The first step was denial. And that’s exactly what Shira was doing. Jackson didn’t have feelings for her. He couldn’t have feelings for her.

Jackson had a night shift so he wasn’t able to come over and sleep, and he said that he’d figure out how to sleep during the day before the allied meeting. She said okay and asked for Bambam’s number. Jackson’s response had made her laugh.

Jackson: ??????????? 

But he had given her Bambam’s number anyway.

The first thing she did was type out a very long message about how much she did not appreciate her questioning her friendship with Jackson, but she erased it all with a sigh, choosing to send a simple text in its absence.

I hate you.

Bambam had just sent a very long list of smiley faces before sending two texts that make her curse.

Bambam: Your contact name is problem girl btw
Bambam: Save me a dance tonight

That d*mn flirt. But here she was, putting on her red wig and makeup for the allied meeting. Like before, she probably wouldn’t show up for the actual allied meeting and show up to the partying after. But it was better to be prepared.

Besides, Jinyoung was going to do a follow-up and she was not excited for that. She still felt uncomfortable being touched and she didn’t want to be alone in a room with him.

Taehyung and Jackson seemed to be the exceptions to the touching rule, but she was willing to try stretching that idea after the allied meeting. She had to get used to being touched eventually.

She sprays setting spray all over her face, taking one last look in the mirror before turning away and walking to Seunghyun’s room in heels that tied around her ankles and a white lacey and flowy dress that made her feel innocent. The monitor is already on and she crosses her legs in his comfy chair, watching as the gangs trailed into the room.

There was an air of nervousness, and she couldn’t blame them. The war had basically begun, and she was the cause. It was smart for her not to show up the allied meeting, because several people would not be happy with her.

Jiyong starts the meeting with, “As some of you are aware, GOT7, Bangtan, and Big Bang worked together to complete a mission in the last week. We infiltrated EXO’s ion ring and the result was the death of Xiumin, Kai, and possibly Baekhyun.”

There’s titters through the crowd, and they grow considerably more anxious.

“We do not know if they have a plan of retaliation, and if they have been in contact with Super Junior and SHINee. F(x) and Red Velvet and SNSD have not been observed to have any out of the ordinary actions, but they may be concealing their communication.”

Seunghyun takes over, talking more about the technology. “Suga from Bangtan and I have successfully hacked into part of the EXO database, but we have yet to analyze the data that we were able to save in the short period of time.  However, we do have proof of increased contact between f(x) and the old leader from SNSD.”

Seungri’s head is drooping, and Shira can’t help but feel a little bad. Seungri had multiple night shifts over the last week in order to sort out the weapons for their side, and he looks like he needed a good rest. Taeyang talks for him instead, keeping it nice and brief.

“Weapons distribution is being sorted out. We will most likely have more information by next week.”

Daesung adds in, “Everything so far is going well with weapons though. For people who have not been in practice with fighting and weapons, get practice and learn to defend yourselves. You never know what may happen in the future.”

Shira yawns. They were saying the obvious and not addressing details about the mission. Most of the gangs came for one reason and one reason only. To find out what exactly happened.

BLACKPINK is the first to voice that, as Jennie stands up and asks, “Why was the infiltration necessary? It probably decreased our preparation time for the war.”

They were a young group, so their concern was obvious. They dealt with money schemes and not fighting. That wasn’t to say they weren’t strong, because she had heard some rumors that Lisa, the youngest, was good with knives.

Other groups don’t really pay the newer group any attention, more interested in what Big Bang had to say. But Jiyong stays silent, looking amongst each other. And that’s when Shira realizes that to talk about it would bring more attention to her and would put a lot of the blame on Jackson.

“A member from a gang was taken and used as ransom for another,” Jiyong says, politically and slowly. “We saw it as a declaration of war, and got involved in planning in order to bring those two people safely back.”

“Rumor is that a girl was one of those two people,” Youngguk stands up, leaning on the table. “The three gangs involved do not have a girl amongst them. Was it the girl who does not consider herself part of a gang? And if so, why is she important enough to be seen as ransom?”

Shira hisses through her teeth. Of course Youngguk would remember. He probably disliked her from the moment she placed a blade at , and now it was coming to bite multiple gangs in the *ss.

“You have it the other way around, Youngguk,” Taeyang smiles, but his voice is dry. “The male was used as ransom.”

Jiyong and Jackson look in each other’s direction, and Shira can see him nodding through the screen to Jiyong. Jiyong bites his lip before exhaling, “They had a blood bond.”

Gasps.

Blood bonds were exceedingly rare. Why would you bond two gangs together? Who would be that selfish? Just because gangs were allies at one point didn’t mean that they couldn’t be enemies at another.

“EXO is extremely strong, and they probably thought that only GOT7 was coming for them, since the girl is not associated with any gang. They thought wrong, and our side escaped with a few injuries while they had deaths.”

“If they are blood bonded, what gang is she part of?” Someone from the crowd calls out.

Bad question. Bad question. Technically it was not Big Bang, because she’s not actually in a gang. But Big Bang considers her part of their group, even if she wasn’t in reality, so that’s why they honored the blood bond.

“Everyone in her gang is dead.”

Well, that wasn’t entirely false. Jay was dead. Did that count?

“Why was such a large-scale mission carried out for only two people? How was someone taken to begin with?”

“Enough,” Jaebum stands up, and his very presence looks threatening. “Some of you are forgetting your loyalties.”

That seems enough for the crowd to quiet down until someone from VIXX calls out, “So it was someone from GOT7?

“So what if it was?” Jaebum hisses. “None of our members are weak, and if someone thinks otherwise, they are more than welcome to try fighting us. We are more than happy to work with Bangtan and Big Bang again to show how powerful we are when combined.”

And as much as Shira and Jaebum didn’t get along because of her blood bond with two of s, Shira had to respect him at that moment. Big Bang could show their authority, but it was a bigger message if people from other gangs backed them up.

Namjoon stands up, and Shira in a shaky breath, “Regardless of who was taken, all three gangs were affected. We were successful in the mission and we have no qualms about our decision.”

Namjoon may be newer to the gang alliance, but he had driven the final nail into the coffin. The crowd is silent.

“Now that this discussion is over, you all are welcome to enjoy the hospitality of our nightclub.”

Cheers rise up as the meeting ends, and the gangs file out of the exit and towards the dance floor open to the public. Seunghyun waves to the camera, “Don’t forget to come down and get checked by Jinyoung.”

The screen goes black and Shira sighs, getting up and heading towards the downstairs area that had medical equipment. She had been dreading this, because Jinyoung would no doubt ask about her mental health.

To be frank, she didn’t really care. She knew that she was messed up.

But she opens the door to the room gently, closing it behind her as Jinyoung looks up. “Hello, how are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“Would you like me to call Jackson in here? Would that make this more comfortable?”

“It’s fine,” Shira says stiffly, ping her dress and letting her scars show as she folds the garment. To his credit, he didn't seem that comfortable doing this either.

Jinyoung just clears his throat slightly before looking at how much her wounds have healed. He still didn’t touch her, and that made things feel a little bit better.