Heyo, back at it with the Turning Red fanfiction.

This one is a little series of vignettes about the characters, which alternates between the Squad and 4*Town.

For some clarity before things get going:

- 4*Town is primarily located in a wood cabin together

- This story starts in September 2002, so the Squad are all in Grade 9 now.

Now with all these notes out of the way, we can properly begin the story!

How can you be on my mind when I'm in danger?

That's not how the song actually goes, but that was the main question on Tae-young's mind as he and the boys all performed one of their signature songs. Was he the only one who noticed the lights flickering?

KRA-CACKA. That definitely did not sound good. Tae-young darted his head up, and saw the light fixture overhead breaking, and falling directly towards him!

But before it could hit him, his entire body jolted, and suddenly he was back in his bed, gripping tightly onto the blankets. He had been dreaming. His lip quivered; he needed someone by his side.

"Okay, don't you think that's too much cinnamon?"

"Dude, it's two in the morning, who cares?"

Tae-young could hear Robaire and Aaron T. downstairs in the kitchen. He rubbed his eyes, got out of bed, and quietly crept down the stairs. Peeking in through the cracked-open door, he could see the older boys leaning against the counter. T had some toast on a plate, which he had drowned in cinnamon.

"Rob?"

Robaire and T both jumped a bit. "OH- Jesus CHRIST, Tae, you spooked me."

Seeing the smaller boy whimper and hide his face, Robaire gestured for him to come closer. "No, no, it's okay, you can come in."

Tae-young pushed the door open and shyly approached the older boys. "What are you doing up?" T asked.

Tae-young shrunk back a bit, and wrung his hands. Robaire knew what those motions meant. "You had that dream about being crushed by a falling light at a show again, didn't you?"

Tae-young hung his head. "Yeah…"

"I don't get it," mused T. "It's been, what? Four months now? Every other show in that tour went perfectly, and we're nowhere near Toronto anymore. I thought the nightmares would have stopped by now."

Robaire shook his head. "Well, that's just the thing about nightmares. You can't control them." He patted Tae-young on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get you back to bed."

Robaire led Tae-young back upstairs and to his bed. Once Tae-young was snuggled back into bed, Robaire took his hand, something that always made him feel better when he was upset about something at night. "I'm gonna show you something that always calms me down when I'm upset at night."

Tae-young watched with curious eyes as Robaire waved an arm around the room. "What are five things you can see?"

Tae-young looked around his room. "I see you. And I can see the moon through the window." He had to squint to see in the dark. "I see…the bedsheets. And the ceiling. And…" He briefly crossed his eyes. "...the tip of my nose."

Robaire chuckled. "Alright. Now, what are four things you can feel?"

"Your hand," mumbled Tae-young, starting to get sleepy. "My clothes. The blankets." He put his free hand over his chest. "And my own heartbeat."

"Good," said Robaire. "Okay, what are three things you can hear?"

"Our voices," said Tae-young, rubbing his eyes. "Do those count as two?"

Robaire shrugged. "Sure."

"And…" Tae-young paused and listened for any other sound. "I can hear Jesse snoring."

Robaire snickered. "Yeah, he does that. Alright, alright, what are two things you can smell?"

Tae-young looked confused. Robaire noticed that he always crinkled his nose when he was like that. "I don't smell anything."

"Yeah, that's usually the answer I get too," said Robaire. "Okay, last one. What's one thing you can taste?"

Tae-young yawned. "The inside of my mouth."

Robaire put Tae-young's hand down over his heart. "That make you feel better?"

Tae-young tiredly smiled. "Mmhmm."

Robaire ruffled Tae-young's hair as the younger boy drifted back off into sleep. "I don't know how to stop the nightmares, but we're all gonna do our damndest to help you get through them."

Now that Tae-young was back to sleep, Robaire left his room, with the door shut, and went back to bed himself.