(Word count: 1634)

Dazzling sunlight attacked the wide glass window, invading the cafe in which a young man sat, noisily slurping his bubble tea. He glanced at the silver watch curled around his wrist: 4:49pm. Sighing, he continued to stare absent mindedly out of the window. It was then that he began to exhibit suspicious behaviour: after consuming his large cup of bubble tea, he ordered another one, and went back to staring out the window (with the occasional glance at his watch.) This pattern continued for several hours and it was this queer behaviour that prompted the waitresses to begin whispering about him.

"Damn you, Kim Jongin. Where the Hell are you?" The boy sighed.

He was still sitting in the exact same place when closing time arrived. It was 7:59 when the boy pushed open the door and started to walk. He didn't know where he was going. To find Kai, he supposed. He didn't care.

The silver moon loomed overhead in the purple twilight sky. Lazy snowflakes began to flutter downwards, crashing towards Earth, littering it with the divine pearl tears of the gods. The boy passed bare,  lonely trees.

As he rounded a corner, his eyes skimmed past a demonic silhouette. Gradually, a shadowy figure emerged from the blackness. The figure's bleak dishevelled hair hung nonchalantly over its left eye. A manic grin spread over its cadaverous face. "So I've finally caught up with you - Oh Sehun." The creature gnarled, launching itself at a petrified Sehun. Its long talons digging in to the skin protecting his ethereal face. Spinning himself around, Sehun bolted in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, the monster also took flight, and - just as it caught up to its target - Sehun darted round a corner. For several long moments, he remained motionless, concealed in the darkness of the shadows which stemmed from the building his back was resting against.

When it dawned on him that he was safe (with no where else to turn to) he staggered towards the house - whose shadow saved his life. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Xiumin (who had been watching 'Dream High' with Tao) rose to his feet when he heard a curious knock on the front door. Since no-one was expecting visitors, the sudden sound surprised them both. Creaking slightly, the door swung open, allowing Xiumin to view Sehun's nervous face. "Hello?"

"I... I need help. Please help. I was attacked - I have no where to go..." Sehun choked.

As he spoke, Xiumin picked up on the way Sehun's voice faltered, the pain in his voice. Understanding his troubling situation, Minseok took pity on the young human male, and invited him inside. "What's your name?" Xiumin asked him once they'd got into the living room.

"Sehun. Oh Sehun." He smiled weakly.

Minseok flopped down on the sofa inbetween Tao and Suho. Not knowing what to do, Sehun simply shuffled from foot to foot. Noticing this, Suho smiled warmly at him. "You can sit down, you know." So Sehun sat down in the middle of Tao and Xiumin.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Tao's commendable hearing (which comes with being a vampire) picked up on Sehun's heartbeat. His own throat ached with thirst when he stared at the veins in Sehun's neck. Kris had warned him about this, the thirst for human blood, but - unable to control it - he felt himself being pushed closer and closer to the edge. He closed his eyes, wishing away the thudding of Sehun's heartbeat. Alas, the mouthwatering scent of his prey's blood calling to him proved to much for Zitao. Baring his serrated fangs, he prepared to move in for the kill...

His aching jaw clamped shut just a few inches away from his target's face. Realising what was going on, Suho had moved Sehun out of the way quickly, using his cat-like reflexes (a vampiric trait.)

D.O. entered the room, his hand in Jongin's, and passed Zitao a goblet containing the crimson fluid he desired.

Seeming to completely forget the 2 near-death experiences he had in under an hour, Sehun ran over to Jongin. "Kai!" He exclaimed. "Whhere were you? Why didn't you come to meet me? I almost died! Twice!"

"Sehun... I'm sorry. I couldn't..." Jongin trailed off. "I couldn't leave Kyungsoo." He gestured towards D.O. The look on Kai's face gave everything away. Sehun only nodded, understanding immediately - it was obvious: Kai was in love with D.O.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

An hour later, Tao and Wu Fan were in their room, and Kai and Kyungsoo were sat at the dining table (God knows why they had one, seeing as vampires can't eat) with Sehun, explaining their situation. "So you see, there's nothing for you to fear. We generally only feed off animal blood." D.O. concluded.

Sehun raised an eyebrow. "Generally?"

"Tao - the one who tried to bite you - is new. He's only been a vampire for a few days, which means he can't control his thirst."

"Kyungsoo hyung. I'm thirsty now." Kai whined.

D.O. stood up, and a few minutes later returned to the table carrying a cup of bubble tea. "Would you like some too, Sehun?" He handed a cup to Sehun after he saw him nod in response.

Luhan strolled through the door then, and, upon seeing Sehun, his mouth dropped open. Despite being several yards away from him, Luhan could still inhale Sehun's precious scent. So this is the human Kris told me about, he thought to himself. Sehun's charasmatic smile and milky porcelain skin captivated Luhan, refusing to let him look away. The twinkle in Sehun's eye froze him, trapping him in a maze which was impossible to escape from.

Sehun felt voracious eyes bore into the back of his head. He turned to find Luhan's ravenous eyes watching him, never dropping his gaze. Seeing Sehun look up at him, Luhan walked over to him on quivering legs - taking baby steps and trying to regain his balance. When he sat down at the table, Kyungsoo grinned. "Sehun, this is Luhan." He gestured towards him. "Kai, I keep forgetting you're still human. You need to go to bed, it's late for your kind - you should probably sleep too, Sehun."

Sehun waited until Kai and D.O. had left the room, before he asked "'Still human?' Does that mean Kyungsoo is planning on making him a vampire?"

Luhan could only shrug, but when he eventually found his voice, he said "It could do. They're soulmates, they have to be together, and that's the easiest way."

"Even then... I don't think I would want to be a vampire."

"Not even for your soulmate?" Luhan knew himself that he was only asking this question because of how he felt when he saw Sehun - there was a chance that they were soulmates.

"Not even for my soulmate." Sehun saw Luhan's face fall. Sehun wasn't even aware that Luhan was talking about them. Nevertheless, Luhan felt as if he'd punched his hand into Luhan's frail chest, pulled out his heart and stamped on it. Too embarrassed to look at Sehun, Luhan dropped his head, trying to distract himself with the bubble tea still left in Kai's cup. Out of the corner of his eye, Luhan caught a glimpse of something floating. After a moment or so, he realised he was the one levitating it. That's when he knew. They were soulmates after all. Their souls interlocked perfectly. But how could he make Sehun understand that?

Outside, the wind howled a lonesome howl, as if it was desperate for company - as if it was reading Luhan's mind. He looked at Sehun with forlorn eyes leaking sadness. "You should sleep."

When Sehun walked over to the sofa, and took of his shoes as if preparing to lay on it, Luhan prostested - "No, not here. Take my bed."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Wishing there was something he could say to make Sehun understand, Luhan watched him - standing by the door with his arms folded - as he clambered into the double-bed, pulling the covers over him. He closed his eyes, and Luhan waited a few seconds (to make sure that he wasn't going to open them again) before walking cautiously over to the bed, crouching down and his hair. 

- - - - - - - - - - - -

This happened for several nights. However, on one particular night, Sehun woke up in the middle of the night sweating. His eyes opened just as he saw the creature - the thing that chased him, almost killed him - moving towards him with a snarl on its face. But when he awoke the first thing he saw was Luhan, lingering over him. It warmed his heart - knowing that he was protected, cared for. It was foreign to him. He'd never felt loved before.

Sehun's hand inched carefully towards Luhan's, and eventually their fingers became entwined with each other's. Luhan leaned down to lock their lips together, and - much to his surprise - Sehun wrapped his arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, pulling Luhan closer to his chest. Their tongues danced together, battling for dominance. Since Sehun was several years younger than him, this amused Luhan - the fact that he would even think of competing with him.

If Sehun hadn't needed oxygen, Luhan didn't know when, or if, that kiss would have ended. It was then that Luhan knew he wanted to be oxygen - to be able to give Sehun strength, life, rather than taking it from him.