“Are you not hungry?” My mom asked. I looked up at her from my full plate that I was picking at.

                “Not really…” My mind was too busy tormenting me with thoughts of Taemin and my mom’s involvement with the loss of my past.

                “You should try to eat something. Are you feeling sick?”

                “No,” Does she know that I know? What if she does and is trying to poison me? No, she wouldn’t do that. I took a bite of the food, feeling weird as she watched me chew.

                “You can eat it later,” She stood and walked over to me, picking up my plate. “Just don’t ‘forget to eat’ this time.” She said with a small smile. That was my excuse for why the food money was left untouched that day she worked late.

                “Thanks,” I managed a small smile and went up to my room to be alone with my thoughts. All those times my grandparents had been teaching me witchcraft she was only acting oblivious. She probably already knows I’m a witch. I shouldn’t have to hide it from her. But, am I really a witch? If Taemin has all my magic, then I’m probably not. But he might be giving them back soon, so…

                All through the night I frustrated myself with questions that probably won’t get answered until tomorrow. I should just sleep all day to pass the time. In such a short amount of time Taemin had already become such an important part of my life. Hopefully he’ll still be willing to answer all of my questions tomorrow. He was the last thing on my mind before I fell asleep.

                The next morning it seemed to be colder than usual. Maybe I should go back and get a thicker jacket. I turned away from the bus stop and saw the girl walking my way. Not wanting to look into her unfriendly eyes, I turned away.  When she reached me she heaved a giant sigh and turned to me.

                “Hey,” She said, not as a greeting, but a calling, in a rude voice. I turned and looked into her green eyes, expecting something was going to piss me off. “Jang said to tell me to tell you something.” Her tired tone agitated me. I lifted my eyebrows telling her to continue. What could she want to say to me?

                “What?” I said in a just as rude tone.

                “She says to leave Taemin alone because he’s not interested in your kind.”

                What the hell was that suppose to mean?

                “Alright, but tell her that I said if she has something to say to me say it to my face instead of hiding like a coward.” I never imagined I’d be able to say that out loud!

                “Whatever,” She rolled her eyes and looked the other way. As I tried to hide my grin I looked down at the ground. The girl sighed loudly again before turning back to me. But this time she didn’t look mean…she looked worried. “I really wouldn’t mess with her; you don’t know what she knows.”

                “What do y-“Before I could get all the words out the bus stopped in front of us and she hurried on. What does she mean by that? What could Jang know?  She can’t know anything about Taemin. I’ve only seen him answer her asinine questions with short answers. He’s never told her anything personal. When I got in my seat Jiyong quickly sat next to me instead of in front of me.

                “Hey sleepy head,”

                “Hey,” I smiled, feeling guilty for almost yelling at him yesterday. But, I shouldn’t feel that way, it’s not like he knows.

                “So, how was your night?”

                My night? The thoughts about Taemin flooded my mind again. A deep blush burned my cheeks as I tried to remember something else from that day.

                “Whoa,” He laughed,” I don’t think I want to know,”

                “Nothing bad happened, it’s just-I-I… I went to sleep.” I stammered over my words embarrassingly.

                “Right, just don’t do anything weird when your tutoring me,” Oh yeah, I forgot about that. What does he mean by ‘weird’?

                “Um…Where are we going to do it?”

                “I don’t know. Is your place okay?”

                “Um…” Would my mom care? She knows him, it shouldn’t be a problem.

                “Actually, come to my house. I don’t want to walk home after studying; I might fall asleep on the way back home.”

                “Right,” He wouldn’t actually do that would he?

                When the bus finally reached the school and everyone started unloading, I looked over at the girl. Her piercing eyes were staring at me the whole time. I took my eyes off of her as we walked into the school.

                “What’s wrong with her?” Jiyong yawned.

                “What’s wrong with who?”

                “That Insu chick, she was staring at you.”

                “I don’t know…maybe she thinks I’m trying to steal you from her,” I said with a smile. So, her name is Insu.

                “Or from Jang,” He groaned.

                “What, Jang couldn’t have the other guy so now she wants you?” I joked, trying to make it sound like I didn’t know Taemin. Jiyong looked at me seriously. “Is that what’s happening? “

                “I guess,” He breathed, “She’s been acting different lately. But, there’s only one person I would ever want,” He looked at me pointedly. His deep, ocean blue eyes burning into mine.

                “Who, your mom?” I joked, lightly punching his shoulder.

                “Yeah, that’s exactly who,” He grabbed my fist and pulled it into the air. With his other hand he started tickling my arm.

                “Stop!” I laughed, feeling embarrassed as people watched. He continued until I pretended, and half warned, to kick him in a way that would prevent him from carrying his family name. He immediately covered himself.

                “Okay-okay,” He laughed, letting go.

                “Go to class,” I ordered. He saluted me and went the other way.

                I laughed and started for the cafeteria. My smile fell when I spotted Jang across from me. Insu was whispering something into her ear. I know it was about me, because as soon as she was done speaking her eyes darted toward me. This is not going to be a good day. Her thin face crumpled like paper as she said something back to Insu. With her long legs, she glided in my direction. Is she going to say something to me?  A sudden cold wind blew by me. I turned to see Taemin, my stomach knotted up immediately.

                When I looked at his expression, I was glad it wasn’t me he was looking at. He was staring at Jang, his beautiful eyes cold. I turned to see her expression but only saw the back of her head as she rushed in the other direction. Insu followed awkwardly behind her.

                “What was that about?” I asked when she was out of sight. He sighed and shook his head.

                “She knows,” He said quietly. Why is everybody saying that? What does she know? “You should go,” He lightly pulled me in the other direction with his hand on my back.”You friends are waiting,” He whispered in my ear. I could see Yeong and Munhee standing outside the cafeteria.” I’ll see you later,” In seconds he was gone again. Where does he keep going off to?

                The feeling that today was going to bad increased as I approached Munhee. Her perfect eyebrows were pulled together in worry.

                “Hey, “She smiled to me, her voice a bit shaky.

                “Hey, what’s wrong?” She quickly glanced around her.”Is someone bothering you?” I asked, looking into her worried eyes, grabbing her icy hand.

                  “No, I’m just worried about Yeong.” Yeong was gone, where did she go?

                  “Where is she? What happened?”

                   “I don’t know where she went. But, she was in a lot of pain all morning. She won’t tell me why or what it is.” Why would she do that?

                   “Let’s go check the restroom.” She nodded and held my hand a little tighter. I looked to the nearest restroom where a group of worried looking girls left. “We should try that one,”

                     Once we entered a light scent like blood hit me. We spotted Yeong kneeled over the sink, her scarlet hair covering her face.  Munhee gasped and ran to her side. Something, some kind of feeling, stopped me. It blocked me from approaching her. It felt like my feet were nailed to the floor. Fighting it, I followed Munhee slowly.

                     “Are you okay?” Munhee asked in a low voice, pulling her wet hair out of her face. I could see Yeong’s sweaty reflection in the mirror as she looked at Munhee. Her hands were gripping the sides of the sink tightly.

                     “I…”Her voice sounded hoarse.

                     “Yeong,” I tried to come closer but I couldn’t; I don’t know what it is. Something’s telling me not to touch her. What is this? I reached out to her anyway. “Yeong, what’s wrong?” When I touched her arm it nearly burned my palm. She winced in pain at my touch. “You’re burning up,” Her shaky green eyes looked to me then down to her arms. They quickly started to turn red. The smell of blood flooded my nose again.

                       “I have to go,” She whispered. “I’ll call my mom to pick me up, you guys go to class.”

                       “But-“Munhee protested.

                       “GO!” She yelled looking us both in the eyes. Her jade eyes turning fading to black as her pupils convulsed. She winched in pain again, quickly grabbing her bag and rushing out the restroom.

                       Munhee covered in worry as her eyes started to water.

                       Through all of my classes, I couldn’t stop worrying about Yeong.  I texted her in chemistry but I still haven’t heard from her. But, that was two classes ago, and this one is almost over. I put my phone under my desk to check. Still, she hadn’t texted back. I couldn’t stop replaying it over and over in my mind. Why did she smell like blood? I don’t think she was bleeding though. Munhee looked over at me, her expression worried. She had been waiting for a response from Yeong via me. I shook my head no and the worry increased. As soon as Mrs.Leong announced that she was done teaching for today the bell finally rang.

                        “I’m getting worried,” Munhee started.

                        “She’ll…” What should I say? I don’t want to say she’ll get better when she might be getting worst.”It might be a fever,”

                        “Maybe…but let’s hope it’s just that,” She said in a lower voice. “We’ll I’ll see you later,”

                         “Okay,” I walked straight to art class alone.

            Down the hall I spotted Taemin, which automatically triggered a stomach ache. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking at the floor. Instead of going toward him, I went into the class room and dropped my books off. Yeong still wasn’t here. A part of me was hoping she would surprise me and show up here. I’ll try to call her tonight.

           After telling Mrs.Ahn that I was going to the restroom, I left the class room to meet Taemin. He was still in the same position when I reached him.

                         “He-“He opened his eyes and held his index finger to his lips.

                          “Listen,” He whispered. I stood still and tried to listen in the crowed hall; is he trying to say something in my mind again? “Come here,” He said in an even lower voice. I stood next to him on the wall. What is he doing?

                           “I can’t hear anything,” I whispered to him. He nudged his head towards a corner. I peeked over his chest and saw Jang and Insu talking two hallways away. They were speaking closely together. “I’m supposed be able to hear them?”

                          “Yeah,” He sounded a little surprised. How can he hear them? I looked to the floor; it probably has something to do with magic. He held his hand out to me silently. Ignoring my blush, I took his hand and looked up into his eyes. Instead of felling numb, I was distracted by a series of noise. I could hear wind, footsteps, voices, until it all focused on two voices; I closed my eyes so I could focus.

                          “We can’t have these people,” Jang’s voice strained the word, but it sounded like she was implying something else,” roaming the school. Or anywhere else, I won’t tolerate it.”

                         “They aren’t hurting anyone,” Insu’s voice sounded so concerned I almost didn’t recognize it.

                          “Not yet. We haven’t given them a chance. Its best we take them out now before it gets worst.”

                          “Well what can they do? You make it seem like they’re so dangerous,”

                          “Everything,”

             Suddenly Taemin’s body jerked. I opened my eyes and looked at him questioningly.

                           “We have to go to class.” He looked to me and started walking back to class. As he walked away his hand slowly slid out of mine. For some reason it hurt. He probably was only holding my hand so I could hear their conversation, and for no other reason. How could I ever think that he would ever have feelings for me? He turned back to me questioningly. Shaking off the depressing thoughts, I followed behind him. As soon as we took our seats the bell rang.

                           “Who-What were they talking about?” The bad feeling started to sink in again. I don’t want to admit to myself that they were talking about someone. Taemin had a very concentrated look on his face.

                            “Us,” He finally answered. The word made me understand a lot, but I wouldn’t accept it. It changed the way I felt. My worries could have been about Yeong or whatever’s happening with Jang.

                            “They know what you are?” I whispered so only he could hear.

                             “They know what we are,” He corrected, reaching across the table and touching my hand. I froze under his touch. To my pleasure, I noticed in his eyes that he didn’t like the distance the desks made between us.

               He took a deep breath as his thumb lightly rubbed my hand, giving me chills. Again, he looked so beautiful that I had to look away. I looked down at our hands. His scars had healed completely. Why is he holding my hand like this? Well, it’s not like I mind. My cheeks started to burn immediately.

                             “Are you okay?” He asked suddenly.

                             “What?” I hope he doesn’t notice it.

                             “You looked worried earlier,”

                             “Oh…” I remembered Yeong again,”Oh yeah…” Should I tell him?

                              “Is it Yeong?” He looked directly into my eyes when he asked, making it impossible for me to lie.

                             “Yeah…”

                             “She’ll be okay,” He said quietly, letting go of my hand as Mrs.Ahn approached our table to pass out clean paper. Even though he couldn’t possibly know what’s wrong with her, his words made me feel like I could believe that. I want to believe it so badly.

                              “Why do I feel like I can trust you?” I asked when she walked away. He laughed quietly to himself.

                              "You trust me because…”

                              “Because what?” I prompted when he didn’t continue.

                               “Just because,”

                              “Right,”I said sarcastically, all the while knowing that was exactly why. It feels like he knows everything.

               At the end of class we walked out together, stopping outside the door.

                                 “Lucinda,” He said carefully, like it was something delicate.

                                 “Yes?” I’m gonna have to stop blushing every time he says my name, this is starting to embarrass me.

                                 “I’m not going to be in class,” He explained. Why would he tell me that? “If Jang tries to provoke you or anything, tell me. Okay?”

                                   “You can’t keep skipping classes. The ‘I got lost because I’m a new student’ excuse is only useable for a week. And, your way past over due.”  Great, now I have to wait till tomorrow to see him again.  What would he do if Jang did try to ‘provoke’ me? He smiled gently and sighed. I feel like he’s done that before. He’s still waiting for an answer. “Sure, but I’m pretty sure a body guard is suppose to always be with the person they’re protecting.”

                                 “I will always be with you,” His said in a strong voice.

                                 “So why are you leaving me?”

                                  “I’m not,” he said in a voice much too serious for this situation. “I’ll see you at the end of the day.” He promised. Feeling a stronger blush coming I nodded and turned.

               Nothing had happened for the rest of the day besides me feeling on the verge of vomiting because of all the emotional changes I’ve had to endure today. I would feel sad and worried for Yeong, then even sadder when I had to tell Munhee she still hadn’t texted me back. Then the excitement of seeing Taemin ‘at the end of the day,’ what does that even mean? I won’t even have time to see him because I’ll be too busy trying to get to my bus. He was probably lying, I’ll bet he went home and forgot about me. He wasn’t even at lunch today, which oddly disappointed me.

              Finally, the final bell rang. I rushed to gather my books and out the door to hopelessly check for news of Yeong for the seventy second time. As expected, she hadn’t sent me anything; I’m definitely going to call her tonight.

                                    “She’ll be fine,” Taemin said from behind me. I turned to see him with a small smile. I smiled back, too quickly. “What are you doing here?” I asked to try to cover it up.

                                    “I told you I would. And about Yeong, she probably went home and slept. She’ll text you back when she wakes up.”

                                      “I hope so…” My voice was low as I returned my phone to my back pocket. “So, why are you really here?”

                                     “I wanted to walk you to your bus,” He answered in an honest voice.  He has to be lying.

                                      “What do you think Jang is gonna push me under the bus if you’re not there?” I joked. He obviously didn’t think it was a joke. His face turned grim. We remained silent until I stopped outside my bus. “Are we going to talk about Jang?”  He sighed and ran his hand through his smooth hair. “We don’t have to do it now…I guess,”

                                        “We’ll talk about it,” He said, then added, “later,” and turned the other way.

                                       “Wait,” I reached out and held his arm, “The last time you said later it never came,” I let go and walked closer to him. “I feel something. It’s like, something bad is about to happen. I don’t want anything bad to-“

                                   “I know,” He interrupted, does that mean he feels it to? “I’ll see you tonight.” As he turned quickly, my couldn’t stray from him until he was out of sight.

                   Under the bad feeling, something was growing. It was growing fast to. The word kept repeating over and over when I got on the bus. Tonight…tonight, tonight, what does that mean? Why tonight? What time is he coming? Ugh, why am I getting nervous? It’s not like something is gonna happen. We’re just going to be talking about Jang and he’ll go home. But, what if my mom comes home early today? As soon as I got home I started cleaning like a frantic mother…or, more like a king was visiting. The house was pretty decent the last time he came. Suddenly it seemed like everything had to be super clean.

                    I grabbed all the cleaning supplies I could find and started cleaning the living room. The smell of bleach started to burn my nose. I hope the smell won’t bother him. With one last swipe all the windows were clean. I went to go straighten the couch cushions when my phone started ringing. What if it was Taemin? No, it couldn’t be him. He does even have my number….but what if he did? I looked at the caller ID and saw my mom’s number. Grateful, I answered it quickly.

                            “Hello,” I coughed, slightly choking on the bleach filled air.

                             “Hey, are you okay?”

                             “Yeah,” I looked out the window as I answered. Taemin was nowhere in sight.

                              “Okay,” She breathed,”Well, I was calling to tell that I have to stay late again today.”

                              “Oh,” Oh no…”Do you know when you’ll be home?”

                              “Probably around ten,”

                              “Do you want me to cook something?”

                               “You don’t have to. But if you want to you can.”

                               “Okay,” I nodded and pulled the vacuum out.

                                “Alright, see you later,”

                                “Okay,” I hung up and started vacuuming the living room till it was spotless. If she’s right and does come around ten then that’s more than enough time for us to talk. He definitely isn’t coming after nightfall. So, no matter what time he gets here I won’t have to risk my mom coming. I still don’t see why she would want to erase my memories of him. He doesn’t really seem like a mean person. So she might not have done it to protect me from him.

             A knocking on the door stopped me from vacuuming. I hid the cleaning supplies and vacuum. Everything looks fine. Maybe I should have cleaned the kitchen more. No, I did well, I’m pretty sure the dirtiest room in the house was mine and I know he’s not going in there.  I ran to the door and opened it.

                                 “Hello,” Taemin said when the door was fully open.

                                 “Hey,” I breathed awkwardly.  We stood in silence for a few seconds,”um…you wanna come in?”

                                 “No,” He said sarcastically.”I only want the whole world to know that you’re a witch.”

                                  “Oh, that’s good,” I couldn’t come up with a good response so I moved aside. Laughing quietly, he walked straight into the living room and took a seat on the same couch. With a deep sigh, I looked outside into the empty streets before locking the door.”So…,” I started and sat on the opposite couch again.

                                  “What do you want to talk about?”

                                  “I want to know what Jang knows,”

                                   “She knows you’re a witch,” he said like it was an everyday thing.

                                  “How does she know that?” Well, I wouldn’t exactly call myself a witch.

                                  “I don’t know…”He looked to the ground thoughtfully.

                                  “Well, tell me what you think. Do you have any ideas?”

                                   “No. Do you?” I sighed and shook my head.

                                   “I’ve never done any spells around her. Someone must have told her.”

                                   “That’s what I’m thinking. You don’t use witchcraft in school do you?”

                                    “Never, you’re the only person that knows. Unless you were the one that told her,” I joked lightly.

                                    “I’d never tell her anything,” He said with a light scoff.

                                   “So, you don’t like her…” I asked under my breath while avoiding his eyes.

                                    “No. Those people…” He sighed and shook his head.

                                    “What?” I almost laughed. It pleases me to know that he doesn’t like Jang. And it’s nice to finally hear his opinions. I’ve never really seen him with anyone at school.

                                     “I’ll put it lightly and say I’d rather not be in their company.”

                                     “Whose company do you prefer?” I managed to ask.

                                      “Why?”He asked with a smile.

                                     “I was just curious,” I looked away from him again, feeling embarrassed. Ugh, what was I expecting him to say?

                                     “Well, as opposed to most of the people in the school, I’d rather spend my time with you,”

                                     “Oh,” I turned my head toward the closest window and covered my blush with my hair. Does he really mean that? My heart started beating faster as he laughed gently. “Who do you usually talk to at school?”

                                      “Whoever,”

                                      “What about your friends?”

                                       “What about them?” I looked back at him. Am I asking too many questions? Or am I getting to personal?

                                      “Sorry,”

                                       “You don’t have to be sorry.”He said lightly,”I like to keep my group of friends small.” I nodded silently in agreement. He probably doesn’t want to tell me about his friends because he doesn’t trust me enough.  What would it take to make him consider me as a friend?

                                      “Do you remember when I asked you why I felt like I could trust you?”

                                       “Yes,”

                                        “Well, I do feel like I can trust you. And you can trust me…” I said slowly, staring at my hands as I spoke. “I-I want to be your friend.” I managed to say, even if it was almost inaudible. He laughed lightly, making my heart sink painfully. He must think I’m a fool! I can’t believe I said that!

                                       “Lucinda, “I looked up when he said my name,” I already consider you a friend. In fact, I think you were literally my first friend. And, I do trust you.”

                                        “Oh,” I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my face in them to hide my uncontrollable smile. I sighed loudly as I tried to tame my emotions. “Okay, okay, do you want to talk about Jang again?”

                                         “Not particularly, but if we must.” I looked up to see him smiling. “How long have you known Jang?”

                                         “Well, I don’t really know her, but I’ve known of her since like seventh grade.”

                                          “Hmm…”He looked out the windows as he thought.

                                           “Have you ever felt anything different about her?” Maybe he felt the same way I do.

                                           “No, but I wouldn’t ignore your instinct.”That sounds familiar. Has he told me that before? With a deep sigh, he looked across the living room at the small clock above the TV.

                                           “Do you have to go?” I don’t want him to leave, but I didn’t want to waste his time.

                                            “No, I can stay longer.”

                                             “It’s okay; if you have somewhere to be then you should go. I can’t really come up with anything to say about Jang.” I admitted, looking at the clock. Surprisingly it was already a little after six. He stood up and offered his hand to me. I took it as he pulled me up lightly, for some reason it made me light headed. “Um…sorry for wasting your time,”

                                           “You never waste my time,” He whispered, still holding my hand.

                                            “Before you leave, can I ask you a question?” He nodded simply.”Do you know why I feel this way?”

                                             “No,” He shook his head, “But, all I can say is to trust your instincts.”  I nodded and looked down towards our feet. “I have to go,”

                                            “Okay,” I hope I covered up my disappointment.  His cool fingers lifted my chin. Like before, he rested his forehead to mine. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.

                                             ”…I promise…” he said fervently.

                                              “What?” I opened my eyes to see him, but he had disappeared again. Where did he go? Sighing, I headed back up to my room. As soon as I went to rest on my bed my phone started to vibrate. It was Yeong! Her text read:

                 “Hey, I’m okay now. I’ll be back at school tomorrow. “

Immediately some of the worry faded. I texted back as quickly as I could:

                “That’s good, what was wrong?”

About a minute later she texted back:

                “I’m not sure, but after I slept for a while I started to feel better”

So, Taemin was right. She should probably rest some more so I’ll make this text my last one.

                “Well, what matters now is that your better. Maybe you should rest a little more. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

She responded quickly with:

                “Okay, see you.”

Feeling happier already, I started my homework while my high was just beginning.