The Vampire Ball, a.k.a., the grand once-every-ten-years ball that vampires from all over the world would travel far and wide to attend. Yoongi defined it as the "Getting together to brag about their coven's accomplishments ball." Usually filled with some rubbish about unity, old-world traditions, or other various mundane topics that Yoongi discovered were prone to make him doze off. "Nothing more than a pompous, gossip laden schmooze fest where the elderly discussed coven business while family members stayed preoccupied." Yoongi hated them because his father made it a point to call him out in front of the other coven heads to either praise or make an example of him, mostly the latter. Yoongi was never a 'good kid', instead, he often went out of his way to cause problems for his father.

     Taehyung was a bundle of excitement, he kept coming into Jungkook's room every fifteen minutes to mutter some new fact he had learned about the ball, and Jungkook was about to throttle him. Jungkook who was attempting to calm his nerves with some light reading... and failing.

     "Why aren't you excited?" Taehyung had popped through the door once again and somehow managed to sit on his bed within the second he came in. Jungkook peered up at him from his book, wondering if he just missed some covert teleporting.

     "It's just a dance, it's not that deep."

     Taehyung looked at him sideways, eyebrows raised so far up his forehead, Jungkook swore they made an escape. "It's more than just a dance," Taehyung groaned, shaking his head, "Every single high-ranking vampire will be there-"

     "Meredith's elitist friends too?" Jungkook smirked as he turned the page.

     Taehyung shot him a dirty look, "That's not cool dude."

     "Too soon?" 

     Taehyung reached out to try to grab the book perched in Jungkook's hands, wondering what subject had captivated the younger's mind to actually make him focus. He attempted to read the title, but Jungkook managed to evade his hand like a pro, shielding the cover by laying it in his lap, "What are you reading?"

     "A book," Jungkook closed it and set it under his pillow, "Am I supposed to be impressed by a bunch of bloodsuckers meeting up to about each other?"

     "Who told you that? Yoongi?" Taehyung gasped, then thought about it, "I mean technically he's not wrong."

     Jungkook chuckled, "I'm happy Seokjin wanted me to go, but I'm not really into parties."

     "Seokjin and Yoongi went to the last one together, did you know that?" Taehyung stood and glided over to the window.

     "Pardon?" Jungkook wasn't sure if Taehyung was kidding or not. 

     "Yoongi's father loves Seokjin like a son, I'm pretty sure he wanted the two of them to end up together."

     "Oh great," Jungkook looked over at his tux, "So he probably has this preconceived notion that I've stolen Seokjin away-"

     "How do you think I feel? I'm Yoongi's freaking date," Taehyung whined, glancing at him, then back out the window, "Seokjin is back."

     Jungkook walked over to the window, his frown turned into a smile as he watched the elder exit his car and head towards the house. 

     Taehyung smirked, Jungkook's smile was infectious, "Did you tell him about your dad?"

     Jungkook shook his head, "I can't say anything yet."

     Fifteen minutes later, Jungkook's door swung open and Seokjin sauntered in, dressed to the nines in a black tuxedo, a matching black bow that was a tad crooked, and a slightly wrinkled white shirt with blue buttons. Jungkook felt his breath hitch as he admired Seokjin standing there, he was half tempted to tell him they should skip the ball and just spend the night in.

     "Woh," Jungkook's love-drunk gaze made Seokjin smile.

     "You going to get dressed or sit here talking to Taehyung all day?" Seokjin sat on the bed and laid back against the headboard.

     "Um yeah, I'll see you downstairs," Taehyung's grin was electric as he bounced from the room, closing the door behind him.

     "You look hot," Jungkook grimaced at his word choice, "Handsome. y? Oh god..." Jungkook looked away, the smirk on Seokjin's face was one of pure elation. Jungkook had no clue why he was acting like such a spaz right now.

     "Yeah, now get your ready," Seokjin adjusted the pillow as Jungkook went over to his closet, he pulled a book out from under it and looked at the cover, "How to get your man to bear his soul."

      Jungkook looked at him wide-eyed, diving to grab the book from Seokjin's hand and quickly discarding it into the plant next to the window, smiling innocently.

     "Um, okay?" Seokjin was stunned, more so at the title of the book than Jungkook's acrobatics.

     "Nothing to worry about," Jungkook backed away, trying to contain the horrified look on his face.

      Seokjin stood up and walked over to Jungkook, "You need to know something about me?"

     "No, I'm good." Jungkook scrunched up his face embarrassed, figuring Seokjin was about to laugh at him, he quickly turned to the closet and reached for his tux. Seokjin grabbed his hand and spun him around, resting his palm on the nape of Jungkook's neck.

     "Is everything okay?" Seokjin's gaze pierced his soul, Jungkook suddenly felt guilty, "I sense turmoil."

     "Just nervous about this ball, I guess," Jungkook lied, well technically not a total lie since he was indeed worried about the ball, but mostly it was the secret he was keeping from Seokjin that ate at his heart.

     "You'll be fine," Seokjin leaned his head against the younger's, Jungkook closed his eyes. He wanted so badly to tell Seokjin everything and help him figure out how to get rid of Cato once and for all, but he couldn't risk losing him, he didn't understand any of this mind-sharing . For now, he just had to trust Namjoon's judgment, even if it was slightly askew.

     Jungkook felt Seokjin's soft lips upon his and everything melted away for a small moment.

     "Relax," Seokjin smiled, calming the younger.

     "I'm fine." Jungkook sighed, turning to his tux, "I don't know how to tie a bowtie."

     "I do, don't worry," Seokjin kissed Jungkook then went to sit back on the bed.

     Yoongi paced in front of the mirror in his room, he was running through scenarios in his mind, dreading what his dad was going to try to pull tonight. He was sure that with him bringing Taehyung something was bound to happen. He kept stopping every few seconds to glare into his reflection in the mirror to try to tie the bowtie that just wouldn't seem to cooperate.

     Taehyung walked out of the bathroom and stopped to stare at him.

     "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were nervous," Taehyung commented, smirking.

     Yoongi ceased the pacing when he saw Taehyung in his tux, "You know how to tie this thing?" He was too frustrated with it to give it another go.

     Taehyung smiled, he walked over to Yoongi and grabbed the ends of the bow tie, beginning the steps, "Over 100 years old and you don't know how to do this yet?"

     "What the hell do I need to tie a bowtie for?" Yoongi was agitated, but he knew it wasn't Taehyung's fault, "Listen, if I know my father, there will probably be trouble tonight."

     "Trouble?" Taehyung asked, stepping back to admire his handiwork.

     Yoongi turned to his mirror and nodded, "Thanks."

     "What kind of trouble?" Taehyung went and sat on the edge of the bed, kicking at the carpet with his uncomfortable dress shoe.

     "He always finds a way to make an example out of me, plus the council isn't happy with my absence."

     "Should I be worried about your safety?" Taehyung inquired, one eyebrow raised, hoping he wouldn't be fighting off the vampire covens to save his would-be future boyfriend. He almost cackled at the thought.

     "Just, whatever happens," Yoongi persisted, "Don't get yourself involved, okay?"

     Taehyung was distressed, "You want me to ignore-"

     "Stay out of it, please. I don't want you getting hurt over some stupid vampire legacy bull,"  Yoongi cut him off, insistent, "Promise me."

     Taehyung nodded begrudgingly, "Okay. I guess."

     "I have a thick skin for his harsh words concerning my 'uselessness'," Yoongi ironically did the finger quotes, "and trust me he will spew a ton of insults and criticisms."

     Taehyung frowned, hoping that Yeolgwi wouldn't be too much of an tonight.

     "You look nice in a tux," Yoongi locked eyes with Taehyung from the mirror, then turned around and smiled at him. Taehyung felt his face become warm.

     Yoongi and Taehyung were waiting in the foyer for Seokjin and Jungkook to come down so they could all leave. Taehyung was trying to grab his bowtie from Jimin who had decided to rip it from his neck when he was coming down the stairs, almost causing him to take a tumble. Jimin kept floating just far enough up out of Taehyung's reach to piss him off.

     "Why are you like this?" Taehyung yelled at his brother, taking a swipe at him and missing.

     "I don't know," Jimin whined. He didn't understand why he was being so annoying lately. He figured it was a side effect of being disembodied. He hated that he had this strange inclination towards causing chaos, like some instinct he had ingrained in him; but what fun, nonetheless. "It's my job."

     Yoongi snickered at the sight, even though earlier that day, Jimin had visited him in the shower once again, first hiding his soap and then his towel and subsequently having to run down the hallway to his room where Jimin had locked him out of for a good fifteen minutes. Yoongi glanced up as Jungkook started to descend the staircase, focusing his attention once again on Jimin and Taehyung, beyond amused.

     "Do we need Hoseok to put him in time-out again?" Seokjin called out, stopping at the top of the stairs.

     Yoongi glanced up at Seokjin and did a double-take, transfixed by each movement Seokjin made as he descended the staircase. Taehyung stopped jumping around to stare at his date, questioning why he was so captivated by his former lover. 

     "I will haunt you next if you do that," Jimin called out and dropped the bowtie, it landed in Yoongi's hair, Yoongi who didn't even notice because he was too focused on Seokjin.

     Yoongi bit his lip and glanced at Taehyung for a moment, Stop staring at Seokjin, . "That's the same tux you wore last time," Yoongi commented looking back to Seokjin, pretending that was the reason he was staring. He reached up and grabbed the bowtie off his head, Seokjin nodded, "So the blood stain came out?"

     "Yup." Seokjin looked at the of the jacket, smoothing it out. " of a stain."

     Yoongi handed Taehyung his bowtie, then started for the door.

     "Thanks." Taehyung stuffed it into his pocket.

     "Let's go," Yoongi yelled back, he didn't want to have to explain to Taehyung what the hell just happened, he knew Taehyung noticed and was none too happy about it... first and foremost, he had no clue what that little scene was about and damn sure would not know how to explain it.

      Yeolgwi's estate was lit up, it looked like an old Hollywood red carpet event, except much darker. A macabre sideshow came to mind, complete with the freakishly evil and formally dressed undead. The foursome was standing in line to get in the doors, invitation-only, as if some random stranger would dare try to crash this party. Ahead of them was a vampire that resembled the type of deformed ancient vampire you would see in a horror flick, probably over 1000 years old, extremely wealthy, and full of many stories about the good old days that no one cared to hear. He had a young woman with him that he was leading around by a leash, her arm was wrapped around him, firmly grasping his sides to hold him up. He kept taking sips of blood from her wrist and making a satisfied gurgling sound when he was done, they figured that was the only way that he didn't die on the spot. Jungkook and Taehyung exchanged glances, this was some mildly amusing, bizarre . Behind them, in the middle of the driveway, suited men in masks were performing some sort of gymnastic moves in the fountain, except the water was blood red and frozen in bursts swirling around them in an artistic display by some sort of magical spell.

      "Why are we in line?" Seokjin asked, leaning into Yoongi's ear, "Your invitation is your face-"

     "Why give my father the satisfaction," Yoongi grabbed Taehyung by the back of the neck and pulled him in close, "Don't mess with that." He advised Taehyung, who had been petting some sort of wolf/cat-looking creature that had rubbed up against his leg.

     Yeolgwi was standing on his balcony overlooking the crowd, his arms crossed, silently judging the riff-raff the other covens were breeding, "What a spectacle."

     The guards giggled.

     "Let us get this travesty underway," He moaned to his guards and was about to turn to walk away when he spotted Yoongi in the line, "If I told that kid a million times..."

     "Sir?" The guard scoured the crowd to locate Yoongi.

     "Save me from my burden," He motioned to the guards to go nab Yoongi from the queue of dreadful vermin, rolling his eyes at how he could have failed so badly at being a father.

     "He is becoming a liability." A very old female vampire stepped out from the shadows, dressed in a long flowing red gown, tapping her elongated black nails on the railing as she turned to Yeolgwi, "This is your choice for our leader?" She scoffed.

     "Simatra, if this is another attempt to your son upon me, I suggest you leave now," Yeolgwi turned to her, indignant.

     "Jihoon is the smart choice, I know you see that," Simatra sneered, her obvious contempt for Yeolgwi was matched by his equally obvious malcontent for her.

     "Jihoon is not my son. End of story."

     "Yoongi is obviously not your son either," She mocked him.

     Yeolgwi drew his hand back and slapped her across the face, she grabbed her cheek, straightening back up to stare daggers at him, "Watch your tongue, sister. I will not hesitate to sacrifice you to the sun god."

     Yoongi was led through the doors of the estate, all eyes trained upon him as the chatter went quiet, turning to hushed whispers. Surprised faces stared attentively as he walked past, his presence seemed to offend a good deal of them. Jungkook and Taehyung were uncomfortable, trying not to stare back, instead focusing on the black and white diamond-checkered tiles beneath their feet. Jungkook had never seen so much eccentric narcissism in one place before.

     Seokjin stepped through the doors and Jungkook swore he heard several people gasp, he looked back at the elder, Seokjin always seemed to bask in negative energy, like at the fights, but this seemed different, this elevated his mood way more. Jungkook felt the goosebumps pop up and he swiped his hand over his sleeve as if that would calm them somehow. There was something very unsettling about Seokjin's expression, Jungkook found it a little too y and he cursed himself for being such a fanboy. Seokjin did not cower to the gazes of the vampire population, he just smirked back and bowed his head to each person they passed.

     Yoongi stopped when he reached the staircase, grabbing a goblet of blood from the tray of one of the servers, servers who had blood dripping from their necks as if they were drained to fill the goblets as they circled the rooms. He took a sip and turned to Taehyung.

     "I am sure there is something you can find to eat around here," Yoongi motioned towards the bar, "She looks particularly ready to die."

     Taehyung glanced over at the bar at the decrepit teenage girl who was mixing drinks, then back to Yoongi as a young man approached him, probably the shortest man he had ever seen, "Is this one of the affairs you wanted me to stay clear of?" Taehyung nodded towards Jihoon as he stopped next to them.

     Yoongi did not take his eyes off the bartender, "Jihoon." His tone, pure boredom.

     "Cousin," Jihoon smiled and turned to bow to Seokjin, "Seokjin."

     "Jihoon, so nice to see you again," Seokjin smiled a wicked little scowl, resting his eyes upon the scar that blemished the flaxen-haired vampire's cheek. 

     "Nice to see you're still sporting the same tired apparel. Did you even bother to remove the bloodstain?"

      Seokjin and Jihoon did not like each other, and if that wasn't apparent enough by the foul stares they were giving each other, then the heat coming off of both of them was enough to give someone a clue, or... fry an egg. Jungkook had to fan himself as he was starting to sweat. At the last ball, the reason Jihoon had the scar and Seokjin's jacket was stained with his blood, was the result of a nasty little game of cat and mouse. Vampires often used werewolf children as prey, chasing them through a grotesque maze, known as the 'Eliminator'. The whole rotten scenario was a scam, an unfair game that was not meant to allow an escape, they were tortured to the point that they begged for death to end their suffering. The last moments of their life consisted of several bites to their jugular then being tosse