Adryn and Taeyong's lips were still pressed together when Doyoung walked into the room. He was frozen instantly with a mix of disgust and worry.
"What is going on here?" Doyoung's words caused Taeyong and Adryn to jolt, as they hadn't noticed him. They whacked their heads together and then pulled away from each other. Adryn nearly fell off her chair as she tried to get away from Taeyong. "Again, what is going on?"
"We were kissing?" Taeyong replied with a question of his own.
"Yes, that much was obvious. I meant why were you kissing? Has she shown any signs that she has reciprocated your feelings? Does she love you now or something?" Taeyong didn't know the answers to Doyoung's questions, so he turned and looked at Adryn. The woman was staring at Taeyong with confusion in her eyes. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say or how to say the right words to get them to understand her intentions. However, before Adryn could even attempt to do or say anything, Jaehyun hurried into the room.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need Adryn right now," Jaehyun muttered to the two other men before grabbing Adryn's left wrist and literally pulling her out of the room. They heard Taeyong and Doyoung call out to them, but Jaehyun ignored it and Adryn was still in shock, so neither stopped moving. Not until they reached Jaehyun's office. Jaehyun closed the door behind them and turned to face Adryn with worry on his face. "What were you thinking?" Jaehyun didn't mean it to come out harshly, he was just curious and worried about Adryn, and Taeyong.
"I... I wanted to kiss Taeyong, and he wanted to kiss me... So we kissed?" Adryn clearly wasn't sure how to explain things, but hearing this surprised Mark.
"Wait, you two kissed? What brought that on so suddenly?" Mark asked Adryn, making her look at him with her wide eyes.
"We were just talking and enjoying our time, and it just happened?"
"Do you like or love him now? Is that why you let him kiss you?" Jaehyun asked the flustered and overwhelmed woman. She was slowly feeling anxiety rise up in her as she realized that things were not going to be normal anymore. She'd done something without thinking too much and now was facing the consequences.
"Are you two going to date now? Or were you caught up in the situation and kissed him without feelings?" When Adryn didn't reply to Jaehyun, Mark asked his question next. It seemed that neither of the men noticed how Adryn was starting to sweat and breath faster.
"Are you planning on leading him on? I didn't think you were like that." Jaehyun's question was the final strike to Adryn's terrified soul.
"I don't know!" Adryn burst out suddenly. Adryn was now breathing so heavily that Mark and Jaehyun realized what they were doing to her. "I need everyone to stop questioning me when I don't even have the answers either!"
"So you don't know why you kissed Taeyong?" Jaehyun knew that he shouldn't have asked the question, but he needed to protect his friend and leader. He didn't want Adryn to be freaking out, but he needed to know what was going on in her mind. However, her first reaction wasn't to answer him, it was to start crying.
"I'm sorry! I just don't know!" Adryn spun around and threw open the door behind her before bolting out of it. She was far too overwhelmed to answer anything or even hear another question at this point. Therefore, Adryn began to run through the house, with Jaehyun right after her.
"Adryn! Wait!" Jaehyun's pleas were ignored by Adryn, as she made her way to the front door, threw that door open as well, and then continued to run. "If you leave, you'll be in danger!" Jaehyun tried to reason with her, but Adryn couldn't even hear him at this point. Thankfully for her, the gate at the end of the driveway was open, so she just kept running. This was the most running she'd done since she and Eclipse had to run away from the hospital Adryn had been put in all those years ago.
Adryn wasn't sure at what point Jaehyun stopped running after her, or at what point she stopped knowing where she was. After making the realization that she was all alone and in an unfamiliar area, Adryn stopped running and hid in an alley without anyone else around. She was thankful because the tears hadn't stopped. She was amazed that she hadn't been hit by a car or tripped over anything.
Adryn leaned against the wall of the alley and began to sob to herself. She had no idea what she was going to do or where she would go. She didn't want to face NCT at that moment because she knew she'd messed up. She knew she shouldn't have reacted in the way that she had.
So, thinking about the people she'd just ran from, Adryn remembered that there was someone who was always by her side, no matter what. Eclipse. So, Adryn pulled out the phone that she had on her and called Eclipse. Eclipse picked up immediately.
"Adryn? What's wrong?" Eclipse was worried when all she heard was sobbing.
"I need to get away. Please, come get me." Adryn choked out through her sobs.
"Alright, we'll be right there, stay there! Don't talk to anyone or let anyone take you!"
"'We'll' Who are you bringing with you?" Adryn asked Eclipse, but the other woman had already hung up the phone. Adryn just put her phone back into her pocket and tried to stop the tears. She wasn't sure if she could, but she knew that she was getting weird looks from people passing by. She figured they thought she was a drug addict or some pathetic woman, or both. Adryn didn't care. Not until it began to rain.
As the rain started, Adryn remained in place, despite getting rained on. She didn't want to go further into the alley, for fear of someone actually being there or not being spotted by Eclipse. So, Adryn just leaned against the wall, looking around frantically. She was on edge and nearly screamed when something wet and furry rubbed against her leg. She instantly looked down to see a cat there.
"I'm sorry little one, I have no food for you..." Adryn muttered as she reached down to pet the cat. It hissed at her suddenly and ran off, leaving Adryn all alone again. As the rain was beginning to pick up and get stronger, Adryn saw a black car pull up to the alley. The front windows were rolled down and Adryn was able to spot Eclipse in the car.
"Adryn! Get in, NCT will be here shortly." Eclipse stated to the soaked and still slightly crying woman. Adryn merely nodded her head and climbed into the backseat of the car. This is when Adryn noticed that there was a man driving the car. He had light brown hair and looked slightly annoyed, but also just calm. "What happened to you?"
"I... I don't want to talk about it... Not right now..." Adryn mumbled to her best friend. Eclipse just nodded her head and noticed how confused Adryn was looking at the man driving the car.
"We can talk about everything at the compound. I'll explain then who this man is, and you can explain what happened to you." Adryn just nodded her head at Eclipse's words before turning to look out the incredibly tinted window.
Adryn watched as the car quickly drove through the streets to get away from the area where NCT resided. Adryn nearly fell asleep, until she noticed that they weren't going too far from the area where NCT lived. She was suddenly noticing that there were various murals on the city buildings, some of which Adryn noticed were Eclipse's art. The area was similar to the area around NCT's house.
Adryn got curious as they drove up to an apartment building, but didn't park. They drove into a parking garage, but instead of parking, the man drove them down. They kept going down until they reached a clearly metal door that lifted up as they approached. As they drove through the door, it closed behind them.
"What is this? Where are we?" Adryn finally asked Eclipse as she was now incredibly confused. It was like they were in some secret hideout.
"This is SHINee's base. Our hideout in the form of an underground compound." Eclipse replied in a proud tone. She had a smile on her face as well. "This is my home." Adryn just nodded her head to Eclipse's words and watched as the man parked the car between a few other cars. The three of them got out of the car, with Adryn looking around in awe. They were so far underground that they couldn't hear the bustling city above them. "Come on, let's go. The others want to meet you."
"I'm a mess though," Adryn muttered as she realized that she must look horrible. Not only due to crying but due to the rain as well. She was still a bit damp and was sure she had a face of leftover tears.
"I'll help you out." Eclipse chuckled as she approached Adryn with a wet wipe. She cleaned up Adryn's face and fixed her black hair to the best of her ability. "There, you're all good."
"Thanks..." Adryn smiled at Eclipse, but it was a pained smile.
"So, this is Taemin. He's the boyfriend I mentioned." Eclipse motioned to the man, finally introducing him. Adryn just looked Taemin over and nodded her head, suddenly feeling embarrassed that her best friend's boyfriend had seen her be a mess.
"It's nice to finally meet you. I've only heard about you once though."
"Yes, I'm sorry, but I asked Eclipse to not talk about me to anyone. I didn't want her to be too connected to the gang for her protection." Taemin replied to Adryn simply before continuing. "I can't believe that Taeyong would let you join NCT."
"Why?"
"Taeyong is very protective and very jealous. I can't believe that he'd allow the other guys anywhere near you." To Taemin's words, Adryn frowned.
"You might not fully know who the man is that you've been living with," Eclipse mentioned to Adryn, which only served to piss her off slightly.
"I know Taeyong well enough. I don't think he is overly protective or jealous. Just the right amount of each."
"Alright..." Eclipse saw the anger on Adryn's face but continued anyway.
"You're dealing with gang members. You don't know how they'll react to you."
"You don't know Taeyong or the other members of NCT. None of them would ever hurt me. I... I think I made a mistake by leaving them..." Adryn realized the one thing she shouldn't have done, was go to Eclipse after all.
"At least meet the others before you think about running back to Taeyong and NCT."
"Okay..." Adryn reluctantly agreed, so Eclipse and Taemin lead Adryn to what seemed to be the living room. There were 3 men seated, watching something on the TV.
"Hey, guys, this is Adryn," Eclipse announced to the men, who all looked right at Adryn with mixed emotions on their faces. They all stood up instantly, to greet her.
"Hello, I'm Onew." The first man spoke up. He had brown hair. "We've heard a lot about you. I've been wanting to meet you for a while now." He spoke with a smile on his face.
"My name is Minho." The taller man with red hair spoke next. "I was wondering why you called Eclipse suddenly, but I'm glad to finally meet you anyway."
"I'm not sure about your intentions, but if you're going to hurt Eclipse again, we'll have a problem." This man had a frown on his face and had short blond hair.
"Key, it's alright. She doesn't mean any harm." Eclipse spoke to the man, trying to reassure him. He merely nodded his head.
"Um... It's nice to meet all of you." Adryn mumbled out to the group. This group felt different than NCT. They were wary of her and it scared Adryn a little bit.
"I need to talk with Adryn by myself, so we'll be in my bedroom if you need us," Eclipse spoke to the group before grabbing Adryn's wrist and pulling her along with her. They made their way down hallways that were tilted down, so they went even further underground. "This is my room." Eclipse said as she opened a large door and revealed a large room. The room was filled with dark colors. Black, purple, red and some silver. Adryn noticed that the bed was clearly for two people.
"Wow..." Adryn spoke as she looked around the room. There were various crystals, large and small ones all around on nearly every surface. There were also some weapons on the walls. The one Adryn noticed specifically was a double-headed ax that she knew was Eclipse's.
"Take a seat at the desk." Adryn instantly sat down at the desk Eclipse mentioned. She wasn't sure if she was ready to admit what she'd done, but she knew that she needed to woman up and face her actions. She just hoped that she hadn't ruined everything.
