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

Chapter 28

"It's about time", Scoups mumbles while he grabs his bag with the little belongings he had in the hospital. Joshua looks at him smiling, but Scoups notices a dark glimpse behind it, as if the leader is hiding his sadness. Normally, Scoups would ask Joshua about it, but his friend has changed so much that he doesn't know how he will react. 
"You're free to go!" Joshua exclaims excited and Scoups knows it's a huge relief for him to know that his friend is okay again. Scoups has to admit he's glad he can leave the hospital, but mostly because he can finally do some research about Dino. The thought that he just left and even caused all of this doesn't sit well at all with Scoups. What also doesn't sit well with Scoups is that he doesn't see Jun anywhere. Ever since that nurse stormed in to warn him about Jun, Scoups hasn't seen his friend once. He's quite worried, what if the police actually caught him that day? Scoups can't help but feel guilty, it's for Scoups Jun risked his life. 
"Scoups?" Joshua's concerned voice pulls Scoups back to reality and he blinks confused at his leader.
"Someone is calling you", Joshua says and only now Scoups notices his phone is indeed buzzing. Quickly, he picks up and he soon recognizes Seungkwan's voice on the other side.
"I just wanted to inform you that the three of us are very glad you are back", he says and it feels like a heavy backpack just got off of Scoups' shoulders. Jun is all right, he is still here.
"Thanks", Scoups responds and the two share a few sentences before the call ends. When Scoups puts his phone away, he realizes that Joshua has been patiently waiting this whole time.
"Are you ready?" he asks, abnormally patient.
"Yeah, I am", Scoups quickly says and they both leave the hospital. It feels refreshening for Scoups to finally feel the wind on his skin again. He's enjoying it so much that he keeps quiet the whole walk towards Joshua's car. When they arrive and Scoups gets inside the vehicle, he realizes he is going to have to do this more often the next few days because apparently, his car is stolen and Dino's motorbike is damaged to the core. Scoups will have to do everything on foot or he has to ask others to give him a ride. Knowing his pride, Scoups will probably go for the first option. Dino did that quite often too, so how hard can it be? The bitter thought of his roommate causes Scoups to tear up and he quickly rubs his eyes to hide the tears. Luckily, Joshua hasn't noticed and keeps on driving calmly.
"Should I bring you home or do you want to stay at my place?" Joshua asks and Scoups looks his leader in the eye.
"Why shouldn't I go home?" he asks curiously.
"I don't know," Joshua stutters insecure, "I thought maybe you wouldn't like to be alone.." Scoups knows Joshua wanted to add something to the sentence, but he's glad his friend changed his mind. Deep down, Scoups wants to agree and go with him, but instead he smiles.
"I'll be fine", he assures Joshua and the red-haired leader nods. The rest of the way is quiet, the two friends both don't know what to say. It makes Scoups doubt their friendship: could it be that they have grown apart? Did they both change too much? When they arrive at Scoups' apartment, the older nods thankful before Joshua drives off. Before Scoups goes inside, he takes a deep breath to encourage himself. He's an adult, he will have to handle it on his own. But it feels a bit too weird to walk through the hallways alone, knowing no one will be waiting for him inside. Still, Scoups makes it inside, but instead of being happy, Scoups feels an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. He never could have thought he would miss Dino so bad, the kid only was annoying lately. But still Scoups misses the caring roommate he had, who would catch him if he falls, although it's the other way around very often. Scoups chuckles thinking back about the parachute incident. It was very scary back then, but now it's rather funny. They both showed their love at that point, which makes Scoups understand Dino's decision even less. Why would he just leave after all they've been through? After a bit of hesitating, Scoups decides to walk into Dino's room. His mouth opens surprised while he stares at the mess, it looks like any other day. Didn't Dino pack at all? Why is Scoups having such a bad feeling about all of this? Suddenly, everything overwhelmes him and Scoups feels like he can't handle this anymore. He has to go outside and catch some fresh air. Maybe he should take a walk, even though it's already dark outside. With his racing mind, Scoups storms back outside towards the darkness, which he will regret later.