"Come on Karam! Wake up!"

     Karam groaned, pushing away the hands shaking his shoulder. "Go 'way, Jay," he mumbled sleepily. "Let me sleep."

     Jay pushed persistently at his older brother's shoulder. "I can't. Umma says you have to get up now or you'll be in big trouble."

     That woke Karam up. The last thing he wanted -or needed- was to have his umma angry with him, eagle especially this early in the morning. He sat up, pulling his beloved younger brother into a hug. "Fine, fine. I'm up. Go tell umma that I'm going to go take a shower, okay?" Karam watched add the younger boy nodded eagerly and dated out of the room, closing the door behind him. He signed softly, swinging around so that his feet were on the floor. Today want going to be a very good day, that much he knew. Not only was today his first day back at school, but it was also the day of his changing ceremony. Today he would be moved up into certain... classes with the older students and Darkwood Academy, and he wasn't looking forward to it. He signed again, shaking his head and standing to walk into the bathroom attached to his bedroom. He showered quickly, and as he did so he let his thoughts wander. He wished that he didn't have to go to school today, wished that he didn't have to be moved up to the higher classes. More than anything else, he wished that he could have slept late and lounged in bed for hours then taken a long, hot bath. Instead, however, he had to get up and shower and go to school where he would be moved up to the higher classes. Every vampire was moved up to the higher classes the year that they were to turn sixteen, the age of turning. Karam shuddered at the very thought of having to sit through these classes even once, let alone every day. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and it was slowly pushed open.

     "Don't freak out," he heard someone say softly. "It's just me, Rammie."

     Karam smiled. He knew the owner of this voice well, and the boy's presence was most definitely welcome. "Morning, Buffy. What's up? Is something wrong?" Karam heard the rustling of fabric from outside the shower, and then felt a cold hand on his lower back.

     "Nothing's wrong," Buffy said after a few moments, stepping into the shower once Karam had moved out of the way. "I just... I just wanted to see you, is all."

     Karam shook his head. "You could have waited until I came downstairs. Besides, you know I know you better than that. What's wrong?"

     Buffy sighed, stepping foreward so that he was pressed up against Karam's chest. "I... I'm scared, Rammie. I'm scared to move up. I don't want to go back to school." The just slightly older boy sniffled and shook his head, and Karam could tell that he was fighting back tears. "I don't want to go back."

     "I know, Buffy," he said soothingly, pushing his cousin away from his chest and turning him around so that he could wash the slightly older boy's hair. "I'm scared to move up too, but it can't be that bad. I mean, everyone does it. Besides, you know that it's just to help us to be prepared for the things we'll face when we change. If we don't go..." Karam left his sentence hanging. He didn't have to finish. Every vampire in the Realm knew what happened when you were unprepared for your change. Very few ever came out of an unprepared change unharmed; most of them went completely insane and went on murderus rampages and were quickly Silenced by the Guards.

     "I know," Buffy whispered, and Karam could hear the fear in his voice. Gently, Karam massaged some shampoo into his cousin's hair before rinsing it out.

     "Don't be scared, Buffy. You know that everything is going to be alright." Karam was, in all honesty, trying to soothe himself just as much as he was trying to soothe his cousin, and he knew that his cousin knew that just as well as he did. But neither of them mentioned it, neither of them spoke of it. Both boys toook comfort in each other's presence, in just being close to each other under the warm water of the shower just as they had been doing for several years.

     "We should get out," Buffy whispered finally, turning to face Karam again. Karam nodded and reached past his cousin, turning off the water. The two boys quickly dried themselves off and walked back into the main part of Karam's bedroom. They dressed quickly (the cousins were roughly the same size, and frequently borrowed each other's clothes) before heading downstairs for breakfast. Karam's mother looked over his shoulder from the counter as they entered and smiled at them. 

     "You two so realize that you are dressed almost exactly the same," he commented, turning back to what he has been doing. The two boys exchanged a glance, then nodded.

     "Yes, umma, we know," Karam replied, walking forward to hug his umma from behind. "How are you this morning?"

     "I'm alright," he answered, resting a hand on top of Karam's. "But you won't be able to hug me like this for much longer, dearest."

     Karam pulled away and looked at his umma in shock. "What do you mean?"

     Karam's umma turned around then, smiling at him gently. "What do you think I mean, my little prince?" He paused and laughed at his son's shocked expression. "Very soon you will have a little brother or sister, Karam."

     Karam's eyes lit up and he hugged his umma tightly. "Really, umma? You're pregnant? How far along are you?"

    "About two months," he admitted, ruffling Karam's light brown hair. "But we can talk about that later. You two  and to eat breakfast and go to school or you're going to be late. Have you seen the others yet this morning?"

     This time Buffy answered. "Channie's taking a shower, Hae's was getting dressed and stuff, and I'm pretty sure Jay fell asleep in Hae's room. Other than that, I have no idea."

     "Well, in here," someone said from  them. One again, Karam didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Yukwon, yet another of his cousins, and his family had been living with them for several months now, and they had quickly become friends. Karam's mother greeted Yukwon with another smile.

     "Good morning, Kwonnie. And good morning to the rest of you, too," he added, noticing that the others were beginning to drift downstairs.

     Breakfast passed uneventfully, filled with the usual mindless playful chatter. The boys and girls talked of school and if their classmates. Those who were turning sixteen this year talked of moving up, frequently turning to the elder children for advice or reassurance, while their parents talked of how their "precious babies are all grown up" and then eventually of how there would soon be another child in the house (Karam's mother blushed furiously at this, but his eyes shown with happiness and pride). Soon, it came to the moment that Karam had been dreading for months. It was time to go to school.

     About ten minutes later, Karam was standing outside Darkwood Academy with his cousins and his younger brother. Normally, he looked forward to going to school. At school he got to see all of his friends. And if course, there was Mika. If he was to be perfectly honest, Mika was the reason Karam looked forward to school the most.  Lee Mika: one of the smartest and most popular guys in all of Darkwood Academy, and also the single most drop-dead gorgeous guy that Karam has ever seen. But now even the knowledge that Mika was just on the other side of these gates and that he would not share classes with the slightly older boy couldn't brighten Karam's mood. The thought of moving up terrified the young teen, but he tried to comfort himself with the thought that several of his beloved cousins were moving up with him, and several of his friends were moving up this year too.

     "Are you ready," Yukwon asked, nudging Karam with his shoulder.

     "Not really," Karam whispered back, "but I think I'll be alright. What about you, Kwonnie? Are you ready?"

     "As ready as I'll ever be."

     With that, the spunky red head stepped through the gates, and the rest of his cousins followed him. Karam, however, did not follow them into the school building. He leaned against the gates, starting back out the way they had come, taking in the way the dark, bare branched trees stood out against the gray, cloud covered sky. Suddenly, a warm hand on his back startled Karam back to reality.

     "Hey. You alright there, kid? You look like you're about to cry," the boy (for it was a boy, and the voice sounded very familiar).

   Karam turned to face the speaker and his cheeks instantly flushed. Of course, it would have to be Mika who caught him starting off into space like an idiot. And of course Mika would notice that he looked like he was going to cry. Because these were the times when Mika always seemed to notice him: the times when Karam would much rather not have been noticed.

     "Are you worried about moving up today?" Mika's voice was gentle and soothing. Noticing Karam's startled look, he added, "I saw your name on my teacher's list earlier."

     "I guess I'm a little... worried. Though maybe terrified would be a more accurate term."

     Mika smiled gently. "You'll be fine, Karam. Moving up isn't as scary as it sounds and the classes aren't as bad as you think they're going to be. I mean, some of them are awkward and they kind of , but they're actually kind of helpful when it comes to certain... things that you're going to have to deal with."

     Karam blushed once more, avoiding Mika's gaze."I guess so," he whispered softly. Mika smiled and stretched one hand foreward, resting in on Karam's shoulder. 

     "You'll be fine, alright? Everything is going to be fine. Now come one," he added. "If we don't hurry, we'll be late for the ceremony."

     Karam nodded, following behind Mika as the elder boy strode through the doors to Darkwood Academy. Though he couldn't quite explain why, Mika's words had reassured him, at least a little, and he felt a bit better now about what was about to happen. But he still was not looking forward to this. "Are you sure," he asked suddenly. Mika, who had been about to push open the doors to the ceremony room, froze.

     "What do you mean?"

    "Are you sure?" Karam repeated. "Are you sure that it's going to be alright? What if-"

     "Don't," Mika said quickly, cutting Karam off. "Don't think about the'what if's,' alrgiht? Just trust me. Everything is going to be fine."

     Karam nodded, and Mika gave him a warm smile before opening the doors. Karam was suddenly glad for the dim lighting, as he knew it would make it impossible for Mika to tell that he was blushing again. For now at least, he decided that he would trust Mika. He smiled as Mika bid him a quiet farewell before leaving to sit with his friends. Karam wasn't alone for long though. When he reached the front row where everyone who was moving up had to sit, he was almost instantly joined by Buffy, who led him over to the far end of the row. There were familiar faces here: Yukwon, Jaejoong, Donghae, Taemin, Jaerin, Ren, Minjee, and Minjae all sat talking easily amongst themselves, and greeted him warmly as he joined them. Karam smiled. Maybe Mika had been right after all. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

     Most of the ceremony passed in a blur for Karam and his friends, but finally they came to the moment that he had dreaded the most: the assigning of partners. From the time they participated in the ceremony until the end of that year, everyone was assigned a partner, who would mentor them and make sure that they understood what was happening to them in the time when young vampires most needed comfort and reassurance: the time of their changing. Karam knew, of course, that no matter who his partner ended up being, he or she would always be there to look out for him and comfort him, but he was still terrified. He would now have to spend a large amount if his free time with a person that he barely knew, and the entire time he would have to trust this person with his life. Karam shuddered. All he could do now was pray that it was at least someone he knew.

     "Lee Mika," Karam heard the principal call, and his heart fluttered nervously. Mika had signX you up to be a mentor? But that didn't really mean anything. The chances of Mika being his mentor were slim to none.

     "You will be mentor to Park Karam," the man finished. Karam's head swam. Mika was his mentor? Of all the people who could have been assigned to be his mentor he got Mika. Before he could even process what was happening, Mika was standing before him, that same angelically beautiful smile from before on his lips. The older boy grabbed Karam's arm gently but tightly, his smile fading and hits eyes filled with concern.

     "Are you alright?" he asked gently. "You- you look like you're about to faint."

     Karam nodded slowly. "I'm okay," he whispered hesitantly. "I'm just..."

    "Scared?" Mika finished when noticed that Karam was not going to continue. At the younger boy's timid nod, he smiled again. "Don't be," he whispered, pulling Karam into a hug. "Just trust me."

A/N

So... What do you guys think so far? I'm sorry that this wasn't a very exciting chapter, but I hope you liked it anyway. Things will start moving along in the next chapter.

Please leave a comment down below and tell me what you think of this chapter, and what you'd like to see happen next time.

I love you people (and a huge thanks to those of you who upvoted.

Also, a huge thank you to the We Got Fired Graphics Shop for the poster, background, and the character sheet in the description.

Byebye for now~

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