feathers and scales | j.j.k

VII

"Ahah. Funny. Very funny. Mucho funny. I- Me? The daughter of two mythical animals?" Lyn chuckled, her voice strained and high.

Professor Lin sighed sympathetically and rubbed her arm. Lyn flinched away from his touch, staring at him. "You're kidding right?" she asked in a meek voice.

"Baem," said the professor. Baem nodded and the professor walked away. 

"W-wait! I still have questions!"

"Lyn," Professor Lin said, "rest." He reached out a finger to the point between her eyebrows, his eyes glowing a faint green. Lyn's eyes rolled back and she slumped into Baem's waiting arms.

[...]

"Baem."

Lyn was still in the bed, Baem resting beside her. His tail was curled around her arm and his head was resting on her chest.

Lyn watched as Baem morphed into a human. "Hi," she whispered in a small voice, thinking of all the times she had changed in front of her snake.

"Greetings, my queen," said the man in a deep voice. 

Lyn cleared her throat, sitting up in the bed. "Byun Baekhyun. Right?"

The man cocked his head, an amused smile on his lips. "Yes, my queen. That is correct."

"Call me Lyn. It's weird enough to have my professor calling me his queen."

"As you wish... Lyn." Her name came out in a strangled sort of tone, as if he was fighting the habit to call her his queen.

Lyn looked awkwardly at him, then at the clothes neatly folded on her bedstand. "Could you...?"

"Ah," he said. "Shall I turn back into my natural form?" In a flash, Baem was resting on Lyn's thigh, his dark midnight black scales a stark contrast from the white of the sheets.

She blushed slightly as she shook her head. Baem turned back into his human form. "Then what do you desire my quee- Lyn?"

"I need to change. Could you... uhm... leave?" Lyn sunk down into her covers, watching Baem's silvery golden eyes shimmer.

"Yes."

Lyn let out a sigh as she slipped into a simple pair of skinny jeans, sneakers, and a white t-shirt behind the safety of the white curtains. Her hair now fell past her waist and ended in the middle of her thighs. 

"Lyn."

Lyn jumped, the edges of her plain brown hair a deep purple and raised threateningly at Baem. One particularly sharp strand was pointed right at his jugular, the tip pushing in slightly, drawing a single drop of bright red blood.

"S-sorry," she mumbled as her hair turned back to it's original brown color and went limp.

Baem grinned at her. "Lyn. You're already awakening."

[...]

Baem walked beside Lyn, eyeing the gossiping girls warily. "Baem," whispered Lyn.

"Yes?"

"Can I just call you Baekhyun? Or Mr. Byun?"

"Baekhyun's fine. For the sake of keeping my identity... secret," he whispered back. Lyn nodded, rolling the unfamiliar word over her tongue.

Suddenly, the people in the hallway she was walking in disappeared. Lyn reached out to her side, reaching for Baekhyun.

"B-Baekhyun?" she whispered, stumbling over the word.

"Snake."

Lyn spun around, terrified as she spotted Jungkook. His big, dark, feathery wings were flapping behind him menacingly as he walked towards her, a smirk on his bloodred lips.

Lyn ran, pumping her legs as hard as she could. But the faster she ran, the longer the hallway seemed. It felt endless. The exit was getting farther and farther away.

"Stop it! Stop whatever you're doing!" she prayed.

"It's no use," called the bird, his voice echoing.

Lyn fell onto the floor, her heart racing and her tears mixing with sweat. "Get up," she screamed inside her head. "GET UP!"

Lyn pushed herself off the ground, reaching deep inside her for some ancient power that she could control. Her hair turned a deep, dark purple, the shimmery strands growing longer and sharper, reaching out around her.

"Hmm," said the bird. Lyn turned around, her eyes searching for the body the voice belonged to.

"Gotcha," whispered Jungkook as he came up behind her, one arm around her waist, the other behind her neck. A small scream escaped Lyn's lips as she froze, feeling Jungkook's chest against her back.

Her voice disappeared as she saw her reflection in a mirror that appeared in front of her. She watched the purple at the edges of her hair climb up her head, spreading into her eyes. Lyn looked into the mirror, bewildered to find bright purple eyes staring back at her.

"You know Lyn," breathed Jungkook into her ear, "I could snap your neck with a single movement if I wanted to."

Lyn closed her eyes, counting to three, before opening them, glaring fiercely back at Jungkook. "Go ahead," she said, her voice firm, steady, and daring. "Try it."

Jungkook smirked and spun her around to face him. Lyn's heart pounded, blood rushing in her ears. She turned her head around, staring at her reflection.

She watched as Jungkook's gloved hand crept to her shirt, lifting the edge.

"He's going to rape and kill me," she thought blankly. Goosebumps rose on her exposed skin as Jungkook lifted her shirt higher.

"You said you weren't a snake," he whispered into her ear, his dark velvet doe eyes looking at her through the mirror. "You lied."

Lyn released the breath she didn't know she was holding as her eyes followed Jungkook's finger. It pointed at a symbol of three snakes wrapped around a sun.

Jungkook smirked and tightened his grip on her neck. Lyn gasped and scrabbled at it, willing her hair to move, to attack him. Jungkook bared his teeth and trapped her wrists in his other hand.

"Now, snake, you di-"

"Now, what do we have here?" Principal Nam clicked his tongue and looked at the scene. Jungkook quickly released Lyn, crossing his arms. Lyn glanced at him, taking note of the surprise that had crossed his face, quickly followed by anger and then a cool mask of calm.

"It's our transfer student, sir," said his secretary beside him.

"OMG IT'S JEON JUNGKOOK!"

"HE'S SO HOT!"

"WAIT, OMG, HE'S IN OUR SCHOOL?"

"What happened here?" asked the principal, his eyebrows raised.

"It's just a misunderstanding," said Jungkook as Lyn cried out, "He tried to harass me."

The pair glared at each other, eyes flashing, fists clenched.

"This girl hit her head and I tried to help her. It seems she hit it too hard," said Jungkook smoothly. The small crowd around them snickered meanly as the whispered amongst themselves.

Lyn hung her head, her fists clenched. Memories of being accused before filled her head as she bit back tears. "He'll expell me just like last time," she thought.

Principal Nam squinted his eyes, glancing at the bruises on Lyn's neck and the swelling on her wrists. 

"Bullies don't have any rights in my school," roared the principal as he crossed his muscular arms.

(hey hey, sorry for not updating a lot. i've been busy doing a lot of stuff and i know i said i would update the boy next door, but i had a more complete chapter for this story so i just finished it and decided to publish. but the na jaemin short is almost ready!!)