Fall Down (Stray Kids Seo Changbin)

Sixteen

I am constantly forgetting to put the dates and stuff in so I'm going to give up on it completely. If I write that it's Janey's Story at the top, it remains that way for all the chapters following until I indicated that it's Paige's Story again and so on.

Nighttime began as soon as the sun descended beneath the horizon. A beautiful sight, especially in Chaco. This part of the country was a lot quieter than Buenos Aires. Hordes of trees engulfed the mansion in a semi-circle while a river cut through the carpets of grass. Just like any typical greenfield site far away from the capital, Chaco was practically desolate with its trusty birds and insects as the only guards the Society members and Stray Kids had.

By the time night fell upon them, only Kyla and Lincoln remained downstairs. Lincoln was sitting in the main office area: a large room covered with shelves stuffed with binders or empty spaces that were meant to be filled. There were seven desks. Three on both the left and right and one dead centre.

"Nicholas used to sit here," He whispered, sorrow lacing his words. Despite the luxury of the house, for the older members of the Society, it was more like torture staying there. The mansion was Nicholas's. In fact, it was his retirement house. He made it in his mid-thirties as a place to move to when he is too old to govern the Society anymore. After Janey's multiple death threats, he changed it into a Society hideout.

Janey.

She was here once. She stayed in Paige's room once. Lincoln glimpsed at the desk furthest to the right. She used to sit there, complaining about how she wants to go out and explore while Nicholas forbid her too. He recalled the time her wish came true.

It was a mid-Autumn night, a year after they first started hiding out there. He was awoken by a loud bang beside his bed and the first thing he saw when his eyes opened was Janey sitting on the floor about thirty centimetres away. She rubbed her shin as she whined about how much it hurt.

"What happened?" He had asked, concern drawn on his face.

"Well, I was trying to wake you up but little did I know you have a flipping obstacle course leading up to your bed. Geez, Linc, when was the last time you cleaned this place?" She complained

There were clothes, shoes, underwear, pizza boxes and more objects that shouldn't be in a room all over the place as if TNT had just exploded in it but none of it seemed to concern him. He just shrugged and pulled himself out of his blankets.

He wore a loose white tee paired with short beige shorts and his black locks were coiled into messy knots. He looked up at Janey with his large blue eyes.

"Why were you trying to wake me up?"

A grin broke out on her face.

"Everyone's asleep and I managed to hack into the security systems."

"So?"

"I'm going to the river," she stated so casually that it seemed as if he should have known.

"What? Are you insane? Nicholas said-"

"I don't care about what Nicholas said. I want to see the river and I will. And you're coming with."

"What? No way!"

"Oh, come on, Linc. Why do you always have to be such a goody-two-shoes? Please," she gave him a pair of her adorable puppy-dog-eyes.

"Argh, fine. But this better be worth it."

And it was. The night was warmer than usual and the moon was awfully bright. Owls sang their sad song while crickets made an orchestra. Lincoln and Janey sat on the river back, feet in the water. She leaned close to him, resting her head on his broad shoulders while Lincoln's arm was secure around her waist.

He ran his free hand through his messy curls and beamed at her.

"What is it?" she giggled after he stared for over a minute.

"Nothing it's just... I really, really love you."

Her cheeks burnt bright red.

"I love you too, Linc."

"Does Paige know?"

"Know what?"

"About us."

"She's my sister, Linc. Of course, she knows." A pained sigh slipped off her lips as she leaned closer to him. "She's the only one I have left."

It was obvious what she meant. She was the only family member remaining. Although she often hid it when she was with her, Paige really meant a lot to Janey. Growing up, they used to always argue. Neither got along and Janey would always threaten to leave her forever as soon as she got out of training. Once it got so bad, they locked themselves away from each other. It was like the other didn't exist. It was only after Luke died that Paige tiptoed her way to Janey's room. She was still young at the time and when Janey saw her puffy face and red, teary eyes, she broke. It was that moment when she realised it was just them. That Paige was still a child and needed someone to look after her.

And so, Janey practically raised her along with Richard. When her calling from the Society came, she reluctantly left but she always made sure to see Paige at least ten times each year. She would tell her everything about her missions and when Paige asked if there was a special someone, Janey confirmed.

Lincoln hadn't even realised he had been crying until he looked around and realised he was alone in his office again wearing a blue silk suit with his hair gelled back. Immediately, he wiped his tears and turned back to his laptop in front of him. He needed to forget her for the moment. He needed to concentrate.

Little did he know, Kyla stood in the kitchen with a glass of water, looking just as miserable. She glanced down at the drain in the sink and just wished it would swallow her whole. Being in the hideout without both Janey and Nicholas just felt downright sinful. It was their place, the place they all came to know and care for each other.

"Janey," she whispered under her breath, a tear unwillingly streaking down her chocolate skin. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I wasn't-" her voice cracked"- I wasn't there for you. I'm so sorry."

As mentioned before, friends in the Society is rare. But that's what they were; Lincoln, Cassidy, Kyla, Janey and Nicholas. They were best friends, the closest close could go and yet one was gone and the other was missing.

She sipped on the water and moved to one of the pictures on the living room walls. It was a picture of them all together, all happy. She remembered the day like it was just yesterday. It was probably the best time they ever had. A day full of raw, unfiltered happiness - as you can guess, that too is rare. Another tear rolled down her cheeks before her gaze landed on Cassidy in the picture. She looked genuinely happy, Kyla started to wonder what even made her dream of betraying Janey. It made no sense.

Well, maybe she had to. Maybe she had no other choice. Kyla spent years upon years trying to convince herself that Cassidy simply wouldn't have done such but she did and that's the sad, cold truth. She didn't have an excuse. That night, she left Janey to die. A tear slid down her cheek again. Cassidy indirectly killed Janey.