(A:N/ Have you guys seen Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, and Suho perform ‘Sabor A Mi’ in Mexico for music bank? If not, here’s the link---  There was a better version, but it was blocked due to copyright reasons.

Honestly, they are just so talented. Their voices are so amazing. And to think that they memorized the spanish lyrics JUST for their Mexican fans, that’s just awesome. And can we talk about Chanyeol playing the guitar? LIKE- HOW TALENTED CAN ONE PERSON BE??)

 

“I really don’t know about this…” I sighed, hoisting my bag onto my back. Before I could even take a step out of my bedroom, Kris lifted the bag into his own arms.

“Why are you so hesitant?” He asked. Kris, Tao, Xiumin, Lay, and Chen had all come back from school, only to discover that Kai had imprinted on me. I still wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but I had the general gist of it.

 

“Well, let’s see. If you were an 18 year old girl, in her senior year of highschool no less, and suddenly twelve men informed you that you were not only their destined partner, but that they were also supernatural creatures that you had assumed were just myths your entire life, wouldn't you be?” I tilted my head, giving him a thoughtful look.

 

“Touche.” He responded simply, carrying my last bag out to the car. I hadn’t packed many bags, because in all honesty I had hoped that I wouldn’t be staying at their house for long.

“Kris, thanks again for helping me with all of my bags.” I smiled shyly. He looked behind his shoulder.

“Ha. This was nothing. You should see how many bags Tao takes with him on an overnight trip.” He scoffed, making his way down the steps of my house.

 

I sadly locked the front door. This would probably be the last time I saw the house...for a while. After tucking the key into my pocket, I followed Kris to his SUV. While Luhan and the boys cleaned the house and cleared a room for me, he had sent Kris to pick me up with my luggage.

Kris had automatically assumed that I would be packing much more than this, which explained why he had brought such a large car.

 

Originally, it had taken a lot for Luhan and Kai to persuade me to move in. Because I had grown up practically by myself, you could say that I was a bit of a prude, and moving in with twelve hormonal men didn’t sound like the best idea.

But in the end, Luhan had somehow convinced me that it was for the best. He told me that since both he and Kai had ‘imprinted’ on me, people called Hunters would be after me within a matter of days.

He also told me that Hunters would stop at nothing to get to the were-creatures, and would ultimately end their race completely.

 

“Natalia, are you ready?” Kris snapped me out of my trance, and I looked up at him timidly. “Yeah, I’m ready.” I smiled, and hopped down the stairs towards the car.

 

I can’t wait to imprint on her. She’s so cute. But i’ll never tell the guys that. Kris thought, and opened the passenger door for me.

“Let’s get going then. It’s about a five minute drive.”

And man, was that drive ever long.

It was extremely awkward. Kris and I sat in silence as we drove through the mountains, weaving through harsh terrain and up steep hills.

 

Fortunately, the silence ended soon enough. We drove to a large clearing, where I saw a giant house mounted on the side of a mountain. It was strange, the house was half-inside of the mountain, and the other half was visible outside of the mountain.

And it was absolutely beautiful. A gasp escaped my mouth involuntarily.

“Oh my gosh… Are you guys rich or something?” I squeaked, leaning on the edge of my seat.

“You could say that.” Kris replied, pulling into a huge garage that revealed many other cars. Some were even sports cars that screamed $$$$.

“Good Lord.” I murmured, putting my face in my hands.

 

Suddenly an excited face appeared beside my window.

“Guys! Natalia is here!” Tao screamed behind his back  into an open door, and waved at me happily. When Kris parked, Tao opened the door for me sweetly.

He enveloped me into a hug, which I was a bit conflicted about receiving. Partially because Luhan stood in the doorway connecting the garage to the house, glaring angrily at the back of Tao’s head.

“You guys sure got here quickly. I don’t know if Lay and Kyungsoo are done fixing your room yet though…” He trailed off, sending Luhan a worried look.

“Kyungsoo….?” I asked, wondering who they were talking about.

“That’s right.” Luhan sauntered over, grabbing one of my bags from the trunk.

“You haven’t met Chanyeol or Kyungsoo yet.” He smiled, following Kris back into the house as they both brought my bags in. I was beginning to grow more nervous as the seconds ticked by.

 

“TAO! GRAB A BAG!” Luhan screamed from inside. Tao whined, but grabbed one anyways. Yet somehow, he still had a free hand to grab my hand, and drag me into the house.

“Don’t be scared, Natalia. They won’t bite.” He smiled, peeling off his shoes. I followed in suit, trying to watch what he did so that I didn’t break any rules.

“Do you guys live here together?” I asked, gaping at the huge house. We had just entered the kitchen from the garage, and I was welcomed by a beautifully vaulted ceiling, along with a crystal chandelier hanging over the kitchen table.

“Well, whenever we’re together. But most of the time we’re separated. Luhan, Kris, Lay, Xiumin, Chen and I usually live in the mountains to patrol our allied areas, whereas Kai, Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Sehun live in the city to control the were-creatures that live there.” He answered, and we suddenly entered what seemed to be the living room.

In it sat the biggest flat screen television I had ever laid my eyes on.

“Oh my gosh…”

“That’s what I said. That isn’t even sold in stores.” He pointed to the TV. “Lay had to personalize it himself and order it online.” He laughed. Did Lay have an obsession with television, perhaps? It seemed that we would get along pretty well.

 

“NATALIA! YOU’RE HERE!” Baekhyun screeched, running down the steps. He was about to envelop me into a hug when Kai appeared out of nowhere, grabbing him by the shirt collar before he could reach me.

“No so fast, Baek. Did you ever finish doing the laundry? Natalia needs clean sheets for her bed.” He growled, tugging Baekhyun in the opposite direction.

 

“You guys really don’t have to- I can do that myself!” I complained, feeling bad that they were doing all of this for me.

Baekhyun jumped from Kai’s grasp, and smiled happily. “You don’t have to do anything, Natalia. As your mate-”

“Future mate, that is.” Kai sighed deeply.

“Ah, yes. As your future mate, I will do this for you. But in return, you have to do something for me.” He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. I wasn’t catching the hint.

“And what would that be?” I asked, utterly confused.

“You’ll see~” He chanted, skipping away.

Kai and Tao shook their heads tiredly.

“Anyways, why don’t we start by showing you to your room?” Tao suggested.

 

I nodded, and hesitantly followed Tao and Kai up a huge flight of beautiful stairs.

 

 

When I reached the top, I saw what seemed like twenty doors to my left and right, spanning down two long hallways.

“Good grief. I don’t think i’ve seen this many bedrooms...ever.” I stated, taking long looks down each hallway. Oddly enough, there was one door in the middle of everything. Literally- directly in the middle.

“This is your room. We couldn’t decide who deserved to have their room closer to yours, so we settled with your room being put in the middle. It’s actually in between Suho and Kris’s rooms, since they are the alphas of each pack.” Tao pouted, obviously not very happy that he hadn’t been put closer to me.

“Well technically, wouldn’t Kai and Luhan’s rooms be closer? Since they imprinted on me first?” I pointed out, and Kai immediately perked up.

“That’s what I said! Unfortunately, everyone will eventually imprint on you, so it really doesn’t matter who did first. At least- that’s what they claim.” Kai glared at Tao who threw his hands up in defense. “Hey! I’m the youngest, I barely had a say in it from the start!”

“Whatever. Just open the door already.” Kai grumbled, crossing his arms. I couldn’t help but smirk at the two as Tao pushed open the beautifully crafted door.

 

“Waaahhhhh~” My hands clasped together in excitement. Maybe coming here hadn’t been such a bad decision, after all.

Before me was a huge master bedroom, accompanied with a king size bed. The room was covered with bursts of the color orange, my absolute favorite. Some might say its strange for a girl, but I didn’t care. It resembled the sun as it rose in the East, and set in the West.

“How did you guys know that orange is my favorite color?” I marveled, taking hold of the soft and sleek bed cover.

“How? We didn’t, really. That’s Kyungsoo’s favorite color, and he insisted on decorating the room himself. Lay picked out all of the furnishings.” Tao explained, also looking pretty impressed with the room himself.

 

(A:N/ Guys, I am well aware that orange is not Kyungsoo’s favorite color. This was just an easy way for Nat and D.O to connect a bit.)

 

There were huge windows that let in a lot of natural light, another touch I liked especially. To the left was a walk in closet, holding more clothing than I would probably ever be able to actually find time to wear. Next to the closet was a large bathroom, and in it was a huge walk in shower, as well as a tub and sink, all marble.

 

“Do your rooms look like this?” I asked, curious.

“Not exactly, but they are pretty similar. We don’t really care about what they look like. Lay and Kyungsoo took so much time organizing this room because they wanted you to feel welcome.” Kai explained.

 

“But how did they ever find the time? It was only a five minute drive over here, and it didn’t take long for me to pack.” I mentioned, taking a look at a pretty book shelf that held many novels.

“Well… Once Kai imprinted on you a few days ago, we figured it wouldn’t be long until the rest of the pack did. So Kyungsoo began to prepare a room for you. Then when we found out Luhan had also imprinted on you, Lay started to help out, too.” Tao smiled.

 

I stood still for a minute, trying to process this. “So basically, you all automatically assumed that I would end up living with you?” I asked, giving him a coarse look.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Uh- why don’t we go introduce you to everyone!” He exclaimed, trying to distract me.

 

Tao suddenly grabbed my hand, dragging me out of the room and down the stairs. This sent Kai into an all-out tizzy, and he spewed insults repeatedly. “DON’T HOLD HER HAND! SHE’S NOT YOUR MATE YET!” He howled, chasing after us.

 

But before anything else could be said, Tao led me into the living room. Everyone stood there in silence, seemingly waiting for me.

Suddenly I grew extremely awkward, and shifted from foot to foot. “Uh...Hi!” I exclaimed, and bowed deeply. “Thank you so much for having me. I’ll try to behave for as long as I stay here.” I stood back up, straightening my back. Sure, I had seen almost everyone here before, but when they were all together they became that much more intimidating.

 

“Well, why don’t I introduce you?” Luhan suggested, appearing beside me. I nodded quickly, wanting to get this over with.

“So you’ve already met Kris, Kai, Tao and I. This is Baekhyun.” Luhan motioned, and I recognized him from earlier. He was the one who told me I owed him a favor.

“This is Suho, the leader of Kai’s pack.” Suho smiled sweetly. He took hold of my hand and shook it. “It’s so nice to meet you, Natalia. Please, if anyone ever bothers you, come to me.” He smiled, and then glared daggers at the men surrounding him.

“This is Sehun, the youngest member of Suho’s pack. He’s a hormonal teen, so try to avoid him mostly.” Luhan suggested, and Sehun scowled, looking offended. “HEY! I AM NOT HORMONAL!” He cried, making a pouty face.

“This is Xiumin. He’s okay.” “What does THAT mean?” Xiumin roared, crossing his arms. I smiled, remembering how his cheeks were really cute when he smiled.

 

“This is Chen. He’s also pretty y, so don’t hang around him too long, either.” Luhan warned. “I am not! Just on the full moon, really!” Chen frowned, but smiled at me none the less.

“This is Chanyeol. He ordered all of your clothing, so be grateful.” Luhan laughed. Chanyeol’s face flushed of embarrassment.

“Thank you very much, Chanyeol. I’m sure I’ll love everything you chose for me.” I smirked, shaking his hand. It was rough and huge, and made my heart skip a beat.

“You’re welcome.” He replied, giving me a toothy grin.

 

“Last but not least, here are the two men who slaved over getting your bedroom ready in time, Lay and Kyungsoo.” Luhan motioned to the two. I bowed again, and thanked them wholeheartedly.

“Thank you so much for the beautiful bedroom. I’ve never seen anything like it! I still can’t believe that i’ll be staying in it. And the color choice is great.” I smiled at Kyungsoo, who seemed frozen on the spot.

His eyes were widening, and his head was drifting backwards like he was fighting the urge to fall asleep.

“Uhh… Kyungsoo? Are you alright?” I asked, tilting my head.

The rest of the boys surrounded us, all giving Kyungsoo curious looks. Lay shook his shoulder, but it didn’t snap him out of his trance.

Suddenly, he spoke.

“What is that smell? It’s divine!” He exclaimed, leaning into my neck and taking a deep whiff. I was a bit startled, and a pair of hands pulled me away. Turning around I discovered Luhan pulling me far from Kyungsoo.

 

“Kyungsoo, what do you think you’re doing? You’re freaking her out!” He complained, wrapping his arms around me protectively. Kai grunted, and practically pried me out of Luhan’s grasp. “And what do you think you’re doing to my mate?” He accused.

 

“Will you two shut up for a second? Something’s wrong with Kyungsoo.” Kris growled, and we all turned  back to the scene before us.

“Natalia, what kind of perfume are you wearing? It’s smells delicious. Almost good enough to eat.” Kyungsoo bared his teeth, revealing fangs underneath. I squeaked, and ran behind Luhan, only peeking over his shoulder to make sure Kyungsoo wasn’t about to devour me.

“YAH! Kyungsoo, that’s no way to treat a guest!” Lay shook his shoulder, trying to put some sense into him. Unfortunately, I didn’t think it was working.

 

Then suddenly, in one swift motion, Kyungsoo ripped himself out of Lay’s grasp and bounded towards me at full speed. A scream escaped my lips as I crouched behind Luhan, closing my eyes tightly.

 

There was silence. Ever so slowly I pried open my eyes. My hands had caged my head protectively. I slowly removed them, and was surprised to see Kyungsoo hovering above me, making googly eyes.

“I think that i’ve just imprinted on you.” He whispered, and didn’t hesitate to give me a soft peck on the forehead. I cowered back in shock.

“YOU WHAT?” The boys erupted into yells and screams.

“Is it even possible to imprint-at-first-sight?” Baekhyun questioned, tilting his head.

 

“Whatever the case, you scared her half to death!” Kai growled, pulling me away from Kyungsoo once more.

It was true, I could barely stand on my own two feet. After discovering that they were all shifters, I had found it a bit terrifying to have one of them charge towards me at full speed, baring his fangs no less.

My lip quivered unknowingly, and I cowered in Kai’s embrace. Suddenly Kyungsoo didn’t seem so happy anymore. His face was full of despair, and twisted with anger.

“I’m so sorry, Natalia. I didn’t mean to scare you. I don’t know what came over me!” He wailed, hands ruffling his hair gruffly.  Luhan stepped forward, and began to speak.

 

“To be honest, the same thing happened to me when I imprinted on Natalia. The only difference is that I had Chen to hold me back.”

“Same. When I imprinted on Natalia, Suho made sure that I didn’t approach her until the next day.” Kai muttered. I could feel his voice rumble throughout his chest as I clung for dear life.

“I really am sorry, Natalia. It won’t ever happen again.” Kyungsoo pleaded, eyes full of sorrow. Partially I understood how he felt. I had no idea what it must feel like to be a shifter, therefore I couldn’t judge the situation very well. I simply nodded, and released Kai’s shirt tentatively.

 

“It’s...ok. Just don’t let it happen again.” I whispered. I might have sounded a bit cold, but my life had flashed before my eyes, for God sakes!

He nodded exuberantly, seeming happy enough that I had forgiven him.

Suddenly, a voice interrupted the scene. “I’ll be damned if someone else imprints on mei-mei before I do.” Xiumin grumbled, flopping down onto the couch behind him.

“Mei Mei? You’re already addressing Bambi like a familiar?” Luhan growled, pulling me close.

“Well excuse me, but at least i’m not calling her Bambi! I mean, what is that, anyways?” Xiumin mocked.

Luhan seemed offended that Xiumin had made fun of his nickname for me. “Isn’t that obvious? My name means deer, so its only right to give Natalia Bambi as a nickname. Isn’t it cute?” He turned to me, awaiting my approval.

“Actually, I love it.” I smiled, not denying my feelings towards the name.

 

“SEE? She says she LOVES it!” Luhan rejoiced.

“Hey- how come you guys get to give her nicknames?” Baekhyun pouted, feeling left out.

“That’s because we imprinted on her.” Kyungsoo answered. Kai and Luhan shot him devious looks.

“That being said, I’ll call you baby doll.” Kyungsoo smiled. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to mirror the same feeling.

I gave him a squeamish look, showing my disapproval.

 

“Haha. It’s so bad that even Angel hates it.” Kai laughed. “What, and you’re going to call her Angel?” Kyungsoo retorted, giving him a look.

Before any claws came out, I interrupted the feud. “Listen- it doesn’t matter what you call me. As long as you put some thought into it.” I shrugged.

 

“Just as I thought. My Bambi is great at fixing problems.” Luhan smiled, and suddenly pecked my nose. After, an uproar ensued.

“WHAT THE HELL, LUHAN!”

“WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT?”

“Dammit, I wish I could imprint on Natalia already so that I could do that.”

 

“SHUT UP, EVERYONE!” Kris growled, and the room fell into silence almost immediately.

“Luhan, will you stop doing that in front of everyone? It only causes problems. And are you sure that Natalia wants you to do that? A gentleman asks permission before things like that.” Kris remarked, and I gave him a thoughtful look. Who knew that behind his mask of coldness, he was really a gentleman?

 

“Wow Kris, I didn’t know you had it in you. But he’s right, Luhan. Make sure to ask first. Does that sound about right, Natalia?” Suho smiled.

I nodded silently, happy with the sudden verdict. This way, my prude standards could be kept while living in a house full of men.

 

“Now that that’s settled, why don’t we have dinner? Kyungsoo, what are you making tonight?” Suho turned to Kyungsoo, who had been busy staring at me. I hadn’t noticed, of course.

 

“Oh- uh.. We’re having leftovers.”

A chorus of complaints rang out amongst the boys.

“AGAIN?” Sehun wailed, throwing his hands into his hair.

“WE CAN’T WASTE THE FOOD!” Kyungsoo roared. “You know- there are millions of people who would DIE to eat leftovers right.this.very.second. SO STOP COMPLAINING.”

I nodded, agreeing. Besides, throwing food away was a waste.

 

….

 

“Hm… I don’t think I can eat this.” I said out loud, stabbing the huge slab of bloody meat with my knife. After a lot of arguing, we had finally agreed on who would sit next to me. It ended up being Suho and Kris, a.k.a the only two that could behave themselves.

“Oops. I forgot that you’re human.” Kyungsoo said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Let me cook that for you.” He stood up to grab my plate, but I stopped him with my hand.

“No, that’s fine. I’ll just have some vegetables.” I motioned to the broccoli that sat in the middle of the table. No one had even laid a finger on it since we had sat down.

 

“But Natalia, that’s not enough. You’ve been through a lot today. Shouldn’t you have more? You’re already so tiny…” Suho wavered.

“No, to be honest my appetite isn’t really that great tonight. I think I’m still adjusting.” I looked down, feeling awkward. Everyone was staring at me. I better get used to it, though.

“Oh. Well of course you are. Why don’t you just go to sleep after eating then? You do have school tomorrow.” He added, setting his fork down.

My head perked up. “Speaking of school, where will you guys be attending?” I asked Suho.

“What kind of question is that? Of course we’ll be transferring into your school.” He smiled. “Although, I don’t think that we will all be in the same class.”

 

I nodded. “You’re probably right. But do you guys even need to go to school? I won’t ask how old you all are…” I trailed off. Suddenly I realized that I could be destined to be with twelve old geysers.

“No, we’re just going to first- keep an eye out on you, and second- we want to be with you as often as possible!” Sehun chided, ripping a huge chunk of meat off of his steak.

“I see.” I laughed, taking a spoonful of broccoli from the center of the table. I was having trouble reaching it, until Kris’s long arm scooped it for me. I smiled my thanks, taking a tiny bite of the bland food.

 

Kyungsoo had probably ignored flavoring the broccoli earlier because he knew it would be neglected.

 

The entire table sat in silence throughout dinner. On occasion a small comment was thrown out, usually by Baekhyun or Sehun, but other than that no one spoke a word. I could feel everyone’s gazes on me directly, like they were waiting for me to do something. Maybe I should start screaming or something, to surprise them.

 

“The food was delicious Kyungsoo. Thank you for dinner.” I smiled, taking one last sip of my water. I had to leave the table, otherwise I would probably choke on my own tongue.

“Oh, you can just leave your dishes there. It’s Tao’s turn to wash tonight.” Kris smiled evilly.

“AGAIN?” Tao wailed as I stood up from my chair.

 

“Again, thank you for all accepting me here. I hope that we can all get along. I’m feeling a bit tired, so i’m going to go to bed now.” I smiled, and pushed my chair in.

“That’s fine. If you’d like, someone could wake you up tomorrow for school. What time do you usually get up?” Suho asked, standing up as well. It seemed that he was finished too.

“Oh, that would be great! I wake up around 8:00am. Is that ok?”

“That’s fine. We’ll see you then.” Suho replied, and carried my dishes into another room, where I guessed the sink was.

 

“Goodnight Bambi! Sweet dreams!” Luhan blew me a kiss, and took another chomp out of his steak.

A chorus of ‘goodnight’s’ followed in suit, and I eventually made my way up the stairs and into my bedroom.

 

With a deep sigh, I closed the door behind me. What a day.

“How will I ever get used to this? I’m so awkward around them.” I muttered. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed in myself. These boys had invited me to stay with them to keep me safe, and all I could do was thank them? There had to be another way to show my appreciation.

I quickly decided that tomorrow I would do something special for them. Something that did NOT involve cooking- preferably.

 

Setting my uniform aside for tomorrow morning so that I wouldn't be scrambling to find it in time, I began to strip my clothes off. Right now, nothing sounded better than taking a long, relaxing shower.

 

As I peeled my camisole over my head, I heard my bedroom door creak open, and flipped around, only to find a very red faced Chanyeol standing in the doorway.

A cry escaped my lips, and he turned around quickly.

I was in my bra for God sakes! I covered my chest protectively, and was too embarrassed to say anything, let alone tell him to close the door and leave!

 

"NATALIA! WHAT'S WRONG?!" I heard twelve voices erupt as many footsteps crashed outside of my door.

"N-NOTHING! Don't come in here!" I squeaked, crouching into a ball.

"Chanyeol? What are you-" Suho began, and walked in only to gasp at the scene before him.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? CHANYEOL!" He screamed, eyes popping out of his head.

"What is it? What's wrong?" The boys asked, and I could hear them getting closer. A squeak escaped my lips, indicating my quickly growing fear of everyone seeing me in my bra.

"DON'T COME IN HERE!" Suho bellowed, slamming the door behind him. He quickly removed his jacket and set it around my shoulders, and I stood up awkwardly.

"N-Natalia, I'm so sorry! I knocked, and you didn't answer, so I.." Chanyeol began, obviously in distress with himself.

"It's fine, Chanyeol. I wasn't listening." I replied, trying to reassure him with a smile. It didn't seem to have much of an effect.

"I just wanted to ask if I could wash your uniform." He stated, looking at me desperately.

I knew that if I remained quiet, he would probably be in distress all night.

Walking up to him, I set a reassuring hand onto his shoulder, more or less standing on my tiptoes in the process. I hadn't realized how tall he was.

 

"It's FINE Chanyeol. Don't stress out about it. And go ahead, you may wash my uniform. Thank you for offering." I smiled, and his face broke out of its trance. He smiled happily, and took my uniform, leaving Suho and I alone.

I could hear multiple insults being spewed outside, and decided that that was enough punishment. I didn't have to add onto it by getting mad with him.

 

"Are you alright?" Suho asked, looking into my eyes deeply. I nodded. "It's fine, I'm ok." I noticed how warm Suho's sweater was, and it comforted me. His scent was strong and intoxicating, and it reminded me of home.

 

"Good. Now get some sleep, you'll need it. Oh- and I'll have Kyungsoo put a lock on your door." He motioned, and gave a curt wave. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I replied.

 

What else could possibly go wrong?

….

 

That night, sleeping had been almost impossible for me. It was to be expected, considering that I had just moved into a brand new house. I had tossed and turned, and before I knew it the sun had risen.

My eyelids felt like rocks, and it was going to be a challenge to stay awake in class today.

 

For a moment, I thought about staying home, but then realized that it wouldn't look good if I skipped school two days in a row.

Suho had woken me up at exactly 8:00am, afraid that if he sent anyone else I would freak out.

He had neatly laid out my uniform for me, and told me that breakfast was in the kitchen whenever I was ready.

 

I had quickly gotten dressed, brushed my hair, teeth, and washed my face. Then I decided to take a look at my phone before I headed down stairs.

I soon found out that Shannon had called me twelve times, and had also left multiple voice messages, as well as texts. Then I remembered that I had told her yesterday that I would call her back. Oops.

I sent her a quick text, telling her that I would explain everything at school later.

 

Taking one last look in my full-length mirror, I straightened out my uniform, and made the journey down stairs.

I was a bit nervous. How awkward would it be if they were all sitting at the table, and I just walked in? Ugh.

The struggle was real.

 

I slowly hopped down the stairs, and decided to look around the corner before walking into the kitchen.

As I peeked around, I felt a soft tap on my shoulder, which nearly caused me to faint on the spot.

"Oh my gosh. Tao, you scared me half to death!" I whispered, clenching my jaw tightly.

He smiled comically. "Sorry about that. What are you doing? Is Natalia nervous?" He sang, wiggling his eyebrows.

"What- no!" I hit his shoulder softly. "I'm just…. Ok. I AM nervous. Happy?" I pouted.

 

"Well don't be! We don't bite! Often…" He murmured the last word. "OH! How reassuring!" I exclaimed sarcastically.

"But that doesn't matter! Come on, we can walk in together." He said, lacing his arm through mine. Before I could protest, he dragged me into the kitchen.

 

"Good morning everyone!~" Tao sang, skipping into the room. "It's so wonderful to see all of your bright and smiling faces on this beautiful day!" He joked, taking a seat at the end of the table. I sat down quietly next to him.

Despite what I had originally thought, not one of the boys had seemed to detect my presence yet. They were obviously not morning people.

They picked at their food like zombies, eyes barely open.

 

Tao set a plate in front of me, and loaded it with pancakes. "Thanks Tao." I smiled, and suddenly all of the boys had woken up from their dazes.

"Natalia! You're awake!" They exclaimed happily.

"It's nice to see that everyone was happy to see me." Tao pouted, shoving a pancake into his mouth.

"Good morning, everyone." I smiled, popping a piece of pancake into my mouth. My eyes widened significantly.

"OH MY GOSH? WHAT IS THIS?" I screeched, shoveling the delicious food into my mouth at a unhealthy speed. Kyungsoo's face lit up brightly, and he tapped his chin.

"My special pancakes. They have a secret ingredient." He smirked.

"You know, that sounds really dirty." Sehun commented, setting his fork down in distaste.

 

"Whatever floats your boat." Kyungsoo said, taking a bite of his own pancake.

"He didn't even deny it!" Baekhyun whispered to Sehun, and they both nodded frantically.

I didn't care though. Nothing tasted this good WITHOUT a secret ingredient. So I wasn't complaining.

"Ah, I see you've come down stairs, Natalia. Good morning." Suho said, appearing from the kitchen.

He had a bag of chicken in his hands. Raw chicken, to be exact. "What's that for?" I asked, pointing to the bag.

"Oh, this?" He shifted the bag from one hand to the other.

"Kyungsoo asked me to buy this earlier. Not sure why…" He gave a curious look at Kyungsoo.

 

"It seems like your secret ingredient isn't so secret anymore, Kyungsoo." Kris choked, spitting out the pancake in his mouth.

My fork slowly dropped onto my plate.

"Please don't tell me you put RAW chicken into these?" I muttered, scrunching up my nose.

"Kyungsoo! Didn't we already have the same issue last night when you tried feeding Natalia raw steak?" Suho badgered, removing the plate of pancakes out of my sight.

"I remember well. I purposely made a chicken-free batch for baby doll." He stated, pointing to the second plate of pancakes.

"It's not my fault that Tao stacked her plate high with chicken-infused pancakes." Kyungsoo shrugged.

 

"Thanks for warning me!" Tao screeched, and rubbed my back and I silently gagged.

"Good grief…"

 

"You IDIOT. Why would you EVER put chicken in them, in the first place?" Kris growled, tossing his plate into the trash can.

"Hey- you heard Natalia. She couldn't stop raving about how amazing they tasted!" Kyungsoo defended.

"They did taste good, until the secret was revealed." Sehun choked, also throwing his plate away.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter now that we've ingested them." Chen swallowed in disdain.

"Angel, do you think you'll be ok?" Kai asked me, glaring at Tao and Kyungsoo.

"I'm sure I'll be fine, as long as that chicken wasn't carrying any diseases." I breathed. Standing up from my chair, I decided that breakfast wasn't an option anymore. For today, at least.

 

"Well, I'll be off, everyone. Thank you for…breakfast, Kyungsoo." I smiled half-heartedly.

"Woah-woah-woah. Where do you think you're going?" Luhan entered the kitchen, looking handsome in his uniform. I noticed that everyone else was wearing theirs, as well.

"To school, of course?" I said.

"And you plan on walking? Not while you're staying here. You'll be driving with us." Luhan smiled. I was about to protest, but Suho spoke before I could.

"Of course you will Natalia. We live farther away from the school than you do. It would take you at least a half an hour to walk there, and by that time you would be tardy." He stated.

 

"Alright then, I guess I'll drive with you guys."

 

…

 

"Would you quit your shoving? Why do you have to be so huge?" Baekhyun whined, shoving Chanyeol into the crevice of the seat.

"You guys, why did you all come in this car? You should have driven with Kris." I stammered, practically being squished in-between Luhan and Kai, who had insisted on sitting with me. Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo had also come, while Suho was driving.

"That's because they all want to be with you." Suho looked at me from the rear-view mirror, and I smiled back at him.

We had already been in the car for about ten minutes, and I was beginning to think that I had forgotten something back at the house.

 

Suddenly I felt a hand wrap around my waist like a snake, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Kai, you better remove that arm, or else I'll remove it myself." Luhan threatened.

The arm slowly slunk back to its original position, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

 

"Ah, look. We're here." Suho stated, and parked the SUV into an empty space. Kris found a space next to us, and parked his car as well.

The door opened, and everyone scrambled out quickly. "Be careful, Bambi." Luhan offered me his hand, and I accepted it gratefully.

 

As I jumped out of the car, I noticed that a large group of students had formed around the two cars.

"Who the hell is she?"

"I don't know, but she better let go of Luhan oppa's hand, before I kill her." I heard the comments, and unconsciously dropped Luhan's hand. He seemed quite disappointed.

"What is she doing with them?"

"Who knows. But they did take the same car. Maybe she spent the night?"

"Ha! She's a lesbian, remember?"

"You’re totally right. Then maybe she's a distant relative?"

"DISTANT is for sure. She looks nothing like them!" They laughed, and I lowered my head self-consciously.

The boys looked utterly outraged. I could practically see the steam coming out of Kai's ears as he fought the urge to start a fight.

Luhan tenderly grasped my hand, and pulled me through the crowd.

 

Suddenly a hand grabbed my wrist tightly. I turned around, and saw that one of the girls had taken hold of me.

“What do you think you’re doing? Let go of Luhan Oppa’s hand right now.” She growled, baring her teeth.

My eyes widened- she looked like an animal for goodness sakes.

Out of nowhere a different hand crashed between ours, separating the girls hand from mine. I looked up to see Shannon’s angry face as she cursed the girl left and right for ever touching me.

“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HER- OR I’LL KILL YOU!” Shannon roared, and practically shoved the girls aside.

“Great, it looks like Natalia’s girlfriend has come to rescue her.” The girls laughed, and eventually walked away.

 

“Hi Nat. Good to see that you’re doing well this morning. And you-” She pointed accusingly to Luhan, “-should be taking better care of her.” She spit out her tongue, and jerked me out of his grasp.

“Oh, hey Tao.” She blushed, and waved cutely in his direction. He smiled back. “And who might these lovely creatures be?” Her eyes widened, as if she had just noticed the twelve attractive men standing around us.

“Oh, these are new transfer students.” I smiled, introducing Shannon to all of the boys. She seemed quite flustered, which was unlike her usual self.

“Well well. I had never dreamed that so many attractive young men could ever want to come to school at this dump.” She chided, and tossed her orange hair behind her shoulder.

“Now, why don’t you tell me exactly why you didn’t return my calls yesterday, Nat?” Shannon pulled me ahead, and we walked towards the school as the boys followed silently behind us.

 

“Tao, I think you have a bit of a problem, here.” Sehun whispered to Tao eagerly. He nodded. “I don’t think she likes me though. I think she just admires my sense of hair color.” He reasoned.

 

…

 

We soon found out that Suho would be the only member that would be in our class. Sehun, Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Kai were stuck in a different class. This worried Suho a bit, because he didn’t want to leave his pack unsupervised.

 

As soon as we walked into class after saying goodbye to the boys, I came face-to-face with Kim Woo Bin. A gasp escaped my lips. His face was swollen, and his eye had turned black. On top of that, his lip was split, and I couldn’t help but smile. Not at his pain of course, but because someone had finally taught him a lesson. I gave Luhan, Chen, Lay, Xiumin, Tao, and Kris a thumbs up, trying to hold in my laughter.

 

“We have a score to settle.” Woo Bin growled, and I wasn’t scared in the least. Now I had twelve shape shifters to protect me, after all. “Whatever, Woo Bin. We’ll see what happens. But I highly doubt you’ll ever be able to insult me again.” I smirked, and the boys stood beside me protectively.

 

I confidently walked right past him, and took my seat. Luhan plopped down next to me, ruffling my hair playfully. “That’s my girl. You don’t have to be afraid of anyone anymore. We’ve got your back.” He smiled.