Chapter 24

You are My Destiny

The next night…

Kyra was avoiding them, Raina was sure of it. And not just avoiding them as in company, she was even avoiding touch. 

At first, she'd thought it wasn't anything – Kyra was naturally a quiet person and needed alone time to recoup and stuff and she wasn't just generally a very touchy sort of person – not like Mei who could give lemurs a run for their money – so that was normal.

Not emerging from her room at all, jumping a foot in the air and hissing like a crazed cat whose tail had been stepped on when somebody touched her? Not so much.

She didn't get the chance to really confront her about it either because at first, it didn’t quite register. She'd been too busy floating in the air because things had finally progressed with Tao. She'd taken to going to his martial arts class, he showed up for her dance practice, accompanying her more often than not and he sat next to her in their combined classes and during lunch, holding hands whenever Baekhyun and Mei were too preoccupied to really pay attention to them.

However, with Chanyeol's arrival and the ensuing chaos as Kris broke the door down while Baekhyun panicked in the background, her absence became more apparent. When Raina looked around, she found Kyra staring at the group from her doorway, probably to make sure everything was alright before closing the door and shutting herself in. Again.

That was when Raina realized it had been almost a week, maybe longer, since Kyra had joined them in their nightly gossip sessions in Angel's bedroom, often excusing herself and turning in early. She'd be asleep by the time Raina returned and since Raina was invariably leaving with Tao these days, she didn't get to see her before she went to the university.

Something was wrong. Or if not wrong, something wasn’t quite right. And since she was her bestest friend in the world, with her best interests at heart, she cornered her friend the next chance she got.

Which was right after dinner because Kyra was escaping to her bedroom again.

'Kyra?' She called, walking after her.

D.O, who'd been passing by, surreptitiously cast her a look as well, looking worried and, to Raina's surprise, guilty before he hurried off. Wondering if Kyra's behavior had anything to do with D.O, she lengthened her steps and got to Kyra before she could slip inside.

She grabbed her arm and Kyra, predictably, hissed, whirling around and knocking her hand away. Raina caught sight of her expression, worry pushing everything else back. 'Are you alright?' she asked, scanning her for injuries but everything seemed okay.

'Of course,' Kyra gave her an unconvincing smile. 'Why wouldn't I be?'

Raina narrowed her eyes – she was hiding something. 'Spill.'

'What? I told you I'm fine…'

'Kyra, I may not see the future but I can see through your y bluffing. Give me some credit, I'm your best friend for a reason, okay?'

She had the grace to look sheepish.

'What's going on?'

She hesitated for a moment before relenting and stepping back into the room, 'Come in, I guess I should tell you… maybe you can help.'

Tiffany yelled something about gathering for a group study session but she waved her off, closing the door behind her. Kyra sat on her bed, nervously fiddling with her thumbs before sighing and glancing at Raina.

'I don't know where…' she began.

'Is this something to do with why D.O looks like he's killed a puppy and the guilt is eating him?'

Kyra let out a choked laugh that turned more genuine; Raina grinned, relaxing against the bed. 'He's probably killed more than just puppies, though…' Raina pondered aloud.

'Oh hush, he isn't like that,' Kyra shook her head.

'Okay, who are you and what have you done to my friend?' Raina mocked, grabbing a pillow for self-defense.

Kyra blushed but met her eyes, 'Well, he isn't.'

'Hey I know that, you were the one running off because he scared you!' Throwing the pillow away, she bounced over to Kyra, intent on hugging her but she jumped deftly out of the way, raising her hands. 'No touching, please.'

Raina gave her a look but stopped. 'Okay, why not?'

'Because it hurts.' Kyra sighed, slumping back.

'Oookaay?' Raina eyed her curiously. Even though she'd been turning in early every night, Kyra's dark circles were more pronounced than they had been before and she looked kind of feverish, cheeks rosy and sweat dotting her brow and she kept shifting as if to find a more comfortable position.

Despite that, she was wearing a scarf, knotted loosely around her neck, even though the skin around it was reddish as if it was itching or in allergic reaction, and that made her curious. Kyra wasn't one to opt for discomfort for sake of style – that was Tiffany.   

'Kyra…?'

'Something happened,' Kyra told her abruptly, meeting her eyes. 'I thought Lay could heal me but…'

'Wait, wait, wait, you're injured?' She eyed the scarf more suspiciously this time. 'What happened?'

Sighing, Kyra hooked a finger in the knot and pulled, loosening it one go and throwing it in the corner as if glad to be finally rid of it. Raina stared at her in bemusement before dropping her eyes to the exposed skin.

'Holy crap, what the hell happened?' She very nearly grabbed her again but Kyra gave her a warning glare, so she backed off but she couldn’t take her eyes off the wound.

It looked like something had bitten her, hard enough to break skin – the crescent shaped indents were deep and red, looking almost fresh. And if Kyra had a fever, then it likely meant the thing was infected and damn, this was bad.

'What…?' she looked at her friend for an explanation, 'How?'

Kyra bit her lip again, this time blushing and threw her head down, mumbling something unintelligible.

'I'm sorry, what?'

She pursed her lips, seeming to steel herself before meeting Raina's eyes again. 'D.O bit me to mark me as his and warn others off and now, I'm apparently in heat that will end only after he's claimed me.'

Raina's jaw dropped. 'Huh?'

Her cheeks were blushing both with a mixture of embarrassment and fever but she took a deep breath and started talking, not looking at Raina when she got the part where she'd stopped him and he'd reacted.

'What were you thinking?' Raina wondered aloud.

Kyra shook her head, continuing about how she'd talked to Lay, what he'd explained and everything else she'd dug up, along with what she'd been going through. She was still blushing by the time she was done and even Raina's cheeks were rather pink, especially since she'd told her about some of the more recent dreams she'd had.

'Um, wow…' Raina cleared , fanning her cheeks. 'That… sounds uncomfortable.'

Kyra laughed, low and husky. 'You can say that again.'

'So what're you going to do?'

Kyra fiddled with her thumbs, not looking at her. 'I don't know.'

'It's pretty obvious though.' Raina eyed her out of the corner of her eye, 'You need D.O to…'

'Let's not talk about him, okay?' She sighed, rubbing her forehead, 'It's not exactly helpful.'

'My bad.'

They sat in silence for a while before Raina spoke again. 'You're remembering more though.'

'Hmm,' Kyra hummed noncommittally.

'How much?'

'Most of it, I think.' She glanced at her friend, 'It comes in bits and pieces though, so some parts are missing but it's enough to give me a gist of the way things were.'

'So you're not gonna run away if he…'

She blushed harder than she'd before shaking her head. 'Hardly… not like I have much of a choice though.'

'He feels very bad, I'm sure,' Raina defended him immediately, 'I know he's a bit… intense but he's not one to force himself…'

'I know,' Kyra sounded irritated, though whether it was because Raina was defending D.O or because she was still annoyed with herself for pushing him past his limit was anyone's guess. 'Trust me, I know. He has been avoiding me since then, hasn't even shown up once for the counselling sessions and…'

'Why didn't you hand in the application though? It's clearly uncomfortable.'

Kyra bit the inside of her cheek before mumbling something to the wall. Raina grinned, catching the gist but intent on teasing her anyway – she'd had way too much fun at her expense so it was about time for some payback. 'I'm sorry, what?'

Kyra looked unimpressed. 'I said I hoped to run into him. Happy?'

'Extremely so,' Raina told her cheerfully, swinging her legs off the bed and gently nudging her to the side. Kyra grimaced but the touch was through cloth so it didn't hurt so much, 'at least you've stopped being a little .'

'Yeah yeah…' she rolled her eyes, pushing her back, 'Your plan worked. Yay.'

They sat in comfortable silence for a while but Kyra broke it this time. 'So you and Tao…'

Raina's lips spread into a delighted grin, looking super-happy, 'Yeah?'

'You've been pretty chummy lately.'

She hummed happily, 'I know!'

Kyra rolled her eyes affectionately, 'Air head.'

Raina pouted, 'Mud stick.'

They smiled at each other before a sly smile crossed Kyra's lips. 'You know, your first kiss…'

Raina sat up quickly, eyes wide, 'Yeah?'

Kyra suppressed a grin, looking away. 'Uh, nothing. Never mind.'

'Kyra…' Raina whined looking like she wanted to grab her arm and shake it, 'tell me.'

She shook her head, 'I told you it's nothing.'

'You're lying, I can tell you're lying…' Raina insisted but Kyra only grinned not saying a word, standing up instead. 'You go study, I'm gonna hang out with Angel, it's been a while since we talked…'

Raina followed her out, whining all the way.

………………………………….

Mei sighed dejectedly, staring at her phone screen.

'I miss you,' she told Luhan's picture, pouting as if he could really see her, 'so much.'

It had been only a few days but it felt like he'd been gone forever and it was starting to take its toll. For one, she couldn't really sleep because he wasn't there to snuggle with her and since their marriage, she'd become so used to doing it that it was hard to lull herself to sleep without the feeling of his arms wrapped around her, their legs tangled and hearts beating in sync.

For another… well, it was really just that she missed him. He'd become increasingly busy because professional playing required way more practice than when he'd been in the university squad and the season had started so of course, he needed to give it his best. And Minho – Mei was sure he was deliberately driving Luhan hard because he was jealous of him getting married first.

Which was stupid because Minho shouldn't have any problems getting girls – he was good looking and ripped, though it wasn't really Mei's thing – she preferred leaner bodies like Luhan's… well, Luhan was perfect so…

Sighing, she hugged Cuddles tightly and buried her face against it. It wasn't, by any means, even close to Luhan but she'd put his picture on it and well, Cuddles had never failed her before, having been her sleep partner long before she'd arrived here to study so it felt like the comfort of an old friend.

She just couldn't wait for him to get back. If she'd been free, she would've gone to support him because she loved his game. She'd been scandalized when he'd suggested he quit after she'd cried so much, because it took so much of his time and he'd been unable to dote on her properly.

It had only made her realize just how much of a sweetheart he really was, how sweet and selfless. So of course, she wasn't going to be selfish and ask him to leave something he so obviously loved, even if it meant she had to stay alone in the bed and pretend her pillow was Luhan. It was worth it.

He was worth it.

Just then, her cellphone rang, Luhan's picture flashing on the screen, the contact reading Mr. Mei.

Feeling ridiculously happy at the name – it was silly but she loved it, she knew he'd saved her name as Mrs. Luhan and that was even better and she just wanted to yell with joy – she swiped to attend.

'Hello Mr. Mei…' she chirruped, trying to control her excitement.

'Hiya Mrs. Lu,' he replied, sounding like he was smiling. 'How've you been?'

'Great,' she told him, shifting so she was lying on her back. 'Just busy with my studies and stuff.'

'Oh? And did you miss me?' He asked in a low voice, making her thrum with delight.

'Nope, not one bit.' she replied, biting her lip.

'Really? And here I thought you'd be sad because I'd been away,' he teased, 'Oh well, I'll just tell Minho that there's no need to hurry back. I'll just spend the next month here as well since you don’t miss me at all and…'

'I'm joking!' Mei protested, snuggling into the covers, 'I miss you.' She pouted. 'So much.'

'I miss you too baby…' he replied, 'I just wanted to hear your voice because I couldn't sleep.'

'Me neither,' she replied back, voice dropping to a low whisper, 'I wish you were here.'

They fell silent, just listening to each other breath and it was to this comforting sound that Mei finally dropped off. Before she fell asleep though, she caught Luhan's words, 'I love you.'

It made her smile in her sleep.

…………………………………………….

 

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Alisha0074 #1
Chapter 84: Yikes!!
Alisha0074 #2
Chapter 83: What future????? I'm going to reread....
thanks for the update!!!
Alisha0074 #3
Chapter 81: Thanks for the update!!! Its was nice to read this again.
As for the kris may I suggest something??
Alisha0074 #4
Chapter 79: Finally finally xiu can get his girl but now what do we do with kris?????
these elders ....
Crazydork22 #5
Chapter 79: Woohoooo! You go Xiumin! Get your girl!
topgirls
#6
Chapter 77: This update made my morning!! Keep up the great work!!
shenaya #7
Chapter 76: I hope you did not give up on this masterpiece.
Crazydork22 #8
Chapter 75: Oh my GOSH. I was so excited to see a new update on this. I went to read the chapter and I was confused because it didn’t seem to flow with the end of the previous one from my memory so I went back and....somehow I missed an update?!?!!!!! How did I miss two chapters??? And SO MANY XIUMIN LILY MOMENTS???? Ahhhhhhh!!! Okay so loved the Xiu/Lily, her payback was XD also big lol to some of them wondering why it was snowing. This newest chapter, yes! Xiumin! Put a ring on her!



As to real EXOland, oh my gosh I was so so so happy when Jongdae came to Baekhyun’s show! All the pics were LQ, but it was so lovely to see him. AND Minseok and Kyungsoo had their musical live streamed yesterday! I’m so proud of them! Minseok’s character is so adorable and meme worthy!
Alisha0074 #9
Chapter 73: Poor poor minnie!!!!
thanks for the update!!!!
Alisha0074 #10
Chapter 71: Thank you for you're updated!!! Glad to see my 2 lovely ppl falling back in line