'wait, no, no, i can't die yet.'

heavy steps lead to increased panting as his footsteps grew speed, his vision not daring to look back. fear enveloped his insides, creeping up onto every vein and artery connected by capillaries all the way to his heart. his heart. it was beating fast. faster and faster with every single damn step he took.

taehyung took the chance of looking back. he regretted it.

his eyes widened as the ground collapsed behind him, eyes dilated with terror as his constricted breath kept catching in his throat. his footsteps weren't swift enough as the cracks along the ground were brisk with every crevice made, catching up to him with enough time for him to escape the breaks. it was almost like an endless loop for him, restarting his suffering every time with the amount of stress he had before slowly piling up into a spiral of danger.

he tripped. he doesn't know what he tumbled upon, but all he knows was that this was his last time being here as he felt his feet not feeling itself on solid ground- or, what was left of it, at least. he flailed around in desperation, not daring to look below him towards the endless void of darkness, not wanting to imagine what horrors would be waiting for him there, not desiring anything at this point except for-

"help!"

taehyung rose up from his bed, screaming in agony as he clutched his sheets so tight that his knuckles had risen to the color of pure white, compared to the natural golden tone he was graced with.

'fuck,' he thought grimly, wiping the sweat that subconsciously formed on his face with his arms. 'not again.'

a sudden ringing to his right shocked him, slightly jolting him up from his bed. he looked out to his window, spotting the moon that was high above the night sky, nestled between the sea of endless stars that always managed to captivate taehyung. he turned his attention back to the sound of someone calling him.

"hello?" his voice was groggy and deeper than usual, which wasn't necessarily a surprise since he just woke up from a terrifying nightmare that almost swallowed him whole, literally.

"dude, you sound like you just had a hangover or something. i'm coming over right now," jimin answered through the phone, a rustling noise in the background: probably a light jacket being put on.

"i'm fine," he panted out.

"you're panting, shut up."

"whatever. why'd you even call me in the first place? and how do you even know when to call me since i woke up?"

"i have my ways. now shut up and buckle up, buddy boy, because we're going for some damn fresh air. you need it."

"don't ever say that again."

"whatever you say, buddy boy."

"what the fuck."

~~~

"who's ready for some oxygen?" taehyung heard jimin yell through the other side of the door in the middle of the night as the former opened it with drooping eyes and a dreary mood, adorning a simple, white t-shirt with sweatpants.

taehyung wasn't in the mood to utter anything out from his mouth and into the crowded air, but jimin dragged him along anyways, bouncing around with the usual excitement always managing to bubble out from his voice. taehyung never knew or understood how he could achieve an ecstatic voice every day they conversed with each other, but all he knew was that it was jimin, and jimin wasn't the type to share secrets, after all. they walked throughout the night, with taehyung not phased by jimin's attempts to pour life into him. he didn't even pay attention to where they were going-

wait.

where were they going?

"hey, i thought we were going to the park-" he objected, but he was only met with a pointer finger to his lips and a shush.

"it's a surprise." jimin playfully winked at him, to which taehyung gagged at.

"you better not be taking me to a freaking convenience store or something, because ramen is not going to help right now." he nudged jimin's finger away from him, speaking with a retorting tone.

"as much as i want ramen- and trust me, you should hear my stomach right now- it's somewhere new. and they have really comfy pillows, so you can have sweet dreams all you want, buddy boy!"

"god, whatever," he sighed out, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to get the sleep off of him.

but, taehyung had to admit that it felt really nice to get some fresh air for once. being bottled up in his humble abode wasn't healthy, as much as he hated to admit it. he blamed it on him binge-watching anime seasons all night, but he knew that wasn't the case, unfortunately.

the crisp wind blowing in his face felt like a pillow all by itself, one in which he wanted to indulge in and never look back. shimmering stars always seemed to greet him with kindness wherever he stepped, not a single one judging him for what he was doing. and the moon, a revolving satellite that laid in the blanket of night, decked with a chatoyant, yet welcoming glow around itself only fascinated taehyung more with the vastness of dusk. it seemed as if he were surprisingly content with the rain not inviting itself tonight, an opportunity that presented itself in the rarest of moments.

"come on, stargazer. we're here." he felt a gentle tug from jimin slightly pull him towards an unfamiliar sight after what seemed like a journey of fantasizing.

it was a house; it wasn't magnificent, nor was it unimpressive. it didn't present itself as a mansion or an apartment, it was just a regular house that looked like a home for someone in taehyung's perspective.

everything after that felt like a total blur: a knock at the door, jeongguk's face appearing, him not being able to say anything from his moonstruck stature, a shove, and a closing of the door. only then did the closing of the door wake him from his trance.

"what the..." he murmured out weakly, feeling his eyes droop again from his heavy tiredness still burdening his body.

"whoa, whoa! uh, you okay, tae?" jeongguk yelped out, catching a weary taehyung from falling onto his floor.

'tae?' taehyung hummed in his mind, not comprehending what was going on. 'that's a nice nickname...'

"damn, you're really that tired, huh?" he scratched the back of his head, sighing in defeat as he was left with no choice. "you can sleep in my room, i guess." he cursed at himself for not getting a house with a guest room, but he couldn't really complain, after all.

"sleep?" he jolted his eyes open for a second from the word. "where?"

and thus began the (mini) adventure of jeongguk leading taehyung towards his room to go to sleep and not do anything stupid that could potentially raise his awkwardness levels by who knows how many times.

yeah, that last part totally happened.

~~~

im back from hell, did u guys miss me?? c: probs not cause no one even has this in their library anymore l o l cries in the corNer

but uh yeah !! since school is over and summer is here, you'll (MAYBE, AND THTS A BIG MAYBE) be seeing more updates ??? idk

i spent 4 hours watching videos instead of working on this oops ;;;;

this wasnt proofread bc im lazy so pls, if you see any mistakes, pls point them out whether theyre plot-related or grammar-related !! its very much appreciated <3

stan love maze u twats ily guys <33333