2^{nd Oneshot ft Tao from EXO}

^{I scanned the advancing sea of students and braced myself as he wave of disoriented voices and assorted smells hit me. I made my way through the current of bodies, squirming as the occasional bumps became more frequent. Everything turned into a dreamy haze as I drifted to and from consciousness. I could see the end of the crowd now.}

^{Breaking out of the crowd, I did not expect the foul smell of petrol to attack me, shrouding me in grey. I cursed to myself as I waited till it was safe to cross the street.}

^{Streetlights became more apparent as the first blankets of darkness began to seep in. Illuminated by the sickening yellow of the streetlights, I watched shadows dance about on the crumbled pavement. The wind began to pick up speed. A homeless man leered at me and I huddled in my coat, willing myself to walk faster.}

^{The streets once occupied by ladies overwhelmed with shopping bags now hosted ominous looking figures bearing glass bottles. It wasn’t safe anymore.}

^{The figures began to loom closer and I gulped, looking for a place to hide to no avail. They noticed me noticing them and grinned devilish smiles, brandishing their glass bottles, advancing further.}

^{A hand clamped over my mouth and I tried to scream. Strong arms held me back, dragging me towards an alleyway where darkness provided safety. I struggled against my captor, fearing for my life. I had heard how twisted some people could be. Fighting back tears, I urged myself to think rationally- use my objective rather than subjective sense.}

^{"Shhh. I won’t hurt you," a low voice murmured and I would’ve jumped in fright if I wasn’t held down.}

^{Was I supposed to believe my captor?}

^{I bit his hand and screamed.}

^{It was not a smart thing to do, as I learned at that moment.}

^{"You idiot!," he snarled and grabbed my hand, forbidding me to move.}

^{The figures yelled in our direction and footsteps could be heard as they ran in our direction. This was not looking good.}

^{I glanced back and saw through the unrelenting darkness that there was no exit- well there was no exit I could see.}

^{A light lit up the darkness which covered us and that was when I realise I was standing at the back of a nightclub. The voices stopped and we stood there, literally sweating bullets.}

^{The figures turned and made their way towards us, walking in a drunken state.}

^{My captor whirled me around so I faced his chest and I struggled in his grip- why was this person so strong?}

^{"Aw young couples- don’t have a room aye?," drawled one of the figures as he spat on the ground}

^{My captor said nothing, continuing to hold me close to him. I couldn’t breathe properly and started to cough violently and he loosened his hug.}

^{"Aw you young things are doing it wrong? Let me show you how to do it," the figure cackled and I heard a babble of voices growing louder}

^{"Run," my captor whispered to me, his breath tickling my ear.}

^{"Oh, no you don’t. We want to have some fun!"}

^{One guy grabbed my captor away from me and I finally saw what he looked like.}

^{He wore a black hoodie, shadow covered most of his face but I saw his eyes. He had dark eyes, reminding me of a panda. A mysterious aura emitted from him like fingers making my skin go cold and fingers go damp. I felt uneasy as if I knew this stranger.}

^{I felt someone yank my jacket away and I turned to see a greasy looking guy leering at my body. A sharp object pricked my neck and I felt a trickle of something wet ooze down my neck. I gasped in shock as I saw blood dripping onto the floor, beginning to feel lightheaded.}

^{"That’s right. Don’t you dare try to fight back or we’ll kill your boyfriend over there," he said, jerking his thumb to where the mysterious hooded guy was held down by a mob of men. He began to trail his stubby, fat fingers all over my clothes, feeling me and I shivered in disgust at his touch.}

^{He began trailing his knife over my clothes, delighted at my discomfort. I bit back fear and tears- I needed to come out of this alive- mind, body and all. I would not lose my head- literally and figuratively.}

^{Should I fight back?}

^{I had moved schools because I had caused too much trouble. More like others wreaked havoc and I got the blame. I remembered the day when my parents announced that I was to stop learning martial arts. I wanted to appease them, make them feel proud. Not long after, when they announced that we were to move, I voiced no protest against their decision. I couldn’t bring myself to break this to Tao so I never did. I didn’t know what happened after.}

^{I heard him pull down his zipper.}

^{"Go on b****. it."}

^{I turned away and he slapped me hard across the face and I landed at his feet, my hands grazing the concrete pavement. I felt was left of my shirt cling onto me- sweat, tears and blood stained it, sticking onto me like a second skin. He pulled me violently up and began to attack his lips against mine. I trailed my hands over his body and I heard him moan as he dropped his knife.}

^{I pushed him backwards with a finger and he smiled giddily in his half-conscious state. I bent down under the illusion stripping and retrieved the knife. Fetching my jacket which he had pulled off earlier, I walked around him and looped the jacket around his neck, pulling it tight with all my might. His face grew purple- an expression of fear and horror crossed his face as he succumbed to karma.}

^{The other had realised that something was wrong when they saw me heading in their direction. They charged at me, forgetting all about the hooded figure. He leapt up, knocking down a few of the advancing men. I lunged towards them, knife in hand.}

^{The hooded figure was unaware of another guy behind him. I yelled as he turned just in time but the guy behind him had slashed his hoodie- only the hoodie thank god. And that was when I saw that it was him.}

^Tao.

^{I could’ve cried a valley of tears if I wanted to but I had lost my guard, allowing another man to hold me down. I heard my knife drop and I was rendered defenceless. The guy behind Tao was no joke- he didn’t seem drunk at all- in fact he seemed sober- anger radiated from within him as he and Tao faced off, their bodies tensed with wariness.}

^{The guy was clearly no match for Tao. Unlike Tao, he fought against the flow, rather than with it- his actions short and irregular.}

^{"You’re lucky to still be alive, little girl," growled the guy who had held me down.}

^{With a final kick, Tao had knocked his opponent down.}

^{I maintained a constant expression as the man stared at me- his back towards Tao.}

^{With a sudden , he pushed the knife deep into him and the man roared.}

^{Overcome by so many events, I began to cry and Tao made his way towards me. He pulled me close, whispering," It’s all right. It’s all right"}

^{We began to make our way to the exit of this alleyway where  my parents were standing with a grim expression. They eyed my clothes with distasted and my mum cried," Did you fight again? And what did you do with our daughter?"}

^{"M-m-mum He saved me," I cried," When did you ever care about me? All you cared about was your reputation? I moved because of you and dad and wherever I go. I wanted to be a good daughter. What’s the use of having a daughter who died because she didn’t fight but she could’ve? What parents would that make you?"}

^{They stared at me trying to comprehend my sudden outburst.}

^{"Let’s go," Tao said and we turned away, hearing no protests from my parents.}

^{"Tao…..?," I asked as I snuggled into his chest.}

^{"Can you teach me martial arts again?"}

^{Author's Note: My first story containing this much violence in it ._.}