We still accept love, just so you know. :D

“Volcanoes? Massive earthquakes. A giant flood?” You looked at Chanyeol with wide eyes. “Do you think we’ll have to build an arc?”

“Mary Sue, what does an arc have to do with vampires?”

“I dunno,” you pondered. “But if the whole world flooded, the rainclouds would block out the sun.”

Chanyeol shook his head. “A flood wouldn’t exactly be beneficial to spreading vampirism though,” he said. “It has to be something else.”

You thought more about what the event could possibly be that the vampires were waiting for. Whatever it was, it had to be something that would somehow contribute to blocking out the sun, and also rare enough that they would have to wait for the opportunity it presented to put this prophecy in motion.

You had been trying to help Chanyeol more with research lately, saying it was because the event was only coming closer, and the sooner you could figure out when everything would go down, the more prepared you could be for it. You didn’t admit that it was also because you were avoiding training with Tao. After the way you had snapped at him and walked away, without understanding anything about him or his situation, you didn’t think you’d be able to face him again. Not for a while, at least.

You sighed, flipping another page of the almanac you had been skimming. Chanyeol was still buried in the book he was reading beside you. You glanced over at him. You didn’t know how he could be so focused. These old books were extremely boring to you.

“You know,” you said flippantly, “I kind of thought that being part of a prophecy and having a destiny that involved me going up against vampires would be a little more…adventurous.”

Chanyeol barely looked up in response before staring back at the pages he was immersed in. “What do you mean?” he asked, only half-listening to you.

“I mean you read about vampires and it’s this exciting and dramatic story about danger and romance,” you explained. “Nothing in the story says anything about reading ancient records of climate and natural disasters like I’m studying for a meteorology final or something.” You flipped a few pages of the dull read in front of you as you said it.

“Story?” Chanyeol asked in confusion.

“Yeah, haven’t you ever read a young adult novel?”

He shook his head.

You sighed, surprised that you had to explain this to him. “Vampires are a popular topic in fictitious romances,” you said. “Especially after Twilight.”

Chanyeol’s face depicted the most adorable confused pout you had ever seen. “Vampire stories become more popular after dark?”

You laughed. “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of Twilight!” He shook his head. “Seriously?” You sighed. “It’s a book series about this girl who falls in love with a vampire. There’s Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. There’s movies about them!” You sat back, staring at him with incredulous amusement. “I can’t believe you haven’t heard of Twilight.”

But Chanyeol suddenly seemed deep in thought, as he was staring off into space with a serious look of contemplation. “What were the titles again?”

You looked at him. “Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn,” you repeated.

He grinned and stood up, going to the bookshelf and scanning titles. “Mary Sue, you’re a genius,” he said.

“What?” you said, but you found you couldn’t argue. “I mean, yeah. I am.” You stared confused as he pulled out a book and set it on the table, flipping it open. “Why am I a genius, again?”

“That’s the event they’re waiting for,” he explained.

“Twilight?” You gasped in realization. “Are they going to wait for sunset and then stop the rotation of the earth so it’s night constantly and plunge the world into darkness that way?”

Chanyeol laughed, still scanning the pages. “No, Mary Sue. That would only plunge half the world into darkness.” His finger stopped in the middle of a page and he smiled widely, his eyes lit up in excitement. “This is it,” he whispered.

“What’s it?”

He looked at you, his happiness contagious. “It’s an eclipse. They’re waiting for a solar eclipse. And I know when the next eclipse will be.”

You looked at each other excitedly before he rushed toward the door with the book.

“We have to tell the others,” Chanyeol exclaimed.

“An eclipse,” Amber repeated when you told your friends at lunch.

You nodded in response.

“Isn’t that in just a few weeks?” Krystal asked.

You still felt uneasy about Amber telling Krystal everything, but what could you do about it know?

“And how are they going to use the device and you for that?” Jonghyun wondered.

You shrugged. “We didn’t figure that out yet. But Chanyeol and the rest of the Hunters are sure now that it is the solar eclipse that the vampires are waiting for.”

“Well, at least we know how much time we have now,” Amber said.

Then Sunny and Sungmin joined the table, and you had to switch the topic to something much less apocalyptic.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

It was 9 o’clock in the evening, already dark outside, and you were in your room, trying to figure out what that annoying sound was.

Tap, it persisted. Tap. Tap.

You realized it was coming from the window. Suddenly you were very nervous. What was tapping on your window?

Tap. Tap.

Oh God. What if it was a vampire trying to get in? Had they found out where you lived? What would you do?

Tap.

You peered through your window from the opposite side of the room, trying to see if there were any dark figures creeping around just outside. You couldn’t see anyone.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Wait a minute. Were those…pebbles? You thought you saw something flying around out there. You took a few steps closer to the window to make sure.

Tap. Tap.

Okay, that was definitely a tiny rock hitting your window. Who was throwing pebbles at your window? Someone was trying to get your attention. You walked over to your window and opened it to peek your head outside.

Standing in your yard and grinning at the sight of you was Chanyeol. You felt a smile tugging at your lips when you saw him, and he beckoned you down. Without a second thought, you climbed down the vines beside your window like you had done numerous times before.

“What are you doing here?” you demanded, smiling despite the apparent urgency of the situation. “Has something bad happened?”

Chanyeol grinned down at you. “Besides our impending doom in a few weeks? No,” he answered.

You pouted a little. “Then why are you here throwing rocks at my window?”

He gave a short laugh. He seemed a little nervous. “I just wanted to ask if you would come to dinner Sunday night,” he said. “It’s my birthday, and we all figured we should have at least one night of relaxation before we fall back into preparations for the eclipse.”

You scrunched up your nose in response. “I’m going to see you tomorrow,” you responded. “You couldn’t wait to tell me then?”

Chanyeol’s unabashed smile could only bring your lips back up to mirror it. “No,” he said. “I couldn’t wait.”

You laughed, glad it was dark and he couldn’t see the light blush on your cheeks. “Yes, of course I’ll come,” you told him.

His eyes lit up. “Great!” he exclaimed. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” You nodded and started to turn back to your house. “You can all come,” he added.

“We’ll be there,” you called over your shoulder.

“Don’t worry about bringing a gift or anything,” he said as you reached the vine at the base of your house. “Just show up!”

“Alright,” you laughed. “I look forward to it!” You waved at him and he waved back before you ascended up the vine and climbed into your bedroom window. You granted him a final wave before you shut the window on the chilly night and turned back to go to sleep, Chanyeol’s bright eyes and smile still burning bright in your mind.

Before jumping into bed, you rushed back to the window and threw it open again. Chanyeol was already on his way down the street to return to the church.

“Chanyeol!” you called out, and he turned around, a small, barely visible figure in the distant darkness. “Happy early birthday!” you yelled cheerily.

You didn’t think he could hear you very well though, because all he said was,

“What?!”