It was late at night, and the chilly air made me shiver slightly in my short sleeved shirt. Usually I don't wake up in the middle of the night, but for some reason I did that day. All of a sudden I had felt thirsty and had a big urge to go downstairs and grab some water.

It was a weird feeling.

I walked down the staircase slowly, not used to the silence and darkness of the house at night. There was no need for me to be scared, right? It's not like anything can attack me in my own house... Right?

It was a weird feeling.

 

Continuing on my way to the kitchen, I thought I saw some shadows flicker. I was probably just imagining things. There was no need to worry. All I had to do was grab some water, drink it, then head upstairs and go back to sleep. Yet... Why did it feel like something big was going to happen?

 

What a weird feeling.

 

I was just opening the door to the kitchen when I suddenly felt a strong hand wrap around my mouth and waist. They held me still as I struggled to get out.

 

“Shh.” a strange, but familiar, voice hissed. “I'm not going to hurt you.”

 

“Ou bil ib ou ont et me ereth.” I mumbled against his hand.

 

“Oh. Sorry. What was that?” he whispered.

 

“I said that you will if you don't let me breath.” I said, matching his volume.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“You don't have to apologize.” I told him.

 

For some odd reason, I didn't feel threatened or scared even though he was from the enemy side, and not to mention that he had sneaked into our house in the middle of the night. With him standing in front of me, I only felt at ease, as if I was talking with a long lost friend. Someone I've known my whole life. I found it weird how I even know his name after only one meeting. Lay.

 

What a weird feeling.

 

I guess he was lucky that I was the one who had come down the stairs and not someone else. If it had been someone else, the whole house would be in chaos instantly. He was especially lucky that Chanyeol wasn't there. If the hot-headed boy was, then he would have flipped the house upside down to get an explanation about Sehun from him. About Chanyeol...

 

“Where's Chanyeol?”

 

“Chanyeol? You mean the one with the phoenix?”

 

“Yeah, him.”

 

“Don't worry.” Lay said. “He's safe... At least at the moment. Luhan almost killed him earlier but...”

 

I frowned. Luhan again? How much trouble was that Luhan going to cause to my family? He hurt Sehun like that, and now he almost killed Chanyeol? I should be more cautious of him than I expected.

 

“He's not usually like that.” Lay quickly added when he noticed my expression. “He just suddenly went weird... I don't know what happened.”

 

“So Chanyeol's safe?”

 

Lay nodded.

 

“When are you going to let him go?”

 

“I'm not sure about that...”

 

“Why do you even need to keep him with you? Can you let him go?”

 

“That's not for me to decide.” Lay said regretfully. “I do feel bad about keeping him prisoner.”

 

“Then let him go.”

 

“Like I just said, I can't be the one to decide that.”

 

“What are you even here for?” I didn't mean for my voice to sound harsh, but the thought of Chanyeol being caged up irritated me to no end. A phoenix should be free, not restrained.

 

“Um... About that.” Lay said hesitantly. “It's about Luhan.”

 

“What about him?”

 

“He's not acting like himself. I want to know if it's because of Sehun.”

 

“How do you know about Sehun?” I asked him.

 

“Luhan kept talking to me about him.” Lay told me.

 

“So they really were meeting up.” I sighed. “What am I going to do with that kid?”

 

“You don't have to worry about that. Luhan is a kind person. He won't let Sehun get hurt.” Lay said.

 

I raised an eyebrow at him. Surely he knew how much Luhan had hurt Sehun pretty recently?

 

“Like I said, Luhan hasn't been acting like himself recently.” Lay added.

 

“So why are you here?”

 

“I came because I need your help.”

 

“Help with what?”

 

“To get Luhan back and have him explain.”

 

“About what? If he's acting weird, maybe he's just tired of fighting and wants to leave.” I said.

 

“Luhan isn't like that. He's the Prophet. He won't just act so irresponsibly. I know he won't. He must have seen something in a vision for him to act this way.” said Lay. He looked so certain and determined. I almost admired him for having so much faith in his brother.

 

I sighed again. An enemy acting weird? What does that have to do with me? But why do I have an urge to help him? Maybe this is the key to something bigger? I shouldn't even be talking with Lay, yet here I am wanting to help him get back a dangerous man. Am I going crazy? Probably.

 

“And how do you plan on doing this?” I asked.

 

“Well... I'm not sure yet. To say the truth, I haven't even told my family members yet...” Lay said as he shifted around uncomfortably.

 

“You can to me first?”

 

“Y-Yeah...”

 

“You risked getting punished to come and see me now.”

 

“I guess so...”

 

I don't know why, but his answer made me feel happy. Almost proud? Glad? Relieved? I can't even tell what it is. Maybe it's a mix of all of them.

 

It was a strange feeling.

 

Lay must have thought of my pause as hesitation, as he backed up into the shadows. “I'm sorry. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. I'll get going now. If you can, please forget about this meeting.”

 

“Wait.” I called quietly, grabbing onto his wrist. “I'll do it.”

 

Lay's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. “Really?”

 

“Yes, really. As crazy as it sounds... I have a feeling we have to do this.”

 

“So you'll help me?”

 

“Yes, I will. I'll talk with my brothers tomorrow morning.” I told him.

 

“Thank you, Suho. I'm very grateful.” Lay said sincerely. “I know there's a reason why Luhan left like that.”

 

“I hope your right.” I sighed. “I hope we're not just bringing back a dangerous man.”

 

“He isn't dangerous.” Lay said confidently.

 

“I'll believe you.”

 

“Thank you.” Lay told me once again. “I'll leave now before I cause trouble.”

 

“Be careful.”

 

“I will.”

 

Lay walked towards the door, passing by a large potted plant on his way there. He paused to look at it, then brushed his fingers gently along the leave. It instantly perked up and its leave glowed with life.

 

“You should take care of your plants more.” Lay said.

 

“I don't have powers like you.”

 

“You don't have to.” he chuckled. “Plants will become beautiful if they're given lots of love.”

 

Suddenly, I felt a splitting pain in my head. His last sentence... It brought back memories. Memories that were so close to my grasp, yet impossible to reach. It seemed as if something was forcefully shoving it back into the back of my mind.

 

 

I did my best to hide my expression, not wanting to delay Lay's departure. He must have noticed something, but didn't stop to ask. He left with a soft goodbye. I didn't have time to respond before the door closed silently.

 

I stared at it for a few more seconds, then went back to what I was originally doing; getting some water. I poured myself a glass, but didn't feel like drinking it anymore with the headache. I just placed it back on the counter and headed upstairs, hoping that it would go away with a good night's sleep.

 

… If I can even get one with what just happened.

 

Seeing Lay. The conversation. Luhan suddenly turning violent and running away. The memories. I didn't even know which one to think about first.

 

It was such a strange night... And it was only going to keep get stranger.