stop pretending that
you’re safe and sound

"Where are we going?"

A knife-like smile flashed across Jennie's lips, momentary and sudden. It was gone so quick that I wondered if I had imagined it. "Initiation."

I frowned, glancing over at the couple cars that were cruising in the driveway of the long line of garages. "The races are back on?"

"In a way," She said, following my gaze to the trail. "We've all been waiting for this, for long enough."

Her words left me feeling exposed, the cold wind biting into my skin feel even colder. I pulled my jacket closer over my chest, closing off the junction of my earlier open collarbones. "Because of me?"

She laughed, a dry, humourless laugh. "It's been a long time since we've let a new one in for this kind of thing. As an added liability."

"So I'm a liability."

"And an asset, too, in many ways," Her wistful tone gave away nothing. "I admit you haven't shown up in the most favourable conditions, but we needed you."

My eyes flickered to her face, soft and glowing warmly in the headlights. "You need me?"

Her nonchalant expression faltered momentarily, cracks appearing in her carefully carved mask, gilded by the touch of indifference. "I'm sure the boys agree," Her expression smoothed over just as soon, but my eyes searched for any hint of plaster dust.

The way she had chosen to cover up her slip-up was, I guess, impressive, and her voice didn't sound like she was really lying.

Before I could speak, though, a smiling Vernon joined our less than conversational troupe. "What are you girls talking about?" He ruffled his hair a little as he looked at me, apparently oblivious to what had just taken place.

"Just a little curious about what's happening," I shrugged.

Jennie's mouth twitched. "Story of your life."

"I have to agree on that one," Jinyoung's slightly lilting voice jumped in. He winked at me when I glanced over at him. "I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one eager to show her all of what she's been asking for."

Vernon laughed, and my minue frown deepened. "We're ready to go."

I blinked, realising that it was far from just a few of us anymore. Around the lone table, around seven to eight racers were gathered, all of them seemingly part of the conversation so intent on bringing me into the unwanted limelight.

"Speaking of that," The husky, baritone voice of Kim Taehyung spoke up, "Who's taking her?"

"Taking me?"

He simply laughed at me question, as if it were no more than a childish query. "We didn't finish with the ride, princess..."

The last syllable trailed into a suggestive smirk, and I looked away from the implicit undertone dancing in his firestorm eyes.

Firestorm—Taeyong's face was impassive as my gaze fell upon him, standing in the shadow to the side, away from the rest. Princess.

"She's with me," Jinyoung announced, tearing my attention away from the redhead as he started, abandoning his position at the back of a chair and making his way away from the bar entrance, shouldering his windbreaker. "Come on."

I glanced back, but no one offered any protest. Vernon's eyebrow was raised, almost imperceptibly, and Taeyong didn't look up from his keys, looking absent and bored.

"Why are we going on some kind of adventure trip?" I asked as I power-walked to catch up with him. "And why are so many of us going?"

"Safety in numbers." Jinyoung answered simply, walking towards the brilliant black and orange Egiosta and pausing as we neared it. "And this is not just for you, it's also to see how far the...others will go."

He seemed slightly on edge, restlessly shifting in his position and playing with the car keys in his hand. I looked over at the Lamborghini, looking equal parts monstrous and beautiful in its beetle shell of midnight black. Fiery shades of red and orange peeked from the edges, like a fire was burning just under the surface of the car's coal-like chassis, which it might as well have taking into account the power of the Egoista's engine.

"We're going in that?" My own voice sounded doubtful as I gestured to it. "I don't think it's going to have enough space for the both of us."

A faint smile traced his plump lips, and he shook his head. "Not today," He said, somewhat in the manner of an announcer. "Today, we're taking the Romeo."

──────

"Do all of you usually commute by sports cars?" I yelled over the deafening roar of the wind, gripping the frame of the window, eyes narrowed to minimize the sting. "Or is this some special thing?"

"Nope!" Jinyoung answered, his voice raised over his normal calm pitch, hands clenched on the steering wheel. "But then, these haven't been the most normal few weeks."

"Touché," I muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing!" I shot at him, settling back in my seat against the restraint-like safety belt.

There was a hint of something in the air, as if someone had scattered dead rose petals all around. Something wrong.

I wasn't sure how I could feel it, whether of not it was actually there, or just a figment of my paranoia. But I could smell it, feel it almost. The empty darkness ahead of the headlights held danger and reeked of old wounds.

Lightly running my fingertips over the edge of seatbelt, I let the windows down even lower so that Jinyoung would concentrate more on the road than on me. The last thing I needed was another bout of questions.

Why is everyone here? My mind wandered to the rearview mirror, the long line of equally powerful cars following ours. Like a funeral procession. I didn't have much idea of what initiation was like, but I was pretty sure that it didn't involve this level of secrecy and security.

I shivered, though whether it was from the cold air or my growing fear, I did not know.

Even the driver looked on edge, constantly glancing in the mirror, his hands tighter than usual on the wheel, knuckles white and veins protruding. Jinyoung looked scared—no, maybe excited would be the correct word—as if waiting for something to happen.

Another minute passed, and I looked back again, where the streetlights in the distance seemed to be growing bigger. "Where is everyone?"

He looked over at me, and then at the road. I waited another moment for a response, but when it didn't come, I frowned impatiently. "What the hell is happening?"

"They've seen them, I can tell, the cars have swerved to the side—" My eyes flitted to the rear as he spoke, widening when I noticed that the procession had cleared a path in their midst as he spoke— "We've got them."

"Got who?"

At that moment, he swerved to the side, too, entering a significantly narrower road, the speed slowly climbing. Everything seemed to speed up and slow down; I was thrown against the back of my seat, gasping like a fish out of water.

"What the fuck—"

"The ones everyone knows and loves so well," He winked at me, an eager grin lighting up his face. "We expected them to turn up, yes, now that you're here..."

His words left a bitter taste in my mouth. Initiation. "Now that I'm here."

"Yes," The car raced faster, the engine thrumming powerfully as the lights in the front shut off, save for the Romeo's heads and tails, and the overly bright street lamps. "They're here for you."

Here for me...the phrase I had repeated to myself so many times, and now, the ones I had forgotten, mixed with adrenaline and danger and fear and panic...

I looked at the rearview mirror again, where the lights were growing bigger, too big to be just distant.

Those were no street lights.

For me. The realisation hit me like a speeding car, the painful shards of glass like truth and fear and panic.

"Fuck," I said aloud.

The engine became defeaning, strong as the car screamed along the road, taking another sharp turn and doubling back along another direction. My heart hammered in my chest, hands clammy and cold as they clutched the strap. "Get me out of here," I said, words fast and blurred together like water on ink. "They're here for me, don't you see? If you just let me go—"

"Not yet," Jinyoung said, half through clenched teeth, as if the words required force. His eyes were focused on the road, serious and deadly calm, turning the car through tricky corners and paths.

When I looked back, the car's were all gone, but the bikers were nowhere, probably behind in one of the turns, probably catching up, and catching up fast.

"Let me go!"

His jaw tightened, and he slammed on the brakes.

I spread my hands in front of my face, squeezing my eyes shut against the bright light that suddenly filled my vision, as the car screeched to a halt, dust rising from the ground around us, the smell of burning rubber filling my senses. When I lowered them, slowly, fearfully, heart pounding in my chest, thump, thump, thump, we were in a field.

I parted my lips, but it was like I couldn't speak, hands trembling, body trembling all over, feeling like my lungs were filled with smoke and fire and broken pieces of broken mirrors—

"Get out," Jinyoung's words were calm and collected, his eyes not once leaving me. "Get in one of the cars, any of them, it doesn't matter. Get away from here."

I opened my mouth, but speaking seemed impossible, so I stepped out of the car, knees almost buckling. The field didn't have any cars, and I wasn't sure of my safety at all, fear thrumming all the way to my toes like a speeding engine, going faster and faster and climbing over the limit, inevitable in my crash and burn.

When my vision cleared enough not to feel like I was looking through smoked glass, there was a support under my arms and an urgent voice at my ear, and Jinyoung was nowhere. "Get up," The deep voice sounded edgy and anxious, and strong arms pulled me to my feet. "Get up."

He dragged me to his car, half walking, half hanging off him like vines, as he helped me into the car, and I fumbled with the safety strap despite his warm, scarred hands guiding mine. "Don't make a sound until I say so," He whispered in my ear, hot breath against skin, and I closed my eyes and nodded as if I was perfectly sane.

The seat was soon moving beneath me gently, charging slowly as the car started up and he drove out the other side.

"What..." I faltered, losing my voice, as soon as I thought I could speak. "What are they doing?"

"Nothing you expect," Taeyong said, voice grim and low, no leather gloves covering his veiny, pale hands on the wheel.

"But they said this was supposed to be something else, and we're not even going anywhere now that they're here," I hissed as the words came tumbling out in a disorganized heap, clawing at the sides of my seat in an attempt of anchor my trembling soul. "How did they find me, where are you taking me—"

He interrupted me with a scoff, a vein visibly taut against the side of his neck. "Don't be so self-righteous, princess," He said, voice harsh, paying me no attention. "Not everything revolves around you. I'm not taking you anywhere."

My mouth fell open, and then I spoke again, half-stammering in my indignation— "I am in your car, and the bikers—well—it wasn't me who asked for permission—"

"People say things they don't mean all the time," He said in a clipped tone, grip tightening on the steering.

"Things they don't mean?" My voice was rising, and so was my anger, steadily replacing the panic. "Maybe cryptic words and hidden gestures, too, huh? Changing like a flipped coin every moment—"

"Forget about that bullshit, Y/N, you're not worth wasting time over." I started to speak, but he cut me off with a louder continuation again. "The ones who do think so probably only want to get into your pants!"

I stared at him, mouth hanging open, hurt and offence rising up my chest and cracking open my ribs, sloshing around like acid in my lungs. There was so much I wanted to say, so much to speak about, and how irrelevant what he was speaking even was—but all that came out was, "Fuck you."

"Right." His voice was flat. There was still a part of me that was completely aware of what he had just said, so defensively, and something so unwarranted. How pathetic—there were bikers, they were here again, and he was here shocking me enough into arguing with him. After a moment, he started again. "You're changing cars next stop. He'll take you to the safe house, so you can proceed your fucking around with him there."

I ignored his latter statement. "Who is?" My fucking around is none of your business.

"Kim Taehyung."

──────

how's the new cover?