I Can't Sleep || purinz

There is No Greater Love

Tomorrow wasn't what Chaewon had hoped it would be. She was tired, and she could feel the exhaustion in her bones. Every muscle ached and every movement was requiring more energy than she had to give. She needed to sleep. She desperately needed to sleep. But that wasn't possible, not while her roommate had her friends in the dorm room discussing some guy in their Chemistry class.

Their inane chatter pushed Chaewon from the room, with her bag of books to possibly provide her some distraction, and the library calling her name. It was solace, a small one, being tucked away behind the bookshelves and out of sight. No one thought anything of someone studying alone, no one did a double take or gave a quizzical look, and it allowed her to blend in.

The lack of sleep made Chaewon paranoid that someone out there knew how lonely she was, it made her wonder if she had this big X on her back saying what a loser she is, and it meant she needed to do everything in her power to hide from the masses that might see it.

Maybe when she got some proper sleep she'd feel less like an outcast. Maybe when she got some proper sleep it wouldn't matter what people thought. Maybe when she got some proper sleep she'd wake up to find this was all just one nightmare and real life was truly about to start. Maybe she'd finally gone and lost her mind.

Pulling her books out of her bag, finally at a table away from the rest of those in the library, she gave the appearance of one about to study. But the weight of her eyelids was unlike that she'd experienced in a while, and if you propped this book that way then no one would be able to tell she was sleeping. So, Chaewon relented, and finally, finally, she fell asleep.

It was exactly what she needed, but as the girl was in a public place, it wasn't destined to last.

"Should we wake her?" a hushed voice asked, pulling Chaewon from her sleep. She was face down, her head in her arms, eyes hidden from sight, but they were still so heavy she couldn't be bothered opening them.

"Would you want to be woken?" a less-than-hushed voice then asked, and God, Chaewon hoped this was a dream.

"No, but this place gets busy after six and someone might draw on her face or something," the whisperer replied, and Chaewon wondered if she just lay there long enough would they leave her alone.

"That's her biggest concern? Not that her stuff could be taken?"

"Would you want to wake from a nap to find a penis on your forehead, and have no one tell you about it?" That wasn't something Chaewon wanted, and apparently neither did this nice bystander.

"Of course not, but I'm not stupid enough to fall asleep in the library." Chaewon wanted to groan in frustration because she wasn't stupid, she was an insomniac, and she was also addicted to some stupid radio show that ruined her sleep, but groaning would mean alerting them that she was indeed awake, and she didn't want to do that.

"Please, you practically lived here last year," the first voice grumbled in return.

"I'm still not waking her."

"Fine, I'll wake her then." Rather than have some stranger touch her or something as equally as awful, Chaewon put one hand up to stop her.

"You don't need to wake me, but thanks," the sleepyhead groaned out, deciding it best to let them know she was awake. Though, when she looked up, it wasn't a they, but a she, as only one person stood before her.

Chaewon hadn't heard the other girl leave, and looking around the library, she saw no one but the girl stood before her. Taking the time to adjust her eyes to the lights, she looked back up, realizing she'd completely missed what the girl had said.

"Sorry?" Chaewon asked, and the stranger smiled.

"I was just apologizing for interrupting you. The library can get busy and-" she began, giving her an easy smile as she spoke.