Woo Me, Wooyoung ~ WooLix

~ Chapter 15 ~

Felix

"See? I told you everything'd be okay! Now you don't have to worry about your sister anymore, we can just be together. We can really get to know each other, and go on dates, and-"

My excitement quickly turned into confusion as Wooyoung pulled away from me.

"Woo - w-what's the matter? Where are you going?"

I couldn't imagine what was wrong -- Wooyoung should have been bursting with happiness about his sister, but instead he was frowning and avoiding my eyes.

Suddenly, he collapsed in his chair and sighed, running his hands through his dark locks. I waited for him to speak again, but the silence stretched out endlessly. I was about to say something, if only to break the tension, when Wooyoung finally spoke; his voice was raspy, as if it were thick with ash.

"It's alright, you don't have to be my boyfriend anymore..." Wait, what?? My breath stuck in my throat, and a shockwave ripped through my body. What was Wooyoung saying?? "...So it's okay -- you can stop pretending to like me now."

My brain suddenly felt like it was imploding. The world spun around me, and I stumbled backwards, my foot catching on the chair leg. I fell, but luckily landed directly on the chair. I could have been on the floor, though, for all I knew.

I felt my limbs start to tremble violently, and out of sheer habit, I curled up in a ball, pulling my legs up and wrapping my arms around them. I knew what was coming next: the grotesque face of my inner demon would appear, leering at me as he came to claim my soul. True, he hadn't managed it yet, but that only made the chance of it happening more likely. I'd always been lucky in the past, but I didn't feel like luck was on my side today.

I stayed curled up for what felt like forever, my eyes squeezed tightly shut. But strangely, nothing happened. The space around me was completely devoid of menacing demons.

I cracked open an eye and peeked out hesitantly. Huh, I thought, maybe I did banish him last night, after all. Well, that's a first...

Once the terrifying prospect of the demon was out of the way, my mind returned to what Wooyoung had been saying. Why did he think I was only pretending to like him?? I had no idea, but I did know this: I had to tell him how I really felt, and make him see that my feelings were real. I couldn't bear the thought of things ending when they'd only just begun.

I slowly uncurled myself, relaxing my arms and placing my feet back on the floor. I wiped my eyes, the tension in my muscles finally dissipating. I looked across to where Wooyoung sat and saw him staring at me, shock and worry painting his face. He looked like he was dreading what I would do next.

I wanted to cry, to scream, to hide in my pillow and blanket fort for the rest of my life. But I loved Wooyoung, there was no use denying it, and I would walk over hot coals to be with him. Hell, I'd faced my inner demon and won -- what could be worse than that?

I was terrified beyond belief; not of a person or a thing, but of the possibility of losing Wooyoung. I was determined to be brave, though, so I opened my mouth and started talking.

"Wooyoung..." My voice cracked, but I kept going. I'd come this far -- I couldn't back out now.

"I'm not pretending to like you -- I never have! Why would you think that??"

I searched his face for some kind of clue, something to help me understand. He just stared back at me, though, not saying a word, so there was nothing I could do but keep talking.

"I like you, Wooyoung, I've liked you since the day I met you. ... You're the kindest, gentlest person I've ever known. After my mum died, I spent three months locked away from the world, because I was scared of getting hurt. I was still an emotional wreck, and I couldn't bear the thought of people making fun of me for crying in front of them.