CONNECT |Enhypen's 8th member|

Chapter Eleven: I&Credible

Daisy lay asleep with her head in Jake's lap. The two were relaxing in the living room, Sunghoon and Jay somewhat begrudgingly leaving them to be alone. They knew she would need time to bond and understand her relationship with their fellow 02 liner.

Everything was fine until she suddenly jolted awake, shooting up from his lap and hopping away from him. "Daisy?" he said, concerned by her odd behavior. "Are you okay?" Even as he asked the question, he knew she wasn't. Her entire body was shaking violently, her usual tan skin paled.

He got up to pull her into a hug and ask how to help, but she flinched away from his touch, retreating away from him before running to the bathroom. So, Jake did the only thing he could think of.

"Guys?" his voice softly rang as he entered the room where Heeseung, Jungwon, Jay and Sunghoon were hanging out. "I think you two should go talk to Daisy."

At the mention of their girlfriend's name, both boys hopped up. "What's wrong? Is she okay?"

"I-I don't know," Jake admitted, leading them out of the room. "She woke up suddenly and then jolted away from me when I went close to her. Did I do something wrong?"

Jay and Sunghoon exchanged a glance before going over to the bathroom and gently knocking.

"Jagi, it's us. Can you come out?"

They heard a small whimper in response, unable to see her shaking head on the other side of the door. "Can we come in?" Jay asked instead. There was a long pause before the door knob slowly turned.

The two made their way inside, shutting it behind them and frowning at her bloodshot eyes and red nose. "I-I had the d-dream," she whispered, sitting on the counter. Sunghoon instinctively went to hug her, but forced himself to stop.

"It's over," Jay gently reminded. "And it's never gonna happen again, okay?" She took a shaky breath, hesitantly reaching out for Jay's hand. He let her connect their fingers, making as much contact as she was comfortable with.

"Good," Sunghoon cooed, guiding her breaths with his own. Five minutes passed until she was relatively calm again, still barely holding onto Jay. "Do you know what triggered it baby?"

She bit her lip, eyes casting downward. "I think it was just doing all these new things with Jake...o-of course he didn't do anything wrong and he'd never take advantage of me like that, but...I guess it just...brought everything back."

None of them knew Jake was listening on the other side of the door, his heart splitting in two as he heard that he somehow caused her distress. He went downstairs to be alone, tears flooding his vision.

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After some water, a light snack, and time, Daisy felt okay again. She was still a bit flighty around the other trainees, but she resumed normal affection with Jay and Sunghoon.

"Where's Jake?" she finally asked. "I haven't seen him since...I'm sure I probably scared him." When the boys admitted they weren't sure, she started on her own personal mission to find the Australian boy.

"Hey," she greeted, opening the door to an empty room where Jake was laying down. "I've been looking for you."

"Oh," he softly replied. She moved to sit next to him, frowning as he scooted away.

"What's wrong?"

Jake gulped, his eyes watering. "I don't want to make you more upset." Daisy shook her head adamantly.

"No, no, Jake. You didn't do anything wrong. What made you think that?"

He fell apart, confessing he'd heard her conversation with Jay and Sunghoon. Her frown deepened, realizing he didn't understand what happened.

"Jake," she started, hesitantly cupping his cheeks with her small hands. "A long time ago, something awful happened to me. I was manic, and a bad person took advantage of that. I haven't done anything romantic with anyone since then except Sunghoon and Jay, and it took me a long time to feel as safe with them as I do."

She took a breath, willing herself not to cry. Not while he was the one who needed comfort.

"I have nightmares of that trauma sometimes, and it's not your fault. It's not because I don't trust you, or feel like you'd ever do that kind of thing. It's just still scary learning to be vulnerable all over again."

Jake sat quietly in shock and horror as she spoke, wishing he could take her pain away more than anything. She smiled sadly at him, wiping his tears.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. She shrugged half-heartedly, not wanting her trauma to be the focus of their conversation.

"Please don't feel bad that this happened, okay?" Jake nodded, letting her pull him into a warm hug they both desperately needed. With a flush, he briefly remembered her abs she'd shown previously.

"Hey...can I see your abs?"

Daisy flushed, giggling as she lifted her shirt slightly. His fingers gently traced the muscle, making her shiver slightly. "Pretty," he mumbled, pecking her stomach without thinking. His eyes met hers once more, and noticed how easy it would be to connect his lips to hers.

But after what she told him, he made a silent vow to himself. He would let her initiate all of their firsts, no matter what. Even if it meant they dated for five years before kissing, he wanted to prove she could trust him.

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"This is it," Daisy breathed.

They were about to perform the final test of part one. She was nervous, but felt an odd sense of calm. She had faith in her abilities, as well as her friends'.

Glancing over at Jungwon, she noticed he was especially nervous yet again. She walked towards him, pulling him into a hug. "Relax, Jungwon-ah. I guarantee you'll be fine, hm?"

"How can you say that so easily?"

"I just know these things," she said with a wink. "I know it was hard switching parts, but you made the smart call. That's a skill all in itself. Not to mention viewers love you. So relax and let your hard work do the talking for you."

Extra:

"Tell then what you saw earlier," Jaebeom suddenly said to Seon.

"You see that pillar?" Everyone nodded. "I saw a figure standing over there when everyone was practicing, but no one was there when I walked over."

EJ walked over to the spot, making Seon exclaim that that was exactly where he saw said ghost. "You don't seriously think it's a ghost?" Daisy teased, noticing all the boys on edge.

"You don't?" Geonu questioned.

"I don't," she responded calmly. "Don't get me wrong, spirits definitely exist. But it would take a lot of energy for them to manifest physically and let us see them. Usually, it takes an anchor of some sort."

"Why do you know these things?" Jungwon questioned with a nervous laugh.

"I watched a lot of 'Ghost Adventures' in America." She turned, finding a camera. "Shout out to Zak Bagans!"