Midterms were finally over as the end of October rolled around. There was a lot of talk about Halloween and everyone's plan for that day. The whole school was in a buzz at the Halloween party that was being held at Jihoon's house. It seems as though most, if not the whole school, was going to be there. It was all anyone was talking about. Halloween fell on a Friday this year. So, after classes were over for the week everyone would be heading home to get ready for the party. It was lunch period again as you, Yuri, and the boys were sitting in the classroom eating your lunch and chatting with each other. Someone entered the room and made their way over to your group. Everyone looked up to see Jihoon standing there. He then shifted his attention to Yuri and asked if you were all coming to his party.

"Yea. We'll be there, but don't expect us to arrive in costume" she replied. It was decided among everyone that no one wanted to get dressed up for Halloween. Even Yuri, who loves designing outfits, found it to be a waste of her time and money. "That's fine. As long as you're all coming then that's good enough for me. The party will start at 7PM. See you all there!" And with a wave, he was gone as soon as he came. Jay B noticed the solemn look on both your faces and decided to question you. "You girls look like you really don't want to go. You don't have to force yourself, you know?" Yuri turned to him and gave him her response. "You guys don't know Jihoon. He can be quite persistent when he wants something. That's why I'm using the party as an excuse to tell him straight up what I think of him." You also joined in with your own input. "And I'm only going because I don't want Yuri to be alone. You guys already know the school's opinion of us." The boys sat in silence and thought about your predicament. "Well, you girls won't be alone since we'll also be going with you" Yugyeom added. The rest of the boys gave you reassuring smiles, to which you both gave them grateful smiles in return.

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It was around 8PM when all of you showed up to the party. Everyone was already getting into it as they ate, drank, and socialized among each other. Yugyeom and Bambam ran straight towards the table serving food when you all arrived. Youngjae and Jinyoung decided to follow them to keep an eye on them. The rest of you made your way around the house, not really sure what to do. You passed by a crowd of dancing people and got separated from the rest of the boys. Both you and Yuri decided to get some drinks to cool yourselves down. Being in a crowded place with a lot of people was making the room feel like a sauna. As you both got your drinks, Jihoon spotted the two of you and asked to speak to Yuri alone. The two left to talk in private and you decided to wander around the crowded house by yourself. Not long after, the crowd of people were starting to get to you so you decided to escape to the bathroom down the hallway to splash some water on your face. As soon as you left the bathroom, a group of boys were walking down the hallway and spotted you. They all exchanged grins and proceeded to pull you into an empty room. Closing the door shut behind them.

"Let go of me!" You struggled to fight your way out of their grip as they dragged you into the room. As soon as the door was closed, they let go of you and decided to form a circle around you. They had you backed against a corner and the situation was making you really uncomfortable. "What do you s want?" you hissed at them. "Hey, no need for such language. You're the one everyone in school is calling a witch, right? Why aren't you dressed like one?" one of them taunted. "You know, now that I get a good look at her, don't you guys think she looks kinda hot?" another one asked. They all turned to look at you from head to toe. You didn't like how the situation was progressing and tried to come up with an escape plan. Before you could try to run for the door, one of them grabbed onto your arm tightly. "You know what? You just might have a point there. What do you guys say we have some fun with her?" They all gave you dirty grins as they closed in on you. "Don't ing touch me!" you screamed. At that moment, the door to the room slammed open.

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Jay B, Jackson, and Mark had gotten separated from the two of you when you made your way towards the dancing crowd. The other girls in the room saw it as their opportunity to get close to the handsome new transfer students. Some of them were getting really close to the boys while they whispered flirtatious lines to them, making them feel uncomfortable and disgusted. The boys desperately tired to separate themselves from the crowd of girls. It took awhile but they eventually succeeded. They noticed that the two of you were nowhere to be found. "Did you see which way the girls went?" Jackson asked. Jay B shook his head no. "Let's split up and look for them" Mark suggested. The boys nodded in agreement and went separate ways to look for the two of you. I have a bad feeling about this. Mark thought to himself as he rounded the corner and came to a somewhat secluded hallway. As he was about to leave, he heard your scream coming from one of the rooms. His instincts told him to rush to the door as he slammed it open. He saw you surrounded by a group of boys and finally lost it.

Mark was running on adrenaline and fury as he proceeded to attack the guys who dare try to lay a finger on his mate. He punched one square in the face and kicked another one in the ribs. They didn't stand a chance against him as some of them started to back away in fear. He approached the guy that was grabbing your arm and proceeded to twist his free arm, nearly breaking it. "Mark, stop!" you pleaded, trying to calm him down. Your voice snapped him out of his rage. He turned his attention to the guy who has now let go of your arm and shoved him towards his friends. He then turned to all of them and threaten them in a menacing voice. "If I see any one of you anywhere near her again, I'll send you all to the hospital with broken bones." Mark grabbed your hand and led you out the door and outside the house. He was so focused on getting you as far away from the party as possible that he didn't hear you calling out to him. "Mark!" At the sound of you calling his name, he finally stopped in his track and turned to face you. The two of you were far away from Jihoon's house, but not far enough to where you could still hear the music coming from it.

"Thanks, Mark. For coming to my rescue." You tried to sound as unafraid as possible, but your slightly trembling hand in Mark's gave you away. Mark was feeling guilty himself that he didn't keep a better eye on you. So, in order to calm you down, he did the next best thing he could think of as he pulled you into a hug. "Mark! What are you doing?" you asked. Completely surprised and taken aback by the sudden hug. "I'm sorry. You must have been so scared back there." Hearing the calmness in his voice made you stop squirming. "I should have kept a better eye on you. I'm sorry you had to find yourself in that type of situation." You could hear the pain and remorse he felt in his voice as he hugged you tighter. All you ever do is say sorry to me. You decided to hug him back to reassure him that you were fine. "I'm okay now, really. If you didn't come when you did, things could have turned out worse. Thank you for looking out for me." You tried to sound as convincing as you could to ease his worries. Mark buried his face in your hair as he hugged you even tighter. The two of you stayed like that for awhile. In each other's embrace as you both comforted one another. After what felt like forever, the two of you let go and just stared into each other's eyes. You were the first one to break eye contact. "Should we go back and look for the others then?" you shyly asked, a slight blush on your face. "I think that's a good idea" Mark responded. He grabbed your hand and held it firmly in his, intertwining your fingers together. Scared that if he let go you might get hurt again. You followed him back to the house, all while your gaze was fixed on your intertwine hands as a smile formed on your face.