Wufan was correct when he said he had to spend another hour on the project. Thankfully it wasn’t longer since his co-worker decided to call it a night. He had a family to get home to and Wufan couldn’t have agreed more. He didn’t have a family but Yixing was waiting for him, which was almost the same, and that was more important right now. Walking into the lobby, he lazily pressed the button to the first elevator. It didn’t take long for the doors to open but he caught sight of someone and turned his attention to them.

It was the old woman again, standing near the fourth elevator and staring at it intently. Her brows furrowed and a worried expression on her face.

‘Did someone take that elevator tonight? Maybe that’s why she’s there,’ Wufan thought to himself.

The few times he ran into her she was staring at that elevator and the following day someone was reported missing or, more recently, found dead. He watched her until she turned her gaze to him. Her eyes felt like they pierced right through him. He broke their eye contact, stepping into the elevator and pressing the button to reach his floor.

When he opened the door to his apartment he sighed in relief to finally be home. However, he wasn’t expecting everything to be dark. Yixing sometimes left a light on and waited for him on the couch or his bed. He brushed it off though, thinking Yixing must’ve been tired and went straight to bed. It didn’t sound like a bad idea to Wufan. He headed for his room, taking notice of Yixing’s bag on the couch.

A cold breeze blew through his apartment causing him to stop in his tracks. He never opened the windows since he kept the air conditioner on every day. Setting his bag and jacket down on the couch, he saw where the breeze was coming from. The balcony door was open and something was outside but he couldn’t make out what it was. He narrowed his eyes as he walked closer to the balcony. By the time he was halfway across, he noticed it was a person and immediately thought it was a thief until he remembered he lived on the twentieth floor. The guy would have to be either really stupid or Spiderman to climb this building.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and stopped by the doorframe of the balcony. His distance with the figure wasn’t that far anymore, maybe a few steps at this point. He tried looking at the figure’s face but it was covered by dark brown hair. The clothes looked familiar to something his boyfriend would wear, burgundy skinny jeans and a light blue sweater.

“Yixing?” He didn’t get a response. “What are you doing out here?”

A strange laughter escaped the younger man’s lips that caught Wufan off guard. It didn’t sound anything like Yixing’s laugh. The balcony rail was creaking as if someone was hanging on it. He called out to his boyfriend again but there was only more laughter. He stepped outside to the balcony, concerned about Yixing’s behavior, only to discover that Yixing was the one making the rail creak because he was holding onto it.

The only difference was that he was on the other side of the balcony rail, leaving himself out in the open on the twentieth floor. Wufan’s eyes widen in panic as he watched his boyfriend jumping on the other side. He was laughing and having fun despite the danger he was in.

“It’s so nice out. Come join me,” Yixing said, leaning his head back and feeling the wind blow through his hair while holding onto the rail. Wufan yelled out to him and tried to rush over to him.

“Don’t.” Yixing watched Wufan abruptly stop and smiled, “Get any closer and I’ll let go.”

Wufan couldn’t believe what Yixing was saying. “This isn’t a game. Please, just give me your hand. I’ll get you out of there,” Wufan said, holding his hand out but Yixing merely glared at him.

“Oh, but this is a game. A fun game where you have no chance of winning,” Yixing giggled as he let one of his hands move away from the rail. “I’m going to take what was almost mine.”

Yixing’s voice sounded different like a mixture of his low tone with an unrecognizable high-pitch tone. His eyes were blank, too. The gears in Wufan’s head turned, putting together what Yixing was talking about. It wasn’t long until he realized who he was dealing with.

“You’re not Yixing,” Wufan said before he continued, “You’re that girl who tried to trick him into going with you.”

“Wow, you’re so smart. This boy was supposed to be mine until you interrupted my spell. Revenge is sweet, isn’t it?” Wufan was pissed, not at Yixing for ignoring his warning but at this girl for taking over his body.  Yixing turned to his side, looking down from the building, “I wonder how he’ll look when he lands down there.”

“Get the hell out of his body!” Wufan yelled. “You’ve taken enough people with you already!”

A scowl appeared on Yixing’s face. It turned out his theory was correct. He didn’t need any more confirmation.

“Why are you killing anyone who enters that lift?”

“It’s my home.” Wufan slowly moved forward as Yixing looked off to the side, explaining, “I need their souls to become stronger. How else did you think I possessed this boy’s body? He was an easy target anyway, so skeptical of you.” Wufan was standing in front of Yixing, waiting for the right moment to grab him and pull him over the rail even if he had to fight the evil ghost controlling his body.

“Does it make you angry that your boyfriend doesn’t believe you? No matter how hard you try to tell him about me he just thinks you’re crazy. I can get him out of your life so no one ever doubts you again. I can end it for you.”

He knew this was a trick. It was a way for her to lure him into her trap, convince him that Yixing wasn’t worth his time anymore. However, she failed to realize Wufan wouldn’t give him up just because he didn’t believe him.

“Give him back to me,” Wufan pleaded. His voice was shaking but he tried to sound calm so he wouldn’t anger the spirit. A smirk appeared on Yixing’s face.

“Watch him die.”

Yixing leaned back and let go of the rail, falling right before Wufan’s eyes.

Wufan reacted instantly. He didn’t care that he almost threw his body over the rail and risked meeting the same death as Yixing. He managed to grab Yixing’s wrist in time. If he had wasted another second it would’ve been too late. His other hand held the metal railing as half his body dangled over the edge. He winced when his hips dug into the rail. His feet were barely touching the floor; the toes of his shoes scrapped against the surface.

“Yixing,” he called out, but there was no response. Yixing was unconscious. He tried to pull Yixing up with his own strength but his position against the rail prevented him. Grabbing him with both hands would be too risky, so that option was quickly thrown out. He called out to Yixing again, hoping to wake him up.

A stir and a jolt later, Yixing was awake but panicked when he saw buildings around him and no floor underneath his feet. He looked up, seeing Wufan struggling to keep his grip on him.

“Wufan!”

“Hurry up and grab my arm!” There was no time for questions. He was starting to lose his hold on Yixing’s wrist. “Hurry!”

Yixing did as he was told, grabbing his arm as tight as he could, and Wufan ordered him to climb up his arm. They struggled but it became easier for Wufan to pull him up. The weight wasn’t on his hips anymore and his feet were able to touch the floor. He wrapped his arms around Yixing’s waist and helped him climb over the rail. They stumbled back into the apartment where they both collapsed on the floor.

Wufan was breathing heavily as he sat up while Yixing buried his head into his chest. The younger man was sobbing and trembling, unable to fully understand why he was hanging over the balcony in the first place. Wufan placed his hands on Yixing’s cheeks, cupping them to look into his eyes. They weren’t blank, emotionless orbs. They were glossy but otherwise back to their normal color. The spirit left his body, she no longer possessed him. He embraced him and ran his fingers through his hair. There was still dry blood on the side of his head. Wufan whispered in his ear that he was here with him and safe.

“W-why was I...? What’s going on?” Wufan waited until Yixing’s sob subsided. He had to be calm if he wanted to understand what just happened. There was a chance he would get upset but Wufan was willing to take that chance. Maybe then Yixing would believe his theory.

“You were possessed by that girl,” Wufan answered. Yixing lifted his head up to look at him, eyes wide in shock. “She took control of you and made you jump off the balcony.”

“Wha- No! That’s impossible.” Yixing pulled away from Wufan and heard him call his name but interrupted him, “I remember entering your apartment and lying down on the couch. I fell asleep, Wufan! How do you expect me to believe that?”

“I talked to her through you. She wanted to kill you because I stopped that spell she had on you. She was looking for revenge and it didn’t matter to her if she could use your soul to become stronger,” he explained but Yixing shook his head.

“No, I got here perfectly fine. I was asleep...a-and somehow I wake up to you holding me from the edge of the balcony. It doesn’t make sense!” Yixing exclaimed. He was confused but he swore he didn’t run into the supposed ‘ghost girl’ on his way to the elevators. He would’ve remembered, or so he thought.

Ever since Wufan started talking about this ghost he tried his best to push it away, all because he knew ghosts didn’t exist. They weren’t real but Wufan refused to believe that. There was no way a ghost possessed him. There had to be another explanation, but the only one made his entire body tremble in fear. He began to scoot away from Wufan, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“You did it,” Yixing mumbled. Wufan blinked when he saw Yixing moving away and mumbling something he couldn’t hear. “Why else would I wake up about to fall to my death? You threw me over the balcony!”

Wufan’s eyes widen at the accusation, “What?!”

Yixing immediately stood up and backed away from Wufan, “I would never kill myself! That only means you tried to kill me!”

“Yixing, listen to yourself! You’re accusing me of something I didn’t do!” Wufan yelled, appalled by his boyfriend’s behavior. He stood up from the floor and walked over to him but Yixing made sure to keep some distance between them. The younger of the two was absolutely afraid and it became worse when he backed into a wall. “I didn’t do it, Yixing, you have no reason to be scared!”

“Ghosts don’t exist. No one else was in this room except us, so it had to be you! Why did you try to kill me?! Why-”

Wufan grabbed Yixing’s arms and slammed him against the wall, which caught him off guard as his head hit the wall. Wufan’s grip remained strong, and Yixing opened his eyes to look at him. He gasped when he saw Wufan’s eyes filled with anger, brows furrowed and lips twisted into a frown. He looked like he was ready to bare his teeth. Wufan was fed up with everything. It was driving him insane that Yixing didn’t believe him and being accused of an act he didn’t commit.

“Why would I risk my own life saving you if I wanted you dead? Explain that to me, Yixing!” Wufan tightened his grip causing Yixing to wince. “I did everything I could to pull you up, to keep you from falling.”

“A-ah...stop,” Yixing begged. Wufan’s grip only got stronger, feeling his nails digging into his skin. “It hurts!”

“I wasn’t going to let that girl take you away from me again. I didn’t try to kill you!”

“Let go!” Yixing found the strength to push Wufan away from him, allowing his arms to be released from the strong grip. Wufan stumbled back, almost landing on the floor if his balance didn’t kick in. “You’ve let this whole ghost thing control you! Ever since the night we saw that ‘thing’ you haven’t stopped thinking about it! You’re letting it get to your head, and you don’t even know what you’re doing anymore! Stop trying to solve something you have no part in!”

Yixing lifted his hands to his face, ignoring the pain inflicted on his arms as his chest heaved, tears running down his cheeks, “You’re just going to hurt the ones you love...”

Wufan quietly stood in front of Yixing again, guilt written across his face. He reached out to hold one of Yixing’s hands, “Xing, I’m sor-”

“Don’t touch me!” Yixing slapped Wufan’s hands away, “I don’t want to see you.” He walked away from Wufan and grabbed his bag that was on the couch, heading for the front door. Wufan stood frozen in his spot with his head down, not bothering to go after his boyfriend.

When the door closed Wufan slammed his hand on the wall, frustration and guilt eating him alive. Yixing should’ve been the one feeling guilty for falsely accusing him but he still felt like an awful human being. He scared and hurt the man he loved. He failed to make him believe what he said. He didn’t realize he was losing Yixing day by day until everything just exploded into this mess.

His heart clenched in his chest as if telling him to get Yixing back, but would his mind let him forget about that girl’s despicable acts?

A/N: So this is what I meant by things getting a bit crazy and I got the update out before midnight. However, I don't know how long it'll take for the next chapter. Just throwing that out there, sorry :(

I forgot to mention something in the author's note in the last chapter. It's about the 'witching hour' belief. I actually had a friend who believed in spiritual stuff and one of the things I remember about her was how uncomfortable she felt when it hit 3 a.m. (she said was the "devil's hour") She really believed spirits roamed around at that hour but she also experienced some paranormal events before, so that's why I never thought it was weird. We had a three hour time difference so when it was 3 a.m. on her end it was 6 a.m. here. I stayed up with her for another hour so she wouldn't be alone. That's why I had Yixing talk about the 'friend' along with the witching hour even though that was mostly research, not the 3 a.m. thing.

Oh, and the number four superstition I learned through an eatyourkimchi video on supersitions. Get this, if you guys watched the anime Another the nurse's death scene in the elevator didn't have a number four. It was skipped. I don't know if other anime have done that though since Another was the only one I noticed.

Anyway, this note has gone on long enough. Thank you for reading, subscribing, voting and commenting~!