~ Baekhyun's POV 

”Taeyeon told me that we need to seriously stock up on water. Now I want some cereal, and we could get some more chocolate...” Sehun's voice fades away as the ringing in my ears fills my head. I close my eyes for a moment and rub my temples softly. ”Baekhyun? We'll be right there. Don't leave the park, okay?” I can hear Jongin talking to me, and I nod. They start walking towards another store as I start walking towards the park right next to us.

This park is quite beautiful. The trees are huge, and the leaves droop beautifully around the park. If you raise your hands, you can pull the leaves out. The park has one long path all around, and three shorter gravel paths that meet in the center, where there's a fountain and some benches. There's a playground, a small bathroom and an area with tables and chairs. The café cart is moved away for the night, but there are still tire compressions on the grass. The lights are huge, and have small hanging flower pots on them. The light they emit is cold and bright, probably to look like sunlight. Small insects are flying around the lamps, and a squirrel flashes in the trees above me.

I slowly take out my lighter. I click it a few times before I reach my hand out and rip out a small shred of a bright green leaf. It's surface is soft like velvet. I grab the very edge of the leaf with my nails and click my lighter again, admiring the beautiful flame as it eats away on the leaf. A small smile rises on my lips. This isn't that much of a help or a permanent solution, but it'll help me stay even mostly sane before I find another building to burn down. That doesn't really happen that often, anyways – the bar was a lucky find.

After the leaf has disappeared to smoke, I rip out another one. The branch bends down slowly, but jumps right back up, shaking up the leaves. The fountain behind me is not running, but there's still water in the bottom. I walk up to the fountain with a bunch of leaves, sit down on the edge and light one of the leaves up. It makes a beautiful sizzling noise when I drop it into the water. I light two more and drop them in. I sigh and stop to look around in the night. It's beautiful. I turn my attention back to the water and hum silently as I focus on burning the leaves.

When I look at the last leaf and the flame under it, I stop to think for a short moment. I light up the leaf, put down the lighter and grab the burning edge around my index and middle finger. I sigh silently, but right then I hear a short brawl of the gravel behind me, and I immediately drop the leaf to the fountain and turn around.

Behind me is a gigantic man, at least from my point of view. His face, even when in shadow from the light behind him, shows shock and confusion. I look at him with investigating eyes. He looks familiar.

”Kai?” the person asks with a deep voice, and that voice sparks a memory. ”Chan... Yeol?” I ask and look at him, unsure if that was his name. He nods a little and sits down next to me. I can now see his face better, and he turns his eyes to my fingers that just a moment ago were tightly around the leaf. ”Are you hurt?” he asks and looks up at my eyes. He seems really concerned. Like Jongin, he's a big brother who makes sure his little brothers have eaten before taking a single bite. I shake my head quickly and look at my hand. There are tiny, red scars on my fingers. ”I-I'm fine. I can handle it”, I mumble and take a quick look at the water. My hand quickly finds the lighter lying on the edge and stuffs it into my pocket. ”What... What are you... Doing here?” I ask and play with the hem of my shirt, on one hand, I want him to leave so I can get back to what I was doing. That, and I don't want him to see my friends beat a guy up while robbing him. But on the other hand... He seems like a nice guy. And I wouldn't mind the company. ”I could ask the same”, he says and crosses his legs. He's wearing tight, blue jeans, an off-white sweater and a long, black coat. I shrug a little and look at the water. ”I guess I just couldn't sleep”, I mumble. The rips in my own jeans aren't meant to be there; one is from when I fell down running away from a fire. Another one is an actual burnt hole by my calf. There's a story to all of them, actually. I can see Chanyeol's reflection on the surface of the water, and he nods. There's an awkward-kind of silence. I can hear the bright street lamps buzzing behind us.

”Do you live around here? Do you have a ride home?” Chanyeol suddenly asks with a calm voice. I turn around and look at his feet. ”I uhh... I live nearby.” Which is a lie. Another moment of silence. ”Why were you burning leaves? And why did you...”, he says and stares at my hands, meaning he's asking me about the burning myself-thing. I take a deep breath and look at Chanyeol for a moment. I remain quiet and look away. Take the hint, I think to myself, I don't want to tell you about it. ”Maybe you should go see a doctor”, he says quietly. I turn to look at him with sudden anger. ”Who the hell are you to tell me what I should do? You're a stranger, and you don't know anything about me. So if you would just leave me and my life and keep your nose to yourself, that'd be ing great!” I lash out at him and look him in the eyes. The surprisement on his face... Gosh. I almost feel sorry for yelling. ”I... I'm... Sorry. I shouldn't shout at you”, I mumble silently and look him in the eyes with an apologetic look. At this point I can notice his eyes, and his parted lips that reveal a straight row of white teeth, and his ears that remind me of Yoda. ”No, it's okay, I just... I needed to leave soon anyway, I mean I have to wake up early tomorrow and... Yeah...”, he mumbles and gets up slowly. I follow him with my eyes when he walks to his car, gets in and drives off. And not a moment too soon, because right after he's gone, I can hear Jongin and Sehun running towards me.

”Okay, time to leave, and right now!” Sehun screams at me. He grabs my wrist forcefully and we start running away. ”What...” I start to ask, but the explanation comes running after us. Two men in dark blue uniforms and a small white text, ”Guard”, on their chests. I turn around and start running like hell, right behind Sehun and Jongin, passing the latter one.

We jump up to some fire ladders and start climbing for our lives. Jongin squeals suddenly and accidentally (but fortunately) steps on the guard's fingers while they're climbing. He speeds up and we keep rushing upwards, to the roof. My throat is already burning. When we finally get to the roof, we have to drag Jongin up by the hands. We keep running while Jongin aims a high kick to the first guard's neck. He jerks back and his partner has the same treatment. He catches up to us and we leap to the next roof, run across it, and leap to the next one. Run. Leap. Run. Leap. Run. Leap.

Finally we find an open door and burst inside, scrambling down four sets of stairs and running out. Jongin yells out in excitement as we keep running. My legs feel weak, but I can't give up now. I close my eyes for a moment. Even with all the resisting I have left, my muscles start resisting, and my speed drops, but Sehun's and Jongin's hands grab me by the wrists and we keep running.

By the way we get back to the safehouse, the guards are gone. We stop in the backyard, and I collapse on the ground. ”Baekhyun?” Jongin asks and drops to his knees next to me. ”I'm fine”, I croak and look at him. Sehun is laughing silently in the background. ”ers! They'll never catch us alive!” he declares and looks to the direction where we came from before turning to us. A smile rises to Jongin's lips as he looks at Sehun. Even I notice myself smiling a little.

~ Chanyeol's POV

I browse through the pictures on my computer. I can't sleep, even though I'm usually asleep the second I let myself fall into my bed. But tonight, after tossing and turning in my bed, I got up and started browsing the huge pile of photos on my computer.

The first folder is named very simply; ”Buildings”. Inside there are hundreds of pictures of dark remains of houses, apartments, and other things alike. I open up the first one and start clicking away. The pictures flip a switch in my head and everything comes back; the scent, the sounds, the feeling of different kinds of flooring, burnt down under my feet, and the walls that let off dark gray ash unto my fingertips.

There are so many pictures, all sorted by date, and I find my newest pictures in the very bottom of the folder. These pictures bring back the smell of smoke mixed with alcohol, the sound of floor planks quietly creaking under the pressure of my feet, the short flashes of my camera that fill the room. And a person.

Our first meeting. That sounds weird, considering I barely know the guy. And yet something inside of me keeps telling me, he's the one, you need to protect him, you can clearly tell there's something wrong, help him the out! I shake my head and look at the empty wall above the computer screen, drawing an image of Kai in my mind.

Black hair, messy and tangled. Pale skin, to the point where I can see blue veins on his forehead, his neck, his upper chest. A petite body covered in a loose shirt, ripped jeans, and a leather jacket. Beautiful hands, but very fragile-looking and soft. Wait, how can I even remember all these details after only meeting him twice? I shake my head again.

Something about his facial expression, about his body language, tells a story. But the story is written in an obscure language that I don't speak. Something is up with that guy. I rub my forehead a little and try to not think about him. I close the folder and look at the other ones: Holiday pictures, selfies, random stuff (like coffee with Yifan)... My eyes stop at the folder named ”NO”. I open it and take a look at the three sub-folders, hovering the mouse over the folder ”2”. I blink a couple of times and open it. Big mistake. Just a quick look at that flawless smile that reaches her eyes... The memories immediately fill my head.

The blood stains on the porcelain and on her pale skin...
My own voice shouting out, it seems so far away...
Her eyes closing and her muscles giving in to the life draining away...

I frantically close the window and take a few deep breaths. I shake my head and get up, walking to the bathroom and clicking the lights on. I walk to the sink and look up at the mirror, leaning to the edge of the sink. I fake a smile. ”I'm okay”, I mumble to myself and wash my face quickly. I look up at the mirror again and grab a pure white towel from the rack on the wall and dry my cheeks, my forehead and my chin. I dab away the water that dripped down my neck.

I should delete those pictures, I think to myself, as I walk out and rush back to the bedroom. I dive underneath the sheets and wrap myself into them, closing my eyes and forcing the thoughts out of my mind. I relax all of my muscles, one at a time, from the tips of my toes to my neck and head and my fingertips. A few deep breaths later I'm fast asleep, and right then I already know that in the morning, no dreams would be left in my memories.

~ Sehun's POV

I poke Jongin's neck and the small hickey on it with a smirk on my face. ”Dude. If you try to tell me you didn't Taemin again, I'll ask Baekhyun to light your pants on fire”, I mumble as Jongin brushes my head away, but I can still see a small smile curve up on the corners of his mouth. ”Shut up”, he mutters and takes a look over my shoulder, where Baekhyun is sleeping on the mattress with a worn leather jacket covering his curled up body. We look at him for a moment.

”Even when he's asleep, there's stress on his face”, I mumble and lean against the wall. Jongin hums in agreement and lays down. ”But he's sleeping well tonight”, he nearly whispers. ”Probably because all of the running”, I mutter back and take a quick look out the windows, to where the moon is shining bright. Suddenly, Baekhyun flinches awake, and Jongin looks at him with worry. ”Jongin, what the ? Calm down. He's fine!” I say with emphasis on the last word. I look at Baekhyun, and the worry rises up to my face too. There's sweat on Baekhyun's face and his eyes are open wide. He gets up slowly and I can see his hands shaking. ”You either had a nightmare or a stunning wet dream”, I think out loud and smirk. Jongin's plush comes in short contact with my face and his hand reaches out over me to wipe Baekhyun's hair away from his eyes. ”Morning”, Baekhyun whispers and takes a deep breath. He pulls his jacket on and gets on his feet a little quickly, and falls over, but regains balance and takes another deep breath before turning to us. ”I need to... Go out”, he sighs out and starts hurrying to the door. ”What, this soon?” I ask with confusion. I jump up, following Baekhyun out the door, Jongin right behind us.

We arrive at the edge of the town, where there's mostly just suburbs anymore. Soon even those disappear, and we find ourselves walking on an unlit, unpaved road. ”I don't think this is a good idea”, Jongin mumbles while looking around and clearly scratching his fingers in his pockets. ”Baekhyun, are you going to burn down a tree?” I finally ask and Baekhyun just replies with ”Hmm-hmm”, in an agreeing tone. This is worrying. ”You're going to start a freaking forest fire!” Jongin insists. Baekhyun hums again. ”Oh for s sake”, I mutter and lower my head, shaking it a little. That idiot. I sweep back my hair and look up at the moon. This cannot be a good idea.

Suddenly, Baekhyun stops for a moment and turns to a smaller path, taking us deeper into the woods. Jongin suddenly grabs my arm and I stare at him. ”What? I just... Don't want to get lost”, he says quietly and we keep following Baekhyun, pushing away plants so they don't smack us in the face. Baekhyun stops at an opening and I step next to him. He's staring at a tiny wooden shack, no larger than the offices in our safe house. ”Is this it?” Jongin asks and looks at Baekhyun, who simply nods and pulls out a lighter. It hasn't rained for a while, so Baekhyun is in luck. He kneels down next to the corner of the shack and starts clicking.

I take a deep breath, and I can see Jongin doing the same in the cold night. A small flame appears, and slowly starts to climb up the walls. Baekhyun follows it with his hand on a somewhat safe distance, and an eerie look in his eyes. A smile rises on his lips, but in this situation, it basically makes him look scary. As the flames climb up to the roof, and from there, on the leaves, a small peek of Baekhyun's teeth are visible. Jongin is pulling my arm away a little bit. ”... We're in trouble!” he whines and tugs on my arm more. ”Baekhyun. We need to leave, before they see us here”, I speak up. Without turning to look at us, I can just barely head Baekhyun saying with a suspiciously calm voice: ”Fine. But I'm not running.” He starts walking backwards, and as soon as I have the chance, I grab his wrist and start pulling. ”Don't do that”, Baekhyun quickly grunts at me, but doesn't take his eyes away from the fire. It's starting to spread, faster than I find comfortable. Suddenly, a flaming branch falls down just inches away from Baekhyun, and I let go of his hand. I grab Jongin's other instead and we're running away. ”Baekhyun!” Jongin screams out and rips his hand away from mine, running back to him. I keep running, but still taking quick glances at them over my shoulder.

I can hear two sets of running steps behind me, and I speed up. Soon we're back at the wider road, the flames following us. ”Come on!” Jongin screams at Baekhyun, who seems to be enchanted by the flames. Baekhyun laughs out and starts running away, but not too quickly for the fire to follow. He jumps and dances around as the trees burn brighter beside him. He stays behind, and Jongin and I run a few feet ahead of him. ”Baekhyun, we can't stay here anymore!” Jongin screams and grabs Baekhyun's hand. We run away, Baekhyun laughing out of happiness, Jongin and I running for our lives with terrified faces.

”Baekhyun, you complete and utter pile of ! You idiot!” I scream out when we get back to the block, where our safehouse is. We're panting like crazy, all three of us, and Baekhyun's entire body is shaking. We sneak into an alleyway to talk more privately.

”You are crazy. And I don't mean like crazy like Jongin or me, I mean seriously crazy”, I grunt and lean on my knees for support. Jongin groans and falls to a sitting position, rubbing his thighs slowly. Baekhyun breathes deeply for a moment or two before completely throwing himself against the brick wall behind him, falling down. The smile is still curved on his face.

---

A/N: Aaagh. I'm losing all confidence in my writing skills. Thankfully I'm not an actual writer. :'D