[w.i.p.] - 00:00
00:00.
⇾ exo | sehun/luhan
⇾ ~3,000 words
⇾ PG-13
Synopsis: College!AU. The six of them find themselves in a deserted subway train one day, past their stop (the last stop). Time doesn't seem to exist in this new place, and everything is dark. A 'black blob' makes itself known to them, and it begins to destroy their city. Being the only people who know of its existence and where to find it, the six embark on a mission to kill it.
Delicate, ivory tinted teeth pierce skin. Blood blooms, a small circular spot on pale epidermis held together by bonds invisible to the naked eye. The drop of blood stains the tip of a tooth, and as a long, black tongue darts out to lick at it, the body beneath disintegrates, ashy bones falling into a heap on the ground and skin peeling back into thin, papery strips. Hair catches on fire, a bright spark of red before it fades into white.
This moment is the exact definition of perfection. There is nothing more desirable than the sheen of ashes that cover the pavement, nothing more striking than little spheres of floating fire. Bones and skin turn into something beautiful and ignites goosebumps made of liquid fear.
Midnight comes and colour fades - the drop of bright red blood on the blackened tongue turns into a pale grey, and disappears into a black cavern of a mouth with the retraction of the tongue. Dim eyes follow the movement of Midnight as it moves through the streets, its touches grazing the tips of leaves and sending thin wisps of smoke curling into the air. Midnight pauses and takes in the multitude of disintegrated bodies in neat piles that fill the entire span of his vision.
A smile graces Midnight's lips as it strides towards the deserted bullet train and presses its palm against the surface. Frightened eyes stare back at it through clear glass windows, and Midnight resists the urge to make a fatal grab through the open door for an arm. A dull tolling of the brass bell across the town hall has Midnight pulling back and removing its touch from the train. The eyes within dark around in fear, and Midnight sees fingers twined with one another. With a soft hiss, the train jolts into motion and slowly peels away from the platform and away from Midnight. Midnight watches it fade into nothingness with hungry eyes and parched lips.
It's 00:01, and it's time to stretch the limits of perfection.
Midnight disappears and colour seeps back in. Leaves inhale green and a nearby bush of roses exhale pink. The colours are shrouded by the night sky, but the colours are there all the same. Ivory teeth and black tongues retreat into the night as a light breeze picks up the piles of ashes and scatters them into the river.
They'll be back, in just 24 hours. They'll be back.
A knock on the door has Sehun snapping upright and ramming his eye into the microscope's eyepiece.
Profanities spill from his lips like water from a waterfall and Sehun hears a soft chuckle as he presses the heel of his palm over his eye socket.
"Sorry," Luhan says, setting his guitar case down against Sehun's desk before peeling Sehun's hand away from his face and inspecting the damage. "Didn't mean to."
"Every single time you do that," Sehun starts, "this happens. You know that. I'd go blind before I turn thirty, thanks to you."
Luhan thumbs at the reddened eyelid before pressing lips to Sehun's temple. "You'll be fine," he trills.
Sehun rolls his eyes and packs his sample slides away. No one else is in the lab - but then again, no one else spends a Saturday night working on scientific investigations. Luhan waits patiently, spinning around on Sehun's lab stool as Sehun cleans up. Shrugging off his lab coat, Sehun stops Luhan in his tracks unceremoniously - Luhan nearly topples off due to momentum.
"Sorry," Sehun says, but Luhan knows he doesn't mean it. So he gives Sehun a smack on the head as they walk out of the lab, his guitar case swinging precariously on his shoulder as he does so.
"Ow," Sehun whines, rubbing at his head. "That's it, I'm stealing some of your noodles tomorrow."
They join the other four at the base of the steps leading into the Science Department before heading towards the subway entrance. The moon barely shines through the clouds overhead.
The train's empty, with the occasional workaholic and student dotting the carriages. The group find an empty carriage and settle down for the thirty minute ride - Jongin never fails to lament the lack of campus to dorm transportation on weekend nights.
Zitao immediately claims the corner, stretching out too-long legs over the empty seats with a content sigh. Yixing settles into one by the door, pulling a dogeared novel out of his backpack and flipping it open to where he had left off from earlier. Baekhyun slaps Jongin's arm, waiting until Jongin finally moves over (Baekhyun only sits on the middle seat) before settling down and closing his eyes. Jongin himself snaps headphones over his ears - Sehun knows a playlist of Taylor Swift songs will be drifting into Jongin's ears, despite Jongin's constant denial.
Luhan places his guitar down on a secure spot and slips a hand into Sehun's automatically before pulling a knee up to his chest. Sehun lets Luhan get comfortable before he himself closes his eyes. He drifts off to sleep in a matter of minutes.
He wakes up to his fingers being squashed. He looks over at Luhan quizzically, only to feel even more confused at the look of terror on Luhan's face.
"What's the matter?"
"Look out the window," Luhan whispers. Sehun's eyes flick over to the windowpane. The first thing he sees is a blackened, desolate land. The moon's high overhead, brighter than usual. The next thing he notices are bright, orange dots blinking right back at him. Hundreds of pairs, just dotting his vision, never-ending.
"The clock's not moving," Yixing's voice says, hushed. They glance at the digital clock in the middle of the carriage. It reads: 00:00
"It's been that way for at least two minutes," Yixing continues, "I counted."
Jongin lets his headphones fall down around his neck. He stands without a word and walks towards the carriage next to theirs. Sehun keeps an eye on the whites of his shoes. He sees Jongin slow, balk, and then head back to them.
"No one's here."
The train jerks - Zitao's end of the carriage lifts up into the air for a split second before it slams back down onto the tracks. Nearly flung off his seat, a terrified Zitao scrambles up and heads over to where the other five are. Air seems to weigh down on their lungs. Sehun chances another look out of the window. The orange lights are gone, and a nagging feeling eats its way into his chest.
"Something's not right," he mutters.
"No shit," Jongin responds, eyes wide as the clouds shift overhead.
"No," Sehun says, "something's going to happen."
Luhan's tongue is heavy in his mouth and he grips onto Sehun's hand tighter. Sehun stands and pulls Luhan upright. He takes two instinctive steps backwards, away from the windows. Almost immediately, the doors to the carriage open. Baekhyun makes to leave, but Sehun stops him.
"Wait."
Just as the word leaves his mouth, a large, black blur collides with the side of the train. The six are thrown off their feet, backs slamming into poles and the curve of plastic seats. Zitao's head meets the doorframe and he blacks out.
"No one leave the carriage," Sehun wheezes, a burn around his stomach preventing his ability to breathe.
"Are you insane?" Jongin barks, "Did you not see that - that thing?"
"I saw that thing," Sehun hisses, "and that's exactly why we cannot go out there!"
"Where the fuck are we," Luhan whispers. Yixing and Baekhyun pull Zitao's limp frame closer.
Sehun coughs as he scrambles to stand upright. Just as he regains his balance, the black blob returns, and this time the train nearly overturns. The window shatters and Sehun feels a sharp pain shoot up his left side as he crashes into a metal pole.
"Someone wake Zitao up," he yells, "we need to head for the front of the train."
Baekhyun dumps a bottle of water over Zitao's face - Zitao wakes up spluttering and cursing.
"Move!" Jongin yells. A black wisp curls into the carriage, almost like a claw hooking onto the doorframe.
The six scramble up and they dash towards the front of the train, moonlight the only thing guiding their path. They reach the conductor's carriage out of breath - Yixing realizes that the entire train is empty, not just of people but of belongings, of trash, of anything that signified human life.
But the controls are alive and blinking.
Luhan hits a button. The trains lurches forward and they can feel the familiar trundling of a train on its tracks. Chancing a glance back, they don't see anything - as far as they can see, the train is empty. No black blurs anywhere. Yixing looks at the nearest clock.
00:01
Luhan wakes with a strangled gasp. His shirt's sticking to his body, stretched tight across his torso and neck. Tugging frantically at the collar, he looks wildly around him, only to realize that he's in his dorm room, in bed, with his alarm blaring obnoxiously on the bedside table. He reaches out a shaky hand to slap it silent. His feet are cold, chunks of hair sticking to his forehead that's covered with cold sweat.
Absently, he swings his legs off his bed. He's about to reach out for his towel when he notices the bright blue bruise running down the side of his leg, from the top of his thigh to just above his ankle. Luhan turns cold inside out. Bolting for the door, he tugs it open and runs the short distance to Sehun's room. His hand is poised over the door, ready to knock, when it opens and scares him half to death.
Sehun's equally disheveled, hair a mess and cheeks flushed. Luhan spots a bruise the same colour as his down Sehun's left arm. Sehun's horrified gaze tells him all he needs to know. Sehun grabs Luhan's wrist as he darts out of his room, pulling Luhan along as he makes his way down the hall, dodging groggy students that are heading to and from the showers.
He bangs on Zitao's door incessantly until it swings open.
"Does your head hurt?"
Zitao blinks. "Yeah. Feels like I hit it on something."
"Like the doorframe of a train?"
Zitao pales. Sehun licks his lips, disbelief etched across his face. Baekhyun runs up to them, a bright blue bruise hugging the curve of his cheekbone. His eyes are glassy with pure fear, and Sehun runs to find Jongin and Yixing.
They stand in the middle of the hallway, each sporting a blue bruise or two and the same petrified expression. Jongin pushes sweaty bangs off his forehead.
"What does this mean?"
Baekhyun rubs at his eyes, wincing when he accidentally touches the bruise on his face. Yixing passes him an ice pack wordlessly.
"I don't know," Sehun mutters. "I don't know."
The six of them shower before meeting at the campus café for the daily coffee, as per usual. Nothing else seems out of place; the barista is as cranky as always, and the homeless man lounging outside the building is in the same spot as always. Yixing's the first in his lecture hall and Jongin the last, as always. They meet at the steps of the Science Department during lunch, as always.
Then noon hits, and all six double over in pain as something seems to rip through their ears, tearing holes in their eardrums and boring holes into their brains. The pain goes on for a full minute, stopping when time shifts to 12:01.
They straighten simultaneously, hands still clasped over their ears as they wave away concerned passersby weakly. Yixing wets his lips. "It's a minute past twelve."
Luhan's eyes are throbbing; he swears he's bleeding out of the corner of his eyes. But Sehun checks and there's nothing wrong. They press closer to each other, intuitively, as they head down towards their favourite Chinese restaurant for lunch.
But none of them finish their meals. They leave with more than half their plates still full, stomachs churning as the sun beats almost tauntingly down on their bare necks.
"We are not taking the subway tonight," Jongin mumbles, shivering as they walk past the subway entrance, people milling around it, completely oblivious.
"Not ever," Baekhyun adds, shoving cold fingers into his pockets. "Ever."
Sehun simply chews on the inside of his lip and pulls Luhan closer.
"Can I stay with -"
"Yeah," Sehun interrupts quietly, "you can. For however long you want."
Sehun's curled up on his bed, Organic Chemistry textbook awkwardly positioned on his lap. His back's sore from hunching over the text for hours, but he's finally distracted from the subway incident, and so he gladly takes the pain. Luhan's taken over his desk, music theory notes scattered all over the cheap material, laptop open and perched precariously on the corner.
Luhan's pencil scratching along with Sehun's highlighting are the only sounds that fill the room for a long time. Then Luhan's mail application makes a sound and Luhan automatically checks it. Sehun doesn't look up from his work as Luhan clicks away.
"Sehun?" Luhan's tone of voice has Sehun looking up instantly.
"What is it?"
"Come here, you have to see this."
Sehun winces when he straightens - a few vertebrae pop as he walks over to Luhan's side.
"Yixing just forwarded this to me." Luhan pushes his laptop towards Sehun and tilts the screen a little.
With every word he takes in, Sehun pales a little more.
SOHO Building Destroyed - On-Lookers Claim "A Black Blob" Is To Blame
"What does this mean," Luhan groans, burying his face into the crook of his elbow. Sehun closes the laptop and looks down on the crown of Luhan's head.
"Means something's wrong," Sehun sighs, curling a hand around Luhan's neck and pressing gently along his hairline. "Also means that apart from classes, you're never leaving my side."
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Luhan mumbles, voice muffled. Sehun ruffles his hair before returning to his bed and capping his highlighter. He's in no mood to study now. Apparently Luhan feels the exact same way, crawling under the covers and effectively kicking all of Sehun's textbooks off the bed in the process.
"Come," Luhan says from somewhere under all the sheets. Sehun rids himself of his jeans and pulls on comfortable pajama pants before he does. Luhan's hair is fluffy under his chin and it warms him up a little. Sehun absently touches Luhan's bruise lightly, fingertips ghosting blued skin. Luhan buries his nose deeper into Sehun's neck.
"None of this makes any sense," Sehun mutters into Luhan's hair, "how did it get here? We were obviously nowhere in this world - or any tangible world for that matter. What does this -"
"Go to sleep," Luhan mumbles sleepily, tucking his chin into his chest and causing more hair to be thrown in Sehun's face. "We can freak out tomorrow."
Sehun flattens Luhan's hair out of his face and sighs.
The two jolt awake to incessant thumping on the door. Sehun checks the time - 4am - and groans before groggily rising and making his way over to the door in the dark. Luhan mutters a string of incomprehensible words before turning and burying his face in a pillow.
Sehun cracks the door open and flinches when light from the hallway hits him square in the face.
"Sehun, let us in," Jongin's voice says, hurried and tense. Sehun moves away and lets his friends push their way in. Zitao very unceremoniously flips the light switch and Luhan screeches in shock.
"Wake up," Yixing says, slapping the back of Luhan's thigh. "Something's gone really wrong."
Luhan grumbles but lifts his face off the pillow regardless. The six of them somehow find a way to fit onto Sehun's bed, Jongin in the middle with his laptop snug on his lap.
"If this is not close to something earth-shattering, I will kill you for waking me up this early," Luhan threatens, eyes still half-closed and the imprint of the pillowcase fresh on his cheek. Zitao crooks an eyebrow.
"He's not a morning person, is he?" He asks Sehun, and Sehun shakes his head vehemently.
"You don't know the half of it," Sehun says, only to be rewarded with a sharp smack on the arm. Sehun gives Zitao a pointed look.
"Okay look," Jongin says, and the other five crane their necks to catch a glimpse of the screen.
It's a news site, and Jongin's got a certain article pulled up.
Five Neighbourhood Parks Burned Down Almost Simultaneously - Surrounding Security Cameras Are Filled With Black
"Did I just see the word 'simultaneously'?" Sehun asks, completely awake at this point. "Simultaneously?"
"Yeah," Jongin confirms with a tired exhale. "Simultaneously."
Baekhyun emits a sound that's a cross between a wail and a whine before rolling towards the wall and staying there. Zitao pats his head comfortingly as Yixing rubs at his eyes.
"Are these... things just going to keep destroying places? What if they spread to other cities? Countries?"
"We're going to have to go back," Sehun says softly, curling fingers around Luhan's neck as the latter pillows his cheek on Sehun's thigh. "We need to go back."
"Are you insane? You've gone absolutely insane!" Jongin says, stunned. He flicks Sehun's nose a couple of times for good measure.
"Stop it," Sehun snaps, pushing Jongin's hand away. "I'm not insane. We need to go back, because we're the only ones who have a vague idea of where these things come from. If anyone else had any idea, they would've spoken up by now."
"But," Yixing pipes up, "how are we going to get back? I don't even know how we got there in the first place."
"It's got something to do with time, that's for sure," Baekhyun says, recalling the frozen fluorescent numbers on the face of the digital clocks in the subway.
"And we're the last stop on our subway line," Sehun adds, "maybe we just have to stay in the train past our stop."
"What if we can't come back again?" Luhan asks, quiet.
"Let's not think that far ahead," Sehun says dryly. "Have a little optimism."
Dawn passes by too quickly, and morning sets in heavily. The six disperse from Sehun's room, eyelids drooping with drowsiness and throats dry. Sehun darts into the showers for a cold one as Luhan brews a whole tumbler of strong coffee.
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⇾ exo | sehun/luhan
⇾ ~3,000 words
⇾ PG-13
Synopsis: College!AU. The six of them find themselves in a deserted subway train one day, past their stop (the last stop). Time doesn't seem to exist in this new place, and everything is dark. A 'black blob' makes itself known to them, and it begins to destroy their city. Being the only people who know of its existence and where to find it, the six embark on a mission to kill it.
Delicate, ivory tinted teeth pierce skin. Blood blooms, a small circular spot on pale epidermis held together by bonds invisible to the naked eye. The drop of blood stains the tip of a tooth, and as a long, black tongue darts out to lick at it, the body beneath disintegrates, ashy bones falling into a heap on the ground and skin peeling back into thin, papery strips. Hair catches on fire, a bright spark of red before it fades into white.
This moment is the exact definition of perfection. There is nothing more desirable than the sheen of ashes that cover the pavement, nothing more striking than little spheres of floating fire. Bones and skin turn into something beautiful and ignites goosebumps made of liquid fear.
Midnight comes and colour fades - the drop of bright red blood on the blackened tongue turns into a pale grey, and disappears into a black cavern of a mouth with the retraction of the tongue. Dim eyes follow the movement of Midnight as it moves through the streets, its touches grazing the tips of leaves and sending thin wisps of smoke curling into the air. Midnight pauses and takes in the multitude of disintegrated bodies in neat piles that fill the entire span of his vision.
A smile graces Midnight's lips as it strides towards the deserted bullet train and presses its palm against the surface. Frightened eyes stare back at it through clear glass windows, and Midnight resists the urge to make a fatal grab through the open door for an arm. A dull tolling of the brass bell across the town hall has Midnight pulling back and removing its touch from the train. The eyes within dark around in fear, and Midnight sees fingers twined with one another. With a soft hiss, the train jolts into motion and slowly peels away from the platform and away from Midnight. Midnight watches it fade into nothingness with hungry eyes and parched lips.
It's 00:01, and it's time to stretch the limits of perfection.
Midnight disappears and colour seeps back in. Leaves inhale green and a nearby bush of roses exhale pink. The colours are shrouded by the night sky, but the colours are there all the same. Ivory teeth and black tongues retreat into the night as a light breeze picks up the piles of ashes and scatters them into the river.
They'll be back, in just 24 hours. They'll be back.
A knock on the door has Sehun snapping upright and ramming his eye into the microscope's eyepiece.
Profanities spill from his lips like water from a waterfall and Sehun hears a soft chuckle as he presses the heel of his palm over his eye socket.
"Sorry," Luhan says, setting his guitar case down against Sehun's desk before peeling Sehun's hand away from his face and inspecting the damage. "Didn't mean to."
"Every single time you do that," Sehun starts, "this happens. You know that. I'd go blind before I turn thirty, thanks to you."
Luhan thumbs at the reddened eyelid before pressing lips to Sehun's temple. "You'll be fine," he trills.
Sehun rolls his eyes and packs his sample slides away. No one else is in the lab - but then again, no one else spends a Saturday night working on scientific investigations. Luhan waits patiently, spinning around on Sehun's lab stool as Sehun cleans up. Shrugging off his lab coat, Sehun stops Luhan in his tracks unceremoniously - Luhan nearly topples off due to momentum.
"Sorry," Sehun says, but Luhan knows he doesn't mean it. So he gives Sehun a smack on the head as they walk out of the lab, his guitar case swinging precariously on his shoulder as he does so.
"Ow," Sehun whines, rubbing at his head. "That's it, I'm stealing some of your noodles tomorrow."
They join the other four at the base of the steps leading into the Science Department before heading towards the subway entrance. The moon barely shines through the clouds overhead.
The train's empty, with the occasional workaholic and student dotting the carriages. The group find an empty carriage and settle down for the thirty minute ride - Jongin never fails to lament the lack of campus to dorm transportation on weekend nights.
Zitao immediately claims the corner, stretching out too-long legs over the empty seats with a content sigh. Yixing settles into one by the door, pulling a dogeared novel out of his backpack and flipping it open to where he had left off from earlier. Baekhyun slaps Jongin's arm, waiting until Jongin finally moves over (Baekhyun only sits on the middle seat) before settling down and closing his eyes. Jongin himself snaps headphones over his ears - Sehun knows a playlist of Taylor Swift songs will be drifting into Jongin's ears, despite Jongin's constant denial.
Luhan places his guitar down on a secure spot and slips a hand into Sehun's automatically before pulling a knee up to his chest. Sehun lets Luhan get comfortable before he himself closes his eyes. He drifts off to sleep in a matter of minutes.
He wakes up to his fingers being squashed. He looks over at Luhan quizzically, only to feel even more confused at the look of terror on Luhan's face.
"What's the matter?"
"Look out the window," Luhan whispers. Sehun's eyes flick over to the windowpane. The first thing he sees is a blackened, desolate land. The moon's high overhead, brighter than usual. The next thing he notices are bright, orange dots blinking right back at him. Hundreds of pairs, just dotting his vision, never-ending.
"The clock's not moving," Yixing's voice says, hushed. They glance at the digital clock in the middle of the carriage. It reads: 00:00
"It's been that way for at least two minutes," Yixing continues, "I counted."
Jongin lets his headphones fall down around his neck. He stands without a word and walks towards the carriage next to theirs. Sehun keeps an eye on the whites of his shoes. He sees Jongin slow, balk, and then head back to them.
"No one's here."
The train jerks - Zitao's end of the carriage lifts up into the air for a split second before it slams back down onto the tracks. Nearly flung off his seat, a terrified Zitao scrambles up and heads over to where the other five are. Air seems to weigh down on their lungs. Sehun chances another look out of the window. The orange lights are gone, and a nagging feeling eats its way into his chest.
"Something's not right," he mutters.
"No shit," Jongin responds, eyes wide as the clouds shift overhead.
"No," Sehun says, "something's going to happen."
Luhan's tongue is heavy in his mouth and he grips onto Sehun's hand tighter. Sehun stands and pulls Luhan upright. He takes two instinctive steps backwards, away from the windows. Almost immediately, the doors to the carriage open. Baekhyun makes to leave, but Sehun stops him.
"Wait."
Just as the word leaves his mouth, a large, black blur collides with the side of the train. The six are thrown off their feet, backs slamming into poles and the curve of plastic seats. Zitao's head meets the doorframe and he blacks out.
"No one leave the carriage," Sehun wheezes, a burn around his stomach preventing his ability to breathe.
"Are you insane?" Jongin barks, "Did you not see that - that thing?"
"I saw that thing," Sehun hisses, "and that's exactly why we cannot go out there!"
"Where the fuck are we," Luhan whispers. Yixing and Baekhyun pull Zitao's limp frame closer.
Sehun coughs as he scrambles to stand upright. Just as he regains his balance, the black blob returns, and this time the train nearly overturns. The window shatters and Sehun feels a sharp pain shoot up his left side as he crashes into a metal pole.
"Someone wake Zitao up," he yells, "we need to head for the front of the train."
Baekhyun dumps a bottle of water over Zitao's face - Zitao wakes up spluttering and cursing.
"Move!" Jongin yells. A black wisp curls into the carriage, almost like a claw hooking onto the doorframe.
The six scramble up and they dash towards the front of the train, moonlight the only thing guiding their path. They reach the conductor's carriage out of breath - Yixing realizes that the entire train is empty, not just of people but of belongings, of trash, of anything that signified human life.
But the controls are alive and blinking.
Luhan hits a button. The trains lurches forward and they can feel the familiar trundling of a train on its tracks. Chancing a glance back, they don't see anything - as far as they can see, the train is empty. No black blurs anywhere. Yixing looks at the nearest clock.
00:01
Luhan wakes with a strangled gasp. His shirt's sticking to his body, stretched tight across his torso and neck. Tugging frantically at the collar, he looks wildly around him, only to realize that he's in his dorm room, in bed, with his alarm blaring obnoxiously on the bedside table. He reaches out a shaky hand to slap it silent. His feet are cold, chunks of hair sticking to his forehead that's covered with cold sweat.
Absently, he swings his legs off his bed. He's about to reach out for his towel when he notices the bright blue bruise running down the side of his leg, from the top of his thigh to just above his ankle. Luhan turns cold inside out. Bolting for the door, he tugs it open and runs the short distance to Sehun's room. His hand is poised over the door, ready to knock, when it opens and scares him half to death.
Sehun's equally disheveled, hair a mess and cheeks flushed. Luhan spots a bruise the same colour as his down Sehun's left arm. Sehun's horrified gaze tells him all he needs to know. Sehun grabs Luhan's wrist as he darts out of his room, pulling Luhan along as he makes his way down the hall, dodging groggy students that are heading to and from the showers.
He bangs on Zitao's door incessantly until it swings open.
"Does your head hurt?"
Zitao blinks. "Yeah. Feels like I hit it on something."
"Like the doorframe of a train?"
Zitao pales. Sehun licks his lips, disbelief etched across his face. Baekhyun runs up to them, a bright blue bruise hugging the curve of his cheekbone. His eyes are glassy with pure fear, and Sehun runs to find Jongin and Yixing.
They stand in the middle of the hallway, each sporting a blue bruise or two and the same petrified expression. Jongin pushes sweaty bangs off his forehead.
"What does this mean?"
Baekhyun rubs at his eyes, wincing when he accidentally touches the bruise on his face. Yixing passes him an ice pack wordlessly.
"I don't know," Sehun mutters. "I don't know."
The six of them shower before meeting at the campus café for the daily coffee, as per usual. Nothing else seems out of place; the barista is as cranky as always, and the homeless man lounging outside the building is in the same spot as always. Yixing's the first in his lecture hall and Jongin the last, as always. They meet at the steps of the Science Department during lunch, as always.
Then noon hits, and all six double over in pain as something seems to rip through their ears, tearing holes in their eardrums and boring holes into their brains. The pain goes on for a full minute, stopping when time shifts to 12:01.
They straighten simultaneously, hands still clasped over their ears as they wave away concerned passersby weakly. Yixing wets his lips. "It's a minute past twelve."
Luhan's eyes are throbbing; he swears he's bleeding out of the corner of his eyes. But Sehun checks and there's nothing wrong. They press closer to each other, intuitively, as they head down towards their favourite Chinese restaurant for lunch.
But none of them finish their meals. They leave with more than half their plates still full, stomachs churning as the sun beats almost tauntingly down on their bare necks.
"We are not taking the subway tonight," Jongin mumbles, shivering as they walk past the subway entrance, people milling around it, completely oblivious.
"Not ever," Baekhyun adds, shoving cold fingers into his pockets. "Ever."
Sehun simply chews on the inside of his lip and pulls Luhan closer.
"Can I stay with -"
"Yeah," Sehun interrupts quietly, "you can. For however long you want."
Sehun's curled up on his bed, Organic Chemistry textbook awkwardly positioned on his lap. His back's sore from hunching over the text for hours, but he's finally distracted from the subway incident, and so he gladly takes the pain. Luhan's taken over his desk, music theory notes scattered all over the cheap material, laptop open and perched precariously on the corner.
Luhan's pencil scratching along with Sehun's highlighting are the only sounds that fill the room for a long time. Then Luhan's mail application makes a sound and Luhan automatically checks it. Sehun doesn't look up from his work as Luhan clicks away.
"Sehun?" Luhan's tone of voice has Sehun looking up instantly.
"What is it?"
"Come here, you have to see this."
Sehun winces when he straightens - a few vertebrae pop as he walks over to Luhan's side.
"Yixing just forwarded this to me." Luhan pushes his laptop towards Sehun and tilts the screen a little.
With every word he takes in, Sehun pales a little more.
SOHO Building Destroyed - On-Lookers Claim "A Black Blob" Is To Blame
"What does this mean," Luhan groans, burying his face into the crook of his elbow. Sehun closes the laptop and looks down on the crown of Luhan's head.
"Means something's wrong," Sehun sighs, curling a hand around Luhan's neck and pressing gently along his hairline. "Also means that apart from classes, you're never leaving my side."
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Luhan mumbles, voice muffled. Sehun ruffles his hair before returning to his bed and capping his highlighter. He's in no mood to study now. Apparently Luhan feels the exact same way, crawling under the covers and effectively kicking all of Sehun's textbooks off the bed in the process.
"Come," Luhan says from somewhere under all the sheets. Sehun rids himself of his jeans and pulls on comfortable pajama pants before he does. Luhan's hair is fluffy under his chin and it warms him up a little. Sehun absently touches Luhan's bruise lightly, fingertips ghosting blued skin. Luhan buries his nose deeper into Sehun's neck.
"None of this makes any sense," Sehun mutters into Luhan's hair, "how did it get here? We were obviously nowhere in this world - or any tangible world for that matter. What does this -"
"Go to sleep," Luhan mumbles sleepily, tucking his chin into his chest and causing more hair to be thrown in Sehun's face. "We can freak out tomorrow."
Sehun flattens Luhan's hair out of his face and sighs.
The two jolt awake to incessant thumping on the door. Sehun checks the time - 4am - and groans before groggily rising and making his way over to the door in the dark. Luhan mutters a string of incomprehensible words before turning and burying his face in a pillow.
Sehun cracks the door open and flinches when light from the hallway hits him square in the face.
"Sehun, let us in," Jongin's voice says, hurried and tense. Sehun moves away and lets his friends push their way in. Zitao very unceremoniously flips the light switch and Luhan screeches in shock.
"Wake up," Yixing says, slapping the back of Luhan's thigh. "Something's gone really wrong."
Luhan grumbles but lifts his face off the pillow regardless. The six of them somehow find a way to fit onto Sehun's bed, Jongin in the middle with his laptop snug on his lap.
"If this is not close to something earth-shattering, I will kill you for waking me up this early," Luhan threatens, eyes still half-closed and the imprint of the pillowcase fresh on his cheek. Zitao crooks an eyebrow.
"He's not a morning person, is he?" He asks Sehun, and Sehun shakes his head vehemently.
"You don't know the half of it," Sehun says, only to be rewarded with a sharp smack on the arm. Sehun gives Zitao a pointed look.
"Okay look," Jongin says, and the other five crane their necks to catch a glimpse of the screen.
It's a news site, and Jongin's got a certain article pulled up.
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"Did I just see the word 'simultaneously'?" Sehun asks, completely awake at this point. "Simultaneously?"
"Yeah," Jongin confirms with a tired exhale. "Simultaneously."
Baekhyun emits a sound that's a cross between a wail and a whine before rolling towards the wall and staying there. Zitao pats his head comfortingly as Yixing rubs at his eyes.
"Are these... things just going to keep destroying places? What if they spread to other cities? Countries?"
"We're going to have to go back," Sehun says softly, curling fingers around Luhan's neck as the latter pillows his cheek on Sehun's thigh. "We need to go back."
"Are you insane? You've gone absolutely insane!" Jongin says, stunned. He flicks Sehun's nose a couple of times for good measure.
"Stop it," Sehun snaps, pushing Jongin's hand away. "I'm not insane. We need to go back, because we're the only ones who have a vague idea of where these things come from. If anyone else had any idea, they would've spoken up by now."
"But," Yixing pipes up, "how are we going to get back? I don't even know how we got there in the first place."
"It's got something to do with time, that's for sure," Baekhyun says, recalling the frozen fluorescent numbers on the face of the digital clocks in the subway.
"And we're the last stop on our subway line," Sehun adds, "maybe we just have to stay in the train past our stop."
"What if we can't come back again?" Luhan asks, quiet.
"Let's not think that far ahead," Sehun says dryly. "Have a little optimism."
Dawn passes by too quickly, and morning sets in heavily. The six disperse from Sehun's room, eyelids drooping with drowsiness and throats dry. Sehun darts into the showers for a cold one as Luhan brews a whole tumbler of strong coffee.
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