Vernon walked out of the school doors to the quad where many of the students gathered for lunch. While they were in their morning class, the weather changed and the wind died down. What was once a blistery cold day was now a clear sky; sun kissed with warmth.

He looked around as he wandered among his school mates, searching for a place to just sit and read. Lunch was always an awkward time for him since he never ate at school and spent many days in solitude until the next bell rang. He did remember a school year when he once was friends with Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Wonwoo, and Mingyu. It was definitely an interesting couple of months as they joked around, caused mischief, and ruled that grade. But now that he looked back on it, he regretted it because the aftermath was not pretty and definitely not worth the punishment he got from the district heads.

That was years ago though and he spent long hours reflecting on his poor choice of friends and extracurricular activities. This is what caused the rift between them. Seungcheol got the worse punishment while the other three served pretty severe sentences but heir leader had to pay the biggest price. Unlike Vernon, the four of them came back together and continued on their friendships. It didn’t come as any surprise that Seungcheol and Jeonghan got back together after since they have been joined at the hip for many years. No matter how many times they got split apart, they always found one another. That was the one thing Vernon was actually envious of with those two. He really wished he could have a bond like that.

Vernon finally came upon a peaceful spot at the far edge of the area under a lonely tree. While the sun didn’t hurt him, it made him uncomfortable enough to prefer shade over the direct light. Call it an allergy, if you will.  

Once he got settled on the bench below the low branches that shaded the light from him, looked up and smiled at the deep green leaves. He smiled and quickly thanked the tree for its contribution to this perfect spot. Crossing his legs and opened his book, resting his right elbow on his knee while his left arm rested across his body. Once in awhile a cold breeze would come by, rustle the pages, and give him a quick moment to have to fix his hair.

Vernon was in his own world so it surprised him when he heard Mingyu call his name from only a few feet from him. He looked up to see the gang of them laughing and sipping on their drinks while they continued to walk towards his spot under the tree. Before he could think, Wonwoo threw him one of the pouches. He was lucky his reflexes were so good or the mess it would have made on his uniform would have been hard to explain.

“Do you not eat lunch anymore?” Jeonghan casually asked.

Vernon looked at the pouch. It had been years since he ate “lunch” at school and he didn’t really want to start again, but he would be lying if he denied that his stomach didn’t growled as he held  the warm drink in his hand.

Vernon tossed it back at the group, “I am good.”

“You know we have a set schedule or gets weird for us.” Mingyu stated.

Mingyu was right, but Vernon wasn’t about to admit how weak he felt when he got home from school because he chose not to take a lunch with him. They were raised to stay on track with their meals from when they were youngins but after the fall out with the guys and the punishment after, Vernon preferred to just eat at home and crash from the consequences in peace. He felt it kept him out of trouble more.

“So.” Vernon said blankly while picking his book back up.

Seungcheol scoffed, “Do you think that makes you better than us?”

“Seriously? It’s the first day and you are all fighting? How mature.” The voice made all of them look for where it was coming from.

Seungkwan was about ten feet away from them with his hands on his hips and frustration on his face. Just behind him was his group of friends from this morning peering across the lawn at the drama.

Great. Vernon knew that this wasn’t going to end well if Seungkwan opened again. He sighed and closed his book. So much for a peaceful lunch.

Anyone watching the scene from a distance, could see how night and day the two groups were. Seungcheol and his gang, Vernon included, seemed rigid, cold, and mostly more mature than the Seungkwan and his friends. The five of them radiated warmth, a bit on the playful side, and a dash of, what one could consider, squishy personalities. It was like silver and gold trying to outshine one another.

Wonwoo raised his eyebrows as Seungkwan opened , “You can’t come in here and act like you rule--”. He was immediately cut off when Vernon had him by the wrist and was walking towards the entrance of the quad, the diva in tow.

“Let go of me. And where did you come from?” Seungkwan wouldn’t stop talking. Vernon never stopped walking, but tightened his grasp on the boy’s wrist as they entered the school. Chan, Soonyoung, Joshua, and Seokmin followed after them with just as much confusion as their leader on what was going on.

“You are hurting me. Why did we go back inside?” The questions and statements out of the student were endless but Vernon never let go until they were in the classroom, alone.

As soon as they got to the empty room, most students still on lunch, he let Seungkwan go without even looking back to check on him. Silently he went to his chair, put his book down on the desk, and sat down.

Seungkwan wasn’t having the silence though. He stormed over to Vernon and demanded an answer. “Hansol. Why did you do that? What was the purpose? Did you enjoy hurting me? And why are you so cold? Damn.” He was rubbing his wrist

Normally Vernon didn’t get into the affairs of others but he wasn’t going to stand witness to anything that that group could do. Not this time. He also didn’t really want to answer the dark haired boy tapping his foot on the tile, arms crossed, and a look of frustration and annoyance, but he did want to know if he was okay.

“Are you alright?” Vernon asked flatly.

Seungkwan paused for a moment, “I- Yes. I am fine. I am not sure what happened, but let’s refrain from grabbing people in the future.” The bell went off, and the group groaned before shuffled to their seats.

Vernon was relieved. But why did he feel this was going to be a very long school year if Boo Seungkwan didn’t keep his nose out of Seungcheol’s business.

****

The next few weeks went without any incidents. Vernon had found a new place to hide during lunch, and with the weather getting colder and gloomier, it was perfect for him. He started to pack a pouch and have it while he read his books, which helped him not feel so drained later in the day. The group’s inquiry about mealtime, while annoying, helped him remember why it was important.

Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Mingyu, and Wonwoo kept more to themselves lately. It seemed suspicious but Vernon let it go because the less he knew, the better. Seungkwan and his gang were just as boisterous as before especially since Chuseok was coming up and they were in-charge of the school function before holiday break. Vernon thinks there might have been a school dance involved but, since he never participates, he didn’t really care to ask for details.

Biggest downside was that his teacher kept pairing him up with Seungkwan for school projects even though Min-ki sat right next to him. He actually quite liked his desk mate. They are both the quiet types. Min-ki spent most days listening to music while they studied because he could hide his bluetooth earbuds with his hair.

He still didn’t know much about the boy who sat next to him but Choi Min-ki didn’t seem like everyone else and Vernon swears that features on him change randomly. It was almost like magic.

This particular day brought a heavy amount of commotion as the whole school was getting ready for the event later that night. Vernon and Min-ki kept to themselves most of the day as Seungkwan and them were running around the halls reminding everyone about it.

When the bell rang for lunch, Min-ki disappeared almost immediately. Another thing that Vernon found strange was how he could move so quickly. One minute he would be there and then gone. Like he escaped into thin air. Vernon wasn’t that quick so he put on his winter jacket, an Eddie Bauer  light grey thermal trimmed with soft fake fur. Honestly, Vernon didn’t need a jacket. The cold didn’t affect him like it affected others, but he had one so others didn’t find it suspicious that he wasn’t wearing one when everyone else was. Plus the pockets were nice to put his lunch in.

Sitting in his usual spot, he sat quietly reading Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. As usual, his legs were crossed and his right elbow was resting on his knee while he sipped on his drink in his left hand. His location was towards the back of the school where an old tree stump resided in front of a small forest. Literally, no one came back here but on occasion he could hear the animals of the woods scurry about. Today, there was a different kind of sound though and one that sounds more like people than creature.

He stopped reading, put his hood down, and froze for a moment as he tried to pay attention to where the noise was coming from. Vernon concentrated enough to start to make out the voice of some students. Boys. Taking a few more moments he could understand there was a bit of a struggle going on as one of the boys seemed to be telling the other to let him go. Vernon contemplated helping until he heard Seungcheol’s voice respond back.

He said he wouldn’t get involved but Vernon was on his way to the far corner of the school grounds before he could even comprehend why. He came upon a scene of Seungcheol and his group harassing a small student with slightly orange hair. The kid couldn’t have stood more than five and a half feet but he was really holding his own against the others as they kept trying to detain him. Surprisingly, he kept escaping their grasps.

Vernon stopped in his tracks as he watched everything, wondering if he should get involved. His decision was made for him when he heard Seungkwan yelling from a distance. Great. This situation just got worse. The four boys stopped what they were doing to see who was yelling. Under his breathe, Vernon whispered. “Boo, why are you always like this?”

As Seungkwan got closer, as always, his friends followed suit. “Let go of Jihoon. He is new and this isn’t how you treat the new kids. Did I treat you this way on your first day of school?” The leader demanded and scolded.

Jeonghan laughed. “Of course it's the ‘diva boo’ to the rescue.”

“I am getting really sick of his , to be honest.” Wonwoo groaned.

Mingyu added, “what’s there to be honest about. This guy is everywhere. I think everyone is sick of his .”

Wonwoo and Mingyu were still holding onto the student known as Jihoon while Seungcheol and Jeonghan stood forward to wait for the Golden crew to approach them. Vernon was thankful that they hadn’t noticed he was off to the side and watched as Jihoon leaned down and bit Wonwoo on the arm to release himself. The tallest of them all yelled out and let go of the wrist he had been firmly clenching in his right hand and, in a blink of an eye, Jihoon duck and sun around to get his other arm free of Mingyu. Seungkwan and them were almost there but the captive student was already running back to the school before they could save him.

They stopped in their tracks and stared at the group near the forest. “Stop harassing the students at this school,” Seungkwan warned. “This isn’t your territory to go around marking and causing a ruckus in. We have to learn here and many of us would appreciate if you would just be quiet.”

Jeonghan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Only Vernon and Seungkwan’s group were wearing winter jackets, which meant that the other for were in the freezing cold with nothing but the their school uniform on. A point that wasn’t left unnoticed.

“Where are their jackets? It freaking freezing out here.” Chan asked to Soonyoung.

Responding back, the blonde one whispered, “I have no idea. It’s like they're not human or something.”

Damn.

Seungcheol laughed. He, too, had heard the comment between Chan and Soonyoung. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out one of the pouches they always carried for lunch. Wonwoo and Mingyu looked at one another and smiled. They knew what their older was up to. Without warning, he threw the pouch at the the other group. Knowing where it was going to hit, with Seungkwan as its main target, Vernon had to act fast. He sped towards the boys and flipped Seungkwan around just in time for the drink to hit his back and explode.  

The world stood still for a minute.

Seungkwan and Vernon’s eyes were still closed when Seokmin yelled “blood!” Their eyes popped open and rushed back away from one another. Vernon tried to look for Seungcheol and his friends but they were nowhere to be found. Joshua peered closer to the back of the jacket while Soonyoung actually tried to reach out to touch it and remarked, “that can’t be blood. No one was shot. It’s just fruit punch flavoured.”

“That’s blood, Hosh. That isn’t a fruit drink.” Joshua stated.

Chan’s eyes got really big before he fainted into the snow. Seokmin gasped and went to his aid while Joshua and Soonyoung tried to assist. Vernon and Seungkwan just looked at one another. Neither could say a word, but Vernon knew he needed to leave fast before anymore questions were asked.

“Why did Seungcheol have blood in his pocket? What the hell are you all? Get away from us and go back to wherever you came from.” Seungkwan broke the silence with disgust.

Vernon couldn’t move. In all his years he had stayed hidden and graduated from school after school for the last two decades, he hadn’t had to deal with this. Not since he use to run with Seungcheol’s gang. The humans didn’t know about them and the district heads made sure of that. First rule was to not give yourself away and if you did, you suffered the consequences. He prayed that Seungkwan and them wouldn’t publicly say anything but he had to get away.

As soon as Seungkwan turned his back on him, Vernon was out of sight. He didn’t even go back to grab his backpack but just went straight home after throwing his jacket in the nearest dumpster.

He had to tell someone in the counsel. He had to tell before they pinned this on him first. There was no way he was going down for exposing vampires to the human world again. Not this time