12:18.

the water splashed across her back and body, the broken tap doing its best to suffice for a much-needed shower. her skin had felt dirty and hot, and the cold temperature was welcomed readily, relaxing her weary and fatigued joints. it soothed her aching limbs and stiff muscles, sputtering noisily against the bath.

her entirety almost succumbed to her exhaustion, but she knew she had no time to sleep now. an odd exhilaration passed through her, seeping through her body, reaching the ends of her fingers; practically visible. something bright against the blank walls.

she brought her hand up to the water falling down; her fingers parted the aqua stream, her similarly blue eyes observing thoughtfully. roma put her hand down to her side.

his shining face and glowing features was all she saw. roma smiled.

she wanted to know where baekhyun and her were going. didn't care why or how, or about the fact that she would have to drop everything and leave it all behind again. she was excited; wanted to go. adventure into the world.

of course, she wasn't thinking clearly. of course she wasn't. but it felt right, and after the past week of worrying and being unhappy, the promise of yet another exploration seemed anything but a burden.

roma wrapped her arms around her body. the shower didn't even have a curtain, and she was conscious of her bare entirety, glancing behind her exposed shoulder. her dark hair cascaded down her back, sticking to her.

she turned the tap off. the water ceased.

her dirty clothes were strewn across the floor from her rush to get into the shower. not wanting to add to the mess, after wrapping a towel around herself, she picked them up, folding them neatly but pushing them to the corner. she wasn't sure where to put them exactly.

she felt a bit like a stranger, in their house.

the bathroom was small and constrained, various other clothes and items thrown across the floor. she noticed a few worn-out toothbrushes scattered across the sink, as well as a large crack down the steamed-up mirror above it. roma's face was distorted in her reflection, the line splitting her face into a million pieces.

roma gulped down the lump in her throat.

with the towel firmly in her grip, roma braved the corridor, running towards the nearest bedroom. feet padded softly across the groaning floorboards, and her wet hair dripped across the floor. hoped to god that no-one else would walk past her.

the sunlight over-powered the room.

someone had opened the shutters, monaco appearing before her in all its radiant glory, the light spilling in brightly, the sun illuminating the occupied bed and the known, sleeping figure reposed upon it. mia was asleep, body heaving up and down slowly, still in the same clothes, too, her hair a messy array around her head. her bare legs were bent, her laden breathing evident against the echoing silence.

roma felt calm, that she was here. a familiar face amongst all of the misunderstanding. the annoyance of her being here, in the way, was forgotten.

perhaps she must have made quite a noise entering the room, because mia's head perked up out of surprise, sleepy eyes filled with questions and wonder. it took her a few seconds of recognition, eyes darting and lips frowning, but she lay back down, after seeing that it was only roma. roma still clutched her towel to her frame.

"mia, it's just me," she said, her voice a whisper.

it took her a few minutes to fully wake herself up. mia struggled with getting up, pushing her body weight upwards, removing the hair that had fallen over her face.

"roma," mia said gruffly, stretching her arms above her head and yawning widely, once adjusting her eyesight, focusing on roma's towelled body.

roma smiled at her. she still experienced the odd but subsiding chill that ran down the length of her spine, almost reminding her of where she was. who she was with. skin felt warm and sun-kissed, but bare.

she noticed the pile of clothes that baekhyun had said he'd leant her, focused to the side of the room. his caring nature made her beam, her mouth forming a slight smirk. a folded white shirt and a pair of jeans sat on the edge of the armchair.

mia sat up slowly and wearily, stretching her legs. she used her elbows to prop herself up on the bed. as roma looked at the thin bed sheets, she noticed a slight crease in the bed, a dipped outline, as if mia had shared the space with someone.

"w-where are we? where am i--oh, my god, what is this--"

she began to panic, her head shaking frantically from one side to the other. her hand clutched hold of the sheet.

"mia, it's fine," roma spoke, in a calm and collected manner. "honestly. you're just tired. i promise it's fine."

roma turned around. decided not to feel self-conscious and pathetic for once and dropped her towel, grabbing the clothes quickly and pulling them on. even in front of mia, who didn't seem bothered at all. the jeans just about fit, and the sleeves of the shirt hung off her arms, but his clothes felt soft and clean against her skin.

she smiled contently.

"what even happened--oh, my god, was that real? or did i imagine everything? i don't even know, fuck--"

her questioning was punctured by the heaviness of sleep, her eyes rolling back slightly, and her skin creased from lying in an awkward position. she couldn't think straight; was just rambling worriedly.

"mia," roma interjected calmly again. "it's fine. it's complicated, but fine."

mia looked at her, confusion flooding every inch of her features.

"what does that even mean?" she demanded. her voice was still groggy and laden with thick sleep.

mia still managed to look pretty. her hair flowed, around her head like a golden halo. her skin was beautifully tanned from numerous hours of sun-bathing, and her striking eyes were crystal-clear as the sun shone through, illuminating her youthful features.

roma placed her towel neatly to the side.

"why don't i explain later? you know, once you've woken up a bit more and had a coffee, or something."

roma just wanted to avoid having to make up some form of a believable explanation. she bit her lip nervously, and watched as mia's head darted from side to side. her eyes squinted, hard.

"um, okay. whatever. just...where are we?"

roma furrowed her eyebrows.

"do you not remember anything?" she questioned, watching mia's expression. "sehun drove us here last night. we're with baekhyun, and kai, and..."

"oh," was all mia said. "oh, yeah. i thought i just..."

roma nudged herself forward. one leg crossed over the other.

"you thought what?"

"i forgot about that all happening."

"about us driving here?"

"i thought i'd just made all that up in my head. it seems so weird, you know, like, thinking about it in the daylight," she admitted, lightly chuckling to herself.

roma understood.

"it's all a bit confusing, really," she smiled anxiously. "i don't even know."

her response was intended to be vague. misleading.

a sudden change in mia's expression, a darkness crossing over her eyes, caught her attention.

"did that thing at the apartment really happen?" she questioned.

"what thing?" roma asked. her heart rate picked up, ever-so slightly.

"that, like, wind storm. whatever it was."

roma sucked in a sharp breath. she remembered now, recalled the twisted memory of her and sehun fighting against the window frame to shut it, and the sound of the foundations of the building shaking, trembling with the undulating pressure.

the fear in sehun's eyes.

after listening to baekhyun talk--listening to him explain what everything meant, what was going on--she'd forgotten about what had happened with sehun at their flat. it all connected somehow; wasn't her place to say. but something was there, and roma wanted to know what.

"it's, um...yeah, it happened. but it was nothing," roma promised. lie.

"i must have just made it up. like, it seems crazy that that even happened," mia laughed to herself.

roma just laughed softly in agreement. couldn't do anything else.

"is everyone else up?" mia asked suddenly.

"baekhyun and kai are, i'm not sure about the others."

roma wondered to herself where sehun and jongdae were. she hadn't really given it much thought, as her mind was consumed by baekhyun and the searing sunlight.

"oh. baekhyun?" mia suddenly caught on, looking at roma. normally, she would have curved her eyebrows suggestively and gestured wildly with her eyes, but she remained concerned, almost. perhaps she'd forgotten everything that had happened.

roma just nodded her head to side slightly.

"are you two back together, or...?" mia said, trailing off uncertainly. not wanting to offend or question into something she shouldn't.

roma shoved her hands into her pockets sheepishly, biting her lip, turning her head to the side.

"i mean, yeah, i guess," she responded, trying to avoid smiling.

mia's lips curled up at the corners.

"is that good?" she asked tentatively.

"yeah, i guess," roma blushed, lowering her head away from mia's vision.

the picture of baekhyun's perfect smile flashed across her mind. the warmth of his precious touch reverberated across her skin.

and roma knew that, yeah, mia would buy that story. that her and baekhyun had just broken up but everything was fine now. that they'd had a little argument, but kissed and made up. as swiftly as mia would get over her numerous boyfriends.

"well. that's great," mia said. she yawned loudly, stretching her limbs once again. as usual, her response was un-phased; taking things as they were.

roma appreciated that.

"did, um, did kai already go downstairs?" mia queried. roma watched as mia ran her fingers through one side of her hair, trying not to make eye contact. 

the question caught roma's attention, as her eyes were drawn again to the dip in the mattress. her thoughts rewound back to where she was sat in the café in paris, and mia had been talking over the phone about the night she had spent with kai. was there something that roma didn't know about them?

"yeah, he's probably still in the kitchen," roma answered.

"oh, okay."

roma didn't want anymore confusion; anymore bizarre happenings to add to what was already going on. she just smiled, again, ignoring whatever mia was hinting at for now. instead, she stepped forward slowly, holding her arms out in support. mia willingly grabbed hold of them, hoisting herself up with roma's grip.

they creaked across the wooden floorboards, hand in hand, mia still rubbing her eyes from exhaustion. mia's hands were clammy, and roma wasn't sure why. surely mia couldn't be nervous. she never got nervous about anything. roma opened the bedroom door.

vacant hallway. roma let out a sigh of relief, as they began their descent downstairs. the house was so old and bare, that each step of their feet echoed around the vicinity, dust falling, practically shaking the house's structure.

that same itch of trepidation, scattering across her body, coursing down along her backside. roma tripped slightly; the clumsy mishap similarly echoed.

mia walked behind roma as they made their way towards the kitchen.

kai had gone; perhaps into town or something. baekhyun was sat at the table, in a different chair, his eyes glued to the laptop screen, long fingers tapping away. he was beautiful.

roma shook her head. cleared her throat.

he looked up.

smiled.

like the sun.

"hey, beautiful," he said to roma, grinning widely. she blushed furiously. he was side-tracked by mia's presence. both her and roma were still holding hands.

"good morning, mia," baekhyun greeted, his expression shifting to a shade darker. narrowed his gaze.

roma felt mia's hand squeeze hers.

"are you ready to go?" baekhyun asked. he ignored any form of explanation needed.

roma turned to him.

"ready to go...now?" she responded. "w-where are we going?"

mia turned to her, eyes displaying bewilderment.

baekhyun's eyes darkened.

"berlin."

//

hey, sorry for the kinda boring update again. i've got some exciting things planned hopefully though ;) i was thinking of maybe doing a radiance series with the other members?

em :)