Burnout ⊗ Jeongchan

①④ Games

A gentle thud jerked Jeongin from his sleep.

About a thousand questions flooded his mind at once; asking where he was, what did he do last night, why did he feel so crammed, how did he end up here, and a hundred more he couldn't catch as they flickered by. He wasn't sure where he was, but whatever he was laying on didn't feel anything like his comfortable bed at home. It was when he finally peeped his eyes open for the first time that the memories of last night came flooding back. His heart sank. The questions he thought would be answered came flooding back; now asking how he would handle his mother when he went home, how would she react, how could he explain where he's been.

Just ignore it. Ignore it for now. That was a bridge he'd attempt to cross when he gets there. For now, he just woke up in the car of a stranger he'd barely knew.

Begrudgingly, he shifted in his seat to find the dull thudding resonating in the car. The source was a pair of boots, the heels knocking against the glass of the driver side window every so often as the legs they were attached to swung mindlessly back and forth. Besides that, it was quiet outside, an unusual change from the city commotion that generally met his ears. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the vague memory of a slip road and freeway signs existed before he fell asleep.

After a while of debating whether or not to join the other in the cold air outside in his half-awoken, zombie, dreamlike stupor the sudden awakening threw him into, Jeongin took a final deep inhale. He collected himself, and gingerly nudged open the heavy passenger door.

"Mornin'," The owner of the boots, the true cause of the thudding, greeted as soon as the younger was outside. Chan was lying across the roof of the car, looking as if he spent nights gawking up at the sky multiple times before with his arms in their designated spots behind his head and resting on his stomach. He chose not to contort and possibly break his neck to look back at the younger, instead remaining with his chin tilted to the sky as he sent the simple question, "How are you feeling? You knocked out pretty quickly last night."

The first thing Jeongin noticed was how dark the world still was. The bleak night sky was barely beginning to melt into the hues of navy and light blue at the edge of the horizon, the last few stars glittering above fading away as light returned for the new day. The next thing he noticed was where they ended up. They were pulled off along a deserted road somewhere near the main freeway, the busy strip being within earshot of their parking spot but the headlights from the cars not being close or bright enough to reach them.

"I'm a bit exhausted, thank you," Jeongin yawned. He folded his arms, resting them on the roof next to the older and relaxing his head on top of his makeshift pillow. Sleeping sounded so nice. Much nicer then being awake. He could ask Chan to stop hitting his heels on the window so he could go back to sleep, but all that came from him was a muttered, "What time is it?"

Chan didn't skip a beat when he answered, "Few minutes after five. Sun's starting to rise."

"Did you sleep at all?"

"Hm, no. Just laid here," He assured, "Don't worry about me driving. Usually stay up late and sleep through the day so I'm not tired."

"About last night. I was... not in the right state of mind," Jeongin peeked up from his arms, resting his head in a way so he could look at the older across from him. A bit too close to him but neither wanted to move. He dug his heels into the flecks of asphalt, fingers fidgeting as he distracted himself with pulled at hangnails, "I'm sorry."

The older lolled his head to the side, meeting the tired eyes of the younger as he furrowed his eyebrows, "For what?"

"For almost running me over and the venting, the crying too."