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CHAPTER 5

LOCKED IN

Minho strutted down the hall. His anticipation to see Taemin crawled out of him with it's own mind. He couldn't accept that he was loosing him before he had the chance to sort out what the boy meant to him.

As his frustration slowly came out of him, he slowly began to lose his sight. Air becoming impossible to take in through his closed up throat.

Minho's hand glided across the wall trying to feel for something to grab ahold to, to stabilize him. Unfortunately there was nothing and he continued stumbling. He had to find a place to rest soon, otherwise he would turn to dust.

Sleep was essential to a Nightling. Not only did it boost their energy, like any other human, but it also kept their dying organs from giving in. It rejuvenated them.

Minho peeked through the window of several classes only to see every desk bombarded with humans. He continued down, lucky that no one ever made visits to the school library. Most of them owned the books stuffed into the metel shelves.

Minho let the door slam. Not caring that the sound could draw attention to the room. No. He just walked into the stacks, finding the darkest corner and dropped. His back hit the shelving unit hard, dropping a few a books--luckily it wasn't on his head--and he let himself fall into an unwakable sleep.

#

"What are you going to do?" Eunyuk asked looking up and down the hall paranoid. Teachers still hadn't left school and if they were caught, they would be gaining a trip to see the principle. "Are you sure about this?"

Onew still had evil plans forming in his head. The one thing he didn't tolerate was humiliation and that's what Taemin did when he had his new friend stand up to him. Onew had a reputation to protect. If word got around that he ran away from a fight, everything he worked for, making everyone respect him, would go down the toilet.

"He needs to be taught a lesson. Taemin needs to realize that he belongs to me." Onew said staring through the classroom window. Taemin sat in his desk jotting down notes from the board into his notebook. "No one is taking my pet away from me."

"Let's at least go easy on him this time." Key said standing against the wall behind them. Onew and Eunyuk turned to stare at him, their eyes wide in shock.

Coming up behind Onew, Key was just as mean. He never showed mercy and he never begged for it for other people either. He'd rather see them groveling, but lately he's been wanting to protect others weaker than him. He couldn't explain what was happening to him, but he had a since of guarding than hurting.

He played with his cell phone taking to account his friends odd stares. "I'm just saying...we've put him through enough over the past six years. The least we could do is be a little soft on him."

"Soft?" Onew walked to Key and put his hand on his forehead, checking his temperature. He must have a fever to be acting so strange.

Key smacked his hand away. His hair falling back over his forehead. "We should at least know when to stop with this childish behavior." Key shut his phone and picked his bag up from the floor. "Do what you guys want. I have to get to work."

"Sometimes I wonder if he even likes torturing people anymore." Eunyuk said, watching Key walk away.

Onew was thinking the same thing. They've all been friends since childhood, coming from wealthy families, and Key was always up for tormenting other people. Onew wondered if it was just because he was getting older that he found their actions to be below him.

"He's probably just tired." Onew lied. He knew it was something entirely different. He knew his friend well enough to know something was bothering him a great deal.

Onew put it behind him for the time being and turned his focus back on the classroom. Taemin was who he wanted to take care of now, but what to do? Onew knew of two things that scared Taemin--thunderstorms and by the look of the weather, it didn't seem like they were going to get one any time soon, and darkness. That was going to be his poison. The ultimate payment for Onew. He wanted Taemin to be scared shiftless and he knew just how to go about doing it.

#

Craming after school while everyone was gone relieved Taemin. It didn't just give him the opportunity to raise his grades higher than they already were, but it kept him away from his house until his stepfather went to work. He didn't want a repeat of what happened last night.

Taemin watched the board. He studied the equation carefully a few times. Noticing something odd about it, he stood up and walked over to it. Taemin had great eyes, catching the mistakes that even the teachers made. He knew no one was perfect, but a teacher should be pretty damn close with what they taught.

He grabbed a piece of chalk. He leaned back a bit, giving it a second overview and erased it. Taemin smiled, rewriting the equation and solving it correctly, knowing that his math teacher always saw his students as incompetent when in reality he was.

When he was finished, Taemin put down the chalk and dusted off the residue that stayed on his delicate fingers.

He didn't expect anything to happen so late in the day, so when a bag was pulled over his head and he was dragged out of the room, he panicked.

"You had this coming." Taemin knew that voice. It belonged to none other than Eunyuk. The voice came from behind him, so he knew Eunyuk was holding his hands. That meant that he knew who was pulling him by the shirt.

"Things could have been easier for you, but sicking your dog on me is unforgivable." Onew chimed in. His nails scratched Taemin's neck as he pulled him down the hall. If only Taemin knew in what direction they were heading.

"Where are you taking me?" Taemin asked, trying to shake the bag off his head.

A big shove from Onew told Taemin what he needed to know. Shut up and wait and see. There was no complaining from Taemin. If a peep came out of his mouth, Onew would do worse than what he was already planning.

The walk lasted five minutes when they came to a stop. Taemin's eyes moving around in the darkness of the bag. His ears were wide open, so he was able to hear a door open and he was pushed in. With his hands released he removed the bag from his head. He turned, but the two were gone before he could even beg for them to free him.

Taemin walked over to the light switch, but the power had been shut off. Onew must think that he was still scared of the dark, but he got rid of that fear years ago. It was pointless to lock him in the room with no lights. Taemin just had to wait till morning when all the doors unlocked automatically. He figured he should just sit and wait it out.

Before turning around, Taemin didn't think he'd be in the library. There were plenty of other places in the school that were a lot darker. For one, there was the boiler room that creeped the out of Taemin. He had a thing about basements. Maybe it was the feeling that someone was going to pop out with a chainsaws and saw him to pieces that got to him. Then there was the music room where everyone told stories of a girl crying, but the moment they turned around the crying stopped.

If Onew really wanted to scare him, he should have locked him in one of those rooms. That would do the trick.

Taemin didn't waist his time in trying to break himself out. It would do no good and it would just leave him with paying for the damages. Instead he looked around the stacks. A library full of books there had to be something interesting for him to read to pass the time.

He pulled out book after book, moving down the stacks, but came out empty handed. As he pulled out a book, from the corner of his eye, he saw Minho. All Taemin had to see was his beautiful curly brown hair to know who it was.

Without a second thought he put down the book and walked over. He tiptoed, trying not to wake up the sleeping beauty. Taemin hunched down, his arms wrapping around his knees and glared.

It was the first time seeing him really close. His porcelin skin, thick eyebrows and brown hair made him look incredibly handsome as he slept. Taemin could feel his heart dance in circles as he continued to look. Rushing through him, like it did yesterday, was that same light headed, shivering feeling, that Minho made him feel when he touched his face.

Taemin ran his finger along Minho's strong jaw line. "No scars." Taemin analyzed. His pink plumped lips calling for him.

Taemin's entire body had scarred by the time he was ten, due to his mother's constant abuse. There wasn't a time when he didn't find a new forming scar. For Minho to have perfect complexion must be a curse for Taemin. He liked him. Taemin couldn't deny that, but Minho wasn't good for him. He already got into trouble all because Minho was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Taemin sat down, the rug under him warm. He brought his knees to his chest and burried his head in them.

Forget about him. Taemin tried to convince himself. He couldn't fall in love. Not with a guy. He would be tormented even more.

"Why are you here?" Taemin's head rose up when he heard the voice. Minho straightened himself up after his long sleep.

"We're locked in." Taemin straightened his legs. He let out a breath. His body couldn't handle being locked in with Minho all alone. He could already feel himself tense up. When that happened, he always looked like a stiff board and everyone could tell he was nervous.

"Was it Onew again?" Minho yawned.

"They did it to scare me."

"Did he not get enough the last time?"

Taemin shrugged. "He never gets enough."

Taemin looked at Minho with his peripheral vision. This hot guy who was movie star handsome was looking at him. His face smiling in his direction. Why did he make it so hard for Taemin to hate him? If he continued looking at him like that, Taemin would never be able to stay away.

"Why do you let Onew bully you?" Minho asked, moving until he was sitting in front of Taemin.

"My mom works for Onew's dad. If I wanted her to keep her job I had to do anything he asked. If I didn't, it was either my mom's job or beating me up. I couldn't let my mom lose her job." Taemin passed his hand over his bruised cheek. It still hurt as if she just hit it. "She was fired yesterday because you got in the way."

Taemin looked up at Minho and could see his apologetic eyes. He didn't mention it to make Minho feel bad. He was just saying what happened. He couldn't control the way it came out.

"Was she the one that gave you that?" Minho pointed at the bruise.

Taemin immediately placed his hand on his cheek to cover it. No one needed to know what happened at home. Especially not the guy he currently had his eyes on. Taemin nodded.

"I fell." Taemin lied like any battered kid would to avoid questions.

"Sorry. I just couldn't sit by and watch you get hurt."

Time would have gone slower if Taemin didn't have Minho to keep him company. While they talked, Minho entrusted Taemin with stories of his koirky family. Taemin burst out laughing when Minho told how he's always the odd egg in his family. That he didn't just get taunted by his siblings, but that his mother also joined in.

Taemin didn't think he'd be laughing at someone else's expense, but since Minho also let out a few laughs he guessed it was okay.

Maybe Minho could be good for Taemin. Ever since he started attending Daewon Taemin was laughing and smiling. That only made him like Minho more.