"Don't hide," a female voice said, "Say hi." 

          He looked up and to his side to find a woman looking down at him with a sift smile on her features. She was wearing a mostly green coloured Korean traditional outfit, her hair flowing down to her shoulders. Her eyes were blurred, covered by darkness which made him unable to see her eyes. 

          He looked to his front to find another woman who was smiling just as sweetly back at him like the woman standing beside him. This woman was wearing a purple coloured traditional outfit, her hair just passed her chest. Just like the woman beside him, this woman in front of him had blurred out eyes. 

          The woman in front of him then looked down to her side and he followed her gaze to see the boy standing beside her. The boy was smiling widely at him, skin fair and hair pulled back into a tail. The boy was wearing a blue robe and just like the two women, the boy's eyes were blurred out. 

          He felt himself being patted on the back and pushed forward, forcing him to walk out from his hiding spot behind the woman. The boy was a lot shorter than him, he was probably a head taller than the boy. However, he didn't know why but he felt his cheeks heating up as he stepped in front of the boy. 

          "Come on," the woman he had been hiding behind prompted, "Say hi." 

          He felt his face heating up like boiling water as he looked at the boy standing in front of him. He opened his mouth to do as his mother told him, but no words came out. He ended up opening and closing his mouth like a fish, embarrassment creeping up his neck. 

          The boy only tilted his head and smiled wider, showing a row of teeth. He thought he felt his heart skipping a beat at that simple gesture made by the boy. Not knowing what to do, he ended up finding himself quickly scurrying behind the woman and hiding behind her robe. 

          An exasperated sigh left the woman's lips as she looked down at him and he looked down in shame. He heard the woman sighing through her nose and soon a hand was patting his head, calming his tense posture instantly. The woman shook her head at him, looking up at the woman and the boy beside her with an apologetic smile. 

          "Sorry about that," the woman said, "He's a shy one." 

          "It's okay," he heard the other woman said as she shook her head and waved a hand, "He's probably not used to speaking to people." 

          The two women shared a laugh and he felt his face heating up again. He shake his head to try and calm himself down before peeking over the woman's robe to look at the boy. As if noticing somebody watching him, the boy looked up and connected eyes with him. 

          He felt the air in his lungs leaving him as the boy smiled at him, the smile so bright and blinding. He didn't know whether his heart had skipped a beat or was beating a hundred times per second or had stopped beating completely. Whatever it was, it was making him feel weird. 

          Seeing that he was not going to make the first move, the boy decided to walk up to him instead. This action by the boy made the two women to gaze at the boy curiously as he advanced, his steps quick and light. The boy looked more like he was floating towards him instead of walking. 

          The boy stopped in front of him and he could see that the boy only reached up until his chest, causing the boy to have to look up to meet his eyes. Even though he couldn't see the boy's eyes, he felt his breath catching in his throat. They stared at each other for a moment. 

          Finally, after what felt like a century had passed, the boy let a small smile graced his thin lips. He thought he stopped breathing when the boy did that, his mind was running a marathon. He felt like fainting but at the same time he felt like watching the boy's smile for another few more minutes. 

          Suddenly, the boy held out a hand and caught by surprise, he stepped back. The boy let out an amused laugh which stirred something in him, a blush making its way onto his neck and face once again. He didn't think that it was possible for somebody to blush so many times. 

          "Nice to meet you," the boy offered, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

          He looked down at the hand as the boy waited for him to shake his hands. What actually was only a few seconds felt like a century, but at last he reached out and held the boy's hand. The boy seemed to brighten considerably when he did that, and he couldn't help but to smile shyly himself. 

          "What is your name?" The boy asked and faintly, he heard himself telling the boy his name. 

          The boy nodded and smiled, "Nice to meet you then." 

          "My name is..." 

A grunt left his lips as he slowly opened his eyes, faintly hearing somebody calling his name over and over again as he tried to focus his mind. His eyes were blurry when he first opened them so he blinked a few times to chase away the blurriness. When his eyes finally focused, they widened when he saw a face hovering a few inches away from his. 

          There was an unmanly yelp as he jerked, successfully headbutting himself against the face above him. This time, there were two yells before groans followed. He reached a hand up to nurse his forehead that was in pain, glancing to the side to see the person from before. 

          The person didn't look happy, if his wide eyes which were filled with murderous intent wasn't a dead big giveaway enough. The person's eyes were wide like an owl's and his hair was short, black in colour. His face was round but small, and he had a small body. 

          He flinched and widened his eyes in terror when he realised who he had just headbutted, a nervous gulp following soon after. He slowly scooted out from the soft comfortable bed of his and watched as the person stood up with his hand still nursing his forehead. He quickly stood up on his two feet when a threatening growl escaped the person's lips. 

          "Park Chanyeol," the person hissed and at that moment, he knew. 

          He ed up. 

          Chanyeol screamed and if his voice wasn't so deep, people might mistook his scream for a woman's. Chanyeol quickly dodged the person when the latter pounced at him, running straight out of the shared bedroom and into the living room. Chanyeol looked back in time to see the person hot on his tail, and he noticingly paled. 

          "Kyungsoo, wait," he plead as he ran away from the person, almost falling over when he didn't look where he was going and nearly hit the couch in the living room, "I can explain!" 

          Kyungsoo only growled and Chanyeol knew that there was no way in talking sense into this man. So, Chanyeol only did the next logical thing. Chanyeol looked back to the front just in time to jump over the short coffee table, running away from his roommate to save his dear life. 

          Chanyeol could not run away for his whole life though as fate had other plans. Just as Chanyeol entered the kitchen, he realised it was a big mistake as there was only one exit out of the kitchen. Chanyeol only realised that when he stood behind the dining table which was the only object protecting him from his fuming roommate. 

          "I swear to God, Park Chanyeol," the roommate sneered and Chanyeol couldn't help but cringe, "Teasing me is one thing, but headbutting? You out of your mind now?" 

          "Blame yourself for leaning so close towards me," he accused only to have Kyungsoo's glare as his warning, shrinking back in fear from the gaze. 

          "It ing hurts," the roommate deadpanned. 

          "And you think I don't?" Chanyeol sassed, only to realise too late that the answer wasn't what Kyungsoo wanted to hear. 

          In a blink of an eye, Kyungsoo had a hand on the dining table between them and jumped. Using the hand on the table as leverage, Kyungsoo jumped over the dining table and onto the other side. Chanyeol stepped back in shock as Kyungsoo landed right beside him. 

          Kyungsoo looked up at him and it was the only warning he had before the shorter male pounced on him. Chanyeol screamed, feeling himself being turned around and having two arms locked on his throat. The blood left from Chanyeol's face and he started to struggle when he realised Kyungsoo had him in a chokehold. 

          It didn't last for more than three seconds before Kyungsoo released Chanyeol from the hold, but even so Chanyeol slid down onto the ground with his face covered. Chanyeol wasn't in pain or terrified to the point of crying, just hiding his face in utter embarrassment after being manhandled by somebody that reached barely to his chin. Kyungsoo huffed out in satisfaction before rounding Chanyeol so he could lay out the food. 

          "I swear, Chanyeol," the roommate told him, "You do that again, I murder you." 

          "So petty," he muttered under his breath and acted like he didn't just said that when Kyungsoo turned to him questioningly. 

          Indeed, either his roommate was extremely petty or he just really loves finding reasons to choke Chanyeol. 

          "Get in your seat before I double think my decision of cooking breakfast for you ever again," the roommate threatened and like lightning, Chanyeol was already sitting on one of the chairs and looking at the roommate expectantly. 

          Kyungsoo turned off the stove and picked up the pot that was on top of it, quickly but making sure to be careful as he lifted the pot and came towards the dining table. Kyungsoo then placed the pot down onto the table and Chanyeol instinctively got up to peek at the content of the pot. Chanyeol thought his stomach growled when he saw that it was stew, the delicious smell floating in the air around the kitchen and attacking Chanyeol's nostrils with its fragrance. 

          The moment Kyungsoo placed the bowl, spoons and the ladle down onto the table, Chanyeol instantly snatched the ladle and poured himself some stew. All Kyungsoo could do was stare at Chanyeol left the ladle in the pot and hungrily ate the stew like a wolf. Kyungsoo sighed and rolled his eyes, although he was trying his best to hold back the fond smile from forming on his face as he got himself a bowl of stew too. 

          They ate in silence for a bit, Chanyeol not noticing the stare that Kyungsoo was given him since he was so busy eating his food. Kyungsoo only had one filling and then he stopped eating completely, pushing his bowl to one side as he watched Chanyeol ate. It was until Chanyeol had his third helping that he noticed Kyungsoo had stopped eating and was looking at him like some animal in a zoo. 

          The hand that had reached out to take the ladle hovered and Chanyeol was only half standing as he locked eyes with Kyungsoo, an awkwardness befalling on them. Chanyeol's current position was by no means comfortable, but he just didn't dare himself to move as he looked back at Kyungsoo with an equal amount of interest. Before the two knew it, they were having a staring contest to see who backs down first. 

          Instead of one of them backing down, one of them spoke and that person was Kyungsoo, "Something had been bothring you." 

          Chanyeol instantly went rigid at that statement, his heart stopped beating and sweat suddenly forming on his cold skin. Chanyeol finally broke eye contact with Kyungsoo and looked away as he slowly sat back down onto the chair, his hand falling limply onto the table. Chanyeol suddenly had no appetite to eat the stew anymore, no matter how much his stomach was disagreeing with him and how tempting the stew was. 

          Kyungsoo frowned at Chanyeol's sudden lack of reaction and leaned forward slightly, reaching his arm out and snapping his fingers in front of the elder to gain his attention. Unfortunately, Chanyeol looked very much dead inside for all Kyungsoo knew. Whatever Chanyeol was thinking about, it mustn't been pleasant. 

          Kyungsoo stared at Chanyeol for a bit, "Is it the dreams again?" 

          Chanyeol only heaved a sigh through his nose, looking away as if not wanting to talk about the current topic. 

          Kyungsoo wasn't having any of that, pushing the male as he asked, "Do you want to tell me about it?" 

          Chanyeol didn't react for a moment but after a while, he shook his head stubbornly and crossed his arms. 

          Kyungsoo frowned even further, but decided to just end there, "Okay." 

          "But if you ever need someone to hear you out," the younger told Chanyeol, "I am here for you." 

          Kyungsoo knew that Chanyeol would give in, if being Chanyeol's friend for years taught him anything. Chanyeol was the kind to be stubborn at first, but with the correct words and you'll be able to break down those thick walls of his and make him tell you whatever it is that is bothering his mind. It wouldn't take long, Kyungsoo just needed to wait a few seconds while Chanyeol contemplate on whether or not to tell him about the dream. 

          Which would be happening in four, three, two... 

          "I had a weird dream last night," and there was the confession that Kyungsoo was waiting for, a small smirk playing on his lips which the elder didn't notice. 

          Kyungsoo quickly wiped the smugness off from his face, his face returning to that neutral and emotionless expression of his as he urged for Chanyeol to continue, "I'm listening." 

          So Chanyeol told Kyungsoo, mostly about how the dream went. Kyungsoo listened intently, nodding at every single detail being told to him. When Chanyeol was done with his story telling, he leaned back into his chair and watched Kyungsoo, waiting to see how the younger would react to his account. 

          Finally, Kyungsoo said, "What's wrong about the dream? I don't see anything special about it, or anything worth worrying about at least." 

          Chanyeol sighed exasperatedly, messing his already bird nest hair into an even bigger mess as he said out, "It's not the content that bothers me. It's the feeling I get after I wake up! Not only that, the people I interacted with are the same people from my previous dreams." 

          Kyungsoo frowned at the statement, "Why are you so sure that they are?" 

          Chanyeol shrugged with a thoughtful frown, "I don't know, but my gut is telling me that I have dreamt about these people before too." 

          Kyungsoo nodded and decided not to say anything as of the moment. 

          Chanyeol had been having weird dreams ever since he entered university at the age of eighteen, before he passed his birthday. Chanyeol would have these weird dreams of people wearing medieval or at least old looking clothes and talking to these people like he knew them. Chanyeol didn't like these dreams not because they were weird or the content may be disturbing, but it's the sense of deja vu he gets every time after he wakes up from these kind of dreams. 

          Most of the time, it's the gut feeling that Chanyeol get after he wakes up that made him wary of the dream. There were, however, a few times where Chanyeol was disturbed by the content of the dreams he gets. A lot of times, these dreams were about his death and they felt too real for him, so real like he had actually gone through these kinds of deaths. 

          To make things even weirder than they already are, Chanyeol would more than often die the same way in those disturbing dreams. Yes, Chanyeol may be wearing different outfits every time he died, but the way he died was always the same. As if that wasn't weird enough, Chanyeol was smiling in every death, showing off his rows of white teeth. 

          Chanyeol always wondered why he smiled in these dreams even though he was dead or about to die. They tend to make him wonder from night until day, then day until night and he wouldn't stop until a few weeks later. The elder didn't know why but every time he died, it wasn't fear that took over his senses but rather certain feelings, and they were always the same. 

          A sense of relief and happiness, but at the same time a touch of grief and sadness. 

          After some time in silence with Chanyeol, Kyungsoo said, "I think you should just forget about it." 

          Chanyeol looked up at the younger as he continued, "There is no use for you to worry yourself with something as trivial at this. I think it's best to fjust orget about it." 

          If it had been any other people, they would have sighed and agreed with what Kyungsoo said. However, Chanyeol wasn't any other people and so, his reaction towards what Kyungsoo said was different from other people. Chanyeol's face contorted into a scowl after hearing Kyungsoo's words, his eyes darkening and his deep voice going an octave lower — Chanyeol was agitated. 

          "Don't you think I know this dream is as trivial as who are the presidents of the United States?" Chanyeol spat at Kyungsoo but the younger did not flinch, not even a bit. 

          "Of course I know I shouldn't bother myself too much with this stupid dream," the elder continued to tell the younger, "I know that this is just a dream and no matter how realistic it felt, it will only forever be 'just a dream'." 

          "However," the elder made a short pause, "You telling me this is like telling somebody who has depression to 'just be happy'." 

          "How can one just simply forget or move on from something when that thing has been bothering them for more than a week?" Chanyeol asked with irritation and anger clear in his voice, "It's not like getting a cold, Kyungsoo. Catching a cold could result in either having to sneeze all the time or just being bedridden, but once you're healthy it'll take a while until the next time you catch a cold. These dreams had been bothering me for as long as I could remember already, and they are not going away anytime soon." 

          Kyungsoo only looked at Chanyeol with an unreadable expression as the elder vent out his frustration to the younger. Chanyeol was panting heavily after voicing out all his thoughts in one breath as he waited for a reaction from Kyungsoo. Chanyeol had been so caught up by his irritation that he hadn't notice how harsh he had sounded until he was done talking to the younger, and the feeling of guilt came crashing into him a second later. 

          Chanyeol's angry face immediately dropped as the realisation that he had just been aggressive with his friend hit him, and suddenly his face was written with fear and his voice quivered slightly as he stuttered out, "K-Kyungsoo?" 

          When Kyungsoo didn't reply in time, Chanyeol thought he had made the former upset and he sighed, "I'm sorry. It's just... These dreams are such a bothersome, but they won't stop and it's affecting my sleep. So..." 

          "It's okay," at the younger's voice, the elder looked up to meet the younger's eyes as he spoke, "You've been holding in those feelings for a long time now, I understand." 

          "It's okay to let them out from time to time," the younger continued as a small smile graced his plump lips, "And I'm glad that you trust me enough to tell me all of that." 

          At Kyungsoo's words, Chanyeol slowly smiled as he muttered, "Thank you. What would I do without you?" 

          Kyungsoo only waved Chanyeol's mutter off, gesturing to the pot of stew as he scolded, "Now, quickly eat your stew or else no lunch or dinner for you today! I've worked hard on cooking this stew and I don't want it to go to waste." 

          Chanyeol laughed at Kyungsoo's antics but got himself another bowl of stew anyway, eating silently as he watched Kyungsoo doing the same with a huge smile on his face. The two talked for a bit as they continued to enjoy their delicious breakfast, talking about random topics and just whatever that pops up in their mind. There was still some time until class starts so there was no need for them to rush. 

          When there was finally no more stew left in the pot, there was only enough time for Chanyeol to take his shower and get himself dressed for class. 

The green grass was soft beneath his shoes as he stood in the field which was scattered with dandelions, the wind bending the small furry plants to the same direction as his hair was swaying towards. Some trees could be seen around the area, their leaves rustling due to the wind no matter how little wind there was. He looked up to the clear blue sky where clouds of all shapes could be seen floating about with no blinding sun shining down on him. He lowered his head and from where he stood in the field which overlooked a rather tiny village, he got a perfect view of the usually busy place.  

          He didn't know why but there was this feeling in his guts that kept telling him that he was familiar with the village, like he lived there. A part of him was telling him that this was not the place that he was currently living in, but the other part of him that denied it kept saying that this was where he lived in before. It was a confusing feeling, one that made him dizzy and light headed. 

          There was also another part of him that was telling him that he was here — in the field — waiting for the arrival of somebody. He didn't know who this person was or what relation he had with this person, but all he knew was that he knew this person and was very close to said person. The feeling was eerie, but he embraced it anyway — there's no harm in accepting the unknown. 

          There was a call, a distant yet clear call. He thought he heard his name, but he could be wrong. The call sounded like it came from a mile away, and yet the voice was as clear as a war horn. He didn't know where the sound was coming from, looking to his left then to his right but finding nothing. It was almost like the call was coming from every single direction, attacking him from every single angle possible. 

          Finally, he heard it. He heard the voice much clearer this time. The voice was coming from behind him. 

          He turned around and there — standing in front of him — was a teenager. The teenager was considerably shorter than he was and he had to look down to meet the teenager's eyes — well, if the teenager was even looking up at him, too busy catching his breath with his back bent and hands resting on his knees. The teenager's long hair flowed down to his waist and his bangs were slightly curled at the end, giving off a somewhat feminine aura to himself. The teenager was wearing a robe that consisted of mostly the colours blue, light grey and purple. The teenager's skin was fair, like he never been out under the sun before. 

          When the teenager looked up, he frowned — the teenager's eyes were covered by darkness, disabling him the chance to see his eyes and eyebrows. He could — however — see the teenager's lips, those long thin lips that stretched into a smile as the teenager looked at him. Even though he couldn't see the teenager's eyes, he acted as if he was making eye contact with the teenager. 

          He didn't know why but a smile of his own had came upon his features, his plump lips spreading ear to ear. He didn't know what made him want to return the teenager's smile, but somewhere in his heart he just couldn't help but to return it. He didn't even know this teenager — he never seen this teenager before in his life — however, a part of him felt like he met this person before and had a kind of connection with the teenager. 

          Whatever the odd feeling was, he would never come around into understanding it anyway. 

          "Finally," the teenager exclaimed as he flailed his arms around in an exaggerated movement, "You heard me! I've been calling you so many times and you didn't hear me!" 

          Heat blossomed in his cheeks then and while his mind was whirling with questions on why he felt like that, a soft nervous chuckle escaped his lips as he told the teenager, "I'm sorry, I was in a daze." 

          The teenager huffed with his hands balled into fists and placed them on his hips in a woman's bossy manner, "Am I suppose to feel any better after you said that?" 

          Even though he knew deep in his heart that he wouldn't stand this kind of attitude from anybody — the bossy attitude, be them men, women, child or old — he instead found himself shaking his head in fondness as he cooed, "Of course not, and I'm truly sorry about that." 

          He couldn't see the teenager's eyebrows but he could basically imagine one of them being quirked in a questioning manner as the teenager inspected him from head to toe, as if trying to dig out something from him. He should be feeling nervous from the heavy gaze but instead, he stood tall and didn't move an inch. Finally, the teenager let out a satisfied hum and his thin lips curled into a smile again, oddly causing his heart to flutter. 

          "Well, I'm glad you learned," the teenager said softly, "Don't ignore me again, it gets irritating sometimes." 

          "Of course," he found himself saying easily, "Anything for you." 

          The teenager smiled then looked away from him and towards whatever was behind him — probably the view of the village, since the hill overlooked it. He turned around and followed the teenager's gaze to the village, watching it with the teenager as silence clung in the air. The silence was not awkward but instead comforting, almost welcoming. 

          "They said the Trial will start soon," the teenager sighed out, his suddenly worried and sad sounding voice making him turn around to look at the teenager, "I wonder how will it go." 

          He didn't know what this 'Trial' was the teenager talking about, but oddly enough there was a part of him that actually understood what he meant. It sounded like some sort of examination that people had to pass. Oh well, it's not like he would know what this Trial was anytime soon, so he might as well forget about it. 

          "It's okay," he found himself saying, his mind surprised as the words flowed out from his mouth like he had memorised it from a script, "I'm sure we will be able to pass through it with flying colours." 

          The teenager nodded but didn't say anything else. 

          "I heard there are ten other people just like us," the teenager looked up at him, "You know, chosen by the Gods and gifted to have extraordinary powers that could protect people from evil?" 

          What the teenager said was weird, but oddly enough he shrugged it off like it was nothing out of the ordinary, "I heard. I also heard that four of them are not from our place." 

          The teenager looked up, a questioning look on his face, "What does that suppose to mean?" 

          "It means they're not from here," he gestured with his arms, forming a circle, "Not from this empire. They said there are other empires out there pass the borders that has stronger power." 

          The teenager nodded, "Yeah, my parents told me about them too." 

          He nodded along but didn't say anything to add on to what the teenager said. 

          The both of them stayed silent for a long time, none of them knowing what to say. This time, the silence was not pleasant like the one before, and both of them could practically feel their robes clinging to their backs due to the large amount of sweat being produced. One of them should break the silence, fast. 

          It was the teenager who broke the silence, shaking his head and looking up at him as he asked with a wide smile on his face, "What do you think your power would be? Or what power do you wish to have?" 

          He hummed thoughtfully, his fingers rubbing his chin like he had a beard, "I would prefer to have fire as my power. I like fire." 

          When he looked at the teenager and saw the deadpan look on his face, he quickly stammered out, "I-I'm not a pyromaniac! Just in case that's what you're thinking. Gosh, my sentence came out wrong..." 

          The teenager seemed to visibly relax at that and he couldn't help the frown that formed on his features, "You seriously took me for a psycho who would burn down villages, do you?" 

          The teenager's eyes may be covered but he could imagine them widening into saucers as he waved in panic, "I-It's not like that! I wouldn't take you for someone who would go setting villages on fire for no reason!" 

          One look from him and the teenager knew that his lie was too blatant, and he bowed his head in shame as he muttered under his breath, "Sorry for the offence, I didn't mean to." 

          He nodded, "Alright, apology accepted." 

          The teenager gave him a grateful smile as he asked, "What about you? What would your power be?" 

          He heard the teenager letting out a hum, his face thoughtful as he said, "I don't know, maybe something similar to yours in some ways." 

          He raised a brow, "You want to be able to control fire too?" 

          The teenager hummed again before shaking his head, "No, not fire. Not something that burns, but more like something that shines." 

          He let out an 'oh', "You mean like light?" 

          "Light," the teenager echoed the word, rolling it on his tongue a few times, "Light. Light." 

          A small smile plastered on the teenager's face as if he was satisfied with the answer, "Yeah, probably light. Dazzling and outstanding." 

          He chuckled at the teenager's monologue, catching the teenager's attention, "What?" 

          "Nothing," he quickly replied, looking off into the horizon as if trying to find something interesting. 

          The teenager stared at him for a long time and for a moment he feared that he might be questioned by the teenager about what he had been amused about. However, the teenager did none of that and instead gave a shrug of his shoulders before looking away into the horizon too, enjoying the sky view without any sun to make them blind. He relaxed when he knew the teenager wouldn't be asking him any more questions. 

          "Say," the teenager suddenly called his name out and he looked over, "What do you think would happen to us, once we pass our trials?" 

          He kept silent, turning his attention away from the horizon and instead decided to focus on the teenager. The teenager looked beautiful — even though not every part of him was showed — his long hair flowing slightly along with the soft breeze and his robes swaying to and fro too from the wind. The teenager's fair skin seemed to shine brightly and he didn't know whether to cover his eyes or continue to stare. 

          Finally, he said, "I don't know." 

          He looked away just as the teenager turned to regard him, not making eye contact with the teenager as he said, "We might be taken away from our families, or at least that's what I've been told multiple times." 

          "They would give us a luxurious temple to live in," he continued to tell the teenager, a nonchalant shrug going along with the statement, "Although I don't know of any temples that can ever be considered 'luxurious'." 

          "We would meet the others that are just like us," there was a smile on his face as he played a beautiful scenario of what might happen in his mind, "We might become great friends, best of friends if you may." 

          Then a thought came to mind and he frowned, "But then, with great power comes great responsibility." 

          He heaved out a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair, trying to calm himself down as he spoke, "We will face lots of challenges — people who will have equal amount of power as us and going against us like evil forces from those stories we heard from our parents when we were kids." 

          "There might even be a 'Final Battle' of a sort," he joked, although it came out drier than he had anticipated, "And then all of us will have to face off against this enemy and defeat him once and for all, and then everyone could live happily ever after." 

          There was a slight pause in his speech, "But then, sacrifices will have to be made in wars, and I feel that not many of us would survive long enough to see the end." 

          An eerie silence hung in the air the two breathe in and it felt suffocating for him. He didn't know why he had to say all of that and especially the last part — no one needed to be reminded of what there will be when there's a war. War was never a pretty thing to begin with, and to think that something nice would come out from it is like expecting fresh water in mud. 

          He couldn't stand the silence for any longer and he started, "Sorry, I let my mouth run again. We should probably leave for the day, goodbye." 

          He turned to leave — his mind already set on a certain direction and a certain destination — but, he didn't make it too far as he felt his wrist being grabbed. He breathed in sharply — not angrily and not exactly nervously either — and for a moment he didn't dare say anything. He took in a long breath, turning around to face the teenager. 

          Only, he was caught by surprise when the teenager suddenly tiptoed and pulled him down by the neck — ever so gently and carefully — pressing their lips together into a soft sweet kiss. 

          He immediately melted into the kiss, cupping the teenager's cheeks and returning the kiss with just as much passion as the teenager had. The teenager's hand that had been on his neck slowly slide down to his shoulder and he leaned down a little further so the teenager didn't need to tiptoe. They didn't break aw