the boy at the bus stop • taegyu

Late

It was 11 pm in the night as quiet footsteps approached the bus stop. Taehyun was glad he remembered to pack his coat, it was freezing out here. Of course he stayed back at the library yet again to finish his last report. Literature majors. He watched as his breath came out fogged up in the cold air. 

As he finally reached the bus stop, he expected it to be empty, as usual. But this time there was someone else inside. A boy sat hunched over on the corner of the bench, slightly long hair covering his face. Taehyun thought he looked a little creepy but regardless didn't seem to be harmful. He quietly took a seat on the bench with a respectable distance from said boy who hadn't even looked up yet. He assumed the boy had seemingly fallen asleep.

Two buses were scheduled to arrive at this time. One at 11.30 and the other at 12. Taehyun was glad he got here in time for the first one. He pulled out his phone and found two texts from his sister asking  if he'd gotten home yet and another from his best friend asking him about an assignment. He sighed, replying to both and pocketing his phone. He glanced to the side once again at the boy hunched over, almost looking away until he noticed the boy's pale hands were slightly blue.

Taehyun's eyes widened. There wasn't any sight of blood nearby but the guy's hands were turning blue at an alarming rate. Without wasting any more time, Taehyun got up and rushed over to the guy trying to shake him awake. Turns out he wasn't asleep. His eyes were very much open as he stared at the floor with a blank expression. Taehyun's mind was buzzing with so many questions. The minute he shook the guy, he looked up at him. 

"What's up?" He asked with the most calm expression possible.

Taehyun gave him a confused look. "You're turning alarmingly blue? Don't you realize?" he asked, a little frustrated.

The guy laughed. "Oh this? Don't worry, I just swallowed 12 sleeping pills at once, maybe its the side effect." 

Taehyun wanted to cry. "I- what!? Why would you swallow 12 pills?" he asked, now starting to feel a little concerned as well as scared. 

The guy rolled his eyes. "To die, obviously. But looks like it isn't working yet again." He shrugged and got up, stretching out his arms. Never in his life had Taehyun encountered such a bizarre  situation. Was this guy being sarcastic or for real? Either way, if he died right now, Taehyun did not want to deal with false murder charges. He had more than enough stress going on with his university right now.

"Uh, I really hope you're joking right now. 12 sleeping pills could be really dangerous for you. I suggest you throw them up before they cause serious side effects." He said, starting sound more scared than concerned. 

The long haired guy clicked his tongue before raising an eyebrow. "I'm aware they're dangerous pretty boy. That's exactly why I took them." he said, with a slightly annoyed tone now. He put his arms behind his head and turned to face Taehyun completely, slowly looking him up and down.

'Pretty boy' certainly didn't go unnoticed by Taehyun. Of course he had been complimented by people a lot before because of his elegant features. But in this situation? He was plain weirded out.

"Um- I suppose you should seek help then. This isn't norma-" Before he could finish his sentence, the guy's vision glazed over and he began to fall. Taehyun immediately lurched forward, catching the boy before his head hit the floor. He internally thanked his quick reflexes. He also cursed his luck to betray him at the worst of times.

 When he wished for a balanced life, this is certainly not what he meant.

The boy's head lolled over to the side in his arms, freaking Taehyun out. He quickly checked for a pulse and let out a relieved sigh when it felt normal. The boy's breathing was a little erratic which was definitely the side effect of the pills now acting up. His body must have been forced into complete exhaustion all of a sudden.