~<*>~ Pain in me ~<*>~

Chapter 18

"I'll see you on the ground!" Joshua yells before he dissapears in the air. Vernon lets out an impressed gasp while he stares into the air. It's all just blue, you can't see anything. It gives Dino shivers. 
"The next one should jump", the instructor says and Vernon lifts his chin in the air.
"Let's do this. This is for everyone who couldn't be here today!" Vernon shouts before he too jumps out of the plane. A sudden gust of wind blows inside the plane and ruffles Dino's hair. The brunette lets out a surprised squeak which causes Scoups to laugh.
"You're really scared, aren't you?" he asks smiling and Dino can't do anything else than nod. Scoups squeezes Dino's hand to comfort him while Woojin is getting ready to jump.
"You can go", the instructor says and Woojin doesn't doubt one second before he lets himself fall out. 
"You should go next", Scoups says, but Dino shakes his head in denial, he's too scared.
"We are the only ones left and believe me, it's way scarier to go last", Scoups insists. 
"The next one should jump now", the instructor says and Dino notices a touch of boredom in her voice.
"I'm scared", Dino whispers while he grabs his backpack with his sweaty hands.
"You have your backpack on your back, nothing bad will happen", Scoups assures Dino while he gently pushes him towards the opening.
"Make sure to open your parachute on time", the instructor advises before she pushes Dino out. Screaming, he spins in the air, trying to navigate himself. After a while he stops spinning and he can see the others beneath him. Now he feels the fun of flying, he even enjoys it. Smiling, he flies through the air, seeing the ground nearing him. His heart is racing, it feels like excitement and fear at the same time. He knows Scoups is flying somwehere above him. And then, he sees parachutes open beneath him. Time to open mine, he thinks. Flying for a few minutes is nice, but it has been enough for now. But when he pulls the rope, nothing happens. He pulls again, but it starts to get clear now. His parachute won't open.

~<*>~

Scoups is enjoying the air rushing past him while his eyes are fixed on Dino. The younger who's flying beneath him seems to be enjoying this too, which is great. Scoups feels like he's the king of the world, all his problems, insecurities and worries fly away past him. He has to admit that this was a great idea from Joshua. Speaking of Joshua, Scoups really doesn't know what to do with him. Should he stay mad at him, or should he be kind again? All Scoups wants is for Joshua to be his old self again, but he has no clue how. While Scoups is lost in thought, he smiles seeing the parachutes open beneath him. They look like funny mushrooms. Scoups wants to open his own parachute when he notices Dino is acting weird. His parachute still hasn't opened yet and it seems like Dino is starting to panic. It only takes Scoups less than a second to realize there is trouble. Without even thinking further, he places his arms right next to his body and storms down with high speed, trying to reach Dino as soon as possible. Luckily, he succeeds and when he is near, he spreads his arms in front of him and grabs Dino with such force that he takes the younger with him. Dino screams scared and grabs Scoups tight. The time is ticking and they're nearing the others and the ground, but the terror in Dino's eyes makes Scoups' heart shatter into a million pieces. For a brief moment, time seems to stop and they both look into each other's eyes. 
"Help me", Dino whipsers in fear and it snaps Scoups back to reality. His heart is racing while he grabs the handle and pulls with all the strength he has, but the parachute won't open.
"What the hell?" Scoups exclaims and his mind is racing while the others still have no clue what is happening right above them.
"I think my parachute is sabotaged!" Dino screams while panic clearly is taking over in the younger's eyes. 
"I'll take care of that", Scoups states firmly while he pulls at the handle once again, but he pulls so hard that the handle breaks and ends up loose in Scoups' hand.
"Shit", Scoups curses while Dino's eyes widen terrified.
"Oh my god! I'm going to die!" he yells panicking while they fall past the other members in high speed. Scoups can already imagine them looking confused at first, but then worried. He also realizes that they're too close to the ground, they need to take action right now.
"Just let me go, let me die!" Dino yells, trying to save Scoups, but he shakes his head in denial.
"I'm not leaving you behind!" Scoups shouts back and a tear rolls down Dino's cheek.
"If we're dying anyways, you might as well tell me what has been on your mind the past few hours", Dino says while Scoups is trying to see if they can still save themselves.
"Jisung escaped", Scoups blurts out while he pulls his own handle, but his parachute seems to be stuck as well. His heart skips a beat and so does Dino's.
"What!?" he asks in shock, but Scoups is too busy with saving them to take Dino's words in. He wraps his arm tight around Dino's waist, protecting him like a shell protects a trutle. His other hand grabs the handle once more, praying this will work.
"Hang on tight", Scoups says as he pulls again, this time the relieving sound of an opening parachute fills Scoups' ears.
"It opened!" Dino yells in excitment, but the fact they're too close to the ground and the extra weight of a second person causes the parachute to do half the work, the two friends are still falling down too fast, even though they're slowing down slightly. But soon enough, the two crash into a tree and the branches cut them while they're stumbling down. Dino is screaming his lungs out while Scoups wraps his body around Dino to protect him. When they reach the end of the branches, the parachute snaps and because of the sudden force, Dino falls out of Scoups' hands, onto the ground with a hard thud. Scoups' back cracks, but the backpack keeps him dangling from the tree, a meter or two above the ground. The parachute is stuck in the tree, but luckily Scoups isn't hanging too far from the ground.
"You're bleeding", Dino grunts worried while he looks up towards his friend. Scoups touches his face and notices a branch cut his cheek. 
"It's okay, it's just a small cut," Scoups reassures Dino, "are you okay?"
"I guess I am, I got lucky you noticed me, otherwise I would have died", Dino mumbles shocked and Scoups nods his head while the wind suddenly blows his body, causing it to rock back and forth. 
"What now?" Dino asks as he starts to get himself up. Scoups tries to free him from his backpack, but the constant movement of his body makes it way harder than it's supposed to be.
"Shit, I can't get myself out of here", Scoups curses and he looks down surprised when he notices Dino grabbing the tree.
"What are you doing!?" Scoups yells startled as the younger actually starts climbing up.
"I promised not to leave you behind," Dino grunts, "so I'm climbing up to rescue you." The situation looks so bizarre that Scoups bursts out in laughter. How did he end up like this?
"Ah!" Dino squeaks as he falls down and lands in the soft grass at the bottom of the tree.
"Just give up, call the fire department or something", Scoups chuckles while a cold breeze ruffles his hair. Dino wants to answer, but right at that moment, someone comes running towards them.
"What is wrong with you!? Can't you even open a parachute!?" Joshua screams furiously while his eyes shoot fire at Dino.
"Someone sabotaged my parachute", Dino objects and Joshua scoffs in return.
"Scoups could've died!" Joshua shouts angry and Dino crosses his arms in front of him.
"So could I!" he exclaims frustrated.
"Guys, quit the fights. I'm not dead, Dino isn't dead. We're both fine",  Scoups says and when Joshua looks up to see where the sound came from, he widens his eyes in shock.
"You don't look fine, you dangling man", Joshua comments and Vernon, who just arrived, chuckles amused. 
"What happened here?" he asks joking.
"Just Scoups and me almost dying", Dino comments and Vernon's face darkens with worry.
"Really?" he asks and Dino rolls his eyes annoyed.
"Didn't you see us falling past you at high speed?" Dino snaps and Vernon puts his hands in the air apologizing.
"I'm sorry, I thought you were doing some tricks or something", he mumbles.
"Guys, enough. Vernon couldn't have known. Now please get me out of here", Scoups begs and Joshua stares at him in thought.
"Should we call the fire department?" Woojin asks as he arrives.
"No need, I'll be right back", Joshua says before he runs off. While the leader is gone, Scoups stares at his teammates in silence. Now that he's dangling here, slowly swinging in the wind, he feels kind of embarrassed. 
"What are you looking at me for?" Woojin suddenly states annoyed and Scoups notices Dino has been staring at Woojin ever since the blonde got here. 
"What were you doing at the backpacks right before we were about to jump?" Dino asks suspicious. Scoups sighs, why do they aways have to be angry at each other?
"I'm going to help Joshua", Vernon mubles and he runs off, avoiding the fight. Scoups wishes he could run off as well right now.
"I was making sure my backpack was safe", Woojin answers calmly.
"And sabotaging mine while you were there?" Dino accuses the blonde.
"What?" Woojin scoffs, he clearly has enough of all these accusations. And to be honest, Scoups has too.
"Did Joshua tell you to do this? He really wants me dead, doesn't he?" Dino rants and Woojin crosses his arms in front of his body.
"I don't know what you're talking about. But I would appreciate it if you wouldn't accuse me so easily. Do you even know for sure if your parachute got sabotaged?" Woojin objects and Dino wants to answer, but Joshua and Vernon come back with in their hands a ladder.
"Finally", Scoups whispers as the two teammates place the ladder against the tree and Joshua starts to climb up.
"Be careful!" Vernon yells at his leader while he holds the ladder.
"I will", Joshua says as he reaches Scoups.
"Why did you rescue Dino? You could've died!" Joshua starts snapping at him and Scoups frowns surprised.
"How did you know it was Dino who needed to be saved?" Scoups asks, suddenly feeling suspicious of his old friend.
"Is it your parachute that's hanging here or Dino's?" Joshua reasons and Scoups nods his head chuckling.
"Fair point", he says while Joshua starts cutting the ropes to free Scoups from the parachute.
"I was really worried, you know", Joshua mumbles.
"I know", Scoups answers softly and some warmth fills Scoups' heart. Not everything from his friend is gone, luckily. Then, a snapping sound fills the air and Scoups falls down with a surprised scream, right onto Dino. As soon as he can, Scoups stumbles off of his friend and gets rid of the backpack. 
"Are you okay?" Scoups asks out of breath and Dino nods.
"I'm fine", he says, but his voice sounds a little grumpy.
"What's wrong? Is it because of Woojin? Dino, maybe he didn't do it and you just got unlucky", Scoups tries to comfort his friend, but Dino only shrugs.
"Whatever", he mumbles irritated and Scoups' eyes soften.
"Are you sure you're okay? You seem a little...", Scoups asks, but he gets cut off by Dino immediatly.
"I already told you, I'm fine!" Dino snaps angry before he gets up and storms off. Scoups sighs, he would give a lot to know what is happening inside the younger's head. 

In the meantime, Dino grabs his phone and diales the number of a particular girl.
"Aylen, can you come over? I need to ask you something", he asks while he sends the adress.
"Sure, is it to meet that Scoups?" she asks hopeful.
"Sort of", Dino answers. His mind is everywhere and he doesn't know what to do.