EVERLAST [EXO Baekhyun]

CHAPTER 7 - STARRY EYES

She awoke in a jolt, placing a hand over her heart. Noticing Baekhyun was asleep, she took the time to check and see if her period came yet. It didn't, thank the lord. Maybe it'd wait a day or two. A day or two longer of the minuscular hope she had. Her hand remained on her chest. That was the first time she had a nightmare in months. And the nightmare was about the crash. She was sure she was yelling in her sleep. How Baekhyun didn't wake up during that amazed her-

"Nice to know I'm not alone," he said, throwing every thought she just had out the window. "I haven't slept well since we got here. Just the idea of all those people... gone..."

Rona wasn't sure how to react. It was a defense-mechanism to ignore him and pretend her nightmare was about the strange man who jumped her when she was 16. Or the group of people mixed with women and men who attempted to break into her house when she was only 20, the group almost killing her then-boyfriend. There were many tragedies in her life she could claim were what was keeping her up, but one glance into Baekhyun's gaze had her rethinking every word she desired to say.

"I didn't really see anything. It was just flashing red lights and... feelings. I heard the screams and the last phone calls those people had with their families. And I have the audacity to be jealous."

"Jealous?" he asked.

The craving to grab her phone hit hard, but she held it back. "Jealous," she repeated, shifting her gaze to the sky.

"Over what?" She remained quiet. He observed her for a few moments, then, he lit up. "Is it because they got to talk to their families? Was your family out of reach?"

"Not a full family. Him."

"Boyfriend?"

She shook it off. "I've been single for about as long as I haven't heard from... him. I can't even count the years anymore. I make the same phone call every day only to get the same answer. The same voicemail. Same flat tone telling me that at the end of the day, the only person I wanted to love me didn't." Her heart was lying in the sand, open and gushing red for Baekhyun to see. It wasn't a familiar feeling, but she was looking at this logically. They'd probably die here, so she wanted to die without regrets. Not telling anyone things she'd never dare spoken aloud before would be one of those regrets. Baekhyun happened to be the closest, and only, person for the job.

Or at least that was what she told herself, as it was easier than accepting that she had a soft spot for him.

He could sense she didn't particularly want to talk about it, so he scooted a bit closer and stared. "You have beautiful eyes," he said. She glanced down at him, widening said eyes. "Starry eyes. Your head's always pointed that way, so your eyes absorb the stars."

"The sun is rising."

"Close enough." She chuckled, a genuine sound that left them both in awe of it. As if scared by her own tone, she jumped, knitting her brows together. "That's an emotion called amusement. Like a chuckle. Did you notice how your kind of smiled?"

"Haha, I know what amusement is. It's that wonderful feeling I get when I beat people at poker," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. He smiled, and she returned the expression. "What about you pretty boy, any special talents you have?"

"Dreaming," he was quick to reply, not even mentioning the new nickname she bestowed upon him. "I'm good at falling into my imagination and just... dreaming."

"Not to sound like a dick, but do nightmares about the crash fall into that category?"

There was a pause. "Maybe. I like to think I'm better at thinking of the future though, not of the past. Of hope for better times to come."