Author's Note:

Hey guys, It's Khay! Here's another chapter! I'm trying to make up for all the time ost. Here's another chapter. Don't kill me! haha. Anyways, comments are always welcome, it's what makes me know who's reading, and motivates me to keep writing. Anybody in love with EXO right now? Awoooouu! Haha. If so, who's your bias? Mine is Chen Chen. But they are all so perf! I'll be writing my new fic about EXO after I'm done with my two other fics. Take care! Love, kiaoay-

It seems as if Nate was still running quickly, but not as fast as earlier. As more long minutes pass, I felt my body regain some energy at a very slow pace. The rain has stopped; I no longer feel the droplets of water. Why does this always happen when I’m all alone? Kidnapped. I can’t call Kevin… I dropped my phone earlier. No, lightning struck it. That was no freak accident. There was no way it was an accident. My senses started to come back slowly, but not enough to escape from Nate’s grasp. My vision was blurry, and very cloudy as fog.

“.” I heard Nate growl. He must have noticed that I was able to move. “. . .” He repeated. We came to a halt, and he laid me down on the… some kind of cold concrete.

Alright, ______. All you have to do is run. Once you’re running… start to scream, just scream. As my energy replenished, I lifted my upper body off the ground, and studied Nate’s position. His back was against a wall, and he was preoccupied, looking over at the other direction behind him, looking for… something. Was he meeting someone? I got to get out of here. My fingers curled into a fist, my legs folded; I was preparing to run. I exhaled in nervousness, and my eyes were kept darted on Nate. Alright. 3… 2… 1… RUN. I lifted my body hastily, as fast as I could; and just bolted. I didn’t bother paying attention to where I was going. All, I had to do was run. Run. Just keep on running. Like mother said, when you get kidnapped, it’s over if your captor takes you into some isolated property. You’re dead. I have this chance; since we weren’t far from the stores.

My head didn’t bother to look back; I was too terrified. My heart pumped faster, and my hands trembled. Keep running. Please. My legs were turning into jelly, but I can’t fall now. Must keep running.

“_____!” I heard Nate yell out. His footsteps pounded onto the puddles. He was running after me.

“No... No. NO! Go away!” I screamed, too terrified to cry. I just kept my mind on running; that’s all I wished/had to do. “Just leave me alone please. I’ve had enough of this.” I surprisingly managed to say as my lungs begged for air. Don’t give out now, I told my legs.

“Wait!” He yelled.

“No, stay awa—“

My legs kept going, until I felt as if I missed a step. I looked back forward, and stared at the mannequins in the store; they were like tiny ants. The road and the ground were so far. Then it came to realization that we were on a roof of a very tall building; and I just stepped off the building; suicide. W…what. My body found itself in midair, falling to the ground, 15 feet down. Everything went in slow motion. This can’t be it.

“Got you.” My waist was then wrapped around by Nate’s arms. I looked up, and stared at a young man who…

“What are you?” I whispered in distraught. I looked down, and stared at both of our feet, in midair. “What do you want from me?” I looked back up. My eyes widened. His eyes glowed a light blue, and his hair dark as the night sky. “What.. what are you?”

“A friend.”  Nate whispered. Nate brought us back onto the roof. My legs gave out, and my hands met with the floor. I started to gasp for air to calm myself. “Look. I’m not here to hurt you.” I stared at him in horror, and looked around for an exit. “_____.” He stepped closer.

“Get away from me!” I pointed at him. He sighed, and raised both of his hands.

“Look. I’m not exactly truthful with you all this time.” He whispered. I nodded, and told him that it was pretty obvious. “Look away, I’ll tell you the truth.”

“Look away?” I asked in confusion. “So , you could just grab me, and hurt me or something?”

A snarl came from Nate’s throat as he crossed his arms: “I warned you.” A sudden light surrounded him, swirling around him like some whirlwind. I fell back onto the floor, as my head couldn’t take the brightness. It was no longer Nate that was standing there but a familiar figure. Tall. Milk Skin. Black hair with matching dark eyes. A white cloak replaced the pink apron.

“______ Hyun, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.” He apologized, bowing his head.

“It’s you. You’re one of the Starlite elders. All this time, you’ve been… spying on me?” I got up, and approached the elder with the Scorpion tattooed on the front of his white cloak. “What the hell do you want from me? Why did you kidnap me, and the lightning that struck my phone?”

“That’s the thing. That wasn’t mine—“

A bolt of lightning flashed less than a meter away from me causing a scream to escape my core. The ‘Elder’ suddenly appeared beside me, lifting me up and suddenly jumped to the next building meters away.

“Like I said, those aren’t mine.” He repeated, running with me in his arms.

“T-then. Who’s are they?” I trembled, my fingers dug in his skin.

“Ehrian’s girlfriend.” He answered back. He looked up at the cloudy sky and cursed. Lightning bolts flashed and crashed behind us. Sudden, winds rushed through as strong as a hurricane, causing us to flip over. But he quickly regained his stance. “.” He swore again. “They’re onto us.”

“Th-they? I thought you said it was Ehrian’s girlfriend.” I growled, wrapping my arms around his neck tightly. He was my only way out of this terror right now.

“Doesn’t mean she doesn’t have an army.” He snapped back. “My arms are hurting, can you run?” I nodded. “Once I set you down, we run. Don’t look back. I got your back, alright?” I nodded obediently. He set me down, and we started to dash side by side. Lightning struck left to right, non-stop. It sounded as if they were bombs. The rain started to pour down harder and harder, as lightning kept on coming. “She isn’t the only one who can control Thunder.” I looked at him, and watched light ripple from his fingers, aiming for the sky causing the clouds to disperse, letting some sun come in. “Where are you?” He growled. “I can’t shoot randomly, it’ll only drain my asterisk energy.”

“I thought you had endless energy supp—“ Suddenly, a car exploded from contact with lightning. My body lifted and slammed into ‘Nate’. Groans echoed in the rubble and debris of the building.

“You alright?” He groaned, holding onto my shoulder.

“Y-yeah.” I groaned. I felt the shards of glass grove into my back, and gravel dug onto my scalp. I hissed in pain.

“We got to keep going. Come on, getup.”  He pulled my arm, but I felt a sharp pain on my back. “.” He growled. “You got a big shard of glass in your back.” I started to panic, and asked him how big. “About the size of fork, but only a quarter of it is in your back right now.”

My hands clenched on the ends of his cloak tightly in pain. He stared back in pain. He patted my shoulder and ripped a piece of his cloak. His fingers winded the cloth into some sort of stick.

“Bite on it.” He ordered. My teeth clenched onto the cloth, and felt one of his hands support my body and the other on the shard. “It’s going to hurt, but I have to take it out. We have to hurry.”

I groaned, and clenched my teeth onto the cloth even tighter.

“3…2…1…” His hand jerked back with the bloody shard with it. A muffle shriek escaped my lips, and a burning searing pain on the lower left of my bag. My fingers dug on Nate’s skin as he hissed in pain. “You’re okay. Come on, let’s get out of here.” He wrapped a tight cloth around my lower back to stop the bleeding. It hurts. “I know.” He listened. My lower back started to pulse and throb. The thought of the wound made me feel dizzy, but we had to keep running. I don’t know how long we ran, but it must have been an hour or so.

Luckily, the clouds cleared. We were safe.

“For now.” The white cloaked elder said.

We sat on the park bench, and stared at the bruised, damaged roads. We did that?

“She did.” He growled. “And I’ll get her. I’ll kill her. We’ll kill her. The other 11 elders.”

“Your name.” I whispered, my hand pressing on my lower back. I looked at my fingers, and noticed the blood. “What’s your name? I must have forgotten it.  I want to thank you formally. For… this. I mean, I’m sure your name isn’t Nate, right?”

He chuckled, and pushed his hair back. “Don’t thank me yet. Thank me when I get her before she gets you.” My body tensed up, and I stared at him in worry. He looked back apologetically, and promised to not ever let that happen. “She’s strong, but we’re 12 individuals with a whole society against her. Her army may seem vast, but we are stronger.” His hand clenched into a fist, his eyes filled with determination. His eyes glowed like the lightning’s flare.

“Your name.” I repeated. He smiled and answered:

“Kim Jongdae. Or Chen.”

I nodded, and smiled. “Thank you, Chen, for saving my life today. But, you. You owe me answers. Now.” I glared.

***

“You were watching Kevin and me?” I asked again in disbelief. He nodded and explained the whole Starlite-Human affair, and the problem it may pose upon the future of Starlites. “But… we wouldn’t tell anybody, I mean…”

“How will you explain your glowing children to your parents, huh? You can’t say ‘oh, I eloped with a lamp.’” Chen growled, a spark rippled from his hand in anger.

“We’ll think of something… but we would never expose the secret of the realm.” I promised him. He shrugged, and grabbed a few edible flowers from the rack, and sat back down on the table. “Look, Chen…”

“If you give birth to Starlite children, we’ll be forced to take them away from you.” I looked at him in shock as he was so comfortable when he said that. How dare he… “It’s procedure, ____. And you’re no exception just because you’re some Starlite’s girlfriend.”  My hand reached out to slap him, but it backfired, as a spark electrocuted my hand. O-ow. “Sorry. Barrier.” He muttered. “Look. We’re going to get you to Lay. He’s going to heal your wounds.”

“Don’t touch me.” I got up, and grabbed my coat.

“______.” He got up, persistent. “Let Lay heal you.”

“Thank you, Chen for rescuing me. Kevin and I are fine. We don’t need your ‘protection’. Just… get rid of Ehrian’s girlfriend, please.” I walked out the door, and caught a cab.

***

“_____? _____!” I heard Kevin open the hotel door. I got up from the bed, and ran to him. “, ____. Are you okay? Ch-Chen. The elder. He told me everything, all this time. Nate… it was him. Are you alright? Your back.. Your back!” His hand traced the bandage.

“I’m okay.” I whispered, holding him tightly. “He saved my life. I’m alright.”

“Thank god.” He kissed my hair, and pecked my lips twice, before locking me into another tight embrace.

“Is..is true, what Chen said?” I asked quietly. “About how we’d never get a normal life because of this.. Starlite issue? We’ll never be free of this horror.” I pulled away, and stared at him. “I mean, I don’t mind the power, the protection, the light. But… the danger and threat of enemies that comes with it… once Ehrian and his girl are gone.. will there be new enemies? Will they not only threaten us,  but those we love too?”

Kevin looked back, slightly hurt.

“I’ll..I don’ know, ____.” He whispered. “_____. I don’t know. But  I do know, I’ll do anything in my power to protect you. The elders will do anything to protect us.”

“Yeah, by spying on us, and taking away our future children for MILITARY DEFENSE.” I pushed Kevin away, and crossed my arms. Tears. “I don’t know if I can handle all of this.” I told him. “I mean. I’m so thankful for you. You becoming a Starlite, it’s what saved you. But… I don’t know if I can handle all of the chaos. I can’t do anything. I’m always the damsel in distress.”

“____.”

“One day, what if we make a family. How can I protect my children? A gun or my tennis raquet can’t fend off the kinds of enemies Starlites face every second.Maybe.. Maybe it’s best you meet some Starlite girl.”

“____. Stop.”

“No, Kevin. It’s made up. My mind’s made up.” I said in pain. His hands grabbed onto my arms, and he shook me lightly.

“______, what are you saying? Are you running away from me? Are you so terrified of me and what I am?”

“No..”

“Are you scared that I may not be strong enough to protect us?” His voice raised. His eyes glowed furiously.

“No!” I yelled back. “I’m scared that I’m the ONE who won’t be able to protect you.”

“You don’t have to. I’m here. I’ll protect you.” He whispered, his lips pecking the tears away.

“You’re only one man.” I whispered as I cupped his cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

“_____, please.” He held onto my hands tightly, but I pulled them away.

“I’m sorry. Give me some time to think about all of this. Please.” Kevin started to shake his head. I tried walking away, but he pulled me in, grabbing my waist. “I already have a ticket back to Seoul. You don’t have to worry. I already issued with Chen and Ren for some protection. Stay here. Perform. Interview. I’ll call you.” I wiped the tears, and then said before I left the room. “I’ll come back in the morning for my luggages.”

“Don’t.” I heard Kevin say before I closed the door.

Just give me time to think, Kevin. Just some time.

Suddenly, I heard Kevin punch the wall.

Don’t beat yourself up. It’s just me. Let me think. I love you.