𝑅𝑒𝒹 𝒮𝓉𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈-ᴄʜᴇɴʟᴇ

Beach House~77

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Cause I'm sick of falling down
-

As if his breath was a heavy burden, Chenle heaved it out but sucked it right back in to refill his lungs, panting audibly as he stumbled away- blood sticking to his knuckles.

The frigid air entangled itself in Chenle's black hair, rising goosebumps upon his arms, but he barely noticed it, pressing his hand into a sticky, wet spot in his hoodie, and a shiver of pain rived through his body.

Although he had evaded any major injuries, his head throbbed from an unpleasant blow to his skull, and a small gash of the stranger's knife decorated Chenle's pale side, right above his hip bone, but it didn't seem deep, as far as Chenle could tell.

The ground seemed to undulate beneath his feet ever so slightly, courtesy to his head wound that trickled blood, but he didn't care much about the pain- he was much more concerned about Rin's reaction to his anguish.

Hoping she was taking it well, Chenle found himself a house down from Rin's small home, and began to trudge forward a little faster, swaying awkwardly to avoid provoking more pain from his injuries.

Raw from overuse, Chenle's knuckles ached dully, skin flaking off of his flesh like old, dried paint from a wall- scraped off of his joint.

As if his heart had decided to beat Usain Bolt's record for being the fastest man alive, the organ pounded vigorously against his ribcage as adrenaline flowed through his veins, hands shaking from the remains of energy from the fight.

Despite the experience of the fighter, if there was a knife being thrusted at one's gut, their mind would immediately fall into a survival mode, and most would do anything to avoid injury, which was both an advantage and a fault.

A human instinct to remain unharmed definitely gave a person a motivation to fight with all of their heart, but the panic that comes along with it must be controlled- if you lose the ability to think straight, than you won't be able to defend yourself well, nor will you comprehend the events of your unfortunate ordeal.

Luckily for Chenle, he had a talent for keeping a sound mind and careless, yet, as of now, Chenle's thoughts were spring into a flurry of chaos with nothing to do with his health, and everything to do with his soulmate.

He rocked slightly as his feet fell upon the stairs of Rin's blue house, and let his bruised knuckles wrap against the wooden door, alerting the girl inside of his arrival.

Without a moments hesitation, the door rapidly swung open, as if Rin had been waiting for him on the other side.

Her face was devoid of her usual smile, and her lachrymose eyes shimmered with an extra layer of salty liquid, threatening to dribble onto her cheeks, but she fought the urge to cry, feeling his surges of pain shake through her body.

Rin was unaccustomed to the usual injuries that Chenle frequently sported, and deluded herself to believe his wounds were much worse than they were- worried out of her mind that Chenle could've been dying, despite the pettiness his lesions would be with some form of medical treatment.

Her face was pale, and she was clearly distraught, ravaged by worry as her long, brown hair wove itself into a unruly birds' nest, accentuating her wide eyes.

The boy pressed his lips into a thin line, feeling strangely guilty as he examined Rin's restless figure, itching to take away everything that bothered the girl.

"Are you okay?! What happened?!" She shrieked, eyes raking over the boy.

Before Chenle could even think a our responding Rin spotted the coin bag-sized bloodstain on his hoodie, along with the speckles of the substance that decorated the fabric on his shoulder, and immediately grabbed his wrist, pulling him inside.

The house seemed empty, and the family's car wasn't parked in the driveway, due to Rin's father having to work a later shift in order to pay the bills.

Hastily closing the door behind him, Rin's tight grasp on Chenle began to drag him towards what he assumed was her room, fumbling over her feet as she did so.

The door to said room was ajar, and the girl quickly scurried inside, clearly antsy by her rapid, fast movements.

Practically yanking Chenle inside, Rin began to push Chenle into the room and to the foot of her bed before he could process what was happening.

The walls of the room were a pastel pink, covered in posters that ranged from the Arctic Monkeys to Taemin, and a small, white desk rested in the corner in the room, along with a simple, pale bed posing as the only furniture in the room.

Fairy lights were strung across the room, and it seemed as though Rin had clipped little photographs to the stringed lights, giving the room a sentimentally aesthetic, cozy feeling.

As if she was prepared for Chenle's arrival, a first aid kit was carefully upon the bedsheets behind him, and Rin quickly picked it up, rummaging inside of the contents.

Eyebrows furrowed together, the girl searched for something to dress up Chenle's minor injuries- worry causing her hands to shake.

"What do I even- how did you- what do you need?!" She asked, voice high with panic.

"Nothing, nothing- I'm fine," Chenle countered, knowing that he wasn't terribly harmed.

Rin humorlessly laughed, glancing at the bleeding boy in front of her- only now noticing his head injury.

Blood streamed down the side of Chenle's head, outlining his ear in the red liquid, then proceeding to flow down his neck, causing the girl to feel queasy- blood always made her want to throw up.

As if someone had dumped a glass of kool aid onto Chenle's head, the substance dripped from his hair and onto his hoodie, stemming from a matte spot just behind his temple, above his ear.

"You are not fine- there's so much blood!" She exclaimed, leaning forward to get a better look at his abrasion.

Feeling as if her stomach was liquifying, Rin tightly pursed her lips together to block the threat of bile that crawled into her throat, swallowing anxiously.

Gazing up at him, she tenderly brushed her fingers against the affliction, but flinched back when Chenle winced, nose crinkling with pain as the lesion pulsated with anguish.

"Head wounds bleed a lot; it's nothing to be concerned about," Chenle muttered, yet the girl was not convinced.

"Yeah but it's still bleeding! You're hurt, why is everyone after you anyways? Will a bandaid even fix-"

"That doesn't matter right now- they're coming after you now, too," Chenle interrupted, hand brushing over the girl's arm to stop her from rushing around.

I've never planned so many chapters in a row before and I'm low key proud bc I actually know how to end this-