#lau fluff

“You okay, (Y/N)?” he whispered. “You’re shivering.”

“I’m okay,” you said through chattering teeth. The truth was that you were scared. You knew you could fall asleep and skip the movie, but you didn’t want to disappoint the boys.

Jinwan shifted so that he could run a hand through your hair. “We can stop watching if you want to.”

“It’s okay,” you said. You pressed your lips against his bare arm, lingering there before resting your cheek against it.

Jinwan sighed. “Okay then, let me just bring some more cola.”

As Jinwan paused the TV, Haewon got up to use the bathroom. You curled up on the couch, feeling the warmth radiating from where your boyfriends sat, and stared at the man frozen on the TV with his phone to his ear. Because of the paused screen, it looked like he was waiting an awfully long time for someone to pick up on the other side.

Tap-tap. You jumped at the sound. It came from behind you. You froze under the blanket. The apartment was suddenly very quiet. You turned slowly to look over the back of the couch. The painting of a mountainside that you picked up from a thrift shop hung on the pale blue wall. You sighed. There was nothing behind you except for the wall.

Tap-tap. There it was again, this time further down the wall. You shook your head. It’s probably just a tree branch outside or something, you told yourself. There was nothing to worry about.

Jinwan emerged from the kitchen holding two cans of soda. He set them on the coffee table and plopped down beside you, wrapping an arm around you. His thumb traced circles on your forearm.

“What’s taking Haewon so long?” he asked.

“Maybe he got a phone call from the boys or something?”

Jinwan smirked.“Or he fell in the toilet.”

You let out a nervous laugh as your mind went back to the tap-tapping earlier. Jinwan sighed and un-paused the TV. The man on the screen jumped back to life. His frown deepened when the ringing on his phone was cut-off with static. He tried dialing again, but this time the other end rang continuously. There was a crash off-screen making you jump. Jinwan’s arm tightened around you.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “It’s just a movie.”

Tap-tap… Tap-tap…. The sound skittered down the wall, sending chills down your spine. You stiffened and turned to the wall. The same painting hung there. Nothing was different, so what was with the sound?

“That’s not from the movie, is it?” you said in a shaky voice.

You turned back to Jinwan who was regarding the wall with a small frown. There was some movement across the room. A shadowy figure moved slowly down the hall towards you and Jinwan.

You didn’t realise you were screaming until Jinwan pressed your face into his chest. “(Y/N)! Calm down!”

You looked up to see Haewon standing near the coffee table, staring at you in shock. There was a crease between Jinwan’s eyebrows. Haewon kneeled in front of you and placed a hand on your cheek. “Breathe, (Y/N). Come on, deep breaths.”

You followed Haewon’s lead to control your breathing, mimicking his inhales and exhales. Jinwan ran his fingers through your hair. “You okay? I said we could stop watching….”

It took you a moment to notice that there was a mess of popcorn on the floor. You realised that you must have knocked over the bowl when you pulled at the blanket. You glanced behind Haewon at the hallway where the shadow was.

Haewon chuckled. “Relax,” he said. “It was just me.”

“It was just -” You looked at Haewon’s smile and remembered that he had gone to the bathroom. You pursed your lips. “You should stop wearing so much black. You blend in with the shadows.”

Both your boyfriends burst out in laughter. Tap-tap. You cringed. Haewon and Jinwan both turned to the wall.

“Huh,” Haewon said, crossing the room to the window adjacent to the wall behind you. He lifted up the curtains and peered outside.

“Anything?” Jinwan asked, joining him. Haewon shook his head. You folded your legs under the blankets as you watched them look out the window for anything making the noise.

“Hold on,” Haewon said. He opened the window and stuck his head out. His shoulders shook in laughter. “Oh my god, Jinwan, look at that!”

Jinwan pushed him aside to look out the window and emerged a few seconds later laughing. Haewon motioned for you to take a look.

The cool night air made you shiver as you leaned out the window. Jinwan pointed to the far side of the wall, barely holding back his giggles. A lump of grey matted fur clung to the drainpipes leading down the building. It moved. You blinked. A head emerged from the fur, a black stripe like a mask around its beady eyes.

“Oh my god,” you said. “Raccoons can climb pipes?”

Haewon snorted. “No idea. But this one seems to.”

“What are you doing up there?” you asked the raccoon. You didn’t expect an answer but it stared at you for a while longer before slowly climbing down the pipe. Tap-tap… tap….