#Eras tour attendees stay warned!

[tolerateit]

tomorrow is the 8th 😳

[junicai]

i search the universe.

| order no. | 5/21

| summary | Are ‘exploring’ and ‘being hopelessly lost’ synonyms? According to Jongin, they most definitely are.

| word count | 1.9k

| warnings | mentions of kidnapping but it’s just an old lady looking out for Aria when she’s with two very suspicious looking older men, sasaengs 

| era | circa. January 2020 

a/n: this definitely took a turn from the request, but i hope you still like it! if you’re not vibing with it, you can dm me, and i’ll see what i can re-write. thank you! 

The tour was set to kick off again in San Diego, California, after a pause for the duration of December. The time off was greatly appreciated; Aria found herself sleeping for twelve hours at a time occasionally, her sleep schedule trying to right itself after having been flipped on its head too many times to count. 

The flight from Seoul to California was long, and Aria had slept for a grand total of twenty minutes by the time they touched down on the tarmac runway again. 

It had been Jongin’s idea to go exploring before their first schedule that evening, an invitation that was proposed to all the members but only accepted by Taemin. When Jongin’s deflated look was fixed on Aria, she crumbled like the weak woman that she was, and agreed to accompany the two older men on an impromptu trip around the city. 

She’d never even left Ireland prior to joining the company (bar skating competitions, but those were less of a trip and more of a airport-taxi-hotel-rink-repeat combo, if you will) so each new city was met with widened eyes and dramatic oohs and aahs.

The trio had dropped their suitcases into their hotel rooms - Jongin rooming with Taemin this time around, and Aria with Ten - and pulled out a light jacket for outerwear, in Aria’s case, before they were marching out the door, masks pulled up over their faces. 

Aria’s hoodie that she had worn on the plane lay on the bedspread in her room, her phone forgotten in it’s pocket. 

The air was cool but not biting outside, and as Aria linked her hand into Taemin’s, the sun was still above the horizon. Jongin slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“The interview is scheduled for 6, which means we need to be back at the hotel for 4, which gives us,” He checked his watch, “Roughly two hours. Maybe a little more, if we push it.”

Taemin fixed him with a look. “Let’s not do that. It’s twenty to two now, lets aim to be back for twenty to four.”

Aria tugged on Taemin’s hand where the singer had still yet to let go. “Mhm! that way, if things go skywards, then we have time to take a back route or something.” 

Jongin nodded, satisfied. “Okay! So, where first?”

Aria exchanged a look with Taemin, before starting down the street. “Let’s find out!” 

With each building, came a new attraction to stare at. Small stalls sat at the street corners, attendees calling out to them to barter their goods. The buildings seemed to climb into the sky for miles, never-ending as far as Aria’s eyes could see.

The city was bustling with noise, cars passing on the wide streets with sharp beeps! that sent Aria jumping into the air occasionally, much to the chagrin of Jongin. 

He caught her waist when she jumped backwards the first time, stopping her from flattening him onto the sidewalk. “You alright there?” He leaned forwards with a teasing grin. 

Aria had huffed, swatting his hands off her waist before fixing her shirt. “Fine.” 

The grin had stayed plastered on Jongin’s face for the next two blocks, widening further when the girl jumped again at the sound of a harsh tire squeal and a series of rapid-fire beeps following it. 

Taemin lead the two away from the commotion, and they continued their in-depth exploration of the city and it’s secrets. 

It was wonderful; Until it wasn’t.

Honestly, they probably should have realized when they started being followed. It happened regularly on the streets back home, but here, they were off-guard and so the first flash of a shutter going off send Taemin stumbling backwards slightly. 

All hell broke loose from there.

A group of fourteen or fifteen teenage girls gathered, the leader of which had her phone gripped in her hand. “KAI OPPA!” She screamed, and like a battle cry - the others joined her.

Aria felt frozen, her legs refusing to cooperate with the frantic run, run, run run run that her brain was playing on a loop. The group advanced quickly, moving around the street corner and were only a few yards away when Jongin grabbed her wrist, fingers encircling tightly, and pulled her into motion. 

They ran on autopilot, blind as to where they were going only knowing that they couldn’t stop. The pounding of feet was still deafening behind them, and Jongin speeded up, Taemin following suit. 

It wasn’t long until Aria felt like she was doing less running and rather simply being tugged along by her wrist; legs pumping as fast as she could made them, but her strides were nearly double what she’d normally take even at a flat out sprint. 

Taemin tugged them both into a small alleyway, hoping that the shade the towering buildings offered on either side was enough to shield them from the fangirls’ piercing gazes.

Aria bent over, hands on her knees, panting.

“Oh god,” Jongin coughed out. “Not a single day, huh?” 

Taemin nodded sadly in commiseration, catching his own breath. “How did they even know it was us?” 

“The hair, probably,” Aria mumbled, already pulling her hair back into her hood. The bleached blonde and sky blue streaks combination was a tell-tale sign, and she kicked herself mentally for not at least putting her hair up into a bun to hide the most dramatic parts of it.

“What do we do now?” Aria looked to the two older men. “Do we just try to make a run for it? I don’t think I can remember which way we even went, we were just running. Oh god, are we lost now? Can we even get back to the hotel?” 

Taemin extended an arm, wrapping around Aria’s back and pulling her into a hug, before subtly moving them both behind a large sign that blocked them from view.

The group of girls passed by the entrance to the alley, chattering loudly. 

“Where did they go?” 

“Did you see which way they went?” 

“Taeminnie oppa~ Saranghae, come back~”

“Who was the 

“Okay,” Taemin took a deep breath. “Okay, we’ve done this before. My phone died somewhere back there, but Aria, do you want to call Baekhyun hyung while Jongin tries to figure out where we are?” 

He received two nods in return, and Aria’s hands patted her pockets. The empty lining gave underneath her fingers, and her stomach sunk slightly in dread. 

“My phone isn’t-” She looked up to Jongin with wide eyes. “I left it in the hotel room, I think, when I changed my jumper.” 

Jongin put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing soothingly. “It’s okay, we still have mine.” 

Aria’s breath was coming in slightly labored, with a light tremor that shook her chest. 

The ringing sounded loud as it echoed down the alley, and Jongin scrambled to turn the phone on silent. 

“What?” Baekhyun’s voice was tinny through the phone���s speakers, and Jongin moved down towards the end of the alley, out of Aria and Taemin’s earshot.

“Hyung,” Jongin spoke, heavy with relief. 

“What? You’ve just woken me up-” Jongin interrupted Baekhyun before he could start yelling down the phone. 

“Hyung, we got followed.” 

“By who?” 

“Fans, we think. They spotted us a couple streets ago, we ran and now we don’t know where we are.” 

A muttered curse came down the phone line, and what sounded like Baekhyun shutting a door. “Right, find out where you are, and I’ll get the manager to come get you lot. This is why I said no to going out, you’re all tired and then things like this happen Jongin-” 

“Hyung! I know, and I’m sorry you can scold me for it later, but right now,” He tossed a glance over his shoulder to Aria, who was encircled in Taemin’s arms. “Aria’s freaking out, and I’m not sure why, but I don’t think hiding in an alley is helping.” 

Baekhyun was silent, breathing out another curse. “Taeyong, he told me - it happened a while ago, and he didn’t tell me a lot, but enough.” 

“Hyung?” 

“Aria had a bad, altercation, lets say, with a sasaeng two years ago. I don’t know what exactly happened - Yongie didn’t tell me - but I’ll bet that’s why she’s freaking right now. Maybe just-” 

The line cut out. 

Jongin shook his phone, clicking the power button. “Hyung? Hyung?”

Taemin looked over. “Is everything alright?” 

“Phone’s dead.” 

Aria’s head peeked up, wide eyed. “Really?” 

Jongin nodded. 

“So- so what do we do? Did you talk to oppa?” 

He bit his lip. “Yeah, yeah I did. We’re gonna go find another store that’ll let us use their phone okay? And we’re gonna call the manager.” He turned to Aria. “Do you think you could talk to someone right now, Ari? Is that okay?” 

Aria took a deep breath, closing her eyes and exhaling smoothly. “I can do that. I can definitely do that.” The tremor in her hands told otherwise, but she tucked them into her pockets to hide that fact.

“Okay. Okay, let’s go.” Taemin peered around the alley walls, looking and seeing no gang of girls waiting to pounce on them. 

The trio stepped out from behind the building walls, and quickly jogged their way into the nearest café - two storefronts down. 

“Miss? Miss, I’m so sorry to bother you, but could I borrow your landline for a moment? My own phone’s dead, you see.” Aria cleared her throat, peering up at the kind lady behind the counter.

Her wizened eyes took in the small stature of Aria, and the two men standing at the doorway, peering outside. They looked suspicious; hoods pulled low over their eyes, and masks hiding the bottom half of their faces, staring out the window as if they were waiting for someone to show up; and they were ready to flee.

 Slowly, an understanding dawned on her - connecting the wrong dots together and garnering a jumbled up picture of the truth.

“Oh, dear of course, just come behind here and I’ll call someone for you - do you have your mother’s number with you? Your father’s?” She began to usher Aria behind the counter.

“Oh, no, miss, that’s alright, I just need to use your phone for a moment-”

The lady leaned closer. “Dear, if those men are trying to take you somewhere, you’re absolutely welcome to stay in the back room. Do you want me to call the cops?”

Aria choked. “Oh! Oh no- oh those are my brothers miss! They’re not- I haven’t been-” 

The lady looked on with squinted eyes. “They can’t hurt you dearie, you’re safe now-”

“No, I promise you miss, they’re my brothers, they just don’t speak very good English. Can I please use your phone? Please?” Aria was begging at this point. 

Reluctantly, a phone was handed to her, and she wasted no time in inputting Baekhyun’s number. It rang once, before being picked up.

“Oppa?” 

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/politics/the-note-beto-and-veto-speak-to-parties-identity-crises/

The Note: Beto and 'VETO!' speak to parties’ identity crises

The TAKE with Rick Klein

Interested in The Note?

Add The Note as an interest to stay up to date on the latest The Note news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

It’s been a week defined by the promise of Beto and a promise of “VETO!”

But at the end of it, neither party is closer to resolving identity crises that are likely to linger well into 2020.

President Donald Trump‘s veto, expected to come Friday, will ensure that his emergency declaration moves forward — at least until the courts weigh in. But that will only happen after a dozen Republican senators went on record to warn of presidential overreach in voting with Democrats to oppose Trump’s move, on his signature policy of a border wall.

As for the Democrats, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s presidential announcement and Iowa debut is forcing a discussion of where the party should stand and how its candidates should handle each other. O’Rourke is setting his own bar in calling on the field to not “denigrate, demean any other candidate” — even in the age of Trump.

“I’m for everyone,” he told ABC News’ Paula Faris. “I want to be able to bring people together.”

O’Rourke enters the stage during an era of division. The man he hopes to beat knows that well.

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

Trump might soon be issuing not one, but two vetoes.

The first has received a ton of attention. The president onThursday tweeted his intention to veto the Congressional resolution to terminate his declaration of a national emergency on the southern border. With his veto he will signal his intention to use money however he sees in relation to building barriers there.

Susan Walsh/AP

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., signs H.J. Res 46, a disapproval resolution that blocks President Trump’s national emergency declaration, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 14, 2019.

But the president soon may decide to issue his second veto, because that wasn’t the only bill Congress passed this week aimed at curbing his authority.

Wednesday, the Senate voted on a bipartisan basis to end U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the war in Yemen.

In both resolutions, Congress was trying to reclaim authority that they believe the president has stretched and abused.

The TIP with John Verhovek

O’Rourke may not think he has to be a “street fighter” to defeat Trump, but some Iowa Democrats who came out to see the former Texas congressman did not mince words when asked if denying the current occupant of the Oval Office a second term was their top priority.

Daniel Acker/Reuters

Attendees listen as Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, standing on counter, speaks during a campaign stop at a coffee house in Burlington, Iowa, March 14, 2019.

“F— yes,” Carrie Sherwood, an Iowa Democrat who caucused for Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016, told ABC News at an O’Rourke event in Fort Madison.

Jackie McVey, a Democrat from West Point, Iowa, who caucused for Hillary Clinton in 2016, told ABC News she was excited to see O’Rourke, but added he could only win “if he has that fight” and can “stand up to Trump without making it dirty.” After hearing O’Rourke speak, she was hesitant but optimistic he could become the fighter Democrats need.

“He definitely has the fight, but maybe it’s a different kind of fight … but it’s a race where anybody has a shot, and I could see him going all the way,” McVey added.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News’ “Start Here” Podcast. Friday morning’s episode features ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce, who analyzes the fallout after a dozen Republicans voted to rebuke President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

FiveThirtyEight’s Politics Podcast. Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke announced he’s running for president on Thursday. In this episode of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, the crew considers various arguments for how the Democrat from Texas could win — or lose — the nomination. He is entering an experienced field never having won statewide office, but his celebrity could allow him to gain traction in a campaign with 15-20 competitors. https://apple.co/2mKrhcF

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

President Trump meets with national security officials at the Pentagon at 11 a.m., then has lunch with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at 12:30 p.m. at the White House.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., hosts two campaign events in New Hampshire on Friday. On Sunday, she travels to Memphis, Tennessee.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., holds two campaign events in New Hampshire on Friday before spending the weekend in Iowa.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., returns to New Hampshire for the third time since announcing her exploratory campaign for president. She will participate in events throughout the state on Friday and Saturday.

Former U.S. Rep. John Delaney participates in several events in Iowa throughout the weekend.

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke continues a trip through Iowa with a live podcast at 6 p.m. central and other events through Saturday.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., spends the weekend in Iowa participating in several events.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., visits Nevada for the first time since launching his presidential campaign. On Saturday, he holds a rally in Henderson.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee continues his “Climate Mission Tour” in New Hampshire over the weekend.

Former Vice President Joe Biden delivers a keynote address at the “First State Democratic Dinner” in Dover, Delaware, on Saturday.

Download the ABC News app and select “The Note” as an item of interest to receive the day’s sharpest political analysis. Please check back Monday for the latest.