A/N

we're on night 7! nearly halfway :)

the above gif is lijun, played by dylan wang from the latest chinese adaptation of meteor garden.

things take a steep turn downward from here. hang in there. and again, thank you as always for reading ♡

all my love,

krissy

❂

N I G H T   S E V E N

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DECEMBER 24, 2015

Wen and Mei are fifteen

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"THE PERSON YOU are calling could not be reached. Please leave a voicemail at the..."

Wen swears under his breath. Traffic blares and blurs around him, a chaos of blinding colors melting together in his teary vision. The pandemonium sweeping through Causeway Bay on Christmas Eve has turned the twisting streets into a maze of crowds, Christmas-decorated shopping mall balconies and complexes stretching overhead like tangled fingers, leaving Wen dizzy with panic.

He spins in frantic circles at the crosswalk, phone raised to his ear, murmuring. "Pick up...pick up..."

A rattling sound indicates the crosswalk's go signal, and he's taken with excited crowds across a wide street squeaking with buses and trams and singing with Christmas carols. The world sways.

Wenkang, comes the memory of Mei's father's broken voice. Wenkang.

Wen has never needed words--even when he saw the phone rang early this morning before dawn, even when he saw the phone number of Mei's father flashing across his phone, heard the grief-soaked silence on the other end greeting him.

It happened overnight, the passing of Mei's mother.

She ran out--I don't know where she went--please--

Wen drags shaking fingers through his hair, gathers his breath, and calls his brother. On the second ring, Wangmin picks up, voice thick. "You heard?"

"Where's Mei?" he demands desperately.

There's a shift of blankets--Wangmin must still be at home, huddled in his blankets, hiding from the world. "I don't fucking know. Give her space."

"Her dad is looking for her. No one knows where the fuck she is."

Wangmin releases a sigh and says, "Then call her--"

"She's not picking up!"

"Wai, relax. She's fine...probably at Lijun's...she's been with him a lot lately..." His voice trails off as he goes to sleep.

Wen grits his teeth and hangs up. A sour taste fills his mouth as Lijun's smug face flashes across his mind...While he never had much interest for pursuing Wangjing since their double date last year, Mei has been more than inviting towards Lijun's perfect charisma. He can still feel the echo of his pounding heart when he sees Lijun's lips touching her cheek, his fingers on her waist; her breathless smile, full of nervous excitement as Lijun pushes her back against school walls in the roadside alley where he thinks no one can see--

Wen's chest fills with fear. He breaks into a run, breathless, malls blurring past him as his feet carry him towards Lijun's nearby apartment complex. After what's happened, Mei should be with family. With her father. With the memory of her mother. Grieving. If she seeks out Lijun at a vulnerable time like this, there's no doubt what could happen--what kind of hurt she could welcome in--

Lijun's complex appears in a sea of stained-white walls and black-rimmed windows lined with drying laundry. Wen sweeps inside, rushes down the hall into the elevator, jams the five repeatedly with shaking hands.

As the elevator sails upward, he sees his own reflection in the mirror--black hair in tangles, dark circles ringing his eyes, cheekbones hollow, skin pale and streaked with tears. He can't stop shaking. He can't. He drags his fingers through his hair, fists them there in an attempt to make them stop.

Please don't be with him. Please don't--

The doors rattle open. Breathless, he rushes out into a dim-lit hall of stained tile and rotting stone thick with the smell of tobacco. The way is as familiar as the back of his hand. He knows Lijun's place well for the countless times he's come here at late hours to get Mei when her father asks for her, and Lijun has become less than friendly with Wen, insisting that he--and Wen quotes--"fuck off and let me have my girlfriend."

In minutes he's at the sliding gate in front of Lijun's door, ringing the doorbell restlessly. Long seconds later, the door jolts open. "What kind of prick--"

Lijun's voice cuts off. His appearance only heightens Wen's fear and anger--the guy's styled hair is tousled, carrying tracks as if fingers have run through it, and he's dressed in only low hanging sweats, showing off the lines of toned muscle down his abdomen. At the sight of Wen, he leans against the doorframe with a cold arch of his brow.

"Parents calling again?" he says.

Anger simmers in his chest. "Where is she?"

Lijun studies Wen for a long moment, then releases a short laugh and glances away. In the light, he catches the cold sweat beading the latter's forehead, the red tint of his eyes. When he smells a hint of sweet smoke wafting from within, his blood turns cold. "Are you high?"

"Fuck off," snaps Lijun.

"Open the gate."

"She doesn't want to see you. Or anyone, to be honest--"

Wen's temper flares. "Open th--"

"What's going on?"

Their voices die. Wen's heart flies to his throat, and Lijun moves aside with a lingering stare at Wen. From the dim and cramped chaos of his apartment emerges Mei. Gone is her ponytail--her hair, tangled, falls past her shoulders in long waves, and she wears only a big sweater--Lijun's sweater--that falls to her knees. Her eyes are puffy, wide as they take in Wen's appearance.

"What are you doing here?"

"Exactly what I was saying," says Lijun.

Wen opens his mouth to retort, but Mei is quicker, silencing Lijun with a glance. The latter raises his hands, clearly upset, and as Mei moves to open the gate, he strides back into his apartment with the door hanging open to let them talk.

They step out into the hall. Mei's arms are crossed, and Wen hates that even in his anger, the slight shiver of her body tempts him to wrap his jacket around her shoulders.

She sends a fervent glance in the apartment's direction--then looks to him, eyes filling with tears. "Please go away."

"Your dad is looking for you," says Wen sharply. "He's been calling me this entire morning, saying you ran off to somewhere in Causeway Bay and he has no idea where the fuck you could be."

Her brows pull low. "I texted him."

"You couldn't give him a call?"

"Okay, I'll call him," she says, exasperated. She wipes her cheek, face blotchy. "Are we done?"

Wen flinches as if he's been slapped. "You're staying here?"

"I don't want to see anyone right now."

"But you can see Lijun, right?"

Mei sucks in a shallow breath. Her eyes are shining, desperate, tired. "Wen, stop."

But he can't. He stands there, unable to the breathe, feeling as if someone has driven a blade through his lungs, straight across his chest.

"Do you think you're the only one who's hurting?" his mouth says, all his fury and his hurt rising to the surface. "You think you're the only one who's lost someone? Think about your dad, who's worried sick about you--"

"Stop--"

"---instead of being here getting high with some asshole who could care less about your mom."

Mei looks away, teeth digging into her trembling lip, silent tears falling down her face. Wen stares at her, shaking with anger, frustrated at himself for being so worried and so afraid for her; for being stupid enough, in this moment, to still find beauty in the way morning sun casts light across her soft skin.

He lowers his voice. "Just come home. See your--"

"Mei." Lijun's voice cuts cleanly over Wen's. Overpowering it as he steps out from the bedroom within his apartment. "Are you done?"

She glances over and nods, quickly, and Lijun disappears again. Wen studies her with sinking disappointment as she swallows, knowing from her stubbornness that she's already made up her mind.

"Mei."

"I'm sorry," she murmurs, turning away. He watches, helpless as she steps inside and slides the gate shut.

She hesitates before closing the door, her eyes darting to his before falling away. Then the door closes, sealing him out, and Wen is alone again.