Chasing Butterflies

Room For One More

Izzy stood in a state of shock, staring at the sleeping form of the same blonde girl that had fled this apartment two nights ago.

"What the hell did I tell you? Don't go in there," he yanked her back out of the bedroom and slammed the door. "Now do you want to tell me what you're doing here? I thought I dumped you," his arms crossed over his chest.

"I already told you. I'm here to get my stuff back," Izzy's fists clenched at her sides. Two minutes back here and this man was already infuriating her, as if the naked girl in the bed hadn't been enough of a slap in the face. Izzy wondered how she hadn't known about his cheating sooner, or why they didn't break up sooner.

"Oh we both know that's not the reason," a disgusting smirk creeped onto Youngkyun's face. Izzy narrowed her eyes at him, nails cutting into the palms of her hands.

"You know, you're right," she lied, sighing dramatically. "I came back for one reason only. I can't stop thinking about you. I can't sleep or eat. I can't live without you. Blah blah blah," her eyes rolled so far back in her head it felt like they might get stuck.

"Pull your head out of your ass. You made me give up my entire life and then you kept me in the dark for the next two years." Izzy stabbed a finger into his bare chest. "And now I come back here because I just want my stuff and you have the balls to think that I would actually want you back? I don't give a damn what unfortunate girl you're banging this week or the next. I'm just here to get my things and leave." Izzy shoved the bedroom door open; a sleepy and confused looking blonde was now sitting up on the bed.

"Babe, what's going on? Oh crap—"The girls annoyingly nasally voice sounded panicked at the sight of Izzy. Obviously she remembered the encounter two days ago.

"Go back to sleep, this doesn't concern you," Youngkyun sounded irritated.

"Doesn't concern her?" Izzy shrieked as the whirled back on him. "I waste two years of my life on you and one day I come home to you in bed with her and you think this 'doesn't concern her'? That's bull. It may not be her fault but it sure as hell has everything to do with you cheating on me with her. You don't even know how glad I am that you're out of my life." Izzy was seething mad. Rage filled every corner of her mind, pushing the fog out almost completely. If this guy hits one more nerve Izzy might punch him.

She stomped through the room and knelt down to dig around under the bed. Izzy pulled out a dusty black duffel bag and stood back up. She rushed to the closet, grabbing whatever articles of clothing she had there. The duffel began to fill with jeans, sweaters, and underwear as Izzy gathered up her essentials. As she was about to zip up the bag a piece of black fabric caught her eye and Izzy quickly stuffed it to the bottom of her duffel, along with the matching shoes that Youngkyun would now never get to see her wear. The jerk was still in the room, muttering to his new girlfriend about how annoying and irritating Izzy was. Well he wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine himself.

Throwing in the last pair of socks, Izzy zipped up the duffel bag with one angry pull. "I'm leaving," she announced. As she shuffled out of the room Izzy heard a muttered "finally" come from the bedroom. She scoffed at the infuriating man and walked out of that apartment for the last time, letting the door shut with a satisfying slam behind her.

Izzy stumbled down the stairs, not being very stable on her feet. She could feel the drug wearing off. DTM, whatever the hell it was, apparently didn't last very long. But then again, Izzy couldn't exactly remember how long she had been wandering around the city. Seconds and hours felt the same to her when she was on her trip.

She pushed open the building door, which surprisingly didn't squeak for once. Voices drifted around her. They sounded familiar. Those guys from the street? They were still here?

"So why was she sleeping in the railway anyways?" One of the voices outside the building inquired. The group faced away from her, giving Izzy the chance to listen in on a fragment of their conversation.

"Because I didn't have anywhere else to go." Izzy stood leaning on the building entrance, partly because she was eves dropping but mostly because she couldn't stand straight on her own. They stared at her with open mouths, obviously not expecting her to come out that quickly.

"I was staying at a friend's apartment and they sent me out to get beer. When I came back they were uh preoccupied. And loud," she mumbled the last bit. "And I didn't really want to be in there while they were—" she cleared her throat, looking anywhere but at them. "So I went out and I ended up falling asleep. That's why I was in the railway station."

They stood shocked. She couldn't help but notice, once again, how attractive they all were. It was slightly ridiculous and held up a long-harbored theory of hers that hot guys travel in packs. But again, she wasn't complaining.

"Now if you, a group of guys I don't even know, are done inquiring about my life, I'm going to go." Izzy hitched the duffel higher on her shoulder and began to walk away.

Hushed whispers erupted in her wake, no doubt about her. Why were these guys so interested?

"Hey wait!" Not again. Izzy blew out a heavy breath and stopped in her tracks. The strap of her bag was digging into her shoulder and it was starting to hurt. The high had worn off and she felt icky; the only word her cloudy mind could come up with to describe her current state. She wanted to sleep.

The group caught up to her, multicolored hair slightly disheveled. "Do you still need a place to stay?" The one with bleached hair queried.

Izzy cocked one eyebrow up at him. "Why?"

"Well um, it's just that," he fidgeted on his feet. "We know what it's like not to have a place to go. And if you need a place to stay, then we've got room for one more."

Izzy looked around at the faces that surrounded her. Grim features cloaked their faces; some stared down at the ground, others into space. But one of them, the boy now holding a turquoise leather jacket, was looking straight at her. His eyes wouldn't release her gaze, full of some emotion Izzy couldn't decipher. Those eyes didn't hold anything at bay. She tore her eyes away from his as a chill ran up her spine. Izzy realized now that she had failed to grab a jacket when she was raiding Youngkyun's closet.

"No, that's okay. I'm staying with a friend right now. But uh," she hugged her arms around herself, sniffling slightly from the cold, "Thanks." It was a hard word for her to say. It was difficult for her to show gratitude to these strangers who, for some odd reason, felt more comforting than her own friends, her own family.

"Um I'm gonna go now," arms wrapped tightly around her torso, Izzy started to walk away, again.

"Wait!" And she was stopped, again. Izzy was getting frustrated. These boys were nice but she really wished they would just let her walk away for once. Her duffel was lifted away from her shoulder.

"Hey! What are you—" a jacket was draped over her shoulders. Izzy stared down at the turquoise leather in shock. "Why—"

"It's cold out. Keep my jacket okay?" His voice was so soft that Izzy was only half sure that she actually heard it.

He was so close to her. Izzy couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. "Okay, thank you," she breathed out.

The orange haired boy flashed a smile at her, his eyes scrunching up cutely. "Any time. I hope we see you again—"

"Izzy. My name is Izzy," why the hell did she tell him that? She must still be stoned.

His smile grew even wider, if that was even possible. She couldn't deny how cute he looked when he smiled like that.

"I'm Jimin."