Mark danced twice with Liling that evening. She’d just been too cute to deny a second dance to, reminding him of Joey so much in the blunt but not cruel way they both spoke. And then he danced with Henry and Amber respectively, too afraid to make a break for the door and get caught by one of the party guests laying in wait.

To avoid being stuck in the arms of someone who was insincere and not a friend or ally, Mark even allowed himself to dance with Siwon who’d brought his own little sister as a guest.

“Can I call upon you?” Siwon asked, surprising Mark as they danced a single waltz. Kyuhyun was the only one who’d ever officially exercised decorum for the talks they had. And Siwon wasn’t exactly going to Hawthorne anymore.

Confused, Mark asked, “Tonight?”

Siwon, who didn’t look at all devilishly playful like he could be some times, instead delivered firmly, “That would be incredibly improper. And should anyone see me slipping away with you, with Zhou Mi here, there would be consequences.”

Something was wrong. Mark could sense it. “Then when? What’s going on?”

“We need to talk,” Siwon stated, and while he a was proficient dancer, he certainly wasn’t graceful or light on his feet. Mostly he seemed preoccupied.

“Okay …” Mark said a bit uncomfortably.

“I need to speak with Kyuhyun as well,” Siwon informed him. “I’ll be visiting Hawthorne as soon as he’ll see me. I’d like to speak with the both of you then.”

Once more, Mark asked, this time less kindly, “What’s going on? Is there a problem?”

Tight lipped, Siwon continued to lead the dace, but he didn’t offer an answer to Mark. Instead his worrying silence had Mark turning to look for Kyuhyun who’d been dancing with various partners the whole time, never showing favoritism to any one vampire. When Mark did spot him, Kyuhyun gave him a worried and unsure look.

If Kyuhyun didn’t know what was going on, and Siwon seemed the type to tell him everything, Mark was even more concerned than before.

“There’s been a … I need to …”

“Siwon,” Mark said firmly. “What is it about?”

Siwon shook his head. “It’s not safe to talk about in public.”

Mark leaned closer. “Not safe? Is someone in danger? Are you in danger? Tell me something, please.”

Mark’s feet got tangled up a bit and Siwon pulled him through it before saying, “Will you trust me on this? Trust that I have something of utmost importance to tell you, and Kyuhyun as well, but it must be in absolute privacy. If you allow me to call on you, I will tell you everything. And this is something you will need to know. Something that will change everything.”

“Alright,” Mark agreed. “But Siwon …” Mark blew out a frustrated breath.

A second later Siwon was pulling away, in the middle of the dance, leaving Mark stranded at the center of dancing couples. And very awkwardly.

He wasn’t sure what to do until Zhou Mi was sliding in place, taking Mark up into his arms like Mark belonged there, and getting them back into the rhythm of the music.

“May I ask what that was about?” Zhou Mi asked. “He didn’t look pleased.”

“I don’t think I did anything,” Mark said, biting his lip. “He just wanted to know if he could come talk to me when I get back to Hawthorne. He was very insistent. And he left the second I said it was okay. I don’t know what’s going on, but it can’t be good. He said he couldn’t talk about whatever it is, here. He said it wasn’t safe.” Mark asked uncertainly, “What could be that important, that he felt like it wasn’t safe to say it here?”

The music slowed and Mark felt himself being pulled closer to Zhou Mi’s body. It would have been an improper sight with anyone else, but it wasn’t lost to Mark that Zhou Mi was his match. He was expected to marry Zhou Mi one day and have a family with him. That was all anyone else would see.

Maybe that was a good thing. Mark honestly didn’t know what he was going to do about Zhou Mi anymore. Zhou Mi had hurt him deeply, and Mark couldn’t forget that so easily. But his reasons, namely Liling, had thrown Mark’s perception of the matter at hand, completely off. Mark couldn’t let her get hurt if he could help it, and until he had a solution, he couldn’t publicly dissolve their match.

For the moment, to protect Zhou Mi’s little sister, it was best that people like Mark’s uncle and Zhou Mi’s family perceived their relationship as progressing. Lu Han was surely out there watching. And with any luck he’d report back to the head of his family to buy Zhou Mi and Mark some additional time.

“I’m sure you’ll handle it,” Zhou Mi said comfortably, and Mark found himself resting his head against Zhou Mi’s chest as they swayed. “You always manage.”

“But I’m really worried this time. More than ever. He looked … scared. He looked scared about something, Zhou Mi, and I have never seen him scared before.”

“You told him he could call on you?”

“Of course,” Mark replied.

He felt Zhou Mi nod. “Then I’ll inform your security force before you leave for Hawthorne. Hoya and Dongwoo will both be waiting for you when you step off the plane. Please follow their advice as much as you can. Don’t let their ages fool you. They know what they’re doing. They’ll keep you safe.”

“Oh,” Mark breathed out. “You won’t …”

“Be there,” Zhou Mi finished for him. “No, I will not. But I remind you, I did not choose the beginning of your security detail lightly. You can trust them.”

“Wait. I have to tell you something,” Mark started awkwardly. “I can’t … we have to keep our match. At least for now.”

Guardedly, Zhou Mi pressed, “What brought on this change of mind?”

“Your sister,” Mark said without preamble. “I can’t do anything that might get her hurt.”

“I didn’t tell you about her in order to force your hand on this,” Zhou Mi said tensely.

“I know,” Mark replied, and he believed that. “But the truth is, I don’t want to hurt her. She’s precious to you, and innocent in this whole mess, and … I feel …”

Calmly, Zhou Mi cautioned, “You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to. You don’t have to confirm or deny anything. Do not feel as if you have to.”

Mark all but blurted out, “I have really strong feelings for Jackson, okay? They’re the real kind of feelings, too. But maybe I feel something for you, too. I don’t know what it is, but it wasn’t there before. Liling is precious to me, too, and I am not letting her get hurt. So for now, until I figure something out for her, or until I figure out my feelings for you, we keep the match. We keep things as they are.”

Zhou Mi didn’t answer, he merely gave Mark a blank look.

It made Mark feel unsure. “I’m not trying to lead you on! Or give you false hope or anything like that. I just want to be sure, before I do anything. I have to be sure. Do you understand?”

Slowly, a smile spread onto Zhou Mi’s face. “I’ll update the plane’s manifest, then, to include myself. And I’ll inform my family that I won’t be able to accompany Liling back to them.”

“Oh. Good.” Mark felt himself sweating. He was so ready for the night to be over.

“And Mark?”

“Hm?”

Zhou Mi gave Mark and even kinder smile. “You’re not leading me on.”

Mark finally grinned back at him, and the rest of the dance went smoothly.

The night was thankfully, starting to wind down almost an hour later, with Mark having danced almost exclusively with Zhou Mi. It was easier that way, and it benefited the both of them.

“Ready to go?” Zhou Mi asked as Mark’s feet started to drag, feeling heavy and burning with overuse. He’d squeezed his feet into shinny, proper dress shoes many, many hours earlier, and it felt like he was paying for it. “No one will try to stop you if I walk with you.”

Mark inquired, “Won’t it look like I’m going off with you for a booty call?”

“Possibly,” Zhou Mi laughed. “But we are matched, so I advise you to let them think what they want. Unless you’d like to tell them otherwise?” Zhou Mi lifted an eyebrow suggestively.

Mark smacked his arm playfully.

“No need to worry yourselves,” a voice cut in, Kyuhyun appearing at Mark’s elbow. “Mark and I have things to discuss away from anyone who might be listening. I’ll see him safely to his room, Zhou Mi. Rest your worries”

Zhou Mi nodded. “I’ll hold you to that,” Zhou Mi then gave Mark a fond look. “I promised my sister the last dance tonight. I think I’ll take care of that. Afterwards I’ll retire to my room. If you have need of me, call without hesitation.”

Slipping out of the room was easier than Mark expected, even with sunrise so close. The guests had begun to load up on the last of the blood and alcohol, and with most of them either talking to each other or dancing, there was no one left to pay him any mind. Mark wondered how many of them would make it back to the nearby city in time, and how many of them would be stuck sleeping in the spare rooms. Or camping out under tables and on chairs more than a little drunk. Mark hoped for the later.

“I apologize for missing the chance to dance with you,” Kyuhyun said, sounding stressed. “My dance card was full before I realized it, and bowing out was not an option.”

Mark pointed out, “Dance cards are more for show. You don’t have to stick to them.”

Kyuhyun corrected, “You don’t. Mark, you’re matched. You’re spoken for. But the council is quite disrespectful in accepting my want for space since Grace’s death. They’re pressuring me to take an interest in one of the many available sons or daughters that I might find at least a bit compatible. I hope tonight satisfied them, as my patience is at an all time low.”

“I thought you could pick your own match now that you’re the head of your family?” Mark asked.

He and Kyuhyun headed down the long hallway that would take them back to the main portion of the house.

At they neared it, the party getting more faint in the distance, Kyuhyun said, “I will have the ultimate say in who I choose, but I must choose. That is not something I can fight nor win. Even if I proceed to have a very lengthy engagement, there must be one, and at least the promise of an eventual heir through natural means or surrogacy.”

Mark grumbled out, “That .”

Kyuhyun inclined his head. “But in contrast, you and Zhou Mi looked exceptionally close out there,” Kyuhyun said as they moved through the house at a leisurely pace. “I’ve been to quite a few introductions, and matched pairs rarely look so happy to be dancing together. Is there a marriage in the near future, despite what you’ve told me?”

“No,” Mark said a bit gruffly. “I’m not getting married any time soon. You’re more likely that I am, in the next few years.” No matter what happened, with Jackson or Zhou Mi, he wouldn’t marry for a long time. It was respectable for matched pairs to have engagements at least a decade long, if not more. Mark fully intended to take advantage of that.

“I would reserve that comment for a later date, Mark. Your sister was precious to me. Replacing her in my heart is unthinkable at the moment, but some things are unavoidable. And the council will not be denied. That is something you’re soon to learn. When a majority of them decide something, the pressure is overwhelming. Even when we’re supposed to be their equal.”

“But,” Mark pointed out, sidestepping around Kyuhyun, “I’ve been told a hundred times now that matches aren’t about love. They’re about compatibility, preserving bloodlines, and power moves. So you could just pick someone at random. You don’t have to love them, right? You just have to stand next to them and work with them, essentially. That’s what people have been asking me to do with Zhou Mi.”

Kyuhyun gave him an impressed nod. “True. But I’m rather fond of the idea of loving the person I give myself to wholly. I would like to spend the rest of my nights, and wake up next to, the person that consumes all my thoughts, wants and desires.”

Maybe he and Kyuhyun were kindred spirits in that way. “Yeah. I feel the same way.”

Kyuhyun only continued to walk.

“Anyway” Mark said with a sigh, “I don’t know about Zhou Mi. Sometimes we get along, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes he makes me so happy, but I just got done being angry with him. We’re hot and cold a lot.”

“So,” Kyuhyun drawled, “it’s a lot like already being married.”

Mark gave him a dark look.

Before long Mark said, “Do you know what’s going on with Siwon? He came to me really upset and wanted to talk, but didn’t think it was safe to.”

“No,” Kyuhyun said, sounding troubled. “But he’s been distant lately. We usually speak frequently, but there’s been limited communication as of late. I thought it might have something to do with my refusing him for the last and final time. But I think it may be something more--something much worse.”

“He’s coming to see me,” Mark replied. “And he said you too, actually. As soon as we’re back at Hawthorne to finish the semester. I guess we’ll find out then.”

Kyuhyun didn’t look pleased or patient, and Mark felt the same way.

They were around halfway to Mark’s room when Kyuhyun asked, “You wanted to speak to me? I’m certainly not taking this stroll with you for fun. I could be back at the ballroom, fending off desperate daughters and overconfident sons.”

As they walked, Mark scratched a hand through his hair and admitted, “I think I might owe you an apology. For reacting so poorly when you brought your suspicions fully to light. I’m not saying you’re right! You still have no evidence. But I’ve since come to realize that maybe I idolized my uncle too much. I grew up loving him like a third parent, and in my eyes, for the longest time, he couldn’t do any wrong. I let that get in the way of my instincts.”

Kyuhyun arched an eyebrow. “Your instincts are telling you something?”

“They are,” Mark admitted slowly. “That something here isn’t right. I don’t know what, but I know the feeling of something being wrong. My uncle has been doing some … questionable things. He’s been acting suspicious and I’m not as confident as I was before.”

Carefully, Kyuhyun inquired, “What do you plan to do with these new instincts of yours?”

“Play the waiting game?” Mark shrugged. “If what you’re claiming is true, he’ll need to make sure that I’ going to vote the way he wants me to before the actual vote happens. He won’t risk not being sure. If he tries to even touch the subject, I guess I’ll know you were right even a little. If he tries to influence me on the subject, it’ll be obvious, considering he must know the way I’m leaning and it isn‘t towards him. He must know I don’t want to do anything that would lead us to war, no matter how angry I am that the humans who hurt my family will probably get away with it, then.”

“Will you confront him then? If he does?”

Mark didn’t know for sure. How did one go about accusing one of their few living family members that they were responsible for the deaths of other family members?

“I don’t think he’d admit to it if I did. Kyuhyun, honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I just know my uncle isn’t as honest and true as I thought he was. And I know the vote is a little less than a week away. One way or another, something is going to come to light.”

“Watch yourself,” Kyuhyun said, Mark stopping them at the hallway that led to his room. “If I’m wrong, at the very least, your uncle will still try to manipulate you. And at the worst …”

Mark leaned back against the wall. “At the worst, he’ll try to kill me like he did my parents and siblings.”

“He won’t try,” Kyuhyun said, gripping his arm tightly. “He will succeed. And I think he’ll take his chances with Henry being appointed temporary heir after you. It might be a fight for him to secure that, but if he’s desperate enough, he’ll try it. You are only good to him when you’re doing what he wants and playing the part. Keep that in mind.”

A hand trailing along the wall as he walked to support himself, Mark stumbled his way back to his room the rest of the way alone, his mind and heart heavy.

There were several text messages waiting for him on his phone, but Mark didn’t have the energy to respond to any of them, even Jackson’s. Instead he took a long, hot shower, changed into his night clothes and climbed in bed. With the blankets pulled high, he found sleep faster than expected.

He slept through what was left of the night, almost the entirety of the day, and when he did roll out of bed, feeling a little better and refreshed, Amber and Henry were gone.

Mark ended up seated at the breakfast nook in his pajamas, stirring a bowl of oatmeal, while his uncle questioned him about where they’d gone. Mark made a point to not look to Zhou Mi across the room as he sprinkled some fruit cubes and brown sugar into the oatmeal.

“Henry didn’t say anything to me about going anywhere,” Mark said with his straightest face. “Did he go back to school early? Zhou Mi, do you know?”

With an expertly hidden smile, Zhou Mi said, “I was unaware that he was gone until just now.”

“Imagine that,” Mark said, dumping another spoonful of brown sugar in his oatmeal. He had to admit, messing with his uncle, at least a little, was entertaining. Especially if it meant that Henry and Amber could make a clear getaway and elope. Mark had kind of always imagined that he’d stand up at Henry’s side during his wedding as his best man, but his cousin’s happiness was worth more than his expectations.

Mark could feel his uncle’s eyes burning into him before the man gave a huff and exited the room.

“Where do you think he’s going?” Mark dared to ask when the coast looked like it was all clear.

Zhou Mi posed, “To issue orders for a statewide roadblock to be set up likely.”

Mark shook his head in disbelief. “I hope Henry and Amber are far away.”

“I’m sure they are,” Zhou Mi assured.

They had their breakfast meal in relatively comfortable silence and afterwards Mark slipped out of the house to call Jackson and let him know he planned to leave soon.

Jackson gave a laugh over the phone line and teased, “From the way you described this introduction I half expected your cousin to come carrying you back as a puddle of goo. But it looks like you survived, and no worse for wear.”

Mark replied, “Okay, I’ll fess, it wasn’t as bad as I expect it to be. Surviving wasn’t really that difficult.”

“So you’ll be back today?” Jackson questioned. “Because I’m missing my super hot boyfriend.”

A smile found its way onto Mark’s face as he questioned, “Are you missing me or my study guide for our upcoming semester assessment tests?” When there was a lengthy silence on the line, Mark laughed out, “You know, Jr. takes good notes, too. And he’s probably so distracted by making out with JB now that you could slip them out of his bag without much notice.”

“You’re amazing, you know?” Jackson said, warmth in his voice. “Totally kickass, awesome and hot. The best combination ever. So get your back here ASAP, because I need to show you exactly how much I appreciate having you for a boyfriend.”

Mark pulled the phone from his ear for a second to check the clock, then reported back, “I think Zhou Mi and I are going to leave in about an hour. The flight is long, but I’ll be back today.”

“I’ll rub your back,” Jackson offered, the suggestive tone in his voice all too obvious.

“More like you’ll use a massage as an excuse to me.”

Jackson asked, “Have you had any complaints about said groping yet?”

Through the nearby window Mark could see his uncle pass by and he hurried to tell Jackson, “I have to go now. I still need to pack the last of my things. I’ll see you later tonight, okay? I really missed you.” He was eager to see Jackson and reaffirm all the feelings he knew he felt for him. And make out. Mark didn’t want to inflate his ego anymore than necessary, but Jackson was an exceptionally good kisser.

With absolute clarity, Jackson responded, “I missed you, too. More than I expected to. More than I really want to say. Hint: it’s a lot.”

Mark felt his heart pick up a little at the confession. “See you soon.”

With the call over, Mark hurried after his uncle, barely catching up to him as the man reached the bottom of the grand staircase in the foyer.

“Mark,” his uncle sighed out, looking like he needed a good rest, “if Henry contracts you at any point, or if you can think of where he might have gone, please tell me immediately.”

Mark gave an easy nod, but had absolutely no intention of following through. In this case he sided with Henry without hesitation. He and Zhou Mi would do their best to protect Henry and Amber for as long as possible, even if it meant hiding their location from Henry’s own father.

“Uncle Marcus,” Mark said, hanging a little on the banister. “I wanted to ask you to call a car for me. Actually, for Zhou Mi and I. To the airport. We should leave soon. I want to have time to settle in at Hawthorne before classes start up again.”

His uncle frowned deeply, his forehead crinkling up. “A car?”

This time Mark had his own frown. “To take us back to school.”

“Ah.” His uncle waved a hand. “I’ll call a car for Zhou Mi, but it’ll be best if you remain here.”

Mark’s fingers tightened around the banister a bit in fear. “Why would I stay here? I’m right in the middle of studying for my progress exams. They start next week. I can’t just stay here.”

“Mark.” His uncle put a heavy, almost suffocating hand on Mark’s shoulder. “The vote is less than a week away. This will be the biggest decision of your life. And considering your life has been constantly placed in danger when you’re from my side, I really do think it’s best that you stay here and then travel with me when the time is upon us.”

Out of the corner of his eye Mark could see Zhou Mi’s lanky form. He was silent, standing like a shadow and Mark was certain his uncle hadn’t noticed that they had an interloper.

“You’re going?”

“Of course I am,” his uncle said, taking a step, then another up the stairs. “You may have had your introduction, Mark, but you’ll need me a bit more to navigate the council. I will continue to help you.”

Something terrible was creeping up from the back of Mark’s mind, making him fight the most uncomfortable feeling he’d ever experienced.

“Uncle,” Mark tried again. “Kyuhyun is traveling from the school to wherever the council is having its vote. Why can’t I just go with him?”

“San Francisco,” his uncle said without pause. “The city has been deemed a safe place for the council at the moment. The vote will take place there.”

Feeling absolutely brazen, Mark said, “I don’t want to stay here. I want to go back to school. To my friends.”

His uncle’s eyes narrowed. “To the halfblood.”

Fear ripped its way through Mark’s body in an instance. His uncle knew about Jackson. His uncle knew that Jackson was important to him, and knowledge, at least with his uncle, was power.

“He’s my friend,” Mark tried.

“I daresay he’s more than that,” his uncle said, voice raising. “And you’ll do to watch yourself now, Mark. Dalliances are to be expected in your youth, perhaps even with your inferiors, but you’ve been introduced now. You have a match. Do not shame this family or his by exhibiting any public displays of affection with another. I forbid it.”

“You can’t,” Mark choked out, still feeling like a little boy when in the company of his uncle, “tell me who I can and can’t---”

“I certainly can,” the older man cut right in. “You are my responsibly, Mark. You are a reflection of myself.”

That was it, wasn’t it? His uncle didn’t want him doing anything that could have other purebloods talking about him at the next social gathering. His uncle was trying to save face, if nothing else.

“Zhou Mi and I are just friends,” Mark said, losing his temper and all decorum, and forgetting momentarily about the charade he’d agreed to keep going.

His uncle gave a low chuckle. “You can call him what you will, friend or not. But your parents intended for him to be your match. They contemplated the match for longer than you can imagine, nearly since your birth, and I will see it brought to fruition. Do not test me on this, Mark.”

His uncle was moving away then, climbing the stairs at a record pace.

Mark had to do something.

He had to plant his flag in the sand, and make a stand. He had to make it clear that he was an adult now, and nothing was going to change that.

“Uncle!”

Mark looked away for just a second, back to Zhou Mi who gave him a strong nod.

“I believe we’re doing speaking, Mark.”

“No,” Mark declared, standing as tall as he could. “We’re not. Because you need to accept that I’m not little anymore. I’m not young and naïve. I’ve grown up. I’m an adult now. And I’m making my own choices. The choice, therefore, that I’ve made is to go back to school until the vote is held. I’ll be safe enough with Zhou Mi. He hasn’t let anything happen to me yet, while I’m with him, and I don’t think he’s about to start now. I’ll be there for the vote. I’ll do my duty. But I need you to recognize that I’m choosing to leave and go back to school now, whether you like it or not.”

His uncle turned furious in the blink of an eye, and Mark almost lost all his resolve at once, listening to his uncle ground out, “I will not have you speak to me like this in my own house. I have done everything for you. I have--”

“I suggest,” Zhou Mi said, coming to stand near Mark, “that you listen to the head of your family, and do as he asks. Call a car for him.”

“I have never--”

“Or the council will hear about this,” Zhou Mi added. “I believe the council is very strict about the power structure of the thirteen families. If they sense you’re trying to disrupt it, for any reason other than a legitimate one, they will take action. Mark hasn’t made a too taxing request. In fact, it’s a rather simple one. Call the car for him.”

Zhou Mi was like a mountain. The kind of mountain that Mark wanted to lug around everywhere with him just to feel a little stronger next to.

Mark’s uncle swung his gaze away from Zhou Mi and back to Mark, imploring, “Stay here with me, Mark. There are still things you need to know in order to make an informed vote. There are quite a few ledgers and record books that you may be interested in located in the library, and you still need to brush up on your council law. Staying would be in your best benefit.”

“I don’t need to stay and learn anything else,” Mark said, risking a quick glance to Zhou Mi. “I know how I’m going to vote, uncle. I’ve known for a while now. Reading about the first war between humans and vampires, or the initial treaty draft that ultimately ended in failure, is unnecessary. I’ve done my homework. I’m ready to vote.”

“You can’t just--”

Mark felt Zhou Mi’s large hand wrap around his shoulder and steer him away, the bigger man saying, “I’ll call the car for us. Get the ret of your things quickly.”

Mark packed like a madman, stuffing all his clothes, electronics, and small items into his travel bag as fast as he could, Zhou Mi lurking near his door, obviously keeping an eye out for Mark’s uncle.

Less than half an hour later there was a black sedan in front of the house and Mark was making his way towards it, looking forward to getting back to Hawthorne Academy and Jackson and his normal routine.

“Mark,” his uncle called out, stopping him from crossing the threshold to the outside. Zhou Mi was already at the car, speaking with the driver, and thoroughly distracted.

“I wish you would stay,” his uncle said, sounding more subdued than ever. “Stay and keep me company, if nothing else.”

“I can’t,” Mark replied, trying to sound as gentle as possible. “I have school and my friends and my whole life.”

“The vote--”

“I told you,” Mark repeated, “I’ve already decided how I’ll vote. I don’t need to stay here and think about it.”

His uncle had such a wary look on his face. “Have you considered the--”

It was a risky move, one that Mark wasn’t sure he ought to play right away, but he couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t help saying, “I’m not going to do anything with this upcoming vote that might lead us down the road to war. That’s my decision, uncle. I can’t judge the whole of the human race by the acts of a few, misguided and bigoted members. You’re always going on about how we vampires are superior to humans in every way, so I’m only taking that to heart with this vote. I’ll rise above those violent acts and I’ll be merciful. I’ll forgive and I won’t wage war.”

As Mark ducked away from his uncle, a stunned look on the man’s face, he couldn’t help feeling every bit the adult that vampire society now said he was.

“Ready?” Zhou Mi asked, holding a hand out to him. He guided Mark into the back of the car easily and then slid in behind him. “What did you linger for?”

The car rumbled to life and Mark looked out the window to watch his uncle’s house grow smaller in the distance.

“My uncle just wanted to try one last time to get me to say. So I told him why I wouldn’t.”

Zhou Mi gave him a wary look. “You played your hand.”

Quietly, aware of the driver in the front seat, Mark confided, “The vote is in six days. And I’m going back to Hawthorne where my uncle’s reach is limited. You’re going to be there to watch my back if he tries anything, I have the start of my security detail waiting for me there, and I know Kyuhyun’s looking out for me, too. I just wanted him off my back about the vote, Zhou Mi. I wanted to be able to breathe.”

“And you think you accomplished that?”

They rode for several more minutes in silence before Mark leaned over and whispered into Zhou Mi’s ear, “I told him under no circumstances would I vote for anything that would lead us towards war.”

Hidden from view from the driver, if the driver cared enough to look, Zhou Mi squeezed Mark’s hand and whispered back, “I’ve been hoping to hear you say that. Officially.”

Mark pulled away from Zhou Mi to watch the scenery fly by them, greens and browns blurring together. “He didn’t look relieved.”

“Hm?”

Mark pressed his forehead against the glass window. “He looked disappointed in me. And then something worse.”

“Worse?”

“I--”

Mark was just beginning to try and explain the feeling he’d gotten when his uncle had given him their parting words when suddenly Zhou Mi interrupted him. The older man reached forward suddenly, telling the driver sharply, “We’re being followed.”

Mark turned in his seat immediately. “Who’d be following us out here? It’s a private road.” He got one good look at the black, nearly identical car behind them, before suddenly he was thrown forward as the car in pursuit slammed into them.

“Mark!” Zhou Mi shouted, reaching to help him up from where he’d fallen down by the floorboards. “Get us out of here!” he shouted at the driver.

“What’s going on?” Mark demanded, reaching up for Zhou Mi, panic threatening to overtake him. “Why did they hit us!”

The car lurched again and Mark fell once more, slamming down into the floorboards, wedged down so tightly he could barely think about getting up. He’d never felt so stupid for not putting on his seatbelt, but he’d been distracted at the time. It was a huge oversight to him now.

“Mark!” Zhou Mi shouted.

Mark felt the car slide to the side, the sound of wheels against asphalt screaming into his ears. His stomach lurched up into his chest as the car tipped, and all of the sudden he was flying up through the air, everything tilting to the side.

Weightless. He was weightless.

He heard himself screaming, his voice carrying much louder than Zhou Mi’s, then he was slamming into the ceiling of the car, pain flushing through his body. Gravity pinned him heavily, terror numbed most everything else, and a half second later he was gone, lost to a dark void that robbed him of all conscious thought.