minho truly felt scared for his life.

as the week slowly progressed on, he couldn't find it within himself to actually get some sleep at night, ridden with so much insomnia and restlessness, and during the day, he felt so, so tired that he feared he'd pass out during one of his classes and never wake up again.

but sometimes, the possibility of falling asleep and never waking up didn't seem like a bad prospect in itself, as minho literally felt so drowsy and lethargic at times.

it got even worse when all he could feel was an unsettling dread that only grew inside him as the days painstalkingly went by. he was on edge, and obviously so. every passing second felt like a step closer towards whatever might have been out there that wanted to capture him, and eveywhere minho went, he felt like he was being watched.

it was absolute torture.

"this place is pretty nice, isn't it?"

minho's mind snapped back into reality as he eyes fell on his friend's observant pair, and he absentmindedly nodded, his fingers nervously fiddling with the straw connected to his coffee. it was hard for him to hide how shaky his hands had gotten again, but he hoped that somehow seungmin wouldn't notice it and comment on it.

"i thought it'd do you some good to take you out of the dreary college setting for a bit, at least to clear your mind for a while," seungmin spoke, smiling at minho when the older just nodded.

"uh, yeah. thanks." minho cleared his throat, staring at the way his fingers continued to play with the straw, anxious and jittery. he dropped his hands from the table when he noticed seungmin's gaze on them.

his friend looked worried, but it was clear he was trying his hardest not to address the elephant in the room, just like how he felt it'd be best for minho to go out into town with him for a bit, because he felt like the awkwardness between minho and changbin and felix was getting too much.

minho knew all of this, and that only made him feel worse about himself.

"...are you okay?" seungmin finally decided to ask.

"yeah, i am," minho replied, even though he knew his answer couldn't be more further from the truth. he barely looked after himself now, his creamy skin had turned a sickly pale shade, and he never cared about what he wore anymore. at certain times, he just felt like a living, breathing bag of flesh and bones, and there was nothing that excited or cheered him up anymore.

"minho, please be honest. i care about you. felix and changbin care about you. you've literally lost so much weight, and we have to try so hard to wake you up for your classes at times," seungmin started, and minho bit the inside of his cheek so hard he felt the metallic taste of blood on his tongue. "you barely talk to us as well, and always stick to yourself now. i just want to know why."

"i said it's nothing, seungmin," minho spat, furrowing his eyebrows. his friend's eyes widened at his hard tone, but minho was too caught up in his unstable emotions to notice a thing. he just suddenly felt so angry. "nothing's wrong with me. why do you keep asking me that? is that the reason why you brought me to this cafe in the first place?"

"no, i -- that's not the reason, minho. i'm just worried about you," seungmin answered, shock tainting his words.

minho sighed, leaning back into his seat. "well i'm fucking fine, seungmin. stop being so worried."

seungmin became silent for a few seconds, and minho felt that dull pang of guilt again.

"i'm sorry for pissing you off, minho. it was never my intention. i just really care about you, you know?" seungmin began, his voice quiet. "i don't know what happened, but you've become so sad, minho. sometimes -- sometimes you look like you're so close to crying, and that always affects me."

he slid a hand over the table, clasping it over minho's, and he looked much more relieved when the older male didn't pull his hand away. "i just want you to be okay."

minho nodded, hating how sorrowful his friend sounded. before he knew it, he was wiping his eyes with the back of his free hand, looking away to hide his face from seungmin's line of vision.

"minho?" seungmin questioned. his soft, and undeniably understanding tone only drove more tears out of the dark haired male's eyes. in an instant, the taller left his seat and took the one closest to minho, glad that they were currently at the corner of the cafe so they'd be free from any wandering eyes.

"minho, why are you crying?" seungmin asked, but minho didn't feel like he was in the right state of mind to answer him. he was such a mess, really, crying like a child inside some cafe just because his friend said he wanted him to be okay. he felt absolutely worthless. miserable.

minho's mind was like an empty shell, cracked and broken without any means of repair. he felt like he was too destroyed to ever be fixed, and anything he did only added to how utterly defeated he felt.

seungmin held his hand again, squeezing it to show that he was there. "i won't pressure you to say anything, but just know that i'll always be there for you. you mean so much to me, and i hate seeing you like this..."

"i'm sorry," minho whispered. he couldn't say anything else.

"it's okay."

minho didn't feel like it'd ever be okay.

***

as soon as minho was done with taking his shower that night and exited his small bathroom, he got that distinct feeling of being watched.

those supposed eyes burned holes into his skin, following him everywhere. they were aware of every one of his movements, judging him, waiting to strike.

minho's heart started beating rapidly inside his ribcage. he decided on not staying inside his bedroom tonight, since he didn't feel safe there, but when he camped inside his livingroom, that eerie feeling only seemed to amplify.

minho's skin felt like it was burning up the more time he spent inside his dorm, and everywhere he looked, he felt like something was hiding there, waiting for him to let his guard down.

goosebumps rose along his arm, and even when he'd turned on the tv to watch a movie and pass the time, those bumps didn't go away.

a cold chill engulfed him whole, and his eyes never dared to stay in one place for too long. why was his dormitory suddenly so dark?

minho sprung up, marching towards his windows to lock them and pull the curtains shut. but even with this, he felt like he was being scrutinized.

something was out there, staring at him.

minho walked around the dorm, checking to see if there was any window opened or if any door was unlocked. after he'd done this, he found himself checking everything all over again. it was a repetitive cycle, one that irritated him to no end -- but yet he just couldn't stop checking.

he heard a small click.

minho's head pounded with a million thoughts as he ran back into the livingroom, chest heaving and nerve endings alive, as he felt like if he didn't move fast enough that thing that was coming after him would eventually catch him.

minho's head was filled to the brim with so many thoughts at once, that it made it excrutiatingly difficult to form an actual thought process. all he knew was that he needed to get out of his dorm before that something caught up to him.

other college students stared puzzledly at him as he ran down the halls, his mind too much of a mess to apologize to anyone he bumped into. he just kept on running and running, his legs leading him to a place on their own because he couldn't even think properly.

as soon as he got to his destination he knocked on the door, hoping with every single bone in his body that the person would open up and let him in before that thing chasing him could get to where he was.

as soon as the door was clicked open, minho forced himself in, hugging the male in front of him to death while pressing his face on his chest.

"m-minho?" visible confusion and surprise clouded the male's tone, but despite this, his arms wrapped around minho as well, bringing him in. "minho, what's wrong?"

minho was too shaken to respond with anything to changbin's question, squinting his eyes shut to try and block out all the shouting in his head. so much danger surrounded him, and he just wanted to feel secure. safe.

"fuck, minho, i'll -- i'll get you a glass of water, okay?" changbin spoke, his eyes showcasing nothing but worry, and a bit of sympathy as well for his friend. he ran a hand through the older boy's dark locks, taking note of how much he was shaking. small beads of sweat had formed on his forehead, and he looked so pale and panic-stricken. "you can tell me what happened later, alright?"

minho could only nod in the slightest bit. he was too out of it to dwell on reality for too long, basically missing the way his friend hesitated for a while, before softly placing a kiss on his forehead. minho just wanted all those feelings of endangerment to fade away and never come back.

he wanted it all to stop.

changbin couldn't get anything out of him that night, as his presence had calmed him down so much that he fell asleep almost an hour inside his dorm.

ignoring the curious stares from his roommate, changbin brought minho into his own bedroom to lie on his bed, watching as the older male tightly clutched his pillow close to his body, his breathing shallow and uneven.

changbin could only hope that minho would eventually end up okay, and possibly tell him what had happened to him earlier that night.

***

a/n: i've actually felt really paranoid before, guys, so this chapter was really weird for me to write haha

thoughts?