Still A_Stray: Living With Stray Kids (ot8 fanfic)

Chapter 8

Got the best of the best, nothing much I confess

I awoke to the sound of a fog horn.

This raised many questions, none of which I wanted to answer, so I waited until it had stopped, rolled over, and went back to sleep. I got less than five minutes of dreamless bliss before the incessant ringing of my phone by my bedside table drew me out of my slumber a second time. 

I covered my head with my pillow to no avail; whoever was calling was insistent. I groaned and yanked my phone out of the cord, almost pulling the charger off the wall, and looked at the screen with blurry eyes.

I blinked in confusion, then pressed answer and said to Changbin, "Once I get out of bed, I'm going to kill you."

"Were you asleep?" My brother's voice was far less apologetic than it should've been. "Sorry, I thought the foghorn would have woken you up."

"It did."

"Oh. Then why do you sound so grumpy?"

My brain was still fuzzy from sleep, and I struggled to process his words—probably good for him, because if I wasn't still groggy I would almost surely be strangling him right now. "Changbin. Where are you?"

"At the dorm."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Bin. I am at the dorm."

"I know."

"Your bedroom is directly across from mine. Why are you calling me?"

"I don't want to yell through the house, Yeji," Changbin said, like it was the most obvious explanation. "And I know you sleep next to your phone. Now, you need to get up, because you're the only one who can help us."

"Why?" I said, trying to keep the whine from my voice and failing.

"It's Jisung."

I groaned, letting my head fall back against the pillow. "Again?"

"We've tried everything, Yeji," Changbin said, his voice pleading. "Channie-hyung and I have to be at the studio by before eight. Please?"

With a sigh, I hung up on him and pulled myself out of bed. A few weeks before, I would've been embarrassed about seeing the members in my pajamas, but by this point I'd seen Hyunjin choke on air and almost have to be sent to the hospital, Chan try to eat pancakes and miss his own mouth because of how tired he was, and been forced to gag Jisung with a sheet during the night to stop his snores, so I didn't think they'd mind.

I emerged into the living room to see Changbin, Chan, and Hyunjin, the former giving me an annoyed glance for hanging up on him. "I assume the foghorn was no use?" I asked.

Chan's face was grave. "We don't know what else to do."

"You tried playing Secret Secret?"

"He sang along to his lines without waking up," said Hyunjin, shaking his head. "He was asleep again by the time Seungmin's vocals came on."

It was worse than I'd thought. I turned to Bangchan. "Chan, I need two ice cubes from the freezer."

Chan nodded grimly and left for the kitchen; I walked fatefully towards Jisung's bedroom, the others following.

He was curled up with his pillow; the others had opened the blinds, letting the light stream in, but he was still asleep. Chan re-entered the room, handing me the two ice cubes; I took a deep breath, stood at the side of the bed, and pressed them against Jisung's neck.

For a second, nothing. And then-

He jolted awake with a yelp of surprise, almost banging his head on the headboard; luckily, Chan was there, catching him before he could fall off the bed entirely. I kept the ice on his neck until I was sure he was fully awake, then dumped it into a nearby bin.