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(Y/n) sat in her corner with her knees folded up to her chest. She had no idea where Jaehyun had gone but he'd left his painting half-done, that's for sure. At least he gave her a blanket, not that it was a major improvement. He's already lost too many points in her book to ever hope to regain them.

The blond came back at least once every two hours or so to let her out and use the bathroom. And he had just left, which meant he wouldn't be back for a while. She'd have all the time in the world—at least for two hours—to sit back and do nothing.

It was boring here.

I wonder if popsicle noticed I'm gone, she mused, leaning her head on the ice-cold bars. I'd rather die than get help from them but anything beats being stuck in here. She shook her leg, the motion rattling the chain coiled like a deadly serpent on the cell floor. He thought of everything. Annoying.

She slid down until she was lying with her back pressed to the highly uncomfortable metal. If you were ever wondering how it feels like to sleep on a cell floor, it's pretty uncomfortable. Don't try it. She tossed and turned as she struggled to find a comfortable position. When that didn't work, she laid the blanket underneath her and wrapped herself in it like a cocoon.

Maybe if I sleep it out and not wake up he'd get bored. Then he'd forget about me—well, then I'd die but like, it gives me more time to chew my way out.

She eyed the thick bars. Her jaw hurt from just looking at it and her elbow still ached from where she had banged it into the ground when he tossed her in. At least she hadn't hit her head.

Whatever. I'll just go to sleep—

"(Y/n)!"

The door was thrown open with a loud bang, the sound making her squeak and crack her head against the bars next to her. Just when I was talking about my head! She groaned in pain and held her head in her hands. Only when the pain subsided did she dare to look up.

(E/c)-colored eyes met gold-flecked ones that darkened to amber as his eyes fixed onto hers.

"(Y/n)," he said again, this time in relief. Kieran sank to his knees before the cage. His chest rose and fell with visible effort. Sweat shone on the side of his toned neck and panic still etched dark shadows across the perfect planes of his face. He had been worried about her. Really worried.

(Y/n) threw him a questioning look though, to be honest, she was a little glad to see him. "How...did you find me?"

The white-haired male tried to say something but the fatigue got the best of him and he doubled over in a coughing fit. She looked on in concern. "Snow—um, Kieran? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He held up a hand as if signaling to her to give him a second. His hands fell on the bars and rage began to fill his face before he quickly chased it away, replacing it with his signature smirk. "Didn't know you were into these kinds of things, princess. Should've told me. I would've joined you."

And, ladies and gentlemen, he's back. She rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder. "Yeah, I'd lock you up with a gag. Then I wouldn't have to listen to you yammering ever again."

He smiled a little at her familiar retort before it fell off his face as he gazed at the bars. "I...I'm afraid I don't have the keys," he said sadly. "Did Jay do this?"

She didn't have to say anything for him to know the answer. It was all in her eyes. A spark of anger ignited in his unearthly eyes that were so close, she could see the reflection of her concerned expression in those depths. For a split second, she felt like she was alone. Which was absurd, since Kieran was right there.

But even as he was there...his mind wasn't. Something seemed to grip him as countless emotions ran rampant over his face through the breach in his conditioning to control them. Even as he began to descend into chaos, Kieran didn't want to stop it. All he wanted to do was hurt the people who dared to look at her, talk to her, speak of her. And worse yet...hurt her. Jaehyun was no exception.

The rising incursions of dissonance dug its razor-sharp claws into his skin and held on, tearing into his soul with each strike. It was so vicious it nearly snapped his final strand of sanity, the last rule he set for himself he told himself he'd never break no matter what.

But what's the point in it all? Kieran chuckled darkly, a murderous look crossing his face. Just being with her, he'd already crossed too many lines and broken too many rules. And now it was too late to turn back even if he wanted to, which he didn't. He gazed at her worried face. He could faintly hear her anxious voice in the background like a bell underwater. He could hear the sound, but not the words.

Kieran closed his eyes and drowned himself in that calming melody. It managed to clear his mind—just a little—but enough for him to regain control over himself.

"I'm tired," he heard himself telling her. With his mouth and his voice, yet it felt foreign to his ears. "Can I...stay a little longer?"

"Uh, sure I guess. But Jaehyun's going to come back soon—"

"It doesn't matter. I can handle him."

A flash of dark heat ran through him at the mention of the other boy's name. He knew that feeling to be jealousy. He sat next to the cage, right next to her, the only thing separating them being the iron bars. He rested his head against them and closed his eyes, relishing in the warmth radiating off her body.

She was too different from the people he was used to dealing with, and for that reason alone it made her dangerous. It was too easy to lose himself in her despite his mental warnings not to. She was too young, too naive, too innocent, and he'd be damned if he robbed her of all that too soon. Though, a "good person" was not something one would attribute to Kieran Fujikawa.

He knew he had no right to do this to her. In truth, he knew exactly where Jaehyun kept the key. But he didn't want to let her out—no, not yet. Not when he knew she'd just walk away again. The image of her walking away...he didn't like it. Perhaps one day she'd be walking towards him instead of away. Perhaps one day she'd let him in and tell him all her secrets, and he his. Perhaps one day he'd stop being so afraid of her leaving like everyone else and finally open up.

Then she'd be completely his.

For some reason, the image of a bloodied brown-haired boy flashed before his eyes. What was his name again...? Kieran didn't remember. He only remembered it was someone Tristan, against all odds, asked him to get rid of. Tristan had wanted to send a message and to draw the blue-haired one away from (Y/n). He wanted to scare them and undermine the bond that kept them together. And it had worked.

His eyes slid to her figure sitting in the cage. She seemed to be trying to sleep herself but couldn't get comfortable on the floor. What would she say if she knew I killed him? He thought. She'd probably never forgive me again...but if you ask me if I regret it, doing all this, then I don't. I would do it again and again.

Everyone has a darkness inside them many people are afraid to recognize, let alone address. Kieran had one too and he was sure (Y/n) did as well. But the only difference between them was that his thrived on love and hers on pain. If it was up to him, he would erase that pain and make it his own.

He watched the door with hooded eyes. Any time now the blond would come back in. What would he say? What would he do? The idea of enraging the boy and getting him to try and kill him didn't seem as interesting anymore. All he could think of was how he'd deal with Jaehyun. A knife, a gun, or something else?

He wanted Jaehyun gone, but even that wasn't enough anymore.

(Y/n) rolled onto her side and covered her ears. She could almost hear the door slamming open. When Jaehyun sees snowman I really don't want to be awake to witness it. But no matter what she tried, sleep did not come easily to her.

She didn't have to wait long for the chaos to start. The door flew open and Jaehyun's murderous voice filled the space with loathing and hate.

"KIERAN!" He spat, his voice dripping with rage. "You are really getting annoying! I said to stay away from us!"

The white-haired male didn't immediately react. He closed his eyes to burn the moment into his mind. He reached through the bars and squeezed her warm hand with his cold one.

"Don't worry," he murmured, using his other hand to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'll end this quickly."

The action only enraged the blond more. "How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from us?" He growled, slamming the door behind him. "Again and again and again...you keep springing back up like an annoying weed. As long as you're alive, you'll keep trying to get in our way."

A cruel laugh burst out of him and he ripped open a drawer and pulled out a long knife. "Fine." Jaehyun's tone fell flat and the fiery rage drained from his face. In its place was an endless cold. His eyes were two vermillion smudges in the dark that seemed to glow like a predator as he stalked towards them. "I'll have to speed up the cleanup process then."

"No, we can talk about this!" (Y/n) tried to reason even though she knew her words would only fall on deaf ears. "Kieran was just—"

Kieran placed a finger on her lips, shushing her. He gave her a reassuring smile, squeezed her hand one last time before he rose to his feet. His golden gaze slid to the wrathful creature in front of him. "Oh?" He purred, his voice a sensual whisper. "Do I get front row seats?"

"No, you're the goddamned show, a**hole!"

The two fell into a flurry of silver and gold. Metal clanged against metal as Kieran somehow managed to grab a palette knife and use it to defend himself against the deadly weapon. They were engaged in a terrible dance across the room right before their eyes, darting forward and back. Their feet bared seemed to touch the ground and there never was a still moment.

"Locking a girl in a cage is your idea of romantic?" Kieran taunted as he ducked under the other boy's swing, the glasslike tip of the knife barely missing his throat. "You're not going to get any action like that, Jay. Need some advice? Not that I'd give them to you~"

"I don't care how I get her as long as I do," Jaehyun snarled. He knocked Kieran's stab towards him with such force (Y/n)'s arm started to ache from just watching. "You wouldn't understand my feelings. You're just a sorry loser who'd sooner die alone in a ditch than ever fall in love with someone."

The jab hit too close to home and Kieran nearly dodged the blond's next strike too late. It was true—with all the enemies he's made and girls he's spurned over the years, it was about time it all came back to bite him, and hard. With his condition, he didn't expect to live past his twenties, let alone his thirties. And so he's given up on life, choosing to live in the present and do whatever he wanted to try and fill up this empty, lonely void in his heart.

But meeting her...it gave him a will to live again. And now Kieran could confidently say he did understand Jaehyun's feelings. Almost too well.

"You might be right." The playful edge fell from his voice. The sudden change in the male's tone made Jaehyun pause and take a step back in confusion. "Maybe that'll be my future if I don't do anything to change it. And I was fine with that, but that isn't the case anymore. So tell me, Jay-chan, is it really a crime to want something so much you're willing to die for it?"

The world was a din of clanging metal and dark whispers, and nothing else. Anger stained the air red as the two glared at each other. (Y/n) knew those words must've tortured him to say, though she didn't quite get the meaning behind them. Want, greed, lust—what was he talking about?

Jaehyun was the first to break the taut silence. "I don't care what you want. (Y/n) is mine. My other half. And I have no qualms against killing you, Tristan, Leon, the world—anyone who tries to take her away to keep her here."

We're way past compromises now, Kieran mused darkly. Once upon a time, Trish-chan thought this would work. Compromising. But he should've realized the fragile peace wouldn't last long. Humans are greedy creatures.

She's not a thing for you to keep, he wanted to say but didn't, since he knew how much of a hypocrite it would make him sound. Instead, he lifted his chin with a challenging glint in his eye and fisted the palette knife tighter. "You haven't been doing a good job of that then. In fact, I was able to find this place and break inside easily. Maybe you aren't that determined to have her after all—"

A guttural growl and a flash of silver were all Jaehyun allowed as the provocation did its work and he came towards the taller male like a deadly arrow, his knife pointed at Kieran's eye. First, he'd gouge out his eyes, the same eyes that always annoyed and disturbed him. Second, he'd carved up his head and face until he could no longer be recognized. Then his arms, legs, and then the rest of his body into little pieces to feed to the animals. Lastly, Jaehyun would burn what was left of Kieran's head.

It wasn't enough to kill him. He wanted to make it as if the white-haired male had never existed. He didn't want Kieran's memory to soil (Y/n)'s mind.

As the two fought, (Y/n) had torn her eyes away from the gruesome scene and had gotten to work at trying to get the shackle off her leg. She had wrapped the chain around one of the bars and began pulling as if by some force of nature it would snap. When that didn't work, she tried to undo the lock by poking a piece of wood shrapnel that was near her into it. She didn't exactly have a supply of bobby pins in her hair.

I need to get their attention somehow, she reasoned. If snowman wins, that's better for me because if it's Jaehyun, he'd probably kill me. But that doesn't mean I want him to die. It would make my plan to sneak to the basement harder—popsicle would increase the security on me. So I need to get their attention somehow.

No amount of banging or yelling until her throat was hoarse made them even spare a glance their way. The two were too caught up in their fight; their eyes saw nothing but each other's demise, and they would stop for nothing, not even fatigue, until one of them was dead.

Again, that would be terrible for her plan. Think, (Y/n), think! She literally racked her head for anything that could help her. It seemed to be hopeless until she recalled snippets of the two's conversation leading up to the current situation.

"Stay away from us."

"As long as you're alive..."

"Anyone who tries to take her away..."

All of that summed to one thing. Even though Jaehyun did threaten her with death, he still held her life as something of importance. And Kieran did too. Which meant the only bargaining chip she had now was her life.

That didn't sound great for her mental state. She was going to have to get a lot of therapy after this.

Well, I have a chain. She looked down at the thin link of metal in her hands. Perfect for strangulation. She snapped the chain taut for good measure and it made a satisfying clinking sound. Time to get their attention. This plan is probably the most messed up one I've ever made. Just like me.

"Let me rephrase then," Jaehyun was shouting as he slashed at the other male. "When it comes to her, I don't like sharing."

Kieran danced back with a mocking smirk. "You don't have to~ You can't share what you don't have."

"Stop moving and let me kill you, dammit!"

"Guys, stop it!" (Y/n) yelled, rising to her feet. When they didn't even bother to look her way, she growled in frustration and wound the chain around her neck. To be fair, she doubted she could actually kill herself this way but it should be enough to scare them into stopping this madness.

"Jaehyun! Kieran!" She snapped, throwing one end of the chain messily against the bars, making a loud clanging sound. "I swear to God if you don't stop now I'm going to get rid of the very reason you're fighting in the first place."

That managed to catch their attention. Their movements slowed as they turned to look at her in confusion. She rolled her eyes and made a big show of holding up the two ends of the chain, still attached to her leg and all, and shook it noisily.

"Now you listen to me," she scowled. "Stop fighting. Right now. Or I'll take myself out of the picture, you hear me?"

She hadn't expected it to work so well. Blood drained out of their faces as they groped for words but got none. And then they were by her side so fast she didn't have time to even blink.

Kieran slammed his hands on the bars, making her flinch back. The look in his eyes both scared and stunned her—it was a crazed mix of fear and desperation. She didn't think her threat would have this much of an impact on him. And Jaehyun—he was worse. The other Jaehyun, the devil part of him, vanished instantly and the normal Jaehyun was back. Or at least, as normal as the blond could get.

Tears welled up in his ruby eyes and slipped down his cheeks. "I'm sorryyy," he cried, hiccupping a little. "Please don't do that, (Y/n)! I didn't mean to make you sad...I only wanted to make you h-happy! F-forgive me?"

"Never say that again." Kieran's voice was a hoarse whisper, hollow but not empty. "I can't lose you, princess. I can't even imagine you leaving me, much less leaving this world. Please, promise me. Don't ever say something like that again."

"I'm sorry," Jaehyun cried again as he futilely tried to wipe the tears again. All the menace had drained from his body and in its place was nothing but an innocent, scared child. "I'm really, really sorry, (Y/n)...! I'll never do it again, so please don't say things like that. It makes me really sad...I hate it."

That was not the reaction I was expecting. Then she shrugged. Better than nothing. But I do feel a little bad about manipulating them like this. It's like I'm not any better than them. Ugh, what is this, Stockholm Syndrome? Don't feel bad for the enemy, (Y/n)!

"There, there." She patted the blond's hair awkwardly through the bars and didn't resist as he opened the cell and reached towards her for a hug. She patted his back and let him cry on her shoulder while Kieran looked on with a conflicted look on his face.

He badly wanted to tear the blond away from her but he restrained himself. The threat she had made was a warning and he heard it loud and clear. He fisted his hand behind his back instead, ignoring the numb feeling of blood dripping through his curled fingers from the wounds his fingernails made in his palm. He couldn't feel the pain anyway.

Eventually, Jaehyun cried himself to sleep and now (Y/n) had a psychopathic cinnamon resting his head on her legs. Not many people could say they had that experience. She could feel Kieran's gaze on the back of her neck and she really didn't want to look at him or ask him what he wanted. It wouldn't be something she wanted to hear anyway.

He didn't say a word. He let the silence be as he suddenly reached towards her from behind and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She stiffened as she felt his head drop to her neck. He was trembling, she realized. How much had her threat really affected him? Too much, it seemed. It was taking a toll on him.

Kieran didn't say anything and she didn't ask. Only allowed him to hold her out of fear of further provoking him. He held her until his breathing began to calm and his heart stopped trying to tear itself out of his chest.

Without letting go or moving from his position, he tilted his head to whisper against her ear, "You're getting fearless, love. I know what you're trying to do. Don't ever do it again."

His warm breath against her skin made her skin crawl with shivers. She tried to lean away but his grip only tightened, keeping her in place.

"I'm not an object," she tried to say, recalling the two's earlier argument. "I'm not something to have or a trophy to win."

"Are you calling us possessive?" He breathed into her ear with a voice not quite human. "Princess, I'm way past possessive. Don't tempt me. I might do something I'll regret...or perhaps I won't. I'm not nice enough to regret my actions."

He brushed his lips over the side of her neck, making her shiver. "Follow my directions. Ease Jay's head off you and follow me."

"He's going to wake up—"

"He won't." Kieran loosened his hold but kept his hands on her, sliding down her arms to encircle her waist. "I don't like seeing another man touching you. Get him off."

The dangerous undertone in his tone made her reconsider defying him just to see what could happen. (Y/n) slowly lifted Jaehyun's head, her breath hitching in her throat as the boy stirred. When his eyes didn't open, she let out a sigh of relief and gently lowered his head to the floor, conscious of Kieran's watchful gaze on her.

But then Jaehyun's hand snapped forward and grabbed her arm. It was an unconscious decision of his in his sleep—he was seeking the warmth that had suddenly left him. Kieran didn't see it that way. (Y/n) felt his anger before she saw it and she quickly grabbed the blanket in the cell and wrapped Jaehyun's arms around it. The blond mumbled a little and huddled closer to the fabric.

Kieran's hand was firm and commanding as he led her to her feet and pulled her to him. "Good girl," he purred, his hand clenching tighter on her back as he urged her forward. "We're leaving this place."

"Uh, where are we going?" (Y/n) stumbled over her feet as she struggled to keep up with his pace and the constant pressure on her back. He noticed this and slowed down to match her smaller strides. "Kieran?"

He didn't answer at first until she called his name. His eyes snapped to hers at the sound and something akin to pain flickered like a candle in his expression before it went out and he looked away.

"Kieran?"

The sound of his name once again carried by her voice made him shudder. "Away," he choked out with visible strain. "Anywhere but here." His hand felt hot where it connected with her back and it took all of his self-control to keep himself in check. He knew he should quickly place distance between them before something happened, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He almost lost her.

The idea was like an ice pick hammering into his heart, crashing waves of dissonance sliding thousands of little needles into his skin. He couldn't let her go. Never. He'd sooner die than do that. Loneliness was his shadow and fooling around was like a drug. It was a quick fix to the shadow that hounded him but it didn't last long. When everyone finally leaves and the noise vanishes, the bright colors of the party fading into an ashen gray like firewood does he realize just how alone he was.

Stars, hide your fires: Let not light see my black and deep desires.

He took her to his library where he promptly collapsed onto the floor as soon as the door clicked shut. "Kieran?" (Y/n) reached out to him in concern. Her fingertips brushed against his skin and her eyes widened. She placed her whole palm on his forehead. "Kieran, you're burning up!"

His once cool skin was almost scorching to the touch. His breathing came out hot and ragged as he slumped against the door, his head hanging freely to the side. His eyes were closed and his expression tight. In pain or fear, she didn't know.

"I'll get Tristan." She stood up. "Or Leon. They'll know what to do—"

He grabbed her hand before she could leave the room. "No," he said hoarsely even though it looked like it pained him to speak. "Don't go. Stay here, princess. Don't leave me..."

His voice trailed off as his grip weakened and fell back to the ground. His expression contorted as he fought to keep his eyes open and stay awake but it was all for naught.

The last thing he saw before his demons choked his consciousness out of him was the (h/c)-haired girl's stricken face. A single thought ran through his mind.

Ah...I could really use a beer...

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A/N: I am here again to bring you fan art 😶 from ImConfused10



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