It wasn’t often that Sori came to Luhan asking for him to make her feel calm. In fact, she never asked. Actually, she never had to ask because Luhan was always faster and had manipulated her emotions to make her feel better before the words could even form. But now she was there at the door to his dorm, asking for him to calm her down because she needed a clear head.

Reading her emotions, Luhan silently panicked at how frustrated and unsettled she felt. He had no idea what had gotten her so upset, but he figured it had something to do with the fact Kris had stormed into the dorm only a few minutes prior. The dragon had lived up to his reputation perfectly, throwing open the door with so much force Luhan thought it was going to come off its hinges. Before he could ask what was wrong, Kris was in his room, slamming the door shut so hard that the windows rattled.

“Alright,” Luhan nodded, taking hold of her hand and pulling her through the dorm into his bedroom. Before they’d even sat on his bed, he could tell she felt a hundred times better.

“Thank you,” she nodded, her shoulders relaxing and a small smile pulled the corners of up slightly.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Jaesun was here,” the smile vanished quicker that it had come, “and he attacked Jongin, Hyuk, and Wonsik.”

“Are they ok?” well, that explained her bad mood.

“Wonsik and Hyuk are fine,” she nodded, “Jongin is in the medical building. He’ll be alright by tomorrow, but he’s in a great deal of pain right now. Jongdae is with him.”

“What did Jaesun want?” Luhan remembered Kwon Jaesun very well.

The nymph had come to Dark Lake a few years ago thanks to the ISBIP. The ISBIP had done a raid on an illegal gang, arresting a few members on charges like theft and assault, when they came across Kwon Jaesun. Since he was young and didn’t have a record like some of his fellow gang members, he’d been sent to Dark Lake. The hope had been that the school could turn him straight, make him want to leave life as part of a gang in favor of life as a law abiding citizen.

Instead, Jaesun had started recruiting other students at the school for his gang. By the time anyone figured out what he was doing, seven students had left the school to join his gang. It had been Hyoyeon who figured it out and the shifter was beyond angry. She’d gone to Kris and Sori, knowing that they could scare Jaesun off better that she could, and she’d been right. Jaesun ran the second he realized the pair knew about him.

Luhan had hoped that Jaesun would never come back, that they’d heard the last of the nymph, but apparently he had returned.

“He wanted to tell us something,” Sori sighed, falling back against the bed, “but he didn’t say what.”

“Do you think it’s something important?” he questioned. Maybe Jaesun had information about the threat coming to Dark Lake.

“I honestly don’t know,” she sighed, “he didn’t say anything to make me think one way of the other. Kris told him to get out of here before he could give any good hints.”

“I see Kris still hates him,” Luhan smiled slightly, “he stormed in here looking like he was going to kill someone. I thought he was going to start trashing the dorm.”

“Kris isn’t good at controlling his temper, is he?” Sori laughed slightly, a sound Luhan rarely heard but enjoyed none the less.

“Not in all the time I’ve known him,” he nodded, moving to lie beside her.

The pair fell into silence, both letting their own thoughts consume them. Luhan had no idea what Sori was thinking about for sure, but he figured that it was probably about what had happened earlier that night. More specifically, what had happened to Kai. She was probably beating herself up for not getting to the young werewolf in time to prevent him from getting hurt.

In the supernatural world, the loyalty of shape shifters was a well-documented fact. Everyone and their grandmother knew that a shifter would lay down their life in a heartbeat for a friend. Knowing that Kai was hurt by someone who had snuck onto school grounds, something she was supposed to be preventing, probably infuriated the shifter beside him. Dragons and werewolves were the same way, so Luhan figured Kris and Chen were in similar states – Chen probably worse since Kai was his baby brother.

“I’m going to head back to my room,” Sori sighed, getting up off the bed, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He nodded, watching her leave.

Once she was gone, Luhan moved to Kris’ room. He was still trying to figure out if he should knock when N exited his room.

“Kris left about ten minutes ago,” N informed him, “while you were talking with Sori.”

“Thank you,” Luhan smiled slightly before something hit him.

N shouldn’t have been able to hear him talking to Sori or Kris leaving. Only someone with werewolf, shifter, or vampire hearing could hear that. Minji had tried to sound proof everyone’s bedroom several years ago, but the hearing of those three species had proved to be superior.

“What’s wrong?” N asked, noticing the blank look on Luhan’s face.

“You shouldn’t have been able to hear any of that,” Luhan frowned, “not unless you’re werewolf, shifter, or vampire.” N looked at him blankly before the words sunk in.

“What does that mean?” he asked, a hint of a smile on his face, “does that mean I could be one of those three?”

“But that doesn’t make any sence,” Luhan frowned, moving to the couch so he could sit, “werewolves, shifters, and vampires can’t see ghosts.”

“Wait,” N moved to sit beside the fae, “what does that mean?”

“I don’t know what it means,” Luhan frowned, “but you need to go to Minji about this first thing in the morning. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe you don’t have super hearing, but if there’s a chance you need to tell her.”

“I don’t understand any of this,” N sighed, holding his head in his hands.

“I kind of know how you feel,” Luhan offered, “I’ve been where you are. Not knowing what I am.”

“What do you mean?” N looked up.

“My mom was fae, but my dad was human,” Luhan explained, “she died when I was little and she never told my dad about what she was. When my gifts started developing, my dad thought I was a freak or something and sent me to a psychologist. For a while, I thought I was a freak, too.”

“So what happened?” N asked him, “How did you end up here?”

“Turns out my psychologist was a supernatural like us,” Luhan smiled slightly, “she figured out what I was pretty quickly and sent me here.”

“And then everything worked out, right?” N sighed.

“No,” Luhan laughed, “for a while I denied it. I refused to believe I was fae. I swore up and down that I was normal, that I just needed some pills or something to straighten me out. Kris was starting to lose his temper with me. Another of our roommates, a werewolf, got so sick of hearing me deny what I was that he changed rooms to get away from me.”

“But you came around,” N looked at him, “how?”

“A combination of things,” Luhan explained, “I made friends with some of the other people here. Like Sori. Eventually things straighten themselves out. I know they’ll work out for you, too.”

“Thank you,” N smiled slightly, “I hope they work out, too.”

“At least you aren’t refusing to believe like I was,” Luhan pointed out, “that would only make things worse. Trying to learn about what you are while claiming to be human isn’t easy. Sometimes it can be dangerous, too.”

“How?”

“Well,” Luhan shrugged, “if you’re a vampire who needs to drink blood, refusing to drink blood can kill you. Or your friend Ken. If he refused to believe and went back home, he could accidently cast a spell that started a fire or something equally destructive.”

“I get your point,” N frowned slightly.

“Something else on your mind?” Luhan questioned, “You can ask me anything.”

“Anything?”

“Within reason.”

“What’s going on?” N finally asked, “I didn’t catch all of what you and Sori were talking about, but I know that it’s important.”

“Can’t say,” Luhan was quick to reply, “Not allowed.” And it’s not like I know that much, either.

“Why is it that you need, like, a special security clearance to know what’s going on around here?” N scoffed, “if it’s something important, I’m not allowed to know. For all I know, this stuff I can’t know about could concern me. But I can’t know because no one will tell me anything.”

“Things will get better,” Luhan patted the other boy’s shoulder before getting up to leave, “Sori and Kris and the others just don’t want to drag any innocent people into whatever is happening. You’re innocent. Same with your friends.”

“And you aren’t?” N countered, “Sori and Kris aren’t innocent?”

“Not the way you are,” Luhan replied, trying very hard to say anything his two friends wouldn’t approve of.

“Because they grew up in foster care?” N scoffed, “well so did I. And Leo, Ken, Ravi, Hongbin, and Hyuk did, too. All six of us grew up in foster care, just like Sori and Kris did.”

“Supernatural foster care isn’t like human foster care,” Luhan frowned, “you don’t know what it’s like for the kids in supernatural foster care, so don’t compare the two.”

“Couldn’t have been much worse that human foster care,” N shrugged, not understanding the difference between the two, “what makes their experience so special? How is what they went through worse than what we have?”

“Because the kids in the ISBIP foster care have no chance of getting a home,” Luhan growled, his temper getting the best of him, “You at least have a chance of finding someplace where you belong, but Sori, Yuri, Hyuna, and Kris never will.”

“I don’t understand,” N blinked, more confused than before.

 “Their own species doesn’t want them,” Luhan explained, “everyone else knows that and treats them differently because of it. As for humans, well, it goes without saying that they’ll never be able to find a home among them. Not when they have to hide what they are from everybody.”

“I didn’t know,” N frowned.

“At least you and your friends have a chance,” Luhan shrugged, “you can find a place in our world without the troubles Kris, Sori, Yuri, and Hyuna face.”

“I didn’t know,” N repeated.

“I know,” the fae smiled sadly, “I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. Sori and the others don’t like to talk about it. They don’t like to be reminded about their situation.”

“I won’t tell them I know,” N assured him.

Luhan just smiled before leaving the room.  N didn’t need to say anything, Yuri would read his mind and know. Heck, Sori could probably read enough into his mind to figure out that he’s spilled the beans. Either way, Luhan wasn’t looking forewords to the anger he’d be receiving.

A/N: poor Kris, Sori, Hyuna, and Yuri. All they want is a place they belong. Also, this is going to be the last weekend for a few weeks where you guys get two updates out of me. I need to focus my attention on my final exam, a presentation, and a group assignment. so i'm not going to be able to get as much done. sorry, but i really need to pass my class. you'll still be getting an update, it's just going to be one chapter for a while