Once again, Nefeli was in the middle of walking to class. She hoped that weird sensation wouldn't come again. The one her brother tried to use on her, to get her to leave the school. She just wanted to go to class normally and get the night over with. She didn't really feel like dealing with any of them, due to having them with the others. But, she knew she had to. She couldn't run away from these problems, she had to face them. And that's exactly what she is going to do. She wouldn't be a pussy and run away. Not this time. This time, she'd face everything head on. And she would work her hardest to try and help her friends. She knew that they needed her, so she'd try to do what she could.
While trying to come up with some kind of plan on what to do, arms went around Nefeli's waist, with a hand being put over her mouth. She let out a muffled gasp, as she was pulled out of the hallway, and elsewhere. The door was closed and locked, throwing her into darkness. She couldn't see a single thing, she didn't know where she was. She didn't have much time to process all of that. The sudden sensation of somebody trapping her between them and the door, freaked her out a little. She couldn't see, so at first she didn't know who had grabbed her. Nefeli's fight or flight response kicked in, with her body choosing fight. She struggled in the person's hold, getting one of her hands free. She was about to smack this person, but they stopped her. They grabbed her hand, just before she could harm them. But, after a few more seconds, she began to realize who it was. All by going off of her other senses.
The smell of his cologne. The way he towered over her, but not quite, still somehow managing to find a way to make her feel small. How gentle his hold on her was, but still firm enough to keep her in place. It was dark, but all of these things, made her realize who had been her captor.
Jake.
Nefeli felt herself slowly begin to relax, once she realized it was him. She could feel him pressing her back into the door of the room they were in. She didn't want to fall into this trap, so she did her best to resist. Even though all of her instincts were telling her to let herself fall.
"What's going on? Why did you pull me in here?" she asked him, frowning in the dark.
"I needed to talk to you. And I can't do that unless we're somewhere closed off. Not with Jihoon around," Jake said to her.
"Oh, right. So, what did you need to talk about?" she asked him.
Jake let go of her hand, now that she was aware it was just him. She heard him sigh above her.
"I heard about what happened with you and Jungwon. I wanted to make sure that you were okay. That he didn't hurt you or anything," he said softly, so nobody would hear them.
Nefeli frowned as he brought up what had happened yesterday. Even though she couldn't see him, she averted her eyes elsewhere. She took in a deep breath, letting it out as a quiet sigh.
"I'm fine, he didn't hurt me at all. At least not physically," she finally said after a moment of silence.
Jake shook his head at her words. "I don't know what's wrong with him. He's been acting so weird ever since Jihoon showed up and started making threats to us. We don't even know if it's an act or if he's being serious."
"It doesn't matter. He made it clear how he felt. So did Heeseung a few days ago. I don't know if it's all an act either. Whatever it is, it's hurtful and I don't know how I'm supposed to deal with it. I mean.. I know that you and the others are doing this to protect me. But, I'm beginning to question if I'm even worth any of this. I don't think I am."
Jake reached up, quickly sliding his arms around Nefeli's waist. He pulled her against him in a tight hug. She tried not to let any of her weaknesses show, but she couldn't fight it anymore. She's been holding everything in for so long, that it was all beginning to flow over. Last night was part of that proof. She finally returned his hug, sniffling as tears filled her eyes. He moved one of his hands to rest on the back of her head. His touch helped to make her feel a little calmer. After a minute, the two of them pulled away from each other.
"You're more than worth all of this. It's why we're even going along with him. Just at least until we can find out how to get rid of him," Jake whispered to her
"What if you guys can't figure it out? Then, what? I don't want all of you to be stuck doing this forever. I'd feel terrible," Nefeli mumbled
"If it takes forever, then we'll gladly spend forever doing it."
"Please, don't," she said, her voice stuttering.
"Listen to me. Don't worry, love. We'll figure this out. As soon as we do, then everything will go back to the way it was. I promise," Jake spoke quietly.
Nefeli sniffled and hugged him again. It felt good to be near him after so a long. She missed him, she missed the others. A lot. She had the others, but she couldn't help but to feel a bit lonely, without her first group of friends by her side.
"I have to go. We've been in here long enough. I don't want him to start getting suspicious," Jake said, before pulling away from the hug.
Nefeli nodded and let go of him, despite not wanting to. She wanted to hold on to him forever. She didn't want him to leave her again. But, she knew he had to. He brushed his hand over her face, to which she closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. She cherished it for as long as she could, which was only a few seconds.
"Wait for a minute before coming out," Jake said softly.
He placed a soft kiss on Nefeli's cheek, a sign of telling her goodbye. She looked up as he opened the door and walked out. She reached up, touching her fingers to the spot he'd kissed her. It lingered behind, like she'd held an ice cube on her skin. Like he said, she waited for a couple of minutes, before she left the room.
As Nefeli opened the door, she saw that he'd pulled her into a janitorial closet. She walked out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. She looked around, making sure there was nobody around. As soon as she was sure it was clear, she made her way to class, before she was late.
