haunted // nct.dream [1]

{One Year Later}

         
     My alarm clock beeped obnoxiously. I slammed my hand down on the snooze as someone plopped down on my back.

     "Jisung, not again," I groaned. "Are you going to do this one every single one of your birthdays?"

     "Say it, Hyunji!" Jisung demanded. He wiggled around excitedly. "I'm not letting you get up to get ready for school until you do."

     "How are you not still five?" I jokingly asked. I rolled my eyes, even if he couldn't see. "Happy sixteenth birthday, Ji."

     "Now, was that hard?" Jisung asked, rolling off of me. I laughed, messing up his hair as I sat up. "I'm hoping for cake this year."

     "Right, right." I nodded my head. "Of course, the birthday boy needs his cake. We were just a little caught up last year to get you one."

     "Yeah, busy almost dying."

     Last year's events were hard to hide. We tried our best, making the excuse that probably some squatters were messing around in the house since it's easy to enter. Drunk and high kids do crazy things, like tear a giant hole in a wall. Although, that didn't explain the dead body that fell victim to the spirit's ways. We showed our innocent faces and pretended to be horrified by the fact that it was there.

     However, the fact that we weren't at Jaemin's that night spilled since our parent's ended up calling Jaemin's mom, asking if they could drop a cake off for Jisung. We had to explain that after the "movie" we went laser tagging, which the laser tag part was true, but pretty much everything else wasn't.

     I plugged my phone into the aux cord, about to turn on my playlist, but Jisung fake coughed. I sighed, taking the hint and handing it over to him defeatedly.

     I met up with my friends at school, which also now included Jisung's as well. Haechan slung an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer.

     "Hey," Mi-Cha started talking to me, Haechan, and Jaemin. "Does anyone else find it weird that we all share February fifth as the day we started dating, as well as it being Jisung's birthday?"

     "I try to ignore that fact," I answered, cracking a smile.

     After school, we all met back up at mine and Jisung's house. Even Johnny and Ten. They both attend college not that far from home, so they were able to make it for some on the weekend. The more I got to know Ten, the more I liked him. He was perfect for Johnny. I couldn't be happier for them. Johnny confronted me about how sorry he was for snapping that night and being so cold. I could understand, it was a stressful night.

     Haechan ended up carpooling home with me and Jisung. As soon as we got there, I started to make a special cake for Jisung. Haechan tried to help out, but we always got off on a tangent with cake batter or frosting wiped on each other's faces. I told him to sit and wait. Of course, me saying that is just going to encourage him more to do the opposite.

     First to arrive was Mark, Jaemin, and Jeno. Jueun brought Mi-Cha and Hana, while Johnny and Ten drove together. Chenle and Renjun were last to arrive, Chenle claiming that they were just being fashionably late. Renjun told us that it was because Chenle still had to buy a gift for Jisung.

     "Chenle," Jueun laughed, "why am I not surprised?"

     Chenle's dolphin giggles escaped as he shrugged.

     Jueun talks about Chenle all the time now, which surprised me that she would take up interest in that kid. Jueun claims to be too nervous to do anything about it, but I think she needs just a little push.

     The same situation is happening between Hana and Jisung, except Jisung now knows that Hana likes him. I know Jisung, obviously. He's an awkward kid, and so is Hana. I'm sure it'll happen eventually since they are clearly into each other.

      As the day got later, we all ended up in the basement, getting ready for a Dance Dance Revolution battle. We drew names for the bracket. New people facing each other, yet somehow, Jisung and Hana ended up being the two to battle for first place.

     Hana's steps seemed off, and she missed a few times. This isn't like her. The final scores added up, and Jisung came first by a landslide.

     He stood there, staring at the screen with shock as Johnny took five dollars from Mark out of a bet they made.

     "Good game," Hana held out her hand for him to shake. Jisung shyly took it, smiling.

     "It was an honor," he replied.

     Hana took a seat down next to me.

     "You let him win, didn't you?" I whispered to her.

     She nodded with a big grin. "Yes, I did. I would never actually lose a game of DDR, heck nah."

     I chuckled.

     Our night ended with us sprawled out on the floor, just talking. Our conversations went off into the weirdest corners, but it somehow crawled to the topic of what happened last year.

     "If it wasn't for Chenle," Jueun began, "we might not be here, celebrating Jisung's sixteenth birthday."

     Chenle sat up straighter, seeming to feel a confidence boost.

     "Last year was an experience I'll never forget," Johnny added, shaking his head.

     "I could've ended up like that guy in the walls," Jisung said. He shivered at the thought.

     "We all made it though." I brushed back my hair from my face, leaning against Haechan. "It was one heck of a ride."

     "Yeah," Mark huffed a laugh. "That was a long ass ride."

(A/N): It's over! It's actually over! Ahh, I need to give a big sigh, and mark it as complete. Also, if anyone is good at making covers, and want to make a new cover for this story, that would be amazing. I hope all of you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I also have some exciting news if you did like it...

I may have sequel ideas already brewing in my head ^^