chapter twenty

Reminiscence

Lu Han woke up; he realized he was resting on his bed. The boy wondered what had happened as he looked around. The last thing he remembered is that Alice kissed him, but, after a few seconds, he passed out.

Lu Han heard the sound of the twisting knob and turned to the door as he saw a figure appearing; it was Alice.

“You are awake,” she whispered as she made her way near him. He noticed a tiny blush on Alice´s cheeks that make her look kind of cute.

“What happened?” Lu Han asked as he sat up.

“You fainted”

"Alice. What's wrong?" Lu Han whispered getting closer to the girl sitting next to her.
"I'm sorry" he heard her mumbled.

Soon he saw her face lift up making the distance between their faces really close. When it was just a few inches away Lu Han felt how her soft lips touched his.

Lu Han´s eyes widened. Alice was kissing him. He liked –likes- this feeling; it was so different and alluring. Alice’s lips fit perfectly in his. Her kiss felt soft and delicious, yet he felt like his soul was coming out; like she was draining his energy out of his body. Soon he passed out and Alice caught him before he reached the floor.

She sighed. The girl felt better after stealing Lu Han´s energy, but she felt guilty for doing it this way, yet she didn’t have another option. Her body didn’t think twice and she just kissed him; it was a necessity. And before she realized it Lu Han fainted.

Alice was about to stand up and carry him to his bedroom when the main door opened reveling the other five boys. She gasped. And they were surprised with the sight.

“What happened?!” Chanyeol yelled as he carried Lu Han by resting on of his arms around the first neck. Sehun, who was frowning from the moment he arrived, got next to him as he helped him. Alice knew Sehun was angry with her because she, in some way, had hurt Lu Han. The guilty in Alice´s body increased.

“Take him to his room; he needs to rest.” Alice´s gaze dropped to the floor.

“You´ll explain later,” Sehun´s tone was mandatory and scary. Alice gulped and nodded weakly.

She didn’t expect them to arrive this early. Or it was that late already? She didn’t know.

But Alice felt uneasy and scared. They trusted her and now they faced a situation in where she had hurt one of the boys who did nothing, but given her hospitality. It was like she betrayed them. Even if she had a reason to do so, she blamed herself.

“There is a reason, isn’t it?” she heard Kai said interrupting her thoughts.

Baekhyun nodded; supporting his friend and the female. “I´m sure there is one. You aren’t a bad person after all”

They relies her. They still do.

Tao patted Alice´s head as he smiled. It was like his smile reflected his trust on the girl. Alice smiled slightly and nodded.

When Chanyeol and Sehun came back she started explaining what had happened. From the moment she accompanied Lu Han to visit his mother at the hospital and the time she gave her life energy to the little girl to the moment she kissed Lu Han, blushing at the thought, to steal his vital energy because she was weaker and paler than usual.

She was about to reach her limit. Even if she had rest before, denying the fact she needed that energy, all this time she felt –was- paler and weak, but she disguised it. Until today, when she was about to reach the limit.

Alice explained that she didn’t know what would happen if her energy disappeared, yet she expected the worst. Her life depends of this energy and she hates it; the fact on depending of something that hurts others, that make them vulnerable. But, most of all, she clarified that she stole Lu Han´s because she had no other choice and if she prevent herself from doing this way, if she had to choice, Alice would never steal someone´s vital energy ever again, but it´s not possible since she needs of it. Her body is dependable of it.

“So you need this energy to continue living,” Lu Han asked after he heard what had happened and Alice’s explanation. She nodded as she sat next to him, in his bed.

“I´m really sorry. I´ll understand if you are mad with me.” Alice played with her fingertips avoiding eye-contact with Lu Han, because she didn’t want him to see her red face and because she left ashamed from the fact they kissed. It drives her crazy knowing she was the one who started it, even if she had her reasons, and because she liked it. Somehow, Alice liked the kissed they shared; even if it didn’t have emotions, feelings, sentiments that both share. Alice felt contented for a few seconds.

“I´m not mad”

Alice looked up and Lu Han got near her, her blush deepen due to the proximity. Their faces were inches away. And she felt how her heartbeat increased. This boy right next to her make her feels different emotions she had never experienced before; angry, happiness, confidence.

Lu Han saw how Alice´s eyes reflected surprise yet pain. It unsettles him how she can be so caring and concern when her eyes reflected painful emotions. Like there was a wall protecting her, a barrier which avoids others to see her true emotions and thoughts.

“Somehow, I hurt you, Lu Han. I´m sorry,” she mumbled.

“Stop apologizing,” Lu Han sighed. He noticed already how Alice put others priority before hers. Which he thought was not selfish from her -she never was-, but harmful. “I´m totally fine”

Even if she didn’t say a word, her gaze reflected that she understood.

They were gazing at each other as Lu Han continued.

“But next time, tell me if you plan to kiss me again to steel my energy, at least I’ll be prepare for it”

The apprentice notice how his lips form a playful smirk and how she felt her cheeks burned. Somehow, Lu Han can turn into a playboy too and she finds it attractive. Tempting and seductive.

Soon they heard the door opened.

“Alice, did Lu Han w-“ it was Sehun.

Alice stood up as soon as the youngest boy entered the room and Lu Han turned his head to see him. Sehun, on the other hand, noticed the small distance between the two of them before she stood up and frowned a bit.

“How you feeling?” Sehun asked as he walked towards Lu Han. He was still upset with Alice, yet he understood her reasons for her actions.

“I´m fine. The others are also here?”

Sehun nodded.

“They are worried too. You should go to tell them you’re fine”

Lu Han nodded and turned his gaze towards Alice, who was gazing at the floor all the time since Sehun´s arrival. He noticed how her lips formed a thin line and her eyes traveling all around the floor; she was still embarrassed. Lu Han smirked and laughed slightly. He finds her interesting and unique.

Sehun noticed the silent laugh from his friend and noticed his gaze on Alice also he realized how Lu Han´s eyes sparkled a bit when he was looking at her carefully.

Sehun smirked as he lifted an eyebrow with the supposition he was thinking. Was Lu Han falling for her? Sometimes his childhood friend actions are too obvious for him. He is the one who knows Lu Han the best after all.

Sehun noticed Lu Han stood up and left the room; Alice´s gaze followed him until he was gone.

“Sehun, I´m sorry; about hurting him. I know the two of you are really close and if I hurt one of you is like harming both. I´m really sorry”

Amazed. Sehun was amazed by this girl sincerity and genuineness. At first, he thought Alice as a naïve girl, but as he watched her his perception of her changed. Alice was a good girl.

Not only him, but also he knew his friends realized the authenticity in her words and actions. Maybe this was one of the reasons that caught Lu Han’s attention.

Sehun turned to her, smirked slightly and mumbled,  “Don’t worry” before leaving the room too. Alice followed him.

When the girl reached to the living room she found Lu Han and Sehun talking normally with the other four boys. She also noticed Sulli, who as soon as she saw the other apprentice walked near her.

“You fine?” Sulli´s gaze reflected worry. It made Alice smile. She was thankful for Sulli´s kind nature towards her.

“He´s not hurt, isn’t he?”

Both turned to see Lu Han, who was calmly conversing with the other guys.

“He´s fine, Alice. Stop worrying. You didn’t steal so much of his energy, I can see it.” Sulli turned to the smaller female and saw how concerned she was about him. Her true feelings betrayed her calm acts.

Sulli also perceived a different emotions from Lu Han and Alice, yet she couldn’t describe it because it wasn’t clear for both of them. She couldn’t guess what it was if they don’t realize it. But, somehow, Sulli got a vague idea about it. It was like both of them, Alice and Lu Han, were experimenting a new feeling; a sensation neither of them had ever felt before and it’s slowly growing.

“Hey, Alice,” Jongin put his arm around the girl´s neck as he whispered, “Sure you didn’t need an excuse just to kiss Lu Han?”

Alice turned to see him and she faced his mocking and playful Kai´s popular smirk; she blushed slightly at his sentence. How these boys can be so infantile yet mature at the same time?

“Yah! Kai stop messing with her,” Chanyeol said as he dragged her away from his friend grasp. He, in fact, didn’t like the way Kai acted with her; playful and flirtatious. But his feelings were only like taking her of a close friend, like a sister.

“Can you both explain what´s that vital energy you guys need,” Baekhyun asked as he sat on the couch’s arm. Next to him Tao sat then Kai, Sehun, and Chanyeol, and on the other couch arm Lu Han sat. The girls were standing in front of them.

Never before Alice’s arrival Sulli mentioned it. What is this so controversial about this energy?

Sulli explained, with more details, that angels and demons life’s depends of vital energy as well of humans, who also had this strength. But human’s is just temporary due to their life cycle. They born and die.

In the case of demons and angels, they age slower. They can live almost forever, unless they are killed. Vital energy keeps you alive, awake and healthy.

Since Alice’s energy level was really low she needed to get or rather steal someone’s strength and that someone turned to be Lu Han.

The angel also explained that if any of her kind gave this energy, even if it’s just a bit, either to a human or a demon it can turn dangerous for them because it leaves them vulnerable. But in the case of demons it’s the opposite, they stay normal, but if they gave up so much of it, it’d make them weak too.

That’s a small difference between these two kinds. The demons had facilities to steal and gain the energy easily, but angels don’t.

“Ah! My head hurts!” Tao whined as he rubbed his temples.

“I know it´s really difficult to understand,” Sulli added and turned to Alice. She was still wondering something about the demon apprentice, “Still, I don’t understand why you need to use your vital energy for flying and evoking spells when yours and mine kind doesn’t?”

Sulli doesn’t waste the level of her energy when she flies, but Alice does.

Angels and demons don’t waste the level of it when they evoke spells, but this girl does. Somehow, this is really weird for the angel apprentice. A question Sulli is willing to resolve sooner or later.

Alice sighed as she answered an “I don´t know”

In fact, this girl knew the reason, but she didn’t want them to know it, yet. She wanted them to remain oblivious about the reasons.

 author's note 

»As I promised, I updated ^^

Please, pay attention to this chapter. If you understood, you can easily relate that Alice is different from other demons. I’ll explain it with more details in the future chapters.

Also I explained more about vital energy. Which I hope you understood.

And it seems the feelings from Luhan and Alice are blossoming! ^^ But I still some chapters to make it flower completely.  

Best whishes <3