Matthew woke up barely breathing again.

"Ah, fuck," he took in deep breathes, trying to regulate his rapid heartbeat. When he finally calmed down, he plopped back on his bead, covering his eyes with the back of his arm.

He was tired. Very tired. It's been almost a month since he started getting these nightmares. They were getting more and more frequent and in the past week he didn't have one single good night of sleep.

He still wasn't sure what to make of them. It's not like the dreams were frightening per se. The place he found himself in wasn't the most comforting one, it was very different from anything he ever seen.  But he felt oddly at home. Despite the scary outlook, heavy atmosphere, and hot temperature he didn't dislike the place. He wasn't scared of the dark shadow and its deep voice telling him something he couldn't remember either. What scared him was the way he reacted in the dream every single time. He felt like he was running out of time and he begged to have just a little more. But he couldn't remember or understand what or why exactly he was begging for in the dream.

"Ahh, damn it!" He kicked his blankest in frustration, gradually getting up. "No use of sleeping now," he mumbled sitting on the edge of his bed. He knew he could hardly fall asleep after a nightmare. And after a week of no sleeping it definitely started showing, but he couldn't do anything about it. 

He tried to take sleeping pills the day before (which was extremely hard considering his distaste for pills and swallowing them) in hopes of having a dreamless night. But it didn't help at all, he still had the same dream and woke up despite taking the pills.

He was in the kitchen, just about to start making breakfast when Jiwoo walked in.

"Oh!" she stopped in her tracks. "You're awake," she commented, looking at him like he was the eighth wonder of the world.

"Yeah, I'm awake," he acknowledged, "don't make it sound so shocking."

Recovered from the initial surprise, Jiwoo walked to the kitchen island and sat down on one of the chairs. "But it is shocking," she said in a matter-of-fact tone and busied herself with looking at the flower arrangement in front of her.

Matthew let out a loud sigh, but didn't fight back. 

"You're here early tho," he commented while glancing at the clock. "How come?"

She just shrugged. "I woke up a bit earlier I guess."

Matthew studied her for a few seconds. He wondered if it was possible she was experiencing the same thing that was happening to him. It wouldn't be too far fetched. They've been attached to the hip since they were babies basically. Everything either went through -  the other went through as well.

"Having trouble sleeping?" he asked while passing her the plate with eggs he cooked.

She didn't answer as he grabbed himself a plate and sat across her. "Well I have," he said, figuring the quickest way to get her to open up was to share something. Her eyes snapped at him and he couldn't help but think he was right about her having nightmares as well.

"Had this weird reoccurring nightmares. Had them for a few weeks now."

"Really?" she asked, trying her hardest not to seem too interested. But Matthew saw right through her. "Is it like always the same thing happening or?" she asked while taking another bite of her food.

"Mostly, but I can't remember all the details once I wake up. It's kinda fuzzy," he explained as she just nodded knowingly, not commenting further on the matter. So, he decided to let it go for the time being.

Before the school started, Jiwoo and Matthew met up with Somin and Joseph in their usual spot.

Since Jiwoo and Matthew transferred to their school they get a lot closer. The four of them became very popular in the school now. Somin found it a bit weird. While she and Joseph weren't really outcasts, they were always together and rarely anyone tried to approach them, must less befriend them. There were a few of those who had crushes on them but Somin and Joseph denied their advances every time, satisfied with just having each other. Despite their relationship as a girlfriend and boyfriend not really working out as they hoped, similar relationships with anyone else were much worse. So they mostly stayed on their own and no one bothered them.

But now it seems everyone was suddenly really interested and way too invested in them and the two new students.

"Hey, guys!" Matthew greeted them once he saw them. Somin waved shyly and Joseph just nodded. They all exchanged hugs and sat down next to one of the side entrances which only they apparently knew about because no one else ever went there.

The joked around for a few minutes before Jiwoo noticed it was time to get to class.

"Gosh, I can't believe school's been going on for a month already!" exclaimed Somin.

Joseph nodded in agreement. "Right? It went by so quickly."

The mention of time made Matthew remember his dream and the feeling of desperation surfaced back again. "Time flies when you're having fun," Jiwoo said. "Obviously you two have been missing us this whole time," she gave them her classic smug look and they all laughed.

"We're glad to have you around now then," Somin responded and turned to peer at Joseph. "Right?" He just nodded and they continued following Matthew and Jiwoo who shared a look as well, both thinking a similar thing. They were the lucky ones who met the other two.

"We should probably celebrate a month of our friendship," Matthew suggested as they neared their classroom.

"What do you propose?" Joseph asked him, sensing they already had a plan. He was proven to be right when Jiwoo answered him.

"We found this really cool club, called Red Moon. We could go there together?"

Joseph and Somin thought about it and concluded they were both free that weekend.

"We could. When tho? Tomorrow?" asked Somin.

"We could go today. It's Friday after all."

"Sounds cool. When and where should we meet up then?" Joseph asked this time.

"Well..." Matthew seemed like he was thinking about it. "You can stop over at my house, and we can all get ready together."

"It's a plan."

The bell rang just as Somin said that and they all smiled at each other and walked into the classroom.