Orange

seven

We sit in comfortable silence, having calmed down after our laughing fit. It has become extremely cold since the power went out. Without heating the elevator has become a freezer. I only have a thin jumper over a T shirt and jeans, so goose pimples have formed on my arms. I let my hair out, to keep my neck warm.

I am contemplating turning my phone off because I want to preserve battery but I also don't want to sit here in complete darkness again. The light illuminates us but also creates strange shadows on the walls that look like tall monsters with hooked fingers. I am a little spooked. I wrap my arms around my shoulders and hug myself.

A yawn builds up within me but I stifle it. I do not feel safe enough to sleep right now, and I am too cold to even consider it. I know I will have to sleep eventually but the thought is less than attractive. The floor is cold and hard against my rear. I shiver involuntarily as the cold begins to seep into my bones. I can feel my eyelids droop a little, and I fight against it.

I look up to see orange watching me, and it is now that I realise I should probably ask this guy's name and stop referring to him as 'rotten orange guy' or 'orange.'

"Hey, what's your name?" I ask softly, wrapping my arms around myself, preserving body heat.

For a moment I am worried that he won't understand what I am asking. He watches me for a few moments, with his eyebrows creased in the middle and I know he is thinking about his answer.

"Kim Taehung." His voice is deep and a little throaty, "- and you?"

This is the first thing that he has said to me that I understand, and strangely it makes me happy.

"Mia Vale." I smile at him politely, and after a small pause he smiles back. A smaller smile this time, but just as heart-breaking.

A strong gust of cold wind sweeps in from one of the vents, and I shiver so hard my elbow rams against the wall. I grab my elbow with one hand, tears stinging in my eyes, and try to pull my jumper even closer. Maybe if I think of hot things I will become warm, that's a thing, right?

Fireplaces. A hot summer day. Meat pies. Baths. Taehung's face.

I am feeling a tiny bit warmer, and look up to see Taehung watching me. He murmurs something softly, and begins to shrug out of his jacket. He holds it out to me with worried eyes. I am incredibly touched by his gesture but I shake my head.

"No, you need that, you are still wet from the Fanta." I gently push it back towards him with an appreciative smile.

He frowns at me, annoyed that I didn't accept his gesture but I only smile with as much positivity that I can muster and pretend that I am not chilled to my very core. I force myself to hide how much I am shaking right now. But judging from his raised eyebrows he is not buying it one bit.

"I'm going to try and get some sleep." I know he probably doesn't understand me but I say it anyway, mostly to motivate myself.

I crawl across the elevator on my hands and knees to the corner of the elevator. With a small sigh, I curl up into a ball. The ground is cold and hard as stone beneath me. I am so cold my teeth begin to chatter. As my eyelids begin to droop I take off one of my shoes and hold it to my chest, just in case. 

I can hear him shuffling about across the elevator from me, and despite that fact that I don't know him, I feel safe in with him. I actually take comfort in the fact that I am not alone here. 

No matter how hard I try to fall asleep I remain awake. I am just too cold, too uncomfortable, and my heart just isn't in it. The anxiety has begun to set in again, and I am shaking like a leaf. I sigh, turning over and pillow my head on my arm. I curse karma and the weather and the power for cutting out and myself for not buying more pies.

"Come." He startles me, and I turn to face him. He is laying in the opposite corner, watching me with an amused expression on his face.

"What?" I am confused.

"Come." He repeats, holding out his hands in an invitation and beckons me with his pointer finger. Taehung then unzips his jacket, and opens it up.

I know what he is suggesting and it makes a lot of sense. It would be a lot warmer if we were to share body warmth, and I will probably get more sleep that way. But, I don't know the guy, he could be a serial killer for all I know. I hesitate for a long moment before I convulse in a massive fit of shivering.

Nope.

I am crawling across the floor before I can rethink my decision. My body craving the warmth his will provide. If he tries anything funny I will smack him with my shoe without hesitation. I stop one meter away, suddenly self-conscious, and sit on my haunches. 

With a loud, exaggerated sigh he has pulls me back against his chest. While holding me close he wraps his coat around both of us and has zips it up halfway. Startled, I immediately try to move away but he holds on tight, muttering something under his breath. Then I am suddenly engulfed by a wonderful warmth that seeps into my bones and is as sweet as honey. 

I am never leaving this place of warmth. 

I shudder in relief and snuggle deeper into the warmth, like a baby. I forget about my horrible day, about lemon lips, about this strange orange-haired guy called Taehyung holding me. I forget it all and lose myself in this pocket of warmth. My eyelids droop and I sigh deeply.

"Thank you." I murmur, my words slurring together. 

I can feel sleep enveloping me into its soft embrace, and I accept it thankfully, ready to escape from today.

"Goodnight aein." His voice is close to my ear when I slip into dreamland.

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I am v proud of the boys.

#BTSBBMAS

- B x