Tao was a demon, an evil, monstrous demon. But somehow, xiumin couldnt bring himself to care. 

 

When they first met, it was because Tao literally appeared out of thin air and xiumin crashed right into him. 

 

"Ah, sorry!" Tao exclaimed and picked xiumin up as if he weighed no more than a feather (but he knew that wasnt true because he probably could stand to lose a few pounds). 

 

His answer came a little belatedly because he when he looked up (way, way up), his words were caught in his throat. This stranger was exotic, almost animalistic, and his eyes were deep, almost like they were him in. It was unnerving but very beautiful. 

 

"It's okay," he said shyly, adjusting his backpack.

 

They stood in awkward silence for the longest of minutes before the tall boy spoke. "Well, ill see you later xiumin," he said. 

 

Xiumin didnt realize until the next day that he hadnt told Tao his name. 

 

~~~

 

The second time he met Tao, it seemed to be on purpose (well on Taos part, not his, because he found he never had any control over what happened where Tao was concerned).

 

He was leaving the campus when a voice said, "you know, I _hate_ it when a guy knows my name but I never said it."

 

The voice was familiar and the enunciation was foreign and xiumin looked up to see a smirking zitao sitting all comfortable on the bench. 

 

The smirk on the boys face was strangely attractive and xiumin could only say, "aren't you a little young to be here?"

 

Tao laughed at him and said, "im a lot older than I look," as if it was that simple. "But ill humor you. I'm here to look for you."

 

Xiumin smiled with a sort of condescension and began to walk off, Tao trailing behind him. "Well you found me. What do you want? Surely I'm not interesting enough for whatever game you want to play."

 

Taos eyes were a little dangerous when he replied. "Oh, I think you're perfect for the games I play. But that's irrelevant."

 

His words sent a shiver down xiumins spine, pinpricks of chill and be tried to ignore it. 

 

"I'm here because you can help me escape," Tao told him and he was sure he had no clue what the (seemingly) younger was talking about. 

 

They were approaching xiumins bus stop and he paused in his tracks, zitao quickly following suit. "I'm certain i have no idea what you're talking about," he told the other. 

 

Zitaos smirk was back and his black earrings glinted almost evilly in the sun. "Of course you don't. You were raised a human. But you shouldn't have been. You have so much potential."

 

His voice was sweet and convincing, though it wasnt clear what he was trying to convince xiumin of and he seemed dangerous. 

 

"What do you mean raised a human? How else would I be raised?" He asked hesitantly, latching onto the important points as he usually did. 

 

"Well as a demon, of course."

 

~~~

 

It explained how zitao had appeared out of thin air like he had the first time they ran into each other (though he explained to xiumin very painstakingly that, no he didnt appear of of this air and that he had actually traveled through the shadows and happened to show up like that).

 

Because Tao was a demon, complete with sharp teeth and red eyes and temptingly attractive biceps (xiumin always had a weak spot for guys, or in this case creatures that took on a make form, who had nice arms). The only thing xiumin didnt understand was that Tao seemed convinced that xiumin was a demon as well and that he had been kidnapped and raised by humans. He said there were many like him who never lived outside of their human worlds and xiumin readily admitted that that was exactly what he wanted to do. Live with humans because he felt so so much like one that he didnt think it made sense for him not to be a human. 

 

But zitao still insisted on showing him all around his favorite places in the demon part of he world. 

 

He was amazed, the first time they traveled to the other side of the shadows, the place empty and scattered with small pieces of civilization. The ruler of the demon side lived in the grey realm of equilibrium between this world and their part of the world.

 

It all happened so quickly; one day he was being whisked away by zitao to a place right out of a fantasy horror book and the next, walking among humans and buying ice cream together as of it was a date. 

 

The thought made him blush and almost drop his ice cream cone (though it surely didnt help that Tao was pulling him along at a laughingly inhuman pace).

 

"Hyung, what exactly are we doing here still?" Tao asked, his voice trailing lightly backwards through the crowd. "I have so much to teach you still."

 

He laughed to himself, a low chuckle that he pretended was manly, though knowing his voice it was anything but. "I needed a break," he replied as they pressed through the outskirts of the crowd and he forced Tao to slow down. "I'm not used to your world. Everything here just makes a lot more sense."

 

Tao pouted and xiumin hid his smile in his ice cream. "But the demon world has the same language and, yes the people might look weird, but its relatively the same."

 

Xiumin recalled the demon world as being strange and not at all similar. "Tao, the demons there can walk upside down. I don't know about you, but in my opinion that is not normal compared to here."

 

Zitao made a face at his snarky comeback and xiumin his ice cream again. 

 

They would have walked farther, xiumin reaching for the demons hand and beginning to step away, but Taos face began to change, his expression harsh and unreadable. 

 

He stopped when he saw the look, one that inspired a frigid wave of anxiety to wash over him. He wanted to turn around, to see what Tao saw and the urge was almost too much but he never got to. 

 

"Don't look behind you," Tao said in a low voice. "Don't, hyung."

 

Xiumin whimpered, his nerves tingling and his ice cream dropping from his hand when Tao grabbed his wrist. "What's going on?"

 

The sky above them seemed to darken. 

 

"Don't," zitao repeated. 

 

And he never did because zitaos eyes flashed, red and dangerous before he kissed xiumin.