I was scared..

Scared to fall asleep and to be surrounded by lilacs when I open my eyes again.

Or to wake up in a blood bath, like I always do in my dreams.

I'd rather be an insomniac than to go through my nightmares again.

I had my knees dragged up to my chest, hugging them with my frail arms that looked paper white in the pale moonlight which was falling through my wide opened window.

I was sick and I knew it, but I didn't know what I could do against it, knowing that I'd never be able to rest, even if it would mean the death of me.

A harsh gust of wind let my window rattle against the wall, causing me to jump up startled, hurriedly wanting to close it, when a faint noise caught my attention.

Was it... music?

I leaned forward, out of the window to maybe spot where it was coming from.

Holy shit

It was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard, quiet and far away, but most definitely there and more luring than anything I've ever heard.

"Flower?!"

I choked when my eyes, that had been lifted in search of the melody's source, finally dropped down onto the street in front of me, where - guess what - Hoseok was standing, looking up at me in utter surprise.

"What the fuck, Hoseok." I hissed out, not happy that this sword carrying idiot was standing right in front of my house.

He smiled at me apologetic, "How was I supposed to know you live here? I was just about to go to the dance."

"The dance?" I echoed dumbly, still not believing that this guy, my guts were of course seeing as a threat, now actually knew where I lived.

"You don't know what I'm talking about?" Hoseok looked at me in what seemed to be pity when I shook my head. Then his face lightened up.

"Then I'll show you!" He grinned up at me, reaching his hand out towards me with a confident expression.

There was no fucking way that I'd climb down there now.

"No." I answered without hesitation, tugging at my way too large shirt, which was the only thing covering me from the cold.

The boy had the audacity to roll his eyes, now also lifting his other arm, "C'mon Flower, you can't miss out on the dance. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about."

I hated my dumb ass for this but my curiosity spiked up at his words, causing me to lean further out of the window, "We're not having this kind of relationship where you can just come over at fucking 3am to take me out to some mysterious dance."

Hoseok chuckled, "Forget your damn trust issues for once and just come with me - it's actually just around the corner. We won't be doing anything dangerous."

He still had his arms outstretched towards me, seeming confident that I'd eventually give in.

And honestly? Normally, I wouldn't have. Not with a stranger as shady as him. But the mere fact that it was him changed so much.

Was he a stranger? Definitely. But he also was the first person to not only know how I felt, but to be able to actually help me. Never did I meet a person who did either of it.

Hoseok was different that anyone other.

That's why I gave in.

I swung my legs over the windowsill, feet dangling in the air for a moment, hesitant, before an encouraging smile of Hoseok made me push off the furnace and fall - literally - into his arms.

I felt a wave of weird excitement wash over me when he caught me with a huff, grinning down at me cheekily, before gently setting me back down onto the floor.

It was insane, really. I had done this - sneaking out in the middle of the night - a thousand times before, and had never felt the same thrill that was sparking through me while the older boy grabbed me by the wrist and started dragging me with him with an exhilarated expression on his handsome face.

Only now did I realized that the beautiful melody I had been hearing earlier was getting louder and louder the further we distanced ourselves from the house. Until we stood in front of a-

-a cemetery.

Because of course it had to be a fucking cemetery.

Fuck you, stupid ghost story clichés.

But unlike usually the cemetery wasn't a dark and scary place, no, tonight it was illuminated by hundreds of white lights gliding through the air, illuminating couples dancing over the graves in fancy clothes from all time periods, the enticing melody pulling me in its spell.

We stood in front of a timeless scene that looked like straight out of a novel.

I was aware of how the couples dancing were in fact ghosts, but for once I wasn't afraid of them, but saw the melancholic beauty that these people held within.

Hoseok watched me from the side, soft smile tugging on his lips when I turned my face towards him, fascination probably evident in my eyes.

He reached his hand out towards me delicately, bowing playfully, "May I?"

I tried to cover up my laughter with a snort, endeared by the man in front of me.

"Of course." I retorted equally playful, laying my hand inside his, letting him lead me onto the cemetery.

Immediately, the ghostly yet beautiful music wrapped around me like a comforting blanket, my body moving on its own accord when I put my arms around Hoseok's neck, feeling his hands rest on my sides.

We started swaying slowly, in the rhythm of the melody, what was weird, considering that I didn't even know how to dance. The music seemed to lead me, my body giving in easily, when I felt these strong arms hold me.

This all felt so intimate. But my frazzled brain wasn't able to catch up on it, usual warning signs being like a dull background music to the already calming tunes.

"Why are they dancing?" I mumbled, eyes wandering over the couples that shone silvery in the ghostly lights.

"No special reason." Hoseok answered, eyes also scanning over the dancing ghosts, "They do sometimes, if they feel like it."

"That must be nice, if you ask me." I muttered, words slightly slurred, tiredness creeping into my bones after an eternity of being on alert all of the time.

"Being dead?" The dark haired asked scoffing.

"No!" I sighed, "I meant like, .... dancing whenever you feel like it."

He huffed out a quiet laugh, "What stops you from doing so, too?"

I looked up at him, "I don't feel like it very often."

We were silent after this, slowly dancing to the coaxing tunes, letting them lead and form our bodies however they wanted to.

I didn't even feel the cold on my bare legs.

"Hoseok?" I spoke up again after some time, his eyes finding mine lazily.

"Hm?"

"You know where I live now, right?"

He sighed, "I'm sorry for that."

"Is' okay." I mumbled, tiredly, "But now you have to tell me something about you as well. I don't know anything 'bout you."

A small smile tugged on his lips, "Course. What do you wanna know?"

"uhm..." This was definitely too much thinking fo my mushy brain, "How 'bout you start with your age? Like, what if I'm dancing with a 50 year old creep right now."

Hoseok laughed, "I don't think I look that old." He snickered silently, "I'm not 50. 'm 23. What else do you wanna know?"

"ehh..." I blinked slowly, feeling more and more like my brain was slowly fading away, the only thing I seemed to be able to was dancing, "S-Surname?"

"Jung. Jung Hoseok's my full name, what else?"

Honestly, I could've asked so many logic and important questions, like where he's from or what he does for a living.

Instead I asked-

"Why aren't you scared of... all of this?"

He cocked his head to the side, crooked smile on his lips, "I am scared, Flower. But they'll get more powerful if you show them. You have to act strong in order to be strong."

"Are you... strong?" My tongue felt heavy in my mouth and I felt my legs giving up on me, a pair of warm hands securing me.

The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes was a smile.

The last thing I heard was, "I wish."

◆♤❦

lmao I'm so exhausted and tired that I actually wrote my main character being tired because I couldn't bring up any other emotion right now :')

xx