Will You Find Me?

Three

          The sound of synchronized scraping catches my attention. I have been woken up by this stupid scratching three nights in a row this week and it's driving me insane. Could it be a squirrel in the ceiling? Roaches trapped in the cupboards? A dead man's heart beating hauntingly under the floorboards? Getting up with a sigh, I follow the sound, trying to figure out just what that sound could possibly be. On the way to the stairs, I pass by Jungkook's door and I hear him groan and roll over, his sheets shuffling around him. I hope he doesn't wake up, the boy spends his days pestering us and jumping all over the place so I'm sure he's tired. The thought makes me smile as I make my way down the stairs.

          "Hyung, how long have you been awake?" My voice comes out hushed as I walk into the dimly lit room. His eyes snap up at me and I feel my heart start to palpitate as he speaks in an almost detached voice that isn't quite his own.

          "What does the clock say? Numbers uncover everything in the end." Numbers? What do numbers have to do with anything? A chill slithers up my bones, pushing that last thought away as I notice his fingers. He's working on that damn bedpost, digging a pit that's gotta be as deep as the width of my thumb. What the fuck...

          I look up at the clocks on his wall and take a deep breath. Each face frozen on an old lie. 1:48 am. 12:21 pm. 3:15 pm. Ahh, here we go. We have a live one. "2:47 am.. Hyung, are you okay? I can't help but notice his shoulders twitch. "You haven't slept again, have you?" The scratching sound that was once faint has now filled my ears and engraved itself into every twist and turn of my brain. Creating an audible itch, almost. I need to stop him before this gets out of hand. Slowly, I lower myself down next to him with my hand resting on his wrist, the connection making him flinch. My heart breaks at this. I can't help but take this to heart. I've always been here for him, so why is he so skittish around me right now?

          "Hyung?" A sigh leaves my lips as I give up. There's no way he's going to cooperate with me in this state. Before I can ask anything further, his eyes once again slash into me, making me jump out of my skin when he turns to me.

          "I'm fine, Jiminie." Hearing him call me that name with that smile sliced from ear to ear makes my skin crawl and my blood turn to slush. The smile is almost alien and horrific. Is this really what he is like after we all go to bed? Is this really what seclusion does to the mind? I need to leave before he does anything. "Although the question is.. Are you okay?" He asks as I slowly get to my feet, his fingers swiftly slither around my wrist. His tight grip causing my breath to open my throat like a sharp blade. I wouldn't be surprised if my reflection showed my blood spilling out onto my clothes and onto the slick wood floor.

          "Of course I'm okay. You uh... You should really get some sleep." MY words only make him grip tighter. What has gotten into him? "Hyung, let go." An acute burning sensation starts to set my bones ablaze. I swear that if he doesn't let go, my wrist might actually snap. "You're hurting me, let go!" With a swing of my arm, I wrench away from his grasp, a deep red hand print left behind. Not only that, but blood from his fingerprints painted horrific stars across my skin.

          "Hyung." My voice cracks and my face lights up like the pits of hell. "Get some sleep before I force you to." Without any further words, I make my way to the door and start for the stairs. I can't be around him like this. What if he hurts me beyond fixing? They say that the night changes people but that was different. Hyung is usually so bright and beautiful. But whatever the fuck that was in there was not who I want to live with. It was like a wire had been cut in his brain, causing a sick chemical reaction to make a monstrous soup out of his brain matter.

          As I head back up the stairs, I hear Jungkook's tired voice asking for me. I pretend like I can't hear him. The solid scraping from Hyung's room once again begins to reverberate through the skeleton of this house again. The sound collaborating with the metallic ticking of the clocks downstairs in his old cramped room.

          "Hey, are you okay?" I ignore him. "Hey, stop. What the hell happened down there?" I shrug him away and I can tell I've hurt him.

          "Go back to bed." My response is short and sharp. I'm not in the mood for this. "I'll be fine. Leave me alone." I leave it at that and keep on walking but after a second I can hear him following after me. "Kook..." Giving up, I continue down to my room.