WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH AND OTHER DISTURBING MATERIAL
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Taemin moved into the dorm room with relative ease. He didn’t have many things to begin with, and his parents had assured him that most of the food he’d packed would be unnecessary.

He wasn’t scared of being on his own (well, technically on his own, anyway). He was actually excited about attending university for the first time, since he’d be with his best friend Jongin. So he could handle being away for the first time in his life. Or so he thought.

About a month after they’d moved in, Taemin’s roommate Jongin had mysteriously disappeared. There was absolutely no trace of him left in the dorm. Not even the set of sheets on the bed across from Taemin’s was left. Most people believed that Jongin just couldn’t handle the stress of university.

The thing was… Taemin didn’t believe it. And it scared him senseless.

 The night Jongin disappeared, Taemin distinctly remembered waking up that night to hearing a rustle in the corner that was absolutely not Jongin. Because he remembered looking over at Jongin’s bed and seeing the other boy lying there fast asleep. He then wondered, groggily, what could possibly make a rustling noise like that if the pair of them were asleep?

When his brain fully comprehended that question, and all its potential answers, Taemin’s breathing stopped. He clenched his eyes tightly, and burrowed deeper into his covers, praying that it wasn’t some crazed murderer.

He eventually fell fast asleep like that, and when he woke up.. Jongin and his belongings were gone.

It scared Taemin badly that someone could vanish into thin air just like that, but he knew people would tell him that what he’d seen was a nightmare. So he didn’t bother trying to explain that Jongin’s disappearance wasn’t because he couldn’t handle the stress. Hell, he’d been doing better than Taemin in his classes, he had a social life, plus he was on the school dance team to boot.

It was a balm to frayed nerves when he got a new roommate. Kim Kibum was a fashion major, and he was a couple of years older than Taemin, but he was still new to campus too. He answered vaguely when Taemin asked why he hadn’t started university earlier, spouting off some nonsense about having to work too much.

The night that Taemin’s new roommate had gotten all settled in, he woke up quickly when he heard the strange rustling again. He couldn’t help sobbing a little, and even though he tried hard to be quiet, he heard Kibum groan and roll over.

    “Taemin, what’s the matter?” Taemin wiped his eyes quickly.

    “Nothing, Kibum. I just.. had a nightmare,” he whispered. The relief was immediate when he didn’t hear the rustling in the corner anymore. He settled back into his covers. “It’s okay. Go back to sleep, Kibum.” Without further insistence, Kibum did as Taemin asked.

The next morning in his classes, Taemin wondered what would’ve happened if Kibum hadn’t woken up. Would he have been snatched, just like Jongin? Taemin really hoped not.

He left his classes in the middle of the day, too exhausted and preoccupied to focus much. When he unlocked the door to their dorm, he was startled to see Kibum coming out of the bedroom stark . He threw his hands up in front of his eyes.

    “Dude.. Warn somebody,” Taemin peeked between his fingers to see Kibum smirking at him as though he was amused.

    “Well, in my defense.. I didn’t know you were going to be coming back early,” Kibum rustled around, and when Taemin uncovered his eyes, he was fully clothed. He wiped his forehead off in mock relief, and Kibum rolled his eyes. Suddenly, Taemin sobered up when he remembered last night.

    “Better. Hey, um.. I know this is going to sound weird, but.. Last night. When you woke up, did you hear anything like rustling?” Kibum shook his head no. Taemin’s shoulders slumped, and he wondered if maybe he really was just dreaming. He sighed.

    “Yeah… I didn’t think you had,” Kibum looked at him with concern.

    “Why? What did you hear last night? I heard the lie in your voice when you told me you’d had a nightmare, by the way. So.. what really went on?” Taemin shrugged.

    “When my first roommate disappeared… I woke up when I heard this really strange sound in the corner. It took me a few minutes to really get nervous about it, since I wasn’t fully awake, but when I did… I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. And when I got up the next morning, Jongin had completely disappeared. Like he hadn’t even been there in the first place.”

Kibum nodded, but Taemin could tell he didn’t really believe his words. He frowned. “Anyway.. I heard it again last night. And it freaked me out because I wondered if it was going to take you too. Not that you believe me,” Kibum walked forward and gathered Taemin’s face in his hands. He looked down at Taemin, staring with an unreadable expression in his gaze.

    “You don’t get to decide what I believe, Taemin. Just because I look disinterested doesn’t mean I don’t believe you. Because I do,” Kibum let go of Taemin’s face. “The next time you jump to conclusions about me, try to remember that I don’t always show what I’m really thinking or feeling,” Taemin shivered, the dark tone of Kibum’s voice giving him visions of being slammed against a wall and kissed furiously.

He nodded, and Kibum walked past him like they hadn’t just had a rather intense moment. He shrugged, and proceeded to the bedroom to study his calculus homework.

Later that evening, Kibum popped his head in the doorway and threw a sock to get Taemin’s attention.

    “Hey, I’m going out with some friends,” he smiled. “Wanna come?” Taemin eagerly shut his calculus book and scrambled to get dressed.

That night, he was introduced to Choi Minho. Kibum was talking to a couple of his friends named Jonghyun and Jinki while Taemin got into a deep discussion with Minho about the passion they both shared: dancing.

He never would’ve guessed the taller man liked dancing, and it was even better that they shared the opinion that dancing should never be about anything but how it made the dancer feel. Taemin was so deep into his discussion that he never noticed Kibum’s dark eyes constantly flitting towards them.

Taemin went home smiling that night, and didn’t seem to notice Kibum’s dangerous mood. But as soon as the door shut, he found himself in the exact position he’d imagined earlier. Pressed up against a wall with Kibum looking at him hungrily.

    “So what did you and Princess Choi have a nice, long conversation about, hm?” Kibum breath fanned across Taemin’s neck and Taemin felt himself getting hard for no reason at all. Kibum was a sensuous person, sure, but Taemin barely even knew him.

With some difficulty, he pushed past Kibum and stripped off his shirt. He answered without turning around.

    “Dancing,” he answered simply. He didn’t think he could face Kibum and those possessive eyes. He wasn’t even gay, for Christ’s sake. “We both like dancing.” He fell face first into his mattress and hid his face in a pillow.

    “Oh,” Kibum sounded contrite. “I thought maybe he was making up some kind of bull story about me... Like he usually does whenever we hang out.” Taemin relaxed muscles he didn’t even know had tensed and turned around to face Kibum. Kibum was twisting his hands nervously. “I’m sorry about that back there.. It was uncalled for.”

Taemin waved a hand in the air lazily. “ ‘Sall good.”

He fell asleep not long after and was relieved to wake up the next morning when his alarm went off, signaling his classes. The rustling, if it had gone on last night, hadn’t woken him up at least. And it obviously wasn’t some kind of murderer, since he was still alive to witness the beautiful morning.

Taemin went on to class, and skipped his last class of the day to go hang out with Kibum and get better acquainted with his roommate. But when he arrived, Kibum was sobbing and teary-eyed. He immediately dropped his bag and went to comfort Kibum.

    “M-minho… H-he’s dead,” Taemin stood stock still. A feeling of unease gathered in his stomach, and he swallowed forcefully against the bile that suddenly wanted to come up.

    “How?” Taemin heard himself ask dully. The awful feeling in his stomach wouldn’t go away. Kibum’s sobbing brought him out of his daze.

    “H-he hung hims-self. S-suicide isn’t like him, though,” Taemin had to agree. He hadn’t known Minho at all really, but he definitely hadn’t shown any symptoms of being suicidal the night before. “T-taemin, I think m-maybe he was murdered.” The bomb dropped and Taemin’s grip on Kibum’s shoulders tightened.

    “I think so too, Kibum. I think so too,” in fact, Taemin had a feeling that whoever was responsible for Jongin’s disappearance was responsible for Minho’s murder. He didn’t know why, though. What was it about them that made them targets?

Taemin kept his suspicions to himself, replying vaguely when Kibum asked him interestedly who he thought the murderer was. He wasn’t looking at Kibum’s face when he answered, and missed the odd shine in Kibum’s eyes.

That night, Taemin was afraid the rustling would come back, so he tried his hardest to stay awake. But sometime around midnight, he couldn’t help himself. When he woke to the sound of that awful rustling 3 hours later, he bolted up in bed and stared in the corner.

There was nothing there. He sighed, feeling relieved, until he saw Kibum standing right next to his bed in the corner of his eye. He was uncomfortably close. Taemin scooted closer to the wall in an effort to put some space between them.

    “Kibum.. what’s going on?” he asked cautiously. His instincts were telling him that this was going to end very, very badly for one of them. Kibum cocked his head to the side and sighed.

    “Taemin,” Kibum chuckled lowly. “We both know that the game’s up. I’m just so tired of having to kill people to get noticed by you, you know? First it was your girlfriend, Sulli.. a year ago, I think?.. Then it was your best friend Jongin, and then Minho,” Kibum sat down on the edge of Taemin’s bed. “I saw you 2 years ago in a window, during some kind of dance class. I’ve never forgotten your face, and what a beautiful face it is.” Taemin flinched when Kibum’s fingers traced his jawline. “They don’t deserve such beauty. They don’t appreciate it the way I do, Taemin.”

    “So you were the cause of the rustling,” Taemin let out a bitter laugh. “I’m an idiot for not seeing it sooner.” Kibum’s touch was meant to be soothing, but it only felt revolting. Taemin jumped out of his bed and stumbled out of the apartment, desperate to be as far away from Kibum as possible.

He stayed out of the room for the entire night, hiding in the stairwell by his room. He only came back when he was sure it was safe. He pushed open the unlocked door to their dorm room, only to be greeted with a horrible smell. He gagged, and pressed a hand to his mouth and nose, trying to block the stench.

It didn’t take long to find the source of the stench, and when Taemin saw Kibum’s slumped against the bed.. he couldn’t help screaming.

The rustling sound made him go white as a sheet, and he trembled at the sight of the hideous tentacled.. thing currently in the process of feeling around in Kibum’s brain. His skull had been torn off and either eaten or thrown away somewhere Taemin couldn’t see.

The sound of chuckling coming from Kibum’s dead body made Taemin pale even further, and his eyes widened in extreme shock. He stumbled back out into the hallway slowly, shaking his head and refusing to believe what his eyes knew to be truth.

The vaguely octopus-like creature attached to Kibum’s brain made the body stand up jerkily. The blood dripping down Kibum’s cold white face and the wide, glazed eyes were a ghastly sight to behold, and Taemin was so terrified he couldn’t even scream anymore. He was literally paralyzed with fear.

    “Humans are always soooo delicious to devour,” Kibum’s body laughed. “No other alien species tastes half so exquisite.” Taemin looked around, hoping to see anything he could possibly use as a weapon. The only thing his eyes landed on was a basketball and a toothbrush. Well… the creature’s body looked soft enough… “More of my race will be coming soon and we shall feast for ages.”

Taemin forced himself to grab the basketball. He threw it full force at Kibum’s head and knocked the parasite loose. Then, he took the toothbrush and repeatedly stabbed the soft, squishy body of an alien he’d never seen before.

The scream was almost enough to break the windows, but Taemin kept at it. Eventually, he left the toothbrush standing in a pile of mush that used to be an alien.

He sat there, surrounded by alien guts and Kibum’s blood, and wondered what the hell was going to happen next.
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So um. Yeah. Dreams. They're weird. Especially the one this was based on. XD

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Til next time, loves. ^.~