desire ; johnten [ ✓ ]

NINE

"johnny," ten cooed, trying to shake the other male awake. "it's time to wake up for breakfast."

johnny blinked awake, greeted with the sight of ten smiling at him, which made him smile as well. "good morning."

"morning," ten retorted. "c'mon, i'm hungry."

"alright, hold on," johnny moved the cover aside and got to his feet at the same time as ten did. the smaller of the two looked rather refreshed and ready for the day, telling johnny he clearly slept well.

johnny stuck close to ten as they left the office, heading into the small eating area beside the convenient store that was built into the building.

lucas and jungwoo were already there, lucas sleepily rubbing his eyes with a free hand while his other was squeezing jungwoo's hand that was on the table, who was resting his head on his other arm, his eyes closed as if he were sleeping.

hendery came down the corridor in front of them, his face brightening at the sight of the pair. "good morning. today's breakfast is oatmeal, either strawberries and cream or plain," he made a thoughtful face. "i believe we have blueberry too."

"plain will do," ten answered. "not a big fan of fruit."

"okay," hendery nodded. "everyone else?"

johnny went with plain as well, same with lucas. jungwoo was the only one who wanted strawberries and cream.

there was a microwave along with a fridge where milk was kept in the break room, along with a coffee maker and various other things. there were thankfully bowls and a generous supply of oatmeal packets from the convenience store. but, to be safe, everyone was limited to one packet only to save up food.

they had to wait awhile for everyone's breakfast to be done, since there was only one microwave. during that time, ten grew curious of where dejun had gone off to. at least from what he's saw, dejun'a always tagging along like he's hendery's shadow of some sort, looking awfully fond of the other male. like he has little hearts in his eyes.

but that question was answered when he emerged from the closet they slept in, looking half awake and annoyed. without greeting anyone else, he walked right past the group of four sitting at the tables and right into the break room.

"johnny," ten finally spoke, breaking the silence between them. "do you think we'll be stuck in the lobby for the rest of our lives?"

ten hadn't really thought of the possibility until now, thinking of seeing the same plain grey walls and keeping the same feeling of constant unease at times due to their situation. would they ever be able to live a normal life without the fear of people turning in monsters left and right? as long as ten was with johnny, he would feel safe, but not always happy considering what they have to deal with.

there were so many risks and he could lose him.

"i dunno," johnny answered honestly. "maybe there's people out there waiting to save us from this hell. you never know."

"yeah," ten nodded slowly. "maybe."

those words felt like empty hope.

****

granted, there's not much to do being stuck in the lobby.

there wasn't a single tv in the sight and all the windows were boarded up, so you weren't seeing the outside world at all. not even a single peek. there's no games you can play... it's just grows unbearably boring over time as it crawls past, hours turning into days of the same repeating routine. at least the best thing that came out of it was survival.

ten managed to keep himself entertained with johnny however, so he wasn't complaining too much. but from all those times of making stupid jokes to lighten the poor mood and simply gazing at each other with genuine smiles painted on their faces, ten started to feel different.

while laying awake in the office room they shared that night, he couldn't stop thinking about those moments. when his stomach felt fuzzy hearing johnny compliment his cooking, the other always protecting him, the feeling of safety whenever he's near... and when he cupped his face in his hands and started to lean closer as if they were gonna kiss. yeah, ten has a crush on johnny.

managing to smile once that day, he finally closed his eyes and settled to sleep.

****

the next time ten opened his eyes, he was in a bathroom. not the one in the lobby but in johnny's flat.

his eyes slowly slid down to his hands, both of bloodied. ten looked back up, his confusion fading into fear. something wasn't right.

his eyes met the ones of the reflection the mirror, which had a few cracks in it. the reflection was simply checking it's nails before it finally noticed ten gawking at it.

the reflection smiled. "this mirror is so limiting. i'm glad it's growing weaker."

a single piece of the mirror came off, falling into the sink. it broke into even smaller pieces. it's grin grew even wider, if that was possible.

"when it finally snaps," the reflection continued, checking it's nails again that looked awfully dirty, like how ten's were at the moment, dark with dried blood. "i'll finally have a proper chance to take over. don't worry, pretty thing, i'll make sure johnny won't leave you."

ten couldn't speak when he wanted to, instead letting out a loud cough as if he choked on his own spit. when he tried again, no sound came out.

the reflection laughed, the loud noise echoing around the small space of the bathroom. "you're not speaking in this nightmare."

another piece came off the mirror and fell into the sink. that's when ten blacked out.

****

the vents were tight and extremely dark.

but the smell of humans was too great to give up and turn back. there were several of them in one area and the monster'll have a feast.

it sniffed the air, continuing to slowly crawl along the tight space, feeling as if it's closing in on it.

it let out a satisfied low purr seeing the end, dim light leaking through the lined barrier. it's getting a feast tonight.