CREEPY-CRAWLIES ; yugbam

the photo

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vashti bunyan; train song

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the days passed in new and different ways.

bambam was watching the world from the window of a train. the moments sped by in blurry wonder, never stopping enough to catch onto one thing for very long. one day he cleaned the whole house with ms. yang. another, he buried himself under blankets and tried to block out the tortured sounds chris made on the no moon. there were glances of sanha's devilish grin, hyunjin's sweater covered hands sparkling as if covered in glitter, minghao's closed lipped comforting smile, chris's eyes fading from silver to black and then changing back silver while his teeth sharpened, and finally, yugyeom.

bambam didn't know where to start with the zombie hybrid. he didn't know if it was just him learning to notice the changes in his dull mood or if it was really happening, but each day his smile widened and his eyes lightened. his dark hair seemed glossier, his pale skin warmer, his dark eyes kinder. his cupids bow smile made bambam feel warm and safe, his voice reminded him of home.

it had been one month since bambam had joined raven house, but he and yugyeom were already closer than bambam had ever been to anyone except his mother.

and yet things were all so different. he'd managed to change his sleeping schedule, spending the nights with the other boys, sometimes exploring the forests behind raven house and others in the living room, playing strange games that the others taught him. they all used their powers so openly—something bambam wasn't used to. the only times he ever used his powers was at home, behind the safety of closed doors and guided by his mother, who had a vast expanse of knowledge in witchcraft despite being human.

bambam sat on the edge of his bed, holding a browning picture of his mother when she was very young, probably 16 years old. he had found it in one of her photo albums, and as he twisted it in his callused hands, he remembered something he used to tell him.

anyone can draw on the magic of this earth. you just have to know it's there.

yugyeom threw open the door, drawing bambam out of his thoughts before the burning behind his eyes could turn into tears. he dropped his hands to his sides, hiding the photo behind his back.

"hey", yugyeom said, sitting down next to him on the bed with an excited bounce. moods had been high in the house recently; it was full moon and chris was eager to be outside. plus, ms. yang had promised to take them to the new picture film that was coming out as soon as chris's transformation was complete.

"hi", bambam replied, discreetly pushing the photo behind him more. he trusted yugyeom—of course he did, he considered him closer than a best friend at that point—but he wasn't yet ready to share everything with yugyeom. he didn't know if he ever would be.

"you're up early", yugyeom remarked, eyes trained on bambam. he could tell something was off with the boy, and even though he was worried, he didn't want to push him.

"yeah", bambam replied, fingers twitching in his lap. "i couldn't sleep."

"any particular reason why?", yugyeom asked, eyebrow raised. bambam shrugged.

"i have bad dreams some times."

"ah", yugyeom murmured. he glanced at bambam once more before standing up, deciding not push it. he reached a hand out, that dazzling smile on his pink lips. just a month ago they had been a sickly pale shade. "let's go help grandma with dinner."

"i'll come down in a second", bambam said. he clutched the photo of his mother in a fist behind his back. yugyeom stared at him, hand falling to his side dejectedly. "go on without me."