|new kid|

Chapter 7 - A dream!

When Sehun opened his eyes, he was in a black space. It felt as if he was floating on air. He couldn't see anything in front of him, but his peripherals could catch his arms and legs.

"Sehun," he heard gently behind him.

He spun around, startled, only to meet the gaze of a short yet familiar figure. He felt his heart swelling up in his chest and a smile force its way across his cheeks.

The person smiled back at seeing his reaction. "I've been trying to contact you for ages now! Where have you been?" he asked.

Sehun let out a shaky, happy breath at hearing his voice. "I didn't feel anything before," he explained. "I think I should be asleep right now, so maybe that's why I can talk to you again..."

"Asleep?" the person marveled. "How does it feel? And for how long are you gonna sleep?" he asked.

"I'm not sure..." he said. "Luhan, you don't know how much I missed you," he added and looked at him joyfully.

Luhan tried to hold back a chuckle. "Tell me about it! We were so worried about you back at home!" he commented. "How is the earth? Is it like the stories?"

Sehun couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "It's not even that simple... you don't know what you guys are missing out on," he began.

He sat there for hours, next to Luhan. He talked and talked about everything he saw. About his landing, about the roads, the buildings, the sky, the humans, the school. About the food, the smell, the sunset, the night sky, the moon, the stars, everything. Everything just came out in a flurry of words that couldn't stop.

It was the first time he could properly talk to someone about his experiences. He knew Baekhyun was there and that he would listen, but he wouldn't understand. He wouldn't understand Sehun as Luhan did.

Luhan was there for Sehun ever since he remembered. They were so, so close. Words couldn't describe their bond and everything they had shared. Every "danger", every laugh, every new experience of theirs, it was always next to each other. Sehun was there when Luhan noticed the leaves of the Tree graying for the first time. Luhan was there when the elders picked Sehun to go to earth. Luhan was the one who cried the hardest when Sehun left, and he was the last person Sehun hugged before he left. 

How he longed for Luhan to be there, on earth with him. He wanted Luhan to know exactly what Sehun was talking about.  He knew he wished for too much, but the earth was such an amazing experience that Luhan just couldn't miss. It was unfair for him to miss out on something so great.

"Have you talked to any humans? How are they?" Luhan asked.

Sehun sat and thought for a moment. "... They're weird, is what they are. They're kinda like us, but so much more. Both figuratively and literally," he explained. "I've seen some humans who are goofy and bubbly... I've seen humans who are quiet and reserved. I've seen humans who are friendly and understanding..."

"Evil? Bad? Malicious?" Luhan asked worriedly.

"No one like that yet... They've all been so kind and understanding so far..." he said. His mind worked through all of his new friends. Suho, Kyungsoo, Kai, Lay, Chen, Chanyeol, Xiumin... none of them seemed bad.

"... You seem thoughtful," Luhan commented. "Did you befriend anyone?"

"A few, he explained... They're all... nice..." he mentioned.

And then there was Baekhyun.

"You don't seem convinced," he commented again.

"... There is one. He is nice, almost nicer than the others. He helped me the most out of everyone. He seems so open and understanding, and generous and patient with me... He has explained so many things to me. But..." Sehun explained.

"... he is smart... observant... almost calculating..." he muttered.

"Do you feel like he could be dangerous...?" Luhan asked. Sehun looked up at him. He could always tell when Luhan was trying to hide his worry. This wouldn't be the first time he had done so.

And he couldn't just tell him that Baekhyun knew about the Exoplanet. Maybe not about Luhan, specifically, but about the planet itself.

"... He won't be," he reassured. "Don't worry, I'll do just fine. Okay?" he asked.

Luhan gave a sympathetic smile. "Fine... I trust you. Don't you dare do something reckless out there, okay?" he asked. Sehun nodded. "Good," he said. He smiled at Sehun.

The pressure around him dropped. Luhan's face was distorted. "Or do," he said in a voice that wasn't his. "Leave us be. We can do this without you," he said. "He may need you to get the crystal back, but we sure don't," the voice said.

"Wha-"

"You shouldn't be so useless for your Luhan, hm?" it said and reached out, holding Sehun gently by the cheeks.

"Or be just that, we don't care. You'll be the one weeping when he rots," the voice said as it snapped Sehun's head to the right.

He heard a crack somewhere in his neck.

He jumped out of bed with a gasping breath, as the blood poured from his head to the rest of his body. He felt life spring into his limbs again and his breath adjust, as he settled down from that image. Then, he heard a light jingle.

Baekhyun groaned and rolled around, tapping his phone and making the jingle stop. He looked at Sehun, his eyes squinted. "Good morning..." he groaned as he crashed back into bed.

It took Sehun a few seconds to register what he'd just heard. Luhan's distorted face was just flashing in his mind time and time again. "... Good morning..." he mindlessly muttered back.

"...'re you okay...?" Baekhyun asked, still groaning a bit. Sehun gulped before taking a big breath.

"... Yeah, I just had a nightmare..." he explained. 

"It's probably just stress from being on a new planet," he commented and sat upright. "I'll go downstairs to see what we have for breakfast... I'll call you down when it's ready," he said and got out of bed.

He left the room and Sehun was all alone. Just himself and his thoughts. He took some time to process the dream, letting everything that had just happen settle in. And there was one question in his mind that he couldn't push back, no matter how he tried to reassure himself.

Was that really Luhan...?