Prior to normality, Key and Onew decided to accompany one another to school. Onew’s parents didn’t mind and Key’s aunt thought it was a brilliant idea, though some meager cursing was included once the thought of Minho and Taemin surfaced.

As to be expected, eyes boggled towards the two of them, spectating like they were some sort of new creatures captured only to be observed in a zoo. Onew didn’t like the attention. He scrunched up his shoulders and gripped his fits tightly against his backpack straps. The boy never admired the idea of people looking, perhaps a reason for his paranoia when he assumed Taemin, Minho, and their family were onlooking. Though, that paranoia held some reality to it after all; a thought that just popped into Key’s head. Onew’s face held a bit of indifference. Then again, that was to be expected after the talk they had yesterday about Key’s plan. When he’d brought it up, all Onew did was sigh and shrug his shoulders, then quickly drop the subject. Key hadn’t spoken about it since, believing that perhaps all his friend needed was a bit of time to recuperate and move on. They have been through quite a lot lately.

So when Onew held no real conversation after Key had brought it up yesterday, the boy moved on to talking about school and simply ‘hanging out’ like they used to do when they were kids. But now, as they strolled down the hallway, eyes of various students mimicking their footsteps, Key couldn’t help but want to ask Onew what he really thought about the plan.  He opened his mouth up to speak, but just as he breathed in some air, Onew shook his head.

“I’m still thinking.” He mumbled, stealing the thoughts straight from Key’s mind.

Key sighed and pulled back his expression, clicking his tongue against his teeth and entering the classroom without another word. Still, he made sure to sit right next to Onew, attention wide-eyed and alert. The classroom, however, was motionless. They weren’t quiet about it, no. Instead, their classmates cowered back in their desks, whispering to each other like little five-year-olds, their hands covering their mouths and every once in a while, peeking over to look up at the two of them.

“Hey, s.” Key announced, slightly slamming his hands on the desk and turning his neck around to meet the faces of the others. He squinched his face in while protruding his neck out and tilted his head as to say what-the-hell. “At least learn how to ing whisper. There isn’t some invisible ing glass between all of you and the two of us.”

He rolled his eyes and sighed his back against the back of the chair. Onew chuckled, a crisp of air tickling from his lips while he shook his head.

“Why do you entertain them.” He stated.

Key smirked, etching closer and gently nodding him on the shoulder with his shoulder.

“Ey.” He whispered. “Now can we-“

“Key, you’re plan is stupid, risky, and ignorant.” Onew sighed, loud enough into Key’s ear but quiet enough so that the others couldn’t hear.

“So it’s a no.” The boy lowered his eyes and sank down into his seat.

“It’s an-“ Onew groaned, regretting his answer before he even spoke it, “It’s an okay.”

Key’s smile spread like wildfire across his face. He lifted himself up into his chair and his eyes lit up like stars. Well, this wasn’t an answer he was expecting.

“But-“ Onew interrupted, “After you get your cast off.”

“Right, of course.” Key smiled.

“I’m serious Key.”

“I know.” He gleamed.

“Know what?” That voice, an annoyance to the air and space it was accompanied by.

The two of them looked up at the same time, gazing at the familiar female figure in front of them, hip cocked out to the right side of her, hand resting on it with a daring smirk plastered all over her face. Luna.

“Luna, where’ve you been. Missed all the fun.” Key teased.

“Yeah I heard.” She rolled her eyes. “I guess you can’t stay out of trouble Key. Now…what were you two talking about?”

Her voice held that dangerous curiosity it usually acquired when a conspiracy theory was about to surface.

“Nothing Luna.” Onew retorted. “Where’s your sister, shouldn’t you two be coming in together?”

“She’s getting stuff from her locker. Don’t try to divert the question.”

“Not trying, just not answering.” Onew snapped back.

Key raised his left eyebrow up in surprise, and as well as, a bit of enamor. He never believed Onew to be the one to have the snap back attitude of the two of them. It was always Key, but, as he thought earlier, they have been through a lot in a just a mere couple of days. He was quite different when he came to Key’s rescue in the cafeteria or when he told the boy that the two families were acting off. There was a fire in his eyes each time he warned or rescued Key. Even when they were in the infirmary together, Onew possessed a heroin aura while tending to his friend’s need per the nurse.  And even now, there was that flame resting in the glow of his irises. Key wasn’t sure whether he should be proud or…a bit concerned because for all the years they’ve known each other, Onew never had this look on his face before.

“Either way,” Luna annoyed, “I told you those two were dangerous. And I told you there was something weird about them.”

She looked up and gestured to the whole class.

“Every single one of you looked at me like I was crazy when I told you guys about the forest story and how odd I thought Minho and Taemin were, but now look.” She went back to looking at Key, “they attacked you how many times now?”

“One.” Key affirmed. “It was only one time, they had nothing to do with what happened in the woods you screwball.”

“Then why don’t I believe you?” She retorted. “Does anyone else believe that now?”

The room was quiet, a reaction that Key expected. But what he didn’t expect was the subtle look of calm agreement in Onew’s face. Onew lowered his eyes to his desk and started playing around with his fingers. As if realizing it as well, Luna smirked.

“Quieter than it usually is, isn’t it Key?”

The boy pursed his lips.

“Like I said before Key, those two and their little families, I wouldn’t trust them if they were the last beings on Earth. They’re always secretive, mysterious, and never give straight answers. Their families’ houses are surrounded by those freaky woods and they all wear those weird black bands on their wrist. I would say I’m surprised about the little fiasco in the cafeteria room, but then again, it was all a matter of time. After all, you did step into their territory. They probably have a monster in those woods that they feed or something.”

“Wait…what?” Key came back into reality.

“What, the monster?” She asked.

“No, what did you mean, their territory?”

There was a stricken look of bewilderment on her face, if only for a second as if she said something that wasn’t supposed to be spoken. Luna looked up at her classmates who were staring straight into her. Her lips fidgeted a bit before she bent down to the two of them.

“Don’t tell anyone I told you,” she whispered, “because only my mom and dad found out, but those woods belong to the two families. Me and V overheard our parents talking. Apparently, Minho and Taemin’s families made a deal with the mayor for no one to know.”

“And how the hell did your parents find out then?”

Luna bent back up and shrugged her shoulders. She too seemed to look a little questionable about that part in the story.

“We weren’t ease dropping early enough to hear that part.”

Suddenly, her sister scampered in, her natural dark hair frisking from one side to the other, a contrast to Luna’s fake strawberry blonde in which she’d gotten in trouble with her teacher’s for a couple of times now. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted Onew and Key, then narrowed, even more, when she saw Luna.

“Luna, what are you talking about now?” Her voice was always darker than her sisters, a very specific trait in figuring the two apart. V constantly held an uninterested demeanor about everything. Her body language mimicked it and her face was no different. Luna smiled, circling her arm around her sister’s.

“Nothing. Just telling them that Minho and Taemin were weird is all.” She glanced at Key one last second before grabbing her sister and going towards the back of the classroom.

When he turned to look at Onew, the boy was watching both Luna and her sister, squinting his eyes together in suspicion.

“She just lied to her sister.” He murmured.

“What?” Key questioned in annoyance.

“She didn’t say the part where she told us about them owning the woods.”

“So? She’s nuts Onew, we’ve gone over this.”

“That’s true.” He answered with a tilt of his head, “But she’s never not said something to her sister, as far as I know. I think she was being serious.”

“And I think you’re starting to agree with her way too much. Like what the hell was that?”

“Was what?” His friend actually looked quite surprised, arching his eyebrows in question.

“You didn’t say anything when she started talking crazy about Minho and Taemin and their family. You didn’t have my back then?”

Onew shrugged his shoulders again, grabbing his notebook and pen just as the teacher waltzed in.

“You don’t get to just shrug your shoulders and not say anything again-“

“Alright, Key.” The teacher announced, looking down from over at his podium. “Class is about to start, all the talking needs to cease.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He answers, then eyes his friend who has already started making an outline for his notes.

“We’ll talk about this later.” Key mumbled.