The moist, cool air filled the vampire's lungs. He watched his waxed shoes getting soggy in the freshly cut grass.

 

The school park was huge and went as far as his eye could see to the forest lined with high mountains. There were great cemtenary weeping willows standing here, decorating the perfectly maintained expanses of grass here and there.There were stone tables and some benches for the sunny bucolic afternoons; a small pond filled with water-lilies still made the frogs sing. This calm environment soothed Taeyong’s heart as the sky slowly darkened.

 

"I like to come here," said Ten, approaching the pond. “Nobody comes to bother me. Monsters generally prefer to lock themselves in school rather than to go out.”

Ten smiled at the thoughtful look of his roommate.

 

“If you need to take a breath of fresh air, I accept to share this huge park with you!”

 

Taeyong grabbed a pebble and rolled it between his fingers as they continued to walk.

 

"Why are you so nice to me?" The vampire asked after a moment.

 

Taeyong threw the pebble into the water, making a frog that was on a water lily jump.

 

“Because I'm tired of being all alone” the dark-haired blew finally. “Can you understand that? Since you live rather alone in your crypts you, the blood ers...”

 

Taeyong smiled.

 

“Sometimes it's better to stay alone.”

 

Ten swallowed, still smiling.

 

“Yes... but I'm not made to stay alone.”

“I mean, I don’t understand why you're alone, you're so nice,” said Taeyong.

 

Ten smiled again.

 

“It’s just… a lot of monsters think I'm weird. And deep down I think I agree with them.”

 

Taeyong watched the saddened expression of his roommate. He didn’t want to hurt him, but he had never been with any other species than his own. He was trying to decipher the new world around him as best as he could and all the social codes he was discovering.

 

“I don’t think you're weird,” said the vampire. “In fact, I’ve never had friends to be honest with you. It's you who should find me weird.”

 

Ten bit his lip before grabbing Taeyong's wrist, which made him tremble.

 

“So let’s be friends! Me neither, I never had any! You agree?”

 

The warmth of Ten's hand radiated on the vampire's skin.

 

“I agree,” he whispered, smiling in his turn. “But Ten, what are you exactly?”

 

A lightning flash crossed the sky followed by a huge thunderclap that seemed to have shaken the whole earth.

Ten smiled seeing that Taeyong was scared.

 

"It's a secret," said the dark-haired, winking at him, his index finger against his lips. “I told you, it's not polite to reveal ourselves!”

 

Ten took his new friend’s hand.

 

“We must go back to our room, we are not allowed to be outside during storms.”

 

*

 

*

 

Twilight arrived quickly. Taeyong was sitting on the edge of the bedroom window, his forehead against the glass. He watched the shadows of the tall trees shake as the storm arrived. The bars on the windows of the rooms had a depressing side that did not really help the vampire to feel better.

 

"Do you want to eat in the refectory tonight?" asked Ten, closing his math book.

 

Taeyong shrugged, absorbed in the sight of lightning. The rain began to fall against the tiles and he sighed.

 

“We’ll do as you prefer.” Ten blew, not wanting to break the ambiance.

 

Ten jumped off his bed and grabbed Taeyong's arm.

 

The vampire jumped again, he doubted to be able to get used to these repeated physical contacts.

 

“Come, I'm starving... I've eaten almost nothing at noon since we had to leave...”

 

The two boys came out into the corridor and they were both relieved to see it was empty. They could not hear any noise which was quite surprising.

 

“Everyone must be eating.” blew the brown-haired speeding up.

“Yes, I guess...”

 

Ten did not let go of the vampire's arm, finally feeling not very reassured either by these immense deserted corridors.

 

They ran down the big stone staircases quickly and arrived in the great hall of the refectory practically at a running pace.

 

Ten pushed the heavy wooden door and he smiled when he saw dozens of students sitting down for dinner.

 

"This school is creepy," said the brown, "I'm so happy not to be alone!”

 

Taeyong tried to smile as he walked into the room. He felt all eyes on him. Some stopped eating, turning around. He heard murmurs and mocking laughter.

He lowered his eyes, having the furious desire to disappear.

He breathed again as they finally reached the level of the dishes.

 

“Do I have something on my face?” he said, approaching Ten, seeing that many were still staring at him.

“No, what are you talking about? ” asked Ten, taking two trays.

“Why is everyone watching me like this.. .?”

 

Ten stuck the tray in the pink-haired's hands, sighing before turning to the dining hall.

He froze when he saw that all the students were staring at them.

 

“Ok, we'll just ignore them,” muttered Ten, turning around, putting anything on his tray to go faster.

 

Taeyong grabbed two bricks of blood and a can of cherry cola.

 

The two boys went to sit on the last empty table, the one that was next to the one of the teachers. Luckily, they were not there yet to eat.

 

“If we ignore them, they're going to get tired." said Ten, looking sadly at the things he picked for his meal.

 

Taeyong put his head in his hands, trying to meet no one's eyes.

Soon, the general hubbub started again and the two friends relaxed a little.

 

 

“What do they want me to do?” Muttered Taeyong, taking his brick in his still trembling hands.

 

A flash of lightning flashed through the room and a thud of lightning sounded again, much louder than the previous times.

 

“They are just curious, I told you, vampires are so rare that you inevitably intrigue everyone...”

 

Ten swallowed his mouthful of rice, sad to see Taeyong so stressed.

 

A third-year demon passed by the table. He paused for a moment, staring at Taeyong with a smile at the corners of his mouth.

 

“Is it you who woke up these filthy things? You brought them back with you, right?” The demon had a deep, warm and powerful voice.

 

Taeyong looked up, seeing his fiery irises peering at him. He swallowed.

 

“What are you talking about?” He asked, frightened.

 

The demon smiled before pushing Taeyong’s brick that fell on the table.

 

“That’s it, act like the innocent one.” the demon spat as he left.

 

Taeyong stared at him with a sharp look, wavering between the assurance that gave him his race and his fragility as a young adult. He then rested his eyes on the blood flowing on the table, not daring to say anything.

 

*

 

*

 

Jaehyun had a smile up to his ears. He listened to the stupid jokes of his clan without ever getting tired of it. After all, they were more than his friends; they had become brothers. The taste of the bloody meat revived his taste buds and the more he ate, the hungrier he was. Meal times were important times for wolves; these moments tightened the bonds in the best way. Sharing a meal was the ultimate guarantee of confidence for any pack. Yet it could have been otherwise. Jaehyun could have eaten alone, he could have asked the others to wait for him to finish his meal so that they finally deign to eat. He had the right, and that's what his family would have wanted him to do. Yet Jaehyun loved to share this meat with his pack. Probably because they had not travelled tens of kilometres to hunt it down and kill it. Industrial meat had this annoying tendency to make the wolves domestic.

 

Johnny nudged him in the ribs which made him growl.

 

"Look, the blood-er," said Johnny, before plunging his teeth into the piece of flesh he had in his hands.

 

Jaehyun looked up and saw the vampire's silhouette a few feet away. He saw this demon talking to him. He saw him pushing the little brick to make it fall.

 

"It wasn’t a good idea for a vampire to arrive right now," said Johnny, giggling.

 

Jaehyun placed down his meat, wiping the blood that was stuck on his lips on the back of his sleeve.

 

“It's just rumours,” said Yuta, staring at his cell phone. “Every year they bring us this kind of crap to scare us and prevent us from going out and hunting. That is the classic story.”

“And frankly speaking, he doesn’t look so terrible, this vampire... I'm almost disappointed,” Johnny added. “Aren't you, Jaehyun?”

 

Johnny nudged the Alfa, who was staring at the table a little further.

 

“What? You’re not talking?” asked Johnny “Cat got your tongue?”

 

Jaehyun smiled again, looking back at his food.

 

"Yes, it's all just bull," he said after a moment.

 

When Jaehyun got up, it indicated to the pack that the meal was over. It was one of the last rules that young people had kept despite themselves. If Jaehyun was an Alfa, some old instincts were still inked even for these young wolves that were somewhat disconnected from their true nature.

The traditions, the strict rules that governed the Alfa, Beta, Gamma and Omega castes, seemed barbaric and obsolete for most young Lycans. They had trouble recognizing themselves in these lines of conduct predefined by their ancestors. They were just friends today, brothers. Equal. Or practically. Because despite the setback and balance they had found between them, each was born to fulfil a well-defined function within the pack. They were born with a status that would stick to their skin, no matter how hard they were trying to forget it.

These new behaviours frightened the older ones who feared that lineages would disappear or worse: that they would not stay pure. So they watched the young Lycans, leaving and traveling around the world without being able to hold them back; they agreed to send them to schools where they were mixed with other creatures. The elders were all scared and Jaehyun as the last male Alpha of his family knew it better than anyone else.

 

So he looked away from that vampire, that thousand-year-old enemy his race despised, and he came out of the room and let him be rushed by that demon. Because that's what he deserved, right?

 

*

 

*

 

Three days later

 

Jaehyun was staring at the old history book. He listened half-heartedly to the words of the professor, lost between his reveries and the fatigue that gradually took possession of him.

The rain was falling against the huge windows of the classroom. His eyes were lost in the lightning that continued to tear the sky.

 

“Well, I made the pairs.” said the professor.

 

She saw the defeated faces of the fifty or so students in front of her. Nobody dared to move.

These words electrified Jaehyun and suddenly regained his attention.

 

"Pairs," he whispered to Yuta, scribbling on his notebook.

"For the presentations," he grumbled. “Another stupid idea.”

“Can we choose?” asked a lost voice in the middle of the room.

 

The professor smiled, putting her glasses back on the tip of her nose;

“You already know that you can’t. I preferred to make this mix myself. We all know that the best way to create cohesion is teamwork!”

 

Jaehyun dropped on the table, resting his chin on his folded arms. He huffed for a long time before closing his eyes as the bell announced the end of classes.

 

“The list is posted on the board, take a look before you go away” shouted the teacher seeing that all the students were already rushing out. “You have a week to prepare your presentations which will obviously be graded!”

“Oh please, I hope I'm not paired up with one of those stupid wizards." Yuta growled.

 

All the students rushed in front of the big sheet that hung on the blackboard. Undisguised complaints were coming from everywhere.

Yuta and Johnny had rushed to see. They came back to the alfa, Yuta was dragging his feet showing his sulky face.

 

"Who are you with?" Asked Jaehyun, who was still putting his notebooks in his bag.

 

“I’m with Ten” said Johnny elbowing Yuta to provoke him. “I'm going to eat him in one bite.”

“Oh shut up.”scolded Yuta, taking his bag.

 

“Who is he with?” asked Jaehyun, amused.

 

Johnny pointed to a devil with his chin.

 

"Haechan is a real ." said Yuta. He blew as he saw the young demon a bit further looking at him in disgust.

"It could have been worse." said Johnny, patting his friend a little too hard.

“Worst? We are going to kill each other!”

 

Jaehyun stepped forward, pushing a few smaller students to pass. He looked for his name on the list, feeling a little anxious.

 

“Tell me I’m not seeing this,” snarled the alfa, rubbing his face.

 

JEONG JAEHYUN - LEE TAEYONG