You are getting used to the idea of it all.  Hanging out in an abandoned warehouse turned into the coolest hangout around, listening to the constant hip hop music playing over the stereo at full blast, spending all your free time with 12 incredibly good looking juveniles and having a drop-dead gorgeous, bad boy for a boyfriend.  You don’t exactly know how you ended up with this guy, but what you do know is that there is something about his darkness that pulls you in and holds you prisoner to his will.

Sitting on ones of the many couches in the Den, you try to read your history book, but you find it hard to focus with all the noise going on around you.  You glance around the huge room to find each of the gang members engaged in something.  Luhan, Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Sehun are all playing pool, making a big commotion over whether or not hitting the eight ball in before the rest of your billiards counts as a win or lose.  Jongdae, Kris and Chanyeol are doing tricks on their skateboards; well, trying to.  Joonmyun is sitting in the corner, somehow managing to read a book about economics.  Then, there’s Tao, Minseok, Yixing and your boyfriend sparring on the matted area with the punching bag opposite the pool table.  Tao and Minseok are doing some kind of martial arts, while Jongin is trying to teach Yixing basic fighting moves.

You put your book down and sigh, staring at the toughest member of EXO wearing only a pair of loose jeans hanging low on his hips: his white t-shirt thrown over the nearest chair.  You couldn’t help but admire his perfectly toned and muscular abdomen making it hard for you to breathe.  He’s focusing on teaching Yixing to fight, so he doesn’t notice your constant stare.  Even through you two have been together for 3 months now, there is still a voice in the back of your head telling you that none of this is real and that Jongin doesn’t actually like you at all.  You push the thought out of your head every time it comes to mind, but it’s getting harder to ignore.

Jongin pats Yixing on the back, grabs his shirt and throws it over his shoulder.  They continue to talk for another minute and Jongin stands in his normal stance, leaning back and hitching his thumbs in his back pockets.  You find yourself still staring at him, your history studies long forgotten.  Jongin looks over at you and catches you staring at him.  You embarrassingly look away and try to find your place in your book again.  But you can still feel his eyes on you.  You glance up and see him staring at you, his face expressionless.  The eye contact is making you kind of nervous, so you smile brightly at him.  He smirks back and continues his conversation with Yixing.

A rhythmic knock comes from one the garage doors of the warehouse.  It’s the knock everyone in the gang uses and only members of the gang, plus you, knows it.  Everyone looks around the room, confused.  Everyone’s here.  Who could that be?

You stand up from the couch looking at the door where the knock came from.  Without warning, Jongin comes up behind you grabs your arm and pulls you to stand behind him.  He doesn’t let go of your hand as he twists his arm to rest at the base of his spine.  You notice that he has put his shirt back on, but you can still feel his tight skin underneath the fabric.  Kyungsoo, who was closest to the door, looks around the room for approval, then after getting a small nod from Jongin lifts the door open with a loud grind of gears. 

On the other side of the door is thin girl with long straight black hair in a skintight tank top, loose leather jacket and black skinny jeans full of holes.  She wears an arrogant look on her face, standing with her hands in her back pockets.  You look down at her feet and see her wearing high heel sneakers.

She scoffs and walks straight through the door pushing past Kyungsoo.  “About time.  How long does it take to answer the goddamn door?”  She is walking straight toward you and Jongin.  You felt Jongin’s hand relax a little.

“Noona?  What the heck are you doing here?”  It was not said a threatening way like you expected.  Jongin sounded surprised the see the strange girl.  You grab onto his arm with your other hand, attempting to keep him in place, but all too easily he slips out of your grip and walks toward the girl.

“I heard you all had been hanging out around here, so I figured I drop by.  It’s been too long, Kai,” she said.  You can hear a seductiveness to her words as they leave in an almost purr.  She used Jongin’s nickname that he used for the gang.  He feels like “Kai” sounds more intimidating than “Jongin.”  You never call him Kai though.  He likes it when you call him by his real name, so you do.      

The other members are starting to gather around the two now.  You step back, not wanting to be in the middle of whatever is going to happen.

“Who the hell is this?”  Luhan asks sternly.  He has his hands rested on his hips, giving Jongin a death stare.  “And how does she know the password?”

Some of the other members nod their heads in agreement.

Jongin turns around to look at the other members.  He has a bright smile on his face that you have never seen before.  The only smile he has ever given you has been a smirk of maybe a lopsided grin, but never one like this.  “Sorry guys.  This is an old friend of mine.  We lived in the same neighborhood back when we were children.” 

The girl ran her eyes around the circle of men, judging every one of them.  Then her eyes stop on you.  You wrap your arms around yourself, feeling very uncomfortable with her eyes on you.  She looks you up and down before scoffing again and flipping her hand over her shoulder.

What is that supposed to mean?  You feel a pang in your stomach making you feel nauseous.  Whatever she saw when she looked at you, she does not like it.  You realize the guys have continued talking, but you didn’t hear a word that they said.  A couple of the guys go back to what they were doing before with strange looks on their faces.  They almost look like they are fed up with something.  But what?

You snap back to attention as Jongin comes up to you.  “Noona, this is my girlfriend.”  You look at the girl again and see the same judging stare as before.  You introduce yourself quietly, nodding your head a little.  The girl just stares at you smugly, crewing on a piece of gum.

“She’s……cute,” she says with no feeling.  You look in her eyes again to see her glaring at you.  In the universal woman’s eye language, she was telling you to drop dead.  Her dark eyes like black ice drilling into your soul, trying to erase you from existence.  You step back from her, feeling overwhelmed by the hatred.  You glance over at Jongin for some kind of guidance.  He isn’t looking at you, instead he is saying something.

“….next to each other in class and she would help me on my homework whenever I decided to do it.  We’ve been going out for like three months now.”  He gives you a little smile and you have to smile back because you don’t know what else to do or say.  Then he pulls the girl over to another part of the room, obviously giving some kind of tour. 

You stand there, not knowing what to do next.  Your mind was confused on what to think of all this.  Why did she look at you like that?  You look down at yourself.  You were wearing your favorite pink t-shirt, a pair of jeans that were not to tight and your sandals with the flower over the toes.  You reach up and start playing with the end of your ponytail braid, when you feel a hand on your shoulder.  You turn to see Joonmyun standing behind you.

“Did he tell you about her at all?” he asked.

You turn around, still holding onto yourself.  “No.  I didn’t know at all.  How did she know the password?”

Joonmyun shrugged his shoulders.  “Well, Kai was the one to set the password and apparently it was one that they used together as kids and so she thought she would try it.”

You look over at the two.  Jongin is showing her the huge selection of CDs and stereo that was currently blasting a song you didn’t recognize.  Jongin’s smiling again.  Why didn’t he smile like that around you?

Maybe because he’s finally found a girl he can relate to.  A badass one like him.  Not a little girly girl like you.  The voice in your head is screaming in your ear and you rub your temple to try and distract yourself from its hurtful words.

“Are you okay?”  Joonmyun is still standing beside you.  You turn back to him and smile.

“Yeah.  I’m fine.  I think I’m just a bit tired from studying for finals and all that.  Which I should get back to.”  You sit back down on the couch, pick up your book and opening it up to some random page, stare at the words there. 

There is no way you can concentrate though.  You keep looking up to find Jongin and that girl laughing or talking, even touching.  The girl has her hand on his shoulder and she hasn’t removed it since she walked in the door.  Why doesn’t he push her away?

You have to admit they look good together, don’t you think? The voice in your head questions.  As much as you try to deny that fact, there is no denying it.  They look perfect for each other. 

The girl finds your eyes again and tries to kill you with her gaze.  But the minute Jonging looks back at her, she smirks at him and turns up the charm.  You are starting to get a head ache.

You stand up and walk over to Joonmyun, who had returned to his chair and book of economics.  You hold your book close to your chest, feeling stupid for ever thinking that you could get any studying done here.

“Joonmyun, do you think you could take me home?  I need to study and it’s a bit distracting here.”  You look over to the foosball table and see the two going one-on-one, not trying to be quiet whatsoever.

Joonmyun merely nods, before standing up and leading you out the door.

Later that night you get a text message.

From: Jonginie<3

Where the heck did you go?

You did feel kind of bad for leaving without saying goodbye or anything, but you didn’t think you could handle another one of that girl’s stares.

To: Jonginie<3

Sorry, didn’t feel good.  Had Joonie bring me home.

From: Jonginie<3

And you didn’t think to tell me?!?

Oh no.  He’s mad.

To: Jonginie<3

Sorry, but you looked a little distracted with your friend.  I didn’t want to disturb you.

It was partly true.  You didn’t want to disturb them, cause then she would stare at you.

From: Jonginie<3

OK.  But don’t do that again.  You scared me.

You feel your heart flutter in your chest at his comment.  He was scared that he couldn’t find you.  Take that, you stupid voice, you think.  Then your phone beeps again.

From: Jonginie<3

BTW, Noona and I are hanging out on the pier tomorrow.  I want you to come.   

Take that, you stupid girl.  God, how you hate that voice.

You are now on the pier by yourself which is where you have been all day.  That girl has been dragging Jongin from store to store, begging him to buy her stuff.  You got so sick of it that you walked out and sat on a nearby bench.  You can still see the two inside the souvenir shop.  They really do look like the perfect couple.  As opposed to when you two are together.  You guys are as different as fire and ice.  Hate to tell you this, but you are the ice.  You gave up trying to push the voice out of your head.  It was so loud now that you were actually starting to believe what it was saying.

They’re coming out of the store and moving to the next one.  You stand up and follow, none too closely, behind.  This was the worst day ever.  Looking at overpriced clothes on a nearby rack; you can overhear what the two are taking about.

“I just don’t get it, Kai.  How could you fall for a girl like her?  What do you see in the pink frilly thing?”

You’re head shoots up.  You see that the girl has her hands around Jongin’s neck and is dangerously close to his.  But the worst part is, is that he is not doing anything to push her away or stop her.

You turn around and march out the door.  Your eyes are burning and you can feel the tears forming in your ducts.  He’s not pushing her away.  That must mean he wants her.  That must mean that he doesn’t really like me.  He wants someone like her.

You start walking toward the warehouse district, which is not very far away.  Once there you would ask Joonmyun to take you home again.  You turn into a familiar alley and let your feet lead you to the Den, letting your mind dwell on the idea that Jongin doesn’t want you anymore.  You are so caught up in your thoughts that you don’t feel the two men walking behind you.

“Well, now.  What’s a cute little toy like you doing out here all alone?”  You freeze in your spot after hearing the hiss of a voice behind you.

“Little things like you shouldn’t wander around here.  It can be dangerous.  A lot of questionable people hang out down here.”  This voice was slightly deeper and not quite as threatening, but there’s another side to it that scares you more than the first.  What’s worse?  You know these voices and nothing good can come from hearing them creep up behind you.

“Hey Kyuhyun, I think this one’s lost her voice.”  You knew that to be the strongest member from EXO’s rival gang, SuJu.  You turn your head slowly and see the two men walking toward you very slowly.

“You think so, Donghae?  I think she’s just shy.  Maybe we could take her somewhere to call her a cab.”

You only have one option and that is to run toward the Den and try to call EXO for help.  You know it won’t work though, you are too far away from them and you cannot out run these guys.  You try to think of the word Jongin told you to shout out if you ever encountered SuJu.  Dammit, what is it?

You start to run from them, moving your legs as fast as you could without tripping over your own feet.  You can hear them running behind you, calling out profanities and insults.  You remember the last time you encountered these two.  Jongin came to your rescue, but he took a hit to the face that left a deep cut over his eyebrow.  When Jongin finally managed to get a few hits in, Donghae pulled out a knife.  Jongin somehow took it away and slashed Donghae’s arm with it.  They left shortly after that and Jongin kept the knife to himself.

You are starting to lose energy.  The Den is two buildings away.  What’s the word?  You feel one of them grab your arm.  That’s it!

Donghae pulls you against his chest pinning your arm between your bodies.  You take a huge breath and scream at the top of your lungs.

“MAMA!” 

Kyuhyun slaps his hand over your mouth hard.  “Awe, isn’t she cute calling for her Mama.”

“Yeah, I like the cute ones.”  Donghae whispers in your ear.  You fight against their holds, but you can’t move.  “Tell me, Cutie.  Where is Kai?” 

You shake your head from side to side viciously.  Did the guys not hear me? 

“Well, so much for doing things the easy way,” Kyuhyun snarled.  He angles your head to the side and you feel a painful pinch in your neck.  Holy crap.  They’re poisoning me. 

You begin to feel tired and your body grows weak.  Donghae holds you up until you’re suddenly laying on the ground.  Something is happening, but your hearing has become muffled and all you can hear is shouting.  You lay there completely incapacitated, your eyes getting harder and harder to keep open.  You feel a hand on your side and see a blurred Tao leaning over you.  He’s talking, but you don’t understand him.

Kai didn’t rescue you.  He likes his friend more than you, that’s why he didn’t come.  The voice whispers in your brain.  Knowing that that was the truth, you close your eyes and get overcome by darkness.

You wake up back in the Den, laying on the couch facing the pool table.  You are disoriented at first, confused on what happened to you.  Your neck is sore, along with your shoulder and wrist.  Someone’s holding your hand.  You turn to look at them and see Jongin, kneeling down next to the couch, resting his head on your leg.

“Jongin?”  you say.

He looks up at you sleepily, but once he fully sees you, he bolts up and kisses your forehead.

“Jagiya, are you okay?  I was so worried about you.”

Jagiya?  He never used words like that.

“I’m okay, I think.”  Suddenly, everything comes back to you.  The pier, the alleyway, the SuJu members and the girl.  The thing she said about you rings in your head.  “What do you see in the pink frilly thing?”  The thing Donghae called you.  “Well now, what’s a cute little toy like you doing out here all alone?”

Pink frilly thing?  Cute little toy?

You sit up, ignoring Jongin’s protests.  Your heart hurt deep in your chest, shooting pain throughout the rest of your body.  It’s a mixture of anger and sadness making your eyes burn with tears.

“You didn’t come,” you said quietly, interrupting whatever he had been saying before.

“What?”  You don’t look at him and stand up taking a few steps away.

“I called out the alert you told me to scream when SuJu was close.  You didn’t come.”

“Jagiya!  I was on the pier surrounded by a hundred people all talking at once.  How do you expect me to…”

“And her.”

“What?”

You look at him now.  His mouth is hanging open, confusion written all over his face.

“You were on the pier with a hundred people and her.  Did you forget that you told me to come to?  Did you forget that I was even there?”  You shout the last question.  Jongin closes his mouth and looks away.  You were so angry that you continued.  “And I heard Jongin.  I heard her ask you why you liked this pink frilly thing and I saw that you did nothing to push her away.  Why didn’t you push her away?  It’s obvious she wants you.  Hell, she practically has “Kai, Take Me” tattooed across her forehead.  Is that the kind of girl you want?  Well, if so, I’m afraid…”

Jongin stands up and marches over to you, cutting you off with a sweet kiss.  You’re heart rate shoots sky high as he wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you closer.  What was I saying again?

Jongin breaks the kiss and takes a step back so you can see his face.  “I told her that I saw a girl who I could spend the rest of my life with and then I told her to beat it.  She did try to kiss me, but I pushed her away and told her that she was pathetic to think she could try to just come into my life again and expect me to fall for her seductiveness.  Then she left and I spend an hour looking for you until Suho found me and told me what happened to you.”  He runs his fingers down your spine, sending chills through your body.  “I didn’t stop running until I was by your side and I never left you and I never will again.”

Your heart explodes as you see him smile brightly at you.  It’s the same smile he had with his friend.  A sweet smile that makes you forget everything around you.  He leans in and kisses you again and you wrap your arms around his neck.

“You know though,” Jongin says into your mouth.  You hum warmly.  “Maybe I should make you mad more often.  I like it when you go all badass on me.”  He chuckles to himself and raises his eyebrows, knowingly.

You shake your head slightly and lay your head on his chest listening to his rapidly beating, badass heart.