~ Chapter Thirty-Seven: Dream or Nightmare? ~

The Fallen

Random Rambles: Hi guys! Sorry it took me a while to update this time, no worries, I haven't suddenly disappeared or discontinued the story, but life tends to get in the way of writing and updating...24hrs in a day isn't enough (TnT)" Where is Tao-Tao when you need him?! It might get boring to read this all the time, but I'm going to write it again: thank you so much for your support (subs, comments + messages), it seriously means a lot to me and brightens my day (^3^) y'all are awesome <3 saranghae

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What the ever loving...?!

All I heard was the squeaking of shoe soles over marble floors, followed by stumbling and then, girly squealing. Lots of it. Even though I wasn't the one that just embarrassed myself in front of the entire freaking cafeteria, my face was glowing red at seeing eleven guys storm - out of nowhere - at the table I was sitting at with Lili and a bunch of the other girls I'd been talking to.

"Ah, Luhan-oppa!" Lili shrieked in a high-pitch tone at seeing the soccer captain so close by and I nearly choked when the other girls started squeaking the names of their crushes. As it finally seemed to register what they were doing, a few of them had the decency to look embarrassed, whilst others, like Chen, kept smiling sheepishly. I decided to wisely shut my mouth, look away and pretend to not have noticed anything. What the heck were they doing? All of them have been behaving weirdly today. Was it because of the wolf thing?  

When I turned away as they muttered shy apologies and adjusting their clothing and hair (because the princes of the school have to safe face- obviously), I caught sight of Kai, sitting rather lonely at their usual table, though he was laughing at the sight of his so-called brothers making a fool of themselves. It actually surprised me that he looked different when he was laughing, much warmer and child-like. I think I know what these girls mean when they fangirl over Kai when he smiles or laughs; it's a pretty special sight.

I blinked in confusion when the girls had started asking what the Majestic Eleven were doing. I stared at Lili for a moment because she had stars in her eyes, a look of utter admiration gracing her face as she looked at Luhan. I've honestly never seen someone glow like that before and I was honestly a little worried when I felt a slight, teeny pang of jealousy. Clearing my throat and pushing that nasty feeling away, blaming it on possible 'wolfiness', I focused on my food without actually eating. Why were they here?

"Pardon the intrusion, ladies, we eh- we had a- a..." Kris' cool guy image was about to shatter into a million pieces, had Luhan not swooped in to save the day.

"A bet," he prompted, smiling so brightly I was sure that Lili had turned into wax and was melting at the sight of it.

The stares that are seeking you who's vividly shining in the blurry space, the sound of the alarm is ringing in me. I'm growling, growling, growling!

...What the hell was that?! Was that- was that me? That was my voice, wasn't it? Holy crap! What's going on? I shot Luhan a glare for good measure, suspecting that he had something to do with it since he's all about the mind-control-thingy and tried to send him a signal. Shoo! Be gone! Why are you here?! Go away!

I didn't know if it worked or if any of them could hear me, but Luhan's expression remained the same while he was speaking to the girls. 

"A bet, oppa?" Lili asked, her tone of voice a pitch higher than usual, absolutely interested in anything he'd have to say.

"Yes, we were wondering if it was possible to reach the table simultaneously after leaving at different times, whilst accelerating only once. A play at Newton's law, if you will," he said smoothly, but I frowned at hearing the excuse, the furrow deepening even more when I saw that all these girls ate his words like cupcakes.

"Wow, oppa is so smart! Always busy with school," one of them piped up, but I scoffed. Really?

"But, Newton's law applies to gravity, it has nothing to do with running-,"

"Ah, Jae-sshi! Didn't see you there," Luhan spoke over me, signaling something with his eyes. Was he using some kind of mind manipulation to convince the girls that everything he says makes sense? Sneaky...

"Are you still thinking about joining the soccer team?" he teased, causing the girls to giggle while I gawked at him, wide-eyed. 

"I-eh, just- uh...what?" I stammered, flustered, nearly pouting angrily at him when he beamed mischievously at me. He was toying with me and enjoying it. I found out about his more playful side last night where he incessantly tried to get me to grant him access to my mind. At least I could use that against him. It bothered him that he couldn't read my mind as he could with others which suited me perfectly fine. 

"Wae, Luhan-oppa shouldn't tease Jae-yah like that, it's not proper," Lili scolded him playfully, unable to prevent from giggling in between her words. Honestly, this girl is a sweetheart, but she has got to try to contain her hormones, it's starting to feel a little bit embarrassing. Why are you thinking like that, Jae? 

I purposely made sure not to look up at them, or any of the girls for that matter. I didn't like how I suddenly felt annoyed, the way they all fawned over them. Why would I even feel like this when there was no reason for me to do so? Gurae wolf, naega wolf!

"Uhu..." I breathed quietly in exasperation, wishing more than anything to be able to crawl back to bed and pretend that the outside world and everyone in it didn't exist. 

"...for the Homecoming dance!" one of the girls suddenly blurted out, Lili clapping like an overly enthused seal next to me. The sudden sound made me jump in my seat. 

"Huh?" I looked at the girls at my table when they suddenly got all excited again after speaking to the boys and I prevented from snorting out loud when I saw them a bit flustered.

"Ah! Is that the reason you came over to the table, Luhan-oppa?" To Lili, Luhan was the only person around. As Luhan was muttering a reply, she became all giggly again. "You know you can't ask any of us until a week before Homecoming-, in fact, you're not allowed to ask us at all! We're supposed to ask you, remember? Those are the rules!"

Even though it amused me greatly to see all the guys so caught off guard, I had to admit that I wasn't entirely updated myself. Homecoming? Rules? ...What?

"Could it be that Kris-oppa wants to talk to Jae-yah in private again?" Lili suddenly prompted, startling me as she elbowed me teasingly. I was about to deny it when Kris suddenly snapped his fingers as though he thought of something brilliant and the other guys started pushing each other around a bit. Seriously, what was going on?

"Actually, that is exactly-," 

"Ignore him, noona, Kris-hyung talks too much," Chen had suddenly covered the taller student's mouth. "But I wouldn't mind talking to- yah!" Baekhyun had shoved him to stop him from talking, pushing both Chen and Kris to the side in the process. 

"Jae-noona, didn't you say you were interested in joining the science club? If you come with me I can help sign you up," he grinned, but his eyes signaled that it was just a ruse to get me to come with him. I was about to ask what they were all talking about when they simultaneously started talking to each other, under cooing of the girls that watched them bicker, noting how cute they were. Something told me that they wanted to talk to me in private, but that just made me more wary. 

"Jae-sshi, I wasn't joking about the soccer club, come with me and we'll talk about it!|"

"No, no, no, Jae-noona doesn't want to join the soccer club, hyung, get serious!"

"Jae-yah if you really want to join a club, maybe you could try the dance club instead!"

"Lay, we're not actually trying to convince her to join a club," I heard Suho whisper at the dumbfounded youth. The look of confusion on Lay's face was rather endearing, especially when he rubbed the side of his head. 

"Oh, then what are we doing again?" he whispered back. I was rather amazed that I picked up on their private conversation amongst the ruckus, but I guess that was what wolf ears were for? Right, a wolf. That's what are you apparently are, Jae... 

"Wah, Jae-yah, I don't know what you did to get their attention, but..." Lili started saying quietly in my ear, and I thought that she'd respond with irritation and jealousy for sure. I prepared for a venemous comment when all of a sudden she grabbed me enthusiastically by the arm and shook me a bit. "Please teach me, seonsaeng-nim!" she asked instead, stars in her eyes. Okay, so not precisely the reaction I thought a teenage girl with a major crush would have at seeing the guy she fawns over give attention to another girl. I wasn't sure whether I should praise her loyalty or tap her on the head to make sure it wasn't hollow. 

"Um..." I trailed off, distracted by the boys' discussion and the girls watching them with glee. I then noticed a quiet and hesitant D.O. lifting his hand now and then as though he wanted to interject in the conversation, but couldn't find a way to do so. Then, out of the blue, he coughed and stomped one foot firmly on the ground. The moment he did so, it seemed that the entire school building shook momentarily, creating a wave of panic in the cafeteria. The boys were thrown off balance, but still managed to hold on to some girls that nearly fell out of the seats to prevent them from falling.

As I did my best to stay in my seat, a pair of hands grasped me by the shoulders. When I looked up, D.O. glanced back, his finger placed in front of his mouth, his eyes beckoning me to follow him. Amidst the chaos and confusion I got up to my feet, but the tremors made me lose my balance and I grabbed D.O.'s outstretched hand as he easily maneuvered away from the cafeteria and we ran outside. The moment we stepped foot out of the building, the tremors had stopped and I looked up, bewildered.

"What..."

"Don't worry about it, just a light shockwave," D.O. immediately answered without me having to finish the sentence. He was panting slightly and was looking down, gulping a little nervously. It was almost as though he was having a mental discussion with himself about something. 

"Wait a second," I breathed, gathering my wits about me. "Were you the one who...I mean, that can't be, right? Or," I tried putting the pieces together. "I didn't ask you what you could do last night, did I?" I pointed accusingly at him and D.O. winced at my words, but he couldn't properly respond. He kept looking down at something. 

"D.O., did you just do that back there?" I was a little out of breath and still tried to process everything. I guess this is what it felt like to have your world turned upside down and inside out. Did I miss something and fell through a rabbit hole? I couldn't come up with another explanation.

"D.O.?" I called since he still hadn't responded. "What are you looking at?" I then asked and this made him look up to me, shyly and slowly directing his gaze back down. When I followed it, I understood why he seemed so out of sorts and I swallowed myself. "O-oh..." I hummed, feeling warm at seeing my hand clasped unto his. Apparently we both sensed the growing awkwardness so we let go almost simultaneously, retracting our hands as if they would combust into flames if we held on longer.

I scratched my cheek and D.O. smiled shyly, looking around at the surroundings with his big eyes, hoping that it would relieve some of the awkwardness.

"So, uh," I started, trying to quickly think of a topic for conversation, "what happened back there? I mean, not the mini earthquake, but all of you- What was the whole running towards the table thing about?" I asked, to which D.O. blushed and he smirked.

"Sorry about that, I did tell you that they were idiots," he replied, chuckling to break the ice. Last night I got the chance to see a different side to D.O. as well. He seemed a lot more confident and outgoing than he was now. He was back to being shy and awkward, though he did manage to speak more freely to me now, which was nice. It then dawned to me that I hadn't properly thanked him yet for protecting me last night. Why did he choose to protect me though?

"Actually," he then said, "there was something we wanted to ask you-, well, I guess there's a lot we want to ask you regarding...well, you know," he said softly, lifting both his eyebrows as his eyes shone red at me. 

"Ah, oh," I nodded, biting my lip. "That," I said. "Well, I guess there's things that I'd like to know too..." I shrugged. 

"Guess?" D.O. questioned hearing my hesitation. Standing so close to him I suddenly realized how he smelled of wild flowers in a spring rain. The smell of wet earth lingered in the air and it made me want to take a stroll through the forest. 

"Yeah, I'm still having issues dealing with the fact that whatever happened last night was real. I guess I'm still hoping that I'm going to wake up from this dream- or nightmare, I'm not sure yet," I admitted openly, to which D.O. nodded in understanding. 

"Between you and me, you're handling it surprisingly well, though. If it weren't for my brothers, I would've flipped a long time ago," he assured me, a sincere little smile playing on his heart-shaped lips. 

"I find that very hard to believe," I told him, returning the smile. D.O. always seemed so controlled and self-disciplined, calm and quiet, but strong. "Now, Suho, okay, I can see him flipping his lid, but you? No way," I told him and the little smile from earlier on widened bit by bit. 

"So, you'd be up for it to meet again tonight?" he asked quietly, avoiding my gaze. 

"I guess I could sneak out of the house," I pondered. "Will I have to become a you-know-what again?" I asked, not particularly looking forward to that. 

D.O. smiled in amusement before he leaned forward slightly and whispered, "It's called a wolf, and yes, chances are high that might happen," he jested. "Don't worry though, the second night will feel less strange than the first, and you'll get used to the fleas." 

He burst into laughter when he caught the expression of shock on my face. "Just joking," he said, chuckling again when he saw me sigh in relief. "Meet us tonight around ten, okay?" he then asked and I nodded. Perhaps this was good. Maybe we could get answers from each other, though I doubted how much I could tell them. I didn't even believe in werewolves until recently and suddenly I was one. How twisted was that?

I must've worn my worries on my face when D.O. attempted to make eye contact with me, inspecting me with his shrewd gaze. "Hey, uh, I know this is a lot to handle and digest on your own, but, um..." he trailed off, scratching the back of his head before running his fingers through his hair. "You're not alone," he finished in a mumble, unable to look at me again. Despite of this, I could still tell that he was sincere. 

I smiled. "Thank you, D.O.," I said in the same quiet tone of voice. "You've always been nice to me- even when you thought I was a boy," I grinned, making him chuckle as well. 

"Well, I suppose I'll see you at ten tonight, yeah?" he asked, just to be sure. 

"Yep. I'll be there," I promised and D.O. seemed pleased. 

"Good. Then, I guess we should head back. Classes will be starting soon once they figure out that there was only a slight, harmless shift in the earth," he said nearly playfully. 

I nodded and we started walking back to the main building in a comfortable silence. 

"Oh, now that I think of it- what were those girls talking about just now? Homecoming? There's a homecoming dance?" I asked my former guide to which D.O. slumped his shoulders a bit. 

"Yeah, it's a formal dance here at the school. It's supposedly a big deal and all that, but I never went," he shrugged, sighing a little when we entered the building again. 

"Oh, how come?" I asked, since I'm nosy that way. 

"It's a bit lame, I suppose, but it's somewhat of a tradition or rule, really, for girls to ask the guys to the dance," he explained, his voice flat. I blinked at him and I simply refused to believe that the reason he never went to the dance was because no one asked him to go. I've talked to the girls in Lili's group of friends and there are at least five of them that would kill to have D.O. notice them. There was no way that no one asked him. 

"Why didn't you go?" I asked instead, startling him a bit. "Come on, you can't honestly tell me that no one asked you," I instantly called him out, which probably startled him more. We stood by the entrance of the still rather chaotic cafeteria, with people chattering loudly about the small earthquake they had experienced, people clutching to each other, girls squealing out of joy because certain princes had "saved" them. Right now, with girls clamping themselves onto their knights in shining armor, it appeared as though these valiant princes needed saving themselves. I snorted. 

"I was asked," D.O. admitted quietly, his ears a little red. "But I just never felt like going..." 

He was looking at the situation in the cafeteria while I was focused on him. There was a seriousness in his tone, almost even something sad. While reading his face, he turned to face me, and I was caught by his stare. Until now? I heard it in my head and blinked. Was it an addition to what D.O. had said about never feeling like going to the dance? Or was that just me being paranoid and delusional? I couldn't help but notice the change in his posture and the way how he steadily met my gaze. 

Did he send that thought to me on purpose? 

He smirked coyly before turning back to the scenery inside of the cafeteria and it was at this point that I noticed his brothers looking over as well. D.O. had something confident in his step when he walked back in, and as I caught the angry glares they shot their way, I heard that strange sentence again. I'm growling, growling, growling! But this time I wasn't the one that said it. It was them, the pack of wolves. I flushed red all over again just at the mere thought that maybe, just maybe, they reacted that way because they were somehow...jealous?

I groaned inwardly and rolled my eyes whilst facepalming myself out of embarrassment. This definitely had to be a nightmare...

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Nin-Nin
Hi guys~ my first original ebook is available on Amazon and I'm having a lot of feels. If you have the time, check out my previous blog post for more details - I'd appreciate the support <3 Thank you and have a lovely weekend! Love, Nin-Nin

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Wanderer_bj
#1
I don't even know how many times I have read this.😍
BeckyBooGirl
#2
Chapter 4: This is one of my favorite exo fanfic. I have read this story 5 or 6 times already and still love it like i did when I first read it❤
InspiritCarolyn
#3
This is one of those fics I can come back to again and again without getting tired of re-reading it. Each time I read it, I love it the same as the first time.
aonani_k
#4
Chapter 109: I finished it once again and as before, I enjoyed reading such a great story. Hope all is well. :)
aonani_k
#5
Chapter 2: It's been years since I read the story and today I just felt like re-reading it! Glad it's still here. :)
Sehixneeo
#6
Chapter 109: Argh, I will never ever forget this story. Ever. 🥺💛
Jaerin
#7
Chapter 109: This story will always be one of my favorite, a masterpiece 🤧💞❤️
Pxnellyxq #8
Chapter 107: WHAT IM LEGITIMATELY SHOCKED AND TEARING UP
Pxnellyxq #9
Chapter 100: why is the white wolf making me feel emotional :///
Pxnellyxq #10
Chapter 61: Stinky kumiho