Chapter 15: A kiss for a chime

As soon as Felix stepped inside, he was greeted by pure chaos. The other members of RUNE were gathered around the coffee table, laughing and shouting as they played spin-the-bottle.

Meanwhile, in the corner of the couch, Kelvin sat with his laptop open, headphones on, completely ignoring the fun. Typical. Felix glanced at him briefly, wondering why Kelvin wasn't in the studio if he was working on music. But whatever—it wasn't his business.

"Felix, come join us!" Grey grinned, waving him over.

Felix smirked and plopped down next to him. "Hope you guys are ready to regret inviting me."

Mitchell snorted. "Yeah, yeah, big talk. Just wait till the bottle lands on you."

The game continued with dares ranging from harmless to straight-up embarrassing. Grey had to do a cringy aegyo dance, Zach got dared to text his crush, and Mitchell was forced to rap a verse from one of their songs but in a baby voice.

Everyone was having a blast when suddenly, the bottle slowed to a stop—pointing directly at Felix.

The room went silent for a moment before Zach smirked. "Oh, this is gonna be fun."

Felix leaned back, unfazed. "Alright, hit me. What's the dare?"

The other members exchanged glances, grinning like they were about to do something evil. Felix had a feeling he wasn't gonna like whatever they were about to say.

Grey leaned forward with a mischievous grin. "Alright, Felix, I got a dare for you."

Felix raised a brow. "Go on."

Grey smirked. "Give your lips to something or someone in this room."

Felix blinked, confused. "Huh?"

Zach burst out laughing. "He means make out with something or someone."

Felix scoffed. "That makes no sense."

"Just don't make it weird, okay?" Zach continued. "And no picky behavior. Three of us here are your children. We're not options."

Mitchell fake gagged. "Yeah, I'd rather jump out the window than be traumatized tonight."

Felix rolled his eyes but stood up. "Fine, whatever."

He started walking around the room dramatically, humming a weird, eerie song like he was a creepy old man searching for kids in hide-and-seek. He peeked behind the couch, looked under the table, and even opened a drawer just to mess with them.

Everyone was already cracking up, but then Felix stopped. His gaze landed on Kelvin, still sitting in the corner with his laptop, completely ignoring them.

A wicked idea popped into Felix's head.

Without hesitation, he rushed toward Kelvin, bent down to his level, and smirked.

Kelvin was completely caught off guard when Felix suddenly yanked off his headphones.

He shot Felix a glare. "What do you want?"

Felix grinned. "I pick you."

Kelvin frowned. "Pick what?"

From across the room, Zach, Mitchell, and Grey erupted into loud "Oooohs," already realizing what was about to go down.

They had expected Felix to kiss a random object, like a mirror, a cellphone is or his own hand, and laugh it off. But no—Felix had to be extra. He just had to take it to the next level.

Kelvin, still confused, looked around the room, silently begging the others for an explanation.

But Zach, Mitchell, and Grey simply raised their hands in surrender, shaking their heads like, Nope, you're on your own, dude.

Kelvin turned back to Felix, his stomach doing weird flips. "What is it?"

Felix smirked. "Well, the dare was that whoever I pick, I have to make out with them."

Kelvin's eyes widened in pure shock.

Kelvin leaned in, his voice a whisper-yell in Felix's ear. "Are you CRAZY?"

Felix just tilted his head, smirking like he hadn't just thrown a bomb into the middle of the room.

"C'mon, you always do intimate things with me and say NO HOMO."

Kelvin groaned. "Dude, there's a huge difference between a backhug and a MAKEOUT SESSION."

Felix shrugged. "No turning back now."

Kelvin shook his head, exasperated. "No."

Felix pouted dramatically. "Wow. You hate me that much, huh?"

Kelvin rolled his eyes. "If that's what it takes to stop this madness, yes. Let's agree—I hate you."

Felix grinned. "Perfect. If you really hate me, then this won't mean anything, right?"

Kelvin bit his lower lip so hard it almost hurt. He knew that once Felix was this determined, there was no escape. His mind raced, trying to find a way to get out of this.

And then he remembered.

Felix's secret. The whole Mimicae shapeshifter curse thing.

An imaginary lightbulb went off in Kelvin's head, and he leaned in close to Felix, voice low and threatening. "If you do this, I'll tell the others about—"

Before he could finish, Felix crashed their lips together.

Kelvin's brain short-circuited.

The plan—what plan? The threat—what threat?

Felix's lips were soft, warm, and completely addicting.

His first instinct was to push Felix away. His second instinct was to pull him closer. But no, he wasn't going to show it. Absolutely not.

Meanwhile, Zach, Mitchell, and Grey were in full chaos mode.

"WHAT?!"

"OH MY GOD."

"DID HE JUST—???"

All three of them were standing now, eyes wide, mouths open, completely shook.

And just like that, Rune's dorm turned into a WAR ZONE of screaming.

Felix didn't pull away and Kelvin couldn't hold back anymore. His self control had jumped into the Atlantic ocean.

Without a second thought, Kelvin kissed him back. And Felix, who seemed just as intoxicated as Kelvin, let it happen, not resisting at all.

Kelvin's hands found it's way to Felix's waist and he pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. Their lips moved in perfect sync. Without realizing it, Kelvin bit Felix's lower lip seeking entrance.

Felix gasped a little and Kelvin took the opportunity to slip his tongue in. He took his sweet time tasting, exploring and savouring Felix's mouth as their salivas mixed.

The kiss wasn't rushed; it was rather sensual and almost sexual. Felix's hands found it's way to Kelvin's neck, keeping his balance as the kiss was longer than it should. Scratch that, no one in the room expected it to be like this.

The room was completely silent except for the surprise noises Zach, Mitchell and Grey were making.

The kiss eventually came to an end and they pulled away, both trying to catch their breath.

They looked into each other's eyes trying to process what they'd both done.

Felix blinked, confused. He didn't understand why he didn't hate kissing Kelvin. It should've felt weird, but it didn't.

Kelvin, on the other hand, realized what had just happened and cursed himself internally. What the hell did he just do? His face went completely blank, and without a word, he gently pushed Felix away. Then, as if nothing had happened, he picked up his laptop and put his headphones back on.

That reaction immediately annoyed Felix. And disappointed him too. But he wasn't about to let it show. Instead, he forced a smirk and turned back to Zach, Mitchell, and Grey, pretending nothing happened.

"Well, that was fun," he said, plopping down next to them. "Who's next?"

The three younger ones just stared at him, still processing what they had just witnessed.

*************

The sacred bell rang, but something was wrong. The sound wasn't its usual steady chime—it was warped, ringing in a way that sent sharp pain through the celestial platform.

The seven Celestial Wardens clutched their heads as the strange noise echoed through the space, making even the stars in the sky flicker like candles about to run out.

"This... this isn't right," Meiyue, the Warden of Mercy, gasped, holding onto her glowing staff tightly.

"We need to stabilize the balance before the disturbance spreads," Renhai, the Warden of Justice, said, his crimson red robes shifting as he fought to stay steady.

"Everyone, join hands," Lianhua ordered, her voice as calm as ever, though her fan trembled slightly in her grasp.

Without hesitation, the Wardens linked hands, forming a circle around the ancient stone tablet at the center of the platform. The moment their energies connected, a wave of golden light appeared and went the everything, swallowing the painful ringing.

The air stilled. The stars stopped flickering.

For a brief moment, everything was quiet.

Then Qingzhu, the Warden of Forgiveness, suddenly shuddered. Her violet robes billowed around her as her melancholic eyes turned cloudy.

"A drastic change in fate…" she whispered, her voice barely above a breath.

The others stiffened.

"This isn't good," Zhihao, the Warden of Wisdom, muttered, his aged face dark with worry. "Something that wasn't meant to happen has been set in motion."

Xianlong, the Warden of Retribution, narrowed his golden eyes. "The curse has shifted."

Meiyue's expression turned sorrowful. "Felix…"

Shenglie, the Warden of Wrath, scoffed. "Hah. The curse is what he deserves and we should fix the shift. Why are we even discussing this?"

"Because his suffering affects more than just himself," Lianhua answered smoothly, snapping her jade fan shut.

"The wheel of karma is turning," Renhai said, staring at the ancient runes on the tablet. "And it's moving in a direction none of us foresaw."

The Wardens fell silent, watching as the glowing symbols on the stone pulsed like a heartbeat.

Then Xianlong spoke, his voice final. "We wait. The boy's choices will determine the outcome. For now, the curse remains."

With that, the seven figures dissolved into streaks of light, vanishing into the vast celestial realm.

But even after they were gone, the distant toll of the bell lingered—a reminder that fate had already begun to shift.