The door slammed open with a loud bang, causing the occupants inside the abandoned classroom look at the intruder.

“You..” Kris snarled, huffing as he glared at the five casually sitting on the desks. The blonde stormed forward and grabbed JR’s collar roughly, “You said you won’t harm Tao if I did my job.”

JR smirked defiantly, “I did say I won’t harm the boy.. But I didn’t promise not to.”

Kris growled, shoving the boy and pinning him on the wall. “What is your main motive, Jong Hyun?! Speak!” Kris shouted, hardening his gaze. If looks could kill, the boy could have withered there and then. But JR did not waver under the glaring stare; instead he laughed and pushed Kris away.

“Coming all the way to our territory just to talk about this?” JR shook his head, sighing. “To make that Jongdae suffer, haven’t you forgotten?”

“Don’t bother lying to me anymore.” Kris balled his hands into tight fists, resisting the urge to punch every single one in this room.

“Ah, the panda kid told him,” Ren spoke, chuckling. “I knew that kid couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”

“Seems like you already know what we are planning to do,” JR looked at Kris and smirked.

“Why?” Kris asked, “Why are you so into revenge that you want to break the friendship I have with my friends? Do you know how long it took for me to wash away the bad side of me? Do you know how much I hated myself for what I’ve done in the past? Haven’t you hurt me enough when I was just a pure, innocent kid?”

“Unfortunately.. No. Haven’t you realized it? You can never erase a stain which is permanent. The darkness is still in you, Yifan. Stop denying it, I know there’s a part of you which screams vengeance. Afterall.. You were once a victim.”

Kris exhaled, staring blankly at the leader before him. Memories of his childhood when he was bullied came rushing back to him.

“Stop.. Please!”

“It hurts..”

“The helpless feeling.. The tears shed..” JR sighed sorrowfully, “I’ve been there before, Yifan. Just like you, I was bullied.. But now, look at me. Look at us.” He motioned, spreading his arms wide to indicate the four other students behind him, “Everyone in this school fears us. They are afraid of us. We have the power in our hands. No one is going to harm us now.”

“If you return to your previous self, you don’t have to ever be afraid of getting hurt anymore,” Minhyun whispered temptingly, “Come back to us, Yifan. We are your friends, your true friends.”

Kris shook his head, backing away from the five. No.. I’m not going back to that side of me.. I promised myself. I promised Suho..

“Forget about everyone else.” JR said harshly, “Those eleven idiots whom you are with are just using you. Especially Huang Zitao.”

Kris ears perked up at the sound of Tao’s name. “W-what about him..?” Kris stuttered, an uneasy feeling bubbling inside of him.

“That kid is just acting innocent and defenseless,” Aron spoke. “He wants to win your heart. And after that? He’ll just toss you away like every other boyfriend he had.”

“Tao isn’t like that.” Kris snapped, “That sounds nothing like him!”

“Oh for goodness sake, Yifan.. What do you even like in that boy? He’s nothing more than a spoiled brat desperate for attention!” Baekho rolled his eyes. “Remember when he first transferred into the school? Talking about ‘being a bad boy’ crap and all? ‘I am going to act as a bad kid so that I won’t get hurt.” He mocked Tao’s voice and snorted.

“What about now? That Tao is in his room balling his eyes out, isn’t he?” Minhyun added in, “One second he is a scary looking person, next he is a crybaby. You can never predict what he is thinking, Yifan. He is dangerous. Huang Zitao is someone whom you should avoid.”

“Stop!” Kris shouted, clasping his hands to his ears and shutting his eyes tight. “I won’t listen to you. I will never be one of you!”

“Aren’t those the exact same words you heard back when you were in elementary school?” JR pressed on, “He is dangerous. Wu Yifan isn’t normal. Stay away from him.”

Those words echoed in Kris’s mind as he slumped onto the ground, hugging himself tightly. It hurts so much. Those painful memories of his childhood getting disgraced and beaten up daily while he was at school.

Just because he was adopted, would that make him different..?

He recalled getting laughed at because his real parents abandoned him; rendering him useless. He recalled getting humiliated because of his thin structure; weak, patethic. He recalled getting teased because of his results; stupid, brainless.

He hated himself. He hated his life.

Why am I so weak? Kris asked himself as the five boys continued tormenting him with past events. I thought I’ve grown stronger..

Seeing the state Kris was at, JR held up a hand and let the blonde recover in silence. Kris’s chest heaved up and down rapidly as sweat slicked his forehead, mentally traumatized by his own past memories which he has locked deep in his heart.

“Yifan.”

Kris glanced up with dark eyes, his mouth held a thin line as he stared emotionlessly at the boy.

“What is your choice? To be with the ones who understand you, or be with those who uses you?”

Silence enveloped the six as they waited for Kris’s answer.

“I..” Kris’s breath hitched in his throat. He could not think straight for his mind was foggy and clouded with negative events.

Tao..

I can’t..

The sweet smile of Tao’s flashed across his mind. That smile whom Tao first showed him when the boy opened his heart up to him..

Zitao..

“I.. I’ll join you guys.”

The darkness in him proved to be too much for the blonde to handle, crumbling under the strong grasp of obscurity..

Tao felt his heart throb all of a sudden.

Kris..

Something was wrong.

He can feel it.

[Author's Notes]

WHAT IS MY BRAIN DOING AHHHHHH
WHAT IS THIS EMO FANFIC DOING HERE
ASFDKFALJELKVJAVJKLJ OTL

KREASE I'M SO SORRY
YOU ARE NOT ADOPTED. I SWEAR

Sorry for the somewhat short chapter :/ Today's a Monday and I was lucky to have only one homework; so here's an update~!

Thanks for the support!