It started off on a stage, like the one the boys had performed on in Denver. The lights were flashing, and I was the only one on stage, a lonely microphone in front of me. It was fine; I could sing. The problem was the audience.

There were only five people. The first one, I knew like the back of my hand; my ex abusive boyfriend, Trent. He was wearing the stupid bomber jacket he always wore and sweatpants beneath it. He had the same blue Vans he had on when we first met. 

The second one was also an ex; Kurtis. He had manipulated me into dumping him and spread rumors about me to the whole school, bringing out the worst in me and almost completely ruining my reputation. I hadn’t seen him since Junior year, when he had dropped out of high school.

Next to him sat Amelia, my least favorite flutist. Her small, judgemental eyes were trained on mine as if they had lasers in them that were aiming for my face. Her arms were crossed over her chest in classic brat fashion. Her lips were pouty as always, but she looked somehow even more malicious.

Then there was Keegan. Looking at him alarmed and terrified me; his features were eerily detailed and perfect. If Tristan had been bad, Keegan was much worse. If Tristan had been rain, Keegan had been a hurricane.

The last person was the scariest by far. It kept switching between two people, shimmering and opaque. One second it had dark black hair, the next dyed blond strands. It had defined features, but it also had a round face. It was wearing red, then blue. Both of them, however, had strong and piercing eyes that could see into the depths of your soul.

It was blinking rapidly between Tao and Kris.

Suddenly, all the lights on the stage went off, leaving everything completely dark. Nerves consumed me and I walked to where the wall had been a minute before, my arms leading me in case I hit something. I walked for at least three minutes and didn’t come into contact with anything. Frantically, I began to run, trying to find a way out of the dark chamber I was now trapped in. No matter how far I went, no matter which direction, there was nothing but empty space and the floor beneath my feet. 

“Help!” I cried. “Help me!”

Then Tao’s face appeared above me, the size of the full moon. “What will you do for me if I help you?” It said coldly. Then it burst out laughing and disappeared, except for a hand right in front of me. It was reaching out, but I couldn’t tell who it belonged to. I carefully stepped towards it and grabbed it lightly, but it pulled me down and then I was falling, falling, falling. Falling so fast that I could hardly hear my scream, lingering in the air above me.

And then I landed, strangely softly, on something red. I turned around to see I was on Kris’s lap. He was grinning at me and his lips, with the same expression on his face that Tristan and Keegan had had on theirs. I screamed again and everything disappeared; the only thing I saw were my parents, rolling on the ground in pain in the far distance. I ran towards them, but the more steps I took the further back they seemed. Again, I began to run, fear flooding my heart…

Luna! Wake up!

Every bone in my body was telling me to force my eyes open, escape the endless darkness and regain my senses; but the adrenaline inside of those bones was telling me that I had to reach my parents, no matter what. They were my first priority - I could not let them suffer.

“Luna. Luna, get up.”

I inhaled sharply and opened my eyes. My chest was heaving, my breath much faster than it normally was. Yixing was leaning across the middle of the limo shaking my shoulders. Embarrassingly I realized that my head was on Kris’s shoulder and sat up quickly, avoiding Tao’s eyes.

“Are you okay?”

I wasn’t even sure who asked; my head was spinning. I was still trying to calm myself down. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied easily. I looked out the window and realized we had arrived at a diner in a small town. “Let’s go eat. I’m hungry as hell.”

Mingsan and Zhongrui led the way, accompanied by the limo’s driver. All of the boys had to put on face masks and sunglasses, as a precaution for paparazzi and/or crazy fans. Right before stepping into the door, I tapped Luhan’s shoulder and whispered that I had to make a call before I came in. He nodded, a curious look on his face, and continued into the cabin.

The door shut and I took a deep breath of air, letting it settle in my lungs before slowly blowing it all out. I pulled out my phone and checked the time - 7:15. In France, it was 3 am; my parents were almost surely asleep. Still, I punched in my dad’s number and hit the call button.

After three tones, he had picked up. His voice was groggy and tired and I could tell he had been sleeping. “Hello?” He said gruffly.

“Hey, Papa,” I said. For some reason, it brought tears to my eyes to hear his voice. I leaned on a hot metal railing, looking out at the desert, and forced a smile as if he could see it. “I know it’s late, I’m sorry.”

“You’re fine, champignon,” he said, energy suddenly filling his voice. I heard him whisper to my mom, “Sarah, it’s Luna!” 

I laughed, and the tears that had formed slowly rolled down my cheek. “How are you guys? How’s France?”

“It’s good, not the same without you though. Bonnemaman doesn’t have anyone to eat the frambroise ice cream. How was China? How’s the house?”

I swallowed. “China was good! It was good. Chloe was fantastic. It was so cool to finally get to go there. As for the house, I, uh…” I wiped my eyes quickly. “I haven’t been back yet. It’s a long story, I’ll explain it to you when I have more time.”

My mom’s voice spoke, “Are you busy? What are you doing?”

“I’m eating dinner with friends,” I said honestly. No need for more detail than that. “Plus, it’s like 3 am for you guys and I don’t want to waste too much of your sleep.”

“Oh sweetie, you aren’t wasting our sleep.”

I sniffed. “Well, I love you guys. Have fun in France. Please be safe.”

“We love you too. We’ll call you when it’s a better time for us,” my dad replied. We said goodbye and I hung up right before a huge sob came from my throat. I cursed hoarsely and tucked my phone back into the pocket of my sweatpants. Why was I so emotional all of the sudden? It had just been a dream.

I felt someone’s presence behind me, but refused to turn around and face them. I already knew who it was.

“Your dream was about your parents, wasn’t it?” Tao asked softly.

I wiped my tears away and scoffed. “That’s what you have to say to me?” I said, letting anger and sadness seep into my words. He deserved to hear it and deal with all of it; it was his fault, after all.

He moved next to me and leaned on the railing like I was, looking out at the empty plains. We were truthfully in the middle of nowhere. A few moments of awkward silence passed, and then he turned his head so he was looking at me. He pulled his face mask down and took the sunglasses off so I could see his features. “I’m sorry, Luna. I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the best of me. I shouldn’t have said things that I didn’t mean. Because, by the way, I didn’t mean them at all. You are perfect. You are more than I will ever be. You have more meaning and worth than I will ever have, and when I say that, I truly believe it.”

I turned slightly to meet his eyes. “It’s gonna take more than that to apologize to me. What you said hurt my feelings. It hurt them bad, and Kris gave me a few things to think about on top of that.”

Tao’s eyes dropped and he looked away from me, “I knew something was going on between you and Kris.”

“There’s nothing more than him being a good, protective and supportive friend. He was there for me when you yelled at me in the hall. He brought me ramen. He was there for me the next morning. He made me coffee. Luhan was there too.”

“You spent a night with them?” Tao exclaimed, staring at me.

My face went red. “Not like that! Jesus!”

He studied me and then put his head in his hands for what felt like an hour. I refused to speak first; it was not my responsibility. When he looked back at me, exhaustion was in his eyes. He grimaced and lifted his shirt gingerly, revealing the bruises he had earned a day before. “I don’t know what Kris told you. All I know is that I would take a bullet for you, and I’ve proven it. I know I have problems with my emotions. I know that I seem like a jerk sometimes. I also know I can be egotistical and narcissistic, but he’s manipulative and impulsive - we both have our sides, and I’m willing to change my frame of mind to be with you. I’m never, ever going to hurt you again.”

Keeping my mouth shut, I his abs and he inhaled sharply, leaning away. “You’re gonna have to learn how to keep your emotions in check if you’re going to date me, Huang Zitao.” With that, I walked into the restaurant and over to the table.