“So, let me get this straight, on your first day of school you managed to not only make enemies, but also beat up your P.E. teacher and almost show someone your powers.”

 

Saya groaned, her head dropping onto the top of the kitchen island.  “I know, I know…”

 

When she had come home from school, Saya had spent the majority of her time trying to decide on how much to tell her father when he got home from work.  Preferably, she wouldn’t tell him anything and just leave him in the dark. 

Of course, she couldn’t actually do that. 

For the sake of both their safety she would have to let him in on everything that had happened.  There was also the fact that she had some questions to ask, things that she had noticed that she wanted to confirm.

Nothing like self-interest to motivate you to do something you don’t want to do.

 

 

As expected though, her father wasn’t happy.

 

 

He’s probably pinching the bridge of his nose right now making his 'here-we-go-again' face.

 

 

Saya snuck a peek to see if she was right, not fully raising her head.

Her father was indeed pinching the bridge of his nose, brows furrowed and one hand on his hip.

 

Definitely the 'here-we-go-again' face.

 

“Saya, you can’t keep doing this. You promised that you were going to try. That you were going to be careful! And yet here you are, almost slipping up, and with the whole year left to go.”

 

“I’m sorry papa, I really didn’t mean for- ” Saya sighed, sitting up in her seat but still keeping her eyes downcast, “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

 

She glanced up when her father remained silent, wondering if he really was mad at her.  His expression was conflicted.

 

Finally, he sighed, leaning back against the fridge with crossed arms.  “Well, at least it sounds like you had an eventful first day, if anything.”

 

Saya gave him a weak smile.  “You have no idea.”

 

“Oh really?  Something more exciting happened than what you’ve already told me?” he snorted. 

 

“Mmm, I don’t know if more exciting is the word to use, I mean, it was exciting for me but…”

 

Her father laughed.  “What, did you actually have boys flocking to you?  Don’t tell me you actually beat someone off with a stick.”

 

Saya stuck her tongue out at her father’s teasing.  “Actually, in a sense I did have boys flocking to me…cute ones too.  They’re nice, well most of them are, I think you would approve of my new friends.”  She paused.  “And I only semi-beat-up one, but that’s because our lesson in P.E. is starting off with martial arts.”

 

Her father just stared at her in silence.  When he saw she wasn’t going to say anything else, his eyes widened.  “Wait, that wasn’t a joke? You're being serious?”

 

“Yah, what’s that supposed to mean?” Saya asked, slightly offended by the shocked look she was getting.

 

“It’s just, no offense sweetheart, but your personality is a bit,” he laughs, “rough.”

 

Saya glared at him.  “So?”

 

“So, I’m guessing these boys are popular, and popular boys don’t usually…”

 

“Uh-huh, continue,” Saya’s tone was dry and unamused.

 

“Well they don’t usually go for the rough type.”

 

Saya rolled her eyes.  “Well, they approached me.  Apparently the girl I pissed off is a major , so they congratulated me for standing up to her.  They said it was impressive.”

 

Her father smiled, softly chuckling, and leaned over the island, ruffling Saya’s hair.  “Sweetie, if you believe these boys, and they acknowledge my little girl’s charm, then I don’t see why I wouldn’t like them.”

 

Saya whined and swatted his hand away, a pout on her lips.  “Hmph, mean,” she grumbled under her breath.

 

Her father smiled and leaned forward onto his forearms.  “Now, what’s this about beating someone up in P.E.?”

 

“I said semi, semi-beat someone up.”

 

“Besides your teacher?”

 

“No, no, I actually beat him u- Dad, that’s not the point!”

 

 

“Uh-huh, okay, please continue.”

 

Saya narrowed her eyes.  “Anyway, it was only because our lesson for the next two weeks is going to be on martial arts basics.  I didn’t just go up to someone and punch them, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

 

Her father chuckled.  “I would hope you didn’t, but this isn’t all you wanted to tell me, is it?  It seems like you’re still holding something back.”

 

“Yah! Lee Donghae!” Saya leaned over and hit her father’s arm.  “I thought we had a rule!  No using our powers on each other!  You cheating telepath!”

 

“If it’s any consolation, I can’t tell what you’re thinking, I can only tell that there’s something else bothering you that you want to ask about.”

 

“That’s a lot!  Ughh, and I thought I had finally gotten that whole mental wall thing down pat.”

 

Her father gave her an apologetic smile.  “Sorry, but come on Saya, no more dodging.  What do you want to ask?”

 

Saya looked down at her hands, folding and unfolding them in her lap.  “What are the odds that I would run into more than one person who had powers?  And, I mean, in like the span of one class period.”

 

Her father’s expression and tone instantly became more serious.  “Is that what happened?”

 

“Well,” Saya paused, thinking. “I’m pretty sure.  One of the boys I talked to today had a body temperature that was noticeably lower than a normal person’s, it was enough that the place where he touched my head was cooler than the rest of my body for a few seconds.”

 

“He touched you?  Isn’t that a bit- ”

 

“Dad, focus.”

 

“Right, sorry.”  Her father cleared his throat.  “Please, continue.”

 

Saya raised an eyebrow.   “Mhmm, okay.  Anyway, then after that, I sparred with this boy, who by the way is supremely annoying, and he managed to push me back without even coming into contact with me.”

 

“Oh, so you like him then?  Is he cute?  Did he hit on you also?”

 

She continued on, ignoring her dad’s question.  “I think he might be a telekinetic, or maybe he can project force-fields…all I know is that my fire hit something and we were both pretty shocked.”

 

“You sure he didn’t push you or something and you just didn’t notice?”

 

“Dad,” Saya deadpanned, “I got hit by an invisible wall, I’m sure.  If I didn’t then Lu Han would’ve been burned instead of the mat.”

 

She had muttered the last part, but her father had easily heard her.  “Excuse me?  There was evidence of your power usage?  Saya really, what am I supposed to do with you- ”

 

“He has powers too, he won’t rat me out…if he even fully realizes what happened.”

 

Her father sighed.  “Mhmm, that’s not comforting at all though.  Is there anything else to add?”

 

“Yeah, one of my new friends very boldly used his powers today because he was getting his handed to him in our fight,” Saya chuckled.

 

“Wait, the cold one or the telekinetic?” her dad paused, “And please tell me you didn’t burn him also.”

 

“Neither of those two really count as friends,” Saya said wrinkling her nose, “It was someone I actually did become friends with.  His name is Zitao, and no, I didn’t show him my powers…I didn’t even get a chance to actually.”

 

“That’s interesting to hear, it’s usually the opposite.  Wait, how was he able to use his powers without anyone noticing?”

 

Saya shrugged.  “He can stop time.  That’s the only explanation I can come up with for how he was able to be in front of me one second, and then suddenly dropping me to the floor the next.”

 

Her father let out a low appreciative whistle.  “Time control is an incredibly rare and difficult to handle ability.  It’s a lot like your flames.  It’s unique.”

 

Saya grimaced.  “Hopefully he had an easier first time using his ability than I did.”

 

Her dad hummed in agreement.

 

 

The two sat in silence for a bit, Saya’s thoughts beginning to wander to the time and food while her dad fell into his own thoughts.

 

 

“Well, from what you’ve told me, one of the three is definitely aware of his abilities and seems to know how to use them, for the most part,” her father tapped his fingers on the counter top, “The other two I’m not so sure about.  Proceed with caution, is what I would say if you hadn’t already blown your cover and shown your powers to someone.”

 

“Dad,” Saya whined, leaning back in her seat, “I already told you it was an accident and nothing will happen.”

 

“Mhmm,” her father deadpanned.  “In any case, you should keep an eye on them, you know what can happen when someone awakens to their powers.”

 

Saya shot her dad a look but nodded nonetheless.  “I know.”

 

Donghae nodded at his daughter’s acknowledgement.  “Good, now on to the next issue…what are we going to do for dinner?”

 

Saya groaned.  “Ughh, I knew it.  Why did I even think we would have a nice homemade dinner to celebrate me starting high school?”

 

“Hey, we can still have a nice celebratory dinner without cooking.”

 

Saya gave him a look.  “Uh-huh.”

 

“I’m serious,” her dad pushed himself away from the island.  “We could go to that barbeque restaurant you like so much.”

 

“Really?” Saya’s eyes brightened.  “Yes!  Wait, just let me change really quickly!”

 

Donghae chuckled as she dashed off, sliding slightly as she rounded the corner, heading to the stairs.

 

“I’m going to invite the guys to come eat with us,” he called up,  “since they said they wanted to celebrate with us also if we decided to do anything.”

 

“Kay~” Saya yelled back, rummaging through her closet for a nice dress or skirt to wear.  “Tell Henry that if he pulls any stunts like last time I’ll seriously crisp him!”

 

She heard her dad let out a bark of laughter.  “I’m on the phone with him now, he said if you burn him he’s going to go around showing your baby photos to your new friends.”

 

“He can’t do that if he’s a crispy critter!” Saya yelled back.

 

 

She decided on a black pleated skirt and paired it with a cream colored button-down.  Getting frustrated with her hair she ended up throwing it into a simple ponytail.

 

Perfect, Saya smiled.  No thinking about anything unpleasant tonight. Just good food and friends.

 

 

“Saya, hurry up~” her dad called.

 

“Coming!” she called back, grabbing a sweater and giving herself one last glance in the mirror before heading down.

 

 

 

She had just rounded the corner to head to the living room – where she had heard her father’s voice coming from – when she sensed someone trying to sneak up on her.

On instinct, Saya whirled around and grabbed the person, yanking them forward and twisting their arm behind their back in the process.

 

“Ow, ow, ow, I give, Saya I give!”

 

“You really never learn, do you Henry?” Saya deadpanned, releasing her hold on the older man’s arm.

 

“That’s Henry-oppa to you missy, and ow, did you really have to bend my arm like that?” he asked while rotating his shoulder.  “Seriously, were you trying to break it?”

 

Saya rolled her eyes.  “You should know by now oppa that if I meant to break your arm,” she leaned closer to him, “It’d be broken.”

 

Henry scoffed, patting her head much to Saya’s displeasure.  “Yeah, yeah, I know, I get it.  You’re vicious.”

 

Saya playfully nipped at his hand, to which Henry yanked it back and wrinkled his nose at her.  He flicked her forehead, she hit his hand away, and things just went down hill from there.

 

 

 

By the time her father and his friends came to see what was taking her so long, they found Saya yanking at Henry’s hair and Henry pulling at her cheeks.

 

“Henry,” Donghae called, “When did you get here?”

 

“A hew ‘inutes hago,” Henry replied.

 

Saya tried not to laugh, at risk of having her hair pulled on more.  “He got here a few minutes ago and tried to sneak up on me – ow! – so I gave him the trespasser treatment.”

 

“You two really don’t have self control, do you?” Ryeowook asked, as he, and the others who had been in the living room, joined Saya’s father in staring at the spectacle before them.

 

“Helf contwol if for wimpfs!”

 

Saya snorted.  Oh man, I wish I could film him talking right now.  So much blackmail worthy material going to waste.

 

 

“So, are we actually gonna go eat?  Or do you children just want to stay here and play?” Zhou Mi asked, glancing down at his watch.

 

 

Saya shot her leg out, startling Henry, allowing her to knock his legs out from under him, sending him unceremoniously crashing to the ground with an “ow!”.

 

 

“Food!  I want food!”

 

The guys all laughed as Saya gave them a bright smile while Henry was still lying crippled on the floor.

 

 

Donghae smiled, putting his arm around his daughter’s shoulders as they headed for the door.  “Let’s go then.”

 

 

“Little demon will do anything for food,” Henry grumbled while Zhou Mi and Ryeowook helped him to his feet.

 

Saya looked back over her shoulder with a cheshire grin plastered on her face, sending him a teasing wink.

 

 

“Brat!”

 

“You know it~”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The car ride to the restaurant had been loud, filled solely with bickering between Saya and Henry.  It would have gone on for the entire time if Kyuhyun hadn’t at one point threatened to throw the two of them out of the car.

 

 

 

“I can’t believe you did all that on your first day of high school,” Henry laughed, not minding the stares he was getting for being so loud.

 

“Shut up!” Saya hissed, her face and ears bright red, her eyes glowing with murderous intent.

 

“Ohh~ so scary~”

 

“Enough! For the love of all things holy, please just shut the up!” Kyuhyun finally snapped, knocking Henry on the head.

 

“Ow! What? I was just having a little fun,” Henry whined.

 

“You’re ‘fun’ is giving everyone a headache and endangering you’re health,” Zhou Mi pointed out.  “If you’re lucky, Saya might decide not to kill you later.”

 

Saya shot him a pointed glare before turning forward again with a hmph.  “He’s not worth the effort.”

She then walked ahead from the group, her head held high and a slight stomp in her step, ignoring the the chuckles her actions elicited from the rest of her group.

 

“Aww is my little girl embarrassed?” Donghae cooed, following after his daughter.

 

 

“Shut up!”

 

“I guess that’s a yes,” Ryeowook smiled, following after the father daughter pair, the rest of the guys trailing behind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why are there so many people here on a weekday?!

 

Saya’s eyes widened at the amount of people that were waiting to be seated, meaning that not only was the place currently packed but that the wait time was going to be excessively long.

 

“Wow.”

 

Her dad came to stand next to her. “This is…impressive.”

 

 

“We’re never going to get a seat,” Saya whined, leaning against her father’s shoulder.

 

“Holy-” Zhou Mi and the others walked up, their eyes widening in the same way when they saw the crowd.

 

“What do we do now?” Ryeowook asked, eyebrows furrowed.

 

 

Saya sighed.  At this rate they would have to leave and choose another place to eat.  Any other night she wouldn’t have minded, but it had been a long day and she had really been looking forward to this dinner. 

She wasn’t about to give up on it that easily.

 

 

Spotting her victim, she casually walked over, linking arms with him.

 

 

“Hey Henry, is the person in charge of the waiting list over there a man or woman?”

 

Henry, who had been playing a game on his phone, seemingly oblivious to the stares he was getting from the groups of women around them, jumped a little at Saya’s sudden presence.

 

Raising his eyebrow at her, he complied and leaned to the side a bit.  “A woman.”

 

“Young?”

 

“Relatively.”  He paused.  “Wait, why does it matter?”

 

“Well,” Saya started, coyly glancing up at Henry through her lashes, “since the line is just so long, I was thinking that maybe you could do something to, uh, speed things up a little.”

 

Quickly catching on, Henry smirked.  “Speed things up a little?”

 

Saya held up her thumb and index finger, playfully scrunching her nose.  “Just a little.”

 

There was a wide smile on his face now and Saya had to resist from face palming.  Oh lord, he’s actually going to enjoy this.  

 

He ruffled Saya’s hair and sent her a cheesy wink.  “Leave it to me princess.”

 

 

And then he sauntered off.

 

 

Saya sighed and shook her head, patting down her hair.  So long as we get a seat I’ll entertain his ego for a bit.

 

 

 

A few minutes later and they were all happily seated.

 

 

 

“Well that worked like a charm.”  Saya smiled, stretching her arms over her head.

 

Henry, whose head was currently resting face down on the table, grunted in response.

 

Kyuhyun and her father chuckled.

 

“Aw, what’s wrong Henry?  She wasn’t your type?” Donghae joked, poking his friend with his cold drink.

 

Henry looked up, pouting as he swatted away the glass.  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

 

Saya couldn’t help but laugh.  It was ridiculous, watching the twenty-three year old man next to her acting like a petulant child who didn’t get his way.

 

 

“Was it her voice?” Saya teased, sending him a knowing smirk.

 

At this Henry groaned and put his head down again.  Zhou Mi burst out laughing, nearly choking on his drink.

 

“Are you serious? Her voice could not have been that bad.”

 

“It was so whiny,” was Henry’s muffled response.

 

“Your standards are just too high,” I scoffed, taking a sip from my tea.

 

Kyuhyun laughed.  “Nah, he’s just too pampered from being around you most of the time.”

 

Saya frowned.  “Me? My voice is normal though.”

 

“It’s soothing,” Henry sighed.  She glances to the side and sees him sending her a blissed out smile.

 

Saya rolled her eyes.  Her father, on the other hand, didn't brush it off so easily.

 

“Yah!” He flicks Henry on the head.  “Don’t flirt with my daughter in front of me!”

 

Henry raises his head and sends Donghae a cheeky smile.  “So I can flirt with her so long as it’s not in front of you?”

 

“Try that and see what happens,” Saya chimed in, casually sipping from her tea again.

 

 

The whole table erupted into laughter at that, leaving Henry to sulk again on his own.

 

 

 

 

The playful antics continued as the group ordered their meal and Saya finally felt relaxed after her long day at school.

 

That is, until she heard a voice that was quickly becoming familiar.

 

 

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, um…”

 

“Soyoung,” a female voice giggled.

 

“Ah yes, Soyoung.  Really, thank you again.”

 

Another giggle.  “Well Luhan-ssi I can’t promise you we’ll find an open spot for you and your friends but we can certainly try.”

 

“Of course.”

 

 

Saya instantly scowled when she saw the insufferable smirk plastered on a certain flower boy’s face as he came around the corner, a plain looking waitress batting her eyelashes at him as she led the way. 

 

Luhan, along with Kris, Yixing, and, surprisingly, Tao were all making their way closer to where Saya and her group were seated.

 

Her forehead creased into a frown, wondering why the hell they seemed to be coming over to them, when she realized the empty spaces next to her and Zhou Mi.

 

Oh no. You’ve got to be kidding me.

 

Saya accidentally met eyes with the waitress, Soyoung, and the girl sent her a delighted smile.

 

!

 

“Zhou Mi.”

 

“Hmm?” The man barely looked up from the appetizer he had ordered.

 

“If someone asks, the seats next to you are taken.”

 

Zhou Mi frowned, his interest piqued, and looked up.  “But they aren’t.”

 

Saya rolled her eyes.  “Just say it.”

 

“Why?”

 

“It doesn’t matter just- ”

 

“Hi there, how are you all this evening?” Saya instantly dropped her head onto her hand to shield her face, shutting up before the boys trailing the waitress could hear her.  If they didn’t recognize her then there would be one less reason for them to sit together with them.

 

“Good, thank you.” She glanced over at her dad.  He was giving the girl a pleasant smile, but Saya didn’t miss the quick questioning look that was sent her way.

 

“I apologize for having to ask this but…”

 

Saya shrank into her seat.  For the love of all things holy, please go away.

 

“…I was wondering if you would be willing to share your table with another set of customers.”

 

 

Saya shot a look over at her father, trying to tell him to say no.  He seemed to get her message, but before he could say anything Henry decided this was the best moment to try and bug her.

 

He snuck a hand over in an attempt to steal from Saya’s plate, which led to the automatic reaction of her raising her head and shooting out her hand to slap his away.

“Can you not?” she snapped, the words leaving before she could stop them.

 

 

“Saya?" .  "Is that you?”

 

 

Saya froze, realizing her mistake. Curse you Henry, I hope you go bald!

 

Turning in her seat, she was faced with a surprised looking Kris and Yixing, a happy Tao, and a very horrified Lu Han.

 

“It is you! What a great coincidence,” Tao laughed, looking genuinely happy to have run into her here, causing Saya to internally wince for not having wanted them to discover her.  “Hey, you wouldn’t mind if we sit with you, would you?  There’s no where else to sit here and we’re starving.”

 

ing hell.

 

Projecting a quick message to her father, letting him know that these were the boys she had been talking about earlier, Saya gave the best smile she could muster. 

“Sure, why not.”

 

 

 

A/N

Sorry for not posting in so long, I was staring at this chapter on my computer forever but couldn't finish it because of school and plain out frustration with it.  Hope to be updating quicker but please understand if they're still pretty slow.

Also, thank you to all my new subscribers!! I appreciate every one of you! 

*PS if you guys like the story please upvote*

PPS I ACCIDENTALLY LEFT THIS CHAPTER HIDDEN OOPs