stay. [bts/taekook vampire fanfic]

v.chapter

The apartment is quiet. Everyone has gone to their rooms four hours ago. The only thing that is filling up the silence is the sound of a clock ticking. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. It's the kind of sound that cuts deep in your ears, slowly driving you crazy, because you are unable to concentrate on anything else.

Helplessness rests on Jungkook's chest, becoming more intense with every stupid tick-sound. The inanimate object is making a bigger mess in his head than there already was, which is definitely not helping the situation. It's as if it was telling him to flee before it's too late, before he becomes even more trapped. Would he be able to run away if he wanted to?

Surely. It's not like they kept him hostage... After they showed him Taehyung's room, they let him wash himself in the bathroom. They left him there for a whole hour, and he couldn't enjoy the feeling of the water surrounding him more. Of course, his weak body was on display. He could see all the bruises he has collected throughout the years, the scars that were all over him, and some new ones as well, which he got from the fight.

They tried to feed him as well. Jin made soup, and they all gathered around the kitchen table. Jungkook didn't understand how they were able to get the food down their throats. He felt sick only looking at it: after all, his body hasn't received anything but blood for over half a year. So he just sat there with a full bowl of food, trying to take in what was happening.

It was strange. They tried to engage him in conversation, but once they saw he didn't want to, they put no pressure on him. Besides, they couldn't expect him to immediately open up to them, to be able to talk as if they were his friends. All of them were aware of this, since each of them was once in the same position he is now. And so they acted the same way as they would have if he hadn't been there. They joked, they bickered a bit, they laughed. His presence was in no way a burden to them; and even though Jungkook didn't talk, he found himself enjoying their company.

He doesn't understand anything, though. What do they think he is going to do, exactly? They come off as family, so how could he contribute to the picture? There is nothing he has to offer. Maybe they don't see him as a burden, but surely he will become one. That's what he has been his whole life, and people around him were sure to remind him daily. Sometimes it felt as if there was a black hole surrounding him, which sucked in everything good coming his way and left him with nothing but the bad stuff.

Why should this be different, then?

He rolls around to his other side, hiding in a big blanket. He curls up underneath, breathing in the strawberry smell it contains. It brings back memories from when he used to help out on a strawberry farm where his mother worked. By helping out, he means just running around, snatching the fruits and eating them. Those were the times he was happy, filled with childish naivety. Life seemed as an adventure, and everything he encountered was new and magical.

Until...

Jungkook sits down and shakes his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, the clock is urging him. He needs to leave, immediately. If not, he is going to lose his mind.

He stands up and opens a wardrobe. He scans the clothes inside, wondering if Taehyung would have noticed if something disappeared. Probably. But he could use a coat outside... and he needs it more than the boy does.

No. He is not a thief. His mother taught him better.

He shakes his head again, cussing at himself. They have shown him hospitality, and yet he is thinking about such things. As if it wasn't enough that he is already dressed in clothes that are not his. He drags the sleeves of an over-sized hoodie over his wrists and holds the end of them in his fists. Without thinking twice, he steps out of the room. His heart is beating fast against his rib cage, breath heavy; it reminds him of all the time he had tried to run away before. This time it's different, though. All he has to do is go through the corridor, through the kitchen and...