ethereal | park jimin | ✓

chapter 29 all hail the pizza angel

The smell of pizza lingers in my mind as I open my eyes. I sniffled quietly and find tears drying to my flushed cheeks. I don't think I've ever cried in my sleep before. But the intense dream is already fading from memory despite my attempts to remember it.

Something about... shoes.

I lift my head, weak from heavy sleep, and find Jimin already awake. He watches me with deep concern in his dark amber eyes. "Good morning... Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah," I answer but my voice is hoarse. "Just a dream."

Jimin's expression doesn't change as he studies me closer. "You were crying. Was it a nightmare?" he asks worriedly.

"I... I don't think so. I don't really remember," I replied truthfully. I force myself to sit up from the ground and feel my back muscles ache in protest. I smooth my hair back and run my fingers over both ears to make sure they are intact. "I think it was just stress. Did you sleep well? I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"You're okay, I was worried about you and tried to help you wake up, but then you kind of murmured that you were okay," he explains.

Vaguely, I remember hearing Jimin's soft voice in the haziness of my dream.

"I think you helped me through that, so thank you."

Jimin gives me an adorably proud smile, "Anytime."

Suddenly the doorbell rings.

I flash Jimin a panicked look, "How long has the doorbell been ringing?" I ask quickly. Did my parents already arrive? They said they would come on Saturday, not today!

Jimin blinks in confusion, "The doorbell? I thought that was your alarm..."

I scramble to my feet, fighting against the blankets tangled around my legs, and manage to stagger away. I glance briefly at my bed to find the two boys still sound asleep and snoring loud as ever. I race out of the room and quickly pull my hair back into an upturned bun with a stray ponytail I found on my wrist.

As I try to fix my hair, I speed walk across the living room and reach the door. I peek through the hole, holding my breath when I see Alice standing outside with a box of pizza.

My eyes widen in surprise and I open the door immediately.

Alice offers me a sideways smile, "Surprise. I didn't think you'd still be sleeping, sorry if I woke you."

"A-Alice." I blink at her a few times, half-convinced I'm still dreaming. "What are you doing here?"

Alice smirks at my shocked expression and holds up the box of pizza in her hands. "Feeding you, obviously. You have a habit of skipping meals so here you go."

I gape at her for a moment before my mind jumpstarts again. "Oh my goodness, thank you!" I rush and give her a quick side hug. "You're an angel!"

I can't believe she did this! I didn't realize she remembered where I live, or that she cared enough to help me out. She already did so much with grabbing my things from my car and visiting me at the hospital... Part of me believes I don't deserve such a kind gesture.

"All hail the pizza angel," Alice comments playfully, leaning into me as we hug. "Let's go inside, my feet are killing me. You have too many stairs, you know."

I roll my eyes at her and welcome her into the apartment. "Really? I didn't notice."

Alice shuts the door behind her with the bump of her hip. "I'm skipping class for you too," she motions for us to move towards the coffee table, "but then again, I wasn't planning on showing anyway."