Dominik hated Soonyoung.

                That was that, he wasn’t even going to deny it. That stupid Asian couldn’t get the hint that he wasn’t wanted. Who the hell was he, anyway? He just appeared out of nowhere and decided to get all close and personal with his girlfriend. He hated the way he followed Keo like a lost puppy, the way he stared at her like some sort of freak. Yeah, Keo was pretty, but that doesn’t mean this guy can just ogle her.

                He even hated the guy’s name. Soonyoung. What the hell kind of name was that? Like, Soon to be young or something like that.

                For the first two weeks of school, Dominik tolerated the guy. And by tolerate, he means he hasn’t punched him in the face. It was for Keo’s sake, because for some reason, she liked having him around.Like some sort of pet. She said something about a favour to her brother-in-law, but he didn’t really listen. He was too busy making sure the Soon to be Young guy was at least one foot away from his Keo.

There were other Asians at their high school; Dominik just assumed the guy would go gallivanting off to some other Chinese – or whatever-the--he-was – girl.But this guy just wouldn’t quit.

It didn’t help that he somehow managed to get the exact same timetable as Keo, or that he was with her in the mornings and took her home. Dominik tried his usual intimidation tricks to get his outright disdain for the Soon to be Young guy, but he seemed as dense as a brick. He even told him how much Dominik didn’t like him, but every time he did, Keo would get mad.

                What pushed Dominik off the edge was exactly two weeks since Soon to be Young started school. Valentine’s Day.

Initially, Dominik was smug leading up to that day. Because Dominik was infinitely better than that weirdo.And no matter how much the kid would hang around Keo, Valentine’s day was a day for couples. And Keo was his girlfriend. He had it all planned out too. They would go see that new chick flick Keo wanted to see, then go out to a diner where they could share a milkshake, then they would go back to his place and make out for a while. It would be just the two of them, with no stupid idiots to ruin their alone time.

But when Dominik rang the doorbell to Keo’s house on that Sunday, it wasn’t Keo who answered the door. It was, big surprise, the stupid guy.He scowled angrily at him.

“Why’re you here? Don’t you have your own place to live?”

“I wanted to see Keo.”

“Well, too bad for you. We’re going on a date today.”

“I know.” The guy’s small eyes slipped down. “Where are your flowers? It’s Valentine’s day. Why didn’t you get her flowers?”

“Shut up, you don’t know anything.” Dominik pushed past the guy and into the house. “Keo! Let’s go! Where are you?”

He trudged up the stairs to her room. He didn’t even bother knocking before he opened her door. Keo was ready, make-up done and dressed, but just sitting on her bed with a grin on her face with a note in her hand and a box in her lap. She waved without looking up, her lips moving silently as she continued to read the note.

“What’s this?” he snatched the note out of her hand, earning a shrill protest. He flipped over the note and quickly skimmed its contents. A snarl rumbled from his chest and Dominik immediately crumbled the paper in his hands. He tossed it onto the ground.

“HEY! Dom! I’m gonna keep that!” Keo scrambled for the wad of paper before he could stomp on it. She flattened it on her lap and placed it back in the small box.

“Why?!” he hissed at her. “It’s a stupid love note from that idiot downstairs!”

“He’s not an idiot,” she shot back at him. “And it’s just a gift! Why are you being like this?!”

Dominik’s finger stabbed at her collarbone where a new silver necklace with a left wing hung. “And I suppose this is just another gift too, huh?!”

Keo swatted his hand away. “Yeah, it is! So what?!”

“Take it off.”

“No!”

“I said, take it off!” Dominik grabbed the necklace and pulled at it, making Keo rise from the bed with it.

“Stop! You’re going to break it!”

“GOOD. I don’t want my girlfriend wearing someone else’s necklace!”

“Ouch! Dominik! Stop!”

                Quick feet stomped up the stairs and that stupid, stupid, stupid guy burst into the room. His tiny eyes were as wide as they could go. He shouted something, but honestly, Dominik couldn’t have cared less.

                Suddenly the ground was knocked from under him. He felt the back his head hit the carpeted floor, his breath gone from his lungs. He heard Keo screaming. For a moment, he laid there, staring at the ceiling, not fully registering what just happened. His jaw hurt. And then realization hit him.

                That idiot just punched him.

                Slowly, Dominik rose into sitting position, his eyes flaming.

                Soonyoung was about to be Soondead.

                There he was, leaning over Keo, rubbing the back of her neck as if he had any right to touch her. How dare he have the nerve to touch what wasn’t his. How dare he even be in this house. How dare he give his girlfriend a necklace, as if he had some sort of claim over her. Dominik growled out his name as he stood, and the freak straightened up and turned. And that’s when Dominik saw it.

                On that freak’s neck hung a silver necklace. A right wing.

                That gave himself and Keo couple necklaces.

                Dominik saw his fist before he realized he had thrown it. He felt the satisfying pressure of it slamming against the idiot’s face. The pleasing sound of his head smacking against the wall filled his ears. Keo was screaming again, but Dominik didn’t care. She always screamed. He brushed past her and stood over the Asian scumbag. A smirk crawled onto his lips. He won. Of course he won. Dominik was infinitely better than this guy.

                Suddenly he was shoved to the side, nearly making him collide with a dresser. Dominik whipped his head around and saw Keo standing over the pathetic figure of the idiot. He took a step towards her, utterly confused as to why she would push him away from her, and she glared at him.

                “You touch Soonyoung again and I’ll ing rip off your .”

                He stopped mid-step. He needed a moment to understand. Was she really defending this prick? Dominik looked at her face, waiting for her to make it come out as a joke, but her expression stayed stony.

An incredulous laugh bubbled up from his chest. “Are you really picking him over me?”

Keo stood her ground. “I’m not picking anyone.”

“Really? Because it seems like you’re picking him.”

“I think you should leave.” Keo turned her back on him and started helping that from the ground.

Dominik stayed where he was. “But it’s Valentine’s Day.”

She didn’t even look at him. “Well, looks like you’re spending it alone.”

The idiot opened his tiny eyes and stared at him over Keo’s shoulder. Dominik swore he saw a smirk on his ugly face. He should’ve kicked the guy in the stomach when he had the chance. He gritted his teeth together and, without another word, stormed down the stairs. He made extra sure to slam the door as he left, making sure Keo knew what a huge mistake she was making.

Keo winced as the loud bang of the door vibrated the entire house. She helped Soonyoung onto the bed. Her fingers felt the back of his head and she felt a growing lump. She heard him hiss slightly when she made contact with it.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, retracting her hand. She looked at his face and saw a bruise appearing on his jawline. Her lips pressed into a hard line. “I’ll get you some ice.”

The icepacks felt too cold against his skin. Soonyoung held the one on the back of his head while Keo held another against his jaw. She continued to mutter apologies to him, as if it were her fault that her boyfriend was violent. Maybe it was. Keo sighed.

“Thank you for the present, though,” she said, just barely above a whisper. “It’s very pretty.”

Soonyoung let his fingers running over her neck, over the red indents where her necklace had dug into her skin when Dominik had pulled the chain. The back of her neck had been bleeding slightly before. He had never felt this kind of anger towards someone before. He had never felt such hatred before. Hatred for Dominik, undoubtedly. But also for himself. Soonyoung should’ve given her the gift after her date. He should’ve been able to protect Keo. But instead, he got knocked out while Keo stood over him. He was ashamed.

But the look of guilt on Keo’s face made him forget about that. She had no reason to feel bad. Soonyoung did his best to put on a smile, despite the pain in his left cheek.

“So,” he said, “would you really have ripped off his ?”

The sudden question caught her off guard. Keo tried to hide her smile. “I can be pretty viscous sometimes.”

“Please don’t demonstrate on me.”

Keo couldn’t hide her chortle. “If you piss me off, I will.”

Soonyoung relaxed at her laugh. On the bright side of the horrible beginning to the day, he got to spend Valentine’s with her. They spent the day inside, eating junk food and talking and watching movies. All while their matching necklaces bounced off their chests when they laughed.