Saving Grace [discontinued]

{chapter 16} - sleep

The rest of my unforgettable day was spent staring out a rain-streaked window with my broken leg propped on Sana's lap. I eventually got tired of looking out at the dreary landscape, and I gently pulled the window shade down, careful to not wake anyone who might have been asleep.

The atmosphere of the jet was lightened by the hushed conversation of the staff and two of the idols in the seats behind Sana and I. Those two idols happened to be Namjoon, who I'd already met, and Min Yoongi, who had been in the pilot's cockpit while Sana and I had been getting our injuries treated. The most of a greeting I'd gotten from Yoongi was a quick nod of the head in my direction before leaving to talk with Namjoon.

But you better believe I was still fangirling over that small nod of his head for many hours after it happened.

In fact, I was extremely startled with the fact that Sana and I hadn't been screaming out and making fools of ourselves ever since we'd gotten on the jet. However, when I leaned back in my seat and let my mind drift back to memories from earlier that day, I figured all of the stress had caught up to us. I shuddered, as if the action would shake off the memory, and rested my head on a sleeping Sana's shoulder.

While the causes and symptoms of trauma are various, there are some basic signs of trauma that you can look out for. People who have endured traumatic events will often appear shaken and disoriented. Emotion is one of the most common ways in which trauma manifests. Some common emotional symptoms of trauma include denial, anger, sadness, and emotional outbursts. Trauma often manifests physically as well as emotionally. Some common physical signs of trauma include paleness, lethargy, fatigue, poor concentration, and a racing heartbeat.

I sighed in frustration when the article on my phone screen faded to black, a sign that my battery had died. I let my head fall back hard against the plane seat as I squeezed my eyes shut.

I couldn't sleep. Whether it was my racing thoughts waking me, or the increased volume of the chatter among the people behind me, my consciousness was refusing to slip. And to make my situation even better, Sana had shifted in her sleep so that her entire torso was leaning against me. Her fat head was making it harder for me to breathe and one of her arms was resting on my broken leg.

It was obvious to me that the staff and idols had given up on whispering, as their voices had risen so much that if Sana was awake, she would've shushed them and scolded them to use "inside voices." When someone finally let out a harsh shout, I snapped.

I twisted around in my seat so that I was up on one knee, ready to reprimand someone. But when my eyes caught sight of who was behind me, my heart softened.

Lying in the row behind me was a dozing Jungkook. His body was cutely curled in on itself against the leather seat, his head leaning against the armrest. His lips were slightly parted, soft breathing sounds escaping his mouth. A couple seconds after someone shouted out, his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and his tired eyelids slowly opened.

"Shut up," I heard him mumble cutely.

The moment I realized Jungkook was awake, I quickly tried to scramble back into a sitting position. My limbs flailed around desperately in an attempt to get into a casual-looking position. The last thing I wanted was to get caught watching the maknae sleep.

Unfortunately, luck was not on my side.

"Grace," Jungkook's raspy voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Y-yes?" I mentally slapped myself for stuttering.

"Why are you awake? You should sleep."

I bit my lip hesitantly. Should I tell him the real reason why I can't sleep? I could easily just lie and say that it was all because of the loud conversations in the back, but there was something about Jungkook that made me feel like I could confess the most embarrassing of my secrets. I let out a sigh and Jungkook sat up in his seat.

"I can only sleep when I'm hugging something, like a pillow or blanket. Usually Sana lets me hug her arm or something but she keeps kicking me, I think she might be having a nightmare," I confessed in what was probably very broken Korean.

Jungkook's head nodded sleepily in understanding, the corners of his lips forming an amused smirk. I watched as he dived into deep thought about what to do, a gulp bouncing in his throat when he seemingly came to a conclusion.

"Um...well, I mean, you could come sit by me if your friend is hitting you. And I can go find a towel if you need something to hold," Jungkook said shyly, his face downcast to hide his embarrassment.

But something sparked in his eyes, and he suddenly stood up with newfound determination.

Before I could agree or disagree to anything, I was carefully untangled from Sana's limbs that embraced me and gently placed in the seat next to Jungkook's. My eyes followed Jungkook's figure as he moved past a couple rows of seats before disappearing from my vision completely.

About a minute later, the young idol returned with a black towel in hand. He plopped in the seat next to me and passed me the towel. When he did, our fingertips brushed together and I felt a rush of warm energy overcome my entire being. It was probably the most insignificant skinship that I'd shared with Jungkook, but it still managed to send jolts of warmth down my spine.

I lifted my head to look at Jungkook, and considering by his slightly shocked expression, he had felt the exact same thing. His eyes bore into my own, demanding attention from them. Just when I thought I was about to get locked in his gaze for another century, my mind snapped me back to reality.

"Thank you," I whispered, clutching the towel to my chest. My hips shifted so that I was facing away from Jungkook, teeth biting my lip to force back a smile. My heart beat relentlessly at just the thought of looking at the unbearably attractive man next to me. Why was it so dang easy to get sucked up in those two, beautiful, black orbs that he calls eyes?

When I heard him chuckle lightly behind me, I couldn't hold back the smile any longer.

Once my heart had calmed down, the action of closing my eyes became effortless. For some reason, just the knowledge that Jungkook was next to me gave me enough assurance to close my eyes.

Just as I was about to run off to dreamland, my subconscious told me why Jungkook gave me enough courage to sleep.

Because he was providing me with an emotion I hadn't truly felt all day.

Safety.

______________
sjksjsskjss i feel bad that i haven't updated in like 3 weeks kms

but in other news thank you so much for all the reads!!!!!! i honestly thought the most it would get up to is like 10 lol. but there's like 300? what? thanks for reading this siht, ily fam 💜

p.s i almost combusted! when i saw the picture i used as the cover for this chapter bc he is such a bby boy omg what a blessing

jungkookslollipop 🍭