Chapter 9:

When the professor finally showed up to begin his lecture, you could barely focus at all. Normally, you would be diligently taking notes and listening intently in case the professor gave any indication as to what would be on the exam.

Today, you could only focus on the vampire sitting next to you, doodling in the notebook you'd given him. You didn't fail to notice many of the female students in the class, glancing over a few too many times to be considered coincidental. They would shoot him curious glances and jealous ones to you. Jungkook hadn't looked up once from his doodles, so any girls wanting to get his attention were sorely disappointed.

Of course, even through all the chaos that had been surrounding you since your birthday, you hadn't failed to notice how unfairly attractive all three vampires were, Jungkook included. You'd tried not to think about it since they were bloodthirsty monsters who would much sooner kill someone than they would flirt with them, but it was impossible not to at least acknowledge their good looks.

On top of that, you now knew that you were a target to the majority of vampires in existence, according to Lazarus. And according to Jimin, you had sweeter smelling blood, which would make it a lot harder to lay low. Not to mention, having a vampire bodyguard following you around everywhere would be a dead giveaway. This whole operation was seeming more and more ridiculous and futile. What would happen if Lazarus ended up biting off more than he could chew? What if you were attacked and Jungkook and the others simply couldn't protect you? What would happen then?

On top of all of that, why did they want to take you alive? You had been under the impression that your very existence was a threat. So why were "they" sending people to capture you and not to kill you?

Honestly, the entire situation seemed so vague and convoluted that you couldn't fit all the pieces together in your head. There were holes missing that you still didn't have the answers to. It hurt to think about the situation even with a clear head. You were basically putting your blind fate in these vampires. And as uneasy as that thought made you, you knew that there was no other course of action to take. You were stuck.

The lecture ended and you sighed, having not paid attention to anything that had happened from being too lost in thought. Jungkook stood up and stretched his arms over his head. You rolled your eyes as you noticed half the female population of the class turn to watch him, eyes wide. You grabbed the notebook you'd let him use and dropped it in your backpack, zipping it up. You stood up, slinging your bag over your shoulder as two girls who had been sitting in front of you walked up to where you and Jungkook were standing.

"Hey Y/N, who's this?" One of them asked, smiling flirtatiously at Jungkook. You raised an eyebrow, having never had a conversation with either one of these girls in your life. You didn't even know that they knew your name.

"Um, this is Jungkook. He's a transfer student." You said vaguely, trying to push past them to leave. You walked down the lecture hall, but realized that he wasn't following and stopped.

You turned back around to see him trapped by the two girls, who blocked his path, cornering him against the desk. You crossed your arms and waited for him at the door as the girls spoke to him and batted their eyelashes, while he just looked uncomfortable, looking for a way to escape. It was almost comical, watching this literal vampire look flustered and uneasy. He looked up at you and you saw his eyes dilate as if asking for help through his gaze.

You narrowed your eyes and wondered why he didn't just compel them. He had made a big fuss about it earlier, so why didn't he just make them go away by himself? Jungkook's eyes were pleading now and you couldn't ignore him. You let out an annoyed sigh and rolled your eyes, stalking back to where you'd left him.

"Hate to steal him away, ladies, but we're kind of in a hurry." You said tersely, pushing past them to grab Jungkook's arm and pull him out from behind the girls' blockade.

They let out shouts of protest and annoyance, but you ignored them and kept a firm grip on Jungkook's wrist as you pulled him out of the lecture hall. You released him when you were both safely out in the hallway and on your way to your next class. Jungkook was quiet as you led him through the halls and up the stairs. The two of you reached your second and last class of the day (you had an extremely light day) and you took your place in the middle of the room with Jungkook sitting beside you. You passed him the same notebook and he stared at it quietly for a few seconds before looking over at you.

"Thanks." He muttered. You blinked in surprise and looked over at him.

"What?" You asked, completely taken aback. But Jungkook was apparently finished because he leaned back in the seat and pulled the notebook closer, completely ignoring your question. You blinked again and rotated your head back to face the front. You tapped your pencil on the desk, feeling even more confused than before.

What was he thanking you for? For getting him away from the swarm of girls infatuated with him? That couldn't have been the first time he'd been swarmed by people attracted to him. And... why hadn't he compelled them instead of asking you for help?

The professor started his lecture and you pulled your thoughts away from Jungkook. You tried to focus on the lecture, taking notes diligently and asking questions when you were confused. Jungkook wasn't drawing in the notebook this time. You could feel him watching you from the corner of your eye and you were desperately trying to ignore him.

The lecture finally ended, and you breathed a sigh of relief. Now you could go home and vegetate in front of the TV. Perhaps Selena and Katie would order pizza with you.

You caught yourself. You realized with a jolt that you couldn't go home. Not back to your apartment. No, instead you would have to return to that eerily silent manor with old architecture and ghost of ancestors past roaming the halls. You felt your heart fall and your stomach drop as a choked sob worked its way up your throat. You coughed and forced the lump away before it could form in your throat. You quickly packed your things back in your bag and snatched the notebook away from Jungkook. You stuffed everything in your bag and zipped it up, standing abruptly.

You turned away from the vampire next to you as he stood to match you and you quickly stormed out of the room, not looking to see if he was following you. You could feel tears brimming your eyes as everything that had happened in the past few days was about to come crashing down. You were about to lose it for real. If you didn't get somewhere private right at this moment, you were going to lose your shit in public.

You emerged outside and clutched your chest as you made your way across the grass, making a beeline for the car.

"Y/N!" You didn't want to stop when you heard your name, but you recognized the voice and your feet stopped on their own accord. You turned around, wiping away the unshed tears from your eyes. Selena was approaching you, her face pale with worry. You took a few deep breaths and forced yourself to put a smile on your face. You needed to hold it together. You just needed to get rid of her and then get back to the car and then you could break down. Not now, not in front of her. If she noticed, then you were afraid you would spill everything.

"Selena, hey. Actually, now's not a great time." You said, giving her a forced smile. You noticed out of the corner of your eye, Jungkook leaned against a tree about fifty feet away, his eyes wary as he watched you from under the trees shade.

"I really need to talk to you, Y/N, it's important." Selena reached for your arm, but you took a step back. You were afraid that if you touched her, if you made contact with anyone really, you would lose it. A look of hurt crossed Selena's face and you felt a stab of guilt.

"I'm kind of in a hurry, actually." You took another step back and Selena's arms fell back to her sides. She gave you a pleading look that pulled at your heartstrings.

"Y/N, I'm serious please. You can't even talk to me for a second?"

You took a breath and steeled yourself, crossing your arms. "I'm sorry, you're right. What's going on?"

"You have to move back to the apartment. I know you went to be with your family, but you have to come back. You have to." Selena's voice became panicked and you pulled your eyebrows together, feeling a pinch of worry in your stomach.

"Did something happen with Katie?"

Selena threw her hands up in exasperation, answering your question. "Katie's gone crazy. She's invited Caden to move in." You flinched in surprise.

"Wait, what? Caden? But he lives in a frat house, doesn't he?"

Selena sighed placing her hands on her hips. "Yeah, he does. But she invited him to move into your room and he agreed. He's freaking moving in, Y/N. That's why you have to come back. you have to move back in, or he will."

You shook your head, at a loss for words. "I... I can't believe it. He's screwed her over so many times, why would she do this?" You whispered, staring at the ground in disbelief. Selena sighed and reached out to touch your arm.

"She's angry and sad, Y/N. You leaving, even though I understand why, was a huge stab in the gut. I think it's a mixture of fear and anger." She said softly. You pulled your arms back, letting hers fall limp at her side.

"This one fight with me is enough to make her invite her toxic boyfriend to live with her?" You asked incredulously. "Is she really that mad at me?" Selena shrugged.

"You know how infatuated she is with him. I wouldn't be surprised if it was his idea." She muttered bitterly. You both shared a look of distaste for the slime ball known as Caden.

"God..." You pushed a hand through your hair, the new information hitting you like a train. It was unfathomable that Caden would be living in the same room you had been for over two years. And for Katie to invite him to live there even though she knew how badly he treated her, and she knew how you and Selena both felt about him. If this was true, you really had to agree with Selena, Katie had lost her mind.

"Regardless, that's why you have to come back. If you come back to your room, Katie won't let Caden move in and the two of you can fix your issue. Please, you have to come back." Selena reached out to grasp your hands, but you jerked away. She looked up at you in surprise as you tried to calm your racing heart.

"Selena, I... I can't." You whispered, thinking about the vampires that had attacked you a few days ago. You had to protect her from threats like them. Selena shook her head at you disbelievingly.

"Can't you visit your family or something?" She asked, her voice quiet and vulnerable. "You don't have to live with them, do you? And it wasn't awful working, was it? Please, Y/N. I can't live with Caden." Her voice cracked and you felt a lump form in your throat.

"You can't find anyone else? I'm sure there are tons of people looking for affordable housing." You suggested hopefully. Selena shook her head.

"Not on such short notice. And Katie's mind is made up. Caden is going to move in this weekend. Unless you come back." Selena looked up at you hopefully and you felt your heart sink when you realized you would have to break her heart.

"Did she say that? If I move back?" You asked skeptically. Selena looked away sheepishly.

"Well... no, but I'm sure it would make a difference."

You sighed and rubbed your arms, hugging yourself rightly. "Selena... you know I can't. I already moved, I turned in my key. And... I just can't afford it." Selena huffed and clenched her fists.

"Come on, Y/N, I know it was hard working two jobs, but did you really hate it that much? And I can help you out with the rent if it was really too much." She offered quickly. You shook your head, not liking the eager look on her face.

"I can't take your money, Selena. I'm sorry, but I can't move back." You said firmly, trying to stand your ground. Selena's eyes filled with tears and you felt moisture collect behind yours as well, but not for the same reason.

"Y/N... please. You know she's making a mistake. It's going to take her a minute to realize it, but when she does, she's going to be miserable." Selena pleaded, clasping her hands together.

"Try to convince her, then." You said tersely, shrugging. You knew you were being rude, but you didn't know how else to get through to her. Selena flinched, not expecting your tone.

"What is wrong with you, Y/N? You've never been like this." She asked quietly, scanning you up and down, surveying your body language. You straightened your back.

"I told you, Selena. I can't move back." Selena sighed, seeing the truth in your gaze.

"Well... will you at least try to patch things over with Katie? I'm sure if she gets over her anger at you, then she'll reconsider letting Caden move in." She asked hopefully. You took a deep breath before responding.

"I..." Your eyes panned over to where Jungkook watched from afar. You watched as he adjusted his position and raised an eyebrow at you. It suddenly occurred to you that he could probably hear what was going on. Even though he was well out of earshot, you remembered Jimin had said that they had heightened senses. He could probably hear every word without a problem. And from the looks of his dark eyes, he wasn't hiding it.

You felt the burning of tears in your eyes and lump in your throat as you realized what needed to be done. As long as you were in your friends' lives, they would be in danger. No matter how you looked at it, even if you were never attacked again, it didn't change the fat that you were now surrounded by vampires who you didn't fully trust yet. You wouldn't put it past them to compel them or feed on them, or even kill them if they thought it necessary.

Your friends were always going to be in danger if you were in their lives. And that meant only one thing. You had to cut them out. For their safety, you had to cut them out of your life.

"I don't want to, Selena." You said firmly, crossing your arms. You took a step back and looked down, afraid that you would break down if you looked her in the eye.

"What do you mean you don't want to? Katie's your friend." Selena's voice was enough to make a wave of guilt pass through you so intense that you were afraid you might burst into tears.

"Not anymore. I... I've moved on." You croaked, trying to sound firm even though the huge lump in your throat.

"Moved on? What are you talking about? It hasn't even been that long."

"Selena, we were roommates, not sisters, okay?" You snapped, feeling the threads of control start to slip. Selena raised her eyebrows in surprise at your tone. "I moved out, that's it, end of story." You finished, shrugging.

"Wha... I don't understand." She whispered, staring at you. You pursed your lips and shrugged again, trying to place a sheet of ice over your heart.

"Selena, I was just being nice. I don't live in that apartment anymore, so I don't really care who lives there and who doesn't." You deadpanned, letting your eyes fall flat.

"Wow... okay." Selena moved back, her face hardening. You pursed your lips and forced yourself to remain impassive as her expression darkened and hurt and anger filled her eyes. "I didn't realize it was like that. I thought we were friends."

We are! You wanted to scream. Instead you steeled yourself and pursed your lips.

"You thought wrong. I don't owe you anything." You said coldly.

Selena scoffed and stepped back, looking like she'd been stabbed. You knew the feeling. Guilt and sadness pierced your gut so deep you thought you might keel over right in front of her. But you held it together and instead turned your back.

"See you around, Selena." You said tersely.

"Hopefully not." She snapped. You winced at her harsh tone and heard her stalk away from you. You peered back over your shoulder, feeling your heart sink as you watched her back storm away from you.

"Well, that was interesting." You jumped at the voice beside you. Jungkook was standing above you, his arms crossed, and his mouth tilted in an amused smirk. You exhaled sharply and rubbed your eyes, trying to dispel the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Yeah, I bet you enjoyed that." You muttered, straightening your back. you cleared your throat and shook your head, trying to compose yourself. You felt horrible. Racked with guilt and sadness from how you'd treated Selena and fear and uncertainty from your entire situation with the vampires, you could feel a breakdown coming. You'd been feeling it all day.

Perhaps it was the attempt at going back to something normal. Going back to school even with the threat of vampires hanging around. Going back to school with one of them following you around, watching your every move. Trying to mix your old life with the new one that had barely begun. It wasn't mixing well, you finally realized.

That meant you would have to let the old life go. Not just your friends and the people you'd surrounded yourself with. All of it.

"You know, I could have just compelled her. Then you wouldn't have had to do that." Jungkook said suddenly, pulling you from your thoughts.

You looked up at him and were quiet for a few seconds as you processed his words. Was he being vindictive? Throwing your previous argument in your face? Or was he actually being sensitive, telling you that he'd been willing to help. You looked away and fisted your hands at your sides.

"Yeah, well it's too late for that, I guess." You took a deep breath and started on your trek towards the car once again. This time, Jungkook kept in step with you, walking next to you in confident strides.

After returning to the manor, you made your way up to your bedroom, which was slowly but surely becoming more homey. Especially now that you had moved all your stuff inside and had started unpacking, the room felt less like a haunted Victorian bedroom and now more you at least. You sat on your bed and pulled your laptop onto your lap, opening it. You searched up your university's website and hovered over the information section. You started to look up what would happen if you wanted to end your education. Could you hold onto your credits? Perhaps you could return in a few years.

You felt a choked sob climb its way into your throat. You lifted your palm over your mouth and squeezed your eyes shut, feeling the tears leak out of the corners. This was all so overwhelming, all of it. You never thought in a million years that you would give up your education. It had been the thing that grounded you, that drove you. And now... now it was clear that continuing to pursue your degree was only going to cause you more heartache.

You shut your laptop and hugged yourself tight as the sobs started to come faster. You were an ugly crier, you'd figured that out very early in life. You blubbered and whined and were quite loud, not like the other girls in the movies. They always cried and still managed to look pretty while doing it. That wasn't the case for you. It was one of the many reasons you never allowed yourself to cry in front of people. That and you never wanted anyone to see you at your weakest.

You wrapped yourself in a ball and leaned down on the bed, crying at quietly as you could, which only seemed to make the sobs even larger and harder to suppress. You cried, hoping that the vampires in the house would respect your privacy enough not to listen in, even though you were certain they could. You cried, mourning the loss of your previous life, of everything you'd worked so hard to build, of the friendships you'd ended because of something you couldn't control. You cried over the knowledge that there were immortal beings who wanted to kill you, you cried over the knowledge that those same beings had killed everyone in your family, including Dracula himself.

You felt overwhelmed, scared, and so alone. You'd never felt so alone in your life, and that was saying something. You'd always been alone, at the orphanage, then in the foster care system and even in college. There hadn't been a single person that you could confide in, show yourself to, or open up to. And even through that, you'd held onto hope that you would be loved one day, that one day you would find a family. But now... the future seemed so obscure and you felt more alone than ever.

You weren't sure how long you cried for. It felt like only a few minutes, but you were sure it had been longer than that. Your tears finally subsided after a while, but your head still felt like it was filled with bricks. You slowly rose from the bed and pushed your laptop away, swiping at your tears-stained cheeks. You made your way too the bathroom, feeling a familiar headache coming on. You washed your face in the sink and tried to at least have a semblance that you hadn't been crying.

You steeled yourself, wiping under your eyes to try to dispel the bags underneath. You finger combed through your disheveled hair and took a deep breath, giving yourself a mental pep talk in the mirror. You were strong, you would get through this. One step at a time, one day at a time.

You left your bedroom and walked down the stairs to the kitchen to make yourself something to eat. Entering the kitchen, you saw all three vampires sitting around the island. All three were staring at you as you walked in. You halted in your tracks, swallowing hard. For a second, the three stared at you and you returned their stare. You couldn't read their expressions, but it was safe to say that they had heard your breakdown.

"Um... hi." You said awkwardly, trying to break the silence. Jimin's unreadable expression changed in a split-second into a brilliant smile.

"Hey, Y/N. How were classes? I hope Jungkook wasn't too much trouble for you." He gave the youngest vampire a pointed look. Jungkook didn't even dignify Jimin's dig with a response. Instead, he rose from his seat and walked over to the fridge, taking out a fresh blood bag.

"No, it was fine." You said quietly, watching Jungkook as he emptied the bag into a glass and sipped from it. "I did want to say something, though."

All three pairs of eyes were on you again and you had to take another deep breath to calm your racing heart.

"I think I'm going to defer my place at university." You announced. None of their expressions changed, save for a small quirk in the corner of Taehyung's mouth. "I thought I could be at school and everything would still be the same, but that's not true," You continued. "I've realized that I can't mix my old life with this new one. I have to start fresh. So, I'm going to drop out. Maybe one day, when this is all over, I can go back."

When this is all over...

You didn't even know what kind of timeline you were looking at. You didn't know how long it would take for the elder vampires to stop hunting you or if they ever would. You barely understood why you were being hunted in the first place.

"Wow... is this really what you want?" Jimin asked, standing from his seat. You looked over at his concerned gaze and narrowed your eyes. His sincerity didn't reach his eyes, which told you he was only acting concerned for your benefit.

"No. But it appears I don't have a choice."

Jimin nodded and his mouth quirked in a small smile.

"Understandable." He looked at the others and the three shared an undecipherable look. You frowned, not liking the way they looked at each other. There was something suspicious about how they were reacting. Like they'd been expecting this.

"Well, I won't lie. This definitely makes things easier." He smiled and you cringed at his expression.

You were definitely starting to learn that everything Jimin said or did had an ulterior motive. Honestly, none of the vampires had any sort of redeeming quality as far as you could tell. Taehyung was nasty and cruel and seemed to take pleasure in making you uncomfortable. Jungkook was impassive and stubborn and didn't seem to understand or care that people have feelings. And Jimin was an entirely fake personality. You didn't trust any of them and this new life where you had to be protected by them was going to be much worse than you thought.

Not to mention there was still something fishy about all of this. Something that still didn't sit right with you, but you couldn't seem to put your finger on it.