When Tao walks out of his tiny apartment at 10:32 p.m on a chilly Friday night, he does not expect to almost lose his life.

If it was up to him, Tao wouldn't have minded sitting at home like a loner with his one and only true friend -- his black and white ragamuffin named Panda -- but his life decision are apparently not for him to choose tonight. Instead, his roommate,Sehun, thinks it best to force him into going along with his own "great" plans: hitting the club and getting as drunk as possible.

Tao should've known this would happen. Sehun talked nonstop about going to that new club a few blocks away from their apartment the entirety of this week, and he dropped more than enough comments about finally being the legal age to get faced without fake ID's. All the hints were there, ready for him to get the gist, yet here he is shoving his legs into too tight jeans and internally fighting over which shirt to wear. 

"Will you hurry up? By the time you finally get done, we'll be too old to even go to night clubs," Sehun comments from the living room, fully dressed and far too excited for his own good. 

"You know, I don't mind going even slower. I don't even want to go with you tonight, Sehun," he responds as he fumbles with his red hair in the tiny bathroom mirror. 

The lithe body of Sehun pops up from behind him seconds later, casually leaning against the doorframe with an eyebrow cocked.

"Oh, come on, you don't mean that. You've been cooped up in this apartment whenever you're not at school, Tao. It'd be nice to go out and socialize, maybe get some fresh air while you're at it. Besides, getting out can probably cure the man period you've been on this entire week." 

"It's not a 'man period', Sehun; it's me dealing with the fact that my roommate is an . And do you seriously think grinding on people in a sweaty oven called a club really qualifies as fresh air and socializing? How stupid are you?" 

"Well, if you don't like it so much, then why are you even bothering to come along?"

"Because you basically forced me to, remember? And even if I didn't, you'd just complain about how boring I am. I don't feel like listening to you whine about that again."  

Instead of responding, Sehun walks away with an offended scoff, throwing a glare over his shoulder as he exits. Tao doesn't particularly understand why he and Sehun are rommates at all. They're constantly grating on each other's nerves when they're not shooting knives through their eyes or insulting the other in every which way. The times they're actually civil with each other are few and far in between, and sometimes, Tao questions how one hasn't beat the other half to death yet.

Tao finishes his look off with a lint roller to his jeans to remove all of the finicky little white cat hairs stuck to him from napping with Panda, a nice nap he'd been disturbed from to frolic around a thousand-degrees-too-hot cube. After deciding that he really honestly is too annoyed to give any more flying s about his outfit or Sehun's stupid opinions, he stalks out of the bathroom, flicking the light switch as he moves into the living room where Sehun sits fiddling with his phone on the sofa. 

"Come on, Sehun. I want to get this night overwith and back to my nap as soon as possible," Tao says as he slips on his shoes by the front door.

The younger is by his side within the next few seconds, shoving his feet into a pair of trainers his boyfriend had gifted him just earlier this week and muttering words under his breath that Tao doesn't care enough to decipher. Tao is the one to unlock the door and let Sehun run out into the bitter night air, throwing a wistful glance back at the sofa before closing it behind him with an uncomfortable sensation in his gut. 

As he turns to lock the door behind himself and his roommate, a prickle runs through the hairs on the back of his neck, though he breathes out a deep sigh through his nose and brushes it off, knowing exactly who, or what, caused the feeling.

In short, Tao has a stalker. However, his stalker is a little...unique?

He first took notice of the extra presence a month or two after moving from South Korea to China. Everywhere he went, whether in broad daylight or the quiet of the night, he was accompanied by a second pair of footsteps. It didn't become apparent that he was being followed and watched until the wee hours of the night when he trekked home from the 24-hour cafe he used as a study spot. The thought that he was being stalked was enough to spook him into staying indoors at all time; however, he noticed something off about his follower.

As quickly as he reached the conlusion that there was someone out to get him, he realized even sooner that whoever it was only wanted to protect him. If the person really wanted to hurt him, he or she would have done so already, considering there had been more than enough oppurtunities for them to act. There was also the case of the cold hands that often steered him from dangers like head-on collisions with other pedestrians or shady people lurking in the alleyways at night. At some point, the footsteps became an odd comfort to Tao, giving him a reminder that he was safe even when he felt the opposite.

Tao doesn't really pay any mind to the person now, sensing that there are no ill-intentions. Sehun and everyone else in a five-mile radius, however, don't feel the same.

"You still being followed?" Sehun questions as he shoots Tao a glance out of the corner of his eye.

"Hasn't stopped since I came here, Hun. I'm pretty sure he's pretty close behind us now," Tao responds with indifference, the subject a common topic of discussion for the two.

"Are you really sure this isn't just your mind playing tricks to make you feel safer? You know, since this is a foreign place and quite far away from home." 

"He's random, sure, but he's as real as the both of us, and he has been for the last five years. I don't feel like being given the talk right now." 

"But Tao-" 

"End of discussion, Sehun. He's not fake, and he won't hurt me, so stop worrying about it." 

Sehun throws a scoff in his direction before twisting his head around. He thinks he sees a gangly shadow slinking somewhere behind him when he turns around, but it doesn't bother him. Instead, he lets out a sly smirk. Tao's not wrong when he says his stalker would never hurt him; he's practically got him wrapped around his thin little cat-petting fingers. 

The crowd that greets the duo at the crosswalk of the intersection en route to their destination is much larger than either of them thought it would be, so the separation of the two is inevitable, Tao being swept in one direction and Sehun in another. It shouldn't be so much of a problem, seeing as they can regroup across the street and be on their way again, but this crowd is a rowdy mass of his fellow youth excited to have a nice Friday night out doing whatever young people do on Friday nights. This fact doesn't really bother Tao until the light to cross flashes green and he's unwillingly dragged along with the eagerness of the crowd completely unprepared, so much so that he manages to trip over his feet and slam onto the pavement after being shoved by some dude behind him rushing ahead to catch up with his clique, and it doesn't help that there is no one that seems to notice the grown man groaning on the ground, simply rushing past him in haste to get to the other side of the road.  

It doesn't register in his mind that he's lying in the middle of the street yet as he scans his busted elbow with a faint hiss at the throbbing pain that surrounds the area. That part doesn't register until he's slapped with the wind of cars whizzing by every so often and filled with the sound of obnoxious car horns. He doesn't an immediate attempt to move either, simply sitting right where he is out of shear panic and fear. 

Tao thinks those emotions are what nearly get him killed. 

In the midst of his panicking, he doesn't notice the one car that's going just a bit too fast a little ways down the road. He doesn't notice how it uncontrollably swerves along the lines of the street, how the driver seems glassy-eyed and completely out of it. 

Tao thinks that this is how he'll die. 

Of course, he could have merely stood up a wiggled his way out of the oncoming traffic somehow, but he couldn't bring himself to even move. And now some drunk driver was going to have Tao's DNA splattered all over his shiny car because he doubts the guy can make out a speed limit, let alone a whole human being lying in the middle of the street. 

The thought of being stuck in a hospital with the smell of antiseptic shoved up his nose flits through his mind. He imagines being hooked up to millions of machines and friendly nurses and frenzied shouts and giving his last breath in a cold, empty room. He imagines what that club would be like if he wasn't shoved and lying in the direct path of a drunk driver. 

Tao expects to die, except he doesn't. 

He had been too abosorbed in his morbid thoughts to realize that he isn't in the street anymore, watching from the sidewalk as the driver served his way a few feet away before slamming into a parked car and coming to a stop. Tao snaps out of his trance long enough to notice that he's being craddled in a cold embrace, to register the chills running down his spine from the evenly timed puffs of frigid air hitting the temple of his head. But just as soon as his savior is discovered, he's gone with a faint whisper in Tao's mother tongue that he just barely manages to decipher.

"I'm so glad you are safe." 

Tao gets the feeling that he knows exactly who that person is, yet at the same time, he's never met the man in his life. His hands, despite how cold they felt, were comforting in a way that made him feel protected and safe. His mere presence felt like that of a lifelong friend he meets with every other day, like they belonged together somehow. There isn't a doubt in his mind that it's him, his personal "bodyguard" of sorts. Those hands feel familiar because he's no stranger to them saving him from precarious situations. That presence is warm because he's grown so used to it over the past five years. 

He wastes no time jolting to his feet from his sidewalk, hoping to catch a glimpse of the alabaster skin he caught out the corner of his eye or to catch the scent of evergreen trees and pine needles wafting off of someone in the surrounding crowd. He's been wanting to meet this man for years, yet he can't find him anywhere among the worried faces. He dealt with being called crazy for so long, not a person believing he was mentally all there, and the proof that he's sane has slipped right through his fingers. It bothers him but not nearly as much as it should. He's more disappointed in being abandoned so soon after their first meting and missing the oppurtunity to ask for a name. 

The swim through his feels his abruptly cut short when he's pulled into a bear hug by the person he least expects to touch him. 

"Thank goodness you're okay. Are you an idiot? I told you to run, Tao! Why didn't you run? Do you know how devistated I would have been if you died? And how the hell did you even get over here? One second, you're freaking out in the middle of the street and the next, you're just...gone," he hears his friend ramble into his ear.

He briefly ponders over telling Sehun about his encounter but fights against the idea. The last time he'd seriously sat down and told him about being followed, which had been maybe a week or two ago and for the umpteenth time, Sehun had blown him off and low-key called him crazy ("It's just your mind playing tricks on you. Some sleep and a shrink should do you some good," he'd said.)

"I'm not sure. I was too shocked to notice," Tao says when he is sure of his decision.

"Should we go to the hospital? Those scrapes on your knee and elbow don't look too hot." 

Tao quickly looks down to catch a glance at his knee that is sure enough bleeding through the hole in his shredded jeans. 

"I'm fine, Sehun. A hospital visit isn't needed."

"Are you sure? We don't have to go anywhere tonight. There are always other weekends I can used to force you into a trip to the club. It's okay if you just want to go back home." 

"Sehun, I'll be fine. This is honestly nothing. I've had much worse than a little scrape."

"Yeah, but you didn't almost become roadkill, Tao."

He finds that this fact doesn't really bother him much. He got to meet the guy who watched his back and managed to not die via drunk driver. It's not so terrible being a little banged up. 

"How about we forget this ever happened and head to the place you've been whining about for a week." 

"But Tao-"

"Will you stop with the if, ands, and buts? You've already dragged me off the couch. You might as well go all the way, or I'll be pissed. I could have spent this time catching up on sleep." 

"Fine. But we're going to a convenience store first. I can't let you just walk around with blood dripping down your leg. It's unsanitary." 

"Oh, because it's unsanitary. Not because it may get infected or anything." 

Sehun scoffs at him before grabbing Tao's hand, ignoring his protests.

"Sometimes, I really hate you."

"The feeling's mutual."

To say that Tao is having fun at this point in time would be the biggest lie he's ever told. He honestly should have just taken Sehun up on his offer seeing as a nap would be more beneficial to his overall psyche than being stuck in box full grinding bodies and ear-splitting music while he throws back glass after glass of soda to bring his body temperature down to a low boil. Adding on to his growing irritation is the fact that he's stuck in a booth full of Sehun's annoying, giggly, drunk followers who don't know the definition of personal space. 

It doesn't take long before he's shoving his way out of the gaggle of pests and into the relatively vacant area near the club's men's room. From there, he takes a detour out the back door after a -ton of fumbling through the dark and parks himself right against the cold bricks of the thumping building. 

The dull vibrations of the wall flutter throughout his back and set his mind at ease, leading him to slink down and release the sigh he's been holding all night. It's at moments like these, when there's a major lack of drastractions, that Tao is able to think properly, and as a result, his mind throws him into the inky abyss of knowledge he has regarding his mysterious savior. 

He at least knows the man that saved him has to be the one that tails him everywhere. There is no logical reasoning behind his conclusion; he just knows. He felt familiar, like Tao has been friends with him for years, except he's never seen the man in his life sans the run-in with death. 

The man. He was quite strange, really. He was cold to the touch, kind of how Tao's fingers feel after he re-organizes the freezer at home to fit in more frozen meals and ice cream tubs. He was pale, paler than himself, though that's not really a feat considering anyone can be paler than Tao's bronze complexion. But it was an unusual pale, like he'd never seen the sun from childhood to adulthood. And his eyes. They were purple, and they were very real. Only Tao's not sure he would use the term purple to describe the sight; maybe amethyst works better. And his hair was a stark sea of black against his alabaster skin and looked soft to the touch, not far from how he would describe Panda's fur.

Tao doesn't know why he feels so strongly toward a person he's only seen once, but he's not as afraid of the sensation as he probably should be, which isn't particularly a good sign when it comes to him. 

In short, Tao is an idiot, and Tao is an even bigger idiot when he isn't afraid. 

As far as he knows, the man only comes out of hiding when Tao is in some sort of danger, whether it be minor or life-threatening. Simply walking around and hoping for him to just pop out isn't going to get him very far at meeting the guy again, so he has a plan, a very ridiculous plan. If he puts himself in clear and present danger, then the man will be forced to save him, no? And by being forced to save Tao, he'll have to leave his shadows. Yes, he knows it's stupid, and yes, he knows that the probability of him actually getting hurt is pretty high still; but it's a risk he's willing to take at this point. 

People can call him a loony all they want, but Tao knows he's not crazy. That's what he tells himself as he hoists a very drunk and unconscious Sehun onto his back after emercing himself into the club again to grab his friend and head home. After tossing Sehun onto the living room's only comfy couch, he moves to his own room, stripping out of his party clothes and into a t-shirt and sweats ensemble to climb into bed. It takes a second to figure out where Panda is hiding, but as soon as he finds the anti-social cat, he forces himself to sleep with ideas on how to initiate his plan flying throughout his thougths. If he's planned this out correctly, everything should be fine.

Everything should be fine, right?

"You said you would keep him safe, Sehun." 

Sehun turns his attention to the tall figure standing before him, his stare defiant. 

"And I did exactly as you asked. It's not my fault that the crowd was bigger than I thought it would be. I control wind, not the damn future. Do you think I was expecting him to almost get killed? You know, I was just as scared as you were. And I may not show it, but I care for him, too. If you weren't there, I would have been the one diving into the street to pull him away. Just be grateful that nothing worse happened." 

The previously raging figure visibly slumps in defeat, violet eyes filling with slight guilt. He shouldn't be this irked. He's got tons of other things to worry about, and taking his stress out on Sehun won't help anyone in the long run. With a heavy sigh, he plops down next to the younger, taking a moment to prop his head on the back of the couch before breaking the silence. 

"You're right. All that should matter is the fact that he's okay. What happened wasn't your fault, and I didn't stop to realize that." 

"It's fine, really. I know that things have been hectic lately, and I know that it's causing you a lot of stress. Being the head of a large group of vicious beasts like us isn't easy on top of eveything else that comes with being a beast."

"For being so young, you understand a lot." 

"Of course I do. My partner is the same age as you and has similar problems. I have to be mature sometimes at the very least."

"If only Han could make you mature all the time, it would take a -ton off of everyone's sholders." 

"If Luhan can do that to me, I wonder how much worse Tao could do to you."

"Honestly, if you hadn't shot me with that whiff of wind, I probably never would have let him go."

"You've got it bad, my friend, even worse than me. But I don't think it'll be long before you two formally meet each other. If I know Tao, I know that he's stupid. Just give it a few hours." 

"That somehow concerns me." 

"You should be. Anyways, I've got to get going before the sun comes up and Tao realizes I'm missing. I'm supposed to be completely wasted right now." 

"You know, if you weren't a monster, I think you would make a fine actor." 

"I don't think so. I'm not the spotlight type of guy, and don't you think people will get skeptical about the fact that I never age a day 10 years down the road of my career? That's like asking them to discover us. Anyways, I'll see you later, Sir Leader. Get some sleep, and try to relax a little. You're no fun to deal with when you're stressed."

Sehun sends a friendly wave to the man slumped onto the couch before he leaves the room in a flurry of pale skin and skittering papers. The other has been dealing with tons of paperwork, rivals, and hunters for the last couple of weeks, and the added burdens are obviously bringing him down. He knows that now probably isn't the time, but he really does hope Tao has a plan, even if it's as stupid as Sehun is sure it will be.

Whatever it is, he just hopes it works. 

First chapter done! ^^ Next one should be longer than this one and out soon but I'm not too sure on exactly when. Do look forward to it though and thanks for reading!!