Spooked [SaNayeon Halloween Special]

                                    

                                          
Sana x Nayeon

Nayeon's only complaint about her job at the Bountiful Bakery was that she had to start her day at an unreasonable hour. Now that it was late October, she was walking to work in complete darkness, only to arrive at five in the morning.
Nayeon's alarm clock started buzzing at exactly four-thirty-five a.m. Sana grumbled in protest, surprising Nayeon and reminding her of her presence. Nayeon then switched off the alarm and looked over at Sana, who was still getting used to having her stay the night, despite the fact that they'd just been dating for approximately three weeks and going steady for precisely ten days, not that Nayeon kept track.
So Nayeon emerged from their shared nest of blankets on the squeaky pullout bed that came with her simply furnished studio apartment.
She was blasted by cold air as she walked out, landing at the top of the steps. "Aren't I lucky?" Nayeon mumbled sarcastically.
She realized she'd been so busy daydreaming about getting back into bed with Sana that she'd forgotten her flashlight when she noticed she was forty feet or so in the wooded area and away from the main road. Nayeon told herself that she had memorized the route by heart, but she still wished she had the damned flashlight. 
The dry leaves crunched under her feet, but what she found more unsettling was where the dead pine needles lay so thickly on the floor that they muffled her foot steps, making her all too aware that if something or someone was following her, she wouldn't notice. Nayeon kept going on the trail and kept her gaze straight, not wanting to look around since she'd definitely swear she saw something when it was just her and the trees.
Nayeon might seem to be an independent and self-assured woman but she may be too dramatic about spooky things, especially at this time of year.
As she moved, she heard the sound of crackling branches, which seemed to come from above. She quickened her pace a bit. 
No one's out to get you.
That's what she told herself, and sometimes she believed it, but right now Nayeon didn't. She moved quickly, her legs tight with strain, her movements rigid because her body was on high alert, regardless of whether her brain was attempting to communicate with the rest of her. Nayeon noticed the lights of the street in the distance and knew she just had to cross the parking lot and continue down the alley to go to the bakery's loading dock, up a few steps into the door, and Jihyo would be waiting inside; she was always there before Nayeon. 
No one's out to get you.
Nayeon repeated the phrases in her thoughts, but it didn't help. She looked behind her and couldn't resist checking into the shadows and up at the trees' brittle limbs that seemed to dissolve into the inky darkness of the sky. Something swooped down from above and hissed, the sound struck her like lightning, and cold air rush into her face.
Nayeon, on the other hand, bolted. She didn't stop running until she stumbled into the bakery through the backdoor. Jihyo, her companion, turned around with a shocked face, holding a cup of coffee. Nayeon remained silent. She just shut the back door and brought out her apron, tying it over her waist.


~
Sana marched up the stairs to Nayeon's apartment shortly after six o'clock in the evening, knocked on the door, waited, snatched a French fry from the bag of food she'd brought for their dinner, and knocked again. "Hello? Nayeonnie?"