"Shit, I'm bleeding. Any of you got a bandage?"
the sharp voice of a boy rang out through the darkness, echoing between the alley's walls.

The slap of sneakers against asphalt resounded, the group of young males huddling around the first who had spoken.

"Let me see it," a boy said, grabbing the injured hand and holding it near to his face as the others whispered amongst themselves.

"Yeonjun, you can look at it later. We gotta go," the softer voice of a third boy came, grabbing the group's attention.

Yeonjun only scoffed, letting go of the hand as he patted a couple of the others on the back, urging them to hurry out of the alleyway.

Any pedestrian crazy enough to be out at this hour of the night wouldn't look twice at the group of boys running down the sidewalk, their faces barely visible in the dimly lit street.

"Gyu, don't you think we're going a little too far?" Yeonjun called out to the boy in front as they ran.

Yeonjun's best friend grinned. Beomgyu was the type of boy who wasn't afraid to take risks, the potential pain worth every bit for his own satisfaction.

"Nah. You got nothing to worry about. Cops catch us? I'll take the fall," Beomgyu insisted, glancing behind them into the empty street.

"Taehyun, how'd you get cut?" Yeonjun asked, seeing the boy cradling his hand carefully as if it were a baby.

"That chain fence got me while we were leaving. Kinda shit security if you ask me," the boy, Taehyun, commented, trying to make light of the situation.

"Thank god it wasn't me," the fourth boy commented from the back, prompting a laugh from the rest of the group.

"The hell is that supposed to mean, Kai?" Taehyun retorted jokingly.

The tall boy, Kai, gave him a look of disbelief. "You know how they arrest demons nowadays. They find my blood there? Bye, I'm dead," he spoke, almost shivering at the thought of what would happen.

"Over here guys," Beomgyu interrupted their banter as he turned a corner, gesturing for the other three to follow him.

The group of four made their way to a small 24 hour convenience store down the block, its bright fluorescent lights almost blinding in the dead of night. The store was an oasis in the dark desert of the rundown streets.

The four wandered in, a small bell chiming as they entered. A tired looking middle aged man sat at the cashier, giving the four a judgy look as they piled into the store.

"I'm gonna get a snack. I haven't eaten in like a day," Kai mumbled, wandering over to the aisles of food.

Yeonjun noticed Taehyun scanning around the store, a sort of hesitant look on his face.

"No stealing, there's cameras," Yeonjun muttered, patting Taehyun on the shoulder. Taehyun nodded before heading off in search of bandaids.

Yeonjun leaned against a wall, watching the others linger about the shop.
Beomgyu strided over to him, leaning back against the wall next to Yeonjun.

"So who is he?" Beomgyu broke the silence. Yeonjun looked towards him, startled.

"Who is who?" Yeonjun asked, his face littered with confusion.

Yeonjun shrugged, looking off at the other boys as he formed his words.

"Kai tells me that you smell a lot like some guy recently," Beomgyu spoke quietly. "He said he doesn't know him."

Yeonjun felt a bit flushed as his mind immediately jumped to the only person it could be.

"Damn... how does he even notice shit like that," Yeonjun sighed. "Sometimes Kai scares me," he said somewhat jokingly.

"So there is someone?" Beomgyu concluded, taking Yeonjun's silence as a yes.

"Is he...?" Beomgyu asked, mimicking little horns on his head with his hands.

Yeonjun shook his head. "Nah, he's human," he admitted. Beomgyu immediately raised his eyebrows in suspicion.

"Don't look at me like that!" Yeonjun excused himself. "He's different," he insisted.

"Yeah, just like the last three were different?" Beomgyu argued, seeing his best friend's face fall just a bit.

"He wouldn't do what they did. Soobin isn't like that," Yeonjun stated adamantly.

Beomgyu's face went blank. "Choi Soobin?" he asked, "As in the tall one with dimples?"

Yeonjun stared for a moment. "Fuck, I forgot he said he knows you," he recalled, almost hitting himself for being so dumb.

"That Soobin?" Beomgyu repeated, breaking out into laughter. "Oh my god, he's the cutest ever. He's so shy but once you get to know him he gets really cuddly," Beomgyu gushed, little memories of the boy in question popping into his head.

"Why does it sound like you're the one who likes him?" Yeonjun teased. Beomgyu shook his head in denial, yet stopped as a thought popped into his mind.

"You saying that you like him?" Beomgyu questioned, making eye contact with the other boy.

"No—" Yeonjun clarified quickly. "I don't, he's just..." he trailed off, coming up short for words.

"You think he's cute?" Beomgyu smirked.

"Okay, yes, but—" Yeonjun paused, "first of all, I'm allowed to find someone cute without being attracted to them."

"But are you attracted to him?"

"Well, yeah. But wait—"

"Hey!" the angry voice of the cashier yelled, grabbing both Yeonjun and Beomgyu's attention.

The pair looked over to see Taehyun dashing out of the store, a package under his arm.

"Dammit," Yeonjun hissed under his breath, running towards the exit alongside Beomgyu. "I told him not to steal!"

The large cashier stepped in front of the door, cutting the three boys inside off from the exit.

"Now, you three..." the man said, crossing his arms as he looked the three up and down, as if thinking of what to do with them.

"Let us go. He won't come back," Beomgyu stated calmly, keeping eye contact with the man. That tended to intimidate people, and that was what he wanted right now.

"Yeah? Guess you won't mind if I call the police then, boys? Since you've done nothing wrong..." the man mused, a smug smile on his face.

Beomgyu stiffened at this, shoving a hand in his pocket as if to check that something was still there.

Kai stepped to the front of the three, coming face to face with the man.

"No. I just think it'd be really nice of you to let us go," he said, giving the man a wide smile as if making a joke.

At once the man froze, as if a deer caught in the headlights.
"Uh, I don't think I—"

"Please?" Kai said, reaching out slowly towards the man.

The man immediately stepped to the side, avoiding Kai's hand. He gave the three a nervous look as he backed away from the door.

"Get away from here and don't come back. I don't fucking care anymore," the man ordered, pointing at the door.

Beomgyu and Yeonjun only shared a look as Kai sauntered over the the door, beckoning for the other two to follow him.

The three slipped out the door, letting it fall closed behind them as they stepped out into the parking lot area.

"You show him your fangs, Kai? He looked like he was about to piss his pants," Beomgyu snorted, glancing back towards the guy in the store.

"They're not fangs. We've been over this," Kai insisted, shaking his head.

"Whatever you say, Vampie,"
Beomgyu nudged the boy with his shoulder, only provoking a roll of the eyes from Kai.

"They're not even that sharp. You're just jealous," Kai replied, sticking his hands in his pockets for warmth.

"Nuh uh. Smile for me real quick?" Beomgyu said, glancing towards the younger boy.

Kai smiled, revealing a pair of rather sharp canine teeth. Although one could consider them cute, their noticeable presence certainly didn't help the boy out in many situations.

"Aight. Now, Yeonjun, you smile," Beomgyu insisted.

Yeonjun reluctantly did so, holding the smile as Beomgyu stared at him.

"Yeah. Jun's got nothing on you, Kai. Just shut up and accept the Vampie nickname," Beomgyu announced.

Yeonjun only looked down at the pavement as they walked, ignoring the dull twinge of hurt he felt for some reason.

"Why would you compare me to Jun?" Kai shot back. "He doesn't even count in this."

"Of course he counts, what???" Beomgyu returned, "Why wouldn't he?"

"You know what I mean, Gyu," Kai gave him a look.

"I'm right here, you know," Yeonjun spoke up, trying to make his tone joking as if to mask the sudden discomfort he felt.

"Sorry Junnie. You get how it is, yeah?" Kai tried, giving him a smile laced with pity.

Yeonjun gave a fake smile in return. "Yeah! Don't worry about it, I'm good," he dismissed, playing with the end of his sleeve.

The three drifted into jokes and chatter, relieved after surviving yet another night out on the streets.

Little did they know, only two out of the three happy faces felt the same on the inside.