‘Okay, boys, spill!’ Aunt Boa ordered Sehun and Baekhyun the next morning. ‘What kind of depravity went on at that party last night?’

Stellar. The last thing Sehun wanted to talk about was the party. All it was to him was the site of his screw-up with Yuri. And Baekhyun was no help. He just sat there gazing at the sausages as if they held the secrets of the universe. His foot, propped on the chair leg, bounced about a million miles an hour.

‘That juicy, hmm?’ Boa asked. ‘You can’t even come up with one thing you’re willing to share?’

‘Bowling,’ Sehun answered. He scooped a second helping of scrambled eggs out of the frying pan and onto his plate, then sat back down at the kitchen table. ‘You know, it’s a gateway activity. A high percentage of teens who’ve tried it move on to miniature golf. And once you go there, you can’t get back without rehab.’

‘Bowling? You left Kris’ party to go bowling?’ Luna shook her head in disgust.

‘The Wu’s have a bowling alley,’ Sehun said. ‘We didn’t have to leave.’

Baekhyun suddenly looked up and rolled an orange across the table, knocking over the salt and pepper shakers. They are stared at him.

‘Bowling,’ he explained.

Man, the guy was hyper. He had been popping – or snorting or whatever his ingestion method of choice was – before breakfast? Sehun wondered. He glanced around the table. No one else seemed to think Baekhyun’s behavior was strange.

‘It’s a good thing you stayed home, Luna,’ Boa said. ‘That’s no kind of environment for you.’

‘You’re way too young to start with the bowling,’ Sehun’s father agreed with a smile.

‘And bowling was the naughtiest thing you got up to?’ Aunt Boa asked, spreading strawberry jam on a piece of toast.

‘Pretty much,’ Sehun answered. What did she think? That he was going to start talking about underage drinking? Or give an estimate on the number of hook-ups that took place at Kris’? Or say that Baekhyun was probably high by the end of the night and was possibly tweaking right now?

Boa turned to Baekhyun. ‘Sehun’s being discreet. You tell us about the party. How did it compare to one of your Michigan blasts?’

‘It’s no different, right, Baekhyun?’ Luna asked.

‘No one ended up dead at the parties in Michigan,’ Mrs Oh pointed out, standing up abruptly and refilling her coffee cup.

‘Someone died at a party out here?’ Aunt Boa asked, stopping with her toast halfway to . She glanced at Luna. ‘You didn’t tell me that!’

‘It was a party on a yacht. A girl fell overboard and drowned. She’d been drinking,’ Sehun’s mother explained. ‘Now do you understand why I don’t want Luna at these parties?’

Sohee was already dead when she hit the water, Sehun thought, flashing on her body lying on the beach. Her lips blue. Eyes staring sightlessly.

‘I… I can’t believe it,’ Aunt Boa murmured.

‘Horrible. I can’t even think about her poor parents,’ Mrs Oh said with a shudder.

‘Well, last night’s party was just a party,’ Baekhyun said. He used his finger to pop a Tater Tot into his mouth, then another. He swallowed them, hardly bothering to chew, then smiled at Sehun’s mom. ‘The big difference was that the girls were wearing less clothes than they would have been in Michigan.’

Mrs Oh actually laughed. Baekhyun had always been good at making her laugh. Sehun’s dad snorted.

Baekhyun grabbed the ketchup bottle, opened it and thumped on the bottom so hard that he almost completely smothered his remaining taters. ‘I even saw a bikini top floating in the hot tub,’ he added. Then he pointed to Boa with a grin. ‘And that’s all you’re getting out of me.’

‘Did you go in the hot tub?’ Luna asked casually.

Sehun knew what she really wanted to ask Baekhyun: ‘Did you have anything to do with the removal of the bikini top?’ Luna could never resist gossip – especially where someone she knew might be involved.

‘Didn’t bring a bathing suit,’ Baekhyun replied. He looked over at Sehun. ‘Hey, man. Think you could drive me into town when you’re done?’

‘Done now,’ Sehun said, forking the last bite of eggs into his mouth. ‘Let’s go.’ He got up feeling relieved. It would get him away from any more questions about the party.

‘I’ll meet you out there,’ Baekhyun said. ‘I want to grab my jacket.’

‘You’re not going to need it,’ Sehun told him, but Baekhyun was already gone.

Sehun stood up and checked his pocket for his keys. ‘See you guys later,’ he told his family as he headed out of the kitchen.

He hurried outside, unlocked the car, and slid into the driver’s seat. A minute late Baekhyun got in, hoodie zipped to his chin. ‘Any particular place in town you want to go?’ Sehun asked.

‘Just Malibu central. I’m guessing I’ll be able to find a post office there?’ Baekhyun replied.

‘Sure.’ Sehun backed out of the driveway and headed for the Pacific Coast Highway. The view still knocked him out. All that blue ocean stretching out forever. But he noticed Baekhyun wasn’t looking at the beach. He was staring straight ahead, eyes intense, like he was willing the car to go faster.

‘Not like I’m trying to get rid of you, but won’t it take you a few days to get home if you have to hitch? And even with those free days at school…’ Sehun let his words trail off. ‘I could spot you bus money. Again, not that I’m trying to get rid of you.’ Except that he was. Kind of. And how alternate universe was that? Sehun wanting Baekhyun gone? He used to wish the guy was his brother so he could live with the Ohs all the time.

‘School’s the least of my problems,’ Baekhyun said as Sehun to a road peppered with stores. ‘You can just let me out here.’

‘Here?’ Sehun glanced at the trendy restaurants and the shoe store. ‘You sure?’

‘Yeah. Here is good.’ Baekhyun started to swing the door open before Sehun had even pulled all the way over to the curb.

‘You want to meet up in a while?’ Sehun asked. It was more than obvious that Baekhyun didn’t want Sehun anywhere around right now.

‘I’ll find my own way back,’ Baekhyun said as he climbed out of the car. ‘Later.’ And he slammed the door before Sehun could get another question in.

‘Thank you for using Sehun’s cab service,’ Sehun muttered, staring after his friend. What was his deal? What did he have planned that he didn’t want Sehun to know about?

Whatever. Sehun couldn’t do much if Baekhyun wasn’t going to talk to him. He pulled back out onto the street and made a U-turn at the corner. He spotted Yuri coming out of L’Occitane en Provence. Yuri and Hyoyeon.

Without giving himself enough time to wimp out, Sehun pulled into the parking space just vacated by an SUV. ‘Hey,’ he called as he got out of the car. ‘Impressive moves on that wall last night, Hyoyeon.’ He figured it was safer to say something to Hyoyeon first. Hyoyeon was always friendly.

‘I made a couple hundred in tips,’ she joked. ‘Cold, hard cash. But Eunhyuk wasn’t happy. He doesn’t get that I just like attention. Is that so horrible?’

‘I vote no,’ Sehun said. ‘So what are you two up to?’

‘I just bought some Olive Paste. It’s the best thing in the world for sun-damaged hair,’ Hyoyeon told him. ‘Yuri’s keeping me company. Not that she’s actually talking or anything.’

‘I’ve talked,’ Yuri protested.

‘Right. You said the words “venti mochachino” about half an hour ago,’ Hyoyeon teased.

‘Half an hour ago?’ Sehun repeated. ‘Then you must be ready for another one. I know shopping for hair products is thirsty work.’ That sounded kind of dumb. ‘Not that I spend much time shopping for hair products,’ he added, which didn’t sound any better.

He figured dumb didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he got to spend some time with Yuri. Enough time so that she’d actually start speaking to him again. Possibly even want to kiss him again in this lifetime.

‘No, Hyoyeon needs to get home,’ Yuri said. She seemed to be talking to his left ear. ‘She insisted on wearing her new Jimmy Coos and she’s destroyed her feet.’

‘I’ll drop you at your car,’ Sehun offered gallantly, thinking that even that would give him a little Yuri time ‘Where’d you park?’

‘We walked,’ Hyoyeon answered. ‘Not my most intelligent decision, I admit.’ She shook her head at her sandals, which were nothing but some thin straps and spike heels.

‘I’ll drive you home, then,’ Sehun said firmly. Score. He’d drop Hyoyeon first, then-

‘Oooh. Yes, please,’ Hyoyeon said, pulling Sehun away from his thoughts. She slipped off the sandals and picked them up.

‘Do you mind if I don’t come with you?’ Yuri asked Hyoyeon. ‘I said I’d drop in at Luhan’s place and help his mom pick out new drapes. I’ll call and have Luhan pick me up.’ She looked Sehun in the eye for the first time. ‘I’d rather not put you out.’

Or be anywhere near you, Sehun added silently. He could read between the lines. Message received and understood.

‘Sure. Don’t let my feet spoil the rest of the day for you,’ Hyoyeon said, seeming oblivious to the conversation going on under the conversation. She turned to Sehun. ‘Can we go? This pavement is getting hot on my poor little piggies.’

What could he say? ‘Sure.’ He opened the passenger door of the Bug, and Hyoyeon hopped in. Sehun shut the door for her.

‘Yuri, about what happened at the party…’ he began. He had to take a shot at making things right.

She pulled out her cell and hit a speed-dial number. ‘Hey, babe,’ she said, looking right at Sehun. ‘Want to come get me?’

Sehun gave a nod, then walked around to the driver’s side of the car and slid behind the wheel. ‘Thanks so much. You are a lifesaver,’ Hyoyeon told him. But Sehun wasn’t really listening.

You knew Yuri was with Luhan. You’ve known it since the day you met her, Sehun told himself. It’s better this way. Let her stay pissed at you. You shouldn’t be going after her anyway. Luhan’s a great guy. Your friend.

‘Where’s that Baekhyun?’ Hyoyeon asked. ‘All the girls at the party were intrigued. Some of them are planning a hunting trip to Michigan, which now seems to be Land of Cute Boys.’

‘He’s still in town… someplace,’ Sehun told her. Doing who in the hell knows what, he thought.

‘Did he have fun at his first Malibu party? Kris’ was definitely the one to go to.’

‘He claimed to. He disappeared for a while, which is usually a sign of some kind of fun, right?’ Sehun asked, grinning.

‘Absolutely. I love to disappear at parties. It makes Eunhyuk go mental, but the amusements happen away from the crowd,’ Hyoyeon answered.

They drove past the police station, and Sehun though about Chanyeol: ‘Child of the poor but hard-working Chief of Police’, as Chanyeol had described himself on the day they met. Maybe he was right. Maybe something had been going on last night with the vampires that at least a few humans should be aware of. And Hyoyeon knew Sehun was in on the truth about exactly who lived in DeVere Heights.

‘I noticed you and Yuri and some others disappeared upstairs for a while too,’ Sehun said, trying to sound casual. ‘Were you having fun?’

‘Yes.’

Sehun thought it was the first time he’d ever heard Hyoyeon give a one=word answer to a question. She didn’t say anything else for the rest of the ride.

Clearly whatever the vampires had going was nothing humans were allowed to know about. But, like Sehun kept telling Chanyeol, that didn’t mean it was anything bad. Or any of their business. Right?

*Note- Awww… Yuri is pretty mad at Sehun… also what were the vamps up to during their little gathering at Kris’ party? Oooh the conspiracy~ haha