I named the chapter that because innuendos and EXO and...shut up!!

Laughter and warmth. You didn’t know how they could do it with the lives they lived, but the Hunters were the most joyful people you had ever met. All aware of the approaching apocalypse, knowing your days were possibly numbered, and here you were, all having dinner together in celebration, all full not of apprehension and anxiety, but of laughter and warmth.

Baekhyun was showing off his newly discovered power, holding up his hand, which emitted a blindingly bright beam of white light.

“That’s so amazing!” Chen commended.

“Yeah,” Sehun said. “Now he can dazzle the vampires into submission,” he teased.

“Did you forget the part when their eyes literally burned out of their sockets?” Baekhyun said, and Chanyeol enthusiastically nodded in confirmation.

“Besides,” Kai shot at Sehun, “what can you do? Sweep them off their feet?”

“Blow me,” Sehun spat at him.

“You do it better,” Kai retorted, grinning.

A gust of wind whipped across the table in Kai’s direction, effectively knocking over one of the candlesticks that had been lit to mark this as a special occasion. Before it could crash to the table and break, however, it righted itself, but you couldn’t really tell how it happened.

“Careful!” Luhan scolded Sehun. Kai laughed.

The oven ding!’d and Kyungsoo jumped up, muttering, “Casserole, casserole, casserole, casserole!”

“So how has training been going?” Xiu Min asked, looking around the table to address everyone involved, but then tentatively directing his gaze to you.

You avoided looking at Tao, who was sitting down the table a ways. You still hadn’t picked up training since you walked out on him, which you knew was a bad idea since you had never even begun to improve. But you just couldn’t bring yourself to face him, knowing what kind of a past he had. And he didn’t know that you knew, which would make things more awkward, because what if he didn’t want you to know? Even though you could tell Xiu Min was mostly talking to you because he was concerned, you kept silent and let someone else answer.

“Key’s incredible,” Kai said. “He could probably kick all of your asses by now.”

Key chuckled at this. “I could kick your too,” he bantered.

“Maybe if you could land a hit on me, you could,” Kai taunted cheekily.

“Maybe if you would stop teleporting during our sparring matches,” Key countered.

Kai smirked. “Too difficult for you?”

“Ha,” Key laughed. “I welcome the challenge.”

“I’m pretty hard to beat.”

“I’m sure you’re easier than you let on.”

Kai could only smirk and his lips in response.

“What about you, Jonghyun?” Suho directed the conversation toward your brother, and away from Kai who was now making strangely expressions.

“Uh, it’s… good, I’m learning a lot,” he answered, a bit awkwardly you noticed. He seemed uncomfortable, which was weird because you had always known him to thrive in settings with lots of people, especially when the attention was on him.

You figured he was just nervous about the end of the world coming up.

“Well, Amber’s been improving a lot,” Kris took over. “She’s gotten the hang of the crossbow, and she can pretty much use every long range weapon we have in our arsenal—“

“I don’t know about that,” Amber deflected modestly.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Kris told her. “You guys should see her in action. I’ve seen her hit a moving target from twenty yards away. It’s truly impressive.” He smiled proudly at her, and she grinned bashfully at his praise.

“That’s great,” Suho said happily, satisfied that things were apparently going so well for everybody. “What about your training, Mary Sue?” he asked, just as Kyungsoo came back with the casserole.

Suddenly, Tao stood up from the table, fuming and angry. He looked around at everybody sitting at the table, who were all staring confusedly back at him. “What are we doing right now?” he demanded.

Kyungsoo stood still, frozen with the dish in his hands. “H-having dinner,” he stammered.

“Have you all forgotten about our impending doom in just a few weeks?” he asked. “How can you be celebrating at a time like this?”

“Didn’t you hear, training’s been going well,” Suho said. “And we know when the vampires are planning on using their device. We can calm down a little bit—“

“We still don’t know what the device is, or how they plan to use the Chosen One,” Tao argued. “And training for the Chosen One has not been going well. She can’t block, she can’t fight, she has no idea what she is doing. If the Chosen One can’t even protect herself,” Tao shouted, pointing at you, “then we’re all as good as dead!” With that, he stormed out of the room.

The entire room went silent as Tao’s words echoed over the table. Some of the Hunters were looking at you with concerned expressions, but you didn’t know what to say. Or if you should say anything at all.

Kyungsoo finally sat down with the casserole, just as Kris stood up from the table. He sighed. “I’ll go talk to him,” he said.

He started toward the door when Lay began following him. “I’ll help.”

You just sat there awkwardly, acutely aware of the silence and wishing that Tao hadn’t been so right.

“Tao?” Kris and Lay just caught up to him in the training room, practicing Wushu and covered in a layer of sweat, as if he’d been at it for a while. They both knew the training helped him focus. Kris shrugged and grabbed another Wushu stick, spinning it experimentally as he strode toward Tao. Just as the younger spun around, prepared to strike an invisible opponent, Kris blocked his strike with his own, successfully grabbing Tao’s attention. “What was that about?” he said.

Tao pushed away from him and leapt back. “What was what about?” he asked as they began to circle each other.

Kris laughed. “Don’t play dumb. I’m talking about just now. Lashing out at everyone, especially Mary Sue, and then just leaving Chanyeol’s birthday dinner?”

Tao’s eyes flickered in momentary apprehension before Kris attacked and he was forced to block him. “I was only telling the truth,” he growled, his expression hardened.

“Come on, Tao,” Kris said, moving in for another attack. “That’s just cold.” He dodged an angry swipe of Tao’s Wushu stick and stepped around him, keeping his guard up. “And really defeatist, saying we’re all as good as dead. I’ve never known you to say something like that before.” He looked at Tao with concern. “Was that the truth?”

Tao’s jaw clenched, and he spun away from Kris, only to be suddenly blocked by Lay on his other side. Slightly startled, he jumped from between them and raised his defense.

“You’ve always been confident in yourself,” Lay told him. “What’s eating at you now?”

Tao sighed irritably, his eyes darting between the other two. “I’ve never faced an approaching apocalypse before,” he rebutted.

“It’s more than just that,” Kris argued. “Tao…” He lowered his weapon and his defenses. “You know we’ve always been here for you. You can tell us anything,” he coaxed.

A tense moment passed between them before Tao reluctantly lowered his weapon as well. “I just...” he began, voice wavering slightly. “I feel like everyone around me is moving so slowly, and tomorrow is always so far away, and I just keep thinking…What if time just stops completely? What if tomorrow never comes?”

“Tao,” Lay said softly, stepping forward and extending a comforting hand. “We’re all worried about the future—“

“It’s not just that,” Tao cried. “It’s like I’ll just be stuck in one moment forever!”

“It’s okay,” Kris said, trying to calm his friend. “We understand.”

“No, you don’t!”

He lashed forward as he said it, pushing past the two who had begun closing in on him, moving far too fast for them to see. They both turned around, surprised to suddenly see him on the other side of the training room, kneeling down and crying softly.

“Tao,” Kris almost whispered. “Your talisman…”

With a shuddering breath, Tao looked down at the bracelet he wore, a crude hourglass symbol held onto his wrist by multiple thin chains. It was glowing brightly, a deep purple hue.

“How long has this been happening?” Lay asked him.

Tao looked up at them both, his eyes wide in awe and realization.

Jonghyun stared down at the running water before splashing some on his face. He had escaped the tense dining room with the excuse of having to use the bathroom, but really he just wanted to separate him from all of that. Not just the atmosphere that Tao had left behind, but Key and Kai—whatever that was.

He shook his head a little bit. He wasn’t even really sure what he was so bothered about. So what if they were so close all of a sudden? Why should Jonghyun care? Key could have whatever friends he wanted.

Except Kai, his subconscious muttered before he could stop it. Something about Kai just irked him. From the moment he claimed Key after he beat him in that sparring match of theirs. It was like Kai just took possession of Key. Key was Jonghyun’s friend, maybe even his best friend—maybe even—no.

Jonghyun sighed. His subconscious had been starting to get the better of him lately.

He exited the bathroom to head back to the others, when he was met with the second to last person he wanted to see right now.

“Are you okay?” Key asked him.

“I’m fine,” Jonghyun answered.

“Are you sure? Because you seem a little… unfocused lately.”

“Maybe you’re just a little too focused,” Jonghyun mumbled in response.

Key blinked and raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What is that even supposed to mean?”

Jonghyun didn’t actually know what he meant by that, so he didn’t say anything.

Key let out a sigh. “Listen, Jonghyun, this whole thing,” he began, rolling his eyes at the ridiculous plotline they were caught up in. “It’s crazy. And I’m still not entirely convinced that I haven’t just gone insane and this is all happening in my imagination.”

There was a pause, and Jonghyun looked up at Key’s expression curiously. He seemed to be debating with himself about something, but Jonghyun didn’t know what it could be.

“If this is real though,” he continued, somewhat meekly. “And there really is going to be some vampire apocalypse happening in a few weeks, then I don’t want—“

A sudden flash of black smoke appeared in the hallway beside them, causing Jonghyun to nearly jump out of his skin.

“Am I interrupting something?” Kai asked, his tone of voice suggesting that he really hoped he was.

Jonghyun really hated that guy.

“Yes.”

“No,” Jonghyun answered, clenching his jaw involuntarily.

Jonghyun avoided Key’s gaze, afraid of whatever expression might be directed toward him. But seeing Kai’s smug look of amusement wasn’t any better.

“Nothing,” he answered again, before turning his back on them and stalking off down the hallway.

“This was the best birthday I’ve ever had,” Chanyeol said as the two of you stood outside the church.

“You’ve had some really terrible birthdays, haven’t you?” you replied. Shortly after Tao had stormed off and Kris and Lay followed, other people had started leaving the table as well for various reasons, and you knew it was all because of you and your stupid awkward atmosphere that seemed to follow you and plague your relationships. Dinner was cut relatively short.

Chanyeol laughed in response. “We don’t celebrate much,” he answered. “Of anything.”

“Oh,” you whispered in understanding.

“But I’m really glad you came,” he continued. You looked up to see him grinning at you and you smiled back warmly. You didn’t know why your heart rate had begun to increase, but it did. And then your body temperature started rising, and you couldn’t tell if it was because Chanyeol was suddenly closer to you or because of your heart rate increasing. Then your eyes were closing and you could feel his breath on your face and then you felt so many things at once.

You felt his lips on yours, soft and tentative, and you felt your heart pounding rapidly against your ribcage. You felt warm and elated and terrified, and you even felt like maybe you were—

“No,” he hissed, and you were deprived of him only a second later. “I’m sorry, Mary Sue,” he whispered lowly, his eyes wide but his smile gone.

“What?” you stammered. “I…no, why—what?”

“I’m sorry.” He swallowed. “I can’t.”

“W-why not?” You felt like crying, having experienced his taste and, with it, the best feeling in the world, and then having it torn away in an instant.

“I’m supposed to protect you,” he said. “Not be distracted by my feelings for you.”

“Feelings?” you repeated, barely audible.

“You’re the Chosen One,” he said firmly, his eyes boring into yours, and you could see the pain in them as well, and feel it through the connection you shared, amplified by your own identical pain. “As long as you are the Chosen One,” he continued, “I’m sworn to protect you. And I’ll do that.” He swallowed again and looked away from your face. “And only that.”

You tried to protest. “Y-you don’t have to—“

“It’s the only way,” he interrupted, stopping your argument.

You couldn’t say anything more. The two of you stood there in silence until the other three people you came with exited the church, and you left him without another word.

You hated yourself. You hated that you couldn’t protect yourself. You hated that no one could depend on you for anything. You hated that so many people risked so much just for your sake. You hated not being able to do anything about it.

You really wanted to do something about it.

You sighed as you paced about your room. What could you do about it? Somehow prove to Chanyeol that you didn’t need his protection so badly, that you weren’t so helpless and could look out for yourself.

How would you do that? You couldn’t train anymore with Tao, especially after how angry he had been at dinner.

But training doesn’t exactly prove that you can take care of yourself when you’re actually up against vampires. The best way to prove that would be to do it when you’re actually up against vampires.

You stopped pacing. Maybe you could do that. You knew when they would be using you for the eclipse, so as far as you could tell, you weren’t in any immediate danger until a few weeks from now. Maybe you could do a little reconnaissance and figure out what this device was and bring that information back to the Hunters. Maybe then you could prove your own abilities and show that Chanyeol didn’t have to worry so much about you.

You would need some help though, and not from the Hunters. You knew none of them would like the idea of you going on a mission without having trained enough, but you couldn’t do it alone.

Without a second thought, you rushed out of your room to get Jonghyun.

“I’m coming! Chill the out!” Key shouted as he went to answer whoever was frantically pounding on the door.

When he opened it, he found Mary Sue, Amber, and Jonghyun, all staring at him expectantly.

Key rolled his eyes and sighed, not happy to see the people he just shared an already awkward night with, and certainly not happy about wherever this was going.

He stared at each of their faces.

“What?!”