nightfall || minsung

Chapter 3

Felix walked me to Biology, arm tight around my shoulders. He laid out what I should do with Minho, what I shouldn't, how to ensure my part in a future where he would live. Felix used a lot of hand gestures to make his point. It must have looked weird to the other students; his lips didn't move once.

Minho is already in the room, he thought. Try not to startle him. Don't sit too close — at least nine inches apart. I don't think I have to tell ya what happens at eight inches.

I bit back a grimace.

Myles Vargas is gonna walk by at one point — pencil sharpener — and it's gonna mix up the air a bit, so I advise you turn away when he passes. Mr. Banner's fan is outta juice, so there won't be 'upwind,' 'downwind' issues, etcetera, so that's good luck.

"Are the windows open?" I spoke too quickly, too quietly, for anyone other than Felix to hear.

Beth Ford could find a hardboiled egg in her backpack and open the window, but her Dad didn't make it to the Thriftway on Wednesday — because of the gout — so that's not a problem anymore.

"You know the strangest things."

It's a gift. Alrighty, you get in there, remember not to kill him, and flirt your little ass off.

"I'm not gonna flirt."

He flicked one of my shirt buttons open. I scrambled to do it up again.

You're such a prude, he tut-tutted.

"Okay, thank you, leave me alone now."

Fine. See you tonight.

He spun on his heels and headed to his next class. Once he was out of sight, I undid the button again.

I stalled at the door to class. I was nervous. If I'd had natural blood in my body and a heart to pump it, my pulse would have been racing. I sucked in one last breath before I stepped inside.

Minho was sitting at my table — the one students usually left open for me — hunkered over a notebook, foot tapping on the floor. I still couldn't hear his mind. It wrapped my brain up in a fuzzy silence as I approached. I redid the top button last minute.

I pulled my chair out, letting it screech against the floor. He froze, and his pencil stopped entirely. I sat down and hesitantly angled myself toward him.

"Hey."

He looked up carefully, slowly. His eyes flicked around like he expected me to be speaking to someone else. No, I wanted to say, only you.

He was silent, so I continued. I had enough breath left to speak a little while longer.

"I'm Jisung. We didn't get a chance to talk yet. You're Minho Lee, right?"

He exhaled in a puff, batting his big, pretty eyes. "Why are you talking to me?"

He sounded like he was annoyed with me already. It caught me off guard — my head tilted to the side.

"Should I stop talking to you?" But that would be so anticlimactic!

"I dunno." Neutral. Indifferent. "What do you think?"

I smiled a bit to hide my disappointment. "I don't know, either."

"I don't k-know," he stammered. Shit, did he see my fangs?

A chair pulled out at the table across from us. Myles Vargas headed down the aisle. I murmured an "Okay," turned away, and clenched my teeth together. I still didn't allow myself to take a breath, but my lungs were starting to need it. I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold out.