Sad Birds Still Sing (Bang Chan x Reader)

New Friend

Word count: 1625

Chapter warnings: Mild Language

The car ride was mostly silent, a stark contrast to the fun they'd been having for hours before. Her lunch was long settled in her stomach, but the food and the sodas now felt like worms, writhing around and forcing her to wish she could just throw up. She kept putting herself through a vicious cycle of wanting to say something to Chan, maybe comfort him, looking over to his stark face, jaw set in stone, and look back down to her knees, too afraid. It took them about twenty minutes to reach the edge of the city, which seemed normal for the most part. It was largely barren, a few people walking down the sidewalk or crouched in their cars, no doubt absorbed in whatever was happening in their own lives. It was fewer than normal, but nothing out of the realm of possibility. The further in they drove, though, the stranger it got.

Y/N started to recognize the roads as the way to Chan's studio. He was likely either going there because it was their best chance to find Changbin and Jisung directly, or maybe simply for the sense of familiarity. They grew more and more barren, to the point where it would be miles between people. Eventually, they just... stopped being visible. It wasn't until Chan turned on his windshield wipers, spraying the glass with wiper fluid, that she noticed the second, weirder discrepancy.

"What... what's all that dust stuff?" The windshield, the hood, the entire car (that was visible from the passenger seat) was covered in it. Upon further inspection, she realized that the outside was like that too- the other vehicles, the roads, trees, buildings, sidewalk- it was all lightly dusted.

"I don't know." Was all he said, the same response he gave when she asked about the sirens. She knew he didn't know, but she still asked. She would have thought it was some sort of sand or dirt storm, but the color didn't match. It was the consistency of cigarette ash, fluttering around like snow, despite there not being a cloud in the sky. Chan was forced to slow down as parked cars blocked the roads, seemingly abandoned by their owners. The dust was growing thicker, nearly a quarter of an inch as far as she could see.

"You don't think... nuclear war?" She asked, unable to help her voice from shaking a little. He shook his head.

"Those aren't nuclear sirens, my guess is they're using these to make sure everyone knows it's not nuclear fallout."

"But-"

"Y/N, I promise, there's no nuke. Please, just calm down." He was honestly only saying it to convince himself, but it still didn't get rid of the unsettling sound or the continuously displeasing situation. She winced as he hopped up onto the curb, going around a box truck that had gotten caught in the center of the two lanes. "Sorry..." He muttered. She was about to say that it was alright, not to worry, anything to ease his stress, but she was suddenly thrown forward. Her face would have smashed into the dashboard if not for the seatbelt that, honestly, until this moment, she never knew would actually work.

"What the-" Before she could even yell in frustration, she was startled again by a pounding on the glass windshield. Looking up, still shaken, she saw a man- he couldn't have been more than twenty- leaning over their hood, fear in his eyes. Making eye contact with him, he suddenly scrambled off, running around to their side door. Chan moved to lock the doors, but she held up a hand, gesturing for him to stop. The man outside opened the door, nearly tripping on his way in. Gasping for air, he started coughing, some of the dust coming out of his mouth in a puff.

"Hey man, what the hell do you-"

"Please!" He begged, not even waiting to hear Chan's speech, "Please let me stay here, please!" She stared in awe as tears rolled down his cheeks, leaving tracks in the grey mess on his face.