As the days went by, my roommate Tiffany began drifting from me. She realized too late that I wasn't a party girl and didn't want to go out all that often, and so she found herself a new circle of friends. I was happy for her, and felt some sort of relief that I wasn't holding her back from a social life anymore.

My mind was elsewhere during this whole time. I recalled the boy being beat up and meeting the stranger in the library.

Kim Seok Jin.

I remembered his name well, like it was carved in the back of my mind. I had a suspicion that he was at least an associate to the bullying incident.

It was late in the evening when I was thinking about this again. I was doing some extra study on chemistry but I was no where focused at all. Tiffany wasn't back yet, probably still at a party in the other dorm room. 

I rose up from my seat, giving up on the chemical empirical formulas. I walked to the balcony, opened the door and walked out. The air was cold and crisp, stinging my nose as I heaved in a deep breath. I rubbed my arms to keep myself warm as I looked out into the garden of Burren High. Even in the darkness it was beautiful with its glowing lights and gorgeous fountains.

I heard crickets playing the violin (not literally) and the rustling of the leaves as the wind brushed past them.

Of course, there came chatter. Human chatter and mirth, destroying the beauty of the natural world. With a pissed off expression, I looked down to see two boys walking beside each other, laughing and joking around with each other. Should I go out for a walk? I did need to clear my head...

Without another moments hesitation, I took hold of my coat, slipped on my shoes and skipped out the door. I walked down the winding stairs and went outside into the wilderness, or so it seemed like that to me at the time.

The boys had long gone by the time I started to take my stroll.

My hands were buried deep into my pockets. My lips were a little cracked from the cold but I didn't mind. I walked over to a bench that was close by to one of the larger fountains. I sat down and let out a sigh of relief and shock at the same time. Relief because my legs had a break and shock because of the cold metal bars of the bench. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, satisfied and peaceful. 

Only for a moment.

"Oh, it's you," a male voice spoke. I opened only one eye to study the one who disturbed me.

"Eh?" I gritted through my teeth in annoyance.

"Don't remember me?" the student smirked. He made me lean forward and open both of my eyes. I didn't recognize him at first, but the swollen bruised cheek was a quick give away.

"You're the guy who got beat up in the hallway..." I said out loud to myself.

"Yeah I am. Have the lads been giving you trouble yet?" he asked in concern.

"Lads?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Guess that is a no then," he sighed in relief. I glanced at his name tag.

Kim Tae Hyung.

"Taehyung," I began, "have you been bullied long?" I asked him.

"Bullied?" he snorted. "Is that what you call it?"

"What else could it be?" I shrugged at him.

"Nothing," he scuffed, shaking his head in amusement. This boy was really confusing me.

"How's your face?" I asked him, a little irritation in my voice slipping through.

"Better, I haven't been running into much trouble since then," he explained.

"Much trouble? So there has been some," I noted.

"Minor incidents," he nodded his head.

"Who are these guys who are doing this to you?" I asked him.

"As if you don't know," he rolled his eyes. After looking at me for a while longer, he realized that I sincerely didn't know. "Oh, you must be new then. Do you know who ELITE are?"

"Yeah, I've heard of them. Some dance group or something?" I asked him.

"Something," he muttered. "They are more than just a dance group here in Burren High. They run this school. Even though they all dance, their parents all happen to be the largest doners to this high school, so the school worships them and lets them get away with murder."

"So they are the ones bullying you?"

"No, not them as a collective. Two of the guys who are in the group are causing me trouble..." he explained hesitantly.

"What are their names?" I asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"I mean... is one of them called... Kim Seok Jin?" 

His expression became strange. At first surprised, and then, a little angry.

"No, he's not a member of ELITE, but he is one of the larger doners to this school so he still has a lot of influential power," he explained.

"Was he the one that was bullying you when I was there?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes. The boy chewed on his lips before sighing.

"No, it wasn't him..." he said finally, but I knew I wasn't going to get any more information from him. At least for the moment. 

"Would you like to go to the cafeteria with me? Have a cup of tea perhaps?" I asked him cautiously. He gave me a long look before replying.

"I don't want tea, I just want to walk around for a while," he told me. "Would you like to join me?" he asked with a crooked smile. I nodded my head and rose up from the bench. Together we walked down the stony path that led to the pond. It seemed like it was getting colder and colder. I could see the breath in front of me, escaping through the cracks of my teeth. I bit my tongue back in attempt to hide the chatter of my teeth, but I didn't do so well. Taehyung began taking off his jacket but I stopped him in his tracks.

"Don't," I told him in a threatening tone.

"What's wrong?" he asked in confusion.

"Don't do the whole jacket thing," I shook my head at him. "Long story," I smiled and shrugged, not bothered enough to tell him the issues with this certain gesture. We continued to walk along the moss covered path. I heard chatter from the distance, approaching in our direction. It sounded like the two guys I had seen walking around before. Taehyung grabbed my shoulder as they were about to meet us, and bushed us into the thorny bush. I fell harshly on my bum, landing in a mixture of dirt and thorns.

"Stay quiet," he ordered me, peeking behind the bush. I was not going to stay quiet. I was about to protest but Taehyung grabbed my waist and pulled me into his chest. He took hold of my mouth with his other hand to muffle my scream.

"Did you hear something?" One of the boys asked.

"I think it came from there," the other one said.

My heart was pounding so loud, it felt like it was in my ears. I was screaming in my head, in my heart and in my gut. My whole body yelled in protest, begging to be released from this torment. I shut my eyes, holding in the fearful tears. My chest heaved in and out in over-exaggerated movements, taking in as much air as his fingers allowed me.

I was claustrophobic. Very claustrophobic.

Dum da da duuuum! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for subscribing and commenting, hope to see more of it soon ^^