A heavy storm spun upon Del Sol at exactly midnight. Jinri was awoken by the sound of a loud thunder crash. She heard a tapping on her window and she froze in shock. She turned her head around and heaved a sigh of relief when she saw a tree branch tap away on the glass due to the harsh wind. Jinri was never a big fan of storms – heck, who ever was? But this particular storm made her feel slightly relaxed than frightened. It’s like as if a tied bond between something unfamiliar is sending her surges of energy that places her mind in a state of tranqulity.

Deciding that she could no longer sleep, Jinri shifted on her bed and reached for the TV remote on the bedside table. She turned it on but nothing seemed to be good on TV at midnight. She pressed the switch again and was once again greeted with the loud spews of the rain. She turned around and reached for her bookshelf. This time, she decided that she would continue on the book she read her first night there. Fliping through the pages to where she last left off, she found herself having difficulty in finding it. After a few short minutes, she finally found it, but this time, it was on the exact first page of the topic. Vampires.

VAMPIRES

THE CREATURES KNOWN AS VAMPIRES ARE CONSIDERED A VERY ‘LUXORIOUS’ SPECIES DUE TO ITS SHINING APPEARENCE WHEN EXPOSED TO SUNLIGHT – CONTRARY TO THE USUAL BELIEF WHERE THEY BURN INTO ASHES – THAT RESEMBLES THE SURFACE OF A DIAMOND, THEIR AMAZING SPEED AND UNMATCHABLE STRENGHT. VAMPIRES TAKE THE FORM OF HUMANS WITH HARDLY ANY DIFFERENCE IN APPEARENCE AT FIRST GLANCE.

A VAMPIRE’S SKIN IS DANGEROUSLY PALE RESEMBLANT TO THAT OF A DYING MAN AND ICE COLD LIKE THE FROZEN WATERS OF A MOUNTAIN’S PEAK. THEY HAVE A STUNNING ABILITY TO CHANGE EYE COLOR DEPENDING ON THEIR MOOD.

THEIR EYES TURN A BRIGHT SHADE OF YELLOW WHEN THEY ARE HAPPY OR JOYOUS, RED WHEN IN ANGER, CONCERN OR FEAR, PALE BLUE WHEN IN PAIN AND PITCH BLACK WHEN THESE CREATURES FEEL SURGES OF LUST, THE NEED TO FEED AND THE URGE TO PROTECT SOMEONE OR SOMETHING THEY LOVED.

THE MOST POWERFUL VAMPIRES HOWEVER, CAN CONTROL THE SHADE OF THEIR EYES. THOUGH EMOTIONS ARE UNTAMABLE, MORE COMMON SET OF EYE COLORS CAN BE DEDUCED SUCH AS BROWN, DARK BLUE AND GREEN.

VAMPIRES TEND TO HAVE HEALTHIER LOOKING FEATURES THAN MOST HUMANS SUCH AS TIGHT SKIN AND CLEAR OF ANY BLEMISHES OR ACNE..

Jinri stopped herself from reading as flashes of Luhan and Krystal played around in her head like a chorus. The way Krystal’s skin didn’t blister or burn, the way Luhan caught the baton that almost hit her eventhough he was still a few feet away and the way Krstal’s and Luhan’s eyes changed colors throughout the time she saw them. The first time she could remember seeing them, their eyes were red, then Krystal’s eyes which were dark blue during first period and black in the locker room and finally Luhan’s which were yellow during P.E.

Millions of assumptions and thoughts flooded her mind. But the most significant and repetitive were, Luhan, Krystal, Vampires. Those three words made her feel insane. The evidence was right infront of her but again, she was never the type to agree on assumptions. She only needed one thing to finalize her thoughts: A clarification of proof.

She read through the facts in the book again and she rounded up a list in her mind she needed to look out for. She needed to clarify all the evidance she found so far along with smaller details such as wrinkles when making expressions, abnormally sharper teeth – mainly fangs – and finally, eye transitions. She promised herself that she would be prepared and ready to execute the task at hand. She knew it was difficult but a challenge is what Jinri loves the most.

Sitting on the bus, she composed herself to be ready to face the tasks at hand. Reminding herself not to get distracted and out of course. She brought her book with her just in case. She read through it again and added the task to watch what Krystal and Luhan ate during lunch time. By this point, she herself thought that she seemed like a stalker. But she didn’t mind, as long as it uncovered the truth, she wouldn’t care what she seemed like.

Going to the main entrance, she found Kai and the others at their usual spot. She went up to them and they all stopped talking to acknowledge her precense. She said her greetings and thay all said theirs. She then turned to Kai who was staring at her rather intently.

“I heard about what happened in the lockers.” Kai stated suddenly

“h-how..” Jinri asked rather fazzled by the situation

“Luna posted” Amber suddenly interupted

“Oh”

“And we just wanted to tell you that..okay, we know that Krystal “saved” you but don’t be fooled by those two. They’re bad news.” Kris added with a sense of warning and concern

“But I don’t..” Jinri said still confused

“Just..please, stay away from them..” Victoria interupted and placed a hand on her shoulder as if to calm her.

Jinri nodded in understandment but still was as confused as ever. The bell rang and they went to their respective classes. Jinri went with Kris to Algebra. They walked to class in silence until Jinri decided to break it.

“So tell me again why I should stay away from them.” Jinri said

“It’s just..you won’t understand.” Kris answered sounding unsure of what to say

“You’re right, I don’t. And I won’t unless you tell me.” At this, Kris turned around and held Jinri by her shoulders restraining her off any movement.

“Please, Jinri..Please just listen and stay away from them.” Kris glared

Jinri nodded a little intimidated by Kris’ intense stare. They walked to class again with no interference. The first two periods went by and it was time for lunch. Time to execute the plan. Jinri thought.

Jinri walked to the cafeteria on the look out for Krystal and Luhan. She took her seat and unwrapped her lunch and kept her phone in one hand ready to type down the “evidence”. She saw Krystal and Luhan walk through the doors of the cafeteria and found them staring at her and..Smiling? Smirking? She dismissed their facial expressions and focused on Luhan’s eyes. Yellow. His eyes were yellow. She shifted her gaze to Krystal and in contrast to Luhan’s, her eyes were a shade of dark blue. She discretely typed down the colors on her phone and went back to eating.

She turned her head slightly to their table and saw that they weren’t eating. They were just talking. The same thing they did for the last two days. She quickly typed it down on her phone and jumped when she heard Kai call her name.

“Are you okay? You seem a bit jumpy.” He asked concerned

“I’m fine. Just a little restless.” Jinri said in a reassuring tone

“Okay” Kai said and went back to eating

Jinri felt relieved that Kai quickly dropped the topic and she quickly finished her lunch. She excused herself from the lunch table and went to the ladies room to freshen up since she felt a bit flustered. She entered the room and took out some lip balm cause she felt a bit of pain in her lower lip. She put her pinky on her lips and felt some blood. She quickly took out a ball of facial cotton from her bag and at that moment, Krystal came in. She smiled at Jinri but then suddenly stiffened. Jinri noticed it and looked at what Krystal was staring at. The blood stained cotton piece. Blood. Jinri noticed that Krystal’s initialy blue eyes became black.

Krystal quickly straightened herself and put on a smile again.

“Hi Sulli.” She said as she went to the sink next to Jinri

“Hey” She replied quickly throwing the cotton piece away

Krystal started brushing her hair and straightening it. Jinri took out a small packet of lip balm and opened the cap. She dabbed her finger in it and was bout to spread it on her lips when Krystal reached out her hand with a slightly larger square packet in her hold.

“Here. Use this. It’ll help with the wound better and give it a little bit more color” Krystal said

“Thanks.” Jinri reached out her own hand and took the balm. Her thumb lightly brushed on Krystal’s skin and she flinched. Ice cold. She eyed the balm a little suspiciously. But your lips barely look dry. She wiped off the substance on her fingers and put her finger in it. She spread it on her lips and shut it tight for it to spread.

Just then, the door opened and came in an angry Victoria.

“What are you doing here Krystal?” She glared

“What? A girl can’t brush her hair?” Krystal smirked smugly and victoria just glared at her in return

“Kai was concerned about you so he asked me to check on you” Victoria said to Jinri but had her gaze fixed at Krystal

“Are you done?” Victoria asked

Jinri nodded and put her head down  knowing she had done something wrong.

“C’mon” Victoria said gesturing towards her to follow her

Victoria walked out first and once she was out the door, Jinri turned to Krystal and reached out to her with her balm in her hand.

“Keep it. I don’t use it much” Krystal smiled softly

Jinri smiled back and she was about to leave when Krystal grabbed her arm. She turned around and eyed her curiously.

“You want to hang out with me and my brother sometime?” Krystal asked

“S-sure” Jinri said momentarily forgetting about Kai’s warnings

“Great. Saturday?” Krystal asked

“Sounds good.”

Krystal let go of her hand and she continued to walk out of the bathroom. She saw Victoria waiting for her and only then did she realize the problem with her situation.

“What happened?” Victoria asked still a little agitated

“Nothing” Jinri said non-chalantly as she walked passed her

Victoria eyed her suspiciously but decided to just drop it.

For the rest of the day, thoughts of Krystal and Luhan played through Jinri’s head. She couldn’t help but think of the undeniable proof that she would have to confront Luhan and Krystal with. She still had trouble believing that for once, her mystery books actually held the truth. Another thing on her mind, she felt a strong connection with Luhan having only met the boy only once. She felt this unbreakable attraction that pulls her to the mysterious boy.

But her research wasn’t complete yet. She still had one more thing to confirm: Strength.

(A/N) Okay..This chapter kinda but oh well..