There are always ups and downs, and little mistakes, but some mistakes have much bigger consequences. Jake makes a mistake when it really isn't the time or place, and the consequences are bigger than they seemed.

-

Maybe Jake should have recognised the shrill screaming sound in his brain, but he was far too tired to wake up properly.

He felt like he was stuck in some strange limbo between sleep and reality, until he felt his mind finally leaving the dream realm and returning to his body. He felt far too tired to open his eyes, let alone get up and be productive.

His limbs woke up on their own accord as he reached over to turn off his alarm, picking up his phone and checking the time. He was late, quite typically.

Jake knew that he should have been feeling some sense of panic and urgency, but his body was too tired to want to function quickly. He forced himself into a set of randomly selected clothes from his floor, he brushed his teeth and downed a protein shake before stumbling out of his apartment door. His eyes still burned from tiredness when he looked at his phone to text Sunoo, the damn traitor, that he was on his way to class.

He descended the flight of stairs a little too quickly for his own liking, and he now had a newfound dizziness that he was hoping would wear off soon. He didn't feel ill, just unbelievably tired.

At the back of the apartment block was a bike shed where he unlocked his bike, knowing that he wouldn't make it to class on time if he walked. He had already missed the bus, so his best option was to cycle.

He had no time to search the notoriously messy shed for his bike helmet, as he hopped onto his bike and unsteadily began the cycle to school.

Usually when he goes to school, the road is clear save for a few cars or bikes of people who have an early work shift or places to be, but now that he had left a little later, there were cars passing each other constantly with hardly any space for him to get past.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

The busy street was full of sounds of beeping cars, and vehicles zooming past each other, enough that he was practically giving himself whiplash as he checked around him for cars.

He reached a crossroad, spotting a car coming from the left a little too fast than it should have been, and he pulled his breaks in time for it to pass. But just as he did, the car behind had been turning left towards him and failed to stop in time.

The impact of the front of the car to the back of Jake's bike sent a jolt through his body, sending his bike forward and his body tumbled to the floor. He couldn't catch himself in time and his head slammed against the tarmac road, his heart racing.

The shock settled in and his head was numb and throbbing. He stared up as black spots plagued his vision of the sky above him, his ears ringing painfully. It had only been a small impact, but the adrenaline was petrifying him and trapping his movement.

Shakily, Jake pushed himself into a sitting position, his arms feeling like they could turn to jelly. He mustered the strength to stand up, and he retrieved his bike and walked it to the pavement as the car from behind him pulled over and the other cars continued to drive in the chaotic traffic.

The driver stepped out of the car and apologised quickly, seeming genuinely worried as they told him he should get himself checked out at the hospital. Jake nodded, the world feeling fuzzy and dreamlike as he assured them that he would make sure he got checked up on.

He didn't.

He went straight to school, arriving much later than usual but just in time to meet Sunoo outside of their class. The numbness and ear-ringing was just shock, it would be gone soon, for sure.

"I'm sorry I didn't wake you up, hyung, I swear I have a good reason," Sunoo grinned, clearly knowing that Jake had woken up late.

"It's okay," Jake reassured him as they went into class, just focused on making sure he was walking in a straight line. Sunoo furrowed his eyebrows, but then just shrugged.

"I thought you would be mad, but I'll take the tolerance."

Let's just get straight to the truth, Jake was on the borderline of unconsciousness in class.

It wasn't the sort of class that demanded much enthusiasm nor interaction, so no one paid any mind to Jake's slumped posture and lack of attention. He didn't write a single note, except for an uneven scribble that was supposed to be the date.

He blamed his dizziness and headache on the tiredness, making a mental note to get some sleep when he got home later. Other than that, he decided there wasn't much he could do and he would just have to deal with the pain until the end of the day.

For once in that day, Jake was lucky, in the fact that he only had one class that day, which was quite a rare occurrence for him.

The sound of everyone bounding out of the classroom in a chaotic mess was no help to Jake's growing pain and confusion as he tugged on Sunoo's sleeve to get him to wait for him. Sunoo did so, glancing back at Jake as he packed away his book and slipped his bag onto his back. They left the classroom, walking through the corridors on the campus.

Jake felt like he was drowning, the sound around him muffled and his head feeling like he was floating. He was too numb to make out what Sunoo had said to him, glancing at his roommate with the hope that he would repeat himself.

"Jake? Are you listening?" Sunoo asked, pouting because he thought he was being ignored. Jake nodded, and Sunoo smiled again.

"Good. I'm meeting Niki at his apartment, do you mind walking back without me today?" Sunoo asked, and Jake just nodded again.

He didn't even mind what he had agreed to, he just wanted to go straight home and fall asleep, and possibly miss his classes the next day. Sunoo grinned and patted his shoulder, shouting goodbye to him as he ran off to meet Niki.

Jake began to leave the campus, unaware of the presence behind him until they tapped on his shoulder.

"Jake-hyung, can I walk home with you? Our rooms are pretty close." It was Jungwon, and Jake did have a soft spot for the boy so he let him accompany him.

Luckily, he wasn't as much of a talker as some of his other friends, but he wasn't exactly the silent type either.

"How was class? Have you guys got any projects going?" Jungwon asked curiously, looking at Jake for an answer. The latter shrugged, with hardly enough energy to walk, let alone think about homework.

"I guess it is hard to keep track," Jungwon laughed softly, asking instead, "So I guess Sunoo is going to see Niki? What do they even do when they're there all the time."

Jake shrugged. Even that was dizzying.

"Niki did get that new game this week though, they'll probably be playing that all night," Jungwon continued, a master of answering his own questions.

"Hey didn't you come in on your bike this morning? Did you forget to get it?" Jungwon pondered, and Jake didn't even process the words enough to notice the mistake he'd made. He was too focused on trying to stay conscious, his headache feeling like an alarm bell was going off inside his head.

"J-Jungwon-" Jake began, but he was cut off as he fell to his knees, blacking out as Jungwon caught him so he didn't fall face first onto the pavement.

-

Jake was unsure whether what he was hearing was in the real world or a part of a dream, but he was pretty sure he was mildly conscious. His thoughts were jumbled and his memory was foggy, the events of what happened before he blacked out becoming further away as if they were at the other end of a dark tunnel.

Unless he could fathom the energy to think, there was no way Jake would be getting to the end of that tunnel anytime soon. Instead he lay down at his end of the tunnel, falling into a deep sleep.

-

"Don't drop him!"

"I didn't! He fell like a deadweight."

"Is he completely unconscious now?"

"Looks like it. Either that, or he's trying to be difficult."

"Sunoo!"

"What? It's a possibility!"

"It looked pretty real to me when he passed out. Let's just lie him down here, I can't bring him any further."

"He's fucking heavy, why does he have so much muscle on him?"

"It's not his fault you're thin as a toothpick, now get him a pillow or something."

Jake felt vaguely awake, but at the same time he felt distant. It was as if they were trying to talk to him through a clouded window, the glass blocking out everything except for just enough sound for him to make out what they were saying.

Then the glass smashed, and he woke up.

When he peeled his eyes open, Sunoo was back, and the pillow Jungwon mentioned was nestled beneath Jake's head, along with a collection of other things scattered around him.

He must have missed a few minutes.

"Hyung, are you awake?" Sunoo asked, leaning closer to see if his eyes were properly open.

"One blink for yes, two blinks for-" Before Sunoo could finish, Jake sat up dizzily, his arms shaking as he tried to support his own weight. He almost headbutted Sunoo, his vision distorted and blurry.

"He doesn't look well," Jungwon said, quickly reaching for the trash can that they had left to one side to give it to Jake, just in time as he heaved into it.

Jake shut his eyes as Jungwon rubbed his back gently, and he kept his eyes closed even after he finished. Jungwon took the trash can from him and placed it to the side again, receiving a grimace and a small complaint from Sunoo when he asked him to go and empty it.

Sunoo followed his instruction, leaving Jungwon and Jake alone as Jake lay back down, his throat feeling sore from throwing up, and his head feeling even worse.

"How do you feel?" Jungwon asked, his voice soft as he gently ran his fingers through Jake's hair. Jake's muscles seemed to lose some of their tenseness, but the pulsing didn't stop.

"Like... I feel like shit," Jake admitted, hearing a soft laugh from Jungwon.

"You look like it. Get some more sleep, you look exhausted."

Jake didn't need to be told twice, already drifting away with the comforting feeling of Jungwon's fingers running through his hair.

-

When Jake next woke up, it was once again to the sound of Sunoo's voice.

Sunoo apologised to him this time too, but quickly changed his tone.

"Anyway, what happened? And you better tell the truth because we'll know if you are lying."

"I fell off my bike," Jake admitted, since he wasn't up for a fight. He didn't really want to go into any further details, but the pair were insistent on knowing what happened.

"I was late so I went on my bike, and a car hit the back of my bike. It wasn't that bad-"

"You got knocked off your bike? By a car?" Sunoo questioned, genuine concern in his voice.

"You might have a concussion. We should take you to the hospital," Jungwon suggested, but Jake refused.

"Really, there's no need." He tried to escape the offer, but there was no escaping Jungwon's concern. He wasn't extremely against going to the hospital, so he eventually gave in for the sake of not wanting to cause an argument.

"Good," Jungwon said, happy with Jake's new answer, "But you should be more careful, okay hyung? And hiding things never does any good."

Jake nodded, wincing at the pain it shot through his skull. Jungwon was right, as usual.

--

Hi everyone! I know it's literally been so long since Jake's birthday that two other birthdays have passed, but it's finally here!

I tried my best to incorporate leader Jungwon here, because he really is an amazing leader and a great choice for the group, despite how young he is :)

More will be on the way, I can't guarantee when, but I am trying to go in order so I'll be putting the chapter for Jay before this one when I write it.

(Again this is unedited, please politely tell me about any mistakes you see)

- Kiran 💙