After a week of skipping lunch so that Taemin could walk her home, per his request, Vera sits down at her table as she lets out a loud sigh. “Hi you guys,” she says, in English.

“Hey Vera,” Angel says, not even hesitating to speak English.

“Vera~ where’ve you been?” Chaerin asks, attacking her younger friend with a hug. “I heard about you and Taemin >D. I’m so proud of you,” the 17 year old praises, sounding like a mother in need of grandchildren.

“No comment,” Vera grumbles to her tray. She was smart enough to know that it was better to go along with Chaerin’s false fantasy than to kill her hopes and dreams with the truth.

“Oh look at her blushing~” she continues to squeal.

Rolling her eyes, Vera switches her focus to Angel. “...so how’s life?”

“Good,” she says, smiling.

“Good. Have you finally talked to him?”

“Yeah...” she smiles at her tray again.

“And it was a short awkward conversation, wasn’t it?” Vera unenthusiastically teases her.

“Yeah~...” Now Angel actually blushes, her voice going up a bit.

“Uh huh...” the girl says, feeling awkward with the topic. “I’ll just be going then,” she says, standing up.

“To go see your boyfriend~?” Chaerin teases, that creepy smile etched onto her face.

“We’re just friends, Chaerin,” Vera says, walking over to dump her tray when a hand reaches out and grabs her cupcake. “Taemin, no fair, that was mine,” she glares at him.

Taemin looks at her with longing eyes. “Please? I’m hungry.”

Vera glares at him. “Fine, but you owe me.”

“I know,” he smiles, happily, as he stuffs his face with the cake.

“Please explain to me how you’re so skinny,” she says to herself, shaking her head.

He laughs. “I don’t gain weight easily.”

“I can see,” she rolls her eyes at the older boy.

The two friends walk the rest of the way in silence until they finally stop in front of her house. “Well, bye then-” Vera says, starting to put her key in the lock.

“Vera?”

Vera’s long hair spills across her face as she quickly turns to face him. “Ne?”

“Can you meet me tonight at the Lake?”

“...umm, what time?”

“1.”

“...”

“Please~? I have something I really want to show you,” he says, with a pleading smile.

“Fine, but if I fall asleep on you, it’s not my fault.”

Taemin, in his happiness, quickly wraps his arms around her and lightly squeezes her.

“Taemin?” Vera lets out, her voice muffled against his shirt.

“Oh, sorry,” he says, letting go of her. The giddy vampire lightly brushes back loose strands of her hair that fell in her face. “See you, then.”

Still standing there, Vera traces where his cold fingers touched her face as he skips away happily.

“Taemin-ah?” Vera whispers, against the loud roar of the steady falling waterfall.

“I’m over here,” Taemin replies, his voice surrounding her as it echoes across the area.

Finally finding him, Vera lets out a small gasp at the sight in front of her. Next to the large lake and its waterfall, Taemin set up a picnic for the two of them, complete with the warm blanket for them to sit on and picnic basket. “You did this for me?”

He nods, smiling.

“Why so late though? Couldn’t this be done earlier?” she points out, sitting next to him.

“Nope,” he smiles, taking the food out of the basket and laying it in front of her.

Vera watches him and shakes her head. “You didn’t sleep, did you?”

“Hmm?” he turns to face her.

“Nothing,” she says, before laughing behind her hand at his confusion.

After the two eat-which was rather embarrassing for Vera, because she ate as much as Taemin, which is saying a lot-Taemin stands up. “Vera?”

“Taemin-ah?” she turns around to look up at him. “Do you have to leave?”

He shakes his head and rests his hands on her shoulders. It startles Vera that she still feel the cold through her jacket and sweater. “Isn’t it so pretty?”

Smiling, she nods. “It is,” she looks at the peaceful scenery, wondering why he thought this all up.

“But you’re prettier,” he says softly.

“Hmm?” she turns to look at him, confused.

Slowly, as if uncertain with what he was about to propose, Taemin kneels in front of her. Grabbing one of her hands, he asks, “Shall we dance?”

“Dance?” she asks, allowing him to pull her up to her feet. “But I don’t know how to...”

“That’s fine. I’ll show you,” he says, smiling down at her.

And then they dance! With his hands resting lightly on her waist and her face buried in his shirt, they rock back and forth at a steady rhythm, the music in their heads and the cascading waterfall as the background music. “So what did you want to show me?” the girl asks, not even bothering to look up.

If she did, she would’ve seen Taemin smiling softly down at her. “Oh, that’s right,” he says, as he stops swaying with her. He backs her and gets something from his pocket. “Before I tell you, I have to give you something.”

“What?”

“This,” he says, facing her again. Pushing back her hair, he clasps a necklace behind her neck, keeping his eyes on her face, so as to not get tempted. “I hope you like it.”

Feeling a cold metallic feeling on her neck, she looks down a sees a simple ruby necklace hanging from her neck, one that only someone close to her would know she would like. Vera’s face lights up and she quickly hugs him. “Thank you so much~. It’s so pretty.”

Slowly and mechanically, Taemin smiles.

Vera notices this and one other thing: with the moonlight shining on his face, it seems to shine and show off his jaw structure. Reaching up, she touches his face and pokes it.

He laughs. “What are you doing?”

“Are you wearing makeup?” she asks, still prodding his face.

Taemin laughs, shaking his head. “No.”

She gasps. “No fair, Taemin-ah!”

“What~?” he asks, a laugh escaping from his full lips.

“You’re so much more attractive than most guys,” she jokes.

“...”

“What?”

“That’s what I wanted to tell you,” he starts, with a quiet voice against the waterfall of the night.

“What’s what you wanted to tell me?” she asks, letting her hand fall back to her side.

“I’m not human.”

“...”

“I’m a vamp-”

As soon as the words fall out of his mouth, Vera clasps her hands over her ears and closes her eyes, trying to shut it out.

“Vera-”

“Nope.”

“Vera, let me explain-”

“No. You’re human. You can’t tell me otherwise. Vampires aren’t real. I won’t accept it,” she says, trying so hard to deny it all, even though all the proof is rushing into her mind. The time when he bit through his lip, the times when his eyes would change colors, the personality changes, how he was able to bend the door to save her. It all came back, as if they were behind a dam that just opened.

“Vera,” he reaches out to touch her, but she backs up and almost slips off the cliff.

She allows him to pull her back up, but as soon as she regained her footing, Vera distances herself from him. “Is that why you like me? So you can...drink my blood? And then when you’re done, you’ll just find some other girl to make like you and then do the same? I thought you were my friend! I thought you were someone who actually liked being with me and someone I could actually open myself to. But nope, you’re worse than the other guys. Take your-” she starts to reach for the necklace when he grabs her wrist and brings her close to him.

Without a second to think, he bridges the gap between them starts to kiss her.

Realizing his intentions, Vera quickly pulls back and distances herself. “Bwoh?” she raises her hand to slap him, push him, whatever would come to her mind first, when again he pulls her to him.

But this time he wraps her in a hug.

“Let me go! Let me go!” she yells, even though it’s muffled against him, as she struggles to exit his tight grasp. Tears escape from her eyes and he lets her cry on him, knowing she only cries when angry.

“I’m sorry,” he says, softly, as he continues to embrace the girl, the girl he wanted so badly to be more than a friend. But of course, now wasn’t the time to express such sentiments.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Vera continues to yell, as she tries not to cry. Ironically, the fact that she’s crying in front of him angers her more, so she cries harder. “Why did you have to get so close to me? I was fine by myself!”

While Taemin and Vera both know the last part is a lie, an outright lie, the vampire just nods and continues to hug her.

When she finally calms down, she pushes him away, once again, and stops him before he tries to hug her or even touch her again. “No, stop! You’re so cold!” she says, laughing slightly, as she roughly wipes her face.

He laughs. “Sorry,” he says, apologetically, as he wipes away the last of her tears with his pointer finger.

“Stop. You’re cold,” she says, pushing his hand away, but lightly.

Taemin offers her a cute pout. “Mianhae....”

“No~. I’m still mad at you! Don’t make that face at me!!”

He smiles.

Sighing, she pushes back her bangs, which keep falling into her line of vision. “Fine. I forgive you.”

“Yay!” he says, wrapping his arms around her, completely forgetting her previous statements.

Fortunately for him, she just laughs him off, but allows him to hug her. “Be lucky you have a face that’s hard to say no to.”

He smiles cutely, but stops suddenly. “And I’ll be sure to protect you.”

“Protect me?” Vera pulls back, for what might be the 100th time that night.

“From anyone who doesn’t approve of us,” he says, almost whispering.

“O-oh,” she stutters a bit, as she feels a warm rush go through her. “I-but-thank you,” she finally settles on saying.

He nods, still hugging her, even as a light blush appears across his face as his words sink in. What are the hyungs gonna think?

“Taemin-ah?” she looks up at him, sensing his tenseness. “Gwenchanna?”

Nodding, he gives her a bright smile to mask his inner thoughts. “Dae.”

_______________________________________

They're finally a couple! Are you happy now? lol Or do you feel the two don't work together well as a couple, let alone friends? Tell me what you think about them down below!

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