Jongdae can’t sleep.

The kiss replays in his mind, and so does Joonmyun rushing out of the room. Jongdae wonders if he went too far, if he should’ve asked to touch Joonmyun instead of just doing it. Guilt is eating him alive.

He doesn’t know what the kiss meant. It was Joonmyun who initiated it, so that must mean he likes Jongdae, right? But then why did he leave? Now confusion is ruining Jongdae as well.

With a deep sigh, Jongdae gazes out the window. Snow is floating down slowly in the light of the moon. It makes Jongdae crave fresh air. He needs to get out of this room and this dorm to clear his head, even if it’s against the rules.

Jongdae peeks his head into the hallway. It is dimly lit at this late hour and abandoned as well. The guard is probably at the front door. He starts to think of excuses already, knowing the guard won’t just let it pass. Deciding on the good old “I left my books in my locker”, Jongdae struts to the front door with confidence. Once he’s descended the stairs, the guard comes into view. Jongdae can’t help but chuckle as the guard is fast asleep on the chair.

With a bit of caution, Jongdae slips out of the dorm building. The cold air is refreshing. Jongdae inhales it with closed eyes. Snowflakes land on his nose and cheeks soon enough, causing Jongdae to shake them off with a smile.

Soon, thoughts of Joonmyun come flooding back into his brain. Jongdae shakes it off with a shiver, and distracts himself by doing some of the simpler exercises Yixing has given him. Creating light and energy bolts is easy to him now. At first it was a struggle, costing him a lot of energy, but now it’s a piece of cake. He’s shooting energy bolts at the trees for fun. It shakes the trees and makes the gathered snow drop with a loud thwack. For a while, it’s entertaining. It certainly takes his mind off Joonmyun.

He gets a little more daring – sending some sword-like slashes against the trunk of a pine tree, breaking its bark. Using his powers makes Jongdae feel a lot better, even if this poor tree is getting annihilated. After killing off most of the bark, Jongdae stops, fearing the tree might fall over and alert teachers. His eyes fall to his hands, which are glowing a deep red. It still leaves him a little breathless.

“That’s some good work.”

Jongdae jerks up in shock, turning to the source of the sound. A familiar figure stands a few meters away. Even in the dark Jongdae is quick to recognize him – that tall, pale posture and deep voice. It’s no other than Kris.

“What are you doing here?” Jongdae whispers.

 Kris takes a few steps forward, his pale complexion now illuminated by the glow of Jongdae’s hands and eyes.

“We’re here to help you against the attack from Luhan,” Kris answers. “Tell me Baekhyun’s room number. I have to sneak Tao and Sehun in.”

“You brought the mermaids along?”

“Yeah. My boyfriend is not exactly okay with me being apart from him so I had no choice. Plus, I figured maybe one of you knew a spell to make them have legs for a little while or something.”

Jongdae stares at him blankly, trying to take all this in. “You want to sneak in two mermaids plus yourself into a dorm meant for two?”

Kris shrugs.

With a sigh, Jongdae resigns to his fate. “Okay. Where are they?”

“Close by.”

Jongdae follows Kris through the snow as the vampire leads the way.

“How did you get in here?”

“Yixing,” Kris answers casually.

“Yixing is here too?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry about him. He won’t be staying in your room.”

Jongdae takes Kris’ answer for what it is and decides to no longer ask questions. He just wants to get inside.

Eventually two lying figures come into sight, their tails shimmering at the faint light coming from Jongdae’s hands.

“Kris!” Zitao yells happily, spreading his arms wide. Kris immediately takes Zitao into his arms, much to the pleasure of the mermaid. “It’s so cold out here!”

“I told you to wear a coat,” Kris scolds. Then Zitao gives him puppy eyes and Kris shakes his head in defeat. He presses a kiss to his boyfriend’s lips.

The gesture sparks envy in Jongdae but he ignores it, walking over to Sehun to pick the mermaid up. Despite being all bones, Sehun is still heavy. With a huff, Jongdae takes the first steps.

“I’m not that heavy,” Sehun commentates as Jongdae struggles to carry him.

Jongdae gives him a pointed look, to which Sehun gasps in offense. The mermaid crosses his arms and ignores Jongdae for the rest of the walk.

Once they’re by the dorm entrance, Jongdae signals them to be quiet. He removes one hand from under Sehun and opens the door a tiny bit. Peeking in, Jongdae is relieved to find the teacher is still fast asleep. His hand slips back under Sehun and he opens the rest of the door with his foot. He tiptoes through the hallway, not risking anything – especially now that there’s cargo.

“Ow, Kris! Be careful!”

Jongdae whips his head back only to see Kris struggling to get past the teacher. Zitao’s tailfin is rubbing along the teacher’s face.

“Turn sideways!” Jongdae whispers angrily.

Kris does as he’s told, causing Zitao’s fin to hit the teacher in the face one last time. Jongdae cringes at the sight, but holds his anger in. The four of them make the rest of the trip in silence, the only sound hearable being the padding of their feet.

Jongdae opens the door and immediately drops Sehun on his bed. Once Kris and Zitao are inside, Jongdae quickly closes the door.

“You seem down,” Sehun observes after seeing Jongdae’s tired expression.

“Yeah, you didn’t look very happy to see me,” Kris chimes in.

“Could it be… boy trouble?” Zitao presses with an excited expression.

Jongdae’s lips thin into a line. “…yeah,” he admits.

“Did something happen between you and Joonmyun?”

Jongdae frowns. “H-how do you know it’s Joonmyun?”

Zitao gives him a deadpan look. “Are you serious? You guys are more obvious than Baekhyun and Kyungsoo.”

Not expecting that answer, Jongdae lowers his gaze to his lap.

“Are you not gonna tell us your troubles?” Zitao asks. “We’re here to help, you know.”

“You’re helping with the attack, not my love life.”

“Who says we can’t do both?”

“Agh, fine. I’ll tell you.” Jongdae sighs and crosses his arms. “Basically, Joonmyun and I had been bonding over our trip outside Jeolban. After Minseok turned out to be bad I felt the need to comfort him. When we got back to Jeolban, Joonmyun was feeling upset so I—”

The door bursts open.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Mr. Yang demands. “Kim Jongdae, you are in big trouble.”

---

Jongdae has his head lowered. The headmistress is glaring holes into him, completely ignoring the vampire and the mermaids in favor of scaring him.

“Jongdae… I know you are not a star student, but this kind of behavior is getting out of hand.”

“I’m sorry.”

“If it wasn’t for these troubled times, I would have suspended you for a month.”

Jongdae winces at that. He has gotten in trouble before, but never pushed it so far that it ended in suspension.

“Ma’am, if I may interrupt,” Kris politely interjects. “Jongdae had no intention of sneaking us in. We did it on our own. While Jongdae and his friends were away from Jeolban, they met us. We were told of the situation at Jeolban, and wanted to help when the time is right.”

Her face is stone. “Then why didn’t you come to me?” Her tone is ice.

Nervousness breaks across Kris’ usual strong expression. “W-well, we assumed we would probably be kicked out.”

“Correct.”

Jongdae’s head jerks up at that.

“I don’t need your help. Jeolban is fine on its own.”

“B-But—”

Zitao is interrupted by the door opening.

It’s Mr. Yang, but this time with Chanyeol, Yixing, and Jongin.

“Look who I found in Byun Baekhyun’s room,” he says with a grimace.

Headmistress Kang lets her cold eyes glide over the three figures. “Bring me the students involved.”

“Will do,” Mr. Yang answers before closing the door and leaving.

She sighs. “No words until Mr. Yang is back.”

The silence is agony. Jongdae can feel the headmistress’ gaze on him as he stares at the floor.

Once the doorknob finally rattles, Jongdae feels relief course through him, only to be back to anxiety as Joonmyun is on the doorstep. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are there too with Mr. Yang standing behind them.

Joonmyun and Jongdae meet eyes for a second before looking away.

“Mind telling me what the hell is going on with you four? First you sneak around the school, then you disappear for a few days, and now you’re sneaking outsiders in?”

“We have a good reason,” Baekhyun tells her.

“Shut it, Byun. Your words don’t mean anything to me.”

“Ma’am, please don’t hold these students responsible for our acts,” Yixing says gently. “It was our doing, not theirs.”

“I don’t understand any of this. You sneak into my school to ‘help’ us? Secretively? It doesn’t make any sense. I want you removed from the school grounds immediately.”

“No, please, ma’am!” Yixing yells out. “Please, listen to me. I have important information regarding Luhan.”

The headmistress pops out of her strictness at the name. “What?”

“I know his plans for attacking Jeolban.”

Everyone gives Yixing a shocked look.

“The reason for those marks around the school was so he can destroy the ground around the property and trap you. Then he will set the place on fire and attack while none of you can escape!”

The sheer brutality of it all has the entire room gasping.

---

A/N: hi yall, sorry for not updating. I had my final exams plus some personal stuff going on and i wasnt feeling the story much.
also sorry for returning after such a long time with such a short chapter, but ack it was always meant to be this way (because next chapter is hehehe)

anyway, i have loads of free time now so expect more updates!!!!

thank yall for subbing voting and especially commenting!! see you in the next chap (which i am already writing btw!!!)