YEAH AFF IS BACK ES!! After the hiatus we are back! And this chapter is total crack. Yes, dear readers, we are back to writing by not planning every detail before we write it and just stepping on the gas pedal and going where the road takes us! We needed a break from trying and you can see the cracks in the story where things like characterization and consistency suffer for it. But I hope you like it anyway!

Winter break was over now and it was your first day of school for the new semester. It felt kind of weird, suddenly going back to such a normal setting after being caught up in a vampire plot, but you welcomed the change a little. It was really hard being the Chosen One. You were ready to just be Mary Sue again.

You skipped downstairs for breakfast to find your parents already at the table. They greeted you somewhat coldly (they still weren’t happy about the whole broken arranged marriage thing, and it would take them a while to get over it).  You shrugged it off and sat down to munch on some celery sticks.

When your brother joined the table not much later, you noticed he seemed to be quite happy to be returning to school. He had been in an especially good mood lately. You figured that you both were, since you had managed to evade an apocalypse after all.

As soon as he sat down, your father cleared his throat, grabbing your and Jonghyun’s attention. He seemed slightly hesitant and more than a little stern regarding what he was about to say.

“Kids, your mother and I have been noticing some changes in behavior lately,” he said.

You couldn’t imagine what he was even talking about. You looked to Jonghyun, who actually appeared panicked for a moment.

“What do you mean?” you asked, turning back to your parents.

Your father heaved a deep, authoritative sigh. “Did you think we wouldn’t notice all those times you snuck out at night?”

Oh. You hadn’t even thought about your parents noticing that when you did it. They hadn’t really been a dominating presence in your life since the original marriage plot. Was it weird that you had almost forgotten about them? How naïve of you. They didn’t just disappear from the story. Were you expecting them to? You silly, silly person.

“What were you doing?” your mother cut in.

You and Jonghyun shared a look. There was no way you could tell your parents about all the time you had spent with vampire Hunters preparing for (and fighting against) a vampire apocalypse. They would think you’re crazy, and it would only make them worry more.

“We can’t tell you,” Jonghyun answered sheepishly.

This only seemed to make your mother more concerned. “Don’t tell me,” she said, putting a hand to . “Have you been dealing drugs in alleyways at night?”

“No!” you argued. “Of course not.”

“Why can’t you tell us what you were doing sneaking out at night?” your father demanded.

You and Jonghyun could only return his stern expression with sheepish ones.

He sighed. “Your mother and I are very concerned about the two of you,” he continued. “So until you either come clean about your whereabouts or earn our trust back on good behavior,” he regarded you and your brother seriously. “There will be a curfew in place.”

“What?” you protested.

“You’re not allowed out later than ten every night,” he said.

“But—we haven’t been—“

“Why don’t you trust us?” Jonghyun argued.

Your mother turned to him. “It isn’t just the sneaking out,” she explained, clearly upset. “You’ve been acting strange lately. I saw you,” she accused. “In your sister’s room. With the wig.” She couldn’t seem to say anymore, as she had dissolved into hiccupped sobbing.

Your father put an arm around her to comfort her, then turned to your brother, partly accusing partly concerned expression on his face. “Son, you would tell us if you were a transvestite, wouldn’t you?”

You and Jonghyun could only stare, mouths agape in shock.

The morning had started off strangely, and it wasn’t getting any less so when you both arrived at school, Jonghyun in somewhat of a daze, still reeling from the talk your parents had given you.

The first strange thing you noticed was when Key came up to greet you and Jonghyun. He seemed to be in an unusually cheery mood this morning, which was so unlike him. You had always known Key to be rather grumpy and standoffish in the mornings, and not much better any other time of day. But today he acted like he might go spreading joy by delivering happiness baskets to the underprivileged.

…Well maybe not quite that happy, you thought as Key threw a death glare at a freshman who knocked into him in the crowded traffic of the hallway. But compared to his usual demeanor, the description was accurate.

He strode up to you and Jonghyun. “Hey y,” he winked.

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“Hi,” you greeted back smiling.

He smiled back. Which was weird. He never really smiled at you before, more like grimaced, as if it caused him physical pain to smile.

Key leaned in close to your brother like he had a secret to tell. You didn’t catch much, other than, “Tonight…you know…”

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Jonghyun started explaining the whole situation with the curfew your parents just put in place, and you separated yourself from them to get to your locker.

You rounded a corner and collided with a chiseled and muscular body that was attached to an attractive face with short dark hair. You looked up into the face of Himchan, who was staring a little bewilderedly back at you.

He had changed his hair. It kind of threw you off a little.

Well, things were getting awkward fast as you two just stood there, staring. Nothing had transpired between you since Homecoming, and that was months ago. Would he still be angry at you for what happened? Would he shove past you without saying a word and continue to ignore you? Would he insult you or glare at you until your own resolve dissolved in the silence?

Actually, Himchan was the first the break the silence and the tension.

“Hi, Mary Sue,” he greeted you as if it was normal. “How was your vacation?” Then he smiled at you.

No, it wasn’t a smirk. It was a smile. Himchan was capable of smiling.

This day was getting weirder and weirder.

“F-fine,” you stammered, totally confused. “Why are you talking to me?” you blurted before you could stop yourself.

“Why not?” he retorted, a little put off by your admittedly rude inquiry.

“I’m sorry,” you said. “I mean, you haven’t talked to me since…you know…”

He chuckled. “You really think one night of public humiliation would tear me down for good? I thought you knew me better, Mary Sue,” he scolded. “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. And trust me,” his eyes glinted as he put a hand on the wall and leaned toward you. “I’m strong, baby.”

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Then he was smiling warmly again, his friendly demeanor back, but he was still leaning over to you and speaking softly so only you would hear. “Thanks for the wake up call,” he murmured. With a wink, he left you standing there, still confused and more alone.

It was just after third period when you exited the bathroom and noticed a girl wandering the halls whom you had never seen before. She was blonde and very pretty, and she seemed like she might have been lost, considering there was nobody else around and class had already started. So you approached her.

“Excuse me,” you said, catching her attention. “Do you know what class you’re supposed to be in?”

Her eyes scanned you up and down, as if she was deciding whether or not she could trust you. “Chemistry,” she answered shortly.

“Oh, that room’s tricky to find,” you empathized. “If you walk down this hallway, it’s actually around a corner, and you’ll find it right there.”

The girl leaned back against the lockers and looked away from you. “Thanks,” she muttered.

You smiled. “I’m Mary Sue,” you said, extending a hand.

She stared at it without moving or speaking until you awkwardly retracted it.

You really wanted to help this girl out. It seemed like she was unhappy. Maybe she didn’t have any friends. You should try to be her friend. Let her know that you understand what she’s going through.

“It’s tough being the new girl,” you said. “I would know. I was in that position at the beginning of this year.”

You thought you saw a flash of something in those eyes as they flickered to you. Maybe you were getting through to her.

“New girl?” she repeated simply.

“Yeah,” you said. “People used to call me that all the time. Like a nickname.” You tried to break that stony expression of hers with a smile, but it didn’t seem to work. “I guess now I can call you new girl, huh?” You giggled.

seemed to harden and she rolled her eyes. The girl didn’t say anything as she brushed past you and stalked off down the hallway. In the opposite direction of the chemistry classroom.

She must’ve been really shy. Or maybe she figured she couldn’t trust you to be her friend. Had you come across as a ? Or fake? You hoped she didn’t think you saw her as some vulnerable student to pick on because she was new and so pretty. You just didn’t want what happened to you because of that to happen to her as well. But it seemed you scared her off instead.

You sighed before finally returning to your fourth period class.

You still couldn’t shake off that feeling of strangeness that had followed you all day as you entered the cafeteria later. You’d had this odd notion that the weirdness wasn’t over yet. As you approached your usual lunch table, you noticed someone—very familiar, but who certainly did not belong in this setting. It couldn’t be…could it? You felt like you were in the Twilight Zone as your eyes confirmed what your mind couldn’t believe.

Sure enough, Chanyeol turned around and his wide eyes met yours, his mouth open in a wide grin as he waved cheerily at you. What the hell was he doing here?

“What the hell are you doing here?” you asked him when you had reached the table.

“I enrolled!” he answered.

Your mouth fell open. “You what?” This didn’t make any sense. Wasn’t he a full time vampire Hunter? Who would hunt vampires if he was here going to high school? Was he going to protect the high school from vampires now, so he was going undercover as a student to blend in?

You needed answers, but there were too many people around who might overhear, so you grabbed Chanyeol by the arm and dragged him out of the cafeteria and into the hallway to talk privately.

You didn’t want anyone to hear anything you said, so you beckoned Chanyeol. “Come a little closer,” you whispered.

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He complied and shuffled closer to you until you looked nice and cozy in that hallway to any passersby (of which there were many).

“Don’t you have some vampire hunting to do?” you hissed at him. “What are you doing going to high school? What about this?” You held up the talisman that you still wore. “What if you start shooting fire in some emergency and everyone sees! Then what would you do?”

Chanyeol chuckled. “Except that this,” he lightly held the talisman you were dangling. “Doesn’t work anymore.”

You blinked at him. “What are you talking about?”

“None of us have our powers anymore,” he said. “The talismans are useless.”

“Useless?? Then it doesn’t protect me from vampires anymore?” Was this why Chanyeol had chosen to enroll at the high school? Because something was wrong with the talismans, so he wanted to make sure you would stay safe?

He shook his head. “Nope. All the vampires are dead.”

“Then wha—wait, dead? All the vampires are dead?”

Chanyeol nodded. “They were all killed during the eclipse. They’re extinct now.”

You blinked again at him. “How does that make any sense?” you demanded.

The Hunter-but-no-longer-a-Hunter-because-there-was-nothing-to-Hunt thought a moment before explaining. “Remember when we first met?”

You nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

“You were attacked by TOP?”

You nodded again, still following.

“And he said he was an endangered species?”

You thought for a moment, and then nodded again. You vaguely remembered that, although you wondered why he had brought up something so obscure.

“Well, he wasn’t lying.”

…

Oh. It took you a moment to catch up on that one.

“So…they were all endangered, and they were planning on using the solar eclipse to start a vampire apocalypse so they wouldn’t be endangered anymore, but because they were all out during the eclipse ready to roam the surface without fear, they all were outside when the eclipse ended and so the sun hit all of them and wiped them into extinction like the meteor wiped out the dinosaurs?”

Chanyeol nodded once, his contagious grin having taken over his face. “Yeah, just like that.”

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You giggled. “Okay, so you’re not here to protect me from vampires. What are you doing here then?”

He hesitated a little before responding. “I’ve never gotten to be normal before,” he said. “I just wanted to do what normal people do. You lived a normal life before you were the Chosen One, and I wanted to be a part of that life.”

Your heart rate quickened when he talked about you.

“I thought we could try out this dating thing,” he mumbled, his demeanor suddenly adorably shy. “Be a normal couple. I mean,” he cleared his throat, “if that’s okay with you.”

Your smile was making your cheeks hurt. How could he be so brave and bold when he was fighting vampires, but so timid and cute when he was just talking to you?

“I mean, I can leave if you want me to,” he mumbled, and then you realized you were just standing there smiling at him without saying anything and should probably answer the poor boy.

“Of course!”

“Oh…” His face fell a little bit. “Okay—“

“No, I mean—don’t leave!” You pulled him back, still grinning. “Let’s date.” And just like that, his wide smile was back on his face. “I have to be home by ten every night though,” you mentioned. “You know how it is.”

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Chanyeol shrugged. “Never stopped us before.”

“So, with the vampires being extinct now,” you said as the two of you walked leisurely back to the lunch table, “and with our curfew now in place,” you both sat down where Jonghyun, Amber and Key were already sitting. You sighed. “We’re gonna have a lot more time on our hands, aren’t we?”

Just then, Krystal ran excitedly up to the table and slammed her hands down on the surface. “Oh. My. God. Did you hear? Ren just got out of juvie!”

You blinked at her dumbfoundedly. Who was Ren? What was Ren doing in juvie? Why was this such important news?

Since you’re terrible at organizing thoughts into words, all of your confusion culminated into a simple monosyllabic exclamation.

“What?!”