The Monster Under The Bed

1. Much Has Changed

*The teenage boy cried as they dragged him away from his house. His home....*

Jongin jerks awake, panting from the nightmare. He glances over at Kyungsoo's bed and bites his lip.

The second Kyungsoo remembered him, he moved to the older boy's room. He thought that would make the nightmares go away.

They just got worse.

Careful not to make any noise, he climbs out of bed and makes his way to the kitchen for a bottle of water.

Autumn was there, her head in the fridge. She glances at him and nods.

"Hey," she greets softly, "What are you wanting?"

"Water."

"Regular, flavored, or sparkling?"

"Regular."

She reaches in and pulls out a bottle of the refreshing liquid, handing it to him. He unscrews the cap and takes a dip while she takes out a bowl of apple slices.

He watches her while she munches on the fruit. He thinks of the first time he had seen her, dragging her drunk friend out of a night club. Back then her face had been tired, but innocent. She had still been a teenager with a promising future.

Now, that youthful glow she had was gone. He had never realized how much stress could affect a person. It had only been a year, probably less. But she had gone from girl to woman in the blink of an eye.

"A lot has changed," he comments without thinking, she tilts her head in interest.

"How so?" she asks.

He shrugs, "I don't know. Like, a year ago, we wouldn't be casually be standing next to each other like this."

She chuckles a bit.

"A year ago, you all were the monsters from the nightmares of kids who watch horror movies."

"We still are Autumn. You just don't see that side of us anymore."

Autumn is silent. Obviously what he said got to her. But he felt no regret.

"Why are you down here this late?"

"Z's hungry, but he didn't want to come down alone and I told him that unless he could guarantee he wouldn't scream, he wasn't allowed to come with me," Autumn answers softly.

"Why doesn't he want to come down alone?" 

"He's scared of the dark. You know how after everyone's asleep Suho doesn't like the lights out here being turned on."

"But you turned the lights on."

"No I didn't."

"Then how is it bright enough to see?"

"I'm using Baekhyun's ability to put a soft glow on everything."

He glances around and notices what she's talking about. Even his water was glowing.

"I see," Jongin replies, then clears his throat, "Why is Zitao scared of the dark?"

"He was locked in a dark room for a good part of his life. I know how he feels. But he never matured enough to learn to face his fears, if you know what I mean. It was worse when we escaped. It did get gradually better though. I'm hoping it will work that way again this time."

"I hope so too. Or else Suho's going to give him a hard time."

"Why?"

"When Suho was younger, his father taught him and Yixing that having fears was a weakness. And weakness was unacceptable. Yixing never caught in that way of thinking, but Suho did. It can be pretty bad."

Her face shows worry. She bites her lower lip and closes her eyes.

"I have to go. Z is beginning to panic."

"Ok."

She disappears along with the light. He sighs and teleports back to him and Kyungsoo's room. The older boy is still sleeping soundly. Jongin sets the bottle of water on the nightstand and lays back down. Before he knows it, he has drifted back to sleep.

🔼🔼🔼🔼

Autumn appears outside the door to her and Zitao's room. It had been a month since he had agreed to join.

She had told him about what was going on, how she had been sneaking to the basement to feed and water Kris and Luhan. She wished she could remove their bonds, but when she tried to touch them, the metal had burned her skin.

She had been horrified to find out that the cuff that had been placed on her wrist to contain her power had only half the potency of theirs. Those cuffs were designed for heavy duty power containment and physical restraint.

She opens the door and is surprised when she wasn't immediately grabbed by the boy who had been waiting for her.

She sees why. Zitao was asleep, cuddling the stuffed panda she had asked Yixing to get for him. She smiles and teleports back to the kitchen to put back the apple slices. When she comes back, Zitao is crying in his sleep. She sits on his bed and strokes his hair lightly. She reaches into his mind and sees the nightmare he was having. She bites her lip and thinks of new things, happy things. A fairytale.

Once he was smiling, she teleports to the basement. Kris and Luhan are both asleep. She kisses Luhan on the forehead first, and fills him with what strength she can combining his and Kyungsoo's powers.

When she goes to kiss Kris, she finds he has a high fever. But when she tries to heal him using Yixing's power, it doesn't work.

"Kris," she calls softly, "Kris, wake up."

The older boy moans and opens his eyes. He yawns tiredly.

"Do you feel okay Kris?" she asks. He shakes his head.

"I'm cold."

It was hot and humid in the room. She feels his face again in worry.

"You have a fever."

He hangs his head.

"Great."

Carefully, she settles a warmth over his body using Chanyeol's power.

"Thank you Autumn," he whispers.

"You're welcome Kris."

"Autumn, can I ask you a favor?"

"Of couse."

"You remind me of my mom, and she normally calls me by my real name Yifan. Can you do that too?"

She smiles at him gently.

"Of course... Yifan."

He smiles in contentment and falls back to sleep. She goes back to her room and grabs a book off the nightstand. She reads until she falls asleep.