Sehun knew better than making a fuss over his best friend that was laid on the van’s floor, having the others all around him, trying their best to distract him from the pain that Lay was putting him through. He knew that Lay was doing his best and yet he had to keep his fist clenched in a pathetic attempt to keep himself away from punching the blonde.

He too had his own part in that van: Jaelle was his responsibility. And looking down at the white face, porcelain like cheeks and black eye lashes closed against the milky skin, he could feel some sort of warmth flowing into his veins, some sort of comfort bringing his heart at ease.

“If she dies, I swear I’m going after her just to smack some sense into her,” Kai coughed when Lay took a break from torturing him. “Doc, give me some painkiller ‘cause you’re killing me here!” He then frowned at Lay, ignoring the beads of sweat trickling down his temples.

“Leave him do his job, Kim Jong In,” Kris pushed him back on the floor while eyeing Sehun with worried eyes. But the youngest just shook his head as Jaelle showed no sign of regaining consciousness.

“Now that the bone is finally in, I need to - Oh, OH! I know, I know now! Give me a needle and – sorry Jong In, but your hair will do for now… ok, so I’ll stitch this up and – why is there so much blood?!” Lay was close to a breakdown as the bleeding wasn’t stopping despite the pack of bandages pressed against the deep cut. “What to do? What to do? What do I do now?!” He nearly strangled Chanyeol who was holding a flashlight.

“SOMEBODY KILL ME!” Kai’s scream made Sehun shiver on his place in front of the car.

“Oh, I know. Allow me,” Tao’s voice was heard in the silence that followed afterwards. And using two fingers against Kai’s red skin on the neck, he made the wounded drift into a deep sleep.

“What did you do?” Lay quickly checked Kai’s pulse and pupils.

“I used a martial arts technique and hit one of the main pressure points,” Tao rested against one of the chairs. “Now what?”

“Now I close him up and hope the bleeding will stop by itself. Kris, you can go now,” Lay signaled him that he could let go of Kai’s arm. “Go see if Jaelle is hurt or something.”

He needn’t say twice, ‘cause Kris had already shot up and approached Sehun and his precious patient.

“No,” Sehun shook his head, tightening his grip around Jaelle’s inert fingers. “I won’t step away from her. Not now. Not ever,” he whispered the last part while caressing her cheek with his other hand. “She saved his when we all backed away. She’s our hero, my hero. So no, Kris, I won’t give her to you.”

“Give?” The elder chuckled, closing his eyes, tired from all the events that took place in such a short period of time. “Is she something to eat? She’s a person, Sehun, a person. She’s not to be given, lent, or borrowed. And right now Kai needs you more than her, just like I need her more than I need you around,” Kris blunt declaration made Sehun’s mouth hang ajar, just like all the others’.

“Wu Yifan, you never cease to amaze me,” a smile bloomed on Sehun’s lips as he gently lifted Jaelle’s head so he could slip away and let Kris step in his place. “Just… call me if she wakes up, alright?”

And without looking back, Sehun joined Lay and Chanyeol next to the inconscious Kai.

☾ ♅ ☽

Like hypnotized, Kris pressed his fingers against the girl’s skin, wanting to assure himself that that one in his arms was not some sort of porcelain doll, easy to be broken and lifeless. But her skin molded under his pressing, proving her warm blooded nature.

“Who are you, savage girl?” He whispered as he continued watching her sleeping face. “And what do you want from me? You have to tell me, you know? I’m not that smart to figure out on my own. So, wake up and slap some sense into me ‘cause I’m sure I’m going crazy over here.”

But it was like talking to a stone. She didn’t move, nor open her eyes. And he remained there, sighing while looked at her beautiful face. She was someone – he was sure of it. She was someone to miss, to long for. And she probably was missed by… who? Who exactly was waiting for her at the end of this getaway? Who was there, at the end of their road? ‘Cause he was sure she had someone: a husband maybe, or at least a boyfriend.

A man.

And the thought of a manly built figure wrapping its arms around her thin body was driving him mad there, while just sitting there, doing nothing to prevent her from falling deeper into that strange form of sleep. And not only that, but the feeling that he was missing something out as well. It was there, inside of him, throbbing like a second heart – the incapability of remembering what had been long forgotten. And if there was a cure to that, a way to break the spell he knew he was under, then that was in Jaelle, with Jaelle, in Jaelle’s power.

“Are you slipping away once again?”

Her lips barely moved while her eyes fluttered open and stared right at him, piercing the darkness that had clouded his mind with meaningless phobias. That’s when Kris knew – he would never be able to return to what used to be before her appearance. And as if unhooked from his past, from his other life, he became attached to her. And the girl in front of him became the very reason of him breathing, the very reason of him dying slowly.

“How’s Kai?” Jaelle’s head left his lap and ignoring the dizziness, she looked at the pale face of the boy on the floor.

“If the bleeding stops, he’ll make it through,” Lay replied, checking the wound once again. And blood came gushing by the stitches. “Damn it! I need more bandages.”

“Here,” Jaelle turned her torso to Kris and hid at his chest while throwing her white blouse to Lay. “That should work, shouldn’t it?”

Silence slapped the blushing cheeks of the guys as they all tried to return to what they were previously doing. But could they ignore her turned to them? The way she had her arms brought up to her chest while hiding her face near Kris’s neck?

“Gas,” Tao mumbled, miraculously remembering he was driving the van, “we’re running out of gas.”

“There is a small town near by from what I remember,” Jaelle responded, apparently unaffected by her half bare body. But whether she was really that insensitive or was secretly wishing for a hole to open up and swallow her all, only Kris knew as he was the one that she was using as a shield. And he had his own heart problems to deal with…

☾ ♅ ☽

“He’ll be alright,” Jaelle assured Sehun while caressing Kai’s pale face. “The bleeding stopped. He’ll soon return to us.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

Sehun looked at her, wishing to catch a glimpse of the smile he heard in her voice. But her face was as serious as ever. “For saving my best friend.”

“You’ll have to tell him, you know?” She then turned to him, holding the blanket Kris gave her around the upper part body. “You’ll have to tell him that he’s still your best friend, ‘cause he’s an idiot and will