As soon as Soyoung reaches her brother and pats his arm, you freaking run.

You sprint at maximum speed through the wide gate of the school, legs pumping, and as you do you can't help but glance across the way.

There he is.

The minute that Taehyung catches your scent, you can see the change in his face. He doesn't look surprised or panicked or even alarmed.

He smiles.

Very, very slowly.

Taehyung was never deceived - he knew you were here the whole time.

He was just waiting for you to make a move, curious to see what you'd do. Playing with you.

He's not playing anymore.

As you tear through the school gate like angry dogs are nipping at your heels, Taehyung pushes past the meager obstacle of his sister and starts after you.

You can't hear his footsteps on the concrete because your heart is beating too loud, and your own steps seem to echo though the depths of the universe.

But you don't have to hear him: you know he's there. Taehyung's presence radiates an aura like the sun radiates heat, mocking your attempt at escape.

He's fast.

You've got a good head start, but he's still gaining on you quicker than you're eating gaining on your car.

Heart pounding it's way up your throat, you can almost feel Taehyung's fingers swiping across the air behind you.

The imagination makes your breath and fingers shake from a strange mix of adrenaline and terror - but you're not scared, per say.

You know Taehyung wouldn't ever hurt you.

It's the fact that you aren't exactly sure what he will do that makes the chase that much more terrifying.

You finally make it to your car, yanking open the door with unparalleled urgency, and dive in. The door slams shut behind you seconds before Taehyung's chest and tummy slam into it with a dull thud.

Your shaking fingers smash down the automatic lock button just as he tries to pull open the handle.

That was way too close.

You sit back in your seat, panting.

Taehyung legitimately almost caught you - and heck if you know what he wants.

Maybe to force you into a mateship.

The thought sends chills down your spine - both the good and bad kinds.

You're dragged from this train of though as Taehyung's bright red hair becomes visible in your window. He leans down, pressing his forehead against the glass in a way that makes his excited, gleaming eyes scarily apparent.

A thin sheen of sweat mats the front of his bangs into darker tangles, but the exertion from the run only seems to have gotten his blood pumping.

He grins at you through the window, and points down.

"Open the door." His voice comes in through the glass, muffled and far away, but still impactful in that raspy, rumbling tone.

You flip him off and turn the car on.

"Y/N," Taehyung growls. He presses his splayed fingers to your window, grin fierce and unyielding. "Open the door, baby."

Baby.

That affectionate name cements your resolve.

Before all of this mess of 'mate' stuff, Taehyung never would've called you baby. Never would've smiled at you with desire in his eyes like that, or chased you across the parking lot because you avoided him.

In fact, he never would've looked at you twice.

You aren't doing this.

You sneer at Taehyung through the window and peel out of the parking lot, hoping in the back of your mind that he'll grant you mercy and forget about everything.

***

"You got away, I assume?"

Soyoung's voice is unconcerned even in the center of your panicking situation, not out of character for her.

"How'd you know?" you answer drolly.

"Well, considering my brother is currently sulking in the back of Jin's truck and you're talking to me on the phone instead of being sexually massacred, I can only assume."

"Your assumption is correct," you sigh. You've made it to your house, parking your car on the street side and hopping out. "It was way too close, though. Hopefully he got the message."

"Uh..." Soyoung's breath suddenly hitched over the line. "Y/N? We actually might have a problem." 

You groan. "What? What's wrong?"

"Well, Taehyung's still in the back of Jin's truck."

"So?" You trudge into your house, feet dragging.

"He's not really sulking anymore, either."

You toss your keys into the kitchen table and tie off your shoes by the door. "Good. Maybe he got the message."

"Yeah, I don't think so." Soyoung coughs. "They just pulled out of the parking lot, but they're not headed toward our house. They're headed toward yours."

Your heart drops to the very bottom of your stomach, and you lean on the wall for support.

"You okay, Y/N?"

"No," you say faintly. "I've got to go, So. I think I have to fortify my house."

***
You lock every door that leads into the house and sequester yourself in the upstairs loft.

Taehyung hasn't actually been to your house before, so if he does ever manage to get in (which he hopefully won't) you're confident he won't find the partially-hidden staircase that leads to the loft.

As for the windows as an entry point, the loft does have one - however, it's on the second floor with no balcony or way to scramble to the top.

Though you want to say with all certainty that you're unreachable, you're slightly terrified by Taehyung's reputation for persistence and innovation.

For that reason, you have a backup plan.

Dressed in four layers of clothing so he can't get to your skin, you sit like a human marshmallow on the floor with a baseball bat in your hands.

If Taehyung gets past your defenses, you can just beat him back out again.

It only takes fifteen minutes to hear Jin's truck rumble up to your house, and two more to hear the frustrated bickering of two young werewolves who can't find their way into your house without breaking in.

Not that you'd put breaking and entering past them.

Ten minutes pass without any further noise, and then you hear the roar of Jin's truck starting up again. It drives away, noise fading into the distance.

Just to be safe, you sit, armed and ready, for another ten minutes.

You know Kim Taehyung.

He's strong, resourceful, and doesn't give up very easily. You don't trust him to have already given up.

However, you don't hear or sense anything unusual.

Before emerging from the loft, you check the view from the windows. Jin's truck is indeed gone, the front door looks like it's closed, and there's not a tall, broad-shoulder figure in sight.

You (should be) safe.

Stepping outside, you waddle downstairs, stripping off your layers of clothes and pondering how you're going to escape Taehyung again tomorrow.