𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀; nct dream

fourteen

Chapter 14: Mind and Soul

As beautiful as that evening was, the night became a living hell.

Chenle had gotten no better since the beginning of his stay all those years ago. He had been there the longest by far.

As the darkness cradled the quaint hospital, the sudden jolt and squeals from a certain patient began.

It must have been in the early hours of the morning when Chenle was set off, because Jisung had since left the older's side.

It was all too loud though. The voices that is...

They boomed so loudly in his head, all telling him different stories, all believable to the unstable teen.

Throughout his fit of yells, and his ignorance to the help he was being given, there was only one word that anyone could make out.

"JISUNG!"

It was so loud, and so damn clear. The nurses didn't even need to ask the boy in, 'cause Jisung was more than willing to help his friend out.

The new arrival could feel his heart pounding with the painful thoughts of what Chenle was going through.

He extended his hand tentatively, yet when he got close to comforting the older, he couldn't do it.

He retracted his hand.

He was a bloody good liar, yet when it came to masking the feelings he had in this hell hole, he suddenly couldn't convince himself of anything.

"Jisung. Please just help him," one of the kinder nurses pleaded. She seemed quite distressed by all the yelling on the eventful night.

She was new after all, and hadn't been taught how to deal with this kind of thing quite yet.

Though one thing that all the nurses could agree on was that you could never be prepared for the things you would see inside the closed off walls of the mental institute.

Jisung pushed the thoughts away, his shaking hand extending out once again.

This time, he was able to hold onto  Chenle's arm. The touch alone was enough to stop the screams, but the older boy was still shaking violently and breathing heavily.

"Lele. You're okay now," Jisung quietly mumbled, his words slicing through the thick tension that had grown in seconds.

"Ji?" Chenle's voice was small, and he sounded so defenceless.

Releasing a relieved sigh, Jisung hopped into the bed with th older, holding him in a tight hug.

He looked up briefly, dismissing the two nurses.

Upon hearing the door shut, the pinkette hugged Chenle tighter, his small frame shaking against Jisung's touch.

"You're okay Lele. You're okay." His soothing voice was enough to elicit a small sob from Chenle, who had buried his face in Jisung's shirt.

He inhaled the scent. It was so damn comforting compared to the angry voices that caused the dull throbbing in his head.

Why were they so angry?

He had no answer to some of the questions, and at that moment, he really didn't need any. All he wanted was a peaceful sleep in Jisung's arms. That was exactly what he got.

"You're okay," Jisung whispered once more, eyes closing as he rocked the sleeping boy back and forth in a satisfyingly rhythmic way.

But the thing that worried Jisung was how false and unsure all those comforting words were.

Were things even okay?

No.

Were they going to get better?

No.

And so the darkness of the chilly winter's night left two boys cuddled together, a thick layer of hopelessness settled upon them as they fell to a sleep. It was one that neither wanted to wake from.

As the sun peeked through the drawn curtains, Jisung rolled over, his eyes glued shut from lack of motivation.

He stopped fairly quickly upon noticing a sleeping figure to his left.

"Lele?" He mumbled, eyes forcing themselves open as he shook the older's shoulder tiredly. "The nurse will be in soon. You should wake up."

After receiving no form of response, Jisung carded his hand through his faded pink hair, his eyes falling shut again as he sat up.

Memories from the previous night leaked into his mind as he turned to Chenle, peeling his eyes open again.

He huffed in exhaustion, his heart swelling with a foreign emotion. Sympathy.

Instead of forcing himself up, he curled into the older's side, arm wrapped securely around his waist, nose nuzzled into Chenle's neck.

Jisung let his soft breaths fan against Chenle's neck.

"Love you."

For once, Jisung could confidently say that he hadn't lied.