forever won't wait

fell in love, now we're both alone

Jimin finally built up the strength to leave his room. It had only been a few hours since his "episode", to his surprise.

He peeked his head outside of his door. The hall was deserted. That usually meant it was either dinner time, or that there was some sort of big activity going on. Clocks and watches weren't really allowed here, for reasons largely unknown, but probably pertaining to "not allowing outside influences in" or some bull.

The silence as Jimin walked down the hall was downright creepy. The lights seemed to glint more harshly than ever, and his footsteps echoed like they never had before. He passed by rows and rows of doors, each looking the same as the last. Just as he was beginning to think that he may have been lost, the hall forks. He chooses the left, though he can't remember there being a hall like this anywhere in the hospital.

Another turn took him to the dining hall, but when he arrived it was totally empty. His brow furrowed. There were no lingering smells, no echoing noises, nothing to show that anyone had ever been there.

Jimin walked between the circular tables, gliding his hand across the cool surface. He slid into a seat and closed his eyes.

Yellow sunlight flashed before Jimin, startling him into a different scene. Hoseok and his friends sat under the park's biggest oak tree, laughing. Hoseok's rang clear above the rest, but whether it was a result of his voice or Jimin's tendency to notice him over the others was a bit blurrier.

Jimin, now standing maybe twenty feet away, could only stare. The sun seemed to center right around him, surrounding him in a golden halo, and Jimin found himself unable to look away.

Hoseok turned his head towards Jimin, and their eyes met. His smile faded as the scene around him grew dark, shattering into little pieces.

He began to fall.

-----

"How long has it been since your last nightmare? A few weeks, right?"

Jimin nodded. The dreams had been coming since he was little, recurrences of monsters, people he'd disappointed, things he should have done differently. They lead to endless sleepless nights, an addiction to caffeine, and constant dark circles under his eyes, testimony to days spent awake.

"Hm. We could try a different sleep aid, though if this is the first occurrence in a month or so, that may not be the solution." He leaned forward. "Has something happened lately? As in, some sort of outside influence that we are unaware of?"

Jimin hesitated, but shook his head. He'd rather not have to explain his relationship to the new patient, especially if there was a chance that they would ask Hoseok questions, and then he'd remember him, or judge him, or...the possibilities were too numerous, and Jimin didn't like how any of them ended.

"And you're absolutely sure about this?", the doctor asked.

Jimin looked to the clipboard in his lap.

"Yes. Can I go now?" he wrote, passing it along the huge wooden desk that sat between them.

The man sighed.

"Go ahead. I'll send a note down to let them know to change your medication, and we'll meet in a few days to see if that helps. You know, I had faith that you'd be out soon. We can't help you until you let us, Jimin. That's just how things work."

----

Taehyung eased the door open, careful to make as little sound as possible. He slipped inside when he had opened it as far as he dared, avoiding the floorboard that always creaked, stepping around the bits of broken glass, and tiptoeing around the living room to the kitchen.