《stray together》

To Have Loved And Lost

"CHAN? CHAN, BACK UP. WE HAVE TO GO." Jeongin violently shook Chan's arm to get him to do something.

The leader looked at the car he just T-boned, seeing at least the driver and front seat passenger, and that they were smothered by the airbags. There was no movement, like there would be if they were trying to get help. A pink piece of fabric hung out the broken rear passenger window, but it was impossible to see anything else from all the damage and air bags.

"HYUNG. We need to leave before responders arrive." Jeongin stressed, shaking Chan's shoulder.

With a dazed mind, Chan put the car in reverse and started the flee the scene. Thankfully, his own car wasn't inoperable, so he could get away. As he started to drive away, and take one last glance through the rear view mirror, Chan saw a bumper sticker that made his heart heavy.
'Baby on board'

The initial mission Chan called Jeongin to join him for was long forgotten. Instead, they drove the Range Rover to a wrecking yard, leaving it behind, and called Changbin to pick them up.

As the two waited for Changbin to arrive, Chan went through many different emotions in his head. Jeongin watched, seeing only the quiet, shut down exterior.

"Hyung," the maknae called, trying to get a read on Chan. "We had to leave, or else we would've been arrested." Jeongin received a blank nod in return. "There was nothing we could have done to save them."

"I'm sick of people dying because of me." Chan uttered, his voice flat and his body stiff. "It's always my fault."

Jeongin kept the the thought that it was ironic to himself. They were about to go kill somebody, intentionally, even if justified based on the horrible things they knew about the person. He could call the elder out for the erratic driving, tell him that it wouldn't have happened if he wasn't being reckless, but that wouldn't change anything. He knew that Chan knew that. But there was something... deeper. "You think it has anything to do with the meds? Or whatever you got going on?" He asked, pulling his pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

"BPD." Chan stated, monotone and numb. The sounds of many sirens in the far distance were deafening to him.

Taking out two cigarettes, then considering Chan didn't need any other substance in the mix, Jeongin returned one to the box. "Huh?" A single flick of the lighter wheel caught the end of stick on fire.

Chan slid down the concrete wall to sit on the sidewalk. The wall was abrasive and scratched his back in the process, especially as his shirt rode up, exposing his bare skin to the rough surface. "BPD." Chan repeated, not making eye contact. "TK sent me a link to read about it after he took care of Binnie. I guess my actions that day were enough to give him an idea." By 'actions', Chan was alluding to the fight with Lino.

Through the corners of Jeongin's mouth, smoke escaped as he asked, "What is it? Do you think he's right?"

Somber, voice barely loud enough for Jeongin to hear, Chan answered, "I don't know. I didn't look."

"Why not?" Jeongin's brows knitted, and his eyes narrowed.

"I don't want to know."

"Oh my God," Jeongin sighed, rubbing his face with his hand, "Sometimes it's like pulling teeth with you guys..."

The leader finally glanced up, meeting Jeongin's eyes. It revealed the pain in his own. "Han called me a monster, I didn't want to know if he was right."

Before Jeongin could reply, Changbin started to pull up in his own car. A black Tahoe. The two barely said anything as they got in the rear, leaving the passenger seat empty.