phobia (sequel to insomnia) | stray kids ff

zone 17: lightning

[Every time a day felt slow, I prayed it'll go by quickly

But now I feel the opposite]

Felix's POV

The storm becomes stronger as the winds push the walls of the house and the roof shakes by the lightning. I sigh and look out the window and then back at Hyunjin who is asleep on the floor. District 9 is gone. I hear a tiny voice and feel a tug at my sweatshirt and look down to see Lucy who is half-awake. I widen my eyes, confused as to why she is awake at this time. I pick her up and place her on my lap.

"You should be sleeping," I whisper.

"I don't want to sleep," Lucy frowns and looks out the window, watching the rain fall onto the window pane. She rubs her eyes and looks at me. "Where's mommy?" I bite my lip and frown at her. I gaze out the window and see blue and grey.

"She's out there," I say. "She'll be back," I try to stay optimistic. Lucy purses her lips with uncertainty.

"That lady," Lucy says and I instantly think of Hana. "Who is she?" I sit silently as I try to think of the right words to say. How do I lie to a 4 four-year-old girl? Lucy frowns at my silence and crosses her arms. "She came out of nowhere, like the tooth fairy," I smirk at Lucy.

"She's more than a tooth fairy, Luc," I tell her.

"Those bad people, why did they attack us? Aren't we good people?" Lucy questions. I sigh and shrug.

"Sometimes good people have to deal with bad people because bad people need to be stopped. They need to be taught a lesson. They need to be educated," I explain.

"So what do those bad people need to learn?" Lucy asks. I carry Lucy and bring her back to the sleeping bag she was in before.

"They need to learn not to take what's not their's," I say and tuck Lucy into her sleeping bag.

"What did they steal?" Lucy asks.

"The tooth fairy," I say.

"The tooth fairy!" Lucy exclaims and I put my finger to my lips. I look behind me to see Hyunjin still sleeping. Lucy covers her mouth and realizes she was being too loud. "Do they have the tooth fairy still?" I pause and look at the ground.

"I don't know," I answer.

"Why would they want the tooth fairy? She collects teeth," Lucy says. I smile at Lucy's insight.

"She collects your fallen tooth and leaves a dollar under your pillow. What value would a tooth be to her?" I question. Lucy shrugs.

"Nothing?" Lucy answers.

"That's why they stole her," I say. "She's selfless and rewards those bad people while they give her old teeth,"

"The tooth fairy is cool," Lucy says with a smile. "Let's meet her again okay?" I nod and smile.

"Of course, Lucy," I start to feel pain as I say this. Is this how Hana felt when she saw her daughter? She doesn't even know who her real mom is. "We will meet her again, I promise," Lucy nods and then closes her eyes, falling asleep.

Changbin's POV

I hand Hana a warm cup of hot chocolate and sit beside her on the ground. She is staring out the window of the convenience store with a frown on her face and a blanket around her.

"Thank you," She says with a blank face and holds it in her hand. I look at her friends who are sleeping on the floor nearby. She sighs and takes a sip of the hot chocolate and places it on the ground. Thunder rumbles throughout the sky. "I'm sorry for bringing trouble everywhere I go,"

"What?" I question. Trouble? Hana is far from trouble. Why would she think that? "You don't bring trouble," Hana stays silent and nods.

"Things change over three years. People change," Hana says and looks at me. "You're the hero, not me this time. You killed SM," What is she trying to get at here? "And you did it with no zombie powers, no heightened hearing, super strength, super speed, none of that. People like SM kill to be like me, like Felix, like Hyunjin, like Wonpil, like Yeji but you don't really need the abilities we have to be a hero. I'm proud of you Changbin," I smile.

"Thank you, Hana," I say. I look at her friends and then back at her. "These three years have been rough without you Hana. I don't care if you think that we're better off without you because of what happened today cause that's not true. People change but us needing you in our lives will never change," Hana smiles a little and nods.

"I and Hyunjin changed," Hana frowns again and then looks at me. "Sorry if this is weird to talk about with you since..," I remember the feelings I developed for Hana when I first met her. I can see why Hyunjin was so depressed all this time without her. She was really a bright light in everyone's life, especially his. I laugh unconsciously and then cover my mouth, remembering the sleeping people near us. "I won't talk about it. You should go to sleep now anyway, it's really late," I shake my head and look out the window and see lightning strike from far away.

"We can talk about it," I reassure her. What her and Hyunjin have is unbreakable. "You guys changed individually but did your feelings for each other ever change?" Hana bites her lip and ponders deeply about this. She shakes her head and smirks.

"Not one bit," Hana says with hope in her voice. "Every time I look at him, a spark ignites in me like..," Lightning strikes again as if it was God's sign.

"Lightning," I finish her sentence, and Hana nods and smiles. I notice her eyes light up a little but then grow somber again.

"Do you think I was a good wife to him?" Hana asks me.

"Is that even a question? You weren't a good wife, you were his everything, Hana," I say confidently. "What you two have is unquestionable. I know it. Everyone else knows it," Hana sighs and looks back at her sleeping friends.

"Back at SM Town, I kissed Jaehyun," Hana reveals. "And the last thing I told Hyunjin was that before everything happened," Hana's eyes grow dark and weary.

"What happened after you kissed him?" I question.

"I- I thought of Hyunjin," Hana stutters. "Hyunjin popped into my mind and-"

"You couldn't stop thinking about him?" I ask and she nods. "Did you tell him that?"

"We don't even know where he is. We don't know where anybody is," Hana sighs. "Will I ever get the chance to tell him?"

"He found you before. He'll find you again," I put my hand on Hana's shoulder.

Hyunjin's POV

I wake up with a massive headache as I try to sit up. I smell smoke and immediately get up, alarmed. In the unfamiliar one-story house, I see Felix in the kitchen cooking something. I look down beside me and gaze at Lucy who is fast asleep. I smile a little at her beautiful face.

"You're awake," I hear Felix say softly.

"What happened?" I question. "Where are we? Where is everyone? Is Hana okay?" I hear silence from Felix and walk over to him. He places the meat on the plate.

"It's canned meat. I found it in the cupboard," Felix avoids my question.

"Felix!" I try not to raise my voice but I am desperate to know what happened and why I can't remember anything. We hear Lucy slowly waking up. "Where's Hana?" I ask sternly. Felix sighs and looks at me. He doesn't know. I can see it in his eyes. What happened?