"We become the monsters we're most afraid of."
---
"Jimin," she breathed out. "You're allowed to touch me."
His plump lips slightly parted as a gasp escaped him. "I-" he exhaled, his fingertips slightly grazing her cheek.
"I'm someone else tonight...
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Stuffing her phone back into her pocket, Meisa switched to a power walk, heading for the elevator with haste. Jungkook's call had caused a cluster of mixed emotions to explode deep within her chest.
On one hand, she was tremendously glad to hear that Aera had finally woken up. These past three days when the brunette had been unconscious for no apparent reason had been immensely stressful for all of them. A strangely ominous feeling hovered in the air and eerie silence dwelled upon the friends every time they were together. Jimin kept pacing through Aera's room like a silhouette of himself, his face a perfect picture of controlled sadness.
Why wouldn't this constant grief go away now? No one was dead or about to die, but Meisa still felt suffocated by a numb pain, unable to shake it off.
She had grown doubtful of even Taehyung, who had been the last person to witness a conscious Aera, and even suspected him of doing something to her. The black-haired man who barely fitted in their little group, with his odd and distant behavior and extremely short temper, was giving her strange vibes and the mint-haired girl was still struggling with trusting him.
On the other hand, the news that Yoongi had escaped only fueled her perturbation. Jungkook hadn't been exactly talkative on the phone, not offering her any details as to how it had happened, but she had a feeling this would only bring more troubles their way.
What truly bothered her, however, was her twin brother's sudden disappearance. Hobi was nowhere to be seen for two weeks now, and while this hadn't been exactly a rare occurrence back in the days when he was struggling with his alcohol addiction, right now it was rather worrisome.
It didn't help Meisa the fact that she had chosen to stay quiet about her brother's Powers, hiding valuable information not only from her friends, but from the love of her life, Jungkook, as well. Torn apart between protecting her significant other and the only member of her family she still loved and cared for, her chaotic and conflicted thoughts kept her awake at night and wouldn't let her sleep.
Fortunately, they had eventually found out about Hoseok's fire manipulation abilities when Jimin finally regained his memories from the night of the masquerade ball when Hyukjae and Yoongi had abducted him and compelled him to kill Aera. According to him, Hobi had been there, too. The information had left Meisa completely and utterly devastated. Why was her brother siding with that despicable bastard Hyukjae? Had he completely lost his mind?
She refused to believe that it was true. It had already been proven that there was a shapeshifter somewhere in the picture too, what if someone was simply impersonating her brother? This was the only thought that brought her any sort of comfort.
The subtle chime of the elevator startled her. She had already reached the last floor. The thought of seeing Jungkook soon caused relief to wash over her. It felt like an eternity since the last time she had held his hand. She desperately needed his soft skin gently cloaking hers like a warm blanket.
