“Yo! Run as fast as you can, don’t stop. Hold my hand and slowly open your eyes. Don’t be too shocked!” -EXO, "Run"

The cold wind bit at his skin as he lowered himself out of the window. Tao's eyes widened as he looked down to the ground far below him. Although he was only on the second level of the Halo, it was so far from the ground he cursed. Never had he despised the incredibly high ceilings, but now he berated them with his entire being. Whatever the case, he began the downward descent, strong winds pulling at his hair and clothing. It was freezing and nearly pitch black but Tao knew that this was something that he needed to do. So, feeling for clefts in the stone with numb fingers and blind eyes, his mind reached out.

 It was strange how as soon as he was outside of the Halo he began to feel nervous. It wasn't the fact that he might fall and break himself and he wasn't exactly scared of heights or the dark. Rather what he was scared of was the Dancers. He was scared of his Dancer. During the meal the other day, Oh Sehun had practically glared as he explain how those "freedoms" he was allowed, did not exist anywhere outside of the Halo; he was to not leave the Halo at any cost unless provoked by Sehun himself to do so. Knowing that his Dancer would not be afraid to punish him if he knew of Tao's schemes was what he feared. He hadn't realized this until he looked up at the window to his room from the ground.

 He shook his head, clear his mind of what could turn out to be vicious thoughts, not needing anything else to hold him back right now. Starting down the path that led to the Commons he shivered before his lips pulled up at the corners. This path was leading to his brother.

 Tao was surprised he didn't see any guards. During the day they had always littered the paths and lingered around the gates, but at midnight it was apparent that they went into rest as well.

 The Commons were alive with sleepy mumbles and restless movements. Tao's eyes lit up when he found the small fragile boy he called his brother. Stepping over bodies, he made his was to Luhan. Was he alright? Was he safe? Luhan had always had Tao to protect him, but now that he was an Angel... Nobody else was ever very close to the little deer. Tao had stood over him and helped him when he needed it, not the other Workers.

 Getting closer Tao could barely make out Luhan's face but when the ash that was the sky suddenly shifted, moonlight revealed his features. Tao frowned seeing a bruise on the young one's brow but other than that he seemed fine. Knees tucked up against his chest, his dirty, matted hair clinging to his forehead, arms-

 Tao growled as he pulled Luhan out of a man's protective grip and nearly screamed in fury when he realized it was Wu Yifan. That idiot who thought there was such a thing as freedom, such as thing as a place. Glaring at the sleeping body, he mentally killed the ignorant man and turned back to the warmth that shifted in his arms. "Kris, what-?" His eyes opened and surprise flickered in them. "Zitao," his eyes widened and his voice shook, "wha- what are you doing here?"

  Tao knew he would have to go back soon, he couldn't risk being gone for too long. Even if he didn't want to.

 "You-" Luhan tried.

 "I had to make sure you were okay."

 A faint smile crossed Luhan's face before he frowned. "Tao... Are you sure it was the best idea to sneak out? I mean-" He seemed at a loss for words before a grim look tainted his features. "Zitao, I'm not worth it, do you know how much trouble you could get in for this? I know I don't exactly know what goes on in there but I'm sure it doesn't involve-" Yifan groaned in his sleep, causing Luhan to in his breath for a split second before continuing in a hushed whisper. "Zitao I don't think your new 'job' involves sneaking out to be with the likes of us."

 Tao stared at the boy in confusion, shouldn't his "brother" be grateful that he took the time and risk to come and see if he was doing alright? He hadn't been expecting to be greeted this way. And what he also hadn't been expecting was for that thing they called Wu Yifan to be curled around Luhan like a blanket. He glared at the now restless body before sighing and looking back to the boy awake in front of him. "Luhan, I know I'm not supposed to be here, but I should be here. My place is here, I was never supposed to be an Angel, I didn't want to be an Angel. I wanted to be here, with all of the other Workers, with you, my brother. Shouldn't-"

 "Zitao stop," the younger demanded suddenly. He looked towards Yifan and seemed to put a lot of thought into his words. "I- I get that I'm like family to you." His eyes met Tao's between the darkness. "And honestly, I wouldn't have made it without you, but now. I- I just don't know, it's different now. I grew up Zitao, I don't need a protector anymore, and even if I did I still have Kris, and he-"

 "Kris?" Zitao sneered at the nickname for the bug beside them.

 Luhan let out a suffering sigh before looking up at the midnight sky. There wasn't much to look at, but Tao knew Luhan well enough to know that the younger was looking for the nonexistent stars, for the courage said to be found within them.

 "Tao," he began, "I- I want you to go. You don't belong here anymore, you're an Angel now, you have responsibilities and a- a 'lover' so get back to it. Go back to the Halo, Tao, I don't need you anymore."

 Zitao started at the boys words and reached out to grab his wrist as Luhan turned from him. "Luhan... I don't want to go back. I can feel it, I need to stay, I need you to continue being my little brother, you're the only family I have left."

 "Look Tao, I get it I really do; you're just as much my older brother as I am your younger brother. But that doesn't change the fact that you have somewhere else to be now. So go back, I'll be fine." He yanked his wrist out of Tao's grasp and curled in on himself, back facing away from him.

 "Okay." Zitao said quietly, looking at what used to be such a frail boy. "Okay," he repeated, "I'll leave, but that doesn't mean I wont come back some other night."

 Getting back up to his room proved more difficult than going down. The moon had once again disapeared behind the ashy sky, so Tao couldn't do anything but feel for the stones and hope to higher powers that he wouldn't miss one and fall. He was exhausted and sleep-deprived but after what seemed like a timeless hour he was finally fast asleep in a pile of blankets on the floor. The curtains billowed in the wind and when Tao would wake up he would berate himself for leaving the window open. He was tired though, so his own self cursing could wait for the morning sun to rise.

 His dreams were reminiscent of his days as a Worker. He couldn't say he missed living his life through in the Commons but he didn't exactly love being in the Halo either. From the outside, the Halo seemed so wrong; it was a trap that only served the purpose of culling the Dancers ual desires. From the inside however, it was nearly paradise. All of your worries, your faults, they just simply vanished as if they had not even existed in the first place. It didn't make sense how a state of panic could change to calm or vice versa in the time frame of just a second. It was strange, how he hadn't hardly thought of what it had been like in the Commons as a Worker as soon as he walked into the Halo. It was strange how he found himself much more confident in the confines of this place. It was strange how the only things he cared about were those that weren't important.

 But as soon as he was out however...

 The minute he had stepped foot on the ground it all his him like a freight train. Everything he had been through in barely just a week had attacked him. It wasn't much, but guilt had clawed at him as he realized he had hardly thought about Luhan until earlier today. He hadn't thought about the Commons or any of the Workers, anything aside from what was in the Halo really. And in reality the only thing that had spurred thoughts of them had been being alone all day. The trio, as Tao referred to Mimi, Taera, and Rin, had left him to be alone all day. He had been left to his thoughts, and as soon as his new acquaintances left his thoughts all that was left was his past of the Commons.

 Of course he couldn't think like that, he was dreaming. But that didn't mean he would think that way once he woke either.

 And he didn't.

 He didn't think about anything else besides the fact that Mimi was bouncing up and down on his lap, yelling at him impatiently to wake up before she let Taera loose on him.

 "Taera wouldn't hurt a fl-"

 "Rise and shine you jack-assed panda!" Zitao groaned as another body landed on him. He should really lock his door before he went to bed. He grunted as his head was forced to the side and whispered into his ear. "Looky here dark eyes, I could snap you in half if I really wanted to. So you're wrong, I can hurt a fly, I would gladly hurt a fly. Don't doubt me." She glared at him before rolling of his chest and tackling Rin who had quietly made her way to Tao's side while the other two had brought him awake.

 "What are you doing on the floor?" Mimi hovered above him again, sunlight framing the brown curls that hung in the air above him. She titled her head questioningly before shrugging, a smile curling her lips as she plopped down beside him.

 "Yah! What-"

 "Sh... I'm sleeping." She murmured as she lifted the comforter off of him before snuggling into his chest and tucking the blankets around the both of them. He sighed but Mimi only dug her way closer to him, nudging her head into the crook of his neck and tucking her cold feet between his legs in an attempt to keep them warm. For a second he wondered why he didn't push her away or complain but it wasn't long before he fell back asleep as well.

 Zitao was the first to wake up out of the four. Taera and Rin had fallen asleep at some point and now silence laced the room. Sunlight barely making its way through the now shut and curtained window. He looked at Mimi, her face just inches from his and wondered how she got here, how long she'd been here, if she actually liked it here. Of course if she was raised here, there was no doubting that she loved it here, this place would be her home.

 He guessed that all of them had been. Where else would three young teenagers come from, only Angels were picked out of different groups. Everyone else was simply born into their job.

 So he stared. And stared. And staring turned into observing. And observing turned into more thinking.

 Had Mimi, and the other two for the matter, even thought of a place outside the Halo? Of course they know that the Halo isn't the only place in the world, but did they know what was waiting outside the gates? Did they even know what true freedom was? Did they even want to know? He supposes not. It was rare that you met someone under the age of fifteen that even slightly wondered if there was something else besides the encampment. Stories about a place weren't told as often as others. Many of the people here thought that this was the only place that existed, that this was the only life they were allowed to live.

 But Tao was different. He wasn't fifteen like the girl in front of him, and his ears had heard more than hers had. He had heard the tales, the stories and fantasies, about that other place. Similar to the one that Wu Yifan had been talking about the night Tao was switched. A place that was beautiful, with flowers and bright green grass beneath your feet and shining stars at night, the moon clear and full. And during the day the sky wouldn't be so ashen, it was clear, puffy white clouds dancing across the very blue sky. Perhaps there would be a river, the sounds of running water like music and the fish racing each other happily. Maybe you would meet other people, innocent kind people who didn't even know that anything else but the beauty of that place, people who hadn't even heard the tall tales of this encampment that Tao was stuck in.

 Zitao couldn't help but think of how incredibly fitting it would be for Mimi to be one of those innocent free people.

 Her eyes began to open as if his thought had woken her up. She smiled at me sleepily before yawning cutely. "Good morning," she whispered.

 Zitao chuckled. "Morning? The sun's been up for hours, more like afternoon."

 "Yeah whatever," she muttered, "you haven't gotten out of 'bed' yet so I'm just going to call this morning." She smiled brightly before sticking out her tongue at him when he said something under his breath. "What was that?" she laughed.

 "Hm? Oh, nothing?"

 "'Nothing'? You sure it was nothing?" Tao nodded.

 "Well- Eww, gross, what the hell Mimi?!" She laughed and escaped the covers quickly to run across the room, leaving a wet patch on Tao's cheek where she had him. "Really, what was that for?" He noticed a glint in her eyes as she scampered out the door and into the hall and weighed his options for a moment before chasing after her.

 "Mimi! I'm getting you back for that!" he shouted and the hallways erupted in laughter. For along while all that could be heard in the Halo was the two taunting each other as they "innocently" chased one another through every corridor and in and out of too many rooms to count. For once, Zitao had a genuine smile tugging at the corner of his lips, and even his lack of oxygen at the moment didn't stop his unfaltering smile.

 Tao didn't know what it was, but it was amazing to be able to be childish like this. He had never had the chance to play silly games like this when he was younger. It had always been work, and then in your free time you can continue to work. The thing was though, now he didn't have to work, he could live, he could laugh and talk and play as much as he liked and nobody was planning on stopping him from doing that.

 By now it was Mimi who was chasing him, and Tao was surprised he still had it in him to even walk. But no, he laughed until it hurt and all he could hear was that happiness ringing in his ears and the playfulness of Mimi's words as she raced after him. This lasted for almost an hour, the two of them playing a stupid game of tag throughout the entire Halo and Tao had to admit it was the most fun he had had in years, in ever actually. Even when he ran into some boy that walked out of his room at the wrong time. They had run into each other, but Tao couldn't even apologize, all he could do was smile and take of running again.

 Tao hadn't wanted to stop fooling around but when Taera appeared in front of him suddenly he had cringed at the glare she burned into him. "Stop. Now. It is way to earlier for it to be this damn loud." Her hair was a tangled mess and she still had creases on her foread and arms from the pillow she had fallen asleep with. Take that and the fury that enveloped her in red and you could definitely understand why Tao immediate stopped playing fool. "Thank you." Her eyes flickered behind him and something seemed to let them on fire again. "Mimi! I see you, you better get back here you little witch!" Tao stumbled out of her way as she fled past him and down the hall to who Tao could only assume was Mimi.

 You could say that was the only eventful thing that had happened all day, but it would be a lie.

 That boy, the one he ran into in the hallway.

It was night again a few days later. Tao had plans to go see his "brother". Could he even call him that anymore?

 Maybe I shouldn't go. Maybe he's right and this really isn't worth it.

 Climbing out of his window and hour later however doubt escaped his mind. All he wanted to do was see Luhan again. If not because they were brothers then because it just felt right to be there.

 Walking into the Commons he froze. Voices found their way to Tao's ears and it was all he could to not panic. Guards? Creeping through the darkness he found his way, sure to be even more silent until he got closer and recognized one of the voices as Luhan's.

 "-strange though. I'd never seen him so worked up. He-"

 "He cares about you, Luhan. You don't realize it though because you have everyone here for you. Zitao probably didn't have all of that." Yifan. Tao couldn't help the grimace that found its way to his face.

 "I mean I guess so, but-"

 "Lu, just stop thinking about it. He cares about you, it's simple. And from everything you've told me it doesn't surprise me that he would come to check up on you."  Tao could faintly see the outlines of two bodies sitting up in the midnight. One much taller than the other but both thin and frail looking. "And I don't know what all goes on in that mind of yours, but all mine wants is sleep. I'm exhausted Lu, and I'm sure you are to, so can we just go to bed now?"

 "I'm worried Kris. I can't sleep like this... Do you.. Can you tell me a story?" Luhan's voice shook with the question, and Tao wondered what exactly was he feeling right now? Hearing Luhan sound so weak tugged at Tao's heartstrings and all he wanted to do was comfort the other, but it was apparent that he and Wu Yifan were settling things just fine.

 "Of course, Luhan. How about..." But Tao had already left, the words fading silently into the night. Next time, Tao thought, next time I'll actually see him. He didn't know what had made him turn around and head back to the Halo. He was nervous of course, but that wasn't it. There was just something about that bug, something about him that Zitao didn't want to witness just yet.

 He knew what it was like to climb back up to the second floor this time. Being able to easily remember things, it didn't take him long to find the same stones he had reached for last night. He made it up in record time and sat in the window sill for a moment. His eyes closed and his mouth open as he caught his breath. He let a brief smile flicker across his lips as he realized that Luhan was alright and that Tao himself hadn't been found out this time either.

 "So," Or so he thought. His eyes sprung open and he jumped to his feet. "I see we've got someone who likes to sneak out."

a/n: HELLOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! \(^O^)/

​We have had so many snow days that I shouldve had it done a lot sooner than this, but nope, sorry, I'm lazy.

Okay.

So I wanted to say again: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for subscribing and reading my craptastic story, it still has a long ways to go :P I would like to thank every single one of you, but I haven't gotten around to it yet because Im lazy and yeah I'll thank you guys as a whole in 3... 2... 1... !!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMFG THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH I LOVE YOU ALL EVEN THOUGH I DONT KNOW ANY OF YOU

-throws love and chocolate-

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