Monaco. 05:43.

it was so dark. the road ahead had diminished, no cars to be seen, except for the occasional beam of headlights. either side of them lay a vast expanse of nothing. at least, that's what it felt like. the dashed, white lines disappeared rapidly beneath the bonnet of the car.

roma was exhausted. not just physically but also mentally, from all of the emotional stress. the utter darkness didn't help. mia was fast asleep in the back seat, feet up on the leather seats, and roma, in her frazzled and tired state of mind, wished she wasn't here; she couldn't think why sehun would have agreed to her coming. how was he going to explain all of this to her?

sehun's grip had been tight on the steering wheel ever since they'd set off. he'd only released his hold when he'd called someone; roma hadn't wanted to ask who, because the intensity of his gaze had warned her, almost, not to ask. he'd just said that they were on their way, but didn't explain who they was.

roma assumed it was them.

she didn't care. didn't care about the fact that she could barely breathe right now or that her eyes were puffy and swollen or that sehun wasn't talking to her. she only cared about knowing that baekhyun was okay.

which was really selfless of her. he doesn't care.

this constant reckless and spontaneous behaviour on her part was starting to wear on her well-being. heart hammered and breaths stammered, and she couldn't see or think straight.

and, as usual, the lights weren't on.

the night dwelled.

please, please, be okay.

//

the car pulled to a stop; the sudden and complete silence inundating the interior of the vehicle. roma was startled awake, the jolt of her seatbelt and the scraping gravel breaking into her bad dreams, forcing her back to reality. she felt a cold sweat resting along her neck and forehead, the heat perspiring her thoughts and words.

sehun pulled the keys from the ignition.

"s-sehun, w-where are we?" roma asked groggily, stretching, immediately, the question cliché and almost out-of-place in the darkened atmosphere. roma could just about make out other parked cars and the shaded outlines of towering, terraced houses, stacked together.

"it's difficult to explain," sehun stated. as if that was a sufficient answer.

in a burst of exhaustion and aggravation, roma grabbed his sleeve as he was opening the car door.

humid night air flooded in.

"sehun, you can't just say that to me, that's not fair," she said. her abrupt tone startled herself. "where are we? is baekhyun here?"

as she repeated her question, sehun's stare intensified further, narrowing in on her quivering frame. her long eyelashes fluttered nervously.

"we're at our house."

sehun spoke with indifference, ignoring one of her questions, shaking roma's grip from him and opening the door with an even rougher gesture.

the loud sound woke mia up, as roma heard her stirring in the back seat. mia looked around her, eyes sleepily half-shut, stretching her weary limbs. roma didn't even have time to talk to mia before sehun was yanking her door open and telling her to get out.

sehun wasn't being particularly aggressive; he was just being assertive and serious in his own quiet way. his persona put roma on edge. he looked overly-worried and panicky, a look of steel evident in his chiselled features. the street lamps shed an amber glow onto the sharp extent of his jaw and nose.

mia fell out of the back door, as sehun locked the car. they followed his steps, silently crossing the road and reaching the front of the house. roma could hear that the neighbourhood wasn't completely silent; dim conversations could be heard through some of the nearby windows, like a soft and comforting lullaby of slumbering sounds.

she glanced at her watch. roma gasped slightly at the time; it was almost sunrise, hence why a few people were probably up, preparing for the breaking day to come. even the sky was brighter, very slightly, a golden tinge edging the corners of the ocean of deep blue.

the house rose up, tall from the ground, three storeys high. mia gripped roma's forearm, following blindly and clumsily, sleep taking over her senses. 

"roma, what's going on?" she whispered into her ear. roma got the sense that mia was a bit scared of sehun, especially with the way he was striding forwards, already at the brass-knocker door. his footsteps stamped quickly on the stone steps.

the night echoed silently around them.

"i don't know, mia," roma mumbled.

surreal setting; the house was dark and menacing, in a way, towering above the three of them. she could see that one of the bedrooms was lit by something small; perhaps a candle or a small lamp on the bedside table. mia gently grabbed hold of her arm.

sehun shoved open the front door.

the hallway was small and enclosed; hot, the heat from the day setting into the confined space. mia let go of roma, gaining her bearings. the silence pounded in her eardrums. surrounding rooms all had their doors closed, creating a sinister feel to the thick atmosphere.

"jongdae, you here?" sehun's voice spoke out, augmenting in volume.

a door was roughly shoved open.

the open space was met with a pair of dark and almost accusing eyes.

a sliver of light issued from the television, casting a grainy glow onto the three other people. roma's vision was met with kai sat on one side, feet propped up on the table casually, misty darkness engrossing the hunched figures.

the room appeared to be a tiny kitchen.

a boy was looking intently at the three of them, his intense stare even sharper than sehun's. he'd clearly been the one to shove open the door, judging by his rigid, standing stance, and the black look that passed across his orbs.

roma's heart thudded, as she recognised the back of baekhyun's head, sat on a chair right in front of her. a lump rose in her throat, and she took a tentative and instinctive step back. heart beats pounded throughout her system. she couldn't breathe. or think.

"hi," the boy with the sharp chin--jongdae--spoke through gritted teeth, perhaps attempting to be welcoming to hers and mia's new faces. somehow, jongdae looked as though he recognised her, an odd twitch to the corners of his features.

roma analysed his marble-like visage with curious eyes, looking him up and down. due to the heat of southern france in the deep summer, jongdae's beige trousers were rolled up, as well as his long-sleeved white shirt. he held the same handsome aura as baekhyun and the others.

"you're roma, right?" jongdae asked intently, slowly, voice deep and resounding.

almost immediately, baekhyun's head whipped around from where he'd been staring at the screen.

roma could have sworn her legs gave way beneath her, and her breaths shattered through her lungs, and her heart collapsed behind her slight exterior. baekhyun looked angered and shocked, eyes widened, and the thought pained her, and she tried to avert her gaze but couldn't. his intense stare burned into her.

chest heaved; up and down.

his hands gripped the back of his chair; knuckles whitening.

"why did you bring roma with you?!" baekhyun demanded of sehun.

roma's heart broke. she couldn't think of what she'd done; had she done something? anything. she tried her hardest to keep the tears in. roma glanced sideways briefly, noting mia's puzzled and tired expression.

"what else was i supposed to do? you sitting around here moping all day was getting too fucking annoying," sehun bit back, his tone dangerously close to lashing out. "you have to do something about it."

roma was beyond confused. and heartbroken. and baekhyun's dark expression furrowed into one of bewilderment, as he stared at her. she hadn't seen him in what felt like forever--despite him being in her thoughts every second--and his beautiful features were torn and crumpled, giving him the image of being worn-out and broken.

kai switched the tv off, enveloping the room into a further lustreless.

baekhyun was lost for words: didn't reply.

"anyway, i didn't think you'd all be up. it's like five in the morning or something," sehun grumbled.

"the wind was very strong. shook the house," jongdae said sternly, his arms now crossed, leant against the sink. "i knew you were coming."

roma frowned in desperation, wanting to yell out and demand what was going on. mia mouthed what the fuck? into her ear, but roma couldn't think right now. she recoiled in on herself, grabbing mia's shaking hands for support.

kai locked gaze with roma, searching deeply for her apprehension. she turned away; couldn't handle the tension and her lack of understanding of the situation. all she knew was that she hated, hated, the way baekhyun was looking at her; as if she shouldn't be here. with him.

and then the whole thing hit with a blur of memories and thoughts and streams of her conscience. all linked. a natural thing, that involved all of the elements. it couldn't have been. she shook her head. stupid thing to think.

but,

baekhyun controlled the light: that, she knew. he could command it, make it do whatever his heart desired. he just shut his eyes, tight, and demanded it. she'd seen it for herself. the sky lighting up and her heart beating and him kissing her. her lips burned. but, then. at her flat, just a few hours ago, the image of sehun struggling against the window, the wind blowing torrents of air into the confined space.

he couldn't close it.

their dark eyes. always the dark eyes.

thoughts jumbled into one.

roma struggled to breathe. the kitchen seemed too small and too constrained and too much. always, always, too much.

"well, i'm going to bed. this is fucked up," kai announced, and no-one stopped him, as he barged through the space between roma and sehun, leaving behind nothing but an empty chair.

like an apparition.

"why did you bring mia, at least?" baekhyun exasperated, maybe trying to make a bit of sense of the situation.

"because she knows as well."

jongdae's foot budged forward, slightly.

roma gasped inwardly, snapping her neck to stare at sehun.

"what the fuck, don't bring me into this, i don't know shit, i just really wanna go home, can i--" mia babbled, fretting, her lips trembling and her hands gesturing wildly.

sehun shut her up, grabbing hold of her arm roughly and squeezing. roma winced, as mia didn't protest, simply sealed her lips. she could see her chest heaving up and down. roma wanted to scream. couldn't take of all this not knowing anymore.

roma only just noticed now that all mia was wearing was a white tank top and a pair of old shorts. her hair was slung messily over her shoulder.

"sehun, i think we should leave the two of them," jongdae stated.

she could sense the weird control that jongdae seemed to have, exerting it over the others. sehun's figure seemed to stiffen, as he nodded quietly. mia looked as though she was about to fall asleep, and seemed to be eagerly dragged away from the tense atmosphere.

roma saw red cloud over her dazed and confused vision. the corners of the room frayed and baekhyun's eyes pierced through her brain.

jongdae, sehun, and mia left.

so surreal.

roma was about to burst.

baekhyun was staring so deep into her that she almost choked on thin air. god, she'd forgotten how beautiful his eyes were. those darkened hues combining to form a transfixing stare.

deadly quiet.

he'd left her, she tried to remember. obviously for some reason. the morning was still fresh in her memories. everything sort of disintegrating before her.

baekhyun lips trembled, trying to say something.

roma's heart beat everywhere. couldn't think straight.

she was about to leave, turn around and run--the only plausible action to do right now.

baekhyun's broken sob stopped her.

"roma, i'm so sorry."

the water welled beneath her eyes.

don't.

think.

don't.

love.

"don't be."

//