I watched the sky roll black to orange to grey, gently swaying in the branches of a grand fir. I kept still, not blinking, but my foot jittered as it dangled. My chest was full of worry, stomach full of butterflies, mind full of Minho.

I dropped to the ground and headed north. Home hurtled toward me, and I found myself in Felix and Changbin's room. Felix was doing pilates, and Changbin looked like he had been doing the same. Now he was sitting crosslegged on the floor, examining his fingernails.

"Guys, we should get to school," I said.

School isn't for, like, thirty minutes, Felix thought. Or am I reading the sun wrong?

"Let's be early today. You can get a head start on your mind games. What else do we have to do?"

Lateral breathing. Felix took a big suck of air. Changbin breathed, too.

Hyunjin shoved past me, his own mat tucked under his arm. Hey, Bert.

"Big bird, not you, too," I groaned.

"It's good for the glutes." He gestured to his ass. "Why are you complaining? What did pilates do to you?"

"He misses Minho," Changbin said, not looking up from his cuticles.

"I do not!"

"Trust the emotional weatherman," Felix said. "Babe?"

"Thank you, prince. There's an overcast of lovesickness today, angsty conditions, lows of moodiness, with an eighty percent chance of bullshit."

Felix and Hyunjin cracked up. I stomped out.

I peeked into the terrible trio's room. Jeongin was spinning in front of a mirror, modelling a jacket two sizes too big for him. Seungmin had a pained expression on his face.

"You are too goddamn adorable." He smothered Jeongin with kisses.

"Excuse me," I coughed.

"What?" they said in unison.

"Wanna ditch the others? We'll get to school early."

"Is that important?" Seungmin tilted his head.

"There's a way to win at time management, you know."

"You can't 'win' at time management."

"We could, but you guys are still shitting around doing yoga!"

"Pilates!" a voice shouted from down the hall.

"God, why is everybody so stubborn!"

"We have lives." Seungmin smirked. "Your life is at school, isn't he?"

"This isn't about Minho. Okay, okay, whatever, it's about Minho. I just want today to get started."

"You've been alive for a century, what's twenty more minutes?"

Honestly, it felt like everything.

"You've forced my hand, heathens," I called. "I'm going by myself. See you at lunch."

I crossed my arms and strode downstairs. Haseong was on the couch, trying to tie his shoes while wearing a beekeeper suit. I knelt down and did them up for him.

"Nice suit," I said.

Thanks, he thought.

"You wanna come to school with me?"

Is it career day or something?

"No, just a drive."

He nodded and got to his feet. Why not? I'm heading that way anyway.

We shot out the door, to the garage, and got into my car. His big hat got caught on the doorframe.

"What's with the bee suit?" I asked.

Felix said a wasp nest is gonna fall off an eave in Vancouver — right next to a daycare, it'd be a massacre. I'm heading up there to take it down.

"Why the suit?"

Gotta look the part.

"As if anybody's gonna see you."

You have a point. He fiddled with his gloves. Maybe I just like getting dressed up. Somehow my coupons for Party City are still good.

"Why do you — you know — help, the way you do? Why don't you just volunteer or something?"

Humans are... He tried to avoid the words 'inept' and 'brainless.' They don't do things right. I told them, don't do this, don't do that, this is more efficient, but they just kept screwing it up. Especially Jeremy from the Pittsburgh homeless shelter. Jeremy was an idiot.

"He's the one who refused to use a hairnet?"

It was getting in the soup! Privileged little shitbag, never liked him.

"How old would he be now?"

Fifty, fifty-five. God, was that really in the seventies? I need to move on.

"I'm not the right person to be talking to about that."

School was right around the corner. I pulled into the parking lot.

Is my hat on backward? Haseong asked.

"I don't think so."

Great. See you tonight.

"Good luck with the bees."

Good luck with Minho.

I dropped my forehead against the steering wheel. "Uh-huh, I'm looking forward to it."

Cheer up, sticks, you're gonna see your... honey. His eyebrows popped.

"No."

Just bee positive.

"Okay, buzz off."

Ooh! That stings!

I laughed, despite myself. Haseong slipped out of the car and zoomed north.

I parked, clambered to the hood of the car — and waited. What would Minho do when he saw me? Would he wave? Avoid my eyes? Punch me in the throat, curse me out and stomp off?

But what would I do when I saw him? Would I try to talk to him? I wanted to. More than anything. Maybe.

Cars started filing in a little while later. It was five to eight when I heard Minho's truck in the distance. He drove slowly, carefully. Of course he did. My foot tapped on the icy gravel.

A flash of colour, and my brothers climbed out of my car as if we'd driven here together. I was unchanged, squinting at the road Minho would soon come down. They sidled up on either side of me.

You were too early, Seungmin deadpanned.

"Shut up."

I'll be watching out for you, big bro, Felix thought. We're gonna head to our classes. Don't wanna be late.

I harrumphed, but added a "Thanks."

They walked off just as Minho turned the corner. He had an anxious expression on his face, watching the ground, afraid his tires would slide.

I looked down, feeling the same nervousness as I had the day before.

When I looked up, I saw Minho was crouching by his back tire, snow chains between his fingers. I heard tears well behind his eyes. I had no idea what he was thinking, what had touched him.

Oh, shit, Felix thought suddenly. Jisung, he's gonna—

Tyler Crowley's massive van sped around the corner, hit the ice wrong and swerved across the lot. He was careening toward Minho — still crouched by his tailgate, eyes now clamped shut in terror.

I sprinted across the lot and shoved Minho around, holding myself over him. I heard his head bump into the metal. His eyes opened, frantic and wide, taking me in.

He shrieked as the van crashed into my back.

I didn't have a lot of time before panic erupted. I spun myself around, flattened the dent in the van's body, and moved Minho — still frozen in shock — away from the tailgate, between the cars. I held myself the way I had been, kneeling over his legs. Time started again.

"Are you all right?" I asked, fighting the anxious crack in my voice.

He peered at me, eyes blank and liquid, and grabbed my arm. He reacted to my temperature immediately — his jaw dropped.

I took my arm away as gently as I could, moved back a few feet, teeth clenched, remembering not to breathe.

Minho grimaced, making a pained sound under his breath. I flinched, held my arms out just as quickly as I snatched them away.

"Be careful," I pleaded. "I think your head bumped into the metal." That was my fault. I should have done more to protect him. I could have if I had been anywhere close to the Right State of Mind. Unfortunately, I was already freaking out before Minho had almost been crushed.

He opened his mouth. "I... I what? You... how...? I don't... what?"

"Take it easy. You look dizzy."

"Yeah, I'm dizzy — I was almost crushed by a van." He enunciated every word, lovely face twisted with anger. "Are you gonna explain how you did that?"

"Did what?"

"Saved me."

So he saw that. Shit.

Of course he had! His eyes were wide open! I should have shoved him around, covered his eyes with my hands, tossed him and trusted one of my brothers would catch him before he hit the ground. Minho had noticed too much already — my blood-crazed panic, my absence, my eyes that somehow changed colour.

Shit.

I couldn't let this happen because of my mistake — my countless mistakes. How could I face my family when we had to start our lives over again because I couldn't let this random guy die? Because I'd been stupid and selfish enough to screw with his fate?

It couldn't happen. I wouldn't let it.

"I'm... not sure what you're talking about," I said.

"What?" he hissed. "What the hell — the van literally crashed into your back."

"That's impossible." My tone didn't waver.

He was silent for a second. His eyes left my face, growing wider as he realized where he was. "Why — why am I over here!?" He looked back at me. "I was at the back of my truck!"

"You were between the cars."

"And you stopped the van."

"That's not possible."

"And how'd you get over here so fast?"

"I was right next to you."

"You liar—"

"Minho," I cut him off. I heard Ms. Cope and Coach Clapp approach us. "Not here. Nobody can know."

He blinked.

"Oh, Minho!" Ms. Cope knelt down and cupped his face. "Are you okay? Say something, hun! An ambulance is on its way, okay?"

But Minho's eyes stayed locked on me, hard, angry. I stood up and backed away, fussing with my sleeves.

"Jisung, you all right?" Coach Clapp asked, hand hovering over my arm.

"Yes, sir." The shake in my voice was real. I felt like I was going to fall. "Excuse me."

I marched away, squeezed through the crowd of students lingering near the accident. I saw my brothers across the lot, watching me anxiously. It was so hard not to use my powers to reach them faster.

Jisungie, are you okay? Jeongin thought, arms out. I practically collapsed into him. I felt at least five pairs of hands pat my hair and back. Hyunjin rubbed the back of my neck, a pressure point. Changbin toyed with my earlobe.

"Felix, what're the p-percentages?" I asked.

They're not clear, Felix thought. A lot of decisions are being made right now. Forget about that, bro, you did good. You got him.

"No, no, no, I screwed it up. He saw it, he saw me stop the van." I took a breath. "I've already put us — and Minho — in danger in too many ways. He's seen too much. We might be compromised."

You just have to talk to him again, Seungmin thought. Deny it till he believes it. Gaslighting can solve any problem.

"We can't just wait around!" I said — too loudly. "I did this, it's my fault!" I let go of Jeongin and gripped my hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to — I swear, I didn't—"

Felix took my wrists and held them together. We know. It's not your fault. No one blames you.

"I don't want to be the reason we have to move again. I'm already a burden."

You're a wet blanket and a pain in the ass, but you are not a burden. He let go of my wrists and patted my cheeks. You did the right thing. If we move, we move. No one'll hold that against you.

We've done it for less, Seungmin thought. Remember when Changbin dropped his Gameboy under a car and lifted the whole-ass thing up to get it back? There was a guy inside the goddamn car!

"I remember." I smiled a little, just because of the memory. "We left the next day."

"Wait, what did he say?" Changbin asked. "Did he bring up the Gameboy again?"

"Hush." Hyunjin pulled Changbin's head to his chest.

The important thing is that Minho's okay, Felix thought. He didn't get crushed, and you didn't kill him. He's gonna get checked out at the hospital.

"Oh, God — Minho," I gasped. "Is the ambulance here yet?"

It's around the corner—

I turned and headed for the parking lot, but a half-dozen hands caught me and towed me back.

Jisung, stay with us for a bit, Hyunjin thought. You're too worked up.

"No, what if they hurt him? What if they screw something up? I have to go with Minho — I need to tell Chan what happened anyway."

You can do that later, he'll be home tonight, Felix thought.

"No, no, I need to. For Minho. Please."

The hands hesitantly let me go. I murmured a couple thank yous and ran into the crowd. A few students asked if I was all right, and I gave them quiet, noncommittal answers as well. I searched their minds briefly — none were suspicious of my involvement.

I saw the medics lifting Minho onto a gurney. He noticed me but pretended not to. I watched, awkward, shifting my weight. One of them bumped the gurney, and Minho winced, holding the back of his head. I did a whole-body flinch.

Chief Swan — Minho's father — rushed onto the scene, yelling for his son. I faded into the background and listened to his panicked thoughts. Minho was all he had left. A whole new rush of guilt came over me.

Charlie's anxiety was almost on par with mine. He wanted to ride in the ambulance with Minho, but they wouldn't let him. That was a good idea, actually. I wished I could offer the chief some kind of comfort — an "I'll make sure your son doesn't die spontaneously" — but I didn't think I should risk the follow-up questions.

I walked up to an EMT guy. "Excuse me, could I have a ride to the hospital? My father is Dr. Chan Bang."

The EMT nodded, looking at me warmly. Knowing Chan was a positive personality trait in itself.

"Sure, kid. Afraid the front seat is all full up. Mind sitting in the back?"

"No, not at all. Thanks."

They pushed Minho's gurney into the back of the ambulance, and a medic hopped in, too. I climbed up and took a seat on a little pull-down chair. Minho stared at his feet and wiggled his toes.

The doors closed, and the ambulance rolled out of the school parking lot. The EMT guy was rummaging around in a duffel bag. He pulled out a white neck brace.

"This is a neck brace, son," he said to Minho. "I'm going to put it on you, all right?"

Minho blinked. "Are you fucking kidding?"

I couldn't help it — I laughed under my breath. The medic held the neck brace to his chest and scooted away from Minho.

At the hospital, I decided I couldn't follow Minho's gurney around forever — though I wanted to. I scanned every mind in the building and found Chan's familiar voice in his office. I was bursting through the door within seconds.

Jisung? he thought, alarmed, taking his feet off the desk.

"It's not that," I said. He thought I had lost control — that Minho was dead. The thought made me shudder, a reminder of the countless, unique ways this could go careening off the rails.

Chan walked up, put his hands on my shoulders and sat me down on the giant squishy couch. He took a seat on the coffee table in front of me.

What happened? he asked.

"There was an accident, and — I'm sorry — I might've exposed us. I saved him from a car crash and he saw the whole thing." A lump caught at the back of my throat. "I couldn't let him die. He's so special — he can't die."

It's okay, Chan thought. You did a good thing.

"No, I screwed it up — I hit his head — his head hit the metal, I was distracted, I—"

"Calm down," Chan said softly, aloud. "I'll take a look at his chart, yeah? You stay here."

"But — wait, wait." I tugged on his sleeve. "Minho's very... he's gonna want an explanation."

Chan sighed, but he wasn't worried. If he ever had doubts, he didn't let them show.

I know you'll do the right thing, he thought.

He trusted me. He shouldn't have.

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i don't usually do this, but I figure I have a bit of a platform, so I just wanted to ask you guys to vote for SKZ on STARPOLL. here ( ) is a tutorial on how to download the app, log in, earn points, and vote.

(btw, if you're hesitant to log in, I was too — it was asking for my email and Twitter and stuff — but it hasn't given me any trouble so far so yeah)

also i'm SO sorry for the bee puns lmao, from now on i promise i'll be on my best...

beehavior 

ok i'm done now bye