desire ; johnten [ ✓ ]

THREE

after a long nap, johnny woke to a nasty surprise. his nose was gushing blood, already having stained his shirt and the rest of his face under his nostrils.

quickly, he headed into the bathroom, careful not to wake ten, who had fallen asleep on his bed, and closed the door behind him.

johnny tore off a small piece of paper towel to stick it up his nose before he looked into the mirror. a greyed out version of himself stood there staring back, its lips curled into a smile. a somewhat evil one.

its eyes were deep pools of pure darkness — there was no life there. to johnny, it seemed awfully familiar, as if he had seen it before.

the other version of himself moved its head upwards, its entire body blurring out before returning to complete focus.

"you want him," it simply said in a voice that exactly his, with an echo that rang in his ears.

"what do you mean?" johnny questioned, his bleeding nose being the least of his worries at the moment. "ten? i just met him."

"just admit it," the other version said with a scoff. "you want him to protect, to care for. he's perfectly capable, yet you're so selfish to have someone to take care of."

"i don't understand," johnny retorted, worry edging his words. he wasn't gonna believe a single word it was saying — it didn't make sense in the slightest.

"you will soon," the reflection hissed, his voice deeper than ever as it leaned forward, it's body blurring before returning to focus once more. "once i take over fully. if you don't want him, fine. but i do."

johnny wasn't sure if it did anything else, because he blacked out right then, falling onto the tiled floor of his own bathroom. the last thing he saw was his reflection's lifeless black eyes burning into his soul.

******

he woke up back on the couch. johnny looked around, checking his bed. ten was still there, fast asleep as before. he looked back down at his clothes, but they were as clean as ever, as if he didn't just have a major nosebleed.

was that all in his head?

johnny must've got hit harder than he thought. he shook his head, placing a hand to where the blood should be.

his entire head no longer hurt, and if there was a cut, it had healed completely. that was strange. perhaps simply taking a nap had basically cured him of all his injuries.

his empty stomach howled with hunger. he hadn't eaten in hours, now that he realises it. sliding off the couch, he heads into the small kitchen, opening the food cabinet to see what he has.

several cups of ramyeon noodles, bags of popcorn, and a few other snacks. and in the fridge, he knew the only good dinner food was pizza. he really needs to broaden his dinner choices.

deciding out of the little options he has, johnny picked the usual noodles. so, he tore open half of the plastic lid, adding in the powdered sauce and dried vegetables and meat. lastly, he added the boiling water and proceeded to wait, tossing away the now empty packets into the rubbish bin.

a single minute went by when ten finally stirred away, looking around with a tired look. johnny turned around, instantly feeling soft and relaxed just at the sight of him yawning and stretching his arms.

"you're up, sleeping beauty," he said with a joking tone. ten shot him a smile as he removed the blanket that was covering his lower half.

"haha," he said, getting off the bed and landing on his right foot first. in reaction, his face scrunched up in pain. "making ramyeon?"

"yeah," johnny nodded, looking back at to check on it. "you can have this one. i'll find something else to eat."

his stomach protested with a low rumble, but he ignored it, handing the warm cup to ten, who took it gratefully. johnny couldn't help but stare at the other male for a moment, feeling another urge to touch his face with his hands again.

"i'll get you some chopsticks," johnny said suddenly, getting to his feet so the urge disappeared. what was wrong with him today?

"okay," ten nodded, blowing on his food to cool it down a little as the other returned to the kitchen. it didn't take before johnny returned, ten finally able to eat the meal.

it was nice to finally feel food in his empty stomach, not having eaten since way too early in the morning that day and skipping lunch. instead of eating something himself, johnny simply kept an eye on him.

from what he can see, ten wasn't severely injured in any way. well, he would've been known earlier if he was.

but, johnny did notice the reaction ten had when he accidentally walked on his right foot, a visible wince always came right afterwards. he wanted to ask about it, but he didn't get the chance when ten asked if he could take a shower.

of course, johnny let him. so, ten went into the bathroom and shutting the door behind, the silence eventually being ruined by the sound of the shower softly heard from the other side.

johnny, who had been sitting on his bed at this point, fell back, letting out a sigh as his eyes closed. maybe a quick nap won't hurt while he's waiting.

wait, why does he care so much about ten anyways?

suddenly, his head exploded with pain. in reaction, johnny let out a gasp, grabbing the sides of his head with his hands, sitting up straight. it was an unbearable, searing pain.

something kept trying to force his eyes open as if they were using their own hands to pry them. johnny didn't want to open his eyes, but eventually they did.

his eyes weren't the same but an empty black, nothing, not even light, reflected in them. his usual sight was darkened a little, as if johnny had put a thin, dark blindfold over his own eyes.

johnny was frozen there, his entire body trembling due to the immense pain in his head, his eyes wide with alarm. what was wrong with eyes? why can't he see properly?

suddenly, there was a feeling of something rushing up his throat and in reaction, his cheeks puffed up. but instead of holding it in before he could run into the bathroom, he was now bent over, barfing.

not the popcorn he had eaten hours ago, but a dark red liquid that covered that area on the once clean carpet. blood, he was throwing up blood. now his throat hurt too.

finally, johnny was spent, sitting back up again. his whole body felt awfully weak, as if all the blood had been drained from it. he swayed for a moment, looking dazed with his bloody mouth, before falling backwards back onto his comfortable bed, his vision now completely black.