;;

bambam stands up, looking around.

"yugyeomie?" he yells out, running down the ally and looking for his friend. "yugyeomie, where are you!" he yells, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"bambamie!"

the tall boy ran up to him, engulfing him into a hug. sobs came out of his mouth like words, and they wouldn't stop.

"it's okay..." bambam says, rubbing his best friend's back as they hugged. they walked slowly back to where the others were sat, sitting down themselves.

jaebum glances over at yugyeom, sighing. yugyeom buried his face in his hands, trying to reduce his sobs from coming out.

"i'm sorry." jaebum mumbles, looking over at yugyeom.

yugyeom looks up at him, tears sliding down his red cheeks.

"i'm sorry." jaebum repeats, louder this time. "i'm sorry for yelling at you. i know you're just scared..." he trails off, looking towards the ground. "i was just angry and you were the person i took it out on."

yugyeom sniffles, "n-no, it was my fault. i-i'm so stupid." he says, shaking his head. "and now we're homeless because of me being an idiot."

"yugyeom..." mark says, sighing. "stop blaming yourself. we have more important things to worry about than who to blame."

yugyeom nods, wiping his cheeks with his sleeves. mark pats his head, giving a sympathetic look.

jackson was oddly silent. it was rare to catch him not talk within an hour radius, but he hadn't spoken for a while. he just sat with his knees to his chest, his head down on his arms.

"jackson?" jinyoung says, scooting a little closer. jackson stays still, his position being kept.

"jackson." jinyoung says, shaking him gently. jackson's head comes up slightly, his eyes red and puffy. his cheeks were tear stained.

"are you okay?" jinyoung asks, sitting in front of him now.

"how would i be okay?" jackson says, shaking his head. "were homeless. our career is over. our families don't care about us. i'm far from okay."

jinyoung sighs, looking down. "it just worried me that you haven't been speaking."

"what else is there to say?" jackson says, "my words are useless now. just like me. useless."

"don't say that," mark says, "you're not useless."

"at this point, i am." he tears up. "my only goal in life was to make my parents happy. i failed."

"jackson, no–"

"don't tell me it's not true. because if i didn't, i'd be home right now. and you'd all be there with me. but that's just not the case."

"jackson..."

"what." he says, standing up. "i'm going to take a breather."

"please don't get lost."

"i'll go with you," mark says.

"no." jackson says, walking off. "you stay here." he walks off, causing a sigh to come from everyone.

an hour or so passes, and jackson still hadn't returned back. it was starting to get dark and the others were starting to worry.

"i'm going to look for him." mark says, standing up.

"please be safe." jinyoung says, biting his lip.

"i will." mark says, walking off.

he walks around for about five minutes, until he found who he was looking for. jackson was sat in the middle of an open field, seeming to be watching the sunset.

mark walks over to him, slowly sitting down next to the younger.

"mark, i told you not to come." jackson says, looking off into the sky.

"it's been an hour. i got worried." mark says, looking at him.

jackson just stared, the look of a sad puppy in his eyes.

"what're you thinking about?" mark says, biting his lip.

jackson shrugs, now looking down at the grass.

"just tell me," mark says, sighing. he knew that jackson would always shrug when he didn't want to tell him something.

jackson sighs, "i'm just scared. what are we going to do...?" his voice cracks. "we don't have that much money. we only have clean clothes to last maybe a week. no beds. there are criminals out there, mark... what if something happens to one of the members? i wouldn't be able to forgive myself... and what if people find out? what if people find out we're homeless... even more people will hate us."

"don't think that way." mark says, "you're always so optimistic. don't think so negatively. we're gonna be okay."

"we won't be." jackson says.

"stop."

"what? it's the truth."

"say we'll be fine."

"but–"

"say it." mark says, grabbing his hand and squeezing it gently.

"w-we'll be fine..." jackson mumbles, close to tears.

"again."

"we'll be fine..."

"don't ever think we won't be. we're got7, and we always make things work. even if it's the worst case scenario."

jackson nods, looking at mark finally.

"now let's get going, it getting dark." mark says, standing up with jackson.

—

a/n: crippling depression !

i hope you enjoyed!
please vote / comment, i really appreciate it!
thanks, ilysm~
-author em