~JAEJOONG’S POV~

I’ve been thinking of ways how I’m going to tell Dara about everything. On the bigger note, I don’t even know if I should tell her. I’m afraid of how she’s going to react. But the thing that I dread the most is her rejection. What if she won’t accept who I really am?

I sighed. I should not think of her reaction. I should prioritize her safety first. If she’ll reject me after I tell her everything, it’s up to her – I’ll accept it as long as she listens to me and pay importance to my everything I’ll tell her.

This ! I really don’t want to tell her anything. It’s better if that’s the case. The truth will only scare her off. I don’t want that.

I want to end this game already. I want to stop whoever that person is. The problem here, I really don’t know where to start looking. I only know that incidence in the forest. Then there’s the fact that I can’t leave Dara ALONE and go look for answers.

The idea that I’ve been ignoring and rejecting seemed rational now. I know how Dara is everytime we’re not together. She always goes and seeks for Kwon Jiyong. Should I let her ALWAYS go to him everytime I’m away? I admit I got jealous when he was able to save her that one time, though Dara’s not aware of it. He always move based on instincts while I was brought up to analyze everything first before doing something. What if Dara finds out that it wasn’t really me who saved her, what will happen? I shook my head as unwelcomed thoughts came to my mind. I should trust her, I should have faith in her words.

“Jae!” she sang. I looked up in time to see her running to me with a bright smile on her face. I smiled and welcomed her in my arms as she threw herself to me. I lifted her feet off the ground and hugged her tight.

“Ah, I missed you” I chuckled.

“I missed you too, eventhough we were just together five hours ago” she chuckled back.

“Black Panthers rule!” Luna’s voice came from behind. We both turned around and saw her waving to her fellow cheerleaders. She then faced us and smiled. “Hey you guys, what are you gearing up for the foundation dance?”

“Oh gosh! I forgot to buy a dress!” Dara exclaimed. “I have to do some shopping!”

“Hey, it’s at the end of the month, right?” I asked. “What’s with the rush?”

Luna gave me a look. “It’s next week, jaejoong” she said. “And you’ll never understand girls”

“I’ll do some shopping tomorrow” Dara determinedly said.

“We could use my car if you want” I suggested but she shook her head.

“You’re not coming with me” she said.

“Why not?” I asked, frowning.

“I don’t want you to see what I’m going to wear. I want to surprise you” she said, eyes twinkling. “Plus, it’ll only bore you”

“But-“

“No buts, Jae” she sternly cut off.

I sighed. “Okay, but who’re you going with?”

She shrugged. “I could ask any of the girls or some friends”

Why do I have the feeling that she’s going to ask Kwon Jiyong to accompany her?

o=o=o

~JIYONG’S POV~

“Kwon Jiyong!”

I’m starting to hate that tone and I definitely hate that voice. I had a feeling that she needs something so I didn’t stop and just continued walking. But of course, she caught up with me.

“What do you want?!” I hissed as she was now walking beside me.

“Are you busy?”

“Yes” I answered at once.

“I don’t believe you” she said. “Anyways, the foundation dance is coming up. So-“

“Not planning to go” I cut off.

“But you need to go”

“Not interested” I retorted.

“But you need to go” she said again.

“Why?” I stopped, facing her.

She grinned at me. This is bad. “Err, I loaned you a suit already”

“What?!?” I shouted.

She rolled her eyes. “You’re overreacting”

“!” I cursed out loud. “If you think I’ll go just because-“

“I really had a tough time loaning that suit and I used my own money for it so I wasn’t able to buy a dress for myself at once. I really saved for it” she said with wide, innocent eyes.

I looked at her blankly then started cursing again. She gave me a disapproving look before pulling me by the arm.

“Where the ing hell are you taking me?”

“I told you, I haven’t brought a dress for myself yet because I prioritized your suit. So you’re obliged to come with me” she cheerfully said.

“Is this some kind of a joke? And first of all, I didn’t ask you to get me a suit!”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“You always look like a spoof to me” I snorted.

“That’s really mean”

“Just being honest” I said and pulled my arm off her hold. “I’m not going” I gritted and turned away.

“It would be your fault if something happens to me because I’m all alone looking for a dress” she said in a sorrowful voice.

I stopped and closed my eyes, trying to prolong my patience. But I just can’t. “!” I shouted. Crap! She’s messing with my ing head! I opened my eyes and started walking away. I was a few steps away already when I suddenly growled and turned back to her, shouting a curse again.

Her face instantly lit up. She was grinning like a dog when I reached her. She hooked her arm on mine, which I quickly brushed off.

“No touching” I growled.

“What are you, gold? And besides, it’s kind of hard to keep up with you” she said.

“Not my problem!” I growled but she hooked her arm on mine again. “Jesus!” I breathed.

“He he”

“Where the ing hell is your boyfriend? You should have-“

“I don’t want him to see the dress, it’ll spoil the surprise”

I must be out of my mind. No, I’m definitely out of my mind. We’ve been into a lot of stores already. She tried TONS of dresses and shoes and kept asking for my opinion. I only managed to respond one sentence the whole time and that is – “you still look like a spoof to me”

I earned some glares from the attending ladies from the stores we’ve been into. But what can I do? I was just being honest and I’m DEAD bored. All the clothes she tried on looked the same to me. SHOPPING spells B-O-R-I-N-G. I’m dying from boredom already. I didn’t even pretend JUST ONCE that I was enjoying the whole thing but the girl’s all-smiley and cheerful attitude only irked me more

After WEEKS of walking here and there, she finally bought two dresses and three pair of shoes.

“Aren’t you going to help me carry these bags?” she asked.

“No” I simply answered and walked ahead of her. I can hear her rumbling from behind me, making me smirk and snort. When we reached her car, she threw the keys to me.

“I’m so tired, I can’t drive”

“You’re tired?” I snorted. “Wow! That’s really new” I sarcastically said.

“You drive” she just said and get inside the passenger seat.

And now I’m a driver, too? Well, I could just leave her right? I could fly or walk my way back home. But then, I opened the car’s door and went inside. I stared disbelievingly at the girl as I found her fast asleep already. So, she was really telling the truth when she said she’s tired. But who wouldn’t be?

I reached to her side to secure her seatbelt. I took the bags out of her hands and put them on the backseat. I inserted the key and started the car.

I stopped the car in front of their house a while later. I was about to wake her up when Jaejoong suddenly appeared. I stepped off the car. I don’t know if I should laugh at his expression. It’s as if he ate something foul.

“Thank you for accompanying her” he stiffly said.

“Bring her in. I’m dead tired” I answered instead.

“Don’t you think that’s quite questionable?” he asked. “She’ll be expecting to see you”

“Just tell her you found her alone in the car, sleeping. Let her think I left her”

I walked away. When I reached the porch, I quickly blended myself in the shadows and watched as Jaejoong woke Dara up. I watched her face closely. She looked confused at first but then, she smiled at him. The guy helped off the car and took the bags from the backseat. He put his arm on her shoulder and assisted her towards her front door.

I gave a start as she glanced at my direction, frowning. But then, I remembered I was hidden so I shouldn’t worry about her seeing me. But then, I thought, so what if she does see me? Like that matters.

She bowed her head and heaved a big sigh. With that, I went inside my own house quietly.

o=o=o

~DARA’S POV~

I’m not talking to KWON JIYONG. I’m holding a little grudge against him for leaving me like that in the car. I guess I just expected too much. I should have known better. Good thing Jae decided to drop a visit. If it weren’t for him, I might be spending the whole night in the car ALONE.

“Hmph” I raised my chin as I saw him approaching our table. He greeted everyone in the table except me. How dare him for not greeting me! Before I could stop myself, I glanced at him. He wasn’t looking at me, as usual but he seemed in a good mood. My eyes narrowed at this. I cleared my throat, trying to catch his attention but instead of paying attention to me, he turned to Sulli and started a conversation.

How dare him! And he hasn’t even asked for an apology yet! He’s just so rude. . . plain rude! How can he just leave me alone in the car without waking me up? Was that his way of getting even with me because I dragged him to accompany me and for asking him to drive me home?

An idea suddenly popped into my head. What if. . . .? What if this is just his way to piss me off so I’ll leave him alone? What if this is just his simple attempt to shoo me away? That’s it! That’s the reason, isn’t it? Huh! If he thinks he could fool me or shoo me away just like that, he’s DEAD WRONG! It’ll take more than pissing me off to make that happen. I’ll be OVERLY patient from now on. I should not give up until he opens up to me and stop being rude.

I pulled a smile. “Hey, Kwon Jiyong” I called, smiling sweetly at him. I saw the corners of his lips twitched before glancing up at me.

“Yes?” he asked, discreetly grinding his teeth.

“I remembered you said you’re GOING to the foundation dance” I smoothly lied.

“Really? You’re going? Luna asked, obviously eavesdropping.

“Whoa! This would be my first time to see you in a dance. That would be really. . . err, new” Victoria added, another eavesdropper.

“So, who are you going to ask out?” I asked, still smiling at him and trying to get his attention back to me. Ah, I could just hear the it’s-none-of-your-business speech straight from his brain.

“Haven’t decided yet” he gritted, giving me a warning look.

“Why don’t you ask Sulli?” Jae suddenly spoke, making me glance sharply at him. “The girls all got dates already except her”

“I could still cancel my date with-“

“Victoria!” Krystal exclaimed.

“Just trying. . .” Victoria mumbled.

Kwon Jiyong turned to Sulli, frowning. And then slowly asked, “you don’t have a date?”

Sulli blushed. Look at this guy! He’s really rude! Didn’t Jae just mention it?

“No one asked me” Sulli chuckled lightly. “Nobody does” she added in a whisper.

“Err, would it be alright if you’ll come with me?”

My jaw LITERALLY DROPPED at the question. I glanced at Sulli. She looked surprised herself and she even turned redder than before! Is this really happening? Am I really hearing the RIGHT things or I’m just imagining it? Did Kwon Jiyong just asked Sullit to the dance? Like, seriously?

“Y-you’re asking me to the dance?” Sulli stammered, disbelief was written all over her face.

“Yes” the rude guy answered. “So, you wanna come?”

No, Sulli! Say no! You’re not going to enjoy your time with him! He’s rude, he’s sarcastic, his ungentle-!

“That’s f-fine with m-me” she said after a while.

I think I just fainted.

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*a/n: sorry for the boring update.. haha.. oh, just like to say hello to rainie_lily, quirkycoffee, mae♥daragon
because of ryelsi's vid, i'm inspired to post a little teaser.. hehe

o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=
TEASER:
chap 28: the dance

. . .Jiyong was standing behind Dara to protect her back, tensed.

~

"Cover her eyes!" Jiyong hissed at Jaejoong as he started hearing flapping wings and whooshing sound. not long after that, something sharp hit his side.

~

He heard hissing sounds. Even through the darkness, he can tell there were snakes all over the place. he hissed under his breath, as he felt something bit him in his left leg but he remained in his spot, never daring to left Dara's back unguarded.
o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o

Err, IDK if i should post this note because it just contains some random infos.. haha..

Anyways, i read a comment in fb about an "it hurts" mv inspired fic, err. . . actually, i got a err, a fic that coincidentally got some similarities with it, it's called THE SPINSTER'S CURSE. i was supposed to post it together with Phantom Memories and Remnants of the Heart(a topdara fic with the same genre with Spiderweb and Phantom).

Anyways, I put both fics on halt, IDK what chapter I am already.. haha.. I'm planning to either drop or revise Spinster's curse. (also remnants). i decided to have ONE ongoing fic at a time.. haha.. it's kind of hard to have many ongoing fics especially if you don't have your own pc or lappie, keke.. Anyways, to answer those who are asking if i have another fic after this. Yes, i do have some fics in mind but I'm not going to post them anytime soon. maybe enxt year or next next year? The Shadows will prolly my last fic for THIS YEAR. i'll try to finish it before the year ends.. if not, well, it'll take some time for me to post another fic.. just wanted to take some break first.. lol. and besides, i know for a fact that there are a lot of AMAZINGLY TALENTED daragon writers out there, my absence won't be really noticed. also, i'd like to apologize to those peepz who knew about the runaway celebrity and dreaming of you because i'll be shelving those fics off, too. but who knows, i might change my mind? hehe..

Again, I'd like to thank everyone for always supporting me! I love you all!

Daragon is EFFINGLY real
xoxo
hagocimit, the part time fanfic writer and lifetime appler!