Eternity seemed to pass for Tara before the car turned into a dark road and pulled over against the curb, coming to a silent stop. Tara, having gradually blocked out Mark's sickening, gurgling snoring and sunk into a ponderous trance whilst allowing her calmed eyes feed off of the magic of the burring city lights, was thrown back into reality and she blinked several times, looking around inquisitively. Jaemin released a heavy, tired sigh and pulled the gear stick up to complete the process of turning off the car, and he then looked over at Mark.

Tara looked out of her window to recognize a long, dark alleyway entrance on the other side of the sidewalk to her. A chill ran up her spine and she gave a petite shiver. It was ghostly.

"Mark." Jaemin monotonously called over to Mark.

Tara tore her entranced eyes away from the unnerving alleyway and looked up front at Mark and Jaemin. Jaemin reached over and shook Mark's shoulder softly, but all that did was make him give a loud snort and turn his head away. Jaemin sighed angrily and suddenly planted a quick slap across his cheek, and he jumped into life with alarmed eyes, snapping his head left and right in fright.

"I've never seen the box in my life, I swear! They made me do it!" He whaled.

Jaemin looked at Mark with a dry, sarcastic expression "I love the support and protection that one's family brings..."

Tara scrunched her nose up in shame at Jonathan and then looked over at her older brother as he gasped into consciousness. Tara didn't blame him. Mark's cry would have probably woken up the entire neighborhood that they had driven into... well, if Tara could even call it that. It looked more like a demolition site where the dead came back to life.

"Where are we?" Henry sighed huskily.

"I think we've arrived at Mr. Na's home." She whispered back.

"Yeah, this is my place. You don't have to whisper as if it'll offend me. Scrappy places like this aren't all bad - it looks better from the inside, trust me." Jaemin spoke out confidently.

Tara looked up at him in his mirror "Oh - no, I didn't mean it like that. I-... I'm sorry."

He nodded and opened his car door, keeping his seemingly dubious eyes locked with hers the whole time "Yeah. I know what you meant."

He broke eye contact with her just before he leant away and stepped out of the car. Tara looked out of her shattered window and up at him as he slammed his door shut and then stepped over to Tara's and opened it for her.

"My parents are exactly the same." He added to his last comment with a particular dryness in his tone that Tara didn't quite know how to receive.

She felt it best to just ignore it, and carefully slid her feet round and limped up out of the car. She made sure to keep the injured palm of her right hand facing forwards by her side so that it wouldn't brush against her clothing, and she leant all of her weight onto her healthy foot.

Jaemin closed the door subconsciously whilst eyeing her up and down.

"Wow." He said with impress.

Tara blushed deeply and looked away "Mr. Na, I think you shoul"-

"You're a complete mess." He scoffed.

Tara blinked in offence and surprise and looked back over at him.

Unfortunately for her, he turned and made his way around to the other side of the car to help assist his drunken best friend and her brother out. Tara's lips squeezed together in anger and she furrowed her eyebrows angrily.

"Oooooh." She growled.

Whether it was that Mr. Na was so insensitively honest with her, or because, deep down, Tara had hoped that even when looking like a 'complete mess' as he had so bluntly put it, a man would still find her slightly attractive. Tara didn't exactly get very much attention from the men in her City, not because she was ugly, because she was, in fact, astonishing in a very unique way. She just didn't realize it. She hid it away with her dark, masculine library clothes, messy hair... and being perfectly honest, not very many women who have spent half of their lives living as hermits inside their fascination with ancient Egypt know how to 'swing their hips' and turn heads. Tara was just... Tara. She had been a few dates in the past, but none of them worked out, and they only pushed her further into the depths of her Egyptian world where she just didn't have the 'time' for relationships.

What Tara didn't see was that she was using that as an excuse. She was afraid, although she would never, ever, by the gods of her ancient Egypt, admit it. To be honest... the probably didn't even know she was.

"Steady on, bro. I can only take one hand at a time." Mark burped loudly.

Tara raised an eyebrow at the sight of Jaemin holding out his one hand to Mark; he was beyond the term 'drunk', anyone could see that... Mark swiped his hand out to catch Jaemin's', but he missed completely and fell out of the car onto the ground. Tara flinched at the sound of him crashing into the concrete road and then rolled her eyes; she was beginning to understand that he was perhaps a little more careless that her own brother. Thinking of her brother, she used her healthy hand to press against the side of the car, giving her balance from the loss of strength from her wounded ankle, as she limped round to see Mark being pulled up by Jaemin. Jaemin wrapped Mark's arm around his shoulders and let out an exhausted growl.

"Dammit, Mark, you need to stop eating so much." He grumbled.

"I keep telling her that..." Mark slurred nonsensically.

"Right." Jaemin carelessly sighed; he wasn't listening to him in the slightest.

Tara hobbled over to Henry's door and checked to see if he was leaning against it before pulling it open. She stood at the side of the doorway and watched her brother look around cluelessly with foggy, distorted eyes.

"Get out, Henry." Tara gently told him.

Henry craned his head around to look up at Tara and then smiled goofily, pointing up at her "Hey look - you're taller than me. When d"- He gave a quick hiccup and carelessly continued "did that happen?"

Tara closed her eyes and sighed irritably. Jaemin smirked softly at her stupid brother and shrugged his adopted brother's heavy arm further up to the base of his neck along his shoulders.

"Stay there with him; I'll put Mark inside and come back." Jaemin told her.

Tara nodded a couple of times and watched him turn around and shuffle away with his brother flopping over him at his side. Tara watched them the entire t