He’s watching me, I know: waiting for me to freak out, or make some kind of notion that I care.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m sweating bullets, my palms are clammy, my heart is pounding, and I’m terrified. It’s not per se that I believe in demons, no matter how many floating flames he creates, but something is up with him for sure and it puts me on edge. I just don’t want him to know he has that effect on me.

He’s just standing there, leaning against the table, arms folded.

“Most people scream,” he observes slowly.

I don’t react. Not because I don’t want to fire back something snide and sarcastic, but more because I don’t know exactly what to say.

“…no questions?”

“A thousand,” I deadpan, clearing out last year’s files on the computer. “But to be honest, I’m kind of busy right now. Can’t you come back and annoy me some other time, creep?”

“Creep? Me, a creep! That’s nice.” He rolls his eyes a bit. “And no, I can’t come back later, not unless you make it a direct command. We’ve got a concordat, remember?”

I swing in my chair, working hard to keep my face as bored with life as possible. “And what exactly does concordat mean?”

“It’s a blood bond.” Jeonghan’s jaw locks, obviously unhappy with the situation. “You’re of pure blood, and you saved my life, which means my life belongs to you. It also means that if I let you die, I die, and I’m not fond of the idea.”

“Well, I’m not going to die, so how about you skidaddle?” I make a shoo motion with both hands.

“It also means that you’re responsible for me, so if you let me die, you’re in trouble too.”

“I didn’t sign up for that!”

He stares at me like I’m stupid. “You touched me with your own blood, you know.”

“I didn’t do that on purpose!”

“Well that’s not my fault!”

There’s a part of me – a very large part – that wants to take a swing at him. Damage those delicate cheekbones and make him a little less pretty. Then again, such behaviour is absolutely unbecoming of a Prefect, never mind the Joker Prefect, so I have to keep my fists to myself.

But I keep the thought in mind. I store it away in the back of my head. It’ll be a very happy fantasy for me to retreat to when I need it.

Jeonghan sits down, slouching in his chair. “Guess this means I’m gonna have to enrol in here.”

I turn. “What?”

“You know. Bodyguard duties. I can’t let you be in here with me out there. If you get so much as a papercut, the same thing happens to me.” He drummed a fingertip on his own chest. “If you fall, I bruise, if you hit the bottom of the stairs with a crash, then I get a broken finger. Capiche?

I my head. “If I get hurt, you get hurt?”

“That’s right,” he mutters.

I figure there’s only one way to prove to myself that I’m not still cozy and cuddly in my bed. And this is probably a stupid idea, but I’ve got big black x’s across both wrists, so I feel like I’m entitled to being a piece of today. I simply grab a letter opener, and slit the blade across my palm. It stings a little, but it’s not so bad.

“Ouch!” Jeonghan glares at his hand, then sets the terrific frown on me, holding up his palm. Across it, there’s a long line of black oozing from his skin. “Why’d you do that for?!”

I stare. “Your blood is black?”

“Demon!” he reminds me, pointing at himself, upset. “Why’d you cut yourself for?!”

“I wanted to see if you were telling the truth.” Now that I explain it, it sounds extra-stupid, which probably accounts for my voice becoming a little sheepish. “Uh… sorry. Do you need a bandage or…?”

Jeonghan sighs, and pushes his palm out to me. “ it,” he mutters.

“Excuse me?”

“ it. Or it won’t stop bleeding.”

I sit there in my swivel chair, frozen. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

A couple of black drops hit the floor with thick splodgy sounds, and Jeonghan sighs again, more impatient this time. “The only way I can be healed from any wound is if my Concordat the blood. Your mouth has a healing power over me from now on.”

“Uh, can’t I just mesh blood with you like last time?”

“No, do it too many times and you’ll be poisoned, ‘cause I’ve got sulphur in my blood, but you don’t have to ingest my blood when you it. Why are you blushing?” There’s fury in his eyes as he presses his hand our further to me. “Stop being such an unbelievable and my hand for ’s sake!”

I can’t help but scowl and make a bit of a face. “First of all, I am not a . Second of all, is it going to taste gross?”

“I’m dying of blood loss over here!”

“You’ve got one little cut. Won’t it close by itself?”

“No. For the one-hundredth time, only your mouth will fix it. It’s a rule. Can you get on with it?”

Well, it’s not so bad. There’s nobody else in the room. “Just one ?”

“Hurry up!