First Snow.

Good morning, sunshine. (Chapter 8)

I woke up in the middle of the night in a heavy sweat. It was unbearably hot. Changbin was like a freaking portable heater even though his body was still a good three feet away from mine. This fuzzy onesie is comfortable but under the blanket with another person's body heat involved, it was basically a death trap. Changbin was worried about sleeping with a fan on during snowfall when his body temperature is inhuman. I carefully sat up out of bed and quietly tip-toed across the room as to not wake up Changbin. I kept my eyes squinted and didn't even bother to rub them awake or turn on any lights as I didn't want to lose my sleepy. The television had automatically turned off from the timer I had set, so no light could be found except for the green glow of the numbers on my clock and small slivers of the porch light seeping in from the edges of my lilac black-out curtains. 5:43 AM, definitely not a normal time for me to be awake unless I haven't been to sleep in the first place. Blindly, I felt around the room, grabbing whatever clothes I could find lying around and made my way to the bathroom. I was hoping that whatever I found was clean and would make a full outfit. I shut the door slowly without latching it to refrain from making any additional noise. I unzipped my onesie, breathing a sigh of relief as the cool air hit my bare flesh. Sweet baby jesus. I took the onesie all the way off and threw it onto the bathroom shelf, knocking over a bottle of Bomshell body mist that Hazel left behind last time she was over. Shit, I hope I didn't wake him up. Sorry. I put on what seemed to be a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and walked carefully out of the bathroom. No noise was to be heard, so Changbin was still fast asleep.

The sounds of the hardwood beneath me creaked as I lifted up the comforter and crawled back into bed, still being cautious as to not wake Changbin. Luckily, it didn't seem to disturb him either, he must be a heavy sleeper. I rolled over onto my side and looked at the beautiful man beside me through tired eyes, before going back to sleep. It was still pitch black, but the light peeking from the curtains seemed to rest on Changbin like a warm hug. His hair was dark and messy but still managed to frame his face in the most perfect way. His skin was so clear and smooth. I wondered what his routine was since it was almost like porcelain. His mouth was a little small but his lips were plump and pillowy and shielded two rows of immaculately white, straight teeth. I bet his lips are as soft as they appear. I looked down to see the small silver chain around his neck that had a tiny, silver padlock pendant on it. The stream of light caught his jewelry making the pendant glisten like the snow outside. Adorned on the padlock was a small engraving of the capital letter E. I wonder who or what that letter was about. His arms were tucked behind his head under his pillow with his masculine fingers peering out of each side. That's probably not very comfy, his arms are definitely going to fall asleep too. His mouth was slightly parted when he let out a small whimper. I quickly closed my eyes and turned back around as I felt him start to stir. It would've been a major creep move if he had woken up with me just looking at him.

I settled back into comfort and was welcomed back into dreamland as Changbin no longer seemed to stir. A little while later, I was startled awake by more of Changbin's whimpers which had grown louder. I sat up in a sleepy haze and looked over at Changbin. He was surprisingly still deeply asleep. Was I hearing things? Maybe I was still dreaming. I went to roll back over and close my eyes when another guttural tone escaped from Changbin's lips. That's when I realized the noises coming from him weren't whimpers at all. They were cries. Desperate, gut-wrenching cries. He was crying in his sleep.

My concern got the best of me and I put my hands on his shoulders and gently shook him awake trying not to throw him into panic. "Changbin..." I said quietly. "Changbin, wake up. You're having a bad dream." I whispered to him softly but just loud enough for his eyes to flutter a bit. "Hey..." I whispered in a nurturing tone. "Are you okay? You were crying in your sleep. Were you having a nightmare?" I asked him concerned. Changbin wiped his eyes and face and sat up immediately looking around the room, wide-eyed and startled. "Hmm..." He moaned intuitively. "Yeah, I'm fine, Bee. What's going on? What time is it?" Changbin said confused while looking around the room like he was taking mental pictures to determine where the hell he was. "It's still early morning. I didn't mean to scare you. Just wanted to make sure you're okay." I replied scanning his gorgeous but weary face. Changbin sniffled, cleared his throat, and ran his hand through his hair, perfectly coiffing the cute mess it was before. "Sorry if I woke you up. I'm okay though... just a bad dream. It happens. Go back to sleep." Changbin said while sinking back into the pillows behind him. I sighed and looked at him with concern. Changbin looked utterly exhausted. The dark circles around his eyes were even more prominent then before he went to bed. His nose was slightly pink and his eyes were watery with tears. His breathing was hitched and his hands were trembling. He tried to hide his nerves by grabbing the pillow behind his head. However, he was holding onto it with such ferocity that I'm surprised there weren't feathers scattered across the room. That must have been some bad dream.

Changbin slowly relaxed himself and pulled the blanket up his chest as if the fabric could shield himself from appearing vulnerable. He cleared his throat again and closed his eyes slowly as he was still suffering from exhaustion. "Seriously, Bee. I'm fine. Just please quit looking at me and go back to sleep." The tone in his voice was stern but still a bit shaken. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to scare you awake but are you sure you're okay? I'm worried. You were really upset." I asked him genuinely. I was doing my best not to get under his skin but it didn't appear to be just a normal nightmare. He was literally distraught. "Bee, I'm fine. Please, I'm begging you... just leave me alone!" he growled. I was a bit taken aback by his response but I understood he was dealing with something he would prefer not to disclose. I nodded at him in agreement that I would leave him be, even though his eyes were closed. I laid back down, grabbing my pillow and folded it below my head. I grabbed the blanket and pulled it up to my bosom cuddling it for my own comfort. I made sure to look away from him for his comfort too. The air around me felt cold and bitter. Anger, sadness, and uncomfortability was lingering around the room replacing the lack of humidity due to the snow. The silence between us was incredibly loud. I'm just glad the white noise of the fan was there to sooth the awkward wound.

I tried my best not to press Changbin further but I knew he was hurting. There was no denying that fact. I turned my head in his direction just long enough to say, "Changbin, I know we just met yesterday and we don't know much about eachother but that doesn't mean that I don't care. If you ever need to talk then I'm here to listen." Changbin didn't say anything, instead he turned over onto his side to face the wall. I could hear the sounds of the glass from his nightstand clinking as he lifted the cup to his lips to take a drink. I turned my head away from him once again and closed my eyes in a small huff, nuzzling my face into my pillow as if it were some kind of mental eraser. I wondered what he was dreaming about? What caused him to cry like that? I know I'm being intrusive but I can't bear to see someone hurting without at least trying to help. I've been that way all my life. I just want him to know that I do care and that I'm here to help him if he will let me. Is that weird that I care about them all so much, so soon? Just as I was about to fall back asleep for the third time tonight with all of my unanswered questions dancing around in my head, Changbin mumbled "Thank you, Bee. I'm okay now. I promise." and we both fell back asleep.

"Wakey, wakey!" There was a melodic knock at my bedroom door and my heart flipped in my chest causing a small surge of adrenaline to course through my body, waking me up. I tried to open my eyes but the exhaustion I experienced after last night was making it nearly impossible. It was almost as if my eyelids were glued shut with sleepy. "Come on, it's time to wake up!" The overly cheery voice rang out again while tapping on the door. I'm not gonna lie, it scared the crap out of me for a moment before I realized that I had house guests. I reached down with my eyes still closed, not wanting to face the morning sun that I'm sure was peeking in through the curtains even more intently. I ran my hands down my body gently. Ah, thank goodness, I thought. I'm still alive and in once piece after having eight strangers stay the night. They really weren't trying to harvest my organs. I pulled the comforter off of me and slowly opened my eyes. I quietly moaned as the sun hit them. I would swear I was a vampire if it wasn't for my love of garlic and the whole not wanting to drink blood thing. Not my cup of tea. I sat up and yawned looking over at Changbin. He was still sleeping peacefully and after my recollection of last night. I decided that would be exactly what he needed right now.