I worked so freaking hard on this chapter--LOVE ME!!

I seriously just need a hug after writing all this. Ó~Ò

Jonghyun couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He was elected Homecoming Queen?

Well, Mary Sue. But Mary Sue was currently Missing In Action, and everyone was staring at him. There was no way out of this one.

He finally came to his senses and carefully stepped forward toward the stage where Himchan was waiting with that infuriating smirk. He passed CL, who was stunned into silence, standing on the edge of the crowd in disbelief. He numbly accepted the crown and stood beside Himchan, staring out at the rest of the student body, feeling hot under the lights and stares. Then the girl with the microphone spoke again.

“And now it’s time for the annual King and Queen dance!”

The crowd parted, leaving a round space in the center of the dance floor. Himchan’s hand extended to Jonghyun, and he reluctantly took it and allowed himself to be led onto the floor. A slow and melodic song started up and the King and Queen started to dance in front of the onlookers.

Jonghyun really didn’t want to be in this situation. He would much rather be seeking out Donghae right now, apologizing for that stunt he pulled with the punch. Or talking to Key or Amber or Mary Sue and finding a way out of this tangled mess of a plan. Hell, he would rather be unconscious right now than here dancing with this jerk. He didn’t envy Mary Sue at all for having to put up with him. Poor Mary Sue. Her debt to Himchan because of her accident with his expensive leather jacket had really brought a lot of misfortune in her life, forcing her to pretend to be his girlfriend and putting her under the pressure of high school popularity and being in the spotlight. Jonghyun was all about high school popularity, but he didn’t want to fake his way into it. Especially if it meant he would have to go along with this jerk’s every whim.

Speaking of which, that jerk had begun talking to him.

“You know,” Himchan murmured in Jonghyun’s ear, “I’ve really enjoyed the past few weeks.”

Jonghyun rolled his eyes, but Himchan couldn’t see. Good for you, he thought bitterly.

“I like being around you, Mary Sue,” he continued. “And I know you’ve just been acting for the sake of your debt to me, but…” He paused and looked Jonghyun in the face, brushing a strand of his hair behind his ear. “Consider your debt to me paid,” he said with a grin. “You don’t have to pretend to be my girlfriend anymore.”

Jonghyun smiled wide and let out a small sigh of happiness. Maybe Himchan wasn’t such a big jerk. He was letting Mary Sue go!

Himchan smiled back, encouraged by Jonghyun’s reaction. “I want to make us official,” he said.

Jonghyun’s smile fell. “Huh?”

“I want to date for real,” Himchan said.

Jonghyun was at a complete loss for words. Date Himchan? He was completely repulsed by the idea, and he almost rejected him right then and there. But he stopped himself, because he was pretending to be Mary Sue right now.

Come to think of it, though, Mary Sue didn’t seem to like Himchan so much either. She always looked so depressed whenever she was around him, and Jonghyun could understand why. Himchan was controlling and arrogant, and all he cared about was his stupid high school popularity. He was nothing like Donghae.

Lee Donghae was a way better person than this Kim Himchan. Mary Sue was lucky to be engaged to him. And she had an obligation, as Donghae’s fiancé, to not date other people. Everybody was so worried about her keeping up the charade of staying faithful to Himchan, when really Donghae was the person she needed to stay faithful to. Fake dating was bad enough. Jonghyun wasn’t about to let his sister date this jerk for real.

“Mary Sue?”

Jonghyun just realized the two of them had stopped dancing, and the entire school was staring at the two of them in the middle of the dance floor. Himchan looked around nervously. Jonghyun just glared at him. “That wasn’t the deal,” he stated firmly.

Confused murmurs rolled through the crowd.

Himchan let out a flustered chuckle. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Jonghyun clenched his teeth. This charade had gone on for far too long. “The deal,” he started, “was that I pretend to be your girlfriend to get CL off your back.”

Himchan tried to laugh this off, but the room was silent now, and everybody had heard what Jonghyun said.

“I think I’ve paid my debt to you in full for ruining your leather jacket.” Jonghyun brusquely walked past Himchan and through the parting crowd toward the doors. As an afterthought, he tore the crown from his head and threw it on the ground before he left Himchan standing alone in the middle of the crowd.

Whatever Mary Sue was doing right now, Jonghyun thought it couldn’t have been nearly as interesting as what was happening here.

“Mary Sue?”

The words echoed in your ears. The world was comprised of nothing but echoes.

“Mmh,” you groaned, trying to shake yourself awake. You felt a pair of cool hands cupping your face.

“Mary Sue?” you heard again. You struggled to regain consciousness and finally opened your eyes. You blinked away the bleariness and your vision focused on Donghae, who was hovering above you, looking extremely worried. “Are you okay?” he asked you.

You sat up slowly, holding your head to make the room stop spinning. You didn’t really know how to answer that question. You were tired of overthinking things though, so you went with honestly. “No.”

Donghae sighed and sat back. Once your head was clear, you took a moment to examine your surroundings.

You and Donghae were in a dark musty room. You felt like it was in a basement, since there were no windows, and all the walls were bare brick. Lit torches lined the walls and cast flickering shadows around the room. The only door was made of thick steel, and you doubted it wasn’t locked.

“Are we trapped in here?” you asked your companion.

Donghae looked up and sighed. “Yeah,” he said. “I already tried the door. It’s bolted shut.”

You let out your breath in a huff. “How long was I out?”

He looked to you and shrugged. “I don’t know. I just woke up a few minutes ago.”

You nodded, trying to accept the situation. “What do they want with us?” you wondered aloud.

Donghae’s eyebrows furrowed. “Ransom?” he guessed after a moment.

You remembered that he knew even less about what was going on than you did. You at least knew about the vampire thing.

“So what do we do?” you asked.

“There’s nothing we can do,” he answered calmly. “Not now at least.”

You nodded soberly and shivered. It was rather cold in here. Donghae took notice of this and moved to sit next to you, draping his jacket over your shoulders. He wrapped his arm around you then, and you felt grateful for his warmth.

You felt him sigh deeply. “I’m sorry,” he said.

You turned your head towards him, confusion evident on your features. “For what?” you asked. It wasn’t his fault you two were kidnapped by vampires and brought to their underground lair. If anything, it was probably your fault he was caught up in this with you.

“You weren’t yourself today,” Donghae said. “You were just so frantic at Homecoming, and when you spilled punch on me”—you tried to conceal a snort, but Donghae seemed not to notice—“I could tell how nervous you must have been by the whole situation.”

You didn’t really know what he was trying to tell you, but he continued.

“I realize now, I’ve told you all about my concerns surrounding this marriage, and you’ve helped me so much just listening to me. But I never once thought to ask about your feelings or consider what kind of toll this must be taking on you.” He looked down at your face. “And for that, I’m sorry.”

You smiled warmly in response, at a loss for words, because you somehow felt that whatever you said wouldn’t be nearly as eloquent as anything Donghae said.

“Tell me now,” Donghae said.

You raised your eyebrows in response, which he smiled at.

“There’s nobody around,” he said. “It’s just us in here. Let’s be honest with each other. Tell me how you feel about the engagement.”

You took in a deep breath and gathered your thoughts. Nobody had really asked you this honestly, and you hadn’t had much time lately to give it much thought. You tried your best to answer Donghae openly, somehow feeling that you owed him that much, since you sort have been inadvertently lying to him for the past few weeks.

You opened your mouth to speak, but no words came out at first as you tried to find where to begin. “Marriage is for love,” you finally started. “That one thing I know for sure.” You turned to look at Donghae, hesitant to say what your next thought was. But Donghae said to be honest. And you felt like you could trust that. “Donghae,” you continued. “I don’t…” This was harder to say than you thought.

“Don’t love me,” he finished for you.

You met his eyes and opened your mouth to protest, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. He was right. You didn’t love him.

He surprised you with a smile. “It’s okay,” he said. “I don’t love you either.”

You weren’t sure if that made you feel better or not. But if you were being honest with each other, you supposed it was a good thing.

“The truth is,” he said, “I’m in love with somebody else.”

“Oh,” you responded. You didn’t really expect that.

“I’m glad we could admit this to each other,” Donghae said. “I feel as if I haven’t really known you before this. Like I’ve been dating somebody else for the past few weeks and I’m only getting to know the real Mary Sue now.”

You giggled nervously. “Yeah,” you said. “Me too.”

For a fleeting moment, you regretted those times you had spent with Himchan instead of Donghae. Donghae was extremely nice and genuine, and if you had bothered to adhere to your responsibilities to your family and your engagement, you would have known that. Now you understood why Jonghyun seemed to like him so much, and you envied him just for how much he had gotten to know Donghae over the weeks since your engagement. You hoped your brother was doing better than you were right now.

Jonghyun stormed through the empty halls without any direction in mind. He was just going wherever he went, as long as it was away from Himchan and the rest of the dancegoers. He turned a corner, and was surprised to see Key sitting against his locker with a bottle in his hands. Jonghyun sat down next to him, and realized by the smell that it was a bottle of vodka, and Key may or may not have been a little bit drunk.

Jonghyun blew air out his cheeks. “Hey,” he said.

Key raised his head to look at Jonghyun with glazed and droopy eyes. He seemed to recognize Jonghyun then, as a low rumble of laughter escaped from his throat. His head fell back on his locker with a clang.

“Are you okay?” Jonghyun asked, concern overriding his anger for the moment.

Key glanced at him sidelong. “What do you know about me?” he asked Jonghyun.

Jonghyun was at a loss. He wasn’t sure what Key was actually asking him, or what he meant by his question. “Uh…” he trailed. “I know that you’re my friend,” Jonghyun started. “Um… You like fashion.”

Key laughed without opening his mouth.

“I didn’t know before that you drink, but I know that now,” Jonghyun continued humorously.

“Have I ever asked you for anything?” Key turned his face slightly toward Jonghyun.

“N-no,” he answered.

“Can I ask you for something now?” Key asked with the most genuine expression Jonghyun had ever seen on his face.

Jonghyun hesitantly nodded his head, and Key considered him for a moment.

“Close your eyes,” Key said.

“Huh?”

“Just do it, close your eyes,” he slurred in a whisper.

Jonghyun complied, not really sure where this was going.

“And promise me something,” Key continued to slur.

“S-sure.”

“D-don’t… don’t hate me,” Key said. “Okay?”

Jonghyun shook his head. “Of course, I would never hate you,” he assured.

“Okay,” Key mumbled. “Good.”

Jonghyun waited in silence, not really sure what was going to happen next or what Key’s motives for this silliness were. He heard the clink of an empty bottle and was suddenly startled by a weight on his lap. He opened his eyes to see Key lying down with his head on Jonghyun’s lap, fast asleep. Jonghyun exhaled and smiled to himself, running his fingers through Key’s soft hair as if he was comforting him. This was kind of weird—hell, this whole night had been weird—but something about this moment made Jonghyun feel warm inside. For a little while, he was able to forget about the chaos of the dance before and Mary Sue’s absence.

You were startled out of your stupor when you heard the clinking sound of the metal bolts being slid back from their locked position, and the thick metal door swung open, revealing TOP and several other people.

After a nod from TOP, the other three men roughly grabbed hold of you and Donghae and manhandled you out of the room. They led you down a dark corridor that was also lined by torches.

“Where are you taking us?” you demanded.

The blond man holding you smirked and answered, “To the clan leader.”

“Why?”

“That necklace of yours posed some obstacles for us tonight,” TOP responded, smirking. “We need to decide what to do with you.”

You were about to ask what they wanted with you in the first place when you entered a large, cavernous chamber that was filled with even more vampires and torches. In the center was a large throne, upon which sat a woman with short dark hair and eyes that glinted in the torchlight. She grinned at the sight of you, her sharp canines gleaming.

TOP and the other three vampires who brought you and Donghae knelt down before the throne, leaving you and Donghae standing awkwardly for a moment. When they straightened up, TOP was the first to speak.

“Leader Ga In,” he said. “Clan members. This is the girl of whom the prophecy tells.”

Your mouth stood agape. Prophecy?

“We have brought her here to fulfill the plan that will lead to the destruction of our oppressors and bring about a new era, one where we are free to roam the surface without fear or threat.”

He strode over to you and gestured to the chain around your neck. “Unfortunately, one of the Hunters got to her first and implemented a shield of sorts.” Several vampires around the room began hissing with distaste. TOP withdrew his hand and turned back to the woman on the throne, who was listening with interest. “It will take longer, but we can find a way around this.”

The leader, Ga In, cocked her head and spoke. “What do you propose?”

One of the men who brought you into the chamber stepped forward. Ga In’s sharp gaze flickered to him. “Rain?” she addressed him.

“We all know the strong bond a Hunter has with his talisman. Not only does it offer him protection, but it also has the potential to unlock hidden abilities.” Rain paced slowly, his dark eyes scanning the room full of vampires. “Abilities of a…supernatural nature.”

Ga In’s lips were pursed. “Your point?”

The blond who had held onto you cut in. “The point is, this Hunter feels a connection to the girl because she wears his talisman. I’m sure she feels the same connection to him,” he said, glancing to you.

You pondered this. From the moment you had accepted the Phoenix Talisman, you had felt a connection to the man who gave it to you.

“He will know if she’s in danger,” the blond continued. “And he’ll come running to her side.”

“And why, Xiah, would we want the Hunter to answer her distress call and come bursting into our lair?”

Xiah’s head bowed and he faltered, but the last vampire who had brought you in smirked and picked up the volley. “Because the Hunter no longer has its protection.”

As that thought hung in the air, Ga In’s face broke into a sly grin.

“Very good, Se7en,” she murmured.  “We’ve been longing to lower their number for years, but the talismans have always made it nigh impossible.” Her gaze flickered back to the group before her and locked onto Donghae. “And this one?”

Se7en turned to see what she was referring to, then turned back to her. “He is of no use,” he said. “He was merely in the way.”

Ga In her lips. “And what do you think we should do with him? TOP?”

TOP smirked. “Whatever you see fit, Leader Ga In.”

She looked pleased. “Should we let him go?” she asked innocently. Laughter erupted from the rest of the clan.

“Well we can’t have him wandering the surface telling people about us,” said Rain, grinning. He looked at Donghae, who gulped in fear. “People would think he’s crazy.”

“We can’t have that,” Ga In agreed. “Very well then. Dispose of him.” She flicked her hand carelessly and stepped down from the throne, exiting out the opposite side of the chamber.

Donghae looked to you in a panic. You matched his expression, but you didn’t know what to do. The vampires began closing in on the two of you.

“Donghae,” you whispered, reaching out to grab his hand, but he was pulled away from you. You heard him yelp as sharp teeth sunk into his neck and your stomach dropped. “Donghae!” you screamed.

You were knocked off your feet by a sudden explosion. Your ears were ringing and your head was spinning for the second time that night. You looked around the chamber. Dust filled the air and rubble was falling from the walls and ceiling. Had the chamber collapsed on itself?

Then you noticed several fights had erupted. Armed men had infiltrated the crowd of vampires and were engaged in combat.

You felt a strong grip on your shoulder and you were lifted up on your feet. You turned around to see TOP standing over you, dragging you to the exit. You had no strength left to fight against him, still trying to regain your composure.

A familiar figure came from the side and knocked TOP away from you. The vampire landed against a hard stone wall. The tall man who had rescued you before was grinning down at you. He held his hand out and you took it.

“Let’s get you out of here,” he said and began leading you through the chamber.

“Wait!” you cried, stopping him. He turned back to you with a questioning look. Your eyes were searching the room. It was extremely chaotic. Rubble was still falling, bodies were flying and colliding, and some vampires had been injured or disfigured by the weapons of the Hunters who had burst in. Finally, your gaze fell on what you were looking for.

He was lying in the middle of the fray, under the threat of being trampled by feet in combat, pale and bleeding and forgotten. You immediately ran to him and fell to your knees. He was still alive and breathing, and his eyes met yours and his mouth twitched.

“Donghae,” you sobbed. “I’m sorry.” The words were barely audible, even without the added noise from the chaos of battle. “So sorry.”

“We have to go!” you could hear your rescuer shout. “Now!”

You couldn’t leave Donghae’s side. The Hunter rushed up to you and, rather than taking your hand and pulling you away, he took hold of Donghae and began dragging him to the edge of the chamber, away from the fight.

A few armed men were working their way to where you were, still fighting their way through the clan members.

“Hang in there,” your rescuer was telling Donghae. “You’ll be okay, just stay with me.” He looked up, his eyebrows drawn together in worry. “Kai!” he screamed.

A Hunter about twenty feet from you turned to you from the vampire he was fighting. He quickly realized the situation, nodded, and dealt a swift killing blow to his opponent before rushing over to the three of you.

The next thing you knew was a rushing sensation before you opened your eyes in a completely new surrounding.

Amber was walking through the hallways trying to find Key or Jonghyun, or preferably both at the same time. The dance was over now, and Amber hadn’t seen Jonghyun since he humiliated Himchan in front of the whole school, and Key had disappeared even before that. She had already said goodbye to Krystal, and she had even built up enough courage to give her a quick peck on the cheek before her sister Jessica took them home. So she needed to find Key now, because he was the only one who actually drove himself to the dance, and since Donghae already left, she was pretty much out of luck if she didn’t find him.

She finally did find Key in an otherwise empty hallway in front of his locker, and she was surprised to find him in the state he was in. He was drunk, hugging an empty vodka bottle like it was a teddy bear, but that wasn’t what surprised her. It was that he was asleep and curled up on Jonghyun’s lap, who had fallen asleep as well leaning against the wall of lockers.

She was hesitant to wake them. It was kind of cute actually. But then she got over it.

“Hey,” she whispered, shaking Jonghyun’s shoulder a little.

He awoke easily and looked up at her.

“We should get going now,” she said. “The dance is over.”

“Right,” Jonghyun mumbled. He carefully shifted himself and Key into a position where he could carry him. Amber relinquished the empty bottle from Key’s grip, and it was quickly replaced by Jonghyun’s neck. The trio made their way to the parking lot, and Amber was grateful that everybody else had pretty much all left by now, because Mary Sue carrying a guy so easily was an odd sight to behold.

Amber took Key’s keys from his jacket pocket and adopted the role of driver, seeing as Key was inebriated at the moment and Jonghyun literally had his arms full. They drove on towards Amber’s house in silence, reflections of streetlights gliding across the windshield.

“I’m sorry,” Amber said in a voice so low that Jonghyun barely heard.

“You are?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I abandoned you guys there. It just made it harder on you.”

Jonghyun smiled at this. “It’s okay,” he responded. “We should have known it was too crazy to work. Besides, I’d consider tonight a success.”

Amber chuckled. “Oh yeah? How’s that?”

“We never actually did get caught,” he pointed out. “And, I doubt Himchan will be bothering Mary Sue anymore. The thought of not having to cross dress anymore is just an added bonus,” he added gleefully.

Amber laughed in agreement. “I can’t believe Mary Sue and Donghae missed out on all the excitement,” she mused.

You looked around at the well lit room you were in. It had really high ceilings and intricate décor, and it reminded you of a cathedral. You wondered how you were suddenly here instead of the vampires’ lair you had just escaped from, but you had seen a lot of strange things tonight and were too exhausted to question it. You were just thankful you were out of any immediate danger.

“You guys are back so soon?” you heard someone say behind you, and you all turned around to see a fair-haired man with delicate features approaching you. He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Donghae. “Where are the others?” he asked, sounding slightly more panicked.

“They’re fine,” said the tall man holding Donghae. “We had to get out of there quickly. Where’s Lay?”

“You left them there?”

“Luhan.” They exchanged a look before the man in the doorway, Luhan, relented.

“I’ll get him,” he said and turned back the way he came, leaving the four of you.

Kai turned to the other Hunter. “I’m going back,” he said, and the other man nodded before Kai disappeared, leaving behind a wisp of smoke. You stared at the spot he vanished from, not believing your eyes.

Luhan returned with another person, presumably Lay, and the two of them took Donghae off of your rescuer’s hands and carried him down a corridor. You were about to follow them when the Hunter beside you held you back.

“With Lay taking care of him, he’ll be okay.” You looked up at him, eyes full of worry. “I promise.”

You sighed.

He looked down at you and gave a small smile. “How about some food?”

Once you were settled down in a bright, huge, welcoming kitchen with a steaming mug of hot cocoa in front of you, you took a deep breath, feeling a little comforted.

Your rescuer leaned over the counter and fixed his gaze on you. “You probably have a lot of questions,” he said.

You didn’t even know where to start. Well, actually—

“What’s your name?” It was getting tedious having to refer to this character as your rescuer, the tall man, and the Hunter, so you decided it was a good starting point.

He laughed. “Chanyeol. Sorry we weren’t formally introduced before.”

His warm smile was infectious.

“That was an easy one,” he said. “I’m sure you have something more interesting to ask about.”

“To be honest, I don’t even know where to start,” you admitted. “I just learned today that vampires are real. And you are…a Hunter?” You scrutinized him.

He nodded. “We’re all Hunters,” he confirmed. “There are twelve of us who live here, and our main purpose is to protect people from the covenant of vampires who threaten them.”

You pulled his Phoenix Talisman from beneath your dress. “Tell me about this.”

“I gave you that for protection,” he said. “I’m glad you’ve been wearing it.” He met your gaze and his lip drew upward. “What do you know about it?”

“Is it true you have some sort of supernatural connection to it?”

He nodded. “Of sorts.”

“And so, because I was wearing it, you felt a connection with me?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Didn’t you?”

His eyes were so bright when your gazes locked that you looked away and blushed. You cleared your throat. “Is that how you were able to find me?”

“Yes,” he nodded again. “And how I knew you were in trouble. It’s an emotional link,” he explained, gesturing to the talisman. “You only get a slight awareness of it, but I feel it pretty strongly.”

Your cheeks flushed a little when he said that. “What kinds of…powers can you have?” you asked.

He frowned a little in thought and his eyebrows furrowed. It was so freaking cute. Wait what? No, Mary Sue, focus.

“The thing about the talismans is they’re so full of power and potential,” Chanyeol began. “They can have a number of possible abilities,” he continued. “For example, Kai’s talisman has the ability to teleport, which you witnessed and experienced yourself.”

“What about your power?” you asked him.

He shrugged. “I haven’t unlocked it yet. Some just come more easily than others. Most of the Hunters here have reached the full potential of the powers granted by their talismans, but there’s still a few who haven’t, including me.”

He paused, gathering his thoughts. You nodded for him to continue.

“A Hunter has the capability to unlock the power within his own talisman, and he may or may not do so. In a way it’s up to fate. And the talismans have a way of…choosing the Hunter who is meant to possess it. There’s kind of a hint of destiny with each one.”

This information brought another question to the surface. “So why did you give it to me?”

He grinned and said matter-of-factly, “Because you’re the Chosen One.”

Your eyes widened and heat rose to your cheeks, but before you could respond, someone entered the kitchen, putting a stop to your conversation.

“Ayo, waddup Kris,” Chanyeol greeted the tall blond.

“Ayo wassup,” he responded, opening the fridge. He pulled out a can of soda and joined you and Chanyeol at the counter. “Who’s this?” He nodded in your direction.

“She’s that girl from a couple weeks ago,” Chanyeol answered. “Remember?”

Kris’s eyes fell on Chanyeol’s Phoenix talisman around your neck and he smirked. “Ah, the Chosen One.” He held out his hand for you to shake. “Nice to meet you...?”

“Mary Sue,” you said, placing your hand in his.

He nodded once and let your hand go. “Are the others back yet?” he asked, turning to Chanyeol.

“Man, what’s for dinner? I’m so freaking hungry!” Kai burst into the room, breaking the mellow atmosphere. “Suho!” he yelled, before teleporting out of the kitchen.

Chanyeol giggled. “Seems so.”

You heard loud voices pick up throughout the building, and it wasn’t long before the kitchen was full of bodies scavenging for food and the clamor of pots and pans. Everyone was shouting over one another, and you had never been in a room that felt so full of life before. You supposed it made sense for a group of men who were fully immersed in dealing with the undead to have to be full of life in order to live such a life.

“So you got into the place alright?” Kris was asking someone.

“Of course,” Kai answered. “D.O. used his talisman. It was amazing, he just put his hand on the ground and tore a hole through the entire place!”

Kai clapped a hand on one guy’s shoulder, and he smiled modestly, his round eyes looking down.

“And you should’ve seen Tao!” exclaimed a Hunter with a square jaw and a pleasant smile. “Are you sure your hidden power isn’t martial arts or something?” he asked a shy looking man with dark hair and circles under his eyes, who just gave a small smile in response. “I’m serious, the way this guy fights, you’d swear he was moving in hyper speed!”

Kris raised his eyebrows, impressed.

“So you all were okay then?” Luhan asked a younger looking boy with a mop of brown hair. “None of you got hurt or anything?”

“We’re fine,” Kai reassured him with exasperation. “Sehun did well for his first battle. There’s no need to worry so much.”

Luhan breathed a sigh of relief.

A dark-haired Hunter who always seemed to be smiling, whose name you learned was Suho, announced that dinner was done and everyone clambered to get some food.

When everyone had settled and their loud voices were hindered by the food in their mouths, Sehun turned to you.

“So you’re the Chosen One?” he asked innocently.

You gaped, feeling your cheeks heat at the sudden attention everyone paid you at the mention of this.

“Everyone, this is Mary Sue,” Chanyeol said, once again coming to your rescue. “She’s the girl in the prophecy.”

“What’s this prophecy about, anyway?” you asked them.

“Oh, just your average, run-of-the-mill prediction about the apocalypse,” muttered Kai.

“And how do you know I’m the girl in the prophecy?” you asked carefully.

They all grinned at you. “Because you’re the Chosen One,” Suho said.

“But how do you know?” you demanded.

Chanyeol took your hand, and it calmed you down immensely. You found yourself gazing into his eyes. “I just knew as soon as I saw you,” he said. “There’s no way for me to explain it. I just felt this connection the moment we met, and I knew our paths were destined to cross again.”

You laughed uneasily, aware of all the eyes that were fixed on you. “Well it certainly helps that you gave me your talisman,” you muttered, eliciting laughter from a few of the Hunters.

“Even so,” Chanyeol continued, “you can’t continue to question your own destiny when all of us, and even the entire clan of vampires, are certain that you are the Chosen One.”

He had a point there. You still didn’t understand why everyone kept insisting you were the Chosen One. You certainly didn’t feel very Chosen. But how could you continue to question it when everyone was so sure of it? This was your destiny.

“And…what do I do as the Chosen One?” you asked uncertainly.

“Simple,” Kris answered. “You’re the key to helping us put a stop to the Covenant’s plan.”

“What is the Covenant planning?” you clarified.

Kai shrugged. “Vampire apocalypse,” he stated simply.

Before you could ask for a little more information than that, Lay entered the room. You stood up and rushed over to him. He seemed to have read your mind, because he held up his hands to stop you from speaking.

“You’re friend is okay,” he said, and you let out an enormous breath in relief. “He needs to rest for a while, but he’ll survive.”

“He’s not going to turn into a vampire?”

The healer cocked his head in thought. “Well, if he starts hissing at crosses and develops a penchant for blood, you’ll know.”

You stared at him, eyes wide in shock and fear.

He chuckled. “I’m kidding,” he said, and walked past you to get himself a plate of food. “He’ll be just fine. Not undead and very much alive.”

You nodded, still unsure and uneasy, but Lay seemed pretty positive about his diagnosis.

You suddenly felt very exhausted. It must’ve been quite apparent, because several of the Hunters seemed to notice.

“I think it’s time Mary Sue got home,” Kris said.

Chanyeol stood up. “I’ll take you home if you want,” he said, and you agreed.

Jonghyun sighed, relieved to be out of that dress and the wig and those god awful shoes, and made his way from the bathroom to the guest room in Amber’s house. She had offered for Jonghyun and Key to stay the night there, since it was late, and Key was inebriated and probably shouldn’t be left alone. She had a guest room for them to stay in, and she could lend Jonghyun some of Donghae’s clothes to sleep in. This was the selling point for Jonghyun.

He went back in the bedroom where Key was fast asleep on the guest bed, which Amber had helped Jonghyun put Key into after carrying him up the stairs, and which the two of them would have to share for the night. Jonghyun didn’t mind though. He went over and took off Key’s shoes to make him more comfortable, and then carefully took his jacket off too, trying not to wake him.

Jonghyun set him back down on the bed, but when he tried to move away, he was held back by Key gripping his—or rather Donghae’s, Jonghyun felt giddy at the thought—tee shirt. His eyebrows furrowed in distress, but his eyes were still mostly closed.

“Don’t leave me,” Key mumbled in his barely awakened state.

“I’m right here,” Jonghyun whispered to comfort him.

Key nodded then and released his fistful of fabric before falling back into slumber. Jonghyun crawled in the other side of the bed and turned off the lamp before following him there.

You sighed as you stumbled your way into your room. You couldn’t wait to be out of this dress and these god-awful shoes. You had been through so much tonight, and you just wanted to pass out and never wake up again.

Chanyeol had taken you and Donghae home, having discreetly broken into Donghae’s house to drop him off in his bed and let him sleep. He bid you goodnight, and you would’ve been persuaded to stay with him just from his big eyes and his adorable pout had you not been so drained from the events of the past few hours.

You sighed as you curled into bed, relief washing over you. Your mind replayed the events of that night, from the beginning of the dance to now.

When had your life gotten so complicated? You were tangled up between Himchan and Donghae, and now had gotten caught up in a prophecy about vampires and vampire hunters and a vampire apocalypse. You just wanted to turn back the clock to a time when your life was simpler!

You considered when that would be. Then it hit you that this all started with your arranged marriage with Donghae. Your life would have been totally normal if not for that!

And you had just had a heart-to-heart with Donghae tonight, and neither of you wanted to go through with it. You really wished there was a way out of it…

What were you thinking? You both had a responsibility to your families to go through with this marriage. You couldn’t just wish your way out of it!

Your eyes snapped open. Maybe you could just wish your way out of it. You sat up and scanned your nightstand, and a colorful glimmer caught your eye. The Rainbow Wishing Shell.

You thought back to what Krystal had said. “You can make a wish on it and it’ll grant your wish, no matter what you wish for!”

No matter what you wish for.

You took the shell from the nightstand and gazed into its shimmery depths. How would you do this? You took a deep breath.

“Okay, Rainbow Wishing Shell,” you said, feeling a bit silly talking to yourself in an empty room. You cleared your throat. “Um…I wish for a way out of my arranged marriage.”

Your heart thudded in anticipation. You waited for something epic to happen. For the clock to turn backward to a time when your life was simpler. For a burst of blinding light that would illuminate the answer to your problems. For a unicorn to fly through your window—something!

But nothing happened.

Sighing, you placed the shell back on the nightstand and curled back under your covers. Guess you would just have to work this one out on your own.

You didn’t notice the shimmer of color that travelled across the Rainbow Wishing Shell.

The next morning, you were awoken by your phone ringing frantically at you. You glared at it on your nightstand, bitterly wondering what could possibly be so important to wake you up this early, and picked it up.

“Hello?” you said into the phone groggily.

“Mary Sue!” you heard your brother’s voice say on the other end. He sounded distressed.

“What is it?” you asked, suddenly wide-awake.

“It’s Donghae,” he breathed into the phone. “He’s…”

He’s what? you thought frantically. A vampire? Had Lay been wrong? Had Donghae really started hissing at crosses? Had he started drinking people’s blood? Had he already killed everybody else in his family, and now gone after Jonghyun, and now Jonghyun was calling you for help or at least to tell his twin sister that he loved her before he died?!

“He’s a fish.”

…

“Excuse me?” You had heard people refer to Donghae as a fish before, because of his looks, but why was Jonghyun telling you this. “Why are you telling me this?” you asked him.

“No, Mary Sue,” Jonghyun urged. “Donghae… He’s a fish. He’s really a fish, Mary Sue.”

“What do you mean?” you asked. He couldn’t really mean that Donghae was literally a fish. That was just plain impossible.

“I mean Donghae… I don’t know how it happened… but he’s turned into a fish,” he explained. “He’s a fish, Mary Sue.”

…

“What?!”