hoodwink -- bts

chapter nine [nighty-night]

It was typical. Catching the flu, I mean.

Bedridden and miserable I couldn't feel anything from my head down to my toes. Nothing was clear to me as Minji fed me another dose of sticky cough syrup. The drowsy after effect left me loopy and wishing for nothing more than to just sleep it off.

'You're an idiot. I can't believe you would actually try to escape in the dead of winter. Not to mention during a heavy storm.' Grumbling, she slammed the bottle down and tossed the spoon aside.

'I'm just dying to know Ji-U, what made you think you'd get very far? You know, Taehyung has eyes on the back of his head. If he hadn't noticed you running away immediately, he would have figured it out sooner or later.' She chuckled condescendingly as the chair next to the side of the bed creaked underneath her weight.

'You wouldn't understand. You're not the one who's been bitten 3 times within a week.' I turned away from her, wishing that she would leave instead of speaking to me like I was an idiot.

It wasn't as if I hadn't already suffered enough from catching an illness in the cold rain.

'It isn't even that bad. In fact, you should be grateful that you're still alive. Most other tributes would be gone by the next day.' She sniffed disdainfully, catching my attention with her statement.

I turned my body to face her once more.

'What do you mean?'

A yawn escaped her lips, interrupting her eye roll.

'Look, I'm not allowed to spill too much, but since your life is kinda at stake here, I'll explain a bit.' She shifted positions in her seat before continuing.

'A tribute like you is technically only supposed to have the ability to survive one attack, after that they're pretty much either dead or no longer of use. When you were first bitten a while back, you lived which was very odd considering we all thought you were just a normal human girl. Then it happened again with an Allaria, and yet again you managed to generate enough blood to compensate for the amount loss. And finally, last night before you made the mistake of trying to escape out the window, Taehyung got you again. This time, we could all feel a shift in your body system. Nothing too interesting was taking place, perhaps just a few internal switches but I'm sure we've all come to the same realization...' With her finger, she picked away at the dead skin underneath the others, seemingly uninterested in the information she leaked.

'What conclusion?' My throat had suddenly gone dry out of fear of the unknown.

The light emerald flecks in her otherwise amber shaded eyes shimmered in the bright light coming from the window. Looking up from her activity, she seemed fidgety, nervous almost.

'We may think that you're immune to bites. It hardly happens, but when it does it's usually a sign.'

'A sign for what?'

'I can't explain it quite yet. I'm sure if you ask Taehyung he'd be more than happy to explain.' The shift in her voice alarmed me as she stood from her seat and made a beeline towards the door.

A slight shake of furniture startled me from the slammed door.

- -

The conditions seemed to worsen as night approached. It felt as if the temperature had dropped dramatically in the room as I hugged the blanket closer to my body.

I could vaguely make out the soft open and click of the door. Closing my eyes, I hoped that the person would leave upon seeing my feigned sleeping state.

A hand shot out to shake me awake, gripping my shoulder tightly.

Groaning, I opened both eyes while the pounding returned to my temples. It was an excruciatingly painful sensation that made every nerve stand on end.

'Wake up.' The command came out in a hoarse, rushed sort of manner. One that was soft on my aching eardrums.

As I focused on the figure next to the bed, my eyes were drawn open immediately.

'Jungkook?' He had been locked away in his room or busy avoiding me for the past few days. He became the ghost, hardly spotted but all the while still there.

'I need it, Ji-U.' His strangled whine brought me to some of my senses. It was filled with such desperation, almost too painful to bear. However much I wanted to understand, I had no idea of what he was going on about.

'What do you mean? What do you need?' Crashing onto the spot next to me, his hand clutched at a crumpled box of cigarettes now empty.

'Did you smoke all of those...?' I was now beginning to become concerned with his irrational behavior. 12 cigarettes in one day was sure to be fatal, even if he hadn't been completely human.

Nodding feverishly, he used both hands to cover his face. His breathing rate picked up significantly as well.

'Nothing is working, I've even tried sleeping it off but I can't help it.'

I wanted to move as far away from him as I could before he would turn into some sort of blood-sucking crazed animal. My blood level was already depleted enough as is, there was no way I needed another near-death experience.

Before I could speak, a fit of coughs stirred up in my chest, causing a tight feeling to spread.

'I-I can't Jungkook. I'm sick.' Tired and fatigued, I turned away from him and dove back under the sheets.

His slow and steady actions that followed signalled that he paid no mind to what I had just stated. The tip of his nose brushed against my neck, a content sigh escaping his lips.

'I'm sorry Ji-U.' As he brought his mouth closer to the intended spot, I struggled to move away but my movements were sluggish due to the aching flu.

The door opened before I could yell out and the two of us looked to see the figure in the doorway.

A lit cigar in hand, Taehyung raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the doorway, eyeing the semi-wrestling match in front of him.

'Jungkook, isn't it past your bedtime?'

- -

it's 1 am, do you know where your kids are? yeah, me neither...

apparently if you paint your nails yellow and go outside, the entire bee population will suddenly love you

don't get stung kids, it's not fun

-elise