ꜱʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴏᴜᴛ _ ᴇɴʜʏᴘᴇɴ 8ᴛʜ ᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ

= drained =

*Requested*

It was hectic. The packed schedule from morning to morning. With the comeback a few weeks away, the members of Enhypen has been so busy with practices and what's not. The exhaustion are starting to show up on their actions and the way they go by their days.

Lately, Lily has been feeling her lowest. The constant stress and lack of energy is taking a toll on her. Though she hate to admit it, she wanted to give up. It doesn't help that she didn't get to meet her parents before the comeback when all the members went back to have some family time with their family. Lily's parents are away in Dubai for an important business so even if she badly wanted to see them, she can't.

She has to admit that it's been so long since she sees her family and for some reason, she feels guilty for it. During practice, Lily can't focus and her head kept thinking about the guilt eating her up from the inside. It didn't help that her parents aren't answering their phones as they're involved in a meeting.

That one particular night, after everyone had left to rest, Lily stays back to practice some more to tire herself out even more so that she can't stop feeling so bad over something she had no control of. Her movements are not as smooth as it is usually and she keep on messing up the choreography. She finally grew tired and sat down on the floor with her back against the wall.

She grabbed her phone, trying to get a hold of her parents but once again, she failed. Lily sighed, closing her eyes. Everything just hurts and she wanted to give up so bad. A sharp pain attacked her chest, making her clutch onto her chest tightly. Slowly, tears began flowing down from her eyes.

The room is very quiet, the only thing heard is her crying. Lily could barely breathe. She doesn't know what she's feeling at the moment. Exhausted is an understatement. She's confused, in pain, exhausted and feeling guilty. All she wanted to do is close her eyes and rest, even if it's just for a while but it's not possible when it's so loud inside her head. They're telling her to hurt herself just to feel better. They're screaming at her to blame herself more for being such a horrible daughter and friend.

Meanwhile, Jay is heading back to the practice room as he accidentally left his AirPods behind. He wanted to get it back before going back home. As soon as he opens the door, he's surprised to see Lily on the floor, crying.

Seeing Lily cry is a normal thing at this point but he never seen her so broken and in pain, emotionally. She's crying so much that Jay can see her body trembling. "Peach?" He made his way to Lily and held her shoulders from shaking too much. Her face is red and eyes are swollen very badly, though it's covered with her hairs. "Breathe in, Lily. I'm here. Breathe in please."

Lily listened to Jay as she originally had forgotten how to breathe properly. If it wasn't for him, she would probably passed out from the lack of air. Jay held her face in his palms as he wiped her tears away with his thumbs. "It's okay. I'm here with you, hmm? I will be here with you until you feel better, alright? Just take your time."

Her eyes started watering once again even when she had just stopped crying. What Jay had said hits her so badly. Having someone who validates her feelings and let her know that she doesn't need to talk in order for them to understand her made her feel so heard and seen.

The truth is, Jay could see Lily struggling for the past few days, especially since she couldn't meet her parents while the other members did. Even Ni-ki got the chance to see his family while Lily stays in the dorm by herself. But she never breaks down like this. It's probably all too much for her. The longing, the guilt. Jay could partially understand Lily as she's probably keeping everything to herself so that she wouldn't bother anyone with her personal problems and feelings.

But seeing her like this hurts Jay more than he could handle. Lily leaned her head against Jay's chest. She lets him hold her in his arms as her cries slowly subsides, replaced with hiccups. Jay's hand went up to her hair and gently caressed it. There are no words being exchanged between them as there are no need for that. In that moment, Lily felt calm so she closes her eyes, trying to take a wink of sleep while she's in a calm state.

Having Jay hold her did so many things to her. She wanted to thank him for being there and says nothing but she's too tired to even open her mouth to speak.

Her eyelids slowly closes and after ten minutes, Lily is out like the light. Her body had went limp and it made Jay smiled. He can't remember when was the last time he saw the girl sleeping soundly. She would always wake up in the middle of the night because she was anxious. Her eyes always looked so dull. It's clear that she's exhausted but she still can't sleep. Jay and the other members are worried for Lily as she usually kept all her problems to herself and at the end, it will hurt her to the point it became unbearable.

"You don't have to act like it doesn't hurt you, peach. If it hurts you, it hurts you." He sighed, "we can't help you if you won't tell us what's wrong. It hurts us so bad to see you like this, peach."

Jay made sure Lily is comfortable as he adjusted her position. She's now sitting on top of Jay with her head resting comfortably on his chest. Her chest heaves up and down in a steady state as she took in little breathes to regulate her breathing after crying. "I hope all the pain left you when you wake up. Rest well, my peach. I love you."

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