Alone {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Fifty-Five

JISUNG NODDED, A BIT PUT OFF BY THEIR SUDDEN APPEARANCE. HE'D NEVER HEARD OF ANY CHAN before, nor did he recognize either of the two boys. "We're Minho's... friends," the second boy interjected, and the strawberry-blonde nodded gently.

"I'm Jisung, Minho's boyfriend." The boy next to Chan's eyes widened in recognition before his gaze softened. After their brief introduction, the strawberry-blonde went back to gazing upon his lover. He reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair from his face, but despite himself, he couldn't bring himself to smile.

"I'm sorry," Chan suddenly piped as he and Doyun slid into the seats across from him on the other side of the bed. "It's not your fault." The other boy shook his head gently, but it did little to help the guilt festering in Chan's heart.

"He talked about you a lot," Doyun said softly, a fond smile spreading across his face as he gazed at the unconscious boy. He'll pull through, I know it. Jisung looked up briefly, a sad smile toying at his lips. "Is that so?" he asked, and the eldest male nodded with a quiet chuckle.

Jisung felt as though he was going to break down again as a heavy silence weighed down on the room again. Why do the worse things always happen to the best people?

~#~#~#~#~#~

It was well into the night when Mrs. Lee suggested she bring Felix and Jisung home; they did have school the next day, after all. Felix and Jisung sat in the back of the car, waiting for her to emerge from the hospital doors since she'd forgotten her purse in Minho's room.

"Why did you lie, Felix?" he asked softly through bleary eyes. The younger boy's mouth opened and closed as he tried to come up with a valid reason, but there was none. He cast his eyes to the floor of the car as his hands tightened around one-another.

"I knew Minho wouldn't have wanted everyone to know he'd tried to... to kill himself. And I was so angry that I spit out the first thing that came to mind when people asked. I didn't think anyone would take it seriously. I mean, I told them he was part of a gang," he laughed bitterly, shaking his head as he turned to stare out the window.

"By the time I realized what it had done, I... I knew I had to fix it, but I was scared. For the first time people actually liked me. I was always that outcast kid who had one friend, until... until I got to high school. I didn't want to put that in jeopardy by revealing that I lied," he spluttered, wincing when Jisung's expression hardened.

"So you let Minho suffer for your reputation?" Suddenly, Seungmin's words came back to him. "Seungmin was right," he mumbled to himself, and Felix's eyebrows drew in confusion. "I'm sorry, Jisung." He whispered, and the strawberry-blonde boy turned to look out through the window, because even if he wanted to forgive his best-friend, he knew he couldn't. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

The tension between them was unbearable, and for the first time, Jisung didn't think they'd be able to reconcile.

~#~#~#~#~#~

He knew he was in trouble the moment he stepped foot into his house. Unfortunately, he really wasn't in the mood to deal with his mother. Or his father, it seemed, because both of his parents stood side-by-side, arms crossed, angry glares on their faces, waiting for him to return home.

"This behavior of yours stops now." His father stated, and Jisung only nodded; he was too emotionally drained to cause a scene with his parents. He turned away and began to walk up the stairs towards his bedroom, oblivious to the indignant scowls on his parents' faces.

He collapsed in his bed, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep. He knew that if he fell asleep, his deepest fears would come to life in the form of an all-too-real nightmare, and he couldn't afford being distracted by such things. Not now. Not when Minho needed him.

A/N: I somehow managed to hurt my ankle so it hurts every time I put pressure on it (it's manageable, but still a major pain in the ass), and I was supposed to go skating with my friends today :(((

I'm having major writer's block on Heartless -- that, or I'm too into finishing this story to think of a good plot for the other one XD so I think I'll finish this and then continue writing Heartless.

Q: What's a novel you're working on?

A: Well I've finally decided to try and start writing a piece of work I can get published traditionally (don't worry tho, I won't forget you guys uwu), because I was just struck with such inspiration. It revolves around the Zodiac signs, and a romance between one of the Zodiac and a human, and I'm explaining it so badly but I think it'll be a very fun and interesting project :3

Lots of love,

~Junnie