Friday evening – September 28^th, 2008

Lacing his fingers together, Daniel took in a shaky breath. He felt uneasy, as if he was making the biggest decision in his life. Hesitating shortly, Natalie sat down across from him while avoiding all eye contact. He had led her to the school’s library, which was nearly vacant. Awkward tension filled the air between them as they struggled with the words they wanted to form.

Daniel cleared his throat, glancing at her nervously. “In all honesty… I don’t even know what happened to us.” Natalie looked up to meet his eyes, slightly startled. Those weren’t the words she was expecting. “I just remember that everything was… perfect.” His eyes shined at the memory, but soon, they dulled. “Then suddenly, out of nowhere… I lost you.” He lowered his gaze. “There weren’t any hints, signs or warnings. There was no… preparation for losing you. It was just… suddenly you weren’t mine anymore.” His voice faded to a whisper as it croaked with pain.

Natalie looked away to anywhere but him, feeling a bit uncomfortable. His emotions were hitting her like a wave. She hadn’t thought he felt that way. In fact, she hadn’t thought about how he had felt at all. But she knew exactly what happened, why she chose to do what she did.

Flashback

“Oppa!” Natalie lit up like a light bulb when she caught sight of him. Butterflies welled up in her stomach as she approached him. At the sound of her voice, Daniel turned around in circles, trying to spot her. A warm smile reached his face when he found her running towards him.

Natalie crashed into him at full force, feeling overwhelmed with many feelings. Throwing her arms around his neck, she squealed “I’m so sorry I’m late!” Daniel quickly caught his balance, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. He chuckled, taking in the sweet scent of candy emitting from her.

She quickly leaned back to face him, sticking out her bottom lip unconsciously. “Oppa. Mian. I had to stay back to –“Daniel cut her off, leaning down to seize her lips. She suddenly forgot how to function, how to breathe. Closing her eyes, she responded to the kiss, letting him take the lead. He smirked into the kiss, satisfied by her reaction. Their feelings built up from being far away from each other for far too long. The longing, the heartaches, the feeling of a missing puzzle piece all added up to the passion. Leaning his forehead on hers, Daniel broke the kiss to catch his breath.

“It’s okay,” he whispered affectionately. “As long as you’re here in the end.” Natalie blinked at his intense gaze and shyly looked away to anything but him. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and hoped to dear God that he didn’t notice. He smiled at her cute actions, tightening his grasp around her waist.

“Daniel,” an icy voice broke their comfortable embrace. Daniel blinked, before reluctantly pulling away. He stared at the unknown figure with an unreadable expression. Natalie looked at the source of the voice; a man who could be in his early twenties. His face didn’t show any kindness as his eyes flashed over to her dangerously. Gulping, she clutched onto Daniel’s hand.

“Hey, Jaebeom. Wassup?” Daniel smiled, adding a little slouch in his posture. Her eyes immediately flickered over to him. What was he doing?

Jaebeom looked behind him, unnaturally alarmed. That’s when Natalie noticed something she hadn’t before; he was out of breath and breathing heavily. Her eyes trailed over the tattoos and scars on his arms. A shiver ran up her spine. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

She squeezed Daniel’s hand. “Oppa –“

“STOP RUNNING YOU PUNKS!” a piercing voice shattered through the night’s silence. All three gazes landed upon the source; a large group of dangerous looking men. They had looked at least in their thirties. Some were bleeding heavily, and some were shouting incoherent curse words. They all were chasing another group of boys, who looked the same age as Jaebeom, in fact, they had a similar fashion sense in their clothes; black beater and slim jeans. One of them turned and locked eyes with Jaebeom. Relief flowed through his entire being as he turned to shout something to his mates. Natalie paled as her blood ran cold. All of the boys turned, running straight towards them.

Followed by the dangerous looking men.

“,” Jaebeom muttered as he frantically looked around for something – anything he could use as a weapon. He snapped his eyes towards Daniel, who stood just as frozen as Natalie. “Daniel,” he spat venomously. “Don’t just stand there; move!”

In a flash, Daniel pushed her into a nearby alleyway, hidden from view. He tenderly her hair before pecking her forehead. She felt as if she couldn’t move. She watched as Jaebeom clashed with the dangerous men alongside his comrades.

“Stay here,” Daniel breathed in her ear before grabbing a broken pipe from the ground. He didn’t hesitate to join the fight, as if he’d done this countless times before. Loud howls of pain, metal clashing with flesh, and sounds of grunts and pants echoed. 

Natalie clenched her eyes shut, squeezing her shaking palms against her ears as she desperately tried to drown out their cries. A nauseating feeling rose up in her, and cold sweat gathered at her back. A stinging pain probed her head as she slowly slid down to a crouch. Rocking side to side, she desperately tried to calm down. Tears streamed down her face as the pain in her head intensified. She tried breathing, as fast as she could. But it was like someone had cut off her oxygen. No matter how hard she tried to breathe in, she couldn’t get any air.

“…murdered by a gang,” a voice in her head whispered.

“Are you a witness?”

“Natalie! Go! Run, please!”

“I…told you I’d protect you.”

“It’s all your fault!”

“Its’ time to face the truth bud, nothing will be the same again.”

“If she hadn’t exist, maybe things could’ve been better.”

“Poor family. What a devastating fate.”

Friday evening – September 28^th 2008

“Natalie? Hello? Earth to Natalie,” Daniel cautiously waved a hand in front of her face. Natalie snapped out of her thoughts, looking around with alarmed eyes.

He had to smile at that, despite the situation. The cute, startled look in her eyes amused him. As soon as she caught the smile on his face, she narrowed her gaze at him. “Are you…laughing at me?” She asked with a dangerous edge to her tone. Daniel froze, studying her with caution. Then he caught the playful glimmer in her eyes and smirked. He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.

“No, not at all,” he broke out in a genuine smile, one that reached his eyes. His smiles were dangerously contagious, she learned as she found herself smiling back.

Their smiles quickly faltered though, as reality came back to them – Specifically, Natalie. They weren’t on good terms. Daniel noticed and didn’t even bother to hide the disappointment and sadness that hit him.

He shrugged, as if to say “I told you so.” Running a hand through his hair, he lowered his voice. “Everything would feel okay and fine… then suddenly you’d catch yourself and pull away.” He mumbled, looking down at the table.

Flashback

When she came to, Natalie wasn’t alone and in her room like she thought she would be. Instead, she was in Daniel’s arms. He cradled her close, like if he let go, she would fade away and disappear. She instinctively nuzzled in closer to his body, smiling. She felt safe and protected against his big frame. I wonder how he’d gotten in here –

She snapped open her eyes. From the distance, she could hear the groans and cries of the men who wish to be spared and whom were harmed deeply. It completely dark, except for a single streetlight. Natalie could vaguely make out the outline of Daniel’s body.

She yelped when a body of a man suddenly slammed into the ground in front of her, right in the gleam of the light. Her eyes widened with horror. The man was bleeding heavily, covered in bruises and open gashes and he wasn’t breathing. Daniel started whispering soothing words in her ear that was useless now. She felt herself shaking in terror and started moving in closer to him – until she felt something cold and moist.

Slowly, she looked down at her fingers in horror. Red. That was all she could see and it was all that Daniel’s shirt was covered in. Natalie’s fingers trembled violently as she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

Daniel followed her terrified gaze. “No, no.” He pulled her in closer to him, turning her to face the nape of his neck. “It’s not my blood. It’s the enemies. I’m alright.”

Natalie felt the color drain out of her face. Cold sweat formed again and she felt nauseatingly dizzy. “…enemies?” she whispered.

He nodded earnestly. “The Blue tailed dragons.” He her head in hopes of comfort with – to add to her horror – hands covered in blood. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I’m okay. It’s over. They’re gone for forever.”

She stiffened at the words ‘gone for forever’ and she didn’t feel so safe in his arms anymore. Shutting her eyes, realization hit her. He was in a gang; he killed people, harms innocent citizens and worst of all, she just witnessed it firsthand.

“I’m going to protect you,” he whispered against her earlobe. She didn’t react as her gaze trailed back to the lying corpse. A tear trailed down her face silently.

Friday evening – September 28^th 2008

Natalie stared at the boy who looked so fragile and crestfallen in front of her. He hadn’t look any different from the boy she loved, but he wasn’t the same at the same time. She had loved him once. A long time ago. But she had also been traumatized by the one thing that he changed about himself. He wasn’t the innocent Daniel anymore. The one that would climb up a tree at an ungodly hour, just for a goodnight kiss. The one that would throw a fit because he forgot to tell her he loved her every night.

It wasn’t easy for her. To accept the fact that the one she loved became her nightmare. She hated gangs, hated their existence, everything and everyone in them.

But she couldn’t tell him that. Not when he looked so broken and vulnerable.

If there was one thing that she had realized she’d done wrong, it was not considering his feelings. She faked being fine for weeks after the incident, only to mercilessly dump him after it became unbearable knowing that she was cuddling with a killer. Although she knew deep down, he would never harm a single hair on her head. He never treated her horribly, but only vowed to protect her. Never spoke badly or acted aggressively around her. He was nothing but a gentlemen around her. But that hadn’t made up for the blood stained on his hands.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted accidentally. The guilt was eating her alive. “I’m sorry that you felt that way because of me.”

He looked at her silently as the words hung there in the air between them. There was a new glimmer in his eyes; hope. “You’re…sorry?” he asked softly. She nodded. Slowly, a small smile of relief reached his face.

“I’m sorry as well. For anything I must’ve done wrong.” He held out his hand. A sorry was enough for him to give him a glimmer of hope for a new start. “Truce?”

Natalie stared at his hand, contemplating. This was a second chance for them. A chance to prove he’s still the same guy she knew years ago. But it was also a chance for him to hurt her even deeper by what he’s become and what he’s done. Taking a deep breath, she smiled. “Truce.”

She was willing to take the risk.

“Then that’s that. We’re finally cool now.” He smiled.

“Yeah.”

ohmygod Exo finally had their comeback bbdkdcmdcds.

I replayed their MV countless times ahah.

well anyways, here's a chap to celebrate finishing all my finals <3 hehehe.

Comment & subscribe? c: