

She squeezed her eyes shut and took deep breaths.

 

Jinyoung worried at this, putting a hand on her shoulder, his younger sister just trembling.

 

“I… I don't understand…” she choked out in a whisper.

 

“I… I keep seeing things… that don't make any sense…” she hunched down feeling dizzy, Jinyoung kneeling beside her and hugging her, grateful this side of the library was empty.

 

“It'll be okay Yeon, I promise…”

 

I'm sorry, that's all I can say to you… I'm sorry…

 

Yeon felt her nose trickle again, and Jinyoung,  got a tissue.

 

“You're getting nosebleeds again.” he fussed, holding it to her nose.

 

“I - I'm fine… sorry, I'll just… go back to class. I don't want to interrupt you when you're studying…

 

“Yeon -”

 

“See you later…”

 

She gave a weak smile and hurried away as best she could, doing everything in her power to hold back her tears.

 

Please, I need to know what's missing! I feel like I'm going insane!

 

She stumbled on blindly, up some stairs and onto the roof, banging into someone.

 

“Oh , I'm sorry I -”

 

 

---

JB had been out of class, considering he didn't take advanced math.

 

 

He was staring into space, listening to music when he was suddenly hit into from behind.

 

Who he saw… broke his heart.

 

“Are you okay?” he asked, even though he could clearly tell Yeon wasn’t okay. She was far from well and he wanted so badly to help her, to do anything to make this girl he so dearly loved feel better.

 

“I’m fine, I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

 

Her lie hurt him even deeper. Did she really think he wouldn’t be able to tell? Yes. Now she did. Now, she didn’t even remember him.

 

“It’s fine… I should have paid more attention too,” he tried to smile, to keep up appearances. They didn’t know each other. They didn’t know each other. He kept repeating it to himself, but it didn’t make the pain any less.

 

Something about his smile that wasn’t quite a smile made Yeon stop in her tracks. Her headache seemed to intensify, but she would swear there was something, recognition. Just as his smile, it disappeared quickly, leaving just the headache.

 

“Wait…” she called out when JB turned to leave. He froze, not sure whether to expect anything. After all, she didn’t remember them, did she?

 

“I… do I… Did I know you?” she muttered, and realized instantly how stupid she sounded. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”

 

JB turned around, clearly conflicted. He wasn’t sure whether he should be happy she kind of remembered him, or sad that she didn’t really remember him after all. Even worse, he had promised Aemi they would keep her from remembering them. No matter how much he wanted to tell Yeon they had been close, he couldn’t.

 

“You didn’t.” He lied. Just like that, he lied to her. JB had never imagined he would have to pretend he didn’t know Yeon, especially not to herself. But here it had happened. It hurt.

 

“I see…” the girl looked down, and there was nothing JB could do to make her feel better. He felt useless.

 

It was just a flash. The face of the boy standing in front of her, yet he looked slightly different, happier possibly. And a single sentence. “Only if I get to kiss you.”

 

It had been his voice. She was sure of that. His face and his voice. The boy had already turned away, was getting further and further from her. But she was almost certain. She had known him.

 

 

---

 

 

 

“You want me to what??” Myungsoo exclaimed as Sungyeol explained his plan to them.

 

“Just make her like you. Shouldn’t be too hard,” he answered, and continued with a smirk. “Make her like you and then drop her, hard. She won’t be able to do a thing to you once she loves you, right? So use her, and your cover to the fullest. Take advantage of it, and finish her off. Easy.”

 

“Make her suffer,” Sunggyu agreed.

 

“After that embarrassing display this morning, you want me to be nice to her?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Being nice was the last thing he wanted to do. If only you had been stronger, was what she had said, wasn’t it? Well, then he would show her how strong he was. If not physically, then mentally. And break her.

 

“Don’t be too nice, though,” Hoya suggested, and Sungjong nodded.

 

“She’d realize something was up.”

 

“Just pretend it’s for the cover. Find excuses to spend time with her, so your cover is safe and it’ll work out. She’s not that smart in the first place,” Sunggyu concluded dismissively. “Great plan, Sungyeol.”

 

 

---

Yeon stumbled into the hall again, her head was killing her and that boy she'd seen…

 

 

She knew him… she had to…

 

With her head spinning, she continued on her way.

 

Where the heck she was going, she didn't know.

 

She groaned and fell against the wall, sliding down and gripping her head.

 

Flashes of colour again, and that boys face… younger… innocent…

 

“Hi I'm Jaebum, but you can call me JB”

 

She gasped, snapping back to reality, she felt physically ill,  ready to throw up.

 

She stood to her feet, leaning on the walls as she tried to remember where the bathroom was.

 

When she found it, she fell on her knees in front of a toilet bowl and threw up, as her headache intensified.

 

JB…

 

---

 

Sungyeol sighed as INFINITE parted ways to go to their respective classes… or well some of them, Sunggyu would most definitely skip and go do something else.

 

He on the other hand, should have gone to class, but didn't feel like it.

 

He moved down the hall, lost in his thoughts before a figure darted from the bathroom, hitting right into him.

 

“Watch it!” he growled, but once he acknowledged who it was….his eyes widened.

 

Park Seong Yeon…

 

“S - sorry…” was all that was said as she bowed quickly and hurried on her way.

 

She looked...sick?

 

Then again, why should he care…

 

He'd heard enough about Yeon, but hadn't met her properly since the incident. Sunggyu and Woohyun had already made their sadistic sides known.

 

Why shouldn't he?

 

But… something stopped him…

 

Not yet…

 

---

Yeon felt so sick, she could barely walk a step, as she stumbled into her music class, about five minutes later than she should have, seeing Bambam and Yugyeom there.

 

 

She stumbled on, before falling into them, unable to move her body anywhere else.

 

Her nose was bleeding, her head was spinning,  and her body was exhausted.

 

The teacher didn't even acknowledge her, he just continued with helping some kid with his sheet music.

 

Yeon clung to whoever was closest, and began to shake.

 

That closest person, turned out to be Bambam…

 

“Yeon?!”

 

“I… I… my brother…”

 

Yugyeom was concerned as well.

 

“What?”

 

“I… I need to find my brother…” she coughed out.

 

She looked so vulnerable, all Yugyeom wanted to do, was hug her tight, to protect his best friend…

 

“Tell us what happened Yeon?”

 

“I… I think I -”

 

She gasped as more colour filled her mind and she squeezed her eyes shut.

 

She was…

 

Wait… where was she exactly?

 

It was a dark street, a brief glimpse of red hair caught her attention, but it quickly blurred to an unrecognisable shape, and then… she saw him that… that guy… JB. Followed soon after by a brief glint of silver.

 

She snapped back and almost fell to her knees, Bambam supporting her.

 

“Yeon?! What's going on?!”

 

“M - memories… I think… they're memories…”

 

The two first years felt their blood run cold.

 

“W - what memories?”

 

“I can't… I can't see them properly, I just know… someone….someone called J - JB”

 

By then, the teacher had reached them and called someone to take Yeon to the nurse’s office. To the boys despair, not either one of them. Was she okay? And was see really remembering them? At least she was remembering JB now.

 

“I’m not sure whether this is good or bad,” Bambam said softly.

 

“I’m happy she’s starting to remember us,” Yugyeom replied. “I just wish it wouldn’t cause her so much pain to do so.”

 

“We have to let the others know as soon as possible.”

 

 

---

 

 

As soon as possible was not as soon as they would have liked. They had to first sit through their music class, before finally being able to talk with everyone.

 

They had send a text to Aemi saying Yeon had remembered something, so the girl had decided to include Jinyoung in their conversation. No matter how much he said he was out, he was still her second-in-command, at least to her. Besides, it was about his sister. He would want to know.

 

They were all tense, having gathered together after so long. Although of course, they didn’t feel complete yet. Yeon wasn’t here.

 

“What is this about?” Jinyoung said shortly. It hurt him to act this way, but this was the second time in as many days that they had cornered him, even though they had promised they would keep away. They weren’t doing a good job of that.

 

“She seems to be getting memories back,” Bambam reported and Yugyeom added a bit too happily:

 

“Yeon remembered JB. She said his name and everything.”

 

JB stayed quiet, not quite the reaction the younger two had expected.

 

“Are you sure?” Mark asked.

 

“She said ‘I just know JB, or something like that,” Bambam confirmed.

 

“That doesn’t sound like she remembers that much,” Jackson replied with a sigh. He had hoped for a bit more.

 

“I ran into her today,” JB then said. They all turned to him now.

 

“Did you tell her anything?” Jinyoung asked quietly.

 

“Of course not,” the boy scoffed. “We promised, didn’t we? I lied to her. I had no choice...”

 

Jinyoung was frowning. He should have known he couldn’t keep Yeon sheltered for the rest of her life, but he never expected some of the cracks in her memories, filling up again. If she knew the truth… Jinyoung knew it would not end well.

 

“I… If she manages to remember everything, it’ll break her, isn’t she already in a fragile state of mind? I don’t want my little sister to break, she’s all I have now…” He choked out.

 

Bambam looked down.

Jinyoung was right… but… why did they have to keep lying to her? FATE was built on trust and honesty, and that namesake’s meaning was rapidly turning to dust...

 

“You’re not being fair,” Aemi said softly. “We all want to protect her, but we can’t stop her from remembering. We can keep lying, and when she find out the truth. When she remembers, she’ll be even more hurt. I’m not saying we go tell her everything. I’m just saying you can’t blame us if she does remember. We’re keeping our promise. But saying she’s all you have… that was a choice you made.”

 

Jinyoung knew she was right. Of course he did, his stubbornness was going to make the situation worse.

 

He buried his face in his hand and finally admitted something.

“I miss the family we had in FATE, I hate doing this okay?!” He exploded. “I hate lying, tossing aside the only people who’d ever stood by us in our darkest times! I hate that the bond is broken, I hate that she’s left in the dark and I can’t do anything about it…” He was shaking, tears were forming in his eyes.

 

“We all hate it. But don’t you ever say our bond is broken. It’s not. It doesn’t break that easily,” Aemi replied, also feeling tears in her eyes now. They would always be a part of their family.

 

“I want FATE back in our lives… but…” He trailed off.

 

He said what was in his heart, but at the same time…

 

Meanwhile Yeon had made it her business to leave the infirmary without permission. She moved almost noiselessly, grateful the nurse had left the room for a moment.

 

She would have to find the answers herself…

 

As she stumbled down the halls she paused, overhearing something.

 

She could have just turned and walked away, but she didn’t. She approached, concealing herself from the group standing in front of her.

 

“What else can I do... ?”

 

Jinyoung?

 

“What more can any of us do…?”

Bambam?

 

“But… do you think she’d be happier not knowing everything hyung?”

 

Hyung…

 

Yugyeom…

 

What the hell?

 

“She almost died. We’re doing everything we can to keep her safe… Even if none of us like it. As long as she is safe, we’ll do it. Right guys?”

 

Yeon felt the halls enclose her in what seemed like a tiny space.

 

“A - almost d… died?” She choked out.

 

That’s when it hit.

 

The endless stream of colours she often saw when she was supposedly remembering something.

 

Everyone in front of her appeared briefly in her mind, the red hair, before their faces blurred and she saw the male who had struck fear into her heart appear pointing a gun straight at a blurred redhead… a shot was fired, and she got in the way…

 

No…

 

An agonising, foreign sounding scream, ripped from her body and she sank down to the floor, hyperventilating as the colours blurred, and she saw her own face, blood on her lips, she made a peace sign…

 

Then nothing…

 

 

---

 

 

Sungyeol had certainly not expected to see ‘the fire’ pass out right in front of him. Before he even realized what he was doing, he had made his way towards her. A split-second he realized how easy it would be to take her out, but he shrugged it off. It had always been Aemi they were after. And seeing her helpless like this, it made him want to help her, not hurt her.

 

“Hey. Get up, hey,” he tried, but the girl didn’t move. Was she even alive? But yes, she was breathing. So it should be okay. Asking FATE for help, drawing their attention would have been easy. He spotted them just a short distance away. But this would not look good for him, the unconscious girl at his feet. Instead, he got up carrying her. The nurse’s office would definitely be better than anywhere with FATE or INFINITE for that matter. Sunggyu would surely ask them to get rid of her. But for some reason he couldn’t quite figure out himself, he didn’t want to do that. She had suffered enough.

 

Yeon felt herself being carried, even when she wasn’t fully aware. Whoever held her in their arms was strong and careful.

 

Her eyes opened part way, and all she saw was the side of their face. A stranger. She coughed. She was still in a state of shock, unaware and terrified.

 

“W - who?” She said weakly, trying to see him better.

 

Sungyeol tensed only slightly, but he surprised even himself by how gentle his tone was.

“You… you need to rest, you’re sick.”

 

He lay her on the bed, as the nurse fussed.

 

Yeon’s forehead was covered in a light sheen of sweat, her breathing was harsh, and he didn’t know why, but.. Something was pulling him to stay just a little longer with her, but he knew he couldn’t chance it.

 

She was the enemy.

 

And no matter what… he could not be involved...

 

---

Another chapter, we're on a roll. Will we keep this up? Who knows...

-Annabloem