Her | ✓

Chapter 13 - Nightmare

Sooyun was walking through the snowy forest. She didn't understand why she was there. All she knew was that she needed to be there. There was something for her to find. Something important.

It was eerily silent. She felt odd. Like something was off. A scent hit her nose. A very familiar scent. A scent she had grown to feel enjoy, yet it was even stronger and more metallic.

What's going on?

Suddenly, she felt like running. Running and running as fast as she possibly could. Before she could stop to realize that want—that need, her feet were moving. The trees rushed passed her too quickly to comprehend they were even trees. The scent was getting stronger as she looked all around.

She was searching for something. What was she searching for? Doubts clouded her mind, but she kept running—kept searching for the unknown importance her heart was crying out for.

Then it hit her. The strong impact of the scent, the strongest she's ever felt, enveloped her in a tangle of emotions. She stopped running. It was there. He was there. Red. Blood. Blood everywhere. It made her sick. She couldn't breathe.

"No..."

She crouched beside him and could barely bring herself to touch him. Gaining the courage, she lifted the limp body into her lap, blood staining her clothes and skin. Sooyun began sobbing uncontrollably. She couldn't take it. Seeing him there without a drop of life in him...The sight made her want to die.

She wanted to die. She cradled him in her arms and cried out. Tears streaked her face like rain on a car window, her face red with anger and indescribable pain. She coughed and choked on her tears and his heavy scent.

He was gone. She couldn't protect him. She couldn't protect the one who gave her a smile. The one who made her feel special. She had lost.

"T-Tae...please...!"

"TAEHYUNG! TAEHYUNG, PLEASE NO! TAE-TAEHYUNG!"

It wasn't real. It' wasn't real. It wasn't real. It couldn't be real. Please.

"T-Tae!"

Sooyun's eyes shot open and she sprung up immediately in her bed. She was drenched in freezing cold sweat and her heart was on the verge of collapsing. Her heavy breathing infiltrated the room and tears spilled from her eyes against her will. That was the scariest thing she had ever experienced.

No.

The scariest thing was that it was the scariest thing.

Why did she have to care so much? Why did losing him seem like the end of the world? Then she got scared again. She hated this feeling. She didn't want it. She didn't want to care as much as she did. She didn't want to treasure the strange boy the way she did.

She didn't want to see him or his smile that hid the loneliness.

But she needed to.

She had to make sure he was alright. She had to make sure they didn't get to him.

She had to see his smile.

***

Taehyung slumped over his desk in exhaustion. Why he decided to stay up until 2 A.M. on a school night and work on drawings, he doesn't know. Something just wouldn't let him sleep. He was restless, but he was tired.

"Aaish..." He mumbled as his eyes started to droop. A loud thump shook him from the slumber he almost accomplished. He startled and turned towards his window, his jaw dropping.

"What the..."

He got up and ran over to where a desperate Sooyun was tugging and trying to open his bedroom window without breaking it. He blinked at her in shock and waved his hands. "Wait, wait! Hold on!"

He unlocked the window and slid it upwards, Sooyun immediately hopping in and approaching him. "Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! You're fine, right?! Tell me you're fine!" The anxious worry on her face and in her voice made Taehyung concerned himself.

"Wait, calm down. What's wrong? I'm perfectly fine!" He gripped her shoulders to hold her back. She was breathing heavily, her chest heaving. There was a flicker of red in her purple orbs as they stared up at the concerned boy.

"You're...You're really okay? Nothing's wrong?"

"Yes, I'm fine. A bit tired, but I'm okay. Now, how about you? Are you okay?" Sooyun took a few deep breaths before nodding.

"I just...I...I had to make sure. The pain from that dream felt so real and I couldn't-Oh my God...Shit..." Taehyung shook his head and rubbed her arms up and down, noticing that she wasn't properly dressed to venture out into the cold. Just how bad was it that she had to rush out immediately without grabbing a jacket?

"So, you had a nightmare?"

She nodded and sniffled. Taehyung wiped her face, sweat and tears having been there in the way of her beautiful features. He held her hand and led her to his bed, making her sit down.

"What...What was this dream about?" He sat next to her, still holding her freezing cold hand.

"You...I had found you...in the woods and...and...I couldn't take it. There was so much blood and you were just lying there dead and I..."

She shook her head as the horrible emotions started to return. Taehyung wet his lips and pulled her into a hug. Sooyun froze as she felt his warmth wrap around her small body. Her heart skipped several beats at the contact and a strange sense of security swept over her.

His scent entered her nose and made her feel all kinds of emotions. It was sweet and warm and she couldn't stop her arms from wrapping around his back. There it was. That feeling she hates. That feeling she loves.

"In case you were wondering," he whispered next to her ear, "I'm alive and well and holding you close."

Her hands gripped his shirt as she nodded. "Okay."

"It's okay. We're both okay." No, they weren't. They were in grave danger.

"Okay."

Taehyung pulled away and wiped her face once more before giving the best smile he could muster up to make her feel better. Sooyun looked around before asking, "What were you up to?"

She stood up and advanced towards the desk. Panic started to take over Tae's mind as he got up and tried to stop her from going over there. It was no use, though. She was a vampire. Her speed was naturally faster than his.

Taehyung didn't stand a chance.

Sooyun stared down at the desk. Awe. Shock. Confusion. Suspicion. These were the feelings she felt when she found them. The sketches. Taehyung stood behind her in embarrassment.

"These drawings...Why do you have these?"

She turned to look at him. "Why are you drawing pictures of me, Taehyung?" She demanded.

"I..." He bit his lip and scratched the back of his neck.

"Do you want the truth?"

"Obviously," she scoffed. Taehyung nodded and looked up into her eyes.

"I like you. Like...you know...romantically. I like you."

"You...what?" Sooyun felt something inside her burn. She didn't like it.

Taehyung flinched when he saw a flash of red over her purple eyes. She didn't look happy. She didn't look sad or pitiful or apologetic. She looked...pissed off. She released a low growl.

Yep.

Definitely.

She was pissed off.

Without anything else, Sooyun took off through the window just as fast as she had arrived. Taehyung sighed and ruffled his hair.

Well,

That went great.

CHAPTER XIII fin.