18| matchbox

"What happens now?" Changbin questioned nervously as his gaze drifted to the young boy's face.

His eyes were closed, and the raven haired boy would have thought him to be dead if it weren't for the shallow rise and fall of his chest as his rugged breathing became level again.

"We wait," Seungmin replied gravely.

"That's all we can do."

The redhead exited the room, figuring that Changbin wanted to be alone with Felix for the time being. The raven haired boy was at a dead end as far as he could tell. Felix's chances of living were slim to none; and Seungmin had said that himself. The only chance that the Australian had at living was if the Lykyde hadn't seeped into his bloodstream. However, when Seungmin removed the chip, it was clear that it had split open, because the redhead had to pluck it out in three separate pieces. There was no way to tell if he was going to live or die until it happened. It was a guessing game; even to someone as brilliant as Seungmin.

Changbin slid under the covers, gently cradling Felix's head in his arms. The tears just wouldn't stop, and he felt completely and utterly hopeless. It was then that he realized he'd missed the chance to do and say so many things. The raven haired boy breathed in deeply, letting the younger boy's scent fill up each and every one of his senses.

"You messed me up, Felix," he whispered, holding the Australian closer and he spoke aloud.

He didn't know if Felix could hear his words or feel his touches, but he was going to say his peace either way. He was just praying that his words reached the younger boy's ears.

"I thought that I would always be alone. And I was okay with that. The thought of wasting away without anyone to really care for me was normal. I didn't need to dwell on anyone but myself. Until I met you, I didn't know what it was like to have anyone care for me. But you did. I tried so hard to push you away so that I wouldn't become attached to you. I knew something like this would happen...I just knew it. One way or another, you were going to be taken from me, and even though I knew it would happen, I let myself get close to you. And I'm sorry."

Changbin sniffled once more.

"I'm dangerous. I wanted to tell you earlier this morning, but...But then Crimson Vector ambushed us, and I just...I never got the chance. And, I'm not sure if you can hear me or not, but I'll just hope that you can. Because I really did want you to know about all of this. I wanted to tell you everything."

Changbin had to pause for a moment or so in order to take a deep breath and collect his thoughts.

"I thought about telling you after you saved me that day, but I just thought that if you knew I came from them, the people that tried to kill you, that you'd hate me. It was selfish of me to hide the truth from you in order to keep you close to me, but I was scared of you hating me and thinking of me as a monster. I just wanted things to stay the same. But, even though I didn't tell you everything right away, things didn't stay the same. Everything started changing really quickly. Hyunjin got injured, Seungmin kept asking a bunch of weird questions...Relationships got strained and put to the test; but I just wanted us to stay friends."

Changbin really, really hoped that the younger boy could hear him.

"I really did plan on telling you. Things just didn't go right. But you asked me questions on the roof, and I just wish that I would have given you a clear answer instead of telling you that things were complicated. And they are complicated. They'll always be complicated. But I thought that I'd have the time to explain things properly once Osiris retreated, and I never thought that things would end up this way. I knew that something bad would happen, but I didn't think things would take such a drastic turn that quickly. I thought I'd have time to explain things. I didn't think I'd be losing you...At least, not like this."

He was having a hard time keeping it together, but Changbin had to remind himself of the heart beating in Felix's chest. The older boy was holding the younger so closely that he could feel the Australian's heartbeat, and if he listened closely enough, he could hear it. He knew from past experience that it was slower than it normally would be, but it was beating. With that in mind, the raven haired boy readied himself to talk about the past. The same past that he wanted to bury six feet under.

"My parents were the first leaders of Crimson Vector," Changbin cringed at his own words, because he'd never said that out loud before.

"They were mentally ill; both of them. My father was schizophrenic, and my mother had severe paranoia. Or, that's what everyone told me, anyway. I don't really know for sure if it's true, but it makes sense. If they were sick, it doesn't make what they did was okay, but...It makes me less inclined to hate their guts, and I just want to be at peace with them. I am at peace with them. I got past them a long time ago, actually. Anyway, the both of them were extremely smart. They'd developed a series of injections, pills, the whole works, that would make it possible for the test subject to be able to control their own blood and harness that power in order to use it as a weapon. But, my parents didn't mean for any of the information to be given to anyone outside of their research facility. Or, that's what I like to believe."

One more deep breath.

"They never tested on anyone but themselves. The two of them were never actually successful in their research though. Neither of them could ever control their blood. But, despite the fact that they were obsessed with their research, they had me. But I never got to meet them. Osiris, who's the current leader of Crimson Vector, took me away as soon as I was born. It was a home birth, so there was no hospital involved, and technically, I'm not even a real person. In the eyes of the government; I don't exist. Osiris worked for my parents as they did their research, and he took advantage of them in every way. He manipulated them. The only problem he has is narcissism, so he could easily trick them into thinking things. They were sick, after all."

Changbin felt his chest clench. He was just worried that on the off chance that Felix really could hear him, that the younger boy thought he was sick...Just like his parents. Sick. Just like Osiris.

"After he took me away, Osiris killed my parents and became the new leader of Crimson Vector. When my parents were the leaders, it wasn't an organization; it was an experiment. But after Osiris took control, he turned it into something much more sinister. He began to recruit people, mostly families and married couples. If there's one thing that he's good at, it's being a pathological liar. He's a convincing one as well, and he's a persuasive person, so people didn't have any problems going along with him. The first year was spent conditioning them to be loyal to Crimson Vector, but most importantly, to be loyal to him. During that time, Osiris took my parents notes and began testing on me. The scars that you saw on my arms...They're from incisions made by scientists that would pump things into my veins in order to test on me."

Deep inside, there was a part of Changbin that secretly hoped Felix wasn't able to hear him. As badly as he wanted to explain things and help the younger boy understand him, he also didn't want Felix to think he was a monster. But even Changbin himself thought he was one, so he knew that if Felix did begin to think that way, he wouldn't be able to blame him.

"I've got scars everywhere, though, they're mostly faded by now. You can still see them when you're close up, but they're not that noticeable from far away. But, I never wanted anyone to ask about them because I wasn't sure how to explain them. That's why I wear long sleeves all the time. I can hide everything under clothing and nobody will look at me funny or stare at me. But Felix, even after you say my arm, you never asked questions. You never looked at me funny. You never changed the way you spoke to me or acted around me...And, for that, I'll always be grateful."

Though he didn't realize he was doing it, Changbin held the younger boy closer. Felix was cold to the touch; not because he was dead, but because his body temperature was still low.

"The day I discovered my telekinesis, I killed someone. He was one of the four main scientists that tested on me all throughout my childhood. I didn't mean to. I didn't even know what I was doing. I didn't even know that it was me who'd done it until after he was gone. I jammed his pen into his neck. I didn't mean to, I really didn't. It was an accident. But he was coming at me really quickly, and that day, they were trying to purposefully give me hypothermia, so I couldn't properly fight back against four adults. I was only thirteen, so when I saw the man die I just...I freaked out. A few days later, Red showed up. She told me that she was going to take me somewhere else; somewhere I could be safe. Supernova still wasn't a thing back then though. Her family took me in, and they raised me, but I was still afraid that they'd hurt me, so all I did was sit in my room and hide away. But, when Red met Woojin, they decided to start Supernova. That's why the two of them are considered the first official members. It took a lot of convincing, but I decided to join too, after about a year or so. But Red thought it was best for me to keep my identity a secret. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about how I have relations to Crimson Vector, and they were never supposed to find out that I'm a member."

Though the tears kept coming, Changbin kept speaking, knowing that he'd have to explain things to Felix one way or another. It was the only thing that would clear his conscience.

"But Osiris saw me today, and Crimson Vector is probably going to be plotting our deaths from now on. And it's all because of me. So, even if you make it, you'll be in constant danger because you're with me. You're my partner. And I'll never be able to say how sorry I am for putting you through all of this. You're the last person on the face of the planet that deserves to be forced to be with me, and I'm sorry that I've done this to you. I never wanted to hurt you, Felix. If anything, I wanted to be the one to keep you safe. I really did think that I'd be able to protect you...But I failed. I'm a miserable failure, because you could die at any moment, and if you do I'll never be able to forgive myself because I know that it's all my fault. I failed you as a partner, and as a friend, and I'm sorry. I wish that I could fix things. I wish that I could turn back time, because I'd have left Supernova a long time ago. You deserve a place on this team. I don't. You deserve your life. But I don't. If I could trade places with you, I want you to know that I'd do it in a heartbeat. If I could take all your pain and put it on myself...I would. But, I can't."

With tears streaming down his face, Changbin ran his hand through the Australian's hair, gently pulling his face upward to kiss the younger boy's forehead tenderly.

"I'm sorry for failing you as a partner, and for not being able to protect you. And I'm sorry that I'm touching you like this, because I know you probably hate me now, but I promise I'll just do it for a little bit longer. I'll let you go in a few minutes, but for right now, I need to keep you close. It's selfish, and I know that it's selfish; but I can't help it. I need this, and I promise that after this moment, I'll never lay my hands on you again."

Changbin counted slowly. When he finally reached a prolonged number sixty, he slowly removed his arms from around Felix, and he left the younger boy to sleep. Frankly, the raven haired boy couldn't have cared less about whether or not Felix hated him. He only cared about the brunette's life. As long as he knew that Felix was alive, that was enough for him. The Australian could take his life if he wanted to, and Changbin would simply be okay with that, as long as Felix was okay.

The raven haired boy made his way to Seungmin's bedroom. He knocked on the door, cringing at the silence that had fallen over Supernova's hideout.

"Who is it?" Jeongin's voice called out weakly.

"Changbin."

The younger boy glanced over at the redhead, and Seungmin paused before making his way over to the door. He opened it, revealing a puffy eyed Changbin who looked horrible after hours upon hours of non stop tears. Any doubts that Seungmin had about the raven haired boy vanished into thin air right then and there. The redhead had had his suspicions about Changbin, and that was obvious. He didn't know if the raven haired boy was evil, or if he was playing all the members of Supernova, or if he was using Felix...But after seeing the impact that the Australian's state was having on him, Seungmin just knew that there was no way Changbin could be bad, no matter where he came from.

"Come in," Seungmin said quietly, stepping aside so that the raven haired boy could enter.

Jeongin was just as shocked as Seungmin was to see that Changbin had obviously been crying. The young boy made his was over to the raven haired boy, slipping his arms around his neck. Normally, Changbin would have pushed Jeongin away and stormed out of the room for attempting to touch him like he was. But, in those fragile moments, the older boy wanted nothing more than a bit of comfort, so he hugged the younger boy back, and closed his eyes tightly as tears made their way down his cheeks.

"It'll be okay," Jeongin said quietly.

But Changbin wasn't so sure. He hoped that it would be, but there was really no telling. Finally, the older boy let go, and the raven haired boy wiped the backs of his hands across his under eyes in order to stop the tears.

"Did you find anything?" Changbin croaked out, his voice sounding hoarse and gritty.

"Nothing useful," Seungmin replied.

"But, you might be able to understand things better than me since you've been there. Do you want to take a look at the information?"

Changbin nodded, and Seungmin led him over to his bed.

"It's all in here. I'm pretty sure that I've gone over everything, but you're more than welcome to take a look for yourself."

The raven haired boy opened up the file, and immediately his head began to spin a bit.

Is that...Me? He wondered as he picked up the pictures.

Seungmin's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, I forget those were in there. I'll throw them away-"

"How long have you known?" Changbin asked quietly, cutting the redhead's sentence off.

"I've had suspicions for about six days, but when I heard Crimson Vector's leader address you by your name this morning, that's when I knew for sure," Seungmin replied.

"That day that you hugged Felix in the backyard...You told him about me, didn't you?" Changbin accused.

"What? No, of course not! I didn't even know back then!" Seungmin defended.

"Like I said, I didn't know until today. I thought that the pictures reminded me of you, but I wasn't sure. I didn't tell anyone else. I didn't even show anyone else the file!"

It had slipped his mind that he'd shown Minho on the day Hyunjin got injured.

"You showed Minho. That's why he's been looking at me weird. And you've known for a lot longer than a week, Seungmin! You can't fool me. You've been looking at me strange ever since Felix showed up! You might think that I didn't notice, but I did. You've been watching us, and you've been doing it because you think I'm some horrible person! Well guess what, I'm not a bad person. I'm not a monster."

He wasn't trying to convince Seungmin that he wasn't a monster; he was trying to convince himself of that. Changbin's anger wasn't really directed at Seungmin per say. He was just angry in general. He was angry that his parents brought him into the world to begin with. He was angry that those people hadn't just killed him while he was being experimented on in the labs of Crimson Vector. He was angry that Osiris was still alive. But most of all, he was angry at himself for not being able to protect his partner, because he knew that it should be him on the brink of death; not Felix.

Seungmin reached out to touch Changbin's shoulder, but the raven haired boy didn't like that touch. He hadn't minded Jeongin's, but now it was a different story.

"Don't touch me," Changbin growled in a low voice.

The only reasons that the raven haired boy wasn't screaming at Seungmin to get away from him were one; because the redhead knew more about the general wording of the file, and two; he didn't want to yell anymore. His throat was sore enough as it was.

"This sentence," Changbin pointed.

"What does it mean?"

Seungmin read the words and immediately replied.

"It's saying that the effects of Lykyde can be reversed if the blood of a Human Vessel is injected into the wound."

"I saw that too, but it won't help us. Crimson Vector is probably waiting for us to strike back. If we go to their headquarters now, there's no telling if we'll even come back out alive," Seungmin warned.

"You have means of drawing blood, don't you?" Changbin questioned as he looked the redhead dead in the eyes.

"Well, yes, if anyone in Supernova needs blood work done after an illness or something along those lines, I do it. But Changbin-"

Once again, the raven haired boy cut Seungmin off in the middle of his sentence.

"Come with me. You have to help me save Felix."

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