___

Mei woke up the next morning and showered, putting this on afterwards.

It was weird to be alone when she woke up, but also pleasant, since she didn't have to deal with her backstabbing parents.

Mei went to the kitchen and made breakfast, which wasn't as good as when Eunho would make it. When she was done, she got in her car and headed to school. Mei got to school and went inside to see a big crowd at the entrance. She made her way through the crowd to see Jaehwa beating on Renjun. Mei ran in the middle and grabbed Jaehwa by her shirt, getting in her face.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mei growled.

She smirked. "He's close to you, so I was taking my anger out on him, since you weren't here."

"Don't touch my friends. Do you understand me?"

"I'll do what I want."

Mei rolled her eyes and threw her up against the lockers. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you're not the queen of the school. You're an attention seeker."

"You made Minghao break up with me." Jaehwa shrugged.

"I didn't make him do anything. He chose to break up with you. Maybe if you weren't so self centered he would still want to be with you."

Mei let go of her and walked off, over to Renjun to help him up. "Let's get you to the nurse."

The whole time they were walking, she was rubbing circles into his back for comfort. They got to the nurses office and she wasn't there, so she sat Renjun down and started fetching the stuff to clean him up. She didn't really care that they were unsupervised- he needed attention.

"Thank you, Mei." He whispered as she sat down next to him.

"It's not a problem. She doesn't have the right to put her hands on you."

"She did something to Kino."

"What are you talking about?"

"She took him somewhere before she came back for me."

"Do you know-"

Mei was cut off with a vision of Kino in the janitors closet, his hands tied up. "Mei?"

"Ren, I need you to stay here while I get Kino, okay?"

He nodded his head and she bolted out the nurses office. While she was running down the hallway, she bumped into a strong figure.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"Mei, why are you running so fast?"

"Minghao! Kino is in trouble and we need to find him."

Minghao nodded his head and grabbed her hand. She took off down the hallway and stopped in front of a door when she heard quiet sniffling. She walked closer to the door and slowly opened it to see Kino with a small cut on his cheek. She started walking closer, but someone grabbed her neck.

"Jaehwa, this is the craziest thing I've ever seen."

"I want Minghao back, and you're going to tell him for me."

"Well, he's here so why don't you tell him?"

Mei elbowed her in the ribs, making her let go of the girl. She ran over to Kino and pulled him into a hug, while he sobbed into her shoulder.

"Kino, it's okay. I'm here," she whispered, rubbing circles into his back. "Just like you helped me all those times."

He nodded and Mei untied him, helping him up. As they were walking out, she heard Minghao and Jaehwa talking.

"I want you back, baby."

"Jaehwa, I'm happier without you."

Then she heard sobbing and footsteps next to her, so she looked over at Minghao. "Well, that went well."

He smiled and rolled his eyes playfully. In no time, they were back in the nurses office, so Minghao helped Renjun and Mei assisted to Kino.

"Why did she do that to us, Mei?" Renjun whispered.

"She thinks I made Minghao break up with her, so she's trying to do things that will hurt me in return," she replied, and both of them nodded their heads. "I'm sorry."

Mei finished doctoring up her friends and headed off to class, guilt weighing her down.

The day went by fast and it was time for eighth period. Everyone came in, changed, and sat down in their spots.

"Alright class, today we'll be doing a couples dance, and I want Minghao and Mei to perform it," she said. "They've been working on routines for a while, so surely one of them is ready to go."

Mei looked at Minghao and he was already looking at her, so they both smiled and went to the front of the class.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

When they finished their routine, they sat back down and Mrs. Su got a call, which was over fairly quick. "Mei, someone is at the office for you."

Mei panicked almost immediately, because she didn't know who it was. She looked over at Kino, then at Minghao, and they both had confused and concerned looks on their faces. Mei slowly got up from her spot and got her stuff, walking out. She took her time walking to the office, and she was glad she did.

The person that was picking her up was her ex boyfriend.

-flashback-

"Baby?" Mei called through the house.

No answer.

"Jiho?"

No answer.

Then she heard noises coming from their bedroom. They had bought an apartment together and had lived there for about five months. He was older than her, talked her into moving in with him. Her parents weren't happy about it at all.

Mei approached the bedroom and heard what she believed to be moaning, but the moans weren't feminine.

"Jiho?" She whispered with tears in her eyes.

She put her hand on the door knob and slowly opened the door to see her boyfriend in bed with a man.

"Shit, Mei! I didn't know you were going to be home so early!" Jiho exclaimed.

"Yeah, well I didn't think you'd be shagging someone else in our apartment," she snapped back. "Make sure you wash the sheets when you're done."

"Mei, I can explain." He said, putting his clothes on and running after her.

"It doesn't matter the reason behind it, you're still cheating on me."

"I was lonely and I didn't know when you were coming home, so I called him over," he said with a pouty face. "Okay?"

"Okay," Mei smiled sarcastically. "Absolutely not. The apartment is yours. We're done."

Jiho titled his head, his expression filling with anger. "You're not leaving me."

"Yes, I am. How could you expect me to stay with you?"

"Because if you leave," he got in her face. "I'll make you miserable."

What Mei didn't know, was that he'd get so out of control, that he'd chain her to the bedroom wall and keep her in the dark for days on end.

-end of flashback-

"Hey sweetheart."

"Don't call me that." Mei snapped.

"Come on baby, lets go."

He grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the door. He shoved her into his car and started driving in the direction of her apartment. Sure enough, they went to her apartment and he dragged her into the building, unlocking the door with her keys.

"How do you know where I live?" She asked.

He threw her onto the couch. "I've been tracking you so I could have you all to myself."

He pulled out rope and started tying her wrists and feet together. "What do you think you're doing?"

"The more you try, the more aggressive I'll get, Mei."

He got on top of the girl and she couldn't do anything about it. He kissed her neck, her cheeks, her collarbones. "I just want you to love me again, Mei."

"I don't love you, Jiho." She managed through a shaky voice.

That set him off, and he stripped her to where she was only in her undergarments. "Get off of me."

"Not until you give me what I want."

Mei squirmed under him. "I said get off of me!"

"Fine. I will for now," he headed for the door. "But next time, your ass is mine."

Mei sat up and put herself in the corner of the couch. She was crying, shaking, alone. She didn't know what to do.

-Minghaos POV-

Minghao saw the panic in Mei's eyes before she left, and that worried him. So, after school he went to go to her apartment, but his dad called and said he needed something, so he quickly went to his house first.

"What dad?" He asked as he walked through the front door.

"Why'd you break up with Jaehwa?" He asked.

"Because, I don't love her and I never will."

"Whatever." His dad mumbled.

Minghao scoffed. That's really what his father wanted his time for? He went back to his car to go to Mei's apartment, and when he got there, a guy walked out and he looked angry, which made Minghao even more nervous. He went inside and went to the girl's apartment, knocking on the door.

No answer.

He turned the doorknob and the door opened with ease. He walked into the kitchen. No one. Then he made his way to the living room. Mei was on the couch, nearly naked, shaking and crying.

"Mei?"

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