Crossing Over

Five

Light sobbing interrupted Dae's sleep, slowing pulling her from her dream. She blinked her eyes open only to have them focus on a back. The figure was too small to be Joon or Jin. She scrunched her brow in concentration as her eyes raked over the hunched over figure. His shoulders shook as he cried. 

She slipped from her bed as quietly as she could to ease over to the crying boy. This had to be a dream. There was no way someone was in her room crying at... she glanced over at her alarm clock, three in the morning. Her finger tips brushed against his shoulder and he jumped to his feet. Once he had spun around to face her, she took a step back. His skin was translucent with the dark veins underneath clearly showing through. His eyes were brimmed red and still watery as though more tears would come any minute. His sandy bangs looked plastered to his forehead as he looked down at her. Still clutched in his hand was a stuffed bunny Joon had gotten her a few years back for her birthday. 

"Shh.. I'm not going to hurt you," she cooed softly to the boy. He looked so young in the face though he towered over her. "Who are you? And how did you get in here?" 

The boy blinked several times and his lips thinned out into a flat line. "Tae," he whispered and he was gone. The stuffed bunny fell to the floor and Dae blinked in confusion. 

"JOON!" she screamed. This had to be a nightmare. There was no way that happened. People didn't just disappear in thin air. She screamed his name again. 

The bedroom door slammed against the wall as her brothers came running inside. Namjoon had a baseball bat lifted as though ready to swing it and Jin had a shoe raised. 

"Dae!" Jin grabbed her and pulled her tightly against him with the shoe still raised in his hand. Namjoon had already started opening the closet door and poking the end of the bat past her clothes. 

Anxiety flooded her when she realized she was awake. Had this been a dream, this was the part she would wake up. Jin turned her around to face him after Namjoon shook his head indicating that he hadn't found anyone lurking in the closet. 

"What happened Dae?" he asked softly. 

"There.. there was a person in here. A boy. Or well, a young man. I'm not sure but he was a guy and he looked kinda young but not really young.." 

Jin gave her a quick shake to snap her back to attention. 

"Right. There was  a guy and he was crying and holding my bunny and when I spoke to him he said Tae and then disappeared." She rushed the sentence out and looked up at Jin for answers. He always had the answers. 

He chuckled softly and kissed the top of her head. "Poor thing, did the talk about the previous residents scare you that bad? You must have had a bad dream." His assurance did little to comfort her. Her eyes had been open the entire time. 

Dae shook her head and pushed back from his chest. "I know what I saw Jin! His crying woke me up!" 

Namjoon stepped forwards and took her shoulder. "Dae, you've been stressed with school just starting and us moving. I'm sure the stories earlier must have been the last straw and your brain wrapped around it to act on the stress. There's no one here." His tone was soft and he was clearly trying to reassure her but her mind wasn't accepting it. 

She blew out a breath and glared at the two before her eyes snapped to the shoe still clutched in Jin's hand. "A shoe? Really? If someone was trying to kill me you'd beat them with a shoe?" 

Jin scoffed and swatted her gently with the shoe. "It's all I had! Be grateful!" 

She rolled her eyes and sat on the edge of her bed. "You guys are right. It must have been a dream." 

The two exchanged looks before wishing her a goodnight and going back to their own rooms. "Just call if you need us," Joon told her as he pulled her door shut. 

Dae tossed and turned for what felt like forever before sleep finally took her. 

Tae laid his arms across the foot of Dae's bed and propped his chin on one hand. She hadn't screamed until after he disappeared but she still screamed. It was too bad. The girl was practically a light house she was glowing so brightly. He sat in silence and watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. She would have to do. 

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AN: Meet Tae! And Jin's shoe. Honestly, I'd be more afraid of Jin with a shoe than Namjoon with a bat.  What about you? Who is more threatening here?