Stay away, stay away, stay away. Don't come any closer. Don't.

The words spun around in his mind, like a cassette on replay.

Huddled in the corner of the room, tearstains cold against his cheeks with the frozen air, his hands wrapped securely around his knees that were pulled up to his chest.

A lost soul, one might call him, lost in the darkness never to find his way out.

Stop, please! Stop! Don't come near me!

He could feel the shadows approaching, the non-existent grip; on his arms, his shoulders, his legs, on him. He screamed; loud, shrill and deafening in the silence of the midnight.

The broken silence filled with loud pounding footsteps from all directions.

Stop. NO!

Hands clamped tightly over his ears now, head buried between his knees, trying to keep everything out, everything away.

A hand landed on his shoulders, and he let out another scream.

“Jong. SUNGJONG!”

“GET AWAY FROM ME! DON'T TOUCH ME! STAY AWAY!”

The hand retreated, and only then did the young boy chance a look at his 'attacker'. Hurt shone evidently in those deep brown orbs, a slight glaze of tears b over his eyelashes.

“Tell me what's wrong. Sungjong, please, just tell me what is going on.” A quiet whisper.

“Hyung...” A broken sob from Sungjong, and the tears fell again. He was pulled into a tight hug, arms wrapped securely around his small, shaking frame.

More footsteps, and a demanding, “What happened?!”.

Sungjong shrank into the embrace, trying to shield himself from the growing audience; his dorm mates, s, his hyungs. But they didn't seem friendly at all in his eyes, rather predators on the prowl.

What's wrong with you, Sungjong?! Can't you do anything right?!
 

No, you're doing it wrong! It's suppose to be like this, pick up the slack before you get dropped!

When are you going to stop acting like a girl a be a man? No one likes a petty, spoilt brat.
Those judging eyes appeared once again, the hateful comments, the snide attacks to his pride and confidence.

“Howon hyung...” A hiccup, “Make them go away. Make the voices go away...” A cry. “Just make them go away.” And he clung onto the warmth surrounding him, letting the darkness claim him.

*********
 

“Howon, what happened?” A stern voice. Clearly, Sunggyu.
 

“Sungjongie...” High in pitch, cracking at the end. Sungyeol.

The rest of them were there too; Woohyun, Dongwoo, Myungsoo.

They just stared, waiting for a reply.

Howon sat quietly at the table, hand clutching the handle of the mug of now cold coffee. How long had he been sitting there? How long ago was it since he had laid Sungjong on the sofa in the living room?

“Howon.”

His eyes met Sunggyu's, furrowed in confusion and clouded over by deep thoughts. Sunggyu's expressed concern, worry, urgency. Was there something going on that he didn't know about? The seat opposite him screeched and he took notice of Dongwoo sitting down.

“Won-ah. Please, tell us what happened.” Dongwoo croaked.

Sunggyu placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I... I... I don't exactly know. I woke to him screaming, and ran out to check on him. He was saying something like....” A pause, collecting his thoughts, “Like... 'Stop', and 'Don't hurt me, don't touch me.'”

His lost eyes met with the other boys standing behind Sunggyu.

“Hyung, I don't know.” He shook his head, eyes now void of emotion. Perhaps he'd been spending too much time around Myungsoo.

Sunggyu sighed heavily, “Alright, I'll try and talk to him tomorrow. He's asleep now, poor thing must've tired himself out from all the stress. To bed, guys. We still have a schedule tomorrow.” And all was dismissed.

Each boy headed towards their rooms, faces grim, except for Howon and Sunggyu. As Dongwoo entered last and shut the door, Sunggyu nudged Howon with his foot. “Hey, Howon. Don't worry too much, I'm sure he'll be fine. Probably just overload of stress on his body and mind. Let him rest for the night and we'll see how he is tomorrow. For now, get some sleep as well, you'll need it with our upcoming come back.”

A small smile was shared between the two, before the leader stood up and took his leave. Howon followed soon after, only, instead of entering his room, he took a detour to the living room.

Sitting beside the sofa, he ran a finger softly over the sleeping boy's cheek.

“Sungjong-ah. Hyung is here. You can always talk to me... You know that.... Right...?” voice cracking at the end, the tears finally streaming over now that he was alone.

“You know...” and he grabbed hold of Sungjong's small hand, head dropping down to stare directly into closed eyes, feeling his own droop slowly.

“You know that you can always trust me...” And he fell asleep, head nestled on the sofa beside Sungjong, with their hands linked tightly together, tearstains streaking both their faces. Sungjong wasn't going to fight his monsters alone. Not anymore.