EMBERS • HAECHAN (Not Finished Yet)

Chapter 57

Gasping for air, my eyes shot wide open while I felt my own heart nearly jumping out of my chest. A few strands of my pitch black hair were sticking to my sweaty forehead as I continued to inhale and exhale desperately. 
Before I could stop myself, countless tears were already rolling down my cheeks as I stared at the white ceiling of my dark room.

I automatically pressed my freezing cold palms onto my wet face, bitter sobs leaving my trembling lips. My entire body shook uncontrollably, hoping that I would soon calm down again.

Yes, I had another one of my nightmares. Because of the nap I had had in the cinema yesterday, I first thought that I might be able to sleep peacefully during this night, but apparently this was not the case. Instead, I was lying here like every other morning, trying to deal with my own messed up feelings.

The only thought giving me comfort was that they were slowly but surely getting less bad so I was at least able stop my body from throwing the next best thing against my wall.

I stared at my ceiling for a long time, waiting for my hectic breathing to calm down and my salty tears to dry out before I finally dragged my lazy body out of bed. With a great lack of energy, I tried to get ready for school, not interested in my appearance in the slightest.

Instead I did it like yesterday and put on a skirt under which I attached a smaller knife to my thigh, just in case. 
I knew I shouldn't necessarily bring a knife to school, but since I was practically always dealing with NCT and SVT, no matter how hard I tried to avoid them, it seemed like a good choice.

Soon after, I strolled down the many stairs to the first floor, greeting my beloved friends who were having a peaceful breakfast together.

Third Person View

"There you are, I thought you were skipping lunch," the brunette student heard Renjun's amused voice,  being the last one to join their table during lunch.

"I had an important call with Taeyong," Donghyuck merely replied before placing his tray down and slumping into the empty seat nect to his gang members.

"What did he say?" Jisung raised his eyebrow, now interested in what their leader had to say while eyeing the older in curiosity.

For a short moment, Donghyuck wondered if he was really allowed to talk about the given information while Mina, Momo and Soyeon were sitting at the same table, but in the end, the information was quite useful for them too.
Sighing, he leaned forward and supported his head with his palm before he began to speak.

"He said he had been following SVT with a few others, but then unfortunately lost sight of them. Apparently they were supposed to be nearour school, so we should watch out and be especially attentive when going home later.

His gaze wandered to the female trio, focusing his eyes on them with a serious expression. The three looked at him in silence, the boys' conversation a lot more interesting than the math test they probably all failed.

"That goes for you, too," Donghyuck's rough voice sounded whereupon they nodded at him understandingly and thanked him briefly for the remark.

Everyone was aware that there was always trouble when SVT was around. You had to be really careful and make sure that you didn't attract attention, otherwise you could easily get into a deadly conflict with them. Just looking at one of them by mistake was enough and you would automatically be confronted by them and their aggressive attitude.

Soyeon was especially aware of it since she took it upon her to watch the little group and keep them safe, already decided to walk her two friends home today.

"Anyways," Donghyuck changed the subject, trying to sound so monotonous and indifferent that it became almost obvious. "Sunghee's not eating in the cafeteria again?"

A little smile crept onto Momo's face when she heard that one of the most feared people in the city was asking about one of her best friends. It amused her to see his eyes sparkling up in interests, his own cold facade breaking with the girl not even being present.
Momo, Mina and Soyeon had been dealing with them for quite some time now and it was pretty easy to notice that the seven of them were not like they were trying to show themselves.

"Actually she did, you just missed her," Jaemin replied to the question, leaning back in his seat smiling and running a hand through his cotton candy-pink hair.
"She literally shoved the food down her throat as if her life was depending on it."

You could hear Renjun chuckle as well, frowning at the mere images in his head while he bit at his own food.
"Did she chew at all?"

"I'd be surprised if she did."

Donghyuck would have loved to sigh, frustrated that he had unfortunately missed the quick-witted and strange girl, trying hard to prevent himself from doing so. Instead, he kept poking around in his food, listening to his friends' exchanges somehow jealous that they had spent time with her.

"Did she ask for me?" One of his eyebrows unconciously raised while the brunette student couldn't hide his own curiosity.

"Yes actually", Chenle also participated in the conversation, clearly visible for everybody that he was having a hard time surpressing his own laughter.
"I believe her exact words were 'How do I get him to leave me alone?'"

In the end, the younger one started snorting out loud when he saw the olders's expression drop, Donghyuck's lips pressing into a narrow line while inhaling deeply. Chenle's loud dolphin-like laughter made the others at the table grin and chuckle as well while the heads of the other students around them turned to their direction before observing their small group critically.

Even Donghyuck couldn't help but smile, realizing that the ten of them slowly but surely became friends the longer they were around one another.
He didn't expect it, but he felt a certain relaxation with them.

The only person left to join their group was Sunghee.

I'm sorry that it took me so long🙈 hope you liked the first chapter tho
I'm currently in an online class but it's so freaking boring so at least I edited the two chapters in the meantime 😂