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myloveforhergoeson · 2 years ago

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That's All She Wrote - Chapter 1

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What Dreams Are Made Of (1.1) - 20k words

“What do you mean you won’t sing? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! When I tell you to sing, you sing. Now, sing or get off the stage!”

The large man in front of Roxanne Somerset was screaming at her from in front of the stage she stood upon. Understandably so, seeing as this was a pop star audition, not a songwriting contest; And she had just submitted a 15-song portfolio.

Roxy was trembling; the man yelling at her was Gustavo Rocque, one of the most influential music producers in the country, who was known for getting what he wanted whenever he wanted it. However, after weeks of no sleep and balancing her songwriting with her schoolwork, she was not going to let Gustavo have his way. She wasn’t leaving with ‘no’ for an answer.

After seeing the commercial on TV for Rocque Records' new talent search coming to Duluth, Minnesota, the young writer knew that this was her best shot at getting to Los Angeles and breaking into the music industry. Though Rocque was notorious for his sour and unpersonable demeanor, he was one of the best songwriters of the last decade. Writing and producing songs for the biggest boy bands of the ‘90s couldn’t have been easy, so she decided to spend the coming weeks grueling in her room to present 15 radio-ready pop songs in hopes that he might need a songwriting partner. The portfolio she had created was complete with lyric and music sheets, a cover letter, a resume, and letters of recommendation from her coworkers at the local radio station, Project Pop.

Carefully choosing the next words could make or break this audition, though it was hard for Roxy to think over the pounding of her heart ringing in her ears.

In front of the stage, the man’s eyes were sunken in and lifeless, waiting for a response as his talent scout, Kelly Wainwright, ran the back of her hand over her forehead to remove the obvious beads of sweat as they trickled down. On the desk in front of them lay a copy of the girl’s portfolio, full of her best works, and a heaping pile of junk food wrappers so high she couldn’t discern if there was even room to take notes about the contestants. The longer the audition went on, the longer it was worrying her as the two fidgeted in their seats waiting - probably not a good sign for the writer.

“I know, Mr. Rocque, but if you could just look at the songs in front of you, they’re all ones I wrote with your new pop star in mind! I’m the last tryout of the day in the ‘Land of Nowhere’, Minnesota, and you need to go back to Los Angeles with someone, right? There are millions of people there, one of them has gotta be your star.” Roxanne choked out, watching Gustavo’s face grow redder by the second as Kelly quickly got up from her seat and ran towards the lobby of the venue. Compared to her boss, the busy woman was dressed in a far more formal manner as her long, brown hair bounced up and down with each step. Roxy could only assume that the next few minutes alone with the ‘90s megastar would be less than stellar.

Turning her attention forward, she looked Gustavo dead in the eye while he took his yellow-tinted glasses off. He was shaking and sputtering, trying to get a word out. Hopefully, Kelly would come back before the man ripped her to shreds.

“Look, if you want me to sing some of them, I will, but you’re an excellent songwriter who knows a great hit when he sees it. I would be an incredible asset to your team, so please just take a look at the folder I gave you.” At this, he furrowed his eyebrows, but she continued, “I’m not in it for the money or the fame, I’m in it for the love of songwriting, and that will never change.”

From what she could tell, this seemed to calm Gustavo down. He took the portfolio of songs Roxy had set in front of him and flipped through it silently. There wasn’t any change on his face so she wasn’t able to determine his feelings towards her songs, but he did take out his phone to check something. Roxy spied the time, 5:57, from a clock on the back wall knowing full well the auditions ended at 6 o’clock sharp. She looked back at Gustavo, silently pleading with whatever forces may be to let him whisk her away to California.

Out of fear, the girl began rambling and listing potential qualification points, “I can even do administrative work! I worked as a disc jockey and assistant for one of the radio stations here for almost two years so I know my way around a soundboard. And if you need someone to play guitar for your tracks - I can do that too. I was even in a band for a bit before we broke up due to, uh, creative differences.”

Gustavo looked up from the music sheets he was reading and Roxy felt a slight pain as her heart stopped. He could have her blacklisted from ever working in entertainment for stepping even a toe out of line, and she knew this fact well. But, she still stepped up to challenge the seasoned songwriter.

It had been a long time since Rocque Records had a star, and she was willing to do anything it took to be on their team.

When he finally spoke again, it was clear and commanding:

“Go wait in the lobby.”

Maybe everyone from LA was as heartless as rumors had it - but the answer she had been given wasn’t exactly a no.

“Yes, sir,” Roxy called out, footsteps echoing in the large room while she vacated the theater as fast as humanly possible. If she had stayed any longer, her big, hopeful smile might have betrayed her.

Please, please, please let there be last-minute sign-ups. The girl silently begged. Time to find Gustavo a shining star.

On the way out, Kelly rushed past her back into the theater and she could hear snippets of her conversation with her boss. Something about four new applicants for the contest with only a few minutes to spare. The woman then reminded her superior that their jobs were on the line and he should maybe be a bit nicer to the next contestants.

Stopping the stage door from closing too loudly, she slowly made her way out, hardly believing her ears. Everything was coming up Roxanne.

If she could find the new tryouts before they faced the grouchy producer, she might be able to give them some pointers, or convince them to stand up for themselves as she did. One of these four individuals might be the reason Gustavo Rocque would take her to Hollywood and let her work as a songwriter for the rest of her life - she just had to catch them first.

As Roxy pushed past the curtains into the lobby she saw a handful of teenagers like herself, crying and waiting in the chairs off to the side of the venue lobby, hoping that the mighty Gustavo Rocque would change his mind and make them a star. The image was quite sobering, causing her to wipe the smile off her face. Who knew what a jealous wannabe would do to someone looking happy after a meeting with Rocque?

Avoiding as many people as he could, she walked to the opposite side of the lobby towards the check-in desk where she saw a group of four teenage boys bickering and switching numbered stickers indicating their place in the contest.

Bingo.

Kelly then emerged from the theater and called for 810, the number after the songwriter’s, and Roxy watched a nervous-looking scholar type make his way past the curtains. Now that she had found them, all she needed was an in.

How does one go about warning a bunch of cute guys about a soul-sucking music producer without bruising their egos?

Dealing with her own dilemma, Roxy quickly noticed that not even a minute after he entered, the boy with the 810 sticker returned, climbing into his seat to rock back and forth while he muttered something about Gustavo being Satan incarnate. The girl felt a pang of guilt for not getting to them earlier; she might have been able to prevent someone else from facing Gustavo’s wrath. It didn’t bother her too much as Gustavo spat his venom at her for refusing to sing, but the four boys she saw earlier were all quite handsome and looked as though they were practically built to be famous. There was no need to take his fear of unemployment out on the other contestants.

She grabbed some tissues out of her little backpack and walked over to him, hoping to get to the next guy before he went in.

As Roxanne stepped up to the shaking boy, Kelly called for 811 and a boy wearing a black helmet ran inside.

“Hey, take a couple of tissues. Mr. Rocque is out of control, so try not to take his words to heart.”

The sniffling boy stopped crying to look up at her with clear brown eyes. Graciously accepting the tissues, he dried his eyes before introducing himself.

“Thanks, it means a lot,” he said with a newfound smile, dabbing at the corners of his eyes. In her peripheral vision, she saw his friend’s heads turn to see who was able to calm him down. “I’m Logan Mitchell. And these are my friends, James Diamond and Kendall Knight, and the guy inside, probably getting crushed by Gustavo, is Carlos Garcia.”

The other two gave Roxy a polite wave and, by the way James’ hand was shaking, she could tell he was terrified after Logan’s report. She shook Logan’s hand and introduced herself to the trio.

“I was in just before you. I’m Roxanne Somerset.” She introduced herself as she waved her ‘809’ sticker in the air and sat down in the chair Carlos had been using. “And Gustavo is desperate to find someone, so you two do your best, okay? You can’t let him intimidate you. As I walked out of my audition I heard him telling his assistant that if they didn’t bring someone home tonight, they’re fired.”

As she finished, the four of them heard a reverberated fart noise coming from the theater followed by Gustavo’s screams as Carlos ran out of the theater cackling all the way to where his friends were seated. Not even batting an eye at the newcomer in his chair, he slapped his helmet with a loud crack! as he took an empty chair by Kendall.

“Do you go to Mountain Aire?” Logan asked her, seemingly out of the blue.

Mountain Aire High School, where Roxy attended, serviced the four small towns in the area. Originally, she had attended a school closer to the Duluth radio station she worked at as per her father’s request, but he had finally allowed her to transfer to MAHS over the winter break. Though the drive was a bit more exhausting from work to school, she was happy to finally spend some time getting to know the kids in her area.

With a nod, she turned to him. “Yeah. Do you four? I just transferred there this semester from Twin Pines.”

Logan cracked a smile, “I knew I’d seen you somewhere before!”

“New Girl, nice!” James commented, a light nervous break in his voice before a silence washed over the waiting room.

Soon after, Kelly entered the lobby calling for 812 and James quickly tried to switch numbers with the other remaining boy. His blond friend blocked his grasp, protecting his sticker with one of his hands.

“James… This is your dream, not mine. Remember, opportunities like this come once in a lifetime. Now, grab onto that dream with both hands and go big time.”

With a shove from Kendall, the taller boy began to walk towards the stage, completely blank-faced. Roxy turned to give him a quiet “good luck!” before he disappeared through the stage doors.

Spinning back around, she saw the remaining three in a team-style huddle, whispering and looking stealthily toward her. Roxy did her best to ignore this, but before she knew it, Logan grabbed her hand and dragged her into the theater behind Kendall and Carlos.

“This is James’ dream,” he whispered to her as they snuck down an aisle in the back of the theater to hide behind some seats, “We all want to be there when he achieves it - New Girl included.”

The writer was quite surprised at the display of affection between the four. They must be very good friends, so she nodded and followed the group as James began to sing.

His piece was a slow Smokey Robinson and The Miracles song she recognized from one of the oldies stations the radio station serviced, and the boy she had just met both looked and sounded good singing it. While his higher-pitched voice was an excellent rendition of the slow, sad song, it also blended perfectly with the acoustic properties of the theater. Gustavo would be a fool to not take him to Hollywood, and the surprise was clear on the producer’s face. But in true Rocque style, the man scrunched his face before the end of the verse, startling James, who went in too early with his high note.

Roxy gasped and a hand flew over her own from Logan beside her. It was an extremely comforting gesture, and the brunette’s laser focus on his friend on stage served as a reminder not to interrupt his audition. There was potential it would be even worse for James if Gustavo found the group in the theater; he still had a shot at stardom and they couldn’t ruin that for him. She nodded once and he removed his hand as everyone focused on James, who had stopped singing completely, and was now squabbling with the producer at the front.

“But I’m good!” The boy fought back, only to be hit with the full force of Gustavo’s rage.

“I don’t need good, I need the fire, okay?”

James looked very hurt and confused as Gustavo yelled about the pop star wannabe having no talent.

Idiot. The girl thought. He’s got the fire, for sure.

Beside her, Roxy felt Kendall shift to stand before she grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him back down. “Are you sure you want to intervene? You could ruin his audition.” She quietly questioned as the boy nodded toward her. As much as she didn’t want to let him leave and interrupt, it wasn’t fair to let James take the producer’s abuse if someone was willing to stand up for him. So, she let him go.

Her eyes widened as Kendall yelled out to Gustavo, attempting to start a fight with the hit producer as he made his way towards the stage, mocking one of his previous ‘90s hits before jumping on the table and kicking the food that adorned it at him. Though it was clear the blond was angry, he still gave a good (albeit snarky) rendition of “Girl to My Heart”.

Kendall’s got the fire, too.

Roxy bit back a laugh as he switched up songs and started singing about how much of a turd Gustavo was before two large security guards in annoyingly yellow jackets came and ripped him off the table.

Now, Kendall was locked in a struggle with the guards who were previously guarding the entrance to the theater. As they dragged him off the table and towards the ground, Roxy heard Carlos ask about something related to juvie for trying to break Kendall free. Long before Logan was able to answer she was already sprinting down the aisle of the theater towards the fight before leaping onto one of the guard’s backs to free her new friend.

Another second went by and Carlos was next to her, crashing his helmet into the other man holding his friend, trying to help her pull them off of Kendall. It was turning into an all-out brawl, but it would be hard for Roxy to admit she wasn’t having fun. She wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, even if it meant taking on guys twice her size.

Doing her best to keep the guard at bay, she tried to pull his arm out of Kendall’s, to no avail. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw another guard approach as the one she was holding onto roughly pushed her off and she fell to the floor, crashing into it with her hip and splitting open her elbow.

“Shit.” She breathed in pain, feeling the side of her body begin to throb in sharp waves of pain from the hard impact on the ground.

At the sight of a woman to impress, James contemplated his actions on stage, tapping the microphone a few times before putting it back onto the stand he was previously using. With a look toward Gustavo, the boy gave out a yell and leaped from the stage onto the new guard.

Watching in awe, still slightly dizzy from her impact, Roxy spotted Logan running down the steps from his hiding place, reaching her side in an instant and helping her to safety. Once she was tucked away behind a seat, free from accidentally being trampled, he joined his friends in the battle.

They kept fighting, making sure to insult and curse Gustavo with every hit until the police eventually showed up to break apart the two sides. Officers caught up with the girl easily enough, grabbing each of her arms and pulling her up before roughly placing her in a bitterly cold pair of handcuffs, but it took a few policemen each to peel the boys off of the security guards that had apprehended Kendall. After the five teens were restrained they were asked a few general questions, of which Roxanne answered none, before being shoved into the back of a pair of squad cars.

***

Roxy was now standing in front of the fireplace in the Knight residence’s living room with her partners in crime as Kendall’s mother and adorable little sister began interrogating the five. The writer was quite shaken; she had never been in a fight before, but she was glad Mrs. Knight was only questioning the four boys she seemed to know very well. The last thing the songwriter needed was for Mrs. Knight to question her or call her dad about all the trouble.

Examining her surroundings, it was clear the Knights lived comfortably and their abode was incredibly homey, with a faint smell of cinnamon wafting in from the kitchen. The atmosphere was great, but Roxy wished her first visit could’ve been under different circumstances.

“Dude, how did you know those songs?” Carlos questioned in astonishment as he leaned over and whispered to Kendall, who stood in between Roxy and Logan.

“They play Boyquake on the Project Pop channel all day at work,” he replied.

“Dude, no way. I’m Rockin’ Roxy from Pro-Pop! They play my set where you work?” Roxanne butted in, excited to finally have met someone who had listened to her show.

Her statement took him aback, “Woah, that’s sweet… and I made up The Giant Turd Song.” The blond finished with a mischievous smile.

Maybe he should be the songwriter instead, the girl reflected, losing track of the conversation and choosing to continue familiarizing herself with her new surroundings.

Upon further inspection, she determined the other three boys spent just as much time as Kendall did in the house. The brown coffee table in front of the sectional couch was riddled with medical school flyers and test prep books which were presumably Logan’s; who the entire ride to the house was complaining that this incident would scar his permanent record and destroy his chances of getting into a good med school. On the decorative key rack by the front door hung a familiar black helmet as well as a warm-looking hockey jersey in the signature MAHS colors, red and gold, with the name “Garcia” delicately embroidered into the back.

As Logan told his part of the story, a scoff came from the young girl who stood beside her parent with her arms crossed menacingly over her chest. The two ladies looked nothing alike, but both seemed to have a very commanding presence. Pretty weird for someone so young, especially because she had the same mischievous grin as her brother currently plastered on her face.

The four friends finished describing everything to Kendall’s surprisingly understanding mother, but the injured girl had to interject when the blond mentioned no one had gotten hurt. She tapped on Logan’s arm and quietly asked if he could get a bandage to patch up the arm she scraped when she fell from the guard’s back. Roxy was going to be alright, her physical wound was nothing compared to the pain of not getting chosen by Gustavo, but she knew she could write songs from anywhere at any time. If Los Angeles wasn’t in the cards, so be it - she just needed a ticket to the big time here in Duluth.

Maybe these four will form a band with me.

Her new friend quickly led her to the bathroom and that was where she found traces of someone she could only assume was James as Logan dove under the sink to find the first aid kit. White marble countertops between the two sinks were riddled with various ‘Cuda aerosol cans smelling suspiciously of the long-haired boy - something she wasn’t shocked the wannabe used - and a smattering of hair care products.

Once Logan emerged, he laid out some disinfectant and scrape ointment as well as a large bandage from a bag that looked strangely like a hockey puck and explained how to properly take care of her cut. With a ‘thanks’ from the girl, he excused himself so he could join his friends back in the living room, closing the door to give her some privacy.

Grateful for the supplies given to her, she set to work, wincing when the disinfectant made contact with her skin. The pain was welcome as it took her mind off the events from earlier in the day.

Peeling the bandage out of its pack distracted her from the two sets of footsteps coming down the hallway.

“Kendall, honey, hold on.” A soft voice from Mrs. Knight came as the two stopped walking, “Who’s the girl?”

“Roxanne?” Her son replied in a voice equally as soft. “We met in the audition hall, she helped us in the figh- the scuffle. The scuffle with security.”

His nervous laugh came out a bit louder than it probably should have.

“Ah,” She breathed. “Do you want me to call her parents?”

His reply was instant, “No, no. She seemed frazzled when the cops showed up so I told them we were all friends and they brought us here. I’m sure she probably let her parents know on the way over. We dragged her into it anyway, so there’s no need to get her in trouble at home for something we caused.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you. Please make sure she feels welcome here.”

“Of course, Mom.” His footsteps began to grow closer to the living room before he called out. “Oh! And thanks for being cool about this whole thing. I promise I’ll do the dishes for a whole month.”

“Make it two, dear!”

Light sentence. The girl mused. But sweet of him to take the fall for me considering I basically started the fight.

Once Roxy finished patching up her wound, she emerged to hear the four singing ‘The Giant Turd Song’ to Kendall’s little sister, who looked very impressed with the group. As they made their way to the kitchen for a sandwich promised by Mrs. Knight, the doorbell rang and the teens froze in their tracks.

They turned toward the entryway as Kendall made his way to the door, opening it to reveal Gustavo and Kelly, freezing on the front porch. Everyone, except James, let out a yelp and Roxy began to shake again at the sight of the evil man.

The pop star wannabe pushed himself past the girl, shoving her into Logan, as he cheered and hugged Gustavo, hoping the man was there for him.

“I’m not here for you, I’m here for them.” The producer announced as he pushed James off of him and gestured to both Kendall and Roxanne, starstruck in the doorway.

***

Roxy’s heart had leapt out of her chest twenty minutes ago, and she had not been able to put it back in since.

The four boys had huddled in the kitchen after Gustavo and Kelly had accepted a gracious offer of tea from Mrs. Knight, so Roxy escaped to the living room with a cup of water, admiring the many family pictures that decorated the walls.

Although she was excited for herself, she didn’t know if Gustavo wanted her as an assistant, or as a songwriter. Maybe both, since she had marketed herself as such. But she was going to take any offer the man would give her and get out of old Minnesota. Los Angeles was where she belonged.

From the corner of her eye, she could spy on the large group in the kitchen. James looked so sad he could cry a river and kept trying to convince Gustavo he was the better choice, while Kendall looked entirely uninterested in the result of Gustavo’s choice to make him a pop star. She hoped the boys’ friendship would survive no matter what the satan-like producer would throw at them.

When all his efforts went wasted, James moved into the family room and sat next to the elated girl on the end of the couch.

“How did you do it?”

The question rang clear in the room as the people in the kitchen were busy laughing at something one of the boys had said.

“I didn’t do anything. I wouldn't even sing for him,” Roxy breathed out, too excited to even hold a proper thought, let alone conversation.

She knew her answer would upset James, and she could already see the red of anger creep up his ears. When she turned to face him, they locked eyes and she could see that he was on the verge of tears.

“Oh, I see,” he coughed, running a hand through his brown hair absentmindedly. “You are pretty cute, and I’m sure your voice must be incredible, so you’ll make a great pop star. And Kendall must have been good enough to convince Gustavo to take the both of you. I’m happy for you two.”

The last sentence came out in a whisper, and Roxy realized she was slightly embarrassed by the kind words of the almost-stranger beside her. It was like he blamed himself for not earning the pop star position, not the loud, overbearing producer.

Roxy put a hand on his shoulder to try and help calm the long-haired boy down. “I’m not going to be a star, so you don’t have to worry about learning my secrets or trying to take my spot. My dream is to be a songwriter, so I signed up today and brought a portfolio with me. Gustavo was so pissed I thought he would destroy the building with a scream after I told him I wouldn’t sing. I guess I ended up convincing him that I would be a great addition to Rocque Records.”

James’ big brown eyes widened as a thought connected.

“When I walked in, Gustavo had asked me to sight-read a song he brought with him, but I picked it up and threw it over my shoulder because I wanted to have my own prepared song. Maybe that was one of yours. If it was, I’m sorry, Roxanne.”

A genuine apology was shocking coming after his melodramatic displays all the way from the theater to the Knight’s home, but she quickly accepted it and whispered that her friends just call her “Roxy” as the kitchen group made their way into the living room to join the pair.

Gustavo pulled a chair in front of the couch where the teens sat with Kelly standing behind him and began to lay out the expected terms for Kendall and his family while sipping their tea. His mother and sister were beaming, while Gustavo talked about an all-expense-paid trip to LA for one month to make an EP of five demo tracks. Throughout the talk, Kendall was extremely disinterested; how Gustavo didn’t figure that out confused Roxy. As she was trying to comprehend the producer’s people skills, James started singing his audition song again, causing Gustavo to snap at him.

Roxanne gave Gustavo a glare and linked her arm through James's, giving the sad boy a gentle smile.

“It’ll be okay,” she whispered as Kendall and Gustavo started arguing logistics. “You’ll be able to visit him while he records his tracks and you’ll still be able to make it if you’re seen together. Probably.”

The thought of being famous by association calmed him down slightly as he patted her arm in silent thanks.

Once Gustavo was tired of arguing with Kendall over the terms of their agreement, he called Roxanne’s name so loud she jumped.

“Thank you, Mr. Rocque, you won’t regret your decision to hire me, I’ll make sure of it.”

“I better not, so help me. As of now, you’re on board as Kendall’s assistant. If you do well enough, I’ll consider looking at one of your songs. Just don’t step out of line and go boy-crazy or fame-hungry like the horrible assistants of my past. One word and I’ll have you shipped back here so fast your head will spin.”

Fame-hungry? He’s out of his mind. Boy-crazy? I might have some trouble there.

A voice from the other side of the couch spoke up, “Mr. Rocque, don’t talk to Roxanne like that… please…” Logan squeaked out.

She was a part of their lives now and no one would talk to her so harshly. It was nice to see Logan take a stand for what he believed in. A smile of appreciation grew on her face as she winked at her defender, while Gustavo complained about his attitude.

She gave the man a grateful ‘okay’ as an answer to get Logan out of the hot seat, praying Kendall would accept Gustavo’s offer.

“So, what do you say, Kendall?” Gustavo addressed Kendall after taking a sip of his tea.

The room was silent for a few seconds before the blond responded.

“No.”

Upon his reply, Roxy ducked into James’ shoulder as Gustavo shattered the teacup he was holding. Carlos started laughing at his display of anger, while the enraged producer stood up and walked straight through the front door to the outside - not bothering to turn back to see if the boy regretted his decision and immediately changed his mind.

There were crashing and shattering noises beyond the house walls as Kelly threw a large stack of 100 dollar bills down on the coffee table for the damages. Looking to console Gustavo as quickly as possible, she handed Kendall her business card.

“You should think about this, Kendall. We leave tomorrow at 2,” the woman said as she left the Knight's house.

As shocked as the group was, Roxy was even more shocked that Kelly hadn’t given any mention of when she was going to leave with the two of them. After a second, it all clicked.

Almost instantly, the color drained from her face. The girl dropped her plastic water cup on the ground, splashing it all over the carpet as she realized she wasn’t going to Hollywood unless Kendall decided to make the trip.

“T-they won’t take me. Unless Kendall goes. Oh, my God. No… This can’t be happening…”

Trying to take a step forward to talk to Gustavo, she wobbled and fell back down on the couch; shaking so badly she couldn’t even move properly. She was fine earlier, he hadn’t rejected her per se, but after the realization that her success depended on Kendall, it showed just how little Gustavo thought of her. Before she even knew it tears were slipping down her face and she stood up again to ask Mrs. Knight for a ride home.

So much for the ‘It’ll be alright’ talk I had with James.

The mother graciously accepted, grabbing her car keys and wrapping a warm blanket from the hallway closet around the inconsolable girl. The three boys stared at Kendall, both shocked at his decision and looking for ways to help Roxanne stop crying.

Before Mrs. Knight left with their new friend, Roxy turned back to the group and did her best to speak through her sniffling.

“Thanks for tonight, guys, I had a lot of fun.”

Forcing a smile, she made her way out to Mrs. Knight’s car.

***

The following morning, after Roxanne had enough courage to roll out of bed, she threw on an old pair of sweats and wobbled out to the kitchen. Calling out into the hallway, she wondered if her dad was home, and as usual, there was no response. The home phone port didn’t display a blinking light, meaning no one had called to detail the affair she had been involved in the previous night or even left a message. Thank God for Mrs. Knight.

However, she did notice a note left on the kitchen counter. Upon further examination, it was from her father.

Hey, kiddo!

Hope the audition went well, I wish we got to talk about it yesterday! Sorry for the long shifts… Maybe we can have our last meal in Minnesota together tonight. Take the keys to my truck if you need them, a work buddy gave me a ride to the mine today. Have a superior day!

Much love, Dad

Sounds like they’d have a lot to talk about tonight, starting with his use of terrible puns. Their town bordering on Lake Superior left room for low-quality jokes, which her father constantly repeated as if they were the funniest thing in the world. Since he was offering her car keys, she wouldn’t scratch it out and write something better like “What do you call it when touching copper makes you break out in hives? A metallurgy!” in reference to his job as the foreman of the local copper mine.

How do I even go about telling him that I had my shot and someone else blew it?

Not dwelling on the thought any longer, Roxy decided to take him up on the offer of his truck. Gratefully, she grabbed the keys off the rack beside the front door, locking it as she made it out to the driveway and her favorite thing in the world, Dynamo.

Dynamo was, at first glance, the ugliest truck on the planet. His deep blue paint was chipped in many places and the seats were shredded from years of wear and tear, but as long as it drove, it could take Roxy anywhere. The music would have to play incredibly loud to drown out the terrible sound of the engine, sputtering at every red light just to keep the machine running; and since it was such an old vehicle it only tuned into the radio or ancient cassette tapes, she and her dad shopped for at the thrift store when he taught her how to drive last year. Her father was lucky to have found the old clunker at such a cheap price, and since he typically caught rides to work on the city bus or with co-workers, Dynamo essentially belonged to her.

Sliding the key into the door, it unlocked and she climbed in. It took a few times for the engine to turn over, but once she got it running, she made a beeline for the grocery store. A self-care day was long overdue.

Driving on the icy roads in an old gas guzzler normally would’ve worried her, but Dynamo was ultra-reliable, and her dad had been sure to chain up the tires after the snowstorm a few days ago. Living in the midwest just meant she had a whole boatload of nothing to do until it snowed - then having a whole boatload of nothing to do while freezing her butt off. So, self-care day it was.

Quickly pulling up to the Sherwood grocery store, Roxy made her way through aisle after aisle picking up various snacks and beauty products, even deciding to splurge on a couple of old horror movies to watch in the night. Anything to take her mind off the events of yesterday - even if it meant being scared out of her wits.

The trip didn’t take too long, and at checkout, she had just enough money to buy her items. Now, the girl regretted spending her last paycheck on fancy folders and stationery for the portfolio Gustavo practically threw straight into the garbage. Nonetheless, she bagged her items and exited the store, looking forward to this week’s paycheck.

Maybe I could make a ‘Singer, drummer, bass player wanted!’ poster and have a few copies made at the print shop…

She fumbled around in her small backpack for her keys as she crossed into the parking lot, too caught up in her thoughts about her next potential ticket to Hollywood to be aware of her surroundings.

“Roxy, move!” Someone who sounded an awful lot like James Diamond yelled and she looked up to confirm, only to be met with a shopping cart to the gut.

Helplessly, she fell backward on impact due to the icy road as the contents of her bags spilled out of the weak paper bags she had chosen at checkout.

Sitting up, she brushed the gravel and snow out of her hair and picked up a couple of her things, trying to shove them back into the bags as swiftly as possible. A chorus of ‘sorry’ surrounded her as four familiar faces greeted her when she tried to stand up.

Crushing my dreams and my groceries the girl thought, biting her tongue to avoid spewing out hateful nonsense. At least three of them didn’t deserve it.

“Wow, you have a lot of junk food in here. Are you going through a breakup?” Carlos asked her as he picked up some of her groceries, seemingly unable to recall the events of last night.

“A break up of sorts,” she mumbled as she grabbed one of the bags out of his hands. “I’ve got ice cream, guys, I’ve got to go get it in the freezer. Nice seeing you.”

“Roxanne, it’s 25 degrees. It won’t melt.” Logan said as he picked her chocolate chip ice cream off of the road. “Excellent flavor choice!”

Kendall, dressed in a bright red Sherwood store uniform, lifted her up and gave her the final bag. Of all the people she wanted to see today, he was the lowest on her list. It wasn’t his fault, she knew that and she had accepted that. On the ride home last night, Mrs. Knight had told her it was his dream to be a hockey player and was currently playing for MAHS with his three best friends. Still, she couldn’t help but hold a little resentment towards him and Gustavo. He was going to follow his dreams, just like she had planned on when she went to the audition, and it wasn’t fair to fault him for that no matter how much it hurt her.

Carlos spoke again, “Well if you’re troubled over a breakup, we can help! James dumps girls all the time and we know just the way to cheer them up. Shopping cart golf!”

Taking one of the carts the grocery store attendant was organizing in the lot, Carlos spun it around to face one of the cart corrals across the road. “Kendall, if I get a hole-in-one, you have to call that mean producer guy back.”

Roxanne held back a laugh when Carlos mentioned James’ dating history, but was unable to muster the courage to let it out before the boy in the helmet jumped into a shopping cart and launched himself towards the corral on the other side of the street. Examining his surroundings before he sped off would have done him some good, as his cart was hit by an oncoming car, sending the thrill-seeker flying out in the opposite direction.

It was terrible to laugh, but the four still standing nearly doubled over, not even trying to contain their hysteria. Once Carlos came back unscathed thanks to his trusty helmet, Roxy tried to say her goodbyes yet again. Before she could, however, those who were not selected to be pop stars wouldn’t let her pass as they continued trying to convince Kendall to call the powerhouse producer back. It was a nice gesture, but the girl didn’t want to think about what could have been. Reopening day-old wounds didn’t feel like a great way to start her weekend, especially since she was doing her best to move on.

While James and Kendall were busy talking about the contents of the wannabe’s long coat in a completely unrelated conversation, Logan leaned over to Roxy.

“He really is sorry for crushing your dream, it’s all he was thinking about last night. He almost called Gustavo the second you left to renegotiate.”

“That’s so…” the songwriter trailed off, trying to find the words. “But everything is going to work out, I would feel horrible if he changed his mind for my sake. If I am meant to be a songwriter, I will be one. If not, that’s alright too - I’ve already got a pretty sweet job anyway.”

The last sentence hurt to say, but it was true. There was a great job at the radio station that was always open for her, especially since no one wanted to occupy the airwaves from 2 am-6 am like she normally did. And if Kendall wanted to keep working at Sherwood forever, she was sure they would love to have him.

The two made their way back into the main conversation.

Kendall looked like he was forming a plan in his head as he took in the words the other boys had been trying to drive into his skull. “You’re saying if you all had a chance to go to L.A. with a giant turd producer to record demos, you’d go?”

Before Kendall could blink, all four of the teens standing before him held out their cell phones, begging him to make the call. And with Kendall’s turn of shopping cart golf came a hole-in-one.

***

The white Rolls-Royce limousine of Rocque Records came to a screeching halt outside of the Sherwood.

Stepping out of the vehicle with Kelly in tow, Gustavo looked simultaneously bothered and relieved that the teen had called him back as he stepped up to face him and intended to get him on a flight to California as soon as humanly possible.

“Okay,” Kendall began, “I’ll go to L.A. with you and record some demos. If… you take my buds and make us a singing group... with our amazing new songwriter-assistant.”

Roxy wobbled a bit and steadied herself on Logan’s arm after processing what Kendall had said. It might have been nice to mention that part of his plan beforehand, but she wasn’t in a position to complain.

Gustavo was pissed, face reddening as he claimed that he was the only one who could make deals, but Kendall never wavered and kept his all-or-nothing deal.

“There is no way Gustavo Rocque is takin’ the four dawgs, and Roxanne, from Minnesota to Los Angeles to make them stars. It’s never gonna happen! Ever!” The desperation in his voice was apparent.

He needed anything he could get, and the band’s new frontman replied confidently. It was clear he possessed the upper hand during the entire negotiation.

“So… We have a deal.” Kendall smiled, victorious once again over their new boss.

“Yup.”

At Gustavo’s agreement, Roxy rejoiced, happy to trade last night’s tears for a better display of emotion. The four boys were ecstatic about going to California to make it big; they were jumping all over each other and screaming Kendall’s name, eventually ditching him to run a few laps in the snow.

While the three continued running around the parking lot, their new songwriting assistant made her way over to Kendall, grinning ear to ear.

“If you don’t want to do this, you know it’s okay to say so, right?”

Kendall was touched by her concern, “Don’t worry about it Rox, I think everything worked out perfectly.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” she said, finally relieved of all the stress from the past 12 hours. Wrapping her arms around the boy’s waist, she thanked him. “I’m going to be the best assistant and songwriter anyone in Hollywood has ever seen.”

***

The second the airplane hit the ground in sunny Los Angeles, Roxy swore she would never fly again. Planes were terrifying; they constantly shook and the turbulence left her so sick she couldn’t even throw up while they were in the air. She spent all four hours on the flight miserable, then another 20 minutes in the bathroom at the LAX arrival terminal taking as much medicine as she could to ensure the rest of the trip would go smoothly. Mrs. Knight even held her hair back until the contents of the girl’s stomach were more than empty, while Katie kept her water bottle coming.

Roxy thanked the pair over and over as she grabbed her toothbrush from her overnight bag to freshen up. So concerned with her own condition, she realized she hadn’t checked on the band. Hopefully, they were in a far better state.

Once she emerged, the boys ran over - flustered over her condition. Logan had offered her a ginger ale from the terminal convenience store, Kendall handed her a pack of Sea-Bands while Carlos asked her a million questions to make sure she was okay.

“Oh, glad you’re alright,” James offered, acting all official and nonchalant. “Can’t have our assistant getting sick and not doing her job.”

Logan punched him in the shoulder and the long-haired boy fell back, grumbling an insincere apology.

“I may be your assistant but as of right now, I’m off the clock. My work starts once we get to Rocque Records and get our contracts in order.”

It had scared her father quite a bit after she had called him on her cell a few hours ago, screaming and crying that she and her new friends were chosen by the record company’s talent search. Rushing home from work, he was able to have a nice lunch with her and together they went over the details of her employment while they packed her things. Since she didn’t require a talent contract as the boys did, it was a lot easier to convince her dad she needed full autonomy over her bank account. He was more excited about her lodging situation - a one-bedroom apartment right next to the band in the famous Palm Woods Hotel - which he had to negotiate with Gustavo over the phone to assure his daughter wouldn’t be living with four teenage boys.

Now, she called him again to let him know they landed safely, and that she already missed him, before making her way through the massive halls of LAX with the band, Mrs. Knight, and Katie.

Everyone was able to find their luggage and Roxy was more than elated to see her guitar, which she worried would get damaged in transport, in one beautiful piece. They made their way out to the arrival terminal’s street to be picked up - the hustle and bustle of cars and taxis in the big city were quite overwhelming. Within minutes of getting on the curb, what seemed like the longest limousine in all of Los Angeles pulled up with the Rocque Records logo and the boys rushed over, piling in one by one. The four of them sat in the back, while the ladies took seats on the side. Gustavo and Kelly had taken a private car ahead to get everything set up at the hotel that would house them for the next month of demo-making.

Looking out the windows as they drove, it was like every movie about Hollywood was flashing at each street turn. Palm trees lined the street and when she rolled down the windows, she could smell the salt of the ocean coupled with the disgusting exhaust let out by the millions of cars on the highway. James quickly rolled the window back up, not wanting to ruin his hairdo, but minutes later stuck his head out of the window with Kendall, while Carlos and Logan hung out of the sunroof. They passed through Beverly Hills, all the way beyond Bel Air, and finally made their way down Sunset Boulevard, toward the hotel. Roxy could hardly believe all that they had seen over the short drive as they connected onto Hollywood Boulevard.

As she was admiring the scenery, inspiration took hold. There was never really a time or place for her to write, but once she had a lyric or a tune she had to write it down or she would lose it. Fumbling for her bag, she took out her favorite red pen and black leather bound journal and started to draw the music staff with the notes she had come up with. The limo was loud inside, blasting pop song after pop song, so she tried her best to repeat the words to herself until she finally got them down on the page.

What you want, what you feel

Never quit and make it real -

“Dah, dah, dah, dah, dah,” she hummed the rest of the tune, drawing the notes out on the page in hopes she could decipher them later.

The guys shot her a weird look, but she ignored them as another line flowed after the first.

Make it work, get it right

Change the world overnight-

The lines were parallel and were to be put in different verses of the song, but it was killing her that she was unable to figure out the last line, especially when she already had a tune stuck in her head. It would come with time, and as of now, the limo was pulling up to their new home: The Palm Woods Hotel.

After getting out and unloading, Kelly ran up to meet them and gave everyone the grand tour.

“Home of the future famous,” was the phrase she used to describe the hotel and it rang in everyone’s ears as they did their best to contain their delight.

By itself, the hotel was larger than any building in their hometown, able to house thousands of people. There were lots of teenagers and a couple of kids around Katie’s age, but Mrs. Knight noticed a severe lack of parents at the establishment. Turning this thought over she elected to ignore it, reaching out to touch the first palm tree in her life.

People were abundant, something that none of the Minnesota kids were used to, and it made Roxy slightly anxious so she stuck by Logan for the remainder of the tour.

Kelly finished in the lobby, “You guys are gonna love it here. The rooms are clean, you’re close to the studio, and there is an amazing pool!”

Big mistake.

At the mention of a pool, the four boys dropped all of their belongings on the floor and rushed out to the patio. After politely asking a bellhop to take her bags to her room, Roxy decided to join them.

They were already sitting around in the pool area when Roxy lowered herself onto a lounge chair by Kendall with her book and pen in hand and set a glass of iced tea she had snagged from the café onto the table beside her. She knew that the complete line would come to her, she just needed some inspiration. Being close to the boys was about as much inspiration as she could get.

Now right next to them, she could hear their conversation about not being in Minnesota and agreed that this was a nice change of pace.

“Ah!” she yelled, writing down another line.

Welcome to the good times,

Life will never be the same-

The shout spooked Kendall as he turned around to look at Roxy, only to be met with a beautiful girl in a deep purple prom dress slapping him.

“How dare you?” The prom queen screamed, alerting the other four to the situation. “What we had was real, but you threw it all away for Trish! My sworn enemy! I never wanna see you again, Troy! Never!”

With a final scream, the girl waddled off; her heels must’ve been very uncomfortable. Everyone around them was acting so nonchalant about the scene that had just unfolded. Was everyone in Hollywood that crazy?

A slight chuckle escaped her lips as she saw the big red handprint on Kendall’s cheek and she handed him her glass of iced tea.

“Here, you’ll be needing this,” she giggled, thinking about the boy’s first real Los Angeles interaction.

That actress sure knew how to make an unforgettable first impression.

He thanked her as he pressed it against his face and looked down at the book she was writing in.

Noticing he was peeking, the girl snapped it shut with a smack.

“Are you alright? You did make a little noise earlier, but I’m assuming it was good since you wrote something down. You were doing that in the limo, too,” the blond boy mentioned.

“Oh, yeah, it was a good yelp, don’t worry. I’ve gotten a couple of lyrics with this killer tune in my head, I’m just having trouble figuring out the ending for a couple of my verses. Once I figure those lines out I should be able to finish it with a little more L.A. magic, but I would appreciate it if Gustavo helped me write it.

“I’ve got a good portion of the melody too, room for a guitar solo, and I’ve written down the general themes I think would fit in the song well. So for this one, I’m picking words like ‘friendship’, ‘fame’, and ‘discovery’. Oh, uh, and the song is… kind of about you four.”

Damn it. She kicked herself, considering the last time she had written a song about somebody, it broke up their band.

Unaware of her inner turmoil as she waited for his response, Kendall gave her a soft and reassuring smile, “Incredible! I can’t wait to sing it.”

Roxy was still quite amazed at the kindness the four had shown her over the past 36 hours. It was one thing to make acquaintances in that amount of time but the connection the five had seemed ancient. She was going to do everything in her power to support them on the road to their dream and hoped they would continue helping her as well.

I must be the luckiest girl in all of Minnesota.

After the boy laid back in his chair, he had enough time to process what happened with the raven-haired prom queen and shook his head in disbelief. Upon his realization, the trash can beside Roxy began talking. It scared her a bit, but she lifted the lid to reveal the plump, red-headed child from the juice box commercials she would always see on TV.

He introduced himself as Tyler, and the girl who assaulted Kendall as Camille. The five teens were disheartened to hear that Tyler was uninterested in being an actor, just wanting to be a normal kid, and he was very quick to hide from his mother as she ran past them. Red hair poked out of the lid of the trash can lid Roxy had placed back over his head.

After they pointed Tyler’s mom in the opposite direction, he began introducing the regulars at the hotel.

“Lots of characters at the Palm Woods, huh?” Roxy questioned before he could finish.

“Oh, and those are the Jennifers,” he introduced, as the boy’s eyes went as big as the moon. “Three girls of the same name, who sing, dance, and act.”

They watched as the three girls made their way through the pool deck, seemingly in slow motion. All three of them were equally gorgeous and Roxy began to feel slightly insecure about her position next to the four equally pretty boys.

James made the first move, interrupting their flow as he called out, “Hey!”

The manner in which he called it out made Roxy want to punch him. He could’ve at least gotten up and gone over to them instead of yelling from his seat.

“We’re in a band,” the wannabe finished

The Jennifers turned and took their sunglasses off, batting their eyelashes. All of them spoke in unison, “Really? Oh my gosh!”

The four boys beamed with pride at their praise and the girl with them rolled her eyes - glancing at the trio in an unspoken apology.

“And we’re actresses who don’t care,” they finished, causing Roxy to laugh so hard that she nearly fell out of her chair. “But you are so cute!”

This last line was directed at the laughing girl, which came as a big surprise.

“Thanks, Jennifers, you’ll have to excuse my friends.”

“What’s your name? You should come and hang out with us sometime.”

“Roxanne Somerset, not Jennifer, unfortunately. But yes I would love to get the lay of the land from your perspective,” the Minnesota girl said as she bit back a smile.

They all said their goodbyes as Roxy turned back to starstruck Carlos and stuck her tongue out.

“I am so in love…” the helmet wearer trailed off.

Glancing over, the worried look on Kendall’s face was very clear. She could smell speech.

“Guys, we have to promise ourselves now, that we’re not gonna let this singing thing or this town change us. We can never forget who we are.” He said, looking back to include Roxy.

A “yes” came unanimously from all five teens.

***

A couple of hours later, the Jennifers had invited Roxanne to grab smoothies and run lines. It was a great opportunity to get to know each other and some time for Roxy to focus on writing. The girls were reading for a show they were planning on auditioning for that sounded extremely complicated, Roxy could only guess that it was a new CW teen drama, but the writer did her best to focus on her lyrics while sipping on her strawberry-banana smoothie. Normally she would write alone, strumming chords on her guitar and attempting to piece everything together with the music, but she didn’t want to encroach on someone named Guitar Dude’s territory by the pool. The girls had warned her that although he looks calm and collected, he could be quite territorial.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her friends emerge in dorky Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops and stop a couple of feet from the table. Probably discussing the game plan of who gets to ask which Jennifer out.

“Hey, girls,” Roxy whispered, “Around nine o’clock some guys are looking at us.”

The three didn’t even remember who the boy band was.

Beside the four, the writer also noticed Kelly come up and talk to the boys, hopefully, nothing about work. Her co-worker looked annoyed but stood off to the side presumably allowing the boys to do whatever dumb thing they had planned.

“Hi, ladies,” James began, gesturing towards his bandmates in an introductory manner, but the Jennifers didn’t even let them finish before they threw their half-drank smoothies at them.

The suddenness shocked their friend, causing Roxy to laugh so hard that she left tears in her notebook from how much she was giggling at her smoothie-clad band. Hollywood was going to be a tough town, and she hoped they would be able to handle the cutthroat atmosphere. The four of them looked utterly embarrassed before Kendall made the decision to willingly head to something he called “Boy Band Boot Camp.”

Due to their decision, Roxy assumed she had about 15 minutes before Kelly whisked them off to work as the boys went into their apartment to shower, so she continued to sip her smoothie and observe the people at the Palm Woods pool. Everyone seemed to have their own cliques, but maybe if everyone were as kind as the Jennifers had been, to her at least, the team’s stay in Los Angeles would be even better than she expected. The people here were truly a mystery but the girl knew her friends would bring a new Minnesota flare to Tinseltown. With this thought, she was able to write a few more lines.

Look around,

Nothing’s really as it seems,

Nothing but dreams.

You and I,

We’re gonna make a brand new sound

Like we own this town-

Drawing a couple of arrows to decide on verse order, then changing her mind and crossing them out, the writer reluctantly decided to worry about the order later. The song would eventually be perfect and ready to show her boss. Right now, all she needed to do was keep the boys on track and make sure her inspiration didn’t disappear.

***

The elevator stopped on the floor of Gustavo’s office and recording studios, and Roxy could swear she heard him screaming but thought it best to continue following Kelly. She was slightly distracted as the woman was explaining to the new band how things were going to work by the massive posters of past boy bands signed by Rocque Records. A Boyquake poster caught her eye, a handful of their songs were on her old cassette tapes. To have a hit on the same level as Boyquake… the thought quickly settled in her mind as Kelly introduced pop sensation Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls as she was leaving the studio. The boys in front of her came to a stop, allowing Roxy to set her guitar case down.

If there’s one thing I love more than a boy band, it’s a girl band.

As if on cue, the boy’s attitudes completely changed as they drooled over the celebrity in the room. It was a fine sight to see; the band was stumbling over each other and even Kendall was speechless as they stared at the beautiful woman in front of them. Roxy gave a little smile and a wave from back behind them.

“He’s gonna marry you!” Carlos blurted out, pointing to James who immediately went as pale as a ghost.

“Then where's my ring?” The singer flirted, wiggling the fingers on her left hand and prompting the shocked wannabe to stutter over his next words.

Roxy slipped one of her rings off her finger and dropped it in one of James’ open hands. It was one of her favorites, a small gold wire band with a fake ruby in the middle, but she decided it would look much better on Nicole. Once the boy realized what he was holding, he stretched his palm out to her looking down at the cheap ring.

“Very pretty…” the pop star mused as she pushed his hand back into his chest with one hand and made a phone gesture with her other, “Call me when you’re a little older.”

James flushed a bright pink and he turned around so Nicole wouldn’t see. He whispered a quick thanks into his assistant’s ear as he took her right hand and slipped the ring on her finger before he turned back and joined the conversation.

Roxanne was very thankful the boys were taller than her, she would kill anyone if they saw how flustered she was after James' actions. Even for a flirt, that was quite the intimate action, and she couldn’t recall an instance where her heart had beat so fast. He knew how to get a girl going, even if it was completely unintentional. For the rest of their conversation with Nicole, the writer was focusing on trying to calm her breathing.

A door on the other side of the hall opened, revealing their new boss who called out to the former Pussycat Doll lovingly. Getting up on her tiptoes and peering over Logan’s shoulder Roxy caught the model rip an old rotary telephone off the wall and throw it at the man.

“Nice shot, Ms. Scherzinger!” she called, earning a mean look from Gustavo, who politely closed the door and waited in his office for the diva to leave.

Once he was given the all-clear by Kelly, he stepped outside and faced his new crew who were desperately wishing the pop idol would return. The fate of Rocque Records was being left in the hands of five teenagers. This band was going to be his chance to place his company on the next level, and he knew that. So instead of congratulating the boys or thanking them for letting him take a chance - he broke some bad news to the team.

“You guys ready to be stars? And are you ready to write like you never have before?”

Everyone nodded their heads, hopeful for the next month of hard work and dedication.

Gustavo continued. “Great, because now we only have three days to prove to the record company that there is something, anything, here.”

Roxy looked over at her friends, confusion written all over their faces. Making a whole new and marketable boy band in three days sounded impossible. It was going to be excruciating for the entire team - but the payoff would be immeasurable.

The boys and Gustavo began to squabble once again about the tight timeline, while their assistant looked over to Kelly for some guidance. She gave her a small smile and a thumbs up, mouthing ‘we’ve got this’ as the guys continued to fight. Once their attention was back to the main conversation, Roxy’s hiding spot was revealed as Kendall took a couple of steps forward, squaring up to his boss. It seemed as though the band was up for the challenge as well.

“Fine,” Gustavo mumbled, stepping back from the frontman. “Go get changed and meet me in the practice room in 5 minutes. Roxanne, come with me and Kelly.”

Squeezing past James and Kendall with her guitar in tow, the small girl made her way to her boss.

“Ready to learn how to write a hit song in three days?”

She nodded her head, bringing out her book and favorite pen as they made their way to the studio. Almost as if it were a conditioned response to pulling it out, she stopped walking and hummed a tune to herself - words following soon after. Gustavo looked back at her, about to ask what she was doing before he heard the tune. It was a catchy, poppy melody that was sure to be stuck in his head for days. Roxy already had a song.

Still, she stood in the middle of the hallway, scribbling notes down furiously and humming the melody from earlier again, this time in a different key to decide which one she liked more. Drawing the music staff, she wrote both of the tunes down in order to decide on the best one later. Next, came the words.

Go and shake it up,

What you gotta lose?

Go and make your luck with the life you chose

If you want it all, lay it on the line

It’s the only life you got -

“Ugh!” She yelled in frustration. Why was it that she could never find the last line? It was starting to bug her.

“Are you done?” her boss asked, walking back towards her.

He looked angry, but the girl honestly couldn’t tell what he was thinking.“Yes, sorry, Mr. Rocque, I won’t get distracted again.”

“No, with the song. Are you done?”

“Oh,” Roxy breathed, “No, I’m not. I’ve only got a couple of verses, part of the chorus, and a bit of the melody but I haven’t been able to figure out what ties it together. The last line keeps slipping away from me.”

“Alright. Sit in the studio with us and keep working on it. I’ll take a look when we’re done.”

Did Gustavo Rocque just offer to look over my song?

Shock was the mildest word one could use to describe how she was feeling. When she got hired, it sounded like it would be years before he even thought about looking at one of her songs. Though it was terrible the team was on a time crunch, Roxy was very thankful it was leading to a shift in her work timeline.

Once she walked into the studio, she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. Gustavo was already talking with the band as the girl made her way to a comfy section of the floor to watch and gain some inspiration. This song would be the best one she’s ever written.

It was hard to try and work with all the people flooding in and out of the room, but she found enjoyment in watching her friends be fawned over by different departments of Rocque Records. The first up was the choreography division, designed to take their dancing to the next level.

A middle-aged man clad in gold and black stood in front of the four boys, doing his best to teach them simple dance moves while constantly using words that started with the letter X. The band had a long way to go before they would even get close to being good dancers.

Roxy hung around for a little while, trying to pick which melody was better, but decided to use some of her time to explore the company floor and see if she could grab any water for the band. She was their assistant after all. Besides, some fresh air opposed to the slight stink of the studio from all the sweat was very preferable.

After some poking around, she discovered the lounge was only around the corner, but the long hallways made it feel like it took forever to even see the end. Each side was lined with posters - Gustavo had managed some incredible bands - but she couldn’t help but notice how dated the images were. They weren’t legacies or classics, some of the names she didn’t even recognize, but she had a gut feeling her band would be different. They were goofy, and not in the slightest bit prepared for a showcase in three days, but their dream was so close they could taste it. She wasn’t going to let them throw it away.

Grabbing a handful of cold water bottles from the refrigerator, she walked back to the studio. As she approached, she could hear some music, but the sound of footsteps hitting the floor or shoes squeaking wasn’t present. Had Mr. X let them take a break?

Using her back to push open the door due to her full arms, Roxanne turned around to find all four boys splayed out on the ground, with no choreographer in sight.

The water bottles fell from her arms as she let out a small yelp, looking at her friends below her feet. Scooping one of the bottles up she made her way to the closest one.

“Logan, Logan!” she yelled in panic, staring at her friend’s near-lifeless body on the ground..

Unsure of what to do, she decided on pressing the cold water bottle to his face. Once it made contact with his skin, he opened his eyes and groaned.

“We’ve been X-pelled,” the boy laying on the ground shared, weakly crossing his hands over his chest in the shape of the letter their teacher was so fond of.

“Don’t scare me like that! I thought it was serious…” she huffed, picking up the water bottles and going to place them on the other dancer’s faces.

Kendall and Carlos woke up just fine, but when she knelt down to place one on James he snatched her wrist, causing the bottle to drop to the floor.

“I need a little more to wake me up, don’t you think? True love’s kiss should do the trick.”

After their interaction earlier, she was already slightly frazzled around him and this was not helping her calm down. It was especially embarrassing when all his friends were in the room, so she decided to dish out a little bit of revenge.

“Sure, James,” the writer said with a smile.

Glad his trick had worked, he waited for her to lean in. As she did, she stopped centimeters from his face. The boy’s breath was warm, tickling her lips, and for a second she could swear it hitched, but nothing would stop her from executing her plan.

“Let me go find Nicole for you,” the writer whispered.

Moving away, Roxy grabbed the water bottle reserved for him and dumped it on his face.

James was less than pleased with the outcome of his attempted flirt, groaning as he stood up and did his best to wipe off the water clinging to his face. The other boys were doubled over with laughter as they watched their soaking friend sulk.

“Thanks, Roxy, I needed to cool down,” he glanced her way before lifting the end of his tank top to wipe away the excess water from his face.

As much as she tried to fight it her eyes slightly wandered, and caught a glimpse of his abdominal region. A light pink dusted her face but she stood her ground, doing her best not to let his tricks get to her.

“Get your own water for practice from now on.”

“Sure thing, Roxy, I couldn’t care less.”

Just as she opened her mouth to fire back, a savior appeared in the form of Kelly Wainwright. The five teens in the studio quickly sat down by the balance bars in the back of the room because if Kelly was coming, Gustavo was not far behind. It was an anxious few minutes as they waited for their boss to come and inspect their work. It was safe to say he would be interested in what happened in the last hour.

Their explanation wasn’t interesting to Roxy, who kept trying to decipher the cryptic messages she left for herself in her songbook. Though, she did try and figure out if she knew any bad words starting with X because apparently, the choreographer had gotten so mad he cussed the boys out. That was a new one. The only thing that distracted her further was the shattering scream Gustavo gave at the notion that their teacher, ‘X-quit’, as Kendall had put it.

***

After the horrible failure that was the band’s dance lesson, their boss decided to move along to something seemingly easier, their look and brand. It was hard to imagine the boys she knew as anything but dumb hockey players, but she could understand how that wasn’t as appealing to the younger demographic. Roxy liked athletes just as much as the next teen, but a makeover into a pretty, kind boy-next-door was a much safer bet to reel in most younger listeners. Who couldn’t trust a childhood friend, someone with you since the beginning, someone you could always rely on to dry your tears? The writer decided that was the look to go for, but Gustavo seemed to have other plans as the marketing team stepped up to the plate.

“Guys, we have some looks that will literally transform you,” a young, well-dressed individual explained, addressing the groaning boys.

Kendall rolled his eyes. If there was ever someone to question the ways of Rocque Records, it would be him.

“Can’t we just be ourselves?”

A fair point, but only a point he would make. The marketing duo started laughing; turning to each other as if being yourself was some kind of inside joke.

“No,” was the only answer they provided before a slide show began to play on a small TV in the corner of the room.

Roxy did her best to pay attention, she wanted to take some notes and help the team come up with the best look possible, but it was very hard to crack the two professionals. The only part of the presentation she was able to remember was the threat to shave the boy’s heads.

The first look devised by the styling team was a band called “Boy-liscious.” Roxy made sure to take lots of pictures, for research of course, of her friends in their ridiculously ugly outfits. A Boy-liscious style included bright colors, missing shirts, and stupid headwear none of them - except James - seemed to like. The long-haired boy made sure to glance over to Roxy, shooting her a wink as he ruffled his jacket to reveal no top underneath, showing off his body.

“The beach, the girls, the… shirtless overalls,” Kendall stated with uncertainty in his voice, trying to find the general vibe of the first look.

Relief washed over his face as his boss shared the same negative thoughts. What Gustavo needed most were options.

Next came “Red, White, and Boy”, which was an insult to patriots everywhere. Regardless, Roxy made sure to take some more pictures to save these to show Mrs. Knight back home. The predominant color of red stood out across the four, leaving Carlos with a clashing blue patterned tone for his costume. James, somehow still shirtless, spoke of his affection for the look. Fortunately for all citizens of America, the demographic that enjoyed the Red, White, and Boy style the most were war veterans - not teenagers.

Their boss yelled at the marketers for another option.

Look three was by far the best one, it had Roxy holding her sides in pain from how much she giggled, while she tried to take as many pictures as she could before burning the image into her brain. “Danger Boy” was something she would never forget. The alternative look was undeniably attractive when done correctly, but this was something out of a terrible fashion emergency gone wrong. Danger Boy were uncomfortable in their tight, black leather pants and overaggressive black eyeliner. The outfits screamed unapproachable, but worst of all, they weren’t even attractive. Forbidden romance with the dark and edgy boy was always a hit, but everything about this option was a terrible idea.

“I hate it!” Gustavo yelled, the marketing duo quickly agreeing with him. “I need five new looks for tomorrow. Now, follow me, we’re going to talk to our new songwriter about your first hit single that will put me back on the map!”

With the mention of a song, Roxy perked up. Her notebook fell out of her lap as she scrambled up to follow her boss into the studio. If there was anything the last hour taught her, it was probably better for the band to stick to their original look. With this, another idea popped into her head. Picking up her book and pen, she tried to devise a line about keeping it simple and not compromising. A few thematic phrases jumped out as she wrote them down, but as soon as they were on the page they were scratched out again.

It needs to follow the structure… Don’t worry about the last line… Fame is something they need to make count… They can’t compromise who they are…

All attention was on her and it made her very uncomfortable. The girl shifted a little, closing her eyes and writing some words out in the air to help finalize her new lyrics.

“Come on, Roxanne!” Carlos called from the doorway, breaking her focus.

The other guys clamped their hands over his mouth, preventing him from speaking anymore. It seems most of them had gotten the hint she needed to concentrate when inspiration struck.

“Shush, shush,” she whispered as she attempted to bring her focus back to her work.

“Make it count, play it straight,

Don’t look back don’t hesitate

What you want, what you feel,

Never quit and make it real

-”

Her words were a quiet whisper, but in her excitement that she had finally connected some lines she had forgotten everyone else was in the room with her. The last lines remained unwritten, but hopefully, her humming of the melody helped distract from that.

From the doorway, her boss spoke up. “Not a bad start, but it’s going to need a lot of work to transform a couple of lines like that into a hit. Let’s focus on the song I have now and revisit yours later.”

***

“What do you think you’re laughing about?”

There was no nice way to say it but the fact all of Gustavo Rocque’s hit records - save Yard Squirrel Christmas - contained the word “girl” in them was quite sad.

“Sorry, Mr. Rocque, I didn’t mean to laugh out loud. Have you ever tried to write anything that wasn’t a love song for your boy bands? You know, a breakup song or even a foundational song like my work in progress? No one is going to want to listen to a boy band they don’t care about, it wouldn’t hurt to show a little character besides ‘girl-crazy’ every now and then.”

Speaking up to her boss was terrifying and he was growing visibly upset, so when Kendall swooped in to take the heat she was relieved she could count on him to have her back.

“Are any of those songs from this girl-ennium?”

Gustavo began to vibrate with rage, signaling it was time for Kendall to back off. Grabbing her possessions, Roxy ran over to the speakers where Kelly stood and clapped her hands over her ears as Gustavo screamed so loudly at the blond she thought he was going to explode.

Eventually, his vocal cords tired out, allowing Kelly to run out of the room while the man just stood there, blank-faced and silent. Feeling it safe enough, Roxy moved from behind the speakers to join the singers in the middle of the room.

Logan was the first to break the silence.

“Roxy, can we please take a look at the song you have, I will do anything to not have to sing his quote-unquote ‘new hit, Girl Time.’”

“Oh, um, sure. It’s not complete or anything, but I can give you a rundown of the basics.”

She tossed her book out of her bag to the floor and pulled her guitar out of its case. The acoustic brown instrument let out a small sound as she gently ran her fingers over the strings and sat down in front of the boys. Finishing tuning it, she flipped to the most recent page she had written, struggling to make sense of her unclear scribbles. Confidence from moments ago wavered as she glanced over the entire page, picture finally forming as she connected the melody and lyrics together like a puzzle piece.

Kelly ran back in just before she began, carrying a comfortable-looking chair and a heart rate monitor, and fussed over the quiet man in the front of the room. She gave the group a thumbs up, signaling them to continue whatever they were doing.

“Okay, so, the easiest way will be to play for you so bear with me. As you may know, I have a couple of verses and parts of the chorus figured out, I’m just having trouble figuring out the last lines that tie everything together. Carlos, hold the journal out for me for a bit?”

Carlos nodded, very excited to do such a little task, and she thanked him as she began to strum out the intro chords. The song had a bit of an edge to it, showing that the band didn’t have to define themselves as pure pop just yet as Roxy did her best to sing along when the lyrics fit. She didn’t have much so she didn’t play for too long, but once she was done the boys scrambled to take the notebook out of their friend’s hand to learn the lyrics.

Disappointment was written over their faces as she swiped it out of Carlos’ hands before they could turn any more pages.

“So much better than ‘Girl Time,’” Logan thought aloud, humming the chorus back and trying to remember the tune.

“It would be better on electric guitar, but this is all I have for now.”

From the corner of the room, Kelly cleared her throat before stating Gustavo was back to a healthy blood pressure therefore able to produce again.

“I’d suggest looking into Roxanne’s song, Gustavo,” the woman advised before she let him get back up.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m the producer here so I’ll decide what we do and when we do it. For now, dawgs, get in the sound booth. It’s time to record.”

For the first time the whole day the four listened to their boss, marching along behind him as Kelly showed them where the sound booth was. Gustavo took a step in and the boys attempted to follow but the producer held out his hand to stop them and pointed over to Roxanne.

“This is the first and last time I’ll show you how to properly set up the booth for recording. Remember it.”

Still weary from their encounter last night, the writer did her best to follow what he was saying. It wasn’t terribly hard to set up, the most important thing was making sure each headset was properly plugged in and synced to the background music and tracing vocals at the same time so none of the boys fell off track. Overall, it was very similar to setting up the radio recording room for a live broadcast.

Simple enough.

Once her setup was approved by Gustavo, Kelly ran into the booth to place some pillows on the floor and fruit water on two small tables inside.

“All ready to go, Gustavo!”

Kelly sounded very excited for the boys to enter the booth. Singing was one of the more fun parts of the demo process, and after they tracked this today it would be time to go home. Each team member seemed to be a little tired and strung out, definitely ready to go back to the hotel.

Roxy stood behind the large soundboard with Gustavo and Kelly, giving the boys a smile through the glass separating the two rooms.

Shooting a thumbs up back, Logan returned her grin as Kelly began to explain the sound booth.

“The sound booth helps us isolate the vocals in case we need to edit or enhance them later.”

Carlos looked around, confused as to where her voice was coming from even though he was wearing headphones, and noticed the padding on the floor of the booth.

“Why are their pillows on the floor?”

Nodding at his statement, James asked, “Do you want us to nap? ‘Cause we will.”

Roxy could tell the boys were wiped out, and Gustavo was slightly on edge as he massaged his temples. It was only partly a recipe for disaster.

“They just absorb any extra echo or treble, just like those big foam mic covers. And I put some fruit water in there in case your mouths get dry, okay?”

Kendall reached out to grab the foam mic his assistant had set up, bonking himself with the soft part and letting a light thud echo through the speakers. Gustavo rubbed his temples even faster as Kendall hit the boy next to him with the mic as well. Carlos didn’t take it very well, to say the least.

“Guys,” Roxy warned, the sound reaching their headphones. “The sooner we finish vocals, the sooner we can go home and rest…”

Kendall and Carlos ignored her as the black-haired boy began edging the other one on. So, his friend hit him again. The two began trash-talking each other and once Carlos’ wit couldn’t match his friends, he grabbed one of the bottles from the table behind them and squirted it at Kendall. Good for the blond boy, his friend had terrible aim and ended up hitting Logan instead. The blue liquid stained his shirt as he begged the singer holding the bottle to knock it off.

A collective sigh came from the three outside of the sound booth. Once they had hit Logan, they thought him responsible enough to put an end to his friend's shenanigans so they could get back to recording. Unfortunately for them, the studious boy had spied a table of fruit water that sat behind him. So, while the other three fought over one table, he had one all to himself. Grabbing a red bottle, he shot the liquid back at Carlos - his aim even worse - and ended up getting James square in the chest, ruining the wannabe’s white V-neck.

After this, it was every man for himself. Each boy had a handful of bottles and were trying to hit each other, ultimately failing with every strike. Roxy winced as the water splashed all over the expensive recording devices and ran to the glass divider between the rooms. She knocked on it a few times, trying to capture their attention, but one of them grabbed a pillow and ripped it open, causing it to explode - obscuring the view from the outside. Feathers covered every inch of the small booth, sticking to the guys and the walls due to the fruit water bath they had given each other.

Gustavo looked horrified.

“Mr. Rocque, they’re just tired. After they finish messing around they’ll be ready to go! I’ll even clean the booth, whatever it takes to get this demo recorded.”

Her pleas were helpless against her boss.

“Just have the boys meet me in the studio when they’re finished.”

That was all he had to say before he left the room.

As soon as the boys finished their fight and exited the booth, Roxanne took all the cleaning supplies she could carry from a nearby janitor’s closet to fix their mess. Assistants helped clean up messes, helped keep their band's spirits high, and helped them achieve the goals they were working towards. This was something they all wanted, so Roxy took a broom to the walls of the soundproof booth to show Gustavo how serious they could be. It took her around 15 minutes to pick most of the feathers out of the padded walls and microphone covers - dumping the white plumes to the ground to make clean up easier, and started working on wiping down the windows.

Fluff stuck to her clothes and the cleaning rags she used as she completely erased the window to the soundboard room clean, picking a few feathers out of the molding. When the booth was restored to its original condition they would be able to record again, so Roxy cleaned as fast as she could. Gustavo had to have let the boys change and she assumed he was giving them a responsibility talk in the studio. The four could be dumb at times but now that they had a collective goal, it would be hard to imagine they’d do anything to put it in jeopardy.

Moving to the clear door to the studio, she sprayed it down with glass cleaner and was able to remove the sticky, feathery mess the boys had left. Peeking through the window, she watched as Gustavo had gathered the different departments of Rocque Records, including the band, and was playing a song on the piano behind them. The four were still covered in fruit water and feathers; it was strange he hadn’t let them change before he played them their demo song.

Though the situation seemed odd, she tried to pay it no mind and began sweeping all the feathers on the floor into a big pile. Once her boss was done playing their track, she would ask him for the vacuum. Nerves waved over her as she kept sweeping, if he had left them a mess was he embarrassing them in front of the company right now? If so, that was an incredibly cruel practice but the boys would certainly learn their lesson.

The studio door opened behind her and she turned around to find Logan at the entrance.

“Hey!” she smiled, doing her best to ignore the mess he was leaving in the door frame as she stepped aside to show off the clean booth, “Save for that pile of fuzz, the booth is back in business. Guess who has the best assistant in the whole world?”

A sad look washed over his face temporarily before he stepped back outside and into the dance room.

“Come on, Roxy. It’s time to go.”

Roxy waved him off, “Sure, sure. Just give me a second to find the vacuum and I’ll be ready to go after that.”

“Actually, uh, we really need to go.”

“Oh. Did something happen?” Turning around, she desperately searched for something wrong with the booth, landing on the microphones she had pushed back against the wall. “If the equipment is broken I’m sure Mr. Rocque can have it fixed by morning.”

Logan held out his hand, giving her a small smile, “I don’t think Hollywood is ready for us yet.”

“The single must be amazing if Hollywood isn’t ready for it,” She stated as she took his hand and stepped down from the booth, following him out of the studio.

“Everything will be just fine.”

The two stopped in the dance practice room to grab Roxy’s guitar and he mentioned Kendall stepped into the recording booth to grab her songbook. Care from the boys was greatly appreciated, but they were acting very out of character. No one was smiling wide or cracking jokes and Logan never let go of her hand until the five of them were in the elevator heading to the lobby.

Melancholy was an emotion she had seen none of her new friends display before, and the long, quiet elevator ride gave her plenty of time to deduce what had happened in the studio between the band and the producer. The four looked ready to drop dead any second, though she couldn’t tell if it came from a place of sleepiness or a place of shame. Maybe both. It was now clear Gustavo had done more than embarrass them in front of the entire company. Gripping her guitar case, she spoke out to pose a question.

“What’s on the schedule for tomorrow, Logan?”

She believed she had already figured out the answer, but needed someone to actually tell her what was happening instead of being vaguely led out of Rocque Records with no explanation.

Silence washed over the elevator as it continued to descend, a shrill beep that seemed to grow louder with every passing floor.

“Please tell me,” she asked in a whisper, confidence slowly dissipating. Looking up at the ceiling, she prayed he wouldn’t give the response she knew he would.

No answer once again.

“Logan?”

“Yeah?”

“When you said Hollywood wasn’t ready, you meant it literally… right?”

“Yeah.”

This was about a thousand times worse than her rejection after Kendall refused to go to Los Angeles alone. The four boys beside her looked completely wrecked; she could hardly focus on her own condition. After finally having found something to work for, Gustavo ripped it out of them and crushed the happiest people Roxy knew.

“Well, at least I still have those Sea Bands you bought me. And I’ll sit thirty rows away on the plane so you won’t see me get sick, and when we get back you can teach me how to play hockey, and Logan can tell me about all the medical stuff he learns, and…”

The anxious girl rambled on and on, focusing on the good parts of home. It sounded like she had already accepted the fact they were to leave but if today was about nothing else, it was about standing up to their tyrannical boss. Kendall stayed silent, not knowing how to help Roxy at this particular moment in time, but he did have a plan up his sleeve. One that would let them all stay in L.A. and finally make their dreams come true.

***

As per her friends’ request, Roxanne wallowed in her apartment for an hour about the unfortunate reality of their situation and the terrible toxicity of Hollywood while listening to her tapes and hugging a pillow as she laid face down on her bed; the one she had found at the thrift store titled ‘For Bad Days’ was living up to the name. Thinking of Minnesota, she thought about calling her Dad and telling him everything that had happened. Ultimately deciding against it, she rolled back over and hugged her pillow tight to her chest while “Never Say Never” by The Fray blasted through her speakers.

Exactly an hour after they dropped her off at her room, the boys came knocking - a few times, trying to be louder than the music coming from her bedroom they could hear in the hallway. Since when were they ‘on time’ people?

“Just give me a second,” Roxanne yelled out, jumping up to turn off her stereo system.

The vigor in which she moved soon made her lethargic, as though the effort used to get up was all she had left in her.

Do I even want to see them right now?

Logan replied a few moments later, sounding even wearier than she was.

“Would you please come out and talk to us?”

He was shuffling his feet on the carpet as he waited for their friend to join them. After some time, she opened the door and greeted the ex-band. Everyone could agree today was terrible and it was starting to show. They could tell Roxy had been crying from her red, swollen eyes and slightly smudged makeup, she could tell they had been fighting from the many bruises that adorned their arms and legs.

Hockey players.

Logan handed her a smoothie from the Palm Woods café and she followed the four out to the pool. One last memory of warm and sunny Los Angeles before heading back to cold and dark Minnesota. Three of the boys lounged on the poolside chairs while James paced back and forth, muttering under his breath every few seconds and Roxy sat on the pool’s edge, dipping her feet in. Next to them, Guitar Dude was playing a depressing melody which Kendall quickly asked him to stop.

“So, has Gustavo Dork made you guys famous yet?”

Heads turned to find Katie Knight walking up to her big brother, asking for a progress update.

“We had some creative differences.”

Roxy snorted at Kendall’s answer but it was more or less the truth.

Maybe I’m just cursed, the girl conceded.

“You got fired, didn’t you?”

“All he did was yell and scream at us, and make us wear dangerously tight pants.” Katie elected to join Roxy by the poolside as the older girl showed photos of the ridiculous outfits Gustavo made them try on to try and find their brand. Seeing her friends in “Danger Boy” outfits brought a small smile to her face while Katie begged her for the photos, piping up with her side of the story.

“Mr. Rocque didn’t even have the guts to tell me I was fired, he just had your brother pull me out of the building. I guess my worth is solely dependent on a couple of hair-brained idiots.”

As he paced, James rolled his eyes at her comment and spoke directly to Kendall about the situation.

“Yeah, you’re right, he wanted to turn us into rich and famous pop stars. What an idiot!”

The two girls at the pool decided not to join in the argument the boys were having as Katie told Roxanne about her day, earning a high five when the writer learned about her exclusive VIP lounge by the pool that resulted in a profit of about 500 dollars. The younger girl slipped her friend 50 for putting up with her brother’s band for the entire day.

“I can’t stand seeing him every day, it must be even harder working with him,” Katie shrugged as the boys continued to yell at each other.

The sound of one of the boys falling onto their lounge chairs behind her made Roxy hop up, wanting to make sure no one was hurt. Logan placed himself in between James and Carlos, who had been flung into his chair, signaling the fight had started with them.

“Woah, woah, remember the pact we made earlier?”

Roxy did her best to remind her friends of this when Carlos yelled and launched himself at James. The taller boy trapped him into a headlock as Kendall expressed his distaste for the fight before jumping in to help the helmet wearer. Entering the fight herself, the writer tried to pull James off of Carlos to no avail - even when Logan attempted to help her.

A few seconds later, she felt James shift to the side, and in hopes she could disconnect the helmet wearer, she leaned with him. A few shouts were let out as she continued to fall to the side, boys in tow, as they all landed in the pool behind them. Thrashing around in the water for a bit, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, her back making contact with someone’s chest as her head made it to the surface.

“Don’t tell me you can’t swim,” James whispered to her as the rest of the band fought their way to the waterline.

Roxy could feel her cheeks heating up as she tried to wiggle her way out of his grasp.

“I can swim just fine. I lost my bearings for a bit so I’d appreciate it if you let me go.”

“Okay, jeez, lighten up.”

“I’m just fine how I am. You guys were the ones who blew my shot today, so I’m not too keen on ‘lighting up’ at the moment.”

A few drops of water traveled down the side of his face as he looked at her, slightly hurt by her words, and let her go. Before she got the chance to apologize, the rest of the boys were finally done fighting.

Everyone at the Palm Woods pool turned their heads to Katie, who Roxy presumed pushed Kendall in causing a chain reaction. The young girl mentioned the team needed to ‘cool off.’

“She’s right, you know,” Roxy grumbled to her friends as she kicked her legs to stay afloat.

James was the first to speak up.

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

It seems a dip in the pool was just what the five needed as they splashed James one last time, a sign of an accepted apology.

The boys watched as their assistant pulled herself out of the pool, gathered herself in someone else’s towel, and stalked back to her room in search of dry clothes. Once she had reached 2-H, the writer realized she had left her keys with the boys outside. Gustavo had been very generous in giving the girl her own space - after a lovely conversation with her father, of course - but it wasn’t going to do her much good if she locked herself out. Slightly embarrassed and not wanting to see the boys quite yet, she walked to the next apartment giving a little knock. Soon after, Mrs. Knight opened the door, immediately examining the drenched songwriter.

“Oh, honey! What happened?”

“I just got into a little fight with the guys and accidentally locked myself out of my apartment. Could I borrow some leggings and a sweatshirt?” Roxy asked.

“Of course, of course. Give me a second to grab them from my room.”

Looking around the apartment as Mrs. Knight raced down the hall, Roxy was grateful she had her own. The band’s items were strewn about and the walls were a dismal brown. The only downside to her apartment, 2-H, was how cramped it was. Whatever architect ended up designing the Palm Woods mustn't have been very good at math if the band got such a spacious apartment when right next door, hers was the size of a broom closet. Even their carpet was heavily stained and slightly sticky as she made her way to the window. Pushing the curtains aside, she saw down into the pool area. The sun was setting, so everyone had traded the chill of the pool for a comforting fire and her friends were no exception.

“It’s going to be alright, you know,” Mrs. Knight spoke up from behind her. “You’re all brilliant kids, and you’ll find a way to work it out with Gustavo.”

“Thanks. I hope we do,” the writer sighed, “I don’t want to go back to Minnesota. Los Angeles is where I belong.”

Mother Knight could sense there was something off in the way Roxanne had talked about their home state, but didn’t want to pressure the girl into sharing. Right now, all that mattered was letting her know she was cared for.

“Well, even if things don’t go to plan, you can always come to me. I'll be happy to help you however I can. I’ll leave the clothes right here, darling.”

A gesture like that should’ve brought the girl to tears, but none came out as the woman left the room. No matter how today ended up, she knew she was grateful to have the chance to get to know Mrs. Knight; Kendall and Katie were so lucky to have such a strong maternal figure in their lives.

The writer pushed away the thought as she quickly scrambled into the clothing given to her. With her new comfy sweatshirt and leggings, she made her way to the first floor to join her friends by the fire they had started in one of the hotel fire pits. As she approached, she could hear James speaking about his new career choices.

“I could stay here and be a model. I’m still great looking. Or the star of a reality show!”

Roxy scoffed as she walked in front of him to block the warmth of the fire headed his way, crossing her arms.

“Which one, ‘Project Idiot’?”

Her response gained a small chuckle from the others as James looked up at her.

“That’s just your jealousy talking.”

“I have full confidence in the fact I could land a magazine cover far faster than you could.”

The girl stuck her tongue out at the wannabe and made her way to sit next to Carlos, while Kendall used this opportunity to speak up.

“You know what’s funny? We didn’t even get a chance to sing together.”

A sad but true statement - though that was entirely the band’s fault. Roxy crossed her legs and huddled closer to the fire, unable to notice the sly look the four boys were exchanging.

From beside her, Kendall began singing the turd song and his friends gladly joined in. Glances came and went from different parts of the pool as the patrons of the hotel were serenaded by the band. Even Roxy sang a few bars, dancing in her seat and singing along with her friends. Their faces were full of joy as they sang the song together, using the techniques they learned earlier in the day to harmonize and create a small beat to go with the melody. Though, the song did end with a little too much enthusiasm from James who hopped up on the couch and belted the last line, eliciting his friends to fall back onto the couch with fits of laughter.

The writer leaned her head on Carlos’ shoulder as the residents of the Palm Woods applauded the impromptu performance. The longer the applause lasted, the bigger the boy’s egos grew.

“Guys, I really don’t want to leave Los Angeles.”

It was only a quiet whisper from the girl but her friend responded from across the crackling fire.

“Then we should do this,” Kendall exclaimed as he stood up to address the team. “You guys were right. I really think we should do this.”

The light reflecting off his wet hair was just as bright as his eyes.

“How? We got fired, remember?”

Logan’s statement was something each of the teens had been struggling to accept.

“We didn’t get fired,” the frontman shot back.

Roxy piped up. “I seem to remember leaving Rocque Records with that impression.”

“Okay, we got fired. But the problem is, we didn’t try our best.”

“I tried my best,” James and Roxy said at the same time, jinxing each other.

“We know, you two, we know.”

It was hollow, but the girl still cringed at Logan’s statement. This mattered to everyone now, not just her. There was no longer a need to worry about their determination - this conversation was all she needed to know that these four were in it 100 percent.

Kendall spoke up again, requesting some inspirational music from Guitar Dude a couple of fire pits away. The writer could smell speech.

“We are hockey players, mostly, brothers of the ice and siblings of the song and we do not quit. Now, are we going to dump the puck and scramble back to the bench, or are we gonna grab that puck, pull the goalie and rush the net big time? Or, uh, grab that guitar and rush some new lyrics… big time?”

Roxy made a mental note to have Logan teach her hockey terminology so Kendall wouldn’t have to grapple with songwriting terms in the future. But his efforts brought a smile to her face as she could feel new lyrics swirling around in her head waiting to be let out.

“You really think we can make it as a boy band?” Carlos questioned.

Earnestly, the writer nodded, “Of course, you guys can! You just need to go a little easier on our boss, yeah? He’s only trying to make you rich and famous.”

A simple request, but Kendall kept on going.

“I’ve realized three things since we got here. One, I love singing. Two, I love singing with you guys and the thought of us rocking Roxy’s songs together.”

“What’s the third thing?” Logan asked.

“It’s minus 8 in Minnesota right now and I’m in love with this pool.”

The five teens shared a laugh as they enjoyed the cool night air of Los Angeles. Although it wasn’t home for the boys quite yet, it would have to do for the next month.

“So, what’s the play?” the blond continued, “Dump the puck, or… melody? Maybe? Rox, you’ve gotta teach me songwriting lingo. Or Big Time Rush?”

At the moniker, the girl grinned. Cute band name!

James was the first to jump up, casting his vote for Big Time Rush. Carlos followed, putting his helmet on to do the same. Then came Logan, voting for the band as well. Kendall moved to agree. All eyes turned to Roxy. Slowly she stood up, looking each of her friends in the eye before voicing her vote.

“Big Time Rush!”

***

Adding the finishing touches to her new song, titled after the new band, the elevator doors to Gustavo’s studio opened and the five walked down the hallway, ready to face their boss. Roxy had stayed up all night to finish “Big Time Rush” to show Gustavo. They were all nervous, but Kendall said he had a plan to get them back in his good graces so the teens made their way to his office confident in his plan-making abilities.

When they turned the corner, the different departments of Rocque Records were standing at the end of the hall, Gustavo and Kelly up front, looking very determined. Due to the boys’ staggering heights - all giant compared to hers - she pushed herself to the back of the group, walking alongside James as they made their way to the producer and his team.

In true Big Time Rush fashion, Kendall squared up to Gustavo who looked very expectant for an answer as to why the five teens had burst into the studio wanting to meet with him.

“Okay,” the blond began. Roxy thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest as she peaked out from behind Carlos. “We’ll do it your way. No goofing off, no pillow fights, and no questions for the next two days.”

The older man smiled in agreement.

“‘Girl Time’ from the top.”

Roxy cringed at the thought of the boys singing the terrible song Gustavo had written them. Once they hit the studio she would do her best to change his mind - but for now, it was girl time. Moving forward slightly to make her way to the recording room with the rest of the crew, she crashed into Carlos as the four boys stayed rooted in place. To her surprise, after the agreement about no questions, Kendall had spoken up once more.

“Except for that. We really don’t wanna sing ‘Girl Time.’”

All departments whipped around, annoyed looks on their faces. How had the band already gone back on their word? Roxanne tugged on the back of the blond’s shirt, giving him some backup.

“Just go with Gustavo for now, I’ll find a way to convince him BTR doesn't need that awful song.”

James placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back slightly, as Gustavo poked fun at the frontman for attempting to call the shots.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got a plan,” the tall boy murmured, looking forward to Gustavo with the rest of the band.

All Roxy could do was stand beside them in solidarity as they stood up to Mr. Rocque.

“Oh, let me guess, You have a better idea. Well, let’s hear the dog’s better song title.”

“Big Time Rush.”

The four had called out the name of Roxy’s single as they parted and left her exposed in front of their boss.

“And, it’s not our song per se, it’s Roxanne’s,” Logan mentioned.

Kendall added, “A song about four hockey players and one songwriter from Minnesota who have an amazing opportunity in front of them… and they’re gonna take their best shot.”

After the kind words from the band, Roxy held her songbook out to Gustavo.

“The lyrics and the melody are all done, but I would love the expertise of a seasoned songwriter to help me finalize the harmonies and background music as well as the arrangement. I’m not sure who has the best voice for most of the parts yet.”

A slight shake in her voice let the entire hall know she was nervous and there was silence for a few moments as everyone waited for Gustavo’s word. Looking back and forth between the boys and their boss, she noticed her friends were all smiling, so the songwriter joined them in putting on a brave face as she continued to extend her notebook out to the producer.

“I like it! And you’ve got to stop using the word ‘girl’ in all of your song titles,” a seal of approval came from Kelly, who was beaming with pride.

“I…” began Gustavo, causing the teens to lean forward to catch every word he was about to say, “...like it also.”

Taking her book out of her hands, the older man gave her a nod and Roxy took her first breath in what felt like ages. The boys gave her a few celebratory punches to the arm as their boss continued.

“We’re going to be working all night because Friday is two days away, and we are in a big time rush.”

Gustavo and his team scattered, everyone going to their respective offices to finalize any marketing, styles, or choreography. Though Roxy was slightly anxious without her songbook in sight, as there were many songs besides “Big Time Rush” in there, she was sure it would be safeguarded by her boss.

Roxy hadn’t realized how stressed she truly was until all of it had dissipated after Gutsavo’s acceptance of the band back into Rocque Records. For the next month, and hopefully much longer, she would be able to call Los Angeles home and write songs for her friends. It was safe to say this was the happiest she had ever been.

Setting her guitar case on the floor, she looked around the hallway at the posters of boy bands past. Their first goal had already been accomplished by gaining their boss’ trust and their new goal was to join the ranks of the bands on the walls.

“Roxy. Roxy!”

Logan’s yell snapped her back to reality. Her eyes focused on the boy as she saw the other three walk off toward the studio.

“I think we could use a little direction on the song, don’t you? Come join us!”

Happily, she accepted his offer and the pair made their way down the recording room.

***

The next two days flew by. As promised, there was no more goofing off and the boys did their best to follow Gustavo’s every instruction, while Roxy got to learn about the details of recording, mixing, and producing tracks. In addition to this, her boss also let her track her own guitar for the song and it was to be played for the boys when they recorded as well. Her acoustic didn’t fit the vibe of the song so he let her borrow one of the electric guitars at the studio, a red one of course.

Writing credits and guitar credits weren’t bad for her recorded first song. Big Time Rush’s assistant was thankful for the breaks she had where the boys had to learn the choreography - if she was tired she could only imagine how the band was feeling. Yet, they carried out their tasks dutifully, even going so far as to practice every chance they had at the Palm Woods.

She had even danced with them a little by the pool, though she was even worse than Logan. Jump, step, pose was about the only move she could get down, but she let the boys try and teach her anyway, in hopes it would allow them to remember their steps even better.

Once Friday had come, the assistant was running around the studio checking on wardrobe and mics for the boys. Her hands shook as she taped James’ down and checked over his outfit. Their proximity was unfavorable, but she determined his outfit was alright and moved on to the next boy. Everyone’s outfits were approved and the girl checked over hers once more as well. High heels were a bad shoe for the amount of running she was doing but she had chosen her outfit for style to impress the company chief executive officer, not comfort.

Through the studio speakers, she heard Gustavo call her into the recording booth. The CEO must be close. Giving each of the boys a once over yet again, she determined it was time for her to go.

“Okay, guys. Make my song look good for Griffin. Good luck!”

With a wink, she left them.

When she entered the recording room, Gustavo was standing behind his freakishly fast boss, who had sat down right in front of the glass. The boys looked like ants under a microscope as the white-haired man stared on. Nervously, they took their places in the dance studio and prepared for their performance.

Arthur Griffin, as Gustavo had explained, was the fourth richest CEO in America. Executive officer of many companies, apparently he had a soft spot for pop music since he was raising a teenage daughter who was obsessed with keeping in with all the currently popular styles and trends. Griffin was a hard man to please, he had some strange tastes it sounded like, but Roxanne was sure her band would blow him away.

Kelly pressed a button, starting their vocal cues and the boys showed how much their hard work had paid off. Each one of them had nailed their dances and hadn’t even skipped a beat in the process. Pride swelled from Roxy as her song blasted through the speakers.

“It’s the only life you got, so you gotta live it big time.”

Signaling the end of their performance, they could see Roxy jumping up and down through the glass, clapping for her friends. Carlos shot her a wink before he shifted his gaze to see Griffin’s reaction.

Silent for a moment, the man stroked his chin in thought.

“I like ‘em, and the board’s gonna love ‘em,” the tall man said as he swiveled his chair to see his underlings. “And wonderful song, Miss Somerset. You have one month to make your demos. I told you the boy band was back-”

Before he could even finish what he was saying, Roxanne tore out of the room and into the studio, launching herself at the band. Gleefully, Logan caught her and spun her around the room as he determined her happiness could only mean one thing. Once the rest of the boys spied the look of delight on her face, they knew they had made it.

“You did it!” Roxanne yelled, beginning to sing her song while dancing around the studio, terribly copying the band’s moves.

The four danced along with her, making sure to poke fun at her awkward steps. Though the next month would be hard, they were incredibly grateful for the opportunity to become the newest pop sensation.

“Well, guess who’s stayin’ in L.A.,” Gustavo said over the loudspeaker as the five teens were celebrating. “And stop cheering. If you thought the last three days were hard, wait until you see the next month.”

Big Time Rush and their prized songwriter ignored Gustavo as he kept blabbering about how terrible the guys were - all exchanging hugs and fantasizing about the future.

“I can’t believe it…” Kendall trailed off.

“You better, how else do you think we whipped into shape so quickly? This was all your idea in the first place, of course it paid off.”

His studious friend nodded as he praised the frontman.

“The next month is going to be great, boys!” Roxanne cheered, giving her friends one more glance over before sending them back to wardrobe. “You’ve gotta lose the hat next time, Kendall.”

“I don’t know, I kinda like it.”

And the musical journey begins…

I follow back!

Find me on wattpad + ao3!

Next Chapter (To be uploaded)

#big time rush #btr #james diamond #kendall knight #logan mitchell #carlos garcia #thats all she wrote fic #fanfiction #boy bands #boy band #music #songwriting #Roxanne Somerset

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that-one-gay-idiot1227 · 9 months ago

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Random Start to a Random Story

GUYS IS THIS OKAY SO FAR?!?!?!?

God, I hate it here. I tug the sleeves of my hoodie further down over my hands while looking directly down at the floor.

I'm in the somewhat crowded hallway of my new school. It's the first day of the school year, and it's my first day in this town. I can already tell I hate it. It's not like I have friends back in the last town I lived in. I don't really have friends anymore. To be fair it's not like i try to have friends. At this point I know no one will ever really like me.

The only brightside is I wont be here for long, just until grandpa dies. I guess that sounds really morbid but it's not like that. He's probably around 95 and I never really knew him. Mom didn't like coming back home to see her family though I'm not sure why.

Sometimes grandpa and I sit and watch TV together, sometimes we stay in our own separate rooms. We’ve never really talked though, just sat. He never seems to be in the living room if I'm not there. Maybe mom wants us to spend time together or something.

I'm supposed to be heading to 1st period. I know where it is, I spent 2 hours last night staring at a map of the school, specifically the 8th grade pod. Unfortunately my knowledge of the school doesn't mean I want to go to class. Or be here.

Or be alive.

—

How did I forget how utterly boring school is? I know it's only the first day which is almost the exact definition of boring but WOW. My science teacher Mrs.Pratt, is going on and on about bathroom passes. I swear she's been talking about them for 15 minutes now.

I space out staring out the window directly in front of me. I come back to reality when I hear the sounds of stuff being shoved into backpacks. I'm not sure what kids had out considering the only thing i think we did was listen Mrs.Pratt yap.

I walk home after school. It didn't get any less boring. I sat alone at my own lunch table. I almost felt like I had some sort of disease that made everyone want to stay far far away from me. I guess in a way I have exactly that, but how could they possibly know?

The walk home is less boring than school but the bar was basically in Hell so that doesn't mean much. I see a little blond boy who looks to be about 5 trip over the sidewalk and fall. I didn't laugh. All I wanted to do was help but his mom rushed over with a bandaid for his knee before I could get to him.

I wish I could've been the one to help.

It only takes me about 15 minutes to make it to the house. I'm not sure if I want to call it home yet. I've only lived there for a few days.

The first thing I notice when I step inside is how damn hot it is. My mom hates the cold and insists on living at 90 degrees minimum and still complaining. Unfortunately for us I hate the heat, it stresses me out. Mom says I take after dad, I take her word for it.

Grandpa is sitting on his very old looking green rocking chair. He smiles when he sees me.

“Hey” i say “is it hot in here or is it just me?” I ask not really expecting him to answer.

Grandpa smiles, “it's definitely hot in here. Your mother lives like she just came home from

Antarctica but constantly.

I can't help but laugh. “Yeah, that's very true” I say quietly.

I do a 360 around the small living area and don't see my mom anywhere. This doesn't surprise me, she's usually in her room staring at papers. They almost always look really official but I've never asked what they're for. I hadn't ever seen them before we moved here.

I walk out of the room and down the hallway. Unlike most homes the walls aren't covered in photos. They're just plain blank walls. I know it should feel sad but for some reason it just feels normal. Who needs family photos anyway? I've always thought they were stupid.

When I peek into the room my mom is staying in I see her sitting on her bed, papers scattered around her. I raise my eyebrows, silently judging her organizational skills.

Mom looks up just in time to see my judgey eyebrows, “what?” she asks obliviously.

“It's just a mess over there” i reply trying not to laugh.

“Yeah yeah” mom replies with an eye roll, “how was school?”

I groan, “It was BORING. I know it's only the first day but like it was WAY more boring than a first day should ever be. Every class took the whole hour to go through bathroom expectations. Every class was almost exactly the same. I could have just slept in.”

“Trust the process Hailey,” is moms only response. She's already distractedly reading a new piece of paper.

I shrug and walk out the door, I can tell she's too busy to talk to me right now. I walk into my temporary room and close the door. It's nice-ish in here. The light isn't too bright, the bed is a queen size with dark blue sheets and a dark blue comforter. There aren't any posters on the wall but that's an easy fix.It’s a place I could get comfortable in if I had more time. Maybe even a place I could call home.

#trans #depressed #beginning of story #story #is it okay?#help #writer #writing #writers on tumblr

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kimnjss · 4 years ago

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just hanging out | jjk

⤑ series: cherry pickers

⤑ pairing: gamer(fuckboi)!jungkook x video vixen(virgin)!reader

⤑ genre: fluff!... some angst at the end if you squint.

⤑ rating: pg13

⤑ word count: 3.9K // unedited.

⤑ warnings: lmao second hand embarrassment probably.

⤑ A/N: hey :( love you all who have been enjoying this story nd sending your thoughts in - they really make my day. so thank youu! let me know what you think x

FEBRUARY 22ND, 2020 | 16:49

Casual. You're constantly reminding yourself the entire time you're getting ready. This was supposed to be casual. This was not a date. So there was no reason for you to go through the process of getting ready for a date. You didn't shave, just took a regular shower with the regular soaps.

Spent very little time in the mirror when getting dressed, there was no need for frilly shirts or form-fitting pants. Instead, you settled for a pair of ripped jeans and a hoodie that Taehyung had lost a little while back. Minimum makeup, hair up, and out of your face.

Needed to cement it in your mind that this was not a date. Steal away any reason for you to act like it was one. No matter how much you knew you'd enjoy the whole shebang, candlelit dinner, romantic walk admiring the night sky, kiss on the doorstep – you had to ignore that.

Bottle it up and stuff it down because there were many things you didn't know about Jungkook and the bits you did know weren't great. His shitty friends being at the top of the list. So, until you were sure he wasn't like the lot of them... not dates were what you'd settle for. Because at the end of the day, you wanted to see him.

It's a thirty-minute drive from your house to Jungkook's and you spend the entire car ride agonizing on how this 'not date' was going to turn out. And then immediately scolding yourself for freaking out over something that shouldn't matter as much as you were making it out to be.

For all you knew, he probably was just waking up... barely remembering that he had plans with you. Most likely hopping in the shower just minutes before you were said to arrive. Mmh, Jungkook in the shower. Droplets of water rolling over his tone skin, following the dips and ridges until...

It's hard to shake the image of Jungkook showering out of your head once you've got it there. Even with his insistent need to wear baggy clothes, it didn't take a detective to see that the kid was ripped. No doubt spent hours in the gym working on his arms, his abs, his thighs...

Nope. Not going there. No reason to go there when you were on your way to hang out, innocently hang out with a guy that you were just barely friends with. That's all it was. Two people getting to know each other after clicking the first time they talked. God, the way you clicked with Jungkook was unbelievable.

He made you laugh. And it was weird because you don't remember ever feeling this comfortable around someone this quickly. Jungkook was different. At least you hoped he was. Instantly, you're shushing your thoughts. Refusing to mentally put so much pressure on something that more than likely become nothing.

Getting your hopes up too early was the reason why people got hurt in the first place. So this wasn't a date. And you weren't going to expect him to treat it as such. Just hanging out to get to know each other. That was it.

That was it. Your new mantra as you shove your car into park, heading up the walkway to his front door. Knocking while repeating those four words to yourself. Casual. That was it.

You're not even waiting a full minute before the front door is being pulled open, revealing a fresh-looking Jungkook. Dark hair falling in pretty waves, on either side of his pretty face. He seems to be glowing and you feel it throughout your entire body when he smiles.

A baggy pink sweatshirt swallows his figure, paired with equally loose gray sweatpants. His house is spotless when he lets you in, obvious that he spent the duration of the morning cleaning. The smell of Lysol still lingered in the air. Even the white socks on his feet seemed oddly clean.

You can't help but smile at the effort, allowing yourself to believe that all the trouble was for you.

Once he's setting your shoes in his extremely organized coat closet, he's leading you through the house. Smiling big as he gives you a mini-tour of the first floor and you swear you're paying attention. You're trying your best at least, but it's hard to concentrate on anything that wasn't how cute he looked.

“And this is the arcade,” He's showing off both rows of teeth with his broad gesture into the room located at the end of the hall. Obviously proud of this part of the tour.

As he should be. When the kid said arcade, that's exactly what he meant. Old school game machines lined the walls, ones that you'd actually find in an arcade. Some games that you've never heard of before. All with the high score name: 'Koo'. A dramatic two-person car racing game tucked in the corner.

There's a curved 90 inch TV mounted on the wall, in front of it on a stand is every game console ever made. He has his laptop set up in the room, with two monitors and two gaming chairs in front of it. In the middle of the room is the most comfortable L shaped couch.

All you can say is, “Whoa.” And he's laughing at your reaction.

“It's my favorite room in the house. Well... aside from,” His eyes shift up, obviously gesturing to upstairs where his bedroom is.

The insinuation has a blush darkening your cheeks, but you choose to ignore it, stepping further into the room with a tiny gasp. “You have Skee-ball!?” He's right behind you as you rush across to the room to where the game is set up. A manicured nail pressing against the start button, grinning wide up at him as the balls roll down.

Bright red numbers flash on the screen, the high score followed by his name: 310...Koo. A smirk instantly settling onto your features as you reach for one of the bright-colored balls. “I'm gonna beat that,” Lifting a finger to point at the numbers on the screen.

Jungkook is letting a loud laugh leave his lips, a pretty smile settling on his features as the sound dies down. “That took me two weeks... good luck,” Drawing your hand back, you release the ball on the swing. Watching as it travels upward toward the slots, dropping right into the gutter.

It takes four throws before you're getting it right, the ball traveling up the slope and directly into the 40 point slot. You're letting out a loud whoop, arms lifting in slight victory.

Eyes wide, you're turning your head to face him. “You saw that!?” You're shocked that he's already looking at you. With this soft lovey look that you were the one to hang the stars in the sky. And it makes you wish that this was a date because if it were you'd be able to let yourself enjoy the feeling that comes with the way that he's looking at you.

But it's not a date. So you don't. Shove the fuzzy feeling away with a shake of your head, reaching for another ball from the rack and thrusting it forward.

FEBRUARY 22ND, 2020 | 18:08

Jungkook is scary good at games. Like scary good. If he wasn't matching your score, he was doubling it. Didn't even graze his high score in Skee-ball and every game after that was his domain. And he was having fun beating you, the smile growing on his face each time you were crossing your arms with a pout – claiming the game had to be rigged.

Foosball to Car Racing to Dance Dance Revolution (he had way more rhythm than you'd expect). You've settled down quite a bit since you first showed up at his house, finding it easy to relax around him. He was cute when he got competitive, not like you were much of a competition in these games... but it was nice to see him like this.

The scrunch of his nose as he focused on the screen. The cute dimples that popped out whenever he won. And how he mindlessly sat close to you, engulfing you in his sweet scent. There was just something about being with Jungkook that made you feel at ease, could someone who made you that comfortable really be as bad as his trash friends?

His shoulder brushes against yours as he settles further into the comfort of his couch, his thumbs moving over the controller quickly. Implementing combo after to defeat your character. In the fourth round of Mortal Kombat and you've only one once.

“Hey! You said you'd let me win,” He's laughing, not even letting your character get up before the large K.O. letters appear on the screen and his person is giving their little victory remark. A dramatic huff leaves your lips, the controller being tossed to the side to cross your arms over your chest.

All he wants to do is lean in and kiss that pout off your lips. Has wanted to kiss you since he beat you in table tennis. You're so pretty and he can't hold back from moving closer to you, guiding your movements just so he can have an excuse to touch you. And he doesn't miss the way you blush. The cute giggles that you let out when he flirts with you. Making him want to flirt with you more just so he can hear the sound.

“I tried,” He speaks through a laugh, taking in the skeptical look on your face. “I did! You're just so bad,” His eyes watch your fingers move around the controller, switching the screen to the character choice.

Gasping when his words sink in, landing dainty punches onto his shoulder. “You're mean! Rematch. I'm not bad,” Jungkook's pressing start on the game as soon as you both have picked your characters, leaning back against the couch as he instantly starts trying out combos on you.

Your whines and protests are cute. It's all he can focus on when he's supposed to be paying attention to the game. And the shout of triumph you let out when you're managing to knock his character down squeezes at his heart, he can't help but turn to look at the smile on your face.

“Look at you losing!” He's sure his health bar is at the end by now, but he can't tear his eyes away from you. In awe, because how could someone actually look like that? So effortlessly... beautiful?

The tip of your tongue poked out the corner of your lips, brows furrowed as you work hard to take him down. So wrapped in the game, you don't even realize that he had stopped playing. It's his luck too, no telling how embarrassed he'd be if he was caught staring. Yet, he can't bring himself to look away.

Not until you're jumping up excited, clapping for yourself and your win. “Did you see that?” Your body is whipping around, forcing a surprised look on his face. Worried that you might've caught the way he had been looking at you. “I just fucking destroyed you! You can't even say that was beginners luck, either.”

You're lifting your hand for a high five, which he's happily giving to you. His smile matching yours as you flop down on the couch beside him, thighs grazing over each other and he feels it in his chest. “Do you want a chance to redeem yourself?”

Not even a minute is spared for him to answer because you're already starting up a new round. He's got his game face on now, shaking himself out of the daze. “Can you believe I just kicked your butt?” There's this taunting look on your face and all he wants to do is lean over and kiss you.

He takes for teasing you instead. Noticing your ridge posture that he had commented on in your picture. “I don't know how,” A large hand reaches over to touch your back, your body automatically leaning into his touch. “Your form is all off, it had to be luck.” Just a bit of pressure is applying to your back and you're slouching forward.

With a laugh, you're rolling your eyes – reaching a hand back to swat his away. “Watch me beat you like this too. I'll even let you pick my character,” You've been using the same girl since you started playing while he's surfed through the entire catalog. He's taking you up on the offer, picking one of the bulkier characters that don't do all the jump moves you seem to love so much.

And you still beat him.

This time distracted by the frustrated rants from you whenever your guy doesn't do what you tell him to. Time runs out and he ends up having less on his health bar and you're taking that as a proper win, lifting your hand for another high five.

Jungkook congratulates you quietly, more so trying to figure out just what was going on inside his chest. He's had girls over before. In much more intimate settings than this... but never has he felt like his heart was about to burst through his chest. This unbearable feeling to be close to you and it's quickly becoming all he can think about.

You're just so pretty. And you look oddly sexy in your sweats. But it's not just that. There's something else that he can't really place that's pulling him to you. Making it hard for him to stop thinking about stupid things like holding your hand or kissing your cheek. Imagining if days like today were the norm and after he'd grow tired of playing games, you'd let him stretch out his head in your lap – playing with his hair.

And it has to be crazy because this was only the first time the two of you were alone. The late-night texts being all he had to back up knowing you, but at the same time, he felt like he knew you. Like he's known you well. He can't describe it either, but he's almost positive that you feel the same.

“Are you hungry? Should we order a pizza?” You've already whipped your phone out, reluctantly putting a bit of space between the two of you as you scroll through your phone. Jungkook is quick to agree, fingers moving over the buttons on the controller to switch the TV.

No idea why he all of a sudden feels so nervous. “Sure,” He's managing to mumble out, but you're not listening. Already putting together a pizza for both of you. “Do you, uhm... do you wanna watch a movie? Something on Netflix?” Your thumb is stilling on the screen at the mention of Netflix.

Yoongi's playful warning ringing loudly in your mind. 'Playing video games was just Netflix and Chill with more steps,'. But there was the chance that he was actually tired of playing games and wanted to watch a movie with you. It didn't have to be that serious, you had been going at it for hours.

“Yeah, go ahead. Pick something.” His body slouches back on the cushions, scanning through the movies halfheartedly before choosing a random one with a really long title. After tapping his fingers against the screen, the neon orange lights in the room are dimming. A comfortable warmth settling around you.

Jungkook watches as you take your time putting the order together. The beginning credits playing on the screen and he's not even paying attention, too busy with his eyes glued to you. “I got meat lovers, you like that, right?” Setting your phone aside, you allow yourself to sink into the comfort of the cushions.

“Mmh, my favorite.” Not a lie. It really was. And the fact that you had chose it without knowing just added to everything about you that made him want to kiss you. A small smile spreads across your lips as you nod, turning your attention to the screen in front of you.

The two of you sit side by side, watching the characters on the screen, but you're not listening. It's hard to hear over the pounding in your chest. The nervous bounce of his leg as if he was waiting for something. And you have no idea what because the pizza is no where near being on its way.

A pretty girl is in an argument with her male lead, something about debt and you're trying your hardest to follow the storyline. Although, you have no idea what this movie is and why he picked it.

It's the thick yawn from beside you that catches your attention, Jungkook's arms lifting over his head in a stretch. You don't think much of it, other than the fact that he's being a little dramatic with his stretch. Until the arm closest to you is dropping down, not at his side like it had been before but around your shoulders – gently tugging your body into his side.

“Did you just do the yawn move on me?” You can't help but laugh. Even through the darkness, you can see the pink tint on his cheeks. “Shh, this is my favorite part.” You're actually positive that he's never seen this movie before, but don't put up a fight. Instead, you let yourself lean into his chest.

He's warm. And smells like flowers. His eyes don't move from the screen as he's reaching down, soft hands reaching for the outside of your knee. Slowly, he's lifting your legs onto his lap, only glancing in your direction briefly to gauge your reaction. Leaning back when there's no sign of you wanting to move.

“Your feet are so small,” Toes curling at the random attention, you're leaning over to reach for his face attempting to pull his focus. “Don't make fun of them! What the heck?” He's laughing loudly at you, allowing you to move his head. Shifting his focus from your feet to his face.

Your fingers are cold against his warm skin, but he can't keep himself from leaning into your touch. “They're cute.” Big eyes scan over your face, smiling softly when they're landing on yours. “You're cute.”

Almost instantly, the atmosphere in the room seems to shift. And you're not sure how he did it, but the way he was looking at you, the soft whisper in his voice... you can't but melt in his strong arms. Basically sat in his lap and it's nice. Jungkook takes his time with inching forward, entering your space which has your hand falling from his face.

He's quick to replace your hand with his one your cheek, tilting your head up toward his. You're sure he's going to kiss you. It's obvious with the slight pucker of his lips, the droop of his eyes, he's tapping a rhythmic beat against your knee ten times faster than the rush of your heart. He was going to kiss you.

Jungkook was going to kiss you and it felt like you couldn't breathe. Nerves on a ten because this wasn't even supposed to be a date. And now you were in this situation and you weren't the least bit unhappy about it. You wanted him to kiss you and it's a new feeling that you don't fully understand. It freaks you out.

Just inches from your lips and your face is twisting up, head jerking back before he can reach you. “What are you doing?” Instantly hating yourself for the embarrassed look on his features that slowly morphs into a puppy dog pout.

“I was going to kiss you...” Jungkook mumbles out sheepishly, dropping his arm from your body to push his hair back. Making an effort to put some space between the two of you, trying to figure out where he had gone wrong.

Because in his mind he had done everything right. Had been making you laugh all night, set some type of mood, told you that you were cute. And you seemed to be enjoying yourself... so what was he missing?

“Why would you do that? This isn't a date, Jungkook.” The mantra that you thought you had worked into your head seemed to be slipping. Not sure when you had forgotten what this was supposed to be, but now it was all rushing back to you.

The reasons you had rejected going on an actual date with him in the first place. And the realization of how stupid you were to think that this was a proper substitute for it. No matter what you decided to call it, it didn't erase the fact that this... tonight, with him... felt like a date.

And it wasn't supposed to.

“Do you kiss all the people you just hang out with?” It's wrong to put the blame on him and only him, but you can't help it. You're a mess in your head for a plethora of reasons, because it had been obvious. How he was looking at you, his arm around you, your legs in his lap... everything that you decided to ignore.

But in the same breath, he told you this wasn't a date... so why bother with all sweet shit. Turning movies on for one reason. Maybe you were reading too deep into all of this? Maybe you were overreacting. Jungkook didn't act like his friends when he was with you, maybe he was really different.

“Oh, come on, Yn... are you being serious?” He doesn't look all too embarrassed anymore, just a little bit sad from the rejection. It's fine, though. He'll live. “Dead serious, Jungkook. You got me here saying this wasn't a date. You need to stick to that,” You felt strongly on that part.

You had told him you didn't want to go on a date with him and even though this 'not date' was literally the same thing, he shouldn't act as if you had said yes to a date. Right? He should keep his word, that way things wouldn't get messy. Like right now.

Jungkook seems to put it together in his head, nodding his head in agreement – yet, the pout doesn't leave his lips. “Alright, alright. Fine. My bad,” He's tugging at the rolls of fabric on his sweats, avoiding eye contact with you. Dark hair covering his eyes, all you can really see is the pink of his lower lip.

And you feel bad, even though you know you shouldn't. It's not like you would've hated kissing him. It was just too nerve-racking to think of doing right now. You didn't quite understand it yourself, so there was no way you could go and explain it to him.

Instead, you're extending a finger. Poking the tip of your nail into his knee. “Don't pout. Come on, you'll miss the best part.” Referring to the movie that you're both watching for the first time, but it has a smile pushing onto his lips. His head lifting and gaze shifting onto the TV screen.

“Sorry,” He mumbles out after a moment, but you're not sure if he's apologizing for the almost-kiss or something else. Either way, you're flashing a genuine smile in his direction, lifting a hand to playfully shove at his shoulder. “Don't worry about it. It's fine,”

It really was.

— known for your body and surrounded by rumors about your sex life… rumors that he doesn’t think to doubt. until he’s meeting you… forced to realize there’s much more to you then the thonged shorts and lacy costumes.

⤪ masterlist ⤨

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A/N: timestamps make sense throughout the fic. if u want to be added to the tag list, send me an ask! + if you’ve asked to be on my permanent taglist, you do not need to ask to be added to this one !!

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1kook · 4 years ago

Text

imax & climax

summary; The occasional dark horse candidate among Barbie movie binges— Jungkook gets weirdly horny and fucks you to the tune of a classic Barbie movie soundtrack. warnings; fingering, blowjobs, tit play, praise kink, standing sex, unprotected sex, reverse cowgirl kinda idk lol, daddy kink that morphs into i love u kink tags; jk is an avid history channel viewer, jk hates Barbie movies ik we took an L today girls 😔, jk goes thru like 4 personality changes (commanding > soft > mean > in love), honestly idk what to tag it’s a mess, he’s still cheesy and romantic but also 👀 just read word count; 9.8k

notes; there is no rest for the wicked, aka miss 1kook writes another part for this fic i swore wasn't gonna be a series except this time we ditch the gentlemen persona and go into maximum overdrive. its not proofread bc i wrote this entire thing at 4 am last night after inhaled a whole bucket of spicy popcorn

[ part 1 ; netflix & chill ] [ part 2 ; hulu & wohoo ]

Jungkook sees it on display during your weekly Target trip. You know he won’t say anything because despite how long you’ve dated he still likes to pretend he’s the epitome of adult maturity. Yet the way his eyes linger over the electronics section, cart rolling to a stop in front of the massive screen, tells you all you need to know.

“Baby, the toilet paper is this way,” you sing, giving the front of the cart a gentle tug that pulls it and his thoughts away from the television that seems to hold reign over his interest.

“Ah,” he mumbles as he shakes himself out of whatever trance he was in. “Right.”

The Target trip ends rather uneventfully; you grab all the items you came for and make the executive decision of swapping Jungkook’s tangerine bathroom soap with strawberry instead. Normally he’d put up a good fight, argue about the comfort that came with consistency, but today he says nothing. You chalk it up to that flatscreen that hypnotized him earlier.

“You wanted it,” you announce rather pointedly in the car. He’s backing out of the parking space now, one hand on the wheel the other pressed to the side of your seat. His jaw twitches as he tries to maneuver around a stray shopping cart someone didn’t return to the retrieval area. He’s wearing that dark jumper you like, with the high collar that covers all of last night’s bruises up wonderfully.

Jungkook scoffs as he finally gets the two of you back onto the main road, Target and the flat screen left behind. “I didn’t,” he defends. “Just thought it was neat.”

You snort. “Neat. Okay, grandpa, did it tickle your pickle?” you tease, obnoxiously leaning over the center console to get all in his face. Jungkook greets your proximity with a palm against your forehead.

“Please don’t ever say that again,” he laughs, pulling to a stop at the next red light. He turns to level you with an easygoing grin, sparkly anime girl eyes extra shiny under the red glow. “Only want you to tickle my pickle.”

You gag. “That’s actually disgusting.”

——

You graduate on a Saturday and your dorm stay expires on the Tuesday that follows. You spend the entire day shoving all your belongings into a variety of trash bags, from your weighted blanket to the collection candles you and Doyeon swore to light every night and never did. Speaking of Doyeon, she cries through the entire process. From the moment you take down the first wall decoration she’s in tears, and not even her mom, who’s come to help out, can quell her emotions. The girl cries and cries. She cries throughout the clean up, like she hadn’t spent the week before cursing the funky aircon system to hell and back. It’s probably the nostalgia that comes with leaving college, you assume. When Jungkook picks you up around noon, even your eyes are glassy.

Jungkook’s mom, who you only just met a few months ago, is over at his place when you arrive. You get along fairly well, in fact, you would even go as far as to claim you got along really well. You had first met her over this past spring break when Jungkook invited you along to his family trip to some tropical island. The Jeons were lovely people. In fact, had Jungkook not explicitly introduced them as his parents, you would’ve thought they were some sitcom actors carrying out the role of most in love, sophisticated lovers to ever exist. Yeah, they were super into each other, and you suppose it’s why Jungkook is the way he is, loves as hard as he does. The only thing that broke their attention away from each other was the sight of their precious Jungkookie bringing you to a family event.

It was hard to keep them entertained. Every second was spent worrying about your appearance, your demeanor, whether or not you looked like a devil beside their (your) angelic boy. It certainly didn’t help that Jungkook was wearing that obnoxiously floral shirt at the restaurant you went to, the first three buttons undone almost lazily. It was a look your boyfriend rarely showed, always so meticulously dressed. Of course, he had that cute boyish style of his that consisted almost exclusively of baggy pants and designer tee’s a little too plain to cost as much as they did. But even those outfits had a specific Jungkook rhythm to them— the darker tones always went with the pants that had twelve buckles on them; the long sleeves always went with the jeans. He was awfully particular about those kinds of self-set rules, and this jarring floral print did not fit any of them. It was too provocative, the black skinny jeans he’d paired with it too devious.

Maybe he knew what he was doing to you dressed so hot like this, but knowing Jungkook, you doubt he did. His parents hadn’t batted a single lash his way, eyes laser focused on your every word as you stumbled through three plates and dessert. It was a battle you fought alone, and one you barely survived.

So despite you impressing his parents, she still gives you an odd look when you enter Jungkook’s swanky townhouse with all your garbage bags of items. You promise her it’s just for the weekend, until your parents clean out your old room that they’ve filled to the brim with holiday decorations and miscellaneous objects. You’re not trying to take her baby chick out of the nest. (Yet.)

You watch TV for a couple hours, mostly her favorite soap operas on his 67 in. screen. It takes up a huge spot on the wall where it’s mounted, glossy black screen glaring back at you. Even his mom scolds him for such a huge screen, and you wonder how she’d feel about the absolute giant he ogled at the Target last week. Super angry, you think, and the image of her raging in flames while Jungkook apologizes like the momma’s boy he is makes you giggle.

She leaves a little after sunset, kissing and hugging the both of you on the doorstep like she’s going off to war and will never return. She’ll be back by the weekend, desperate to check on her baby boy, but you let her have her moment. It’s weird seeing how dramatic the Jeons are compared to how reserved Jungkook is.

You pounce on him the second she’s gone. He goes down with a muffled yelp against the sofa, hands grasping at your waist until you straddle him and begin going to town. Your fun lasts all of two minutes before the old lady novella Jungkook’s mom had been watching cuts to commercials and a loud advertisement for irritable bowel syndrome medication begins playing.

“Oh, that is so not sexy,” you whine childishly, trying to roll your hips over him again. Jungkook laughs, all low and sweet as he sits back up again.

“Give it a rest,” he says, shifting you until he’s got you hugged between those stupidly strong arms of his. His pecs feel strong and comforting beneath your cheek, and the feeling makes your tiny pouting session end earlier than usual. “Come on,” he mumbles as he manhandles you around, until your back is pressed against his chest and you’re sitting between his legs. “Let’s watch this film on Mesopotamian folklore and its overall significance to the nations it birthed after its downfall.”

——

You rarely use the key Jungkook gifted you a few months back. The majority of your visits to Jungkook’s house were either the result of Jungkook picking you up from somewhere and bringing you back, or Jungkook inviting you over after dinner. In short, he was always with you when you arrived at his stoop.

Today you’re alone, juggling two boxes of takeout and some cheap wine in one hand as you fight to unlock his door. He hadn’t answered his phone, which leads you to believe he’s holed himself up again in that damn study. He likes to do that sometimes, lock himself away like some modern day Rapunzel until he finishes whatever project he has this time around. When he gets like this, it’s like all other body functions are forgotten, his brain zeroed in on the lines of code you barely understand.

Just as you suspect, the house is too dark when you finally break in. The hall light is off, which isn’t out of the norm, but so are the kitchen and living room lights. You pad down the hall, flicking on the light to the living room to set down your offerings onto the edge of the coffee table. There’s a scrambled pile of notes on top that seem too disorderly to disregard. You whirl around, making to head back out into the hall and down to the study, when you see it.

A good 90 inches mounted on his wall. It’s a monstrosity of a screen, devouring nearly the entire surface of the wall, from stainless end to stainless end. It’s ridiculously thin in the way all modern TVs are, but this one is even more so given the fact you hadn’t registered it in your peripheral when you walked in. It’s just barely short of a Jumbotron, the kind they have at baseball games to make sure you can see every nose hair on the pitcher.

His mom was going to kill him.

“Jungkook?” you call out slowly, inching back out into the hall with your gaze glued to the screen. Like maybe you’ve imagined this all and that isn’t the stupidly gigantic television screen Jungkook had gawked at just a few weeks ago.

There’s a soft hum down the hall, the sound slipping beneath the bottom gap in the door frame. You make a beeline for the room, oddly unsettled with the huge screen. The door gives way, exposing your boyfriend’s hunched back and the blue light from his monitors that highlights his frame. “Hi, sweetie,” you begin, inching over to him.

“Hi,” he sighs, leaning back into your touch when you step behind him. His dark eyes are weary from staring at his tablet for too long, his usual tender expression melted into one of mild irritation. “Can’t figure this out,” he says, tapping his stylus against one line of absolute nerd gibberish you don’t bother trying to decipher. Maybe another day you would have entertained him, but today you cherish this moment with him knowing it might be his last before his mom comes over and kills him.

“Sounds like break time to me!” Your proclamation makes him frown, a frustrated groan pulling itself from his lips. His head droops forward again, chin touching his chest. But there’s a hint of relief in his groan that tells you all you need to know. “Baby needs a break,” you smile, pressing a peck against the back of his head.

“You’re baby,” he tries to fight, but his limbs are so pliant under your touch that it practically means nothing. “I’m the head honcho around here.”

“Uh huh,” you appease him, finally managing to tug all that muscled body out of his seat. “And apparently that means making dumb purchases.”

“What dumb purchases? Are you talking about the cactus again?” he asks, letting you guide him back down the hall.

“Yes, Kook, the cactus you haven’t watered in three months,” you drawl sarcastically, the sad plant sitting in the kitchen a reminder of both your incompetence. “Namjoon would hate you for that.”

Not amused by the insinuation of his favorite senpai being disappointed in him, Jungkook goes to fight you on that. By then you’ve stopped at the entrance of the living room, glaring at the straight up theater screen that sits on the wall. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” you mimic, flopping down on the ground beside the coffee table. Jungkook doesn’t follow, choosing to sprawl himself over the couch instead. “What’s with the Jumbotron?”

He stretches his arms out, moaning something sinful at the way his bones pop. “It adds to the experience,” he says. “Movies are more enjoyable when the pictures are bigger; a tall aspect ratio and stadium seating really add to the experience.” He was such a nerd.

You snort. “The experience— Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t know I was speaking to Mr. IMAX here.”

His cheeks flush a soft pink at your jab. “Don’t be mean,” he mumbles, tugging on your arm as he sits back up. You find your way onto his lap, neatly seated over one thigh like he’s the Santa Claus at the mall; not a single gray hair in sight but you’d still let him call you his hoe, hoe, hoe. Realizing there’s more important matters to attend to than Jungkook’s Christmas ham, you shake those images away.

“Good thing I brought a movie,” you beam, gesturing to the pretty pink case resting over top the takeout bag.

Jungkook doesn’t even spare it a single glance as he burrows into your neck. “What? No, we’re finishing the docuseries on—“

You groan loudly to muffle the rest of his sentence. “Kook, I don’t wanna watch another episode on Stonehenge being done by aliens,” you whine, picking up the movie case to brandish in his face.

It’s admittedly the wrong move when Jungkook’s eyes roll themselves into another dimension. “Absolutely not,” he says. The case is quickly discarded off to the side as he attempts to distract you with a kiss against your cheek.

Too bad you’re evil and determined. “No! We are watching the Princess and the Pauper and that’s final,” you exclaim, scrambling for the movie before he can hurl it out the window. He catches you by the waist, your fingers just an inch away from the pink case. “Babe!” you cry, but his fingerprints are bruising their way into your skin.

“No more Barbie movies,” he begs, yanking you back onto his lap. He does so with so much force that it makes the two of you tumble to the side, your head bouncing on the cushions as he catches himself over you. “Please.”

“I hate you,” you fuss, pointedly ignoring the tiny mole beneath his lip that drove you crazy. “We’ve seen every single thing on the History Channel this week, but we can’t watch one Barbie movie?”

Jungkook sighs, dropping his head down against your shoulder. He smells good and feels even better over you, but you’re not going to stop until the Princess and the Pauper is breaking in the new Jumbotron. “It’s weird,” he huffs, voice muffled against the fabric of your shirt. “Especially when we start getting… experimental, and I have to listen to Barbie sing in the background.”

“First of all, her name is Annaleise in this movie,” you correct, squirming beneath him to no avail. “Secondly, how do you think I feel when you’re eating me out while some old British dude narrates the creation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?”

Jungkook scoffs, finally letting himself snuggle completely into you. “You don’t even realize it because you’re screaming the whole way through.” That earns him a sharp tug at his ear that has him sputtering apology after apology.

“It’s boring!” you feel the need to emphasize.

Jungkook sits up with an uppity look on his face. “It’s not my fault you don’t appreciate the cinematography that comes from educational pieces,” he points out, rather presumptuously.

You shove him off of you. “I don’t care about cinnamon topography, just play the damn Barbie movie,” you hiss, swiping the movie case from the other end of the couch and pressing it to his chest. If words could hurt, yours definitely do. Jungkook crumbles against the couch, childishly stomping one sock-clad foot against the ground as you gesture toward the movie player.

He doesn’t move, and you’re about to begin another tirade against his snobby movie critiquing habits when he procures a sleek, tiny remote that you would honestly mistake for an iPhone from a distance. It has, no joke, about seven buttons max, four of which are just the up and down, left and right arrows. You let out a low whistle at that. Wow. Technology sure was advancing.

The TV turns on to some minimalistic home page, tiny widgets showing every app it has; the bottom row is dedicated almost entirely to Jungkook’s massive streaming service provider collection. After a moment of brewing in his feels, Jungkook quietly announces, “it’s on Amazon Prime.” This is news to you, being able to watch a Barbie film on a streaming service and not the old disk you scratched when you were ten. Something distinctly carnal flashes in your chest when Jungkook clicks through all the payment options without a care in the world. Oh, that was definitely going into your horny 3 am dreams.

Despite his earlier protests, you know Jungkook will soon fall into his usual movie watching habits. He settles into the couch beside you. You cuddle up next to him, enveloping him with the grip of a killer octopus choking out its prey, except Jungkook is usually the one doing the choking in this relationship. Still, it’s not close enough, and you throw your legs over his thigh. You’re practically sitting on him at this point.

You have no doubt the speakers on this thing are average; it was too thin to really pack any punch. However, that was the TV sans the Bluetooth speakers Jungkook has installed all around his house.

(You swear when the android uprising finally begins, your boyfriend will be the first one out.)

The speakers really amplify the sound. The opening sequence has your bones rattling inside your body, the loud music of the selection screen reverberating through the entire living room. It reminds you of that pounding COMING SOON clip that used to play at the beginning of DVD’s back in the day. Jungkook scrambles to lower the volume. “Sweetheart, you’re cutting off my circulation,” he wheezes afterwards.

“What? This is how we always watch movies,” you say with a frown.

“Yes, and I always end up with less oxygen than before.”

He doesn’t let you argue, which is good, because you could make a thirty five slide PowerPoint presentation on the advantages of watching movies like this. One, your boyfriend was warm. Two, your boyfriend smelt good. Three, your boyfriend’s ripped body awoke some ancient being inside of you that would not rest until his cock was halfway down your thro—

He hauls you into his lap. The angle forces you to let him go, instead met with the jarring nothingness of having his hot body ripped away. Meanwhile he gets to wrap you up in his arms, hold you like a teddy bear to his chest. “I hate this,” you huff, but the movie is already starting, the beautiful blonde Anneliese appearing on screen. You lean back against his chest, pout still evident. “This is ridiculous,” you snort, her face blown up on this jumbo screen.

“Shut up,” he says, settling in behind you. “Movie’s starting.”

Most Barbie movies you watch end up in one of two ways: either Jungkook falls asleep twenty minutes in or he stays up until the end to critique every aspect of it. With the way he’d gone soft from your early battle, you’re guessing he was going to knock out before the Princess can even meet the Pauper.

As much as you hate to admit it, the huge screen does incite quite a thrill in you. There’s something so nostalgic about watching one of your favorite childhood movies on a screen this huge. The size showcases the sheer perfection that is every single Barbie movie. You lose yourself in the movie, singing along to the opening song and growing agitated when the antagonist appears.

Jungkook says nothing, and you’re half convinced he’s taken his first preferred route and snoozed off, when his fingers twitch around your waist.

There it was.

The occasional dark horse candidate among Barbie movie binges— Jungkook gets weirdly horny and fucks you to the tune of a classic Barbie movie soundtrack.

“Absolutely not,” you say, slapping a hand down over his before he can slip beneath the fabric of your shorts.

He lets out an indignant noise, a puff of air running along the side of your face. You ease his hands back over your stomach, taking extra care to knot your fingers with his. “We’re supposed to be breaking in your new screen,” you remind him, glancing up to catch his unimpressed expression.

He complains quietly, but he settles.

For all of twenty seconds.

“Oh my god,” you sigh, trying to act like the subtle rutting of his cock on your behind was a nuisance and not the luxury it is. “Babe, the jumbo screen… look at it.”

“Not even jumbo,” he murmurs against your ear, hot breath sending a shiver down your spine that has your toes curling. You fight to keep his hands still, but the muscles in his forearm tense, inked skin contracting as he slips them between your thighs. You suck in a sharp inhale, trying to maintain your immovable front. Jungkook sees the fortress you’ve built around yourself in the name of watching The Princess and the Pauper, and spares you no mercy with his attack. His hands massage the skin of your thighs, tiny shorts doing absolutely nothing to save you from him. “Jumbo didn’t fit.”

The back of your mind registers the fact he was apparently trying to get a TV even bigger than this. You tuck it away for later to snitch to his mom. For now, you’d very much appreciate it if he could make you cum before the two girls perform the iconic “I Am a Girl Like You” song.

His hands are so smooth, soft skin tracing over your body like you were nothing but a slab of clay ready to be molded under his touch. He abandons your thighs to creep them under your shirt, where he wastes no time tugging the cups of your bra down to fondle your breasts.

Belatedly, your stupid tongue remembers to move. “I know something jumbo that fits,” you babble, rolling your head back against his shoulder. Jungkook laughs at the utter stupidity of your sentence, and the aforementioned jumbo thing fattens against your ass, before brushing his lips against yours. The airy laughter, one of your favorite sounds in the world, is swallowed up by your greedy mouth. “Can fit in two places, actually,” you murmur when he pulls away. His fingers massage the doughy skin of your boobs causing your back to arch slightly. “Wherever he wants it to.”

“Really,” Jungkook teases, obviously entertained by your silly dirty talk. He’s grown used to your outlandish remarks in the past few months of your relationship.

You like to believe Jungkook has fully accepted your occasional bouts of weirdness. He’s had the last few months to grow familiar with the inner workings of your mind, and even absorbed some of it into his own personality. Which is why he doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by you referring to his cock as jumbo, when there were admittedly more fitting words to describe it as.

(Thick, juicy, angry, demon cock, if he really wanted to know.)

“Where do you think it should go?” he asks, the low hum of his voice snapping you out or your thoughts. There was no need to daydream about a cock that was right in front of you. His hands slow their gentle caress over you, fingers closing in on your nipples.

A sharp hiss pulls itself from your throat, chest arching as he tugs and toys with your hardened nipples. “Wh-Wherever,” you pant, reaching your own hands down back between your thighs. The phantom of his palms linger, making your hands feel sorely inadequate. “Wherever Daddy wants,” you purr, swallowing harshly when he twists a nipple.

Jungkook groans, resting his forehead against your shoulder. “Don’t,” he sighs, hands faltering over your breasts. Eventually they drift away, settling around your waist as you slip your fingers under the front of your bottoms.

“Why?” you laugh, pointer finger brushing along your clit. “Don’t like it when I call you that, Daddy?”

He lifts his head to watch you play with yourself. His hands grow tight around your waist, labored breath filling the air to harmonize with your breathy moans. You’re absolutely soaking your panties, sticky arousal making the fabric stick to your folds. “You know I do,” he murmurs, watching the outline of your knuckles through the fabric of your shorts. “Thought you wanted to play nice today.” He takes in a sharp inhale when you ease your finger into yourself, a breathy moan escaping from your lips.

You were already so wet, and you’re really not surprised this is how the two of you would break in his new IMAX, high definition flatscreen. Your pussy tightens around your finger, thigh muscles jumping at the intrusion. Fuck, you needed him so bad.

You smirk, drawing your hands out from their hiding spot. The television is the only thing lighting the room, the two of you shrouded in relative darkness. At first, your hand is shadowed by the glow of the screen, nothing more than an outline. But when you turn it just right, the light catches, highlighting the glistening skin of your fingers. It makes Jungkook shudder.

Ever so slowly, you bring your fingers up to his face. The tip of your middle finger runs teasingly against his plump lower lip, his shaky exhales sending a cool breath over your knuckles. “Open, Daddy,” you encourage, watching with rapt attention as he envelopes your fingers between his lips. He sucks, tongue dancing between each digit to slurp off your juices. “Do I taste good? Do you like it?”

You know he loves it, but it never hurts to ask.

Between the two of you, you each had your own share of distinctive interests when it came to sex. Kinks, if you will. You adored the softer, vanilla aspects of sex— the languid makeouts, the slow rutting against his thigh, the whispered praise, the cute pet names. Meanwhile, despite his initially reserved exterior, Jungkook preferred the other end of the spectrum. (You should’ve known from the get go!) He loved it fast and hard, so hard it would make you cry. He liked watching you squirm and beg for his cock while he pushed you to new heights. He liked the sticky, sweaty sex that left you feeling like a used rag beneath him, something you would have never expected given his neat and kind nature.

However, as with all things Jungkook, you always came first. Jungkook’s dream sex style was often pushed to the side in favor of pleasuring you. So quick and rough sex was more of a rare, once in a blue moon, type of luxury. Up until recently, sex had been mostly what you wanted. Either way you did things, Jungkook was fine as long as he got to hold you close.

It was only a few weeks ago that you discovered your shared daddy kink, him obsessed with the idea of shoving you around, something he would otherwise never do. You, on the other hand, found a pleasant satisfaction from being good for him, a stark contrast from your usual sharp tongue and nonexistent filter.

You pull your fingers from his mouth, the sleek drip of your arousal replaced with his saliva. Jungkook grunts as he hauls you further onto his lap, swollen cock nudging itself between your cheeks. “You know I love it, baby,” he growls against your ear. His hot breath fans over your skin, sending shivers down your spine. “Have you had your fun now?” he asks, tracing the pads of his fingers around your nipple teasingly.

“Mhm,” you moan. Jungkook’s hands decide they’re done toying with your tits, drifting back down to their original target between your shorts. “Want Daddy to fuck me now.”

He places a kiss against the side of your neck, right over the vein that runs beneath the skin. Jungkook kisses and nips down your skin, until his hair is tickling your collarbones as he sucks a hickey against the juncture between your neck and shoulder. “Is that the right way to ask for something?” he purrs, rubbing your cunt over your shorts.

It’s nowhere near as fulfilling as it would be without the garments. Nonetheless, it makes you ache for him, thighs quivering at the simple touch like you’re a bumbling virgin being touched for the first time. You’re nowhere near that, but every time with Jungkook was exhilarating enough to the point it felt like it was.

“Pretty please,” you pant, covering his hand with yours.

Jungkook rewards you with a fluttery kiss against your shoulder. “Good girl,” he hums. He finally gives you what you want, bypassing the fabric of your shorts and panties to dip his fingers between your folds. You gasp, hips jumping at the sudden brush of his hands along your quivering folds.

“Inside please,” you whimper, knees moving back and forth, only stopping when he helps you out of your bottoms. He places his free hand on one of them, stilling your writhing to fully focus on pleasing the burning fire inside of you. “Jungkook—“

A slap against your cunt that makes you squeal. “Ah ah,” he warns, voice a low tenor against your skin. If you focus hard enough, you can feel the faint brush of a smirk against your neck. “We’re playing a different game right now, pretty girl.”

On screen, your favorite childhood movie is bearing witness to the sinful acts at your boyfriend’s hands. It shouldn’t be surprising how easily you fall into his arms, onto his lap, especially with your history of movie watching with Jungkook.

From your very first date you were enamored with him; the dip of his Cupid’s bow, so innocent and cute, embodied every single aspect of his personality. He was the sweetest, softest boy, one your brain could never conjure in a thousand years. Jungkook’s level of care was hard to come by nowadays; he was a gentleman through and through.

These days he was growing out of that mature persona, and you like to think it’s thanks to you. Your wildness rubbed off on him, made him confident enough to geek out in public, or be adventurous in private. It helped nourish his impulsivity, which led to things like the Super Bowl Jumbotron watching you fuck now.

Despite knowing all this, knowing the way he is, the slow grind against your ass sends a thrill of arousal up your limbs, sensations converging just beneath your mound. “Yes, Daddy,” you mewl accordingly.

Pleased with your obedience, he rewards you by circling your throbbing clit with his thumb. It’s a terribly slow motion, pad of his finger easing over your engorged bud every other second. You wanted more, needed more. You squirm beneath him, attempting to push your clit against his palm. Your efforts are in vain when he clamps a hand down on your waist. “Sit still,” he growls.

You whimper. “Need more,” you rasp out. Your whole body is acting out now, shifting and turning as you try to wiggle closer. Your mouth brushes against his jawline. The sharp angle is the first thing your muddled thoughts focus on, lips hungrily latching onto his porcelain skin to suck a purple blossom onto it.

Any other day Jungkook would bask in the attention, let you bruise his skin up until he was violet from love.

Today... well.

You were playing a different game.

The hand that had been exploring your nether regions suddenly snaps up, catching your chin between his fingers. The wetness that has coated his digits smears messily across your skin, and you whimper when he squishes your cheeks beneath his fingers.

“No ‘please’?” he huffs, turning your head to meet his eyes.

Dark chocolate eyes you’ve come to associate with love and adoration stare back at you unimpressed. His pronounced brow bone twitches, like he’s holding the true intensity of his glare back for your own sake. He slots his mouth against yours with no warning, tongue pushing its way past your lips. It’s messy, his tongue licking into your mouth like you’re nothing but a lollipop for him to suck on. It pulls a surprised moan from your lips that he swallows quickly enough, biting down on your lower lip harshly. When he pulls away, he’s got that same bored look on his face. You feel small under such a cold look, shoulders scrunching up damn near your ears in a subtle attempt to hide from him.

The action makes Jungkook scoff as he leans away from you. He leaves you on his lap alone, like a tiny island desperate to join the main land. You shuffle around in a hurry, looping your arms around his neck in a last ditch effort to calm him down. It does nothing for Jungkook, who only prods his tongue along his cheek as he regards you with a calculating gaze.

After a moment, he finally says, “on your knees.”

Your heart falls out of your chest. “Huh?” you whisper hoarsely, wide eyes taking in his unimpressed expression. “Knees? But Daddy,” you whine, lower lip quivering as you glance down at the hardwood floor.

Anywhere else you wouldn’t have minded. In fact, anywhere else you would’ve been on the floor before the sentence even left his mouth. You loved sucking his dick almost as much as he loved eating you out. However your knees were embarrassingly frail against hard flooring, which is why most blowjobs had been administered in the comfort of his bed or the couch. Sometimes on carpeted surfaces, but Jungkook never pushed when he knew you would be aching the whole time.

Which is why his current demand has you standing stiff. “O-On the floor?” you murmur.

The stark truth was that Jungkook had you terribly spoiled. His constant pampering had convinced you you were invincible. His love was practically handed to you on a silver plate, cloth napkin folded like a crane beside it. He had never made you do something you didn’t like, and he had never put you in an uncomfortable position, mentally or physically.

Until now.

Jungkook gestures for the ground with a curt nod. “Is there a problem?” he inquires.

You look back again, eye the dark wood planks beneath you, glossed over enough to make them shine even in this weak light. “No,” you belatedly respond, slowly pushing yourself off his lap and onto your feet. Your big shirt falls back down, covers the tops of your thighs as you stand nude from the waist down. You’re tempted to just yank it down even more, hide beneath the cloth so he doesn’t have to see you whine and bitch about your knees aching.

Jungkook was so cool. He was so suave and composed. He was the opposite of you, which is why the two of you meshed so well together. You’ve thought about it about ten times tonight, but it was true. Despite all that, there were times his mature exterior made you feel small— small and silly. Like now, with him sitting against the sofa, dark eyes tracing up your legs in amusement.

You sink to the ground, very pointedly avoiding his gaze. The wooden slats are cold and hard beneath your knees, your kneecap immediately screaming in discomfort. Jungkook leans forward with his elbows on his knees, messy curls covering half of his face. “You know,” he hums, reaching out to trail his knuckles across your cheekbone. “I kinda like having you like this,” he admits, “below me like the good little girl you are.”

Your breath stutters as it leaves your lungs, fidgeting hands tugging at the front hem of your shirt in a feeble attempt to cover yourself up. Jungkook smirks at the movement, eventually retracting his hand to give you one, condescending pat on the head.

A hearty sigh escapes his lips as he settles back onto the couch cushions. “Keep me entertained, will you?” You gawk, but you know it’s not a question. He reaches over for the remote to turn the volume up on the Barbie movie.

Your favorite song on the entire soundtrack is playing, almost mocking you as you shuffle closer to him. Two hands tentatively placed on his thighs as the two animated maidens flounce around the screen. He doesn’t bat a single lash your way, eyes focused on the huge screen behind you instead.

His sweatpants give away easily, elastic band snapping away from hips. You have to fight that and his boxers down, Jungkook sitting like an immovable boulder in front of you. You barely manage to free his cock— the same jumbo cock you had referred to earlier —and it almost slaps you across the face from the force of its recoil. Your breath catches in your throat, a short-lived squeal as you flinch at the movement.

The sound causes him to look your way, over the bridge of his nose. “Do you mind?” he says scornfully. “I’m trying to watch a movie.”

“S-Sorry,” you stammer, quickly grasping his cock between your fist.

But apparently you’re doing everything wrong tonight. Jungkook hisses. “Shit— would it kill you to lick it first? Like you’re trying to start a damn fire on my cock,” he mumbles, head lolling back to watch the screen again.

You move in slower this time, careful to lick your palm before trying to grab him. When you do, it’s even more delayed, fingers hesitantly tightening around his swollen member. You’re trying to gauge his reaction, worried eyes flickering up to him every few seconds. Jungkook doesn’t object, craning his neck to the side to crack a joint there. With his clearance you carry on.

The strokes are slow at first, hand barely reaching over his tip like he likes. You’re weirdly anxious you’ll mess up for him, make him look at you with contempt. You suppose it’s because of the game you’re playing that you’re on edge. Usually, Jungkook adheres to your rules, soft as they may be, and he never pushes where you don’t want. Tonight, it’s like you’re a show dog desperate to impress her owner. In short, you were his bitch.

You loved it.

As much as you wanted to be good for him, the mere thought of your normally sweet-hearted boyfriend glaring down at you does something to you, makes your pussy clench.

It’ll haunt you for weeks. The image of such unimpressed eyes leveled your way because you couldn’t handle his dick will stain the insides of your eyelids. Even though he’ll brush it off, kiss you and tell you it’s fine, the inner conceited hoe in you will never let it go, will recall the memory every time your hand is under your panties.

Still, you’re terribly desperate to impress him. He was your other half, your lover, your sweetheart, your goddamn king; he deserved only the best— not some half-assed, scaredy-cat blowjob that would leave him reeling back afterwards.

With that belief and a sticky blob of spit later, you’re pushing him into your throat. It’s the first reaction you get since he’d started feeling you up, a deep, raspy groan straight from the pits of hell, that has you working even harder to swallow his cock down. “That’s it,” he pants, carding his fingers through your hair. “Good girl.”

You positively mewl under the praise, tongue growing heavy in your mouth as you swallow more and more of him down. The hard tip of his cock pulses inside, rubbing against your palate and then your throat. A gag catches in your throat, one you quickly subdue by shifting your hips.

Fuck, he was so big. Just the feeling of his cock brashly rubbing against the corners of your lips has you fantasizing about how he’ll undoubtedly stretch your pussy apart later. You moan, letting your eyes flutter shut as you try to wave those images away.

When his cock hits the back of your throat, you’re ten chapters deep into an erotic novel all about sucking Jungkook‘s dick. If your eyes weren’t already shut you’re certain they’d be at the back of your head anyway. It twitches against your tongue, one thick bead of precum sliding down your throat.

It seems to be the final straw for Jungkook, who clamps a hand down on the back of your head, forcefully pulling you away only to shove you down again. With his grip in your hair, he really goes to town. You whimper at his brutal movements, his cock nudging the back of your throat with every harsh tug of your hair. The slippery, wet glide of his cock against your mouth fills the room with a lewd squelching that drowns out the movie.

Your pussy quivers with each new intrusion, thighs pressing together as if that will quell the searing ache between them. It doesn’t, and when Jungkook finally bursts in your mouth, creamy cum splattering against your tongue and lips, it only grows.

“Fuck,” he growls, pushing you away as he sinks back into the cushions. His chest heaves beneath the material of his t-shirt, sweat dripping down from his hairline. Normally, you’d take this opportunity to crawl back onto his lap, lick and kiss away at his body while he recovered. But truthfully, you were both still new to this whole experience so there were still the occasional lulls between actions.

Sensing your uncertainty, Jungkook tugs you onto his lap. He presses one soft kiss against your cheek, eyes momentarily losing their hard edge to assure you everything is fine. You give him a tiny nod, as if assuring him you’re okay. He presses his mouth to yours, plush lips soothing over your raw lips. It’s brief, the kiss; he guides you through it but switches back quickly. He pulls away and bites down harshly on the side of your neck. “So perfect for me, pretty girl,” he murmurs, soothing his bite over with a swipe of his tongue.

You dissolve into a mushy puddle on his lap, muscles growing weak from his touch. Jungkook kisses down your neck, over your t-shirt clad chest, before he’s nudging you back down onto the cushions. With him looming over you, your body instinctively has you spreading your legs apart. His t-shirt comes up with one yank over his shoulders, sinewy muscles coming into view.

“Yum,” you whisper, hands reaching up to trail over his v-line. They’re quickly slapped away, a startled gasp pulled from your lips as Jungkook takes your wrists in his hands.

One shapely brow is raised in your direction. “Did I say you could touch?” he murmurs, pinning your hands above your head. A gasp catches in your throat from his close proximity. You subconsciously tilt your head up, try to brush your mouth against his, only to be denied with a subtle turn of his face. “How do you want it, pretty?” he asks, releasing the tight grip around your wrists.

Immediately, you latch around his broad shoulders, fingers tracing over the muscles of his arms until they meet at the base of his neck. “However you want,” you purr, pulling him closer until your bodies are aligned, the warm heat of his frame over yours. You kiss the spot beneath his ear once before he trails his lips down.

Jungkook mouths against your shoulder, lips tracing over the juncture where it meets your neck. “Hm,” he hums, taking a tiny sliver of skin between his teeth. “And if I said I wanted it hard?”

His proposal is followed by a slow roll of his hips against your throbbing core, the same dick you had just choked on gliding along your folds. You whimper, toes curling as the pleasure washes over you. Every ridge, ever vein of his hardened cock runs along your sensitive folds, reminding you of the aching flame inside of you. “Th-That’s fine,” you pant, leg lazily thrown over his hip. His hands trail over your waist, collecting your t-shirt as they move up your body until it’s pushed over the swell of your breasts.

When the material is finally discarded off to the side, leaving you in that flimsy bra Jungkook that snaps off, he strikes again. His tongue laps over your collarbone first, pouty lips ghosting over the skin as he makes his way to your breast. He takes one hardened peak into his mouth, drawing a shaky inhale from you. He rolls it between his teeth, tongue flicking the sensitive nub as you squirm beneath him.

Eventually he pulls away with a wet pop. Jungkook smirks, a soft puff of air fanning over your newly bruised skin. “Aren’t you the prettiest little thing.” He pushes away from you with one strong arm, looking down at you with an unreadable expression on his face. “Watch the movie,” he says.

You blink. “Huh?”

Before you know it, he’s tugging you back up onto your feet. He pushes you around, nearly sends you toppling over the coffee table as he positions you to his liking. “Kook!” you exclaim, palms slapping down against the glass tabletop in an effort to catch yourself. Just barely, your reflection glares back up at you.

A tap against your pussy startles you from the sight. “Wha—“

Two hands grab onto your biceps, tugging you up forcefully until your back arches, leaving you bent at a ninety degree angle before him. “Look, sweetheart,” he coos against your ear, voice deep enough that it vibrates through every bone in your body. Your breath stutters in your throat, exhilaration blossoming in your chest. “It’s your favorite movie.”

It is in fact your favorite movie, the same one you had fought tooth and nail just moments prior to watch. On screen, the two damsels are exploring new things in their lives, just how you were experiencing Jungkook’s true intensity for the first time. “It is,” you quietly confirm, back aching from the position.

Jungkook either doesn’t care about your depleting strength or really trusts in you not to faceplant onto his glass coffee table, palms sliding down to the crease of your elbows to hold you. “Tell me what it’s about,” he says

Just as the words leave his mouth, something hard and wet prods against your folds. “Oh,” you cry, fists tightening into balls as the feeling overwhelms you. “Jungkook, please.”

One elbow is let go, and the abrupt release has you scrambling to catch yourself, your glass reflection coming a little too close. This becomes even more difficult when a hand suddenly strikes down hard against your ass, a startled yelp escaping you. Just as quickly as you were released, Jungkook wastes no time snatching your back up, yanking you back until your cunt runs along his cock again.

“C’mon, pretty, thought you knew better,” he sighs playfully.

“I’m sorry,” you whimper, chest heaving with every slow roll of his hips. Your pussy was sopping, desperate to be filled with something. It was even worse knowing his dick was right there, just inches outside of where you need him most. “I’m sorry, Daddy,” you repeat.

Jungkook chuckles, and your heart backflips when he finally begins lining himself up. “It’s okay,” he assures you, in that same gentle tone he uses when you accidentally shove the wrong food down the sink disposal. “Baby’s still learning,” he says, pressing a chaste kiss against your shoulder as he begins pushing himself in. Just the head of his cock proves to be a struggle, swollen tip stretching your entrance wide. There’s an extra sting today from your half-hearted preparation, the both of you relying solely on your own arousal and excitement to let him in. It’s a nice kick.

When he finally pops past that initial tightness, you swear you could transcend into another dimension from the absolute feeling of euphoria that washes over you. “Fuck,” you mewl, fighting against his tight hold. Your efforts are in vain, ultimately choosing to drop your head down as the ecstasy continues to wash over you with each inch he offers you.

A warning squeeze around your wrist. “Language,” Jungkook reprimands, though his voice is strained and light.

You nod mindlessly, toes curling against the wooden floor. “It-It feels so good,” you whine. Your knees wobble dangerously beneath you, until you’re swaying just the slightest bit.

He gives until there’s nothing left, the soft hairs around his dick tickling your lips as he reaches the hilt. “There we go,” he grunts, giving you one final tug to make sure this is as far as he can go. You squeal, the brush against your walls making you ridiculously high. “That’s my girl.”

The praise has your stomach tightening, the pretty images flashing across the screen completely lost on you. You felt so full. The two of you rarely did it like this, without looking at each other straight on, but there was something about Jungkook’s looming figure being distorted by your brain’s memory, his touches wild and unpredictable, that made something inside of you twitch.

“Ohhh,” you whimper, muscles going slack for the briefest moment. The only thing that saves you from falling over is the killer grip on your forearms; when he tugs you up his cock runs along your pulsing walls. “Please, Daddy,” you beg, mouth feeling a thousand times heavier.

“The movie,” he repeats, slowly beginning to pull away from your clenching heat. You moan. “Tell me what it’s about,” he husks, punctuating his seemingly innocent statement with a harsh snap of his hips.

You wail, stumbling forward at the intensity. Still, it’s just a taste of what he has in store for you. He soon picks a pace, not too rushed or slow, as you struggle to keep your eyes open. “I-I don’t know,” you choke out, the images flashing across the gigantic screen practically unrecognizable to your muddled thoughts.

Behind you Jungkook tuts at your incompetence, thrusting forward with an intensity that would have sent you flying if not for the grip he has on you. “You don’t know?” he huffs, tugging your elbows back again as if to secure his grip on you.

His hips are moving fast now, every piston into your warm heat making you tremble. “Fffuck,” you gasp, eyes rolling to the back of your head as he continues ramming his cock into your pulsing hole. You’re met with a harsh yank that pulls you snugly onto his cock, your entire body screaming at the way he nudges against your cervix. Despite the pleasure it gives you, Jungkook seems anything but pleased.

“C’mon,” he huffs, twisting your arms painfully behind your back. “What did we say about that dirty mouth?” His question is followed with a snap of his hips that makes you choke on your spit. “Need you to be good for me, baby,” he groans.

“I-I am good,” you weakly defend, head hanging down limply as you fight to regain some semblance of your senses. But everything feels too much, from the rough push of his hips to the tight grip on your arms. His cock pulls out nearly all the way each time, swollen tip the only thing stopping him. Every thrust makes you quiver, every touch makes you melt.

You suppose he’d been too lenient on you up until now, and that final claim makes him snap. Jungkook scoffs, ramming his dick inside of you. “You’re being fucking terrible right now, doll,” he admits, hammering into you like a crazed man. You sob, the coil in your belly tightening with every brutal shove of his cock. It’s something about the way his composure withers away, all sweetness melting off as he thrusts into your cunt. “I’ve asked you twice now what the damn movie was about, and you didn’t answer either time.”

A hand clamps around your throat suddenly, yanking you up right until his breath fans across your ear. You’re not sure when your eyes had become so teary, but the images flickering across the screen are a foggy mess you couldn’t decipher even if you tried. “__,” he rasps against your ear, his voice scratchy. “Tell me. Now.”

You whimper as he shoves his way back inside, the angry head of his cock testing you. “T-Two girls, one’s a princess,” you cry, knees wobbling as the feeling in your core grows. “They look alike, and-and…”

“And?” Jungkook asks as you trail off, his words followed by a particularly brutal surge of his hips. His cock glides against your walls easily despite the way you clench around him.

“A-And they have problems they wanna avoid,” you stammer, the plot slipping in and out of your mind with every roll of his cock into your core. “So-so they swap places.”

Behind you, Jungkook snorts. “What a stupid fucking movie,” he says meanly, before he begins to piston his cock into you. You’re trembling by now, your orgasm looming over your head with each thrust.

Before you can warn him, the thin string holding you together snaps, the sudden flood of relief making your knees buck dangerously. Jungkook barely has enough time to catch you around the waist, holding you against him as a litany of curses and his name come spewing out of your mouth. “No, no,” you wail, your entire body twitching as the orgasm rolls over you. “Kook— Jungkook!”

“I’ve got you,” he reassures you, fingers holding you tight around the waist. The coffee table you had feared cracking your skull on finally comes to use as you press your hands onto the surface in a feeble attempt to steady yourself.

“I’m sorry,” you whimper, faintly aware of the rock hard cock between your pulsing walls, probably drenched in your cum now. “I-I didn’t—“

He shushes you quickly, settling the two of you back onto the couch. Funnily enough, he doesn’t bother pulling you off of him, his dick snug inside your cunt as he seats you on his lap. “You’re alright, sweetheart,” he comforts, hands soothingly running up your sides. You want to protest, want to get back on your knees and give him another chance to cum all over your face, but Jungkook nudges your chin with a knuckle. “Watch your movie,” he croons.

The Princess and the Pauper is literally the last thing on your mind right now; didn’t he realize how much you wanted to please him? Why was he choosing now to be so stubborn? Oh, that Jeon Jungkook, maybe Doyeon was right to call him an airhead.

Your slander campaign against your boyfriend is cut short when a hand flutters over your mound, thumb idly tracing over your sensitive clit. Before you can turn and look at him, Jungkook is rutting his hips against you slowly. “The screen, baby,” he says, and you want to argue that you can’t possibly enjoy a movie with him being so sneaky beneath you. The words get washed away when he presses down on your clit.

“Koo— Daddy,” you whine, lower lips still trembling from the orgasm you had two minutes ago. Jungkook responds with a kiss against your shoulder, hands trailing around your waist.

“No more of that,” he mumbles as he begins bouncing you on his cock. You moan, every inhale cut short by the shallow thrusts of his cock into your delicate walls. “Just your Kook now.”

“My… Kook,” you pant dreamily. Your cum provides an even better lubricant than before, lewd squelches filling the area alongside your cries as Jungkook chases both your second orgasms.

“Mhmm,” he groans, jostling you over his lap with no rhythm whatsoever. “Yours, baby.” You stretch your hands back, carding one set of fingers through the hair above his ear, pushing the strands away from his face. “Just like you’re mine.”

Something inside of you tightens painfully, and you’re not sure if it’s your heart or your pussy. You guess it’s both, as you stutter out, “y-your pretty girl?” Jungkook hums in agreement, repeating your favorite nickname back to you. The rest of your words die out between the two of you, lost in the slow and soft movements that fill in. You want to tell him you love him, adore him like no other, but every breath of air is stolen away by him.

Eventually the two of your are cumming, your second orgasms much quieter and slower compared to your first. You still mewl, wither against him when you cream his cock, and Jungkook catches you all the same. He guides you through the fog with kisses against your jaw, your dripping pussy helping him through his own.

When all is said and done and you’re both basking in a post-orgasmic make-out, you realize how sweaty and icky you are. “Ugh, this is gross,” you pout as he wiggles you off his lap. He pushes you beside him, letting you flop over the length of the couch as he reaches for something to clean you up with.

“You’re gross,” he retorts softly, blinking in that slow, drawn out way he does when you know he’s sleepy. His t-shirt runs along your neck, collecting the sweat there.

You nudge him with your foot. “I’m not the one who wanted to fuck during a Barbie movie,” you scoff, pinching the skin on his forearm when his gaze lingers a second too long on your creamy pussy. “Look somewhere else, weirdo.”

Jungkook laughs quietly, looking at you with an adoring expression on his face. He doesn’t even finish cleaning you off, tossing the soiled shirt somewhere off to the side in favor of cuddling into you. “Where? My Jumbotron?” he teases, raining down a parade of kisses against your face. “Don't wanna,” he smiles, too soft and boyish for the words that leave his lips next. “Wanna lick your pretty pussy clean.”

“Jeon Jungkook,” you scold, covering your face with your palms in embarrassment. “Look at your stupid IMAX screen and leave me alone.”

He cackles loudly now, in that evil witch way it took him a while to show you, and you know he’s got that big silly grin on his face now. . “The IMAX screen? The same one that made you,” a pause, “climax?”

“Get off of me.”

——

Just as you predicted, Jungkook’s mom gives him the scolding of a lifetime when she drops by the next weekend. The poor woman nearly faints at the theater screen on the wall, only to quickly regain herself. You giggle from your spot on the couch as she whacks his stupidly ripped bicep with the leek you’re supposed to chop up for dinner later.

What you’re not expecting is for her anger to shift to you as she scolds you for letting her idiotic son make such purchases. She gets one playful thwack against your side with the leek before your charming idiotic boyfriend swoops in to save you.

——

#goldenclosetnet #ksmutclub #networkbangtan #bangtanhq #jungkook smut #jeon jungkook smut #jjk smut #mine

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romiantic · 4 years ago

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𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐋

⇢ ˗ˏˋ 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒂 𝒙 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌!𝒇𝒆𝒎!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 ࿐ྂ

彡 ❛ 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐡𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 ❜

彡 𝗳𝘁. iida + kirishima

彡 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 @tenyaiidasslut (it won’t let me tag sorry babes)

彡 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: fluff

彡 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: none

彡 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲: I pray and hope somebody catches the title

·˚ ༘ੈ✩‧₊˚ ╰┈➤ 𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐘𝐀 𝐈𝐈𝐃𝐀

⤷ For someone who is very strict and makes sure everything is on point, Iida has got to be one of the clueless people when it comes to natural hair

⤷ Then again, I’m convinced about 90% of the mha boys would be clueless about natural hair as well (except deku cause hellooo)

⤷ Though Iida is the most the clueless out of the bunch

⤷ So seeing your natural hair for the first time was a huge shocker for him

⤷ You were in your dorm room, in the process of taking out your box braids. All of them were cut short to make it easier and faster for you

⤷ About halfway done through the process, Iida realized he hasn’t heard from you all day. Usually, you would be teasing Bakugou, bothering Aizawa, or spending time with him

⤷ It’s unusual for you to be in your dorm room for such a lengthy period

⤷ He decided to take matters into his own hands and visit you himself

⤷ Iida knocked on the door, announcing that he’s here and that he missed you. Also questioning where were you like you weren’t stuck in your dorm room

⤷ You paused unbraiding, turning down your tv, and stretching your body as you got up from your floor. You pushed away the full bag of hair and headed to the door

⤷ You opened the door to the blue hair boy ranting about how you haven’t called him or texted him all day

⤷ You were about to walk away and tune him out until Iida stopped and his eyes grew as big as saucers

⤷ Confused at his sudden change of facial expression, you raised a brow at the boy

⤷ The only thing that came out of Iida’s mouth was stutters, incomplete phrases, and just a pile of a mess trying to spew out

⤷ After two minutes of straight gibberish, Iida eventually let out that he was astounded by your hair

⤷ It was definitely not something he saw in his everyday life. It was stunning to see something so different yet luscious

⤷ Soft and wanting to touch but he kept himself together just out of the respect of you

⤷ You mentioned before to him about the mechanism of natural hair, the history behind it, and many other things to educate on. Though seeing it in person was absolutely better than hearing about it

⤷ For the rest of the day, he decided to spend it in your room, helping you out and chatting amongst one another

·˚ ༘ੈ✩‧₊˚ ╰┈➤ 𝐄𝐈𝐉𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐌𝐀

⤷ It was honestly cute when he first saw your natural hair

⤷ You were about almost done with cutting up your braids, maybe about ten left

⤷ But of course, laziness comes in and crashes down on you, making you not want to finish

⤷ You decided to take a break and got up from your floor to sit on your bed

⤷ It was honestly relaxing to feel softness under you instead of a hard wooden floor

⤷ You stretched over to grab your phone from the floor and decided to check your notifications

⤷ You noticed Kirishima didn’t text you back and twisted your mouth downward. By now, he would’ve texted you back, what’s taking him so long?

⤷ You decided to text him again, but instead, make it seem like an emergency. Besides, knowing Kiri he would be in front of your door in a heartbeat

⤷ You faked that you were hurt through message and needed help to do something

⤷ The message was sent and you threw your phone at your pillow. You waited patiently for the redhead boy to make his presence known

⤷ Not too long after, the boy came in banging on your door, yelling out to make sure that you’re still okay

⤷ “It’s honestly sad how gullible Kiri can be sometimes.” You giggled to yourself as you got out of bed and headed to the door. You opened to see the boy breathing heavily and had a worry look plastered on his face

⤷ Though his worry was distracted by the sight of your wild curls/coils exposed

⤷ Kirishima’s jaw dropped and his before worry look turned into a look that you’ll find on a kid at the toy store

⤷ The boy felt a mixture of ecstasy, fascination, and loving all in one. He was infatuated by your beautiful natural state of hair

⤷ Even in your eyes, you looked a mess, to kirishima you looked beautiful. Even if had ten more braids placed in a mini bun

⤷ He complimented you hair and asked to touch but you immediately declined. Kirishima was saddened for a bit but understood why when you explained

⤷ After he brought himself and decided to finish the rest of the braids himself. He could see how tired you were and did the job himself

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @blackweebtrash @lilsparkyswife @tsumusitadori @tomiokariceballs @myhoodacademia

if you would like to be added onto the taglist, fill out the form on my navi !!

彡 I don’t know why this was so easy to make but it was

彡 nothing to say but I really do hope you enjoy babes <3

彡 haven’t wrote a mha request in a longgggg time

彡 also there will be a part two to this more than likely later on today. if not tomorrow then

bye babes, drink your water, stay hydrated, and remember that you are the baddest bitch on the planet 🥰 no matter what ANYONE says

𝟏 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝟓:𝟏𝟔 💗

#x black reader #mha x black reader #mha x black!reader #iida x black!reader #iida x black reader #tenya iida x black reader #tenya iida x black!reader #kirishima x black reader #kirishima x black!reader #bnha x black!reader #bnha x black reader

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the-modernmary · 4 years ago

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to be enough || aaron hotchner x gn!reader

Summary: During a movie night with your boyfriend Aaron, you accidentally stumbled onto his old wedding video, and it makes you wonder if you could ever compete with his first love?

A/N: This was an anonymous request, thank you SO MUCH for sending this in!! It’s my first request and it was so much fun to write!! I love soft Hotch so, so much. I’m sorry this took so long to get out. I was sick on and off for like two weeks straight, it was a whole thing. I hope you like this!!

masterlist || read on ao3

“I’ll make popcorn and open the wine, you pick the movie. We’ll meet back on the couch in ten minutes,” Aaron said quickly as he pressed a kiss to your cheek before making his way to his kitchen.

You giggled at your boyfriend’s eagerness as soon as he opened the door to his apartment. Truth be told, you couldn’t blame him, though. It was rare that the two of you ever really got the chance to just hang out at his apartment. Whenever Aaron was home, he liked to spend as much free time with his son as possible, which you completely understood. So between spending time with Jack and Aaron being away on cases, you lived for these small moments of alone time and domesticity.

“You might regret letting me pick the movie, my love,” you called to him jokingly as you sat down in front of his TV, looking for where the remote was hiding. “I am very loyal to my early 2000’s chick flicks.”

The sound of Aaron’s laughter floating through his apartment made your heart swell. He had never been the tough, FBI unit chief around you, but he was also rarely so carefree and light. There was always a shield around him, especially with the way he would carefully choose his words so as to not give away too much of himself. He was always so guarded and unwavering.

Aaron poked his head out of the kitchen, hair falling in his eyes. “In the interest of honesty, I’m fully planning on moving this to the bedroom before we even get halfway through the movie,” he admitted, his voice carrying even over the sound of popcorn in the microwave.

You giggled again and shook your head fondly, unable to stop the smile spread across your face at his words. Seeing him be so playful was like a gift — always a surprise, but never unwelcome. You lived for those small glimpses of the man you knew he was.

Aaron went back to choosing the perfect movie night wine and you settled on the couch, turning on the TV and ready to pick out the goofiest, most feel-good movie you could find. Before you could pull Netflix up, however, the DVD that was already in the television began playing.

The film was grainy and the camera work was shaky at best, so you weren’t sure exactly what you were watching at first. There was a church in the background and men dressed in nice suits. Kids dressed in their Sunday best ran around in the grass. The camera panned over to a couple who were clearly getting married, going by the big white dress the woman was wearing.

The camera zoomed in on the couple and your heart dropped to your stomach, because there, right in the center of the screen was Aaron. It was a much younger version of him, of course, probably law school, but it was definitely him.

Oh god, this was his wedding video. Which meant that the beautiful, blushing bride wrapped in his arms and making him throw his head back in laughter was Haley.

Aaron had told you about Haley and everything that had happened between the two of them right up to her murder pretty early on in your relationship with him, but then it was never really mentioned again. But you had heard the whispers on nights out with his team, listened to them all gossip amongst themselves about how “I never thought Hotch was ever going to move on?” .

Despite every logical bone in your body screaming at you to change the film before Aaron came back into the living room, you couldn’t help but watch in morbid fascination. The Aaron on the screen was so different from the man you had come to love.

You watched as the film Aaron spun Haley in circles and peppered her entire face in kisses. The entire time, they never once stopped touching each other, even if it was something as simple as holding each other’s hands. Aaron kept glancing over at Haley with the biggest heart eyes you had ever seen, and it was nothing like the way Aaron had ever looked at you. Even when the couple was supposed to be paying attention to the people giving speeches around them, Haley and Aaron kept sneaking glances at each other, mouthing “I love you” like it was the only thing they could think to say.

Aaron looked so happy and so free and it was so unlike the man in the other room. In the year and a half you had been dating him, you had never seen Aaron with a smile so big. He never gave you PDA so freely, and it wasn’t something you realized you even wanted until you saw him do it with somebody else. Suddenly, you wanted to feel young and reckless and dizzy in love the way he looked back in the film.

It was unfair to ask him to live every day with you feeling like it was his wedding day, and you knew it. Still, something stirred inside of you that made you crave for Aaron to look at you like that, even just once.

What you had with Aaron now was safe and a certifiable “adult” relationship. Not to say it wasn’t nice, and there was plenty of passion and fun in it. All of your friends constantly expressed how envious they were that you had found somebody who was so stable yet still unpredictable and could sweep you off your feet with romantic dates under the stars. Being with Aaron felt like home for you, and you had always thought that he felt the same, although now you weren’t sure. It had never occurred to you that Aaron may not have ever really gotten over his first love.

The microwave beeped, signaling that the popcorn was done and that Aaron would be back in the living room at any second, and you quickly switched the TV to Netflix, clicking whatever movie popped up first, not even bothering to look at the title.

Just in time, too, because not long after, Aaron made his way over to the couch, precariously carrying a bowl of popcorn, two wine glasses, and a bottle of a sweet red wine that had become a go-to for you both. He generally preferred red wine, but you hated the dryness of it and basically only drank sweet, dessert wines, so when the two of you found this one, it had seemed like fate. Most of your relationship with him felt like fate, honestly.

You forced yourself not to think about the fact that Aaron was happily drinking white wine in the wedding video.

“Either the definition of ‘chick flick’ has changed drastically,” Aaron started, plopping down next to you. “Or Mad Max is very different from what I remember.”

“I decided to change it up, put on a movie neither of us will be invested in,” you lied, desperately fighting to keep your voice even. “That way we can move right into the bedroom portion of the night.”

“I like the way you think, sweetheart,” he chuckled, dropping a kiss to the top of your head. His thigh was pressed against yours, but even then, he felt a million miles away from you.

It was unfair to get so worked up over this whole wedding video thing, and you knew that. His time with Haley had ended long before he had even met you, and logically, you knew that people could fall in love multiple times. Still, that didn’t quell the anxiety that was bubbling in your stomach, making you queasy.

Why was he even watching that video, anyway? Did he often sit right there on the very couch you were cuddling with him on and rewatch the happiest day of his life? After a date with you, did he ever come home conflicted about his own emotions and feeling guilty for moving on, and go down memory lane to remind himself who his real true love was?

You kept thinking about how giddy he had looked in that video, and how easy it had seemed for him to be with her. And Haley… God, how could you compete?

She was stunning, no doubt about it, with her blonde hair and bright eyes that shined, even through shitty 90’s video camera quality. The pink on her soft-looking lips only seemed to make Aaron want to kiss them more and more, maybe to see if he could smudge her lipstick. It never once budged, though, because of course it didn’t. She seemed too perfect to have faded lipstick on her wedding day. She had floated across the makeshift dance floor, like a fucking Disney princess leaving a trail of fairy dust and sunshine everywhere she went. Everything about her seemed soft and kind and good, all things you had never once associated with yourself.

It was no surprise that Aaron had decided he was going to marry her from the first time he saw her, as he had said in his vows. She was everything you could have ever wanted to be, and clearly, she was everything Aaron had ever wanted.

Aaron’s voice snapped you out of your rapid descent into crippling insecurity. “I can hear you thinking from here, honey.”

You took a long sip of your wine, avoiding his piercing gaze. “I’m just concentrating on the movie,” you lied.

“The movie you picked specifically so that we didn’t have to pay attention?” he retorted, eyebrows raised. Really, you should have known better than to try and give him such a blatant lie. Aaron reached over you to grab the remote and paused the movie, placing his hand lightly on your knee. “What’s going on?”

How could you even explain what you were feeling? It definitely wasn’t jealousy, although you almost wished it was. At least with jealousy, you could push it to the side as an awful, gross feeling that comes from years of internalized misogyny and being told that other women are inherently competition for the attention of men. You could deal with that feeling.

But it wasn’t that at all. Despite Aaron’s obvious devotion to her, you found it hard (and a little twisted, if you were being completely honest) to be jealous of a woman who was violently murdered in her own home in front of her young child. Besides, jealousy would imply that you and Haley were on somewhat equal ground, which you so clearly weren’t.

Haley was his high school sweetheart, the love of his life, the woman he had chosen to have children with, and you…

Well, at one point you thought you could have been that, too, but now you were faced with the fear that you were nothing more than a person to fill the hole in his heart that Haley had left. Even worse, however, was the sinking feeling that you weren’t sure if you were ever going to be enough to fill it completely.

“It’s stupid,” you stuttered out, avoiding Aaron’s eyes, which were so full of concern. That was the worst part. It would be one thing if Aaron didn’t love you, but he did love you. Just not in the way he loved her. “Don’t worry about me.”

“It’s not stupid if it’s bothering you.”

“I—” You cut yourself off with a sigh and shifted on the couch so that you were facing him. “Am I enough for you?”

Aaron looked about as taken aback by your question as you felt. You hadn’t meant to burst through the gate with that particular insecurity.

“Are you enough for me?” he repeated slowly, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, like the question didn’t make any sense. In all honesty, it probably didn’t. “If you mean ‘am I happy with you’, then yes. Incredibly. Happier than I’ve been in a long time.”

That should have made you feel better, but it wasn’t the answer you were looking for. You absentmindedly picked at a loose thread on your sweater. “I saw your wedding video,” you admitted shamefully. It felt like you were a little kid getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar. “And, I don’t know… You looked so happy and so… alive with her. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime love, Aaron. I’m never going to be able to be that for you.”

Aaron’s frown deepened, and for a moment you were worried that he was going to get angry at you for watching the video. Maybe you had tainted that one happy memory for him. But the lines on his face softened just a bit and he covered your hand with both of his.

“Have you always felt like this?” he asked cautiously, attempting to keep all emotion off his face. “Like you’re not… enough?”

You shrugged. “Sometimes. If I think about it too much. Especially when we first started dating. But never this intense. I guess since I had only heard stories of her, it was almost like she didn’t exist? But now that I’ve seen her and how you looked at her… I love you so much and I want you to be happy, but I’m scared I can’t be that for you. I’m sorry if I’ve crossed a line, but this has been eating me up from the inside for a while now and I—”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Aaron cut you off mid-ramble, and you took a shuddering breath. Guilt was written all over him, which made you want to crawl into a hole and never be heard from again. “Have I done anything to make you think I’m unhappy?”

“No, of course not! You’ve been nothing but wonderful. But I’m not Haley. I can’t make you as happy as she made you. And maybe this is selfish of me, but it hurts to know that you don’t love me the way you loved her.”

Aaron’s frown deepened, but he still held on tightly to your hand. “I didn’t think you would want me to,” he said, and now it was your turn to be confused.

You could practically see the gears turning in Aaron’s mind as he tried to find the right words to verbalize the floodgate of emotions that had just opened. Being vulnerable and open about his feelings wasn’t something he was very comfortable with, and it definitely didn't come easy for him. The fact that he was trying and willing gave you some comfort.

“What I mean to say is…” he backtracked. “You’re right. You’re not Haley and the way I loved her is different from the way I love you. I love you differently because you’re different. And I’m different now, too. But different doesn’t mean less, and it never has. I would never want you to think that you’re just some consolation prize.”

He was looking at you with such intensity and sincerity that you could have cried. “It’s just that when I realized you had been rewatching your wedding, I kept thinking that maybe she was your one love,” you explained nervously. “I don’t know what that leaves me.”

Aaron took your hand that he was holding and moved it so that it rested on his chest and you could feel his heartbeat. “My love isn’t finite. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”

You melted into his touch, and it was like the sun came peeking through the storm clouds. He didn’t have the exact same expression that 25-year-old him did on the wedding video, but it was something close. Maybe even something more. It was warm and inviting and felt like coming home after a long day.

“You’ve been nothing but the picture-perfect boyfriend,” you assured. “This is all me and my own insecurities. I saw that you had been watching the video and I just… spiraled, I guess.”

Aaron mindlessly rubbed his thumb back and forth on your hand. “I should probably explain why I was watching it, then.”

“God, no, you don’t owe me any explanations for what you—”

“I was showing Jack,” Aaron interrupted, his voice soft. “He doesn’t remember her that much, and he definitely doesn’t remember when we were married. Most of his memories are of fighting or divorced parents. I wanted to show him that his parents loved each other.”

Your face went hot as embarrassment spread through you. “Wow, that makes perfect sense and I feel like an idiot,” you breathed. “I’m sorry.”

Aaron pressed a chaste kiss to your lips as he stood up from the couch. “You’re not an idiot, and you have nothing to be sorry for,” he promised. “Come on, let’s get changed into something a little nicer.”

You looked down in confusion as your movie night outfit. “Why?”

A mischievous glint flashed in Aaron’s eyes as he bent down and gave you another kiss, one much less chaste than the one before. “Because,” he mumbled against your lips. “I’m going to take you on a date and show you just how much I love you.”

#aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner fanfiction #aaron hotchner x reader #criminal minds fanfiction #aaron hotchner x y/n #criminal minds #my writing

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queenbeean · 4 years ago

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why are you awake right now? / chris evans

author's note: i'm reposting my work, this fic was the first one i wrote in here

warnings: angsty vibes?, fluff, terrible writing probs

prompt #8: why are you awake right now?

The cool breeze coming from the open window was not helping her anxious state. Y/N had been trying to fall asleep for quite some time, three hours, fourteen minutes and twenty seven seconds to be exact. She tried everything she could but she knew it was going to be impossible. No warm soaking in the bath, no reading in whispers with behind-the-ear pecks, no sitting on the kitchen counter as she drank chamomile tea with Chris in between her legs, no cuddling with Dodger and one of his lions.

She regretted their decision but it was too late now to go back. She had to suck it up. It’ll all be better in the morning.

Another look at the clock and she groaned for the umpteenth time. 2:41 am. She really couldn’t afford to stay awake all night. She couldn’t be tired, she didn’t want anybody to see her that way. She didn’t want him to see her that way. She knew it would pain him to do so.

At 3:17 she gave up and got up from the bed that was too big now for one person. It was perfect when it was Dodger, Chris and her. But with everything going on they decided to keep the pup with his mom for the time being.

She walked down the hall. The only sounds were those of her bare feet stepping on the hardwood floor and she hoped they were not too loud for her best friend to wake up. Against her better judgement, she picked up her phone that she left in the living room to resist the temptation. She snorted at the thought. She wasn’t strong enough. She had considered turning it off altogether but figured leaving it alone would be good enough. But she needed to see if there was anything from him. Before she could pick it up though, it vibrated. She picked up immediately, not having the chance to see who the caller was as she was startled.

“Hello?” She cringed at the tired sound of her voice, she already felt like shit for the eventful day coming up.

“Why are you awake right now?” Her best friend sounded amused yet very tired. Bless her for not being annoyed.

“I can’t sleep. I’m going to put something on the TV. Hopefully it’ll lull me. You go back to sleep, I promise I won’t call Chris.” Y/N persuaded.

“You sure? I can keep you company-“

“I’m sure. Please go back to sleep.”

Her best friend agreed reluctantly and they disconnected the call. Y/N turned on the TV and settled for re-runs of 90’s shows. And it worked, within minutes her eyes were dropping, she welcomed the deep slumber despite her body shivering from not being tucked in her slightly warmer bed. Blindly, she tried reaching for the blanket Chris and her used to keep at the back of the couch. But just before she could pull it over her body, she heard noises coming from the front door.

“Shh.” Someone was outside, it was a soft sound but it had been very clear to her.

Y/N flew from the couch and reached the baseball bat Chris had suggested having for this kind of situations. Bless him, she thought. She gripped the bat in her hands and reached the door. Taking a peek on the peephole, she gasped and opened the door.

“What are you doing here?” She whispered.

“Why are you awake right now?” Chris asked as he ushered Dodger and her inside the warmth of the house. He didn’t wait for an answer though. Not after seeing the skin of her shoulders, arms and legs breaking into goosebumps. He simply wrapped his arms around her body and rubbed everywhere he could to warm her up. “You haven’t been able to sleep, have you doll?”

His heart broke when she shook her head and slumped against him. “I couldn’t. Not without you.”

“Fuck, baby. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you.” He pressed himself impossibly closer to her and kissed the top of her head. “I’m here now.”

“How?”

“Well I used my legs…” Chris teased.

“Don’t ‘Well, I used my legs’ me, Christopher.” She stepped back slightly so she could see the beautiful man towering over her. “It’s almost four in the morning and you have Dodger.” She stepped away from Chris, making a whine escape his lips at the separation. “Hi, my baby. What did daddy do?” Kneeling in front of Dodger, she scratched the back of his ears. The pup licked her face excitedly after being apart for some time. When Dodger stopped, he let out a yawn. “Okay, cutie, go get your lion. Bedtime.” The pup left Chris and her alone and he helped her to her feet again.

Chris slipped his hoodie off, leaving him in a gray pullover and his pajama pants, and helped Y/N put it on, satisfied that she was getting some warmth back in her body. “I’m sorry I scared you.” He looked at the discarded bat. “I tried calling you earlier to let you know I was coming over but when you didn’t answer, I assumed you were asleep.”

“I set my phone on silent and left it here so I wouldn’t be tempted to call you.”

“You are stronger than me. I couldn’t sleep and I missed my girl and my bubba. You are probably going to hear my mom giving me an earful tomorrow for scaring her.” Both of them chuckled. Chris cupped her cheek and traced the skin beneath her eye. A frown appeared along with the furrowing of his eyebrows. “Let’s never do this again. I promised you I would always go to sleep with you in my arms and wake up still holding you.” Chris pulled her closer to him and cupped her neck with his other hand, connecting his lips with hers in a desperate kiss. One that was filled with longing and so much love that was just pouring out of both of them.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Dodger whined, grabbing both Chris and Y/N’s attention and making them chuckle. “Let’s go to sleep before Melissa wakes up and throws a fit for me being here.” Chris said and grabbed Y/N’s hand, following the pup and his lion to their bedroom.

“Are you ready for later today?” Chris whispered in her ear as they relaxed into the mattress, Dodger wedged in between them, snoring happily away while both Chris and Y/N rubbed his belly.

“If it’s with you, I’m ready for anything and everything.” Y/N promised. “I love you.”

“I love you, my love.”

They were asleep three hours when an angry looking Melissa burst inside the room. Three sleepy and startled heads could be seen peeking out of the blankets as they stared back at their friend.

“Are you kidding me? You couldn’t even spend the night before your wedding apart from each other?”

#chris evans #chris evans x reader #mine

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milktyama · 4 years ago

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— ☕︎ IF BY CHANCE

a/n: here are the imagines that anon gave me and gave me permission to expand with my own accord!! thank you anon i love this idea (and also added the song to my playlist thank you for that) ALSO longest work ever done!

— heavy reference to if by chance by ruth b.

synopsis: "if by chance... could you forgive me?"

pairing: 3rd year/adult!kageyama tobio x reader

genre: fluff to angst, hurt little comfort, in spain w/o the s

wc: 2.3k

thank you @kohi-zeri @snoozless for beta-ing! <3

❥︎ two swear words, most obvious n smallest manga spoiler

People like to emphasize how high school will be the greatest and the wildest years of your life. And a major part of high school is exploring first loves and small infatuations. High school love is so innocent and light-hearted and sometimes awkward, but that is what makes it so charming.

That is exactly how it felt being with Kageyama Tobio after meeting him in your final year of high school. Shy confessions were exchanged on the daily, pinkies linked as the main source of public affection, anything more flustering both of your young selves.

You always thought that meeting your high school sweetheart in your last year was a sign of bad luck. It was way too late for any deep love to actually develop. It would almost feel forced or fleeting, the connection not having enough time to harvest and bloom.

Though, being with him proved that wrong.

Having him in your life was a blessing from the moment you first encountered him on a rainy spring evening during your way home. You would’ve never expected that that day to become as significant to you back then as it does now.

A small irregularity of Kageyama Tobio forgetting his umbrella when the weather forecast had explicitly predicted a 90% chance of raining during the evening. That night, you thought to yourself that he was counting on the 10% chance that it wouldn’t rain, when in reality it was simply the fact that he did not check the weather forecast daily.

Pft. You would think that being a senior in high school would mean taking up a little more responsibility, but that wasn’t the case with him. His mind still ran on the adrenaline and excitement of volleyball and volleyball alone.

You saw him attempting to take shelter under a cherry blossom tree in the nearby park. The droplets of the rain reflected the sunlight as they landed on the light pink petals of the tree, giving it a warm and peaceful glow.

Kageyama’s hair and clothes were damp from the minimal protection he had against the pouring rain. If you had not approached him that night and offered to share your umbrella, nothing would have happened between the two of you.

You two would have remained as casual classmates, having small insignificant encounters that could be easily looked over: being assigned clean up duty together, collecting tests from people in your row — simple things that no one would ever think twice about. This encounter alone could have easily been part of the list of insignificant encounters… it was just a classmate looking out for another classmate right?

But the warm kindness you showed him on that cold, rainy night had somehow reached Kageyama’s heart. What he at first thought was a mere act of kindness towards a classmate had sprouted into something a little bit more.

After that night, Kageyama found himself looking in your direction more often. His bright blueberry eyes would wander towards your figure who sat a few desks in front of him. You never caught him staring during class, but his presence was more than enough to burn through the back of your head.

It seemed his not-so-subtle glances have rubbed off onto you because you would find your eyes starting to linger on him as well. His tall and lean figure captivated you. His raven hair, his blue eyes, his indifferent voice, and infamous “resting bitch face” were triggers your brain could not miss.

The more the days pass with your attention captivated by this man, the more you realize your feelings towards him. It was a rocky but surprisingly short journey, with both parties who faced difficulties with expressing their feelings to the other, but everything eventually fell into place, leaving it up to fate to bring both of your yearning souls together.

And oh boy did fate put a strong magnetism between the two of you.

You fell in love with Kageyama Tobio through and through. Sure, it was a little awkward at first, with stiff movements and a sprinkle of miscommunication, but after speaking your hearts out, it became clear: you were in love with him just as much as he was in love with you.

At least that is how it seemed.

Even after sharing light kisses under the cherry blossom tree where you met for the first time, your hands held in his rough ones, surrounded by the smell in his clothes that you borrowed from his closet. Or passing small notes to each other during class and sleepless nights when you tried to tutor him in classes he lacked on. Or shouting from the top of your lungs whenever you attended any of his games while sporting his spare jersey.

All these memories seemingly came crashing down a week before your graduation.

Your ears rang after he utters a short phrase that had enough power to crash your world, enough power to make you feel as if everything you’ve done the past year had been a waste, enough power to leave you on your knees, helplessly clutching your chest as the pain starts to spread throughout your body.

“I’m sorry. But… I think I’m in love with someone else.”

He continued to ramble endlessly. Maybe it was more apologies, or maybe he was reasoning what he’d been doing with you this past year. Maybe he was word vomiting in order to make this impact on you less heavy. Whatever it had been, you couldn’t hear it. You lost your grasp of your senses the second those words had reached your ears.

How did you not notice this? How could you not see how his glances towards you became less frequent, how his kisses grew more reluctant, how he wouldn’t reach for your hand first, how his eyes didn’t sparkle for you? You only now realized that he fell out of love. Or maybe he loved someone else all along? Or maybe you were just a game to him? You didn’t even want to consider the latter.

Your sight was blurring with tears that you desperately tried to keep in, but they had already fallen helplessly down your face. You didn’t even notice that Kageyama was no longer in front of you.

When you finally composed yourself, you could see his retreating figure in the distance with someone else at his side. They weren’t hugging or holding hands or kissing or anything of that sort. But watching the person you thought you could love for the rest of your life walk away with someone else was just too much for your poor heart to bear.

It has been exactly 4 years since. You graduated from university and did some intern work during your summers to distract yourself. You truly believed that you have finally picked yourself up and moved one. It was only after seeing him on TV, seeing that he had achieved his dream of going pro, that all the emotions came rushing back.

You still loved him. You always have and never stopped. Your love for him was so great, so powerful, so unconditional that it never left your system, even after being broken in one of the worst ways possible.

Maybe if he had loved you then you would still be by his side, cheering him on.

He reached out to you a few months after your break up. With your wound still fresh, you had truly believed he called to get back together, only to get your hopes crushed. Well, not completely, at least. He called to apologize again, figuring that back in high school you — actually, both of you — had been too emotionally distressed to properly deal with the situation.

It was a very short call, 5 minutes at most. His apology was simple and to the point, but that was how he was. He swore he was sorry for ending things the way they did, and ended the call with a promise. He promised to never hurt you again.

Although his heart may or may not have not been occupied by someone else during your time together, he still found comfort and familiarity when he was with you. Before he could hang up, you too apologized for how you reacted and dealt with the situation, swearing the same promise.

But that promise proved harder to keep than you had thought.

You encountered Kageyama once again, but this time he was with someone else. He seemed happy. It was hard to believe that even after all these years, your heart still beat for Kageyama Tobio. It hurt your heart to see him smile for someone else, knowing those smiles used to be for you. It hurt your heart to know that you were no longer the reason for his smiles being so wide, so genuine.

You wondered if he still recalled the memories the two of you shared. If he still sang along to the song you two spent weeks choosing and claimed as “your song” or if he skipped it. If he still reacted to advertisements that featured your favorite lip balm, the one he loved tasting on your lips whenever you kissed. If he remembered the future plans you talked about, where the two of you would live in a comfortable apartment and how the interior would be decorated; how you would spend nights dancing around the living room.

Either way, you were no longer part of his life. He had found someone else to dedicate his heart to. As if to confirm the dilemma that has plagued you for so long, Kageyama leaned into a kiss to the forehead of his partner, smiling as he pulled away whilst leaning his head onto his partner.

Tears brimmed in the corners of your eyes. You ran, allowing your body to take you wherever it pleased, hot tears falling helplessly from your eyes continuously.

So much for keeping a promise.

Your feet finally stopped, tired, your eyes worn out from crying. You slowly took in your surroundings as you felt the warm breeze of a spring evening, soft petals tickling your sensitive skin. It was quite obvious where your heart belonged.

You found yourself under the tree where you first met him. Where you two would often sit and exchange fleeting kisses or a small treat, feeding each other with fond eyes. The wind blew past you as the petals from the cherry blossom tree slowly fell, surrounding you in a cozy ambiance that left a bittersweet taste in your mouth.

As your legs finally gave up at the memory that came rushing into your head, you heard footsteps that sounded like they were approaching your way. A piece of light blue cloth neatly folded entered your line of vision. Your eyes shot up to the tall figure that was now towering over you. His body faced you, however his eyes did not meet yours.

You hesitated before slowly reaching out for the handkerchief in his hand, avoiding his eyes as well.

“I’m sorry…” was all that came out from his lips. There was a moment of silence, disrupted every now and then by a couple of sniffles. Kageyama tried speaking again.

“I’m sorry for hurting you again, even after I promised you I wouldn’t.”

“It’s fine…” you managed to choke out, voice slightly cracking. You thought you sounded pathetic. You two broke up four years ago, for fuck’s sake! A lump formed in your throat again, a mix of the remains of old memories and your own consciousness trying to bring some sense into your pained heart.

“If by chance… could you forgive me? For breaking the promise I mean,” Kageyama asked. His words were gentle and soft, maybe a little sweet like honey, attempting to cover up any harshness. It was clear he did not want to hurt you for any longer. His blueberry eyes that you missed so much had a small sparkle to them. You wondered what that sparkle meant.

Was it because he still loved you? Did he miss you the way you missed him? Or maybe he only felt pity for you. Maybe he was hoping for something more. What could he be possibly hopeful for? Your forgiveness? It wasn’t like you were mad at him. Afterall, it was your own fault for falling so deeply in love with him. As painful and bitter as it was, you tried your best to pull your lips upwards.

It was the saddest smile he had ever seen.

Voices in your head screamed at the pain you felt in your heart, but your head reasoned that this was not his fault. You had to let go, once and for all.

“Of course I forgive you.”

The words vibrated through your skull. Your head forgave him, your self-conscious told your heart to forgive him, but in the end, it wouldn’t succumb to logic so easily. You thought with your heart rather than your head, and you absolutely hated it. You broke too easily and gave in to the way your heart beated instead of the words that were trying to break through your thick skull.

The sun sets, warm yellow tones of the fleeting rays of sunlight shone upon the pale pink petals of the cherry blossom tree. The petals turned into a light orange colour as they fell ever so elegantly from the branches above you, surrounding your figure on the ground.

You clutched your knees to your body as you watched his figure stray from you, slowly getting further and further away. Memories from the first time you met under this same tree flooded into your head as a single tear droplet slid down your right cheek.

You felt a lump at the back of your throat. It was an awfully bitter yet mildly sweet feeling. You didn’t mean to be selfish with your feelings towards Kageyama, but if by chance, things didn’t work out with his current partner, then maybe, just maybe, he could be part of your world again.

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mlqcconfessions · 4 years ago

Note

What if the MLQC boys had turned into kids? How will MC take care of them or how they will act towards her?

OH MY GOD I LIVE FOR THIS

Spoilers? I used the R karmas that are not released in the English server (Shaw’s was from a different event)

MLQC Headcanon - Who’s the Baby Now?

Victor

You thought Goldman was kidding when he said Victor became a child

It’s a little too late for April Fool’s, isn’t it?

Well, he was being quite literal

As soon as you walked into LFG, you could sense a change in the atmosphere (all the employees were whispering)

When you arrive at Victor’s office, you hesitantly knock

You figured he would open the door right away (like how he usually does)

But a few moments passed, and still no reply

“Victor? I’m coming in, okay?”

You gently open the door to see a mini-Victor in front of you, holding a stool in his tiny arms

“Oh. My. GOD!” (he’s so adorable!)

You’re about to scream those words, but he notices this and promptly grabs your sleeve

“Don’t you dare”

“Okay..!” (you don’t even care that he just glared at you)

A few minutes have passed, giving you time to collect yourself

You glance over at mini-Victor, who is looking over some documents to sign

Your eyes fall to the pile of blankets he’s sitting on (which Goldman had to bring over)

The desk was too high for him now, so he needed some elevation (you nearly died of uwu)

But that reminded you about the stool he was carrying

“Victor?”

“What is it (he doesn’t even look up from the papers)”

“What were you gonna do with that stool from earlier?”

He slightly freezes, then quickly resumes work like nothing happened

“I was...(you can see his eyes rolling for answers) rearranging furniture”

“At 9 AM?”

“......”

“Were you trying to reach the door handle?”

Because of Victor’s tall stature, the door to his office was higher than the others in the building

Naturally, that meant the handle was much higher

“.......”

You’re having such a hard time trying to contain yourself (does he even know how cute he’s being?)

--------------------

The rest of the day goes by without much difficulties

Because you had to go back to your company, the caring for Victor was in Goldman’s hands

He had to press the elevator button for him (his office was in the top floor, after all)

Once in a while, Goldman would text you updates of how Victor’s doing

He just finished today’s meeting. Everyone was distracted.

Complained about the coat rack being too high

He has to hold his phone with two hands now (you receive a photo of mini-Victor struggling to call using his huge phone). Later made use of speakerphone

--------------------

It’s the end of the day, and time to go home

Usually, Victor would pick you up on his car (he can’t drive if he looks 12 let alone even reach the wheel)

As you’re headed for the subway, you see a familiar black sedan pulling up to the front of your company

“Victor?” (you look at the driver’s seat, but it’s his chauffeur instead)

The window to the rear seat of the passenger’s side rolls down, and there he is in all his miniature glory

“Pfft...evening, Victor” (you can feel his glare on you, but that just makes him even more adorable)

You get in the car next to him, smiling all the way home

“If you’re tired, you can rest on my shoulder” (he’s still looking at some documents)

....you would have to turn your head 90 degrees if you want to rest on his shoulder

Kiro

When you first saw the commercial on TV, you thought BS Entertainment just hired a child actor

He looks just like Kiro!

Boy, were you wrong BIG TIME

Little did you know that it was Kiro, who turned into a child for unknown reasons

So when Savin asked begged you to come over and help, you thought he was overreacting (how much of a hassle would he be?)

BOY, WERE YOU WRONG BIG TIME

You enter his dressing room to find mini-Kiro running around, with Savin on his tails

“Eat my dust, Sav!”

Kiro was carrying a bowl of sweets, trying to avoid them being caught in the hands of his manager

Poor Savin was having such a hard time catching up to this mouse (seriously, are all kids this fast?)

Kiro spots you at the door, and his eyes lighten up

“MC!”

He hurls himself towards you (surprisingly, it doesn’t hurt at all)

Savin notices you too, and with a sigh of relief, hides the bowl of candy, and promptly sinks back in the sofa

“MC, look! Aren’t I adorable?” (he does a tiny turn to show you his full figure)

Indeed, he was more charming (not that he wasn’t before)

“Yep! You’re so cute, Kiro!”

You now notice the sailor outfit he was wearing (honestly, this outfit was made for him)

“Oh, this (he tugs at the collars)? My stylist has a nephew, so I borrowed some of his clothes”

He takes you to the basket where his old clothes are

“My clothes are here!” (of course, none of them are folded neatly)

You sit down on the sofa, and start folding his clothes

Savin is still out cold

--------------------

Now Kiro still had some filming left to do, and he wasn’t going to let his mini-self get in the way

He executed the shoots so professionally, you would’ve thought he was just a genius child star

Because Kiro debuted at a young age, it was like seeing his first moments all over again

If anything, he was shining so brilliantly now (because he has you in his life)

He constantly comes over to you after each take for compliments

“MC, how was I?”

“Do you think I should hold this higher?”

“MC, what do you think about this pose?”

You felt like a proud mother

--------------------

You had to help him carry the bags of snacks and candy to his house

You lost count of the people who kept giving him stuff

It made you wonder how long this mini-thing will last

Not that you were complaining, or anything

It’s just that Kiro would have a hard time with work if he was so small like this

“I’ll just take a break from work, then!”

Kiro, sweetie, you can’t just say things like that (you’ll give Savin a heart attack)

“But that means I’ll get to spend more time with you, MC!”

He gives you a baby bear hug (you instinctively hug him back)

Yeah...what Savin doesn’t know won’t hurt him

Lucien

You were one of the many students waiting for Lucien’s class

But he was a little late, which was quite a shock (he’s never been late to his lectures ever)

Did something happen?

You were about to call Lucien’s number when you heard familiar footsteps (they seemed a bit light, though)

Soon after, the hall doors creaked open and your worries were put to rest

At least, they were for like 2 seconds

Everyone in the entire room gasped, as a young child casually walked in

“Is...is that”

“I..I think so....but”

“What do we do....”

Lucien, as if he’s completely unaware of the fact that he’s TINY, nonchalantly sets down his belongings and grabbed some chalk

“Apologies for being late, class. Something minor had come up this morning”

It didn’t look like something minor (was on everybody’s mind)

Nevertheless, class began like usual

Soon everyone was getting used to a mini-Lucien teaching the class

But some completely lost it when he had to use a step-stool to write on the higher parts of the blackboard

They had to be dragged out of the room for excessive UWUs

Some were already in the nurse’s office (because they saw Lucien with his lab coat dragging on the floor)

You were still in the hall, but could NOT pay attention to anything he was saying

Your mind must’ve been playing tricks on you (because of how disorienting everything was)

Maybe he’s not Lucien, and is just a distant relative

As you were zoning out, Lucien catches this and shows a playful smile

“Miss MC, I assume you are understanding this material very well?”

The entire room (or those that are left, anyway) glances at you

“No...no professor....” (you hide your face in your arms)

Oh he’s Lucien, alright

--------------------

He asked you to stay behind for a bit after the lecture

Everyone gave you a pitiful look (some even pat you on the back)

Lucien was busy gathering his materials, neatly organizing them into his briefcase

You helped by erasing the blackboard for him (your knees nearly gave out when you saw the little step-stool)

“Are you not curious?”

“Huh, what? (you were zoning out again) About what?”

“About why I’ve become younger like this”

It certainly has crossed your mind, but you figured there was a mishap with one of his experiments

“Hmm...yes, but....”

He looks at you inquisitively

“But....?”

“As long as you’re not having any difficulties, I don’t mind”

He’s a little surprised after hearing this, but immediately goes back to his usual smile

He grabs the step-stool to get just below your eye level, noses nearly touching

“What if I say that I am?”

Please, it’s only 11 AM right now

Gavin

You heard a thud coming from upstairs, where Gavin should be resting after returning from a mission late last night

“Gavin?”

You don’t hear anything, so you go upstairs to check

“Gavin, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

After a pause, you hear his voice on the other side of the door

“Y-yeah, I’m fine”

He didn’t really sound fine (was his voice usually this high?)

“I’m opening the door, Gavin”

“No! Wai-”

Too late, you already opened the door and found him slumped on the ground

“Ga...Gavin...? (you couldn’t believe your eyes at the sight in front of you) Is that you?”

Clothes barely hanging onto his now-shrunken figure, Gavin stares at you awkwardly

“Yeah....but...”

“You...you’re small”

“Yeah...”

“And you don’t know why?”

“.....yeah”

Neither of you say anything as a slight breeze enters the room, as if it’s trying to fill the void of silence

Your eyes go to the oversized clothes he was wearing

It was cute, but definitely not efficient

“Well, let me go to the store and buy some clothes for you”

“I’ll go with you” (honey, in that state?)

“No, it’s just around the block. I’ll be fine, Gavin”

He looks a little let down (his hair is covering his amber eyes, which are brighter than usual)

“Why don’t you retrace your steps while I’m gone? Maybe you can figure why this happened to you”

“...alright”

“And Gavin?” (he looks up at you)

Snap

“You look adorable, by the way” (his face gets so red)

--------------------

As expected, you had a great sense in style

He looks so cute in that jersey you bought for him

It’s a little big on him, but still much more manageable than his old clothes

He had to wait until you were done taking pictures of him

He felt embarrassed, but still cooperated with you (you’ve never been so ecstatic lately, and he didn’t want to ruin that for you)

As you were saving the photos to your hard drive, he glances at the window

“MC?”

“Yeah? (you were too busy looking at the photos)”

“How about we spend some time outside today?”

You’re surprised at his suggestion (I thought he would prefer staying inside)

“Are you sure? It’s your only rest day for this month”

As if to reassure you, he gives you a beautiful smile while grabbing your hand

“I’m positive”

He tries to help you get up, but ends up falling into your embrace instead

You laugh while his face gets red again (you wrap your arms around him, not letting him escape)

“Gavin?”

“...........what”

“You’re so adorable”

“......(he’s hiding his face) please stop”

You can feel the wind rustling up outside

The balcony windows were open, so the leaves were carried into the apartment

You ended up canceling your date outside to clean up the mess

You never let him forget this day

Shaw

Alleyway. Now.

This was all you saw on a pleasant Saturday morning, and you were a bit annoyed that your precious rest was disturbed (work was pretty tiring these last few days)

But you knew that if you didn’t go, that would be more tiring to deal with

You quickly get ready and head to the alleyway

He didn’t even need to mention which one, because there was only 1 alleyway that mattered to you both

You expected to see him there, back pressed against the brick wall like usual

Instead, you find a group of people huddled together in a group

“Are you okay? Are you lost?”

“Do you need any help?”

“Did you get separated from your parents?”

To your surprise, you see a little boy in the middle of the circle, arms crossed over (he looks irritated)

You want to go over and see what was happening, but your view is blocked (if only you were a bit taller...)

But you’re here for Shaw anyways, so you hurriedly try to look for him

You take out your phone to call him, but as you turn your body, your eyes lock with the boy from before

?? He looks a little familiar....

His expression becomes even more irritated as he pushes his way out (he’s walking towards you?!)

He grabs your hand and drags you out of the alleyway, sighing in annoyance

“Ah! Wai-”

“You’re late”

You can recognize this voice quite easily

After all, it was drilled into your head for these many years

“Shaw?!”

--------------------

So neither of you could figure out why he suddenly turned in to a mini-Shaw

But he wasn’t complaining

Not. One. Bit.

He made you carry him on your back as punishment for making him wait today

Only when he was satisfied, you could let him down

You’re sitting at a park bench while waiting for him to come back with food

He told you to sit tight and not run off (you’re the child in this relationship, smh)

Shaw comes running back with loads of delicious snacks in his arms, his hair rummaging past in the wind

He was younger than you anyways, but now he just looks the part

Actually, it was pretty adorable (but if you say this to him he would just give a smug smirk)

“Guess what I have?” (he places everything on the bench, with little room left over)

“How did you pay for all this?”

“I didn’t (he looks so proud right now). Luckily for you, your boyfriend is irresistible at all ages”

“So you’re telling me that you charmed the street vendors to give you food for free?” (you can’t believe you’re actually saying this)

“And you think that’s a problem? Didn’t you hear me?”

He’s standing on the bench with his chest pulled out, arms crossed

“Listen, I didn’t steal. They GAVE it to me. MC, you really need to learn how to do business around here”

You smack your forehead as your headache starts coming back again

You decide that your words have no effect on this guy, and plop back on the bench (he’s begun to chow down on some snacks)

You casually wipe his lips as he gets food on it, not thinking too much about the situation

His face goes red as he pulls back, covering his mouth with the back of his hand

He sat a little further away from you after that

UGH

This was so much to write (but so worth it)

Thank you so much to @snipersiniora for requesting this prompt!

106 notes · View notes

dimpled-gukkie · 5 years ago

Text

Call Me A Thief

a/n: Happy birthday Shay @today-we-will-survive !!!!! I can’t believe we’ve only celebrated two birthdays of yours thus far. It feels like we’ve been friends forever. Once again I’m going to say that I’m so thankful you’re my friend and thank you for being my rock and sometimes the only person I can talk to. I hope we can celebrate many more years together and that this is your best year yet! Love you - your ghost bestie/ whatever that really long one I never remember is

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader / Kim Taehyung x Reader (brief mentions of Jung Hoseok x Reader as a past relationship)

Genre: College AU, e2l, idiots to lovers, angst, fluff

Word Count: 31.3k

Warnings: mild language, minor self-hatred (more so in the form of self doubt), mentions of drinking but not descriptions, Jimin shows up tipsy, I guess name calling but it’s not that serious, a sick pet for a short minute, oc gets somewhat depressed towards the end but it’s resolved

Summary: In a series of truly misfortunate events, a thief, a plantnapper and a muse-seeking photographer somehow cross paths on their admittedly huge (40,000 students huge) college campus. At first glance they’re just strangers but the more they get to know each other the more they realize their roots intertwine. If the universe had kept them apart for this long, surely it wouldn’t bring them together for a disaster. Right?

You’re an idiot. Perhaps that stupidest person you know. I mean how can you steal someone’s bag thinking it’s yours? Especially when your backpack isn’t even black and yet here you are staring blankly at the black backpack that lies limply on the table in front of you. Staring at the bag you blink listlessly at it like maybe if you blink enough times the mirage will fade and your own backpack will be in front of you. And yet several silent moments later the black backpack still sits in front of you. You don’t even know who it could belong to. Your lecture consists of 400 students, the owner of the bag could be any of them. Even worse if you email your professor about it to return the stolen item you’ll be known as the girl who stole it. You’ll be a thief. Exhaling a large sigh you slump down onto the desk in front of you, a large thumping sound ringing through the otherwise silent top floor of the library, those around you unaware of the self-damning thoughts running through your mind.

“Wake up nerd.” Jimin’s voice says and you don’t even have to look up to know he’s looming above you, enjoying the fact that he’s towering over you for once. Oh the woes of the tiny man with the tiny hands. He pushes your shoulder with said tiny hands and you’re half considering becoming weightless and letting him shove your limp body out of the chair just so the feeling of your ass hitting the hard ground will keep you from thinking about your mistake. You can’t even make fun of Jimin for being a dumb blonde now. Well, you could say he’s killing your brain cells. Your lips quirk up at the thought, placated by the idea of pinning your mistake on your innocent best friend. After all, teasing Jimin is your favorite part of the day.

“Are you dead!” Jimin whispers and you shoot your head up just to glare at him.

“Don’t act so excited. Plus if I were to die I would not want to go out in a library. How unglamorous.”

“It would be rather tasteless wouldn’t it?” He pauses for a minute before his eyes widen. “Not that anything is wrong with dying in a library. I’m sure it’s cool.” He laughs awkwardly and you can’t help but chuckle. Ever since he watched that paranormal activity movie with Yoongi, Jimin is convinced that ghosts are real and that they’re listening to every word he says. Like they’d want to follow around a guy who spends his days trying to find the most incognito insoles and browsing the hair dye section at Walgreens. But alas Jimin has always been a victim of the spotlight effect and if you had to guess would view his life as some sort of reality tv show.

“Hey whose backpack is that? Are you meeting someone?” Jimin asks, nodding to the incriminating black bag still on the table. You groan and are in the midst of throwing your head back onto the table when Jimin forcefully stops you by wrapping his hands around your face. Unfortunately, he miscalculates which results in his palms slapping your cheeks while his fingers dig into your mouth that they’d mistakenly pried open. You sputter and scrunch your face in distaste, making a similar expression to that of a baby that has just tried a lemon.

“When was the last time you washed your hands?” You screech, unaware of the eyes on you. “I can taste the day old cheeto dust. You’ve infected me!” You whine, taking a swig of your water to gurgle like it’s mouthwash. “I need to eat soap or something.”

“I’m the victim here! Who knows where your mouth has been. Tell me, when was the last time you saw Jung Hoseok?” Jimin also screeches then proceeds to wince when you smack his arm.

“You ass! I haven’t seen him since we broke up a year ago, you know that.” Jimin nods while pouting, rubbing the spot on his arm like your slap stung. When he sees you looking at the movement his mouth pulls into a smirk as he rolls up his sleeve to reveal his bicep.

“Kiss it better?” He teases, yelping and jumping backwards before you can smack him again.

“You’re insufferable.”

“Ditto.”

“No one even says ditto anymore.” You scoff and he just shrugs.

“I’ll bring it back, after all I’m famous you know?”

“Just because you got ten likes on your tweet about your ex doesn’t mean you’re famous.”

“Say that to my 200 followers.” He runs his fingers through his hair, his own version of a hair flip, before returning his attention back to the incriminating item on the table. “So is someone here with you or…”

“I may have accidentally stolen someone’s backpack thinking it was mine…” You mumble, hoping that Jimin might not hear you. For a moment you think he might not have until you hear wheezing coming from beside you, Jimin practically sprawled across the floor as his laughter comes out in tiny squeaks. “It’s not funny! This is the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done! All the bleach fumes from dying your hair has rotted my brain. This is all your fault Jimin.” You whine, bottom lip jutted and brows furrowed as you take on the expression of a kicked puppy. Jimin pauses for a moment in his laughter to observe your behavior before letting out two more huffs.

“Aww don’t pout kitkat.” Jimin coos, pinching your cheeks between his chubby fingers as he pulls them back and forth until you crack a smile. His plush lips draw into a smile of their own, his eyes creasing as he gently taps your nose. “See kitkat it’s not that big of a deal. Do you know who it belongs to?” When you shake your head ‘no’ he frowns a little before a mischievous smile pulls at his lips.

“Well we could always look through it? To find the name of the owner of course.” Of course. Not because you’re nosey bitches or anything.

“If I see one more skull I’m going to scream.” Jimin groans, throwing his head back against your pillows as a textbook you pulled from the backpack lays in front of him.

“To be fair it is an anatomy textbook and a skull is part of the human body. They’re at least doodling things related to the subject.”

“But the angst kitkat! I feel like this person only listens to MCR or something.” He whines, displeased with the artist’s choice of subject.

“I think they’re kinda cool though. The shading’s really good and look! This one is a skull made out of butterflies.” Your fingers run along the drawing lightly, careful not to smudge the artist’s hard work but enjoying following the intricate line work.

“Besides in this notebook there’s all types of different drawings. Some marvel stuff, some succulents. I even found a cute little dog drawing!” You say, turning the notebook around to show him the little dog scrawled in the margins, its small fluffy face smiling.

“You mean I’ve been looking at skulls for nothing?”

“I mean I don’t know why you thought you’d find their name in a textbook but I thought maybe you were interested in the subject or something.” You shrug, ignoring the glare Jimin sends your way.

“You suck.” He declares, sticking his tongue out at you when you look at him. You stick yours at him in response.

“Bite me.”

“Oh I see someone’s been watching 90’s movies lately. Tell me, do you imagine finding your own heath ledger like Kat? Or perhaps you’re more of the creepy ‘I’m gonna fall for my step-brother’ type like Cher. Though personally, I got to say I’m a big fan of the ‘childhood best friends to lovers’ trope but I digress. Hey have you found any clues yet?”

“Well we know they’re an anatomy student and like art. I also found ‘JJK’ scribbled next to a drawing on a scrap of paper that fell out of one of the notebooks so I’m hoping that’s their initials. So we can go through the class roster and hopefully there’s an angsty bio/medical student with those initials.” Pulling out your laptop you migrate from the floor to the bed, pulling out the roster for your english class. Ever so slowly you scroll through the roster, thankful to find only two names with the initials JJK.: Jeon Jungkook and Jung Jaekwan.

“I think we have an easy solution here. I stalk one and you stalk the other and we see which one was more likely to be in a punk band of some sort when they were in high school.” Jimin suggests, already heading towards your closet to find the best stalker outfit.

“Or we could just find their instagrams?” You say and Jimin flicks his hand like he’s physically brushing off your suggestion.

“Already tried, both private. That means they’re probably ugly.”

“Hey my accounts are private!” You exclaim and you can tell by the way Jimin’s shoulders slightly scrunch inwards that he’s stifling a laugh.

“Case in point. Anyways, what screams sexy Joe Goldberg? Like we’re definitely going full-stalker mode but like not ‘I’m going to kill you’ yandere vibes.” Jimin ignores the pillow you throw at him, continuing to babble about the perfect outfit like he didn’t just offend you.

“This is stupid.” You grumble into the miniature walkie-talkie Jimin bought from Walmart, dressed in large sunglasses, black tights and dress, adorned with your black docs. Ever the self-proclaimed fashion icon, Jimin dressed you in every black article of clothing you owned. The sun beat down on you from above, it was rather warm for a late spring day, and you tried to ignore the way sweat began to accumulate under the black ball cap (“It’s the Joe trade mark!”Jimin exclaimed when you protested him adding that to the already questionable outfit seeing as it is almost summer).

“And stealing someone’s backpack that’s not even the same color as your own is stupid but you don’t hear me criticizing your ideas.” He snarks back at you through the small device.

“It wasn’t like I planned on it! I told you it was an accident!” You screech at him, only to scream as another voice sounds out from behind you.

“What are you doing?” You turn around to face a guy with blonde hair, an old camera clutched between his large hands as he crouches down beside you.

“What are you doing?” You parrot, mind unable to conjure up a reasonable and not weird reason for why you’re here. Here being ducked behind an overgrown bush off to the side of the life science building in hopes you’ll see Jeon Jungkook emerge from the now-finishing Anatomy 101 lecture. It’s one of four and you’re hoping that your mystery man that you’ve loosely memorized from his profile picture- although half his face is obscured by large wire framed glasses that you can’t figure out if are real or for fashion- hears your beckoning call and comes out of those double doors.

“Photography assignment.” The guy holds up the camera to justify his statement. “Are you looking for something?” He glances at the surrounding area before noticing the walkie-talkie in your hand.

“Oh I used to love those as a kid!” Snatching it from your fingers he immediately talks into it and you face palm as you imagine Jimin’s face on the receiving end. “Houston this is starship one. We are prepared to land. Houston do you hear me?” The stranger giggles, lips forming into a peculiar grin before his eyes widen when Jimin’s voice crackles through the cheap speaker.

“Listen dumbass, I’m out here before 2:00 pm trying to resurrect your mistake and you’re playing games with a stranger?! Do you not understand that I sacrificed my beauty sleep for this? I’m seeing Soyeon during lecture today and you know I like to look good for her.”

Snatching the device from the stranger you hurry to appease your best friend. “I’m sorry Jiminie! But you don’t need beauty sleep, you’re already the most handsome guy I know.”

“I’m listening.” Jimin says after your pause.

“You could rival Aphrodite herself! In fact I’m sure that’s why she led me to steal someone’s backpack so you’d lose said beauty sleep so she could have a chance at being prettier than you!” You cringe at your own words, you don’t think you’ve ever laid it on this thick, but you need Jimin. He’s the only one you know shameless enough to help you in such an endeavor, I mean you’re literally stalking someone just to find out if you have their backpack. Plus you really didn’t mean to hurt Jimin’s feelings.

“That was a bit too much for my taste but I appreciate your sentiment. You’ve been redeemed. Now tell your friend he either needs to go or help us.” When you turn to said “friend” he’s staring at you with pink lips parted, strong eye brows pulled together in confusion as you watch him try to process what just happened. You can’t believe someone’s witnessed the monstrosity of this whole situation, much less someone so handsome. It really would be your luck. You must be cursed or something.

“You stole someone’s backpack?” Ahh it seems that tiny detail is what his mind has fixated on the most.

“No not stole, accidentally took. Why would you steal someone’s bag?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.” He shrugs, moving to stand up and you immediately scramble up after him, thoughts of finding whoever Jeon Jungkook is long forgotten.

“You don’t understand, it was an accident! I was tired and grabbed the one nearest me before walking out. And I’m trying to return it I just don’t know who it is so I was trying to see if this guy is missing a backpack.” You ramble, too lost in your narrative to notice the way he smiles almost fondly down at you.

“And the walkie talkie?”

“Oh you see we have two suspects-“ You start only to be interrupted.

“Suspects?”

“Yes suspects, I don’t have a better word. But I’m supposed to watch for one guy and Jimin watch for another- that’s the guy who cussed me out earlier- but I got distracted and now I just missed him which means I have to sit outside this stupid hall for the rest of the day to make sure he’s not in any of the other lectures to see if he was in this one and I just realized that he could’ve missed today which means I might have to wear this stupid outfit again-“

The handsome stranger raises his hand to stop your word vomit and you give him a sheepish smile when your words finally stop pouring out. “While I would like to stick around and hear more about your detective work, I have class in approximately ten minutes so I need to get going.” He says and you try to hide the way you deflate a little.

“Oh okay.” He smiles at you one final time before jogging in the opposite direction while you watch after him. Jeon Jungkook be damned, just who was that?

After your failed attempt at locating the aloof Jeon Jungkook- not that you were really looking because your mind was clogged with thoughts of your mystery man with the pretty smile- you trudge back to your tiny apartment in hopes to get some peace and quiet. The dream is destroyed, however, when you can hear the music from your neighbor all the way down the hall by the elevators. Agitated and sweaty, you march towards their door, more than willing to be an annoying neighbor if it means you can nap.

The cheap door rattles lightly under your heavy fists and you can’t help the satisfaction it brings you. Banging on a door is truly a great way to release tension it seems. A muffled “Turn it down so I can think!” sounds through the thin wood and the music lowers just barely. They might as well have not even bothered to fiddle with the volume at all. The door swings open and a guy with shoulders almost as wide as the doorway- you don’t know whether his shoulders are just that huge or if the door is that small, maybe both- leans against it lazily as his gaze flickers down your form.

“You’re not Namjoon.” Is the thought that makes its way out of your brain and into the atmosphere, the four word sentence stilling the air between you two.

“Well you’re right there sweetheart. I’m his much more handsome older brother. And you are?” He asks and you’re rather thankful that he decided to go with it rather than think about what type of idiot states who someone clearly is not. Maybe you really are getting dumber.

“Y/n, the lovely neighbor who just wants to take a nap. Which I can’t do if your music is so loud that I can hear it all the way down the hall.” He pauses for a moment to take in what you’ve said before pressing off the door to stand straight in front of you. He towers over you and you can’t help but shrink back a little.

“Namjoon did tell me about a nice neighbor but he never gave me a name. Though since you’re complaining about my music I wouldn’t go so far as to say you’re lovely.”

“Hey I had a long day!” You exclaim, raising back to your full height like that will somehow get him to take you more seriously. Though with the lazy smirk he gives you, your need to prove yourself only provides him entertainment.

“Well I’ve had a rather long day too, I’ve been babysitting all day.” A scoff of protest sounds from behind him and you try and inconspicuously look around the wide-shouldered man to see who else is inside Namjoon’s apartment. All you can see though is a random figure drowning in an oversized hoodie on the couch before the man at the door requests your attention again. Perhaps if you had looked a little harder you would’ve noticed the wire frame glasses sitting neatly on the glass end table. “Which is why I’m playing my music to relax. And drown out the incessant whining. ‘Seokjin get me water. Seokjin make me food. Seokjin do my math homework’, like I’m even good at such thing. I’m a liberal arts student.” You can’t help but laugh at the way he whines out the demands of presumably the other stranger in the apartment, his voice pitched higher than normal like he’s trying to imitate a child.

“Well Seokjin, I have just one request. Can you please turn the music down by like a third so I won’t hear it through the wall?” You bring your hands to clasp together in front of you, cocking your head to the side while batting your eyelashes up at him. He seems like the type to like aegyo. Evidently your assumption is very much wrong as he scrunches his nose in distaste.

“Please never make that face again. But I guess I can turn it down since you asked so nicely. Though next time you have a request for me at least buy me dinner first?” He says before waving at you goodbye through a laugh and shutting the door. The music now a quiet murmur in the hallway as you open your own apartment door. Odd, Namjoon never mentioned having roommates.

Apparently you too have surprise roommates as a tipsy Jimin appears at your door with a suitcase behind him as he stumbles into your apartment along with his small calico cat named Kimchi who immediately jumps out of his arms when she recognizes your apartment. “Jimin?” You say tentatively, almost like if you say his name too loud he’ll snap. “What’re you doing here at 2 a.m?”

“Mad at Yoongi. Living here now.” Is the only explanation he gives you before trudging into your bedroom, the bed creaking as he flops down on it meanwhile his suitcase still stands next to you in the living room. Kimchi pays no mind to her owner’s sad drunken form, kneading at your old couch until she finds a soft spot to curl up on.

“Jiminie, what did Yoongi do?”

“Told me he saw Soyeon making out with some guy in a bar yesterday.” Jimin sniffles, crawling over to lay his head in your lap when you sit down on the other side of your bed. Your fingers immediately weave through the soft strands gently similar to the way a mother would soothe her child.

“You’re mad because he told you?” You ask.

“Mad because he lied. Soyeon told me she couldn’t go to the movies yesterday because she had to study for an exam today. She even told me it went really well when I saw her in our com lecture. Why would Yoongi lie to me about that when he knows how I feel about her?” You can’t help the way you look down at Jimin pitifully, glad that he’s turned away from you so he can’t see the sadness in your eyes. Min Yoongi is nothing if not painfully blunt but he’s always been honest. So you know that he’s telling Jimin the truth, a truth that Jimin- blinded by his love for Soyeon that’s been growing since freshman year of college when they shared english 101- doesn’t want to hear nor accept. It’s a truth you’ve been trying to ease him into for months now, the fact that despite Soyeon knowing Jimin’s feelings she’s never made an effort to actually put effort into a relationship with him. She only drags him back in with faux affection when she can feel her hold on him begin to slip between her fingers. Jimin’s body begins to shake again as his mind drifts off to what Yoongi said again, your legs becoming slightly wet as his tears trickle onto them.

‘Aww Jiminie,” You sigh, moving a hand to wipe at his tears on the cheek available to you. “It’s gonna be okay, you and Yoongi will still be friends after this.”

“I just don’t know why he’d tell me that. Just thinking about her with someone else makes it feel like someone is stabbing me and cutting my heart out piece by piece. Make the pain go away kitkat. Please.” He whimpers and your heart breaks alongside him as tears fall down your own cheeks. You wish you could take the heartache away, you wish he’d never met Soyeon, that he found someone who loved him as much as he deserves. You wish that there was something you could do but sadly Jimin will have to get over his feelings on his own. There’s not much you can do besides wipe away his tears.

“I’m so sorry Jiminie, but it’ll get better. You’ll find someone who’ll love you more than she ever could.” it’s the only solace you can offer him at the moment and while now it does nothing you hope it plants a little seed in his mind to later sprout into hope for the future.

“Yoongi wasn’t lying was he?” Jimin says after a few minutes, voice so soft you almost miss it entirely.

“I don’t think so bub.” You whisper, brushing his hair back from his face softly.

“Can I still stay here? I just need some time away to think and figure out how to apologize.”

“Stay for as long as you need.” You tell him, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to the side of his head. “What’re best friends for?”

You wake up early the next morning to Kimchi sitting on your chest, patting your face gently with her paw. “Hi sweetheart.” You say softly and she responds by rubbing her face against yours. “You hungry?” You ask her to which she meows in response. Sitting up slowly she jumps off of you and waits impatiently for you by the door, yelling at you to hurry up. Rubbing your eyes you slip on your slippers before following her to the kitchen to make sure she doesn’t wake Jimin up. Thankfully you had babysat Kimchi earlier this year and have leftover food for her which you pour into a little bowl before moving onto making breakfast for you and Jimin. Settling on pancakes, because really who doesn’t like waking up to pancakes, you head downstairs to the nearby market to buy the necessary ingredients as well as a litter box for Kimchi. You’re not really sure how long Jimin will be staying with you but judging by the fact Jimin needs time to think about just how to apologize you can only guess the blowout between him and Yoongi was pretty bad. He’ll probably be staying for at least a week to build up the courage to even face your eldest friend.

Pushing the shopping cart through the empty isles of the shop- honestly you should come here only in the early mornings because there’s no one to get in your way when you glide across the isles on the back of the cart- you pause in front of the small plant section in the corner of the store. They’re mostly succulents and little flowers for people who’ve forgotten anniversaries and need to pick up one last minute but you contemplate bringing home a little aloe vera plant. Jimin has always talked about wanting to start becoming a plant dad and maybe this will cheer him up a little. Just before you can grab it because yes you do need that little plant to add to the forest that is your apartment, it’s snatched up by someone’s grubby hands. You squawk in disbelief- yes sadly squawk but it’s also 8 in the morning so do you really care- blinking at the plantnapper in shock. “That’s my plant.” Similar to the not-Namjoon Seokjin incident your mouth moves before your mind has time to process what you’re going to say.

“Is your name on it?” The thief says and you internally gag. Ugh he’s one of those guys.

“Yes actually it’s written as ‘fuck you’ in the soil.” You grumble, crossing your arms over your chest as you stare at your plant clutched between his fingers forlornly. You don’t even bother to look up at his face, his identity shall be nothing but a plantnapper to you.

“Are you always this pleasant?” He says airily and you almost look up at him just from hearing the smirk in his voice but refrain. He doesn’t deserve the satisfaction.

“Are you always such an ass?” You quip and to your anger he laughs. He giggles like you just told him the funniest joke of the century and you can feel your insides heat up as you struggle not to throttle him.

“If I recall correctly all I did was take this plant. You’re the one who started calling me names and cussing me out.” You hate that he’s right but you’ve always been known for your stubbornness.

“I wouldn’t have said anything if you weren’t a thief.” You tell him, reaching out to grab the plant from his hands when you notice his grip slacken slightly in confusion. If only he didn’t have good reflexes as he holds the little succulent high above his head.

“Ah ah ah,” He tuts and you finally look up at him, coming face to face with large round eyes glinting with happiness. You scowl further as you realize he won and got you to look at him. “Such a shame a pretty face is wasted.” He says, you can just imagine the ear-splitting grin hidden behind his large black face mask.

“Give me my plant.” You deadpan, wanting to end the altercation all together. You’d lost the will to want it so badly as soon as he pointed out that he was in fact right and you had been the one to start this petty argument, but now your desire to not lose has won over and you’re adamant on leaving with the plant still trapped in his hands.

“Say please and I’ll consider it.” He counters, unaffected by the sharp glare you send his way.

“I saw it first!” You whine and again he giggles.

“What is this, elementary school? Well in that case, you snooze you loose!” If it weren’t for the face mask obscuring his mouth you just know he would be sticking his tongue out at you. Just the thought irks you enough to submit to his will.

“Fine, can I please have the plant?” You sigh hating the way his eyes twinkle.

“Sure thing.” He says before setting it down on the highest shelf available, one you’ll have to scale the shelf case just to grab. When he notices your expression of both defeat and annoyance his eyes crinkle once more into a large grin as he pats the top of your head lightly. “Have a nice day!” He sings before walking off in the opposite direction. You flip off his parting figure before sighing and staring at the aloe vera plant helplessly. You can’t just leave it there in case he comes back to see if you’ve managed to snag the plant. If it’s still there that means he’ll have bested you three times and you can’t have that even if he is a total stranger.

Your feet are perched on the bottom rung of the shelving as you reach up aimlessly with one hand, your mind so busy cursing out the stranger that you don’t hear the approaching footsteps of another person until a hand comes over your outstretched one and grabs the plant. Not again, you groan internally.

“Listen-“ You begin, turning around fully ready to be faced with a smirking crinkly eyed boy only to sputter when you realize it’s the guy with the camera you couldn’t get out of your head yesterday. He has a little apron on, one that all the employees wear, and a large silver name tag that displays his name so prettily.

“Were you trying to get this little guy?” He asks, voice warm and smooth like honey as he gently strokes his finger along one of the leaves of the small plant. His brown hair is like the color of milk chocolate, softened by the early morning sun and he’s so beautiful and warm you fully forget how to function. Like your brain short circuits and for a moment you forget where you are and what you were saying.

“Uhh yeah.” You manage to spit out after awkwardly gaping at him for who knows how long. “Thanks…Taehyung.” His name sounds so natural coming out of your mouth- but that’s probably just because you’re secretly a hopeless romantic who gets caught up in pretty boys much too easily- and you can’t help but wish that you’ll get to say it many more times. He gingerly hands the plant over to you and you can feel your cheeks getting hot when his fingers brush your own.

“Anytime stalker girl.” He giggles. It’s such an endearing sound.

“Y/n, my name is y/n.” You tell him, nervously fiddling with the leaves of your little plant.

“Need any help finding anything else?” He asks you and maybe- just maybe- you ask him to show you where the cat stuff is. But only because you don’t know- you do- where the cat stuff is and not because you want to spend more time with him- like how you ask his opinion on what food flavors Kimchi would like when she’s not even your cat and you have food at home.

Thankfully Jimin is still asleep when you arrive home which means you can still surprise him. You were a little stressed when you realized just how much time you had spent talking to Taehyung- just the thought of him makes you smile like a lovesick fool, grinning to yourself in your empty kitchen as you unload the groceries- but it turns out the emotional turmoil Jimin’s going through is enough to make him exhausted. Kimchi watches you mix the batter curiously from the top of the refrigerator, her tail flicking gently almost like it’s swaying to the music playing softly from your phone. “Should I make bacon?” You ask her, nodding affirmatively when she meows back at you that yes, you should.

The bacon sizzles as it hits the hot pan while you stand as far away as possible, carefully placing each strip with salad tongs. You jump when the grease pops, mind flashing back to the time Jimin almost set the dorm kitchen on fire. For someone who had worked in a restaurant during high school you would think he’d know not to put water in a hot pan of oil. Kimchi also hates the sound, her tail whacking you in the face as it flicks agitatedly. You wipe at your tongue furiously after feeling what can only be cat hair in your mouth- possibly the worst texture of all time- before making eye contact with a sleepy Jimin leaning against the hallway wall. “You’re cooking?” He asks, no stranger to finding cat hair in uncomfortable places.

“Thought I’d surprise you.” You smile awkwardly, gesturing to the pan before flinching when the oil pops.

“Breakfast in bed? Your future boyfriend will be the luckiest guy out there. I didn’t even have to put out.” Jimin laughs, disregarding the way you internally gag at the thought of being intimate with Jimin. It’s not that you don’t think he’s attractive because lets’s be honest, with his plush lips that could rival any bratz doll, thick head of black hair and amazing physique from dancing- you really should’ve took him up on taking classes with him- he’s a straight stunner. His sweet and charming albeit snarky personality only makes him even more alluring. If only you hadn’t known him for so long- more like took baths with him as babies- you’d probably see him as something more than just an annoying, lovable little brother. You say little despite him being older because this man really does act like a five year old sometimes.

“Please never put that image into my head again.” You say, ignoring the way he rolls his eyes.

“It’s your fault for imagining it. Ugh now you’re making me think about it; when will the torture end?” He whines only pausing his dramatics when you put a stack of bacon and pancakes in front of him. Immediately he slathers them in butter and syrup, completely silent as he digs in.

“Wow thank you, Y/n you’re the best! I couldn’t ask for a better best friend.” You say sarcastically, patting yourself on the back before turning to flip your own pancakes.

“Thanks you.” Jimin sings through a mouthful of food, standing up to give you a sticky kiss on the cheek in appreciation.

“Gross!” You yell, wiping your cheek on a nearby dish towel before twisting it to snap it at Jimin. He shrieks in terror and you laugh manically, plating your own breakfast before sitting besides him at the counter top. The barstools creak under your weight- although what did you expect when you bought the cheapest ones available at Ikea- and you half worry it’s going to break but thankfully you don’t end up bruising your ass today. “I did such a good job. These are delicious, wow.” This time you really do give yourself on the back, proud to say that you’ve still got it. They’re fluffy, not burned, and edible. Someone needs to cast you for top chef.

Jimin chuckles from beside you, the two of you eating in silence until Jimin notices the small aloe vera plant next to the fridge. “You bought another plant?” He says exasperated, almost like your slight plant addiction has offended him.

“Firstly I told you the more plants the better the air quality. Plus more free oxygen.”

“All oxygen is free stupid.”

“Anyways, since you wanted to be a plant dad I thought you could start out with this little guy. It should be relatively easy but I can help you if you have any questions.”

“Oh, thanks. I guess I’m a proud father of two now.” Standing up Jimin grabs the little plot, cradling it between his fingers. “It needs a name.”

“Cherry.”

“I hate cherries.” Jimin says going so far as to pucker his lips and scrunch his nose to show his distaste.

“Not cherry cherries, Cherry.” You say, sighing and rolling your eyes when Jimin doesn’t understand the clear difference. “Only the best character in animal crossing, duh.”

“She doesn’t even wear Gucci.” Jimin scoffs and you place a hand over your heart, wholly offended by the slander taking place in front of you.

“Just because she’s not a hypebeast does not make her inferior. Besides aren’t you more of a YSL guy? Gucci is their direct competition.”

“I just- Cherry and Kimchi sounds horrible.” Jimin sighs.

“Please.” You plead, pulling your best puppy dog eyes. “I went through so much just to get it.”

“Did you embarrass yourself again?” Jimin’s voice is something along the lines of a disappointed mom- the one where they just kinda sigh it out because they shouldn’t have expected you to change- and you just flash him a smile.

“If you’re asking if I was mid-scaling a case of shelves to try and get Cherry from the very top and the hottest guy I’ve ever seen caught me in the act then yes. But I only had to scale it because this jerk wanted to flex his height and put it up there so I had to climb to get it. I mean he’s not even like super tall he’s just normal tall so maybe it’s an inferiority complex. Can tall guys have those?” You ramble, mid-tangent when Jimin raises a hand to stop you.

“Fine we can name it Cherry. But just know when people ask me why that’s the name I’m blaming you.”

“You act like Kimchi is not just as weird. She’s not even mainly orange.” Feeling a pair of eyes on you you turn and come face to face with Kimchi who had left her post on the fridge to make her presence known. If she had eye brows you swear she’d be glaring since her eyes have lost their typical round shape and are more angular. “Sorry baby you know I still love you.” You tell her, rubbing the top of her head until she purrs.

“Don’t listen to her Kim, she’s lying.” Jimin whispers conspiratorially to which you gasp. Pulling her into your chest you cover her ears as you cradle her.

“Don’t put such words in her head. I even bought new food for her!”

“Are you stalking me?” A voice you’d recognize anywhere, Taehyung’s, says to your left and you swear you’ve never turned faster in your life.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” You tease, chuckling to hide the way your heart races at the sight of him. HIs hair is a wavy mess today, toeing the line between bedhead and purposely but ever so sexy all the same. He’s wearing a thin, black sweater today tucked into some loose brown plaid plants and looks effortlessly good. It’s truly unfair for him to be this attractive, you’re not sure your heart- nor your stomach with the way butterflies are fluttering rampantly in your ribcage- can take it. “Besides aren’t you the one doing the stalking? After all I was here first.”

“Very true but I also caught you in the act the other day, so I can’t be too sure.” He teases, nudging your arm with his own. “So have you found the guy you’re looking for yet?” He asks, moving to sit next to a bench a few feet away and patting the spot next to him.

“Not yet, he’s more aloof than I thought.”

“A buddy of mine had his bag stolen recently too. Apparently you’re not the only kleptomaniac on campus.”

“I’m not a thief!” You exclaim, playfully slapping his shoulder as he giggles at you.

“Alright, alright.” He says throwing his hands up in mock surrender.

“Oh hey how’d your photography assignment go?” You ask, half curious and half itching to fill the silence between the two of you.

“Nothing really struck my interest.” He shrugs. “You’re actually the only thing I could think of the rest of the day.” He says it so casually like he’s talking about what he ate that day, completely unaware of the way you clam up beside him. How do you even respond to that?

Laughing awkwardly because your mind has shut down and you’ve been left to follow your useless instincts, you fiddle with the rings on your fingers. “Yeah you’re pretty interesting yourself.” You want to bash your head into the sidewalk. That’s the best you could come up with?

“Want to be my muse?” He turns to you then, looking at you like you’re the most interesting thing to him. It makes you nervous, what will he do when he finds out that you’re just average?

“If you want me to be.” You say softly, avoiding meeting his eyes. You’re mad at yourself for how shy you’ve become but you’ve never been in a situation like this before. Taehyung is just so blunt and sweet, but you’re so accustomed to loving insults that you don’t know how to respond in something that’s not sarcastic.

“I want to catch you in your element.” He says, reaching over to take your hand in his own. Your cheeks heat up instinctively and you turn away to hide it, turning back around when you hear the familiar shutter of a camera. You didn’t even realize he had it.

“I’m afraid I’m not that interesting.” You tell him earnestly, unable to hide your crestfallen expression.

“I beg to differ. I mean how many girls do you find that hide in bushes outside science lectures and use mini walkie-talkies?” You can’t help but crack a smile, imagining yourself from his point of view. That must’ve been quite the sight.

“That was a one time event. Well hopefully. I’m just kinda wishing the owner of the bag will just appear in front of me.” You sigh, looking forlornly at the life science building. You just knew the owner had to be in there somewhere.

“That’d be easy.” Taehyung laughs, his smile falling when his phone buzzes. “I have to go to class but I’ll see you again okay?”

“Oh okay. Should I give you my number then?” You ask, fumbling with your phone to bring up the contacts page.

“Sure, though I think through fate we’d meet again anyways. Don’t you think it means something that out of the 40,000 students on campus we found each other?” His eyes twinkle with mirth and you smile back at him, hoping that this is some kind of act of fate. Maybe you’ve even found your soulmate.

“I hope so.” You tell him, smile growing as a boxy grin takes over his face. You’ve never met someone so adorable. He waves at you goodbye, throwing you a cheesy kiss as he walks in the other direction, leaving you to squeal by yourself in peace.

After spending the entirety of your free time spent sitting outside the life science building looking for a face you barely remember at this point you give up. You’ll just have to bring the backpack to the lost and found and notify your professor that you found a back from your past lecture and brought it there so he could tell the class. You’d also have to look for your own backpack, your mind so focused on the fact that you had someone’s bag that it completely disregarded the fact that you didn’t even have your own. Thankfully you still have your laptop so you’ve been able to complete your home work but all your notes were in that bag. Trudging through the hallway you ignore the noise coming from next-door, praying that by the time you return from this adventure they’ll be quiet, you quickly grab the bag and head out. You’re surprised to see a frustratingly familiar face however and you make eye contact with the guy standing outside of Namjoon’s door. You’d recognize those stupid big eyes and black mask anywhere. It’s the plantnapper.

“You’re the thief?” He yells in disbelief, pointing to the backpack as if it’s incriminating. Well it is but it shouldn’t be to him. You only blink at him in surprise, still stood in the doorway to your apartment as your brain tries to process what this means. “I should figure as much after the plant incident.” He scoffs, eyes sharpening as he glares at your unresponsive form. He must know the person who owns this bag that has to be it. Or, oh no, what if he’s the guy who owns it.

Taking a moment to observe your self-declared nemesis, you take in the tattoos that poke out from his oversized black t-shirt, the man piercings in his ear, the all black (tattoos included) aesthetic. The only thing that doesn’t scream that he could like drawing skulls in his free time is the dorky bucket hat on his head. Stepping closer, you look in his eyes once again trying to imagine the ones from Jeon Jungkook’s instagram profile picture to them. It’s only when he crosses his arms at your scrutinizing gaze do you notice the wire frame glasses hanging from the collar of his shirt. Oh no, please not him. Anybody but him.

“You’re Jeon Jungkook?” You ask incredulously not believing that he’s right here in front of you. You thought the guy who drew the skulls and small plants would be a shy emo nerd not an arrogant asshole.

“So she speaks.” He says, reaching forward to wrench the backpack out of your hands. “Why’d you steal my bag anyways, thief?” He spits the word out and you glare at him, fists clenching at your side.

“I’m not a thief. I accidentally took it thinking it was mine!” You say indignantly, tired of having to retell this story so many times. You wish you would’ve just thrown it away. You would’ve if you had figured out the plantnapper’s identity sooner.

“You thought it was yours for two days? Are you stupid?” He asks and you suck on your inner cheek in irritation.

“No I was just trying to find you to return it personally, but now I wish I’d have just thrown it away or burned it.”

“Wait a minute…does that mean you’re missing your bag?” His eyes twinkle in amusement and he looks much too pleased with the situation for your liking. You liked it better when he looked angry because at least you knew what was coming.

“No.” You say, though you can hear the hesitance in your own voice at your blatant lie.

“So you’re telling me that you don’t have a blue bag covered in pins and a bunch of pink bunny notebooks?” When he notices your eyes widen because you realize he took your bag as well, a smirk takes over his already obnoxious features. “You wanna lie to me again?” He teases, grinning as he once again watches you sigh in defeat.

“Fine yes it’s mine okay? Can I have it back since you have yours?”

“Hmm I don’t know, I quite like some of the things you’ve written in the margins of your notebooks. Can you explain to me more about the sock puppet show?”

“That wasn’t me it was Jimin!” Another lie, you thought your little nephew might like it for when you babysit him, but he doesn’t need to know that. You refuse to give him any more blackmail material.

“I’m sure.” He says sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. “Do you really think I’m that stupid?” He asks and this time it’s your turn to grin.

“Do you want an honest answer?”

“What do you know, thief.” He scoffs and you scoff in return. Who knew someone could be so irritating?

“You’re the one who stole- and still has- my backpack!” You yell at him, enjoying in the way he pokes his tongue into his cheek in irritation.

“Because you stole mine first!” He whines, petulantly stomping his foot. You don’t suppress the urge to laugh to which he frowns. “Fine you want the bag? Then go get it.” Angrily he reaches into his pocket only to come up empty before banging his head on the front door rather harshly. The thud carries down the hall.

“That was pretty loud. Is it really that empty up there?” You reach up to knock your fist against his skull just to be annoying but he swats your hand away.

“I don’t have a key.” He sighs, before beating on the door so hard that it rattles yours as well. “Seokjin!” He yells and you take a step back from him just in case any of your neighbors poke their head out to see what the commotion is about. You don’t want to be associated with him. “Jin open the fucking door!” He yells again, his voice wavering as embarrassment takes hold. His neck and ears begin to turn red, the blush spreading to his cheeks as he pounds against the door almost desperately. If he wasn’t such a nuisance and your sworn enemy you’d probably find it endearing.

“You don’t have a key to your own apartment?” You tease, leaning against your own front door as you soak in his misery. It’s about time he do something stupid in front of you. Victory tastes so sweet.

“Shut up.” He snaps, jiggling the door handle like it’ll magically unlock itself. You’re actually starting to feel bad as you watch him wither inside, fully succumbing to the embarrassment of it all.

“Hey it’s okay, maybe he’s not home.” You say softly, placing a hand on his arm to stop him from knocking again. His knuckles are red from the harsh pounding and when he turns to you with eyes somewhat watery and a giant pout on his lips your heart cracks a little. You begin to even regret being so mean to him until the door opens and he returns back to normal.

“Finally!” He yells ignoring Seokjin’s annoyed face as he scurries towards the back of his apartment where you assume his room is.

“This kid, moving in here without notice and then rudely waking me up from a nap.” Seokjin rolls his eyes, moving to stand aside as Jungkook’s footsteps get louder as he trudges back towards you.

“Here’s your bag thief. Hope I never see you again!” Throwing your backpack at you he slams the door in your face leaving you to stare at it blankly. Just when you think someone isn’t half bad they have to prove you wrong. Scoffing you turn around and head back into your own apartment, blissfully unaware of the pair of eyes on you watching through the peephole.

When Jimin arrives home you’re still brewing in agitation from your encounter with your ever so pleasant neighbor- note the sarcasm. “So I’m guessing giving the backpack back didn’t go well?” Jimin asks, flopping beside you on the couch. Kimchi immediately jumps up after him, content to lay on his lap while purring loudly. You’re a little envious that he comes back home to something happy to see him, a loneliness you didn’t know you felt creeping up on you as you now know what it’s like to come home to something. There’s only so much comfort your plants can provide. Maybe you should get a boyfriend- Taehyung pops in your mind and you instantly smile, only to scowl when the buck-toothed loser takes his place- perhaps you should just get a pet instead.

“Let’s just say I never want to see Jeon Jungkook again.” You huff, crossing your arms as his stupid smirk appears in your head. You should’ve slapped it off him. He’s lucky you’re not a violent person otherwise you would’ve.

“Would food cheer you up?” Jimin asks, eyeing you with a smile because he already knows the answer.

“Is it free?”

“Always.” Jimin laughs, taking his phone out of his pocket- careful not to disturb Kimchi too much- before dialing a number you know too well. Your local pizza restaurant is famous on campus, fancy enough that people don’t feel like they’re just eating grease like dominoes but also cheap enough that it doesn’t feel like they’re breaking the bank on literal pizza. It’s college, if people are gonna waste their money it’s for sure going to be on alcohol.

“Hi I’d like to place an order.” Jimin says, giggling when he recognizes the voice of whoever is on the receiving end. “I’m glad you answered, I missed your voice. Maybe you could deliver the pizza too so we can spend a little time together. You haven’t taken your break yet have you?” You stare at him quizzically until you realize just what the little snake is doing. You hope to never be on the receiving end of Jimin’s flirtatious advances, especially knowing that he flirts with anybody to get what he wants. “Oh how disappointing I wanted to see you.” He sighs, going so far as to pout even though they can’t see him. “Maybe you can make it up to me somehow?” He asks sickly sweet and you only stare in awe as he flashes you a brilliant smile. The rat just got a free pizza, you know it. Hanging up the phone Jimin waggles his eyebrows at you, cackling evilly like he’s some kind of witch or something.

“You didn’t think I’d pay for you did you? I don’t even pay for myself.” He snorts- yes snorts- entirely too pleased with himself for your liking.

“I can’t wait till this catches up to you.”

“Then stop benefitting from it.” Jimin shrugs and you whine at him in response.

“But the perks are so nice. Ahh I feel like a bad person but at the same time I’m not the scammer.”

“I am not a scammer. I’m just taking advantage of my pretty privilege.” Jimin says and you only further your pout.

“Why don’t I get pretty privilege?”

“You just don’t have the face for it.” He says bluntly, screeching when you smack his chest.

“Park Jimin take it back!” You continue your assault on his chest until he grabs your hands in his own, using his strength to hold them away from his body.

“I just mean you’re not good at flirting! You’re just mean and shit.” He huffs, watching your reaction skeptically to see if you’ll try and lunge for him again.

“I can flirt. And besides I’m not mean, I’m an angel.” You say, taking your hands away to place them in your lap. You focus instead on Kimchi who is so unbothered by this whole ordeal that she’s fallen asleep.

“Yeah okay.” Jimin laughs, the kinda half snort-half huff type. “And if you’re not mean why did Seokjin text me about you yelling at someone in the hallway.”

“It’s not just someone, it was Jeon Jungkook. My rival, my arch-nemesis, my most hated person. He deserved it anyways, he called me a thief! Can you believe it?” You exclaim, irked by just the thought of your previous argument. It’s been so long since someone has surpassed your indifference and gotten so under your skin that just the thought of them makes you want to punch something. You think the last time you felt like this was in eighth grade and it’s as infuriating as you remember. You hate him.

“I mean you did steal his bag.” Jimin says and you turn so fast he actually jumps.

“Why does everyone keep saying that? It was an accident!” Jimin falls silent after that, finally realizing that he’s treading on thin ice. He didn’t realize that this Jeon Jungkook was such a sore spot for you, all he wanted was to tease you a little. The two of you continue to sit in silence, the only sound being Kimchi’s soft purrs and the occasional rumble from the old air conditioning system.

You want to say something, you know Jimin didn’t mean to make you so upset but you’re not goof at explaining your feelings. Or expressing emotions. You should probably try a little harder because glancing at Jimin through the corner of your eye you can see how glossy his eyes have become. “Jiminie I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” You murmur, half ashamed and half uncomfortable with being vulnerable. It’s stupid, he’s your best friend and he’s seen you cry before but it never gets any easier. “Please don’t cry because of me. It-it hurts to see you cry.”

Jimin sniffles and you almost start crying on your own, distraught at the fact you made him cry. Despite his snarky remarks you know Jimin is quite sensitive and you’re so stupid for forgetting about that. “That was the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“That makes me sound like a bad person. You know I love you, I just don’t say it a lot.” You chuckle, somewhat in an attempt to lighten the mood. It’s gotten much too depressing for your liking. Hastily wiping his cheeks he smiles brightly at you and your chest doesn’t hurt as much when you realize that he’s okay.

“I love you too kitkat.” He says, opening his mouth to say something else before the doorbell cuts him off.

“Pizza!” You cheer, jumping up and heading to the door quickly. The tension in your shoulders dissipating as you distract yourself. They rise up again when you realize just who is on the other side. “No.” You say, frowning as you’re reacquainted with his face.

“Yes.” He grins, the type that could give the cheshire cat a run for his money. “Now that’s $19.50.”

“The pizza was free.”

“I saw that but since it’s you…$19.50” He says and you scowl.

“I’m not paying for a free pizza. Besides you’re overcharging, can you even do math?”

“I’m charging for every second I have to speak to you.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one getting paid then since I didn’t chose to come to you, you came to me?”

“That makes no sense, my job is literally to deliver pizzas.” He says, shaking the box with your pizza like his red vest and the grease smeared across his cheek is not indicative of his job.

“Yeah and you’re doing a really bad job at it. So if you don’t mind,” Swiping the box out of his hand you hold it close to you before giving him a parting smile. “Goodbye.” Slamming the door in his face as he had done to you earlier, you lock it just before he can grab your handle.

“What about my tip?” He yells, banging his fist against the door. You only grin, fully indulging in the anger that seeps through his tone. Something about pissing him off gives you so much joy. Does that make you a sadist or something?

“Here’s a tip, stop bothering me!”

“That’s not even a tip, that’s a statement idiot!”

“Whatever you Bambi-looking headass!” You yell back, moving away from the door and presenting the pizza to Jimin like it’s a glorious prize. Jungkook is still banging on the door and do spite him further you have alexa play a song on full blast. It’s painful for your own ears but after letting it play for a minute, you turn it off completely only to rejoice in the fact that you can’t hear your nemesis outside the door anymore.

“I have so much I want to say but I’ll refrain for now.” Jimin says and you don’t like the way he’s looking at you. It’s almost like he knows something.

“Good idea. Now let’s eat, I’m starving.”

Two days later and you’re once again in your nearby market because Kimchi has now decided that her food is no longer good enough to eat. So to avoid your niece starving- as much as you love Jimin you refuse to co-pet-parent with him- you have to return to the store to buy her more food. You make a mental note to get a dog instead of a cat if you do decide to get a pet solely because they’re not picky about what they eat. Plus they’re rather loud with their affection which you appreciate. You can’t say you’re too mad about having to return to this store so soon though because you might get the chance to see Taehyung again. You’ve been hoping that he’d reach out to you at some point but you’re beginning to think he was serious about letting fate have you cross paths again. What if fate screws you over and you never see him again?

You almost jump in joy when you spot the back of his head- should you be concerned that you already know what the back of it looks like- unable to suppress the small squeak sound that leaves you. Why are you so embarrassing? You give him an awkward smile when he turns around, nerves calmed by the fact that he grins brightly back at you. “So we meet again.” He says and you’re pretty sure your pupils have taken the shape of hearts from how you look at him.

“Yeah.” You breathe out like you’re in a lovesick trance- yikes your hopeless romanticism is showing.

“Did you come just to see me?” He teases and you actually choke on your spit because embarrassingly yes, you partially came for him. He only chuckles at your reaction, placing a large palm between your shoulder blades to rub soothing circles while you cough your lung out. You understand now why you don’t experience pretty privilege; how can anyone find such a mess attractive?

“I came to get more cat food.” You croak out, throat sore and scratchy.

“Didn’t you just buy some a few days ago?” He asks, head cocked to the side entirely too cutely as his brows draw together in confusion. You’re pretty sure you’re swooning and you look away before he can catch you.

“Yeah but she decided it wasn’t good enough so here I am.” You laugh awkwardly. You wish the conversation flowed easier and you weren’t stuck only talking to him about either you stalking people or cat food.

The air around you turns stale as silence settles between you and you twitch nervously. The silence is unbearable and you wish to fill it. “Will you help me?” You ask, once again falling into the trap of cat food as a topic.

“Sure.” He gives you an easy smile, motioning for you to follow him to the specific aisle. Maybe you should just break out of this cycle by asking him out. Surely you’ll think of something to talk about besides cat food or stalking if you’re away from the places you associate them with.

“Do you want to get coffee or something sometime?” You ask him, your words blurring together into a messy sentence as the words tumble too quickly out of your mouth. It takes him a minute to piece together what you asked and in that minute you regret your decision even more. Surely he’ll say no.

“I’d love to.” He giggles, his boxy smile so wide his eyes scrunch a little as his cheeks push against them. Your eyes widen in surprise as you’d been preparing yourself for what you thought to be an inevitable ‘no’ and that only makes Taehyung smile wider-if possible. “You’re so cute.” He coos, tapping a finger against the tip of your nose as you continue to stare at him dumbfounded. Maybe you should have a little more faith in yourself if someone like Taehyung said yes to you.

“Thanks.” You murmur, cursing yourself internally for being so shy. How has this man reduced you to a bashful mess with a single compliment? You’re sure if you looked in the mirror you probably wouldn’t even recognize yourself. Y/n without a witty remark? Unheard of. Maybe this is the change you need though, maybe this you is better?

“if you want to wait around for five minutes my shift ends and then we can go?” Taehung asks and you just nod, your brain trying to process the fact that you’ll be going on a date in five minutes with the hottest guy you’ve ever seen. Looking down at yourself you freeze realizing you’re about to go on a date in sweatpants and one of Jimin’s old hoodies from high school. You look like you just rolled out of bed.

Five minutes isn’t even enough time to get to your apartment though and you sigh, resigning yourself to looking frumpy. Grabbing whatever cat food is nearest- what kind of food Kimchi would like is the last thing on your mind- you busy yourself at the register, chatting with a guy named Soobin. He winks at you when Taehyung rounds the corner to get you, his apron gone and revealing his Celine t-shirt. “You ready to go?” He asks, coming up beside you. Nodding in response, he places a hand on the small of your back before gently pushing you forward and you fiddle with the rings on your fingers to distract yourself from the heat crawling up the back of your neck and across your cheeks.

You instantly recognize the cafe he takes you to and smile to yourself, already anticipating seeing a familiar tuft of icy blonde hair- another one of your hair dye experiences. Taehyung- ever the gentleman- opens the door for you and you give him a soft smile in thanks. When you look back to the counter Yoongi is giving you a quizzical look and you shake your head slightly as a signal not to ask. That doesn’t deter him from scanning you and Taehyung, his eyes lingering on the way Taehyung’s arm wraps around your waist. You don’t remember him doing that. “Yoongi!” Taehyung yells and you turn to him in surprise. He knows Yoongi? Yoongi has always kept a pretty tight circle so you can’t help but be baffled by this newly discovered friendship. You’ve never heard him mention someone named Taehyung before.

“Ahh hi Taehyung.” Yoongi smiles, this time shaking his head at you slightly. You guess it’s only fair since you told him not to ask as well no matter how much you itch to question him. You’ve always been nosey, it’s something you and Jimin bonded over. “Haven’t seen you in a while.” Yoongi continues, looking to you briefly to see if you register the bone he threw you. Ahh they must be old friends that lost touch.

“Yeah I haven’t seen you since winter break in Daegu. You always ghosted me when I asked to hang out.” Taehyung pouts.

“I told you I’ve been busy. I’ve had a lot going on, my roommate is always getting into trouble. Speaking of which, how is he?” Yoongi turns his full attention to you and you give him a pitiful smile as you can see the hurt in his eyes. It’s no secret Yoongi has always had a soft spot for Jimin and their fight must’ve been really hard on him too. You hope he had someone to lean on the way Jimin did you.

“He’s reached acceptance. I think he’s finally trying to actually get over her. He’s been staying with me this whole time. You can stop by later if you want?” You offer, completely unaware of the way Taehyung’s eyes flicker between you and Yoongi to try and discern your relationship. He’s never heard about you either. Min Yoongi sure has a lot of secrets.

“I’ll let him come to me. He might think I’m ambushing him or something if I come over.” Yoongi shrugs albeit sadly. Your heart aches at seeing him so dejected and you place your hand over his own.

“He wants to apologize, he did the first night. He’s just working up the courage.” It’s the only solace you can offer him at the moment but you hope it’s enough to make him feel even a little better. “I don’t think he’ll take much longer, he’s probably getting sick of me.” You laugh, grinning when you see Yoongi crack a tiny smile.

“Sounds good. Now head to the pick up counter, I punched in your drinks a while ago. It’s not like either of you get anything different anyways.”

“Thanks Yoon! I’ll buy you lamb skewers next time we hang out.” You tell him, leaving the register with Taehyung trailing you.

“So how do you two know each other?” Taehyung asks, sipping on his strawberry smoothie.

“We met when I made the mistake of taking philosophy at nine a.m. a couple semesters ago. We really bonded while suffering together and then he became roommates with my best friend and we formed an unbreakable trio.” You take a rather large sip of your caramel macchiato, needing a drink after speaking probably the longest sentence you ever have to Taehyung. Progress- sad progress because you’ve never had this problem before but progress nonetheless. “How do you know Yoongi?”

“We grew up together in Daegu. Next door neighbors and everything.” Taehyung smiles like he’s reminiscing in things you don’t know about but one day you hope to hear more if for nothing but to hear his voice- although some embarrassing childhood memories to blackmail Yoongi with would be nice.

“Yoongi’s emo phase must’ve been an experience.” You snort only to freeze when you realize you just made probably the most unattractive noise in existence. You’re pretty sure you hear Yoongi cackle at your embarrassment.

“He actually didn’t have one.” Taehyung whispers almost like it’s a secret and you can’t help the gasp that leads your lips.

“What?” You exclaim, placing a hand over your mouth. Your whole friendship has been a lie! “But he’s so angsty!”

“That’s because he bottles up his feelings.” Taehyung says and you remember another reason you and Yoongi got so close. You’re practically the same person when it comes to feelings and expressing them- in fact it’s one of the reasons you can read each other so well. “I just wish he’d reveal his soft side more often.”

“That’s why he’s my favorite tsundere.” You giggle, winking at Yoongi when you catch him glaring at you from behind the counter. You could tell he was listening in on you and Taehyung’s conversation- he was wiping the same spot on the pickup counter for two minutes- and you know he hates nothing more than being compared to a tsundere. Though you theorize it’s only because it’ll out him as a weeb. Not that his one piece set displayed in the living room of the apartment gives it away or anything. ‘I hate you’ he mouths when you look in his direction again and you only laugh, giving him a finger heart to placate him before turning back to your date.

Taehyung is just smiling at you, his gaze flicking to the window to try and hide the fact he was admiring you. It was nice to see that he was the one getting bashful for once as you watch roses cluster along his cheeks. He really is so cute. “You’re cute.” You tell him, happy at the way his eyes widen at your sudden boldness. It’s only brief however as he gives you a flirty smirk in return.

“Just cute?” He asks, leaning forward to look you dead in the eyes, enjoying the way you struggle to maintain eye contact.

“Yes.” You whisper with a final flicker of confidence, immediately regretting your poor attempt to tease him as he leans in further, his face a few inches from your own.

“Let’s change that, yeah?” Your breath hitches at him being so close, close enough that you find yourself looking at the small mole under his eye and following it down to the mole on his nose before finally landing on the one on his lower lip. Your eyes linger on his lips, which look much to kissable for you to turn your attention away from. They’re soft and pink, moistened by his tongue that slips out to brush across his bottom lip, dragging your attention back up to his eyes that flicker from your gaze to your own lips. You pinch your bottom one between your teeth as the tension brews between you two. Taehyung reaches a hand out to fall gently on your cheek, releasing your bottom lip from its hold with his thumb. Once it’s free he wastes no time to press his lips to your own and you sigh into him. You could get used to this.

Nothing can ruin your mood, not even a certain bambi, as you skip up the two flights of stairs to your apartment building. With slightly mussed hair and kiss swollen lips, you’re entirely too giddy for your own good. You’re in the midst of digging around in your bag for your keys when you feel something wet against your leg. Instantly you scream, jumping away from whatever just touched you and relaxing only when you notice it’s a little black Puggle. “Oh hello.” You giggle, bending down to pet the puppy. It wriggles in excitement, jumping out of your outstretched arms almost like a fish out of water. Finally managing to wrangle it into your lap you check for a collar only to find none. Shrugging, you take the puppy into your apartment, resolving to notify the office about the lost dog so they can alert the other residents and hopefully its owner. In the meanwhile though, you have a puppy to play with! An annoyed meow sounds from the couch and you cringe when Kimchi glares at you.

“Sorry Kim, this is only temporary.” You try and console her, attention diverted when the puppy barks at you. “Hi sweetheart.” You coo, rubbing her belly as she happily melts into you. “Your owner should really invest in a collar.” You sigh, hoping that whoever they are will realize they’re missing a pet soon. As cute as you think this little puppy is you’re not equipped to care for it.

You must play with the dog for twenty minutes before it knocks out, snoring lightly on your furry rug. Kimchi watches curiously from the couch and you can’t tell whether she wants to befriend or attack it. Your door frame rattles and you sigh, leaning your head against the couch cushion as your neighbor wakes up the sleeping puppy, “Lucy!” You hear someone yell, a slew of curses following as they run around the hall. Their footsteps are heavy enough that it startles the puppy, causing it to run to the door and bark incessantly.

“It’s okay sweetheart.” You try and soothe, pausing as the footsteps halt suddenly followed by a frantic pounding on your door. Kimchi- fully alarmed- runs into your bedroom for cover as you stare at your shaking front door, the puppy in your arms. After taking a deep breath you calm your nerves, pulling the door open only to get punched in the face. “What the hell?” You yell, almost dropping the dog as you raise a hand to your now bruised nose.

“I’m so sorry!” A voice, you now realize is Namjoon’s, says frantically. “I was just about to knock on the door again and I was already in motion. I wasn’t aiming for your face I swear!”

You close your eyes and inhale- for both a piece of sanity because this is the most Namjoon thing you’ve ever witnessed and also because your nose hurts so bad you could cry- and slowly open your eyes to look at the assailer. “Hi Joonie.” Is the only thing you can say. Your day only gets worse as an annoyingly familiar figure rounds the corner. How can such a beautiful day turn into a nightmare? If you didn’t know any better you’d think you were the oc for someone’s story.

“Why do you have my dog?” He yells in an odd mixture of confusion and irritation.

“This is your dog?” You ask, ignoring the way your nose is throbbing.

“If it wasn’t, would I refer to it as my dog?” Jungkook asks, his tone nothing short of condescending as he knocks against your forehead, knuckles barely brushing against the bridge of your nose but causing you to wince all the same. Jungkook pauses for a second, his hand hovering above your face as an expression you could almost discern as concern crosses his features. It’s gone in a moment, almost like a blip, before being replaced with smugness. “Did you run into a door or something? This is what you get for being a thief.” He snickers, moving to take the puppy out of your hand before you shield it away from him with your body.

“Namjoon punched me in the face. Also your dog ran away and came to me, I didn’t steal it. And I’m not a thief, I’ve told you a thousand times it was an accident!”

“He what?” Jungkook yells, spinning on his heels to face Namjoon in anger. His hands clench at his sides causing the veins running down his forearms to pop, his tongue pushing against the inside of his cheek. He’s glaring at the taller boy, his body almost teeming with rage. Such a shame someone so pretty has such an awful personality.

“He ran away. You should try being a better owner so he doesn’t flee at first chance. Also have you ever heard of a collar? It’s a great way to let other people identify your dog.” You scold, scratching the dog’s head as you do so.

“That’s not-whatever. Besides she’s a girl; her name is Lucy. And I did get her a collar it’s just a little too big right now but she’s not even supposed to really go outside before she gets all her shots.” Jungkook says, this time reaching forward too quick for you to avoid, snatching Lucy out of your hands before you can even think to counter his attack.

“My baby!” You cry, strangely attached to the little creature even though you’ve barely spent half an hour with her.

“I’m right here.” Jungkook winks, cackling as you proceed to gag.

“Tell me, does your neck ever hurt from your head being shoved so far up your own ass?” He cackles again and you’re sure if you were a cartoon you’d have smoke coming out of your ears. You’ll probably have to go to the doctor after this with the way he’s raising your blood pressure. You’ve never met someone so infuriating.

“Does your ass ever hurt from the stick that’s up it?” Jungkook retorts and you scowl.

“At least my pet didn’t run away from me.”

“She didn’t! I wasn’t even home when Namjoon lost her.”

“You’re saying you lost her but all I’m hearing is she ran away.”

“Whatever thief. What do you know?” He scoffs and you scoff in return.

“If that’s what helps you sleep at night, Bambi.”

“I’m just gonna go.” Namjoon says clearly uncomfortable with the tension surrounding you and Jungkook. You almost feel a little bad before you remember he literally punched you in the face. “I can’t believe you made Namjoon so uncomfortable he had to leave.”

“Me? You’re the one who started it.” Jungkook scoffs.

“I did not! You accused me of stealing your dog!”

“Because you’re a thief! How many times do I have to tell you!”

“Whatever Bambi, what do you know?” You huff, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Call me bambi one more time.” He growls and you smirk.

“But I think bambi really suits you. You have bambi eyes and everything.” You grin at the way he grits his teeth, taking a step forward to lessen the gap that stands between the two of you. He’s probably less than a foot away at this point and you notice he has a mole below his bottom lip.

“Shut up.” He says, his usually light voice taking on a deep and gravelly tone. Your mind buffers for a moment at the sound and you momentarily forget where you are. It’s like he hypnotized your or something.

“Make me.” You press, your breath hitching as you watch something flicker in his eyes too fast for you to catch. Lucy barking breaks the two of you out of your standoff and you both turn to watch as she proceeds to pee all over Jungkook’s arm. You can’t help but giggle as he grimaces in disgust. “Serves you right.” You sing, reaching over to give Lucy a scratch on the head.

“Whatever. At least I don’t do an ugly middle part every day.” He scoffs and you shrug.

“At least I don’t smell like dog piss.” With the final word secured you close the door, only to reopen it for a second. “Don’t forget to clean the carpet!”

When Jimin returns with a guilty smile and a box of taco bell you immediately grow suspicious, though you can already guess what he’s about to say. Jimin doesn’t have any hookups at taco bell so he even paid for once which means he must be moving out but doesn’t want to you to be sad. It’s a little too late for that as you immediately deflate, the loneliness you didn’t know you felt before Jimin moved in returning. “You and Yoongi made up?” You ask though it’s really just confirmation.

“Yeah we did. I told him I’d come back later today.” Jimin’s voice drips in misplaced guilt, for he really has no reason to feel bad for moving back home. You knew this would only be temporary.

“I’m so happy for you!” You say, making sure to raise your voice to convey a happier tone. You really are glad they worked it out but you’ll miss him. Looking around your apartment the plants seem a little less homey than normal. Maybe you should invest in a pet for real. Lucy from next door pops into your head and you smile. “I made a new friend next door so I won’t be lonely without you.”

Jimin gasps over-dramatically, placing a hand over his heart like you just stabbed him. “You’ve replaced me with Jeon Jungkook??” He asks and your eyes widen at the insinuation. Like you’d replace Jimin with anyone, especially Jeon Jungkook.

“Eww gross, like I’d even think of befriending him.’ You scoff.

“You’re like a little kid thinking their crush has cooties.” Jimin snickers and you glare at him.

“He’ll infect me with his stupidity! He’s a clown Jimin, he literally got peed on by his own dog earlier!” You exclaim and Jimin only laughs.

He hums for a minute before turning to you with a sly smirk. “You talk about him a lot you know? Got love on the brain?” Jimin teases, cackling at his own joke only to choke when you angrily shove a soft taco into his mouth. You grin at him wickedly when he turns to you, ignoring the way he returns his own glare.

“More like hate on the brain.” You say, taking a bite of your own taco before turning on the tv.

“There’s a fine line between love and hate you know? Also if I go into the bathroom and find a grease stain on my shirt I’m going to kill you.” Jimin goes so far as to flick your head with his warning, probably a small punishment for stuffing his face. In your defense it was the only way to get him to stop talking nonsense.

“You can’t even strangle me with those baby hands.” You quip, giggling when Jimin flips you off.

“I can’t believe I’ve lived with you for this long without going insane.” He huffs, feeding Kimchi-who has been beckoned by the smell of food- a piece of cheese. She grinds her teeth happily after swallowing it whole, sticking her head into the wrapper to try and find more morsels.

“That’s because you loveee me.” You sing, sending Jimin a heart and a flying kiss. As much as he detests it, he’s a sucker for large displays of affection. His cheeks turn a soft cherry pink as he shoves your shoulder a little too hard, making you topple over from your spot on the floor. The taco comes flying out of your hand, the remnants scattering as Jimin struggles to capture Kimchi before she can feast on the fallen taco. You sigh at the inevitable stain you’ll have to clean from all the grease but turning to the chaos that’s behind you- Kimchi is half wrapped around Jimin’s neck like a boa constrictor as he holds her to him to prevent her escape- you can’t help but miss it already.

Returning from your trip to Jimin and Yoongi’s apartment-somehow he collected more stuff than he brought with him in his short stay at your apartment and needed help carrying everything back- you run into Taehyung. “Tae?” You ask and he gives you the same expression.

“Y/n? You live here?” He asks equally as surprised and confused to see you. It’s a similar feeling to when you see a teacher out in public.

“Yeah. Do you?”

“No I was just visiting some friends of mine.” He says, shoving his hands into his pockets and rocking on his heels as the two of you stare at each other. “Hey did you know your nose is turning purple?”

“Huh?” You ask until you piece together that you must be beginning to bruise. Thank you Kim Namjoon. “Oh yeah I just got hit in the face.” You laugh, consciously covering your nose with your hand.

“You should ice it. Have you done that already?” Taehyung steps forward, placing a hand on your wrist to gently pry your hand away from the offending object (ie. your nose).

“No.” You sigh because really that should’ve been the first thing you did but instead you wasted time arguing with Jeon Jungkook. Your nose is probably going to be super swollen and purple by tomorrow.

“Let’s get some ice for it, yeah? You should really take better care of yourself.” He laughs, taking your hand and leading you towards the elevators. You don’t know if a bruised nose needs two people’s attention but it’ll be nice to come home to something other than silence. “What floor?”

“Two, but we can just take the stairs.” You tell him, changing his direction to the stairwell on the opposite side of the building. He follows you quietly to your apartment, looking around the walls like he’s trying to find something specific.

“I’ve never come this way before. My friends always take the elevator.” He says, pausing beside you when you reach your door.

“Two flights of stairs isn’t too bad for me. Plus elevators make me nervous, there’s something about plummeting to your death in a tiny box that freaks me out.” You shrug, letting him inside before closing the door behind you.

“It’s like a whole garden in here!” Taehyung exclaims, spinning in a circle to take in the various potted and hanging plants that lie around your living room. You twist your rings as you watch him take it all in, worried he might find your plant obsession excessive or weird. You just really like the look of it and it’s nice to take care of something.

“Yeah, I might’ve got a little too carried away at the plant nursery.” You laugh, watching as Taehyung brushes his fingers along random leaves.

“I tried to take care of a plant once and I couldn’t even get it to sprout.” When he turns to you his eyes are filled with awe and you ease up a little bit.

“It takes a lot of work but it’s pretty calming for me. It’s nice to have something that relies on you to take care of it.”

“I get the feeling. That’s why I have Tannie. You wanna see him?” Taehyung asks excitedly, already fishing his phone out of his pocket. Nodding, you take the phone from him and observe the tiny dog practicing tricks in the video. It’s a mainly black Pomeranian, brown tufts of fur on its belly and legs with two angry brown eye brows that make you laugh.

“He takes after you with the strong brows.” You say making Taehyung laugh.

“You know what they say, dogs always look like their owners.” Your mind drifts to the black Puggle next door and it’s fake wire-framed glasses wearing owner. You guess they both have a rather cute boopable nose. “Now about your nose…” Taehyung says, drawing you out of your thoughts.

“Right!” Taking ice out of the freezer you place it into a tiny ziplock while Taehyung grabs the kitchen towel hanging off the oven handle to wrap it with.

“So you need to do twenty minutes on and twenty off. I could keep you company if you want?” You nod your head quickly at his offer, gesturing for him to make himself comfortable.

“Do you want anything to drink or eat? I have popcorn and other snacks.”

“How about we eat popcorn and watch a movie?” He suggests.

“Great idea.” You’re about to grab the box of popcorn from one of the top shelves of the pantry when Taehyung’s hand on your shoulder stops you.

“Let me do it. Don’t want you to hurt yourself any further.” He teases, ushering you out of your own kitchen. Walking back to the couch you watch him as he fumbles around your kitchen to find the bowls, giggling as he opens the same cupboard three times. You’re about to tell him its location when he finally finds it, cheering as if he’s won some kind of prize. With the popcorn made and your fridge raided for drinks he rejoins you at the couch while you pull up netflix.

“What do you want to watch?”

“How about a nature documentary?” He suggests and you just smile and nod despite the fact that you’re going to be fighting the urge to fall asleep for the next two hours. Oh what you’ll do for a pretty boy.

After spending one day alone in your apartment after classes you decide you no longer enjoy having nothing to come home to. You’re not quite sure how you used to do this just fine because now the silence is almost unbearable. You could go over to Jimin and Yoongi’s apartment but all your stuff is here and you can’t exactly just invite yourself over. Well judging by how many times Jimin has done that to you you probably could but it just feels weird. You also don’t think you can sit through another nature documentary with Taehyung despite how much you like him. You could barely stay awake last time, the twenty minute alarms the only thing keeping you from drifting off. Plus you had to watch not only animals kill and eat each other- while a necessary part of the circle of life, you don’t particularly enjoy watching life leave something. And most disturbingly, there was a whole segment on spiders and you hate spiders. Which leaves you with only one option: Lucy.

On your way home from your last lecture you go to the nearest pet store, picking out a little pink collar with cherries decorating it and a pink leash. Maybe you’ve gone a little overboard with the pink aesthetic- you may have been eyeing a pink onesie because you’ve always wanted an animal that lets you dress it- but the idea of e-boy Jungkook walking around his pink accessorized puppy makes you laugh. You bet the collar he bought her has spikes or skulls. With the presents in hand, you stop at Jungkook’s door knocking in a small tune.

The door opens and instead of Jungkook you’re met with Seokjin. “Oh hi, is Jungkook home?” You ask hesitantly. “I uhh brought stuff for Lucy.” You bring the bag in front of you to show him like it’ll validate why you’re here. You can’t have people thinking you came just for him.

“He just went out to meet the postmate guy but he’ll be back in a few minutes if you want to wait for him inside?” Seokjin steps aside to let you enter, ushering you onto the couch before getting you water.

“I heard Jimin and Yoongi finally made up.” Seokjin comments and you nod somewhat sadly.

“Yeah he moved out yesterday.”

“Being alone again must be a little lonely huh? Is that why you’re here? Not that I don’t mind you stopping by but it’s not like we’re very close or anything.”

“I missed Lucy.” You tell him. “But yeah it has been a little lonely. If you don’t mind me asking how do you know Yoongi?”

“We used to TA a biology class together. And I met Jimin when I was helping them move in but I don’t see him very often. He really only asks me to bring him food when he’s too lazy to cook.” Seokjin says.

“Yeah he’ll do about anything for free food.” You laugh and Seokjin smiles.

“It’s nice to know that you’re actually pretty sweet. I was worried you were just a hothead after listening to Jungkook whine about you incessantly.” Seokjin laughs and you look at him curiously.

“Jungkook talks about me?”

“All the time. Anyways, I’m always looking for new friends so I can learn more secrets so feel free to stop by whenever. I’m sure Kookie wouldn’t mind seeing you around more often.” He winks and you’re entirely too confused to fake a gag.

“But he hates me?”

“That’s his charm. He has that whole ‘I want to fight you but also kiss you’ vibe. Or so I’ve heard anyways. I just get embarrassing child vibes from him personally but I’ve also seen him in a Pikachu onesie singing the pokemon theme song too many times at 2 a.m. to see him as any less.” Before you have time to even process what Seokjin has just told you the door opens and you immediately stand up startled, the bag of goodies for Lucy falling off your lap and spilling onto the floor.

Jungkook pauses in the door way, his eyes the widest you’ve seen so far. The Wendy’s bag crunches as he clutches it tighter and the two of you stare at each other like you’re waiting for the other to make the first move. “I brought stuff for Lucy. To make sure she’s getting properly cared for.” You hurry feeling like you need an excuse to come over. Seokjin laughs under his breath from beside you.

“First a thief then a trespasser. Am I going to have to report you?” Jungkook asks and you scowl, crossing your arms across your chest. Just who does he think he is?

“Seokjin let me in.” You say stepping aside to reveal Jin who was watching the whole encounter unfold with a grin. His eyes glint with mischief when you turn to him and suddenly you’re afraid of his power. How many secrets does he know? Will he figure out yours?

“I thought we agreed not to invite random people in?” Jungkook sighs, almost like he’s scolding Seokjin. You frown. You’re supposed to be enemies, does that not mean anything to him?

“She’s not random. She’s my new best friend!” Seokjin yells directly into your ear making you wince before throwing an arm around your shoulder. You’re too busy looking at Seokjin confusedly to notice the way someone else’s eyes linger a little too long on the arm wrapped around you.

“Whatever. Just don’t talk to me.” Jungkook grumbles stalking towards his room when you speak up.

“But you’re the one talking to me?” You ask making him stop in his tracks and turn around to face you again. That’s when you notice the frosty in his hand that’s half melted and now running down the side of the cup and down his hand. “Did you postmate a frosty?” You ask, genuinely concerned with why he chose that when it’d be undoubtably half melted in the forty minutes it takes delivery.

“Maybe.” He says skeptically and you give him your best ‘are you stupid?’ expression because you have eyes and it’s literally in his hand.

“Did you not realize it would be melted by the time you got it?” You tease, a smirk pulling at your lips when he falters in coming up with a witty remark.

“Shut up.” He groans, turning back around and opening his bedroom door. A flash of black rushes past him and straight towards you and you can only cheer in glee when Jungkook sighs in exasperation. “Betrayed by my own dog.” He whines to himself as he leans against the door frame to watch you play with Lucy.

“Hi baby!” You coo, sitting down on the floor to hold her as she gives you as many kisses as possible. Giggling you fall back so you’re lying down, holding her up above you so it looks like she’s flying. Her little paws move rapidly as she attempts to get back to you, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she whines. “Sorry, sorry.” You chuckle, placing her back down on your stomach. Jumping off you, the bag catches her attention and she busy’s herself by climbing inside of it. Her head pops up with the bag still attached and you can’t help but laugh as she raises up on her hind legs and uses her paws to try and take it off herself. Snapping a quick picture, your airdrop it to Jungkook and Seokjin before taking it off her head.

“You wanna see the stuff I got you?” You ask, not sure what type of answer you were anticipating in response. You take her snort as a yes and show her the collar first. “You’re gonna look so cute in this. Plus I made sure it’s the right size.” You look pointedly at Jungkook who has moved from his position by the door to the kitchen counter where he snacks on his fries and commits the crime that is dipping them in his frosty. He looks away when he catches your gaze, face flushed a soft pink as he returns his attention to his phone. Bummed by his lack of response you focus on putting the tiny collar around her neck. The little cherry charm jingles as she shakes her head for a moment to adjust before she licks your hand in what you assume to be thanks.

“Jin look! Isn’t she so cute?” You hold her up to your face while showing off the new collar to Jin who claps in delight.

“I live for the pink aesthetic. She’s gonna be a doggy icon.” He cheers making you laugh.

“Only the best for my little Lucy. What do you think bambi?” You ask, turning to Jungkook who makes an OJO face, his phone pointed in your direction. You wonder what he was doing but brush it off to just him being weird. He’s probably looking for more pokemon onesies or something.

“Not too bad thief, not bad at all.”

When you return home to your apartment after visiting your neighbors turned new friends- excluding Jungkook who is teetering on the upgrade to frenemy because he actually wasn’t entirely awful- you feel light and airy. You’re almost as giddy as you were the day you came back from your date with Taehyung. Speaking of Taehyung you should probably text him or something, you haven’t really texted today. Though you’re feeling too lazy to text out an entirely conversations worth of words so you settle for calling him instead.

“Hey Y/n.” He says, surprising you for picking up on the first ring.

“Hey Tae. How was your day?”

“It was really good! I spent the whole day taking pictures of plants and stuff for my assignment. Your apartment really inspired me to capture the less sentient lives that intersect our own.” He says, voice so cheery you can practically see the smile you know he dawns.

“That’s really cool, you’ll have to send them my way after you’re done with them.” You say, glad that you could be of some help. He did ask you to be his muse after all.

“How’s your nose?” He asks and you pause when you realize you completely forgot about the bruise on your nose. In fact when you got ready this morning you didn’t even notice. Standing up from the couch you look at your reflection in the bathroom mirror surprised to see it’s only a small purple mark.

“There’s only a small bruise. I actually forgot I had it so I guess it’’s pretty good.” You laugh, opting to sit on the bathroom counter instead.

“That’s good, I was worried about it. Hey I was going to visit my friend’s dance recital tomorrow if you want to come? He’s been telling me it’s really good.”

“Sure thing. What time should I be ready by?” You ask mind already alternating between different possible outfits. You’ll need to look extra good while standing next to Taehyung while also looking casual enough that it’s not too much for a campus recital. You haven’t been to one since your ex’s last showcase a year ago.

“How about seven? You can help me look for a nice bouquet to give him afterwards. Since you’re a plant expert and everything.”

“I don’t know if I’d call myself an expert but sure. I’ll meet you outside my apartment?” You start to grow nervous as you realize you’ll need to come up with conversation starters so the conversation doesn’t lull. You wish you were better at talking to him.

“See you then. Goodnight Y/n.”

“Goodnight Tae.” Hanging up, you lean your head against the mirror and close your eyes, focusing on trying to lower your heart rate. You hope the more you spend time with Taehyung the easier it gets.

You’re panicking. Mostly because it’s 6:30 pm and you’re still not dressed. You hate your entire closet, nothing is good enough to wear. Your clothes are strewn across your bedroom and you’re pretty sure you could cry. You’ve at least done your hair and makeup when you were still happy with your previous outfit but after looking at it one too many times you picked it apart. A knock on your door startles you and you pray to God that it’s not Taehyung who’s arrived early. You sigh in relief at the sight of Jungkook, your nerves easing as you focus on the bright pink leash he’s holding and the squirming puppy at your feet.

“Hey thief we’re going to get something to eat on a walk and after you nearly burned down the kitchen this morning I thought I’d invite you. I don’t feel like smelling burnt eggs through the vent for the rest of the day.” He says nonchalantly like he can’t see your frazzled state.

“Sorry bambi but I can’t. I have a date to get ready for and I can’t figure out what to wear.” You sigh, leaning down to give Lucy a few scratches after she barks at you for attention.

“A date?” Jungkook asks, his voice cracking a little in surprise. He clears his throat as you snicker.

“Yeah. Hey do you think he’d hate me if I just showed up in this oversized tee like a VSCO girl because I think If I look at my closet one more time I’ll actually cry.” You half joke half genuinely ask because you’re so frustrated.

“I mean nothing you wear can make you less ugly.” He offers and you glare at him.

“Thanks. That’s really just what I needed. I don’t know why I even bothered to ask.” You deadpan, moving to close the door on him when he shoves his foot between it and the frame to stop it.

“I mean- you know that mini skirt you have? Tuck your shirt into that and wear some docs or something and you’ll look uhh reasonable. I uhh saw a girl wearing something similar earlier and it was cute.” He says, his words slurring a little in his panic to redeem himself and you crack the door open a little to look at him.

“Thanks bambi, I’ll try it. I dig the pink leash by the way, really makes you look badass.” You giggle, closing the door to drown out his shout of protest.

Turns out bambi does have somewhat of a fashion sense because after trying on his suggested outfit you don’t hate it which is enough for you at this point. Checking the time you realize you only have a few minutes left to make any finishing touches before you need to meet Taehyung downstairs. Checking your eyeliner wings one last time and spraying on perfume you hurry down the stairs and outside, tapping your foot anxiously as you wait for Taehyung. You hope you look okay.

“You look great.” Taehyung’s deep voice says from behind you, his arms encircling your waist as you turn around to face him. You look away bashfully once again reminded what a shy, nervous mess he turns you into.

“You do too.” You’re not just saying that to be polite, Taehyung truly does look good. Though when does he not? There’s something so effortlessly beautiful about him that you’re envious of. You wish someone would see you like that.

“All set to go?” Taehyung asks before linking your arms when you say yes. You wind up back at the familiar market where you and Jungkook first met. You laugh a little to yourself when you notice the row of aloe vera plants lined up on the top shelf. To your right is the flower section for those last minute bouquets and you turn your focus to them and Taehyung instead.

“I like this one.” You pick up a bouquet of sunflowers and show them to him. The flowers are a little on the smaller side since it’s just the beginning of their season but they’re still happy and bright. “I think it just looks really joyful. Plus everyone buys roses.”

Taehyung laughs at that, putting down the bouquet of roses he had in his hand. You squeeze your eyes closed when you realize you’ve accidentally made fun of his flower choice.

“He’ll like it. He’s always calling himself the sun anyways.” Taehyung shrugs, heading to the register with you tailing behind. You’ve only known one person who called themselves the sun but surely it’s not him. There’s seven billion people in the world, surely it can’t be that small.

Disregarding the hunch of who the flowers you picked out are for, you trot behind Taehyung and lace your hand with his own. He gives you a bright smile in return and a little squeeze, probably excited that he’s not the one initiating PDA for once.

After paying he leads the way towards the campus event center which isn’t much farther of a walk. The closer you get the more you remember and it’s not that you and your ex didn’t end on a good note it’s more so just that you didn’t anticipate seeing him, much less going to his recital and picking out flowers for him. But you’re probably just jumping to conclusions.

Getting settled into your seats, front and center, you relax a little. Taehyung’s hand is still in your own and to try and settle your nerves you focus on him- which you probably should be doing anyways since this is a date but your mind has never been good at sticking to one topic. “So how’d you get such great seats?” You ask before pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “Thanks for bringing me by the way.”

“Of course. Oh, my friend is captain of the dance team and is a senior so he gets the best spots in the house. I only have to buy him food for the rest of the week as payment. I didn’t feel like waiting in line and getting a crappy spot.”

“Understandable. But if you’re buying food anyways feel free to send some my way.” You wink and Taehyung sighs.

“Once again I’m getting used for free stuff.” He cries dramatically and you giggle. “But since you’re my muse I guess it’s okay.” He says suddenly serious, taking your surprise to press a kiss to your lips.

“Taehyung!” You scold, lightly slapping his chest. "You can’t just catch me off guard like that.”

“Sure I can. You’re cute when you get embarrassed.” That only causes your embarrassment to heighten and he grins, placing another kiss against your lips.

“You suck.” You pout despite not really meaning it.

The lights dim and you both quiet down, turning away from each other to look up at the stage. It’s a lyrical piece first to a song you’ve never heard before but it’s pretty. As the lone harp melody plays a figure emerges from the darkness into the center spotlight only to be joined by several other people as the beat hits. Their movements are fluid like water, their shadows casted elegantly against the back wall of the stage. When the performance ends you can’t help but applaud- though you really are supposed to wait until the end to avoid disrupting performances. “That was so cool!” You whisper to Taehyung who smiles brightly at you.

“My friend choreographed it!” He whispers back, pride for his friend’s achievement seeping in his words. It’s cute. You both fall silent again as the other pieces are performed only resuming conversation once the show is in intermission.

“Your friend is really talented.” You tell Taehyung, unable to get the performance out of your head. It’s a shame it was the very first one as it’s outshined the rest for you.

“You’ll have to tell him when we see him later. I heard they’re selling snacks out front, do you want any?” He asks.

“I can get them if you want? Since you got the tickets and everything.”

“Sure, I’l just wait for you here. If they have any sweets can you get me some?” He asks.

“Sure thing. Be right back.” You smile, about to get up when he presses a chaste kiss to your cheek.

“Hurry back.” He winks and if it were anyone else you’d roll your eyes.

You huff in annoyance at the rather long line, texting Taehyung that it might be awhile before opening up a piano game on your phone. “I didn’t know you were coming.” Yoongi’s voice startles you and you jump back.

“Why do you not make noise when you move!” You ask. “This really supports the theory that you’re a vampire.”

“If you compare me to Edward Cullen one more time I will kill you.” You quiet down at that, the image of Yoongi’s Katana hanging above his bed- another symbol of his weebiness- surfaces in your mind. You’d rather not get close and personal with it.

“Noted. Anyways what’re you doing here?”

“I get extra credit on one of my music assignments if I come. I don’t really see the point but hey that just means I can put in less effort later since I have a safeguard for my grade.”

“It’s extra credit Yoongi not a free pass.” You snort, sighing when the line still hasn’t moved.

“Why’re you here?”

“I’m on a date.” You tell him before realizing your mistake. “Don’t tell Jimin, it’s not that serious yet and I-“

“Too late.” Yoongi says, pointing to Jimin coming your way. “Though Taehyung is not who I expected it to be with.”

“How did you know it’s Taehyung?” You ask.

“Know what’s Taehyung?” Jimin asks and you give Yoongi a pleading look.

“Her date.” Yoongi says and you flip him off.

“You’re on a date and you didn’t tell me?” Jimin asks and when you turn to look at him you can’t tell whether he’s more annoyed or hurt. Either way you feel awful but Jimin has a tendency to get too attached to your boyfriends and when you and Hoseok broke up he was crushed.

“We’ve only hung out a couple of times, it’s not that serious.” You try and console him but that only makes him even more upset. His nostrils flare and everything!

“A couple times! What happened to no secrets?” Jimin scolds and you feel even worse.

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to get too attached if it doesn’t work out.” Like last time doesn’t need to be said for him to understand where you’re coming from and he sighs before running his hand through his hair.

“Last time was on me but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know every aspect of your life.”

“You know I can see why you and Jin get along so well. Do you share secrets?” You ask Jimin and when he falls silent Yoongi decides to re-enter the conversation.

“Wait do you?” Yoongi asks. “If you told anyone about my One Piece set I’m going to kill you.”

“Jimin I’d be careful, he threatened me with the Katana five minutes ago.” You warn and Jimin visibly pales.

“I’ve only been talking to him about our ship. We just want our favorite emotionally stunted tsunderes to get together.” Jimin says causing you and Yoongi to turn to each other.

“It’s about you.” You both say at the same time only to look offended at each other’s assumption. You’re both so offended that you don’t even realize you’ve made it to the front of the line until the volunteer interrupts your bickering.

“What can I get you?” Scanning the table you see peanut butter m&m’s- only the best kind.

“Uhh one bag of regular m&m’s and one peanut butter please.” You say because you’ve never asked if Taehyung has a peanut allergy. That’s probably an important thing to know.

“One pack of oreos.” Yoongi says behind you followed by Jimin yelling for sour patch kids.

“That’ll be $10.50” She tells you and sighing- seeing as you’ve been roped into paying for those leaches you call best friends- you hand over the cash.

“You’re welcome.” You sneer while they smile sweetly at you.

“You’re the best Y/n! Oh and don’t think you’ve gotten out of me meeting Taehyung. Bring him to the apartment Friday night for game night!”

“Do I have to?”

“You bring him to us or we come to you, your choice.” Jimin shrugs.

“Fine.” You sigh once again bested by the tiny man with the tiny hands.

When you get back to Taehyung intermission is practically over meaning you only have enough time to get settled in and give him his snack before the lights once again dim and the show starts. You almost forget about the fact that your ex is probably who you got flowers for until he appears in the final set as the lead of a hip hop dance. His eyes widen for a split second when he sees you in his search for Taehyung but he hides it like the professional he is and carries on with his best performance yet. Hoseok is just one of those people meant to dance. You loved his passion while you were dating and admire it still even after not really talking to him for a year.

Taehyung didn’t notice the surprise on Hoseok’s face- probably because he wasn’t looking for it- and happily drags you backstage to find him. You’re a little surprised you can just walk back here with no one to stop you but you guess they’re all working on things to fix for tomorrow’s show and are too busy to worry about the two of you.

You find Hoseok in the middle of his dance team crowded around him, his face all smiles as he redoes his favorite move for them. You can’t help but smile fondly at the scene, it reminds you so much of when you and Hoseok first met. It was your first and only hip hop class and he was the instructor. You thought he took extra interest in helping you because you were so terrible and he wanted you to exceed which was true but he also thought you were the cutest mess he’d ever seen. “Hobi!” Taehyung yells, gathering his older friend’s attention as Hoseok leaves the group of dancers to greet you.

“Hey Tae.” He smiles, giving him that half-hug half-slap on the back that guys do.

“We got you flowers! Y/n picked them out.” Taehyung smiles, placing his hand on the small of your back to push you more into the conversation. You’d been standing slightly behind Taehyung not sure what to say to Hoseok, that is if he even wanted to talk to you.

“Ahh hey Y/n. You still know me so well huh?” He laughs, bringing the bouquet to his head. “Be honest, do I still look like them?” He asks and you roll your eyes with a smile.

“Nah you look more like the one on the bottom that’s wilted and dying. I can’t believe you’re so old now.” You tease easily falling into your old rhythm. Hoseok was always bubbly and playful, an easiness surrounded him that always made you comfortable, even now it seems.

“Hey it’s only been a year since we last saw each other, I’m only a year older!” He whines.

“You guys knew each other?” Taehyung asks and you pause. How do you explain to your date that his friend is your ex without it being awkward?

“Yeah we’re old friends.” Hoseok says, seeming to read your uneasiness and giving you an easy out. You give him a grateful smile.

“Yeah we just lost touch, though it’s good to see you again. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.” You mean it. Hoseok was your first love, he was everything you could’ve asked for but eventually you two fell out of love and ended it mutually before you began to hate each other. You’ll always have a soft spot for him and it makes you happy to see he’s doing so well.

“Yeah me too. I should’ve reached out sooner.” Hoseok tells you and you just shrug.

“Maybe it was best we found each other again now. Though I wouldn’t mind being friends again.”

“I’d like that. I missed my favorite tsundere.” Hoseok giggles and you groan.

“Everyone keeps calling me that today.” You whine.

“Tsundere? She’s much too shy and sweet for that don’t you think?” Taehyung asks completely confused about this whole interaction. You guess it makes sense because with Hoseok you were kinda like how you are with Jungkook. You’ve never been the bashful type until now.

“Shy?” Hoseok asks and Taehyung nods. You nod in agreement and Hoseok hums looking between you both for a few moments. “What’d you think of the performance?”

“The first one was great. I didn’t know you choreographed anything besides hip hop.” You tell him, grateful for the switch of topics. Hoseok is really saving you tonight.

“Yeah I thought I’d try new genres and become a more well-rounded dancer.”Someone yells Hoseok’s name from across the room and you all turn to see a short girl wave brightly at him, a bouquet nearly as big as her in her arms. “I uhh gotta go but thanks for coming by.” Hoseok says with a slight blush on his cheeks before scurrying over to her. You can’t help but smile after him. You hope this one works out for him.

“You ready to go?” Taehyung asks lacing his fingers in your own.

“Yeah, I’m starving. Want to pick up something on the way back?”

Taco bell in hand and a kiss goodbye you make your way back up to your apartment with a smile on your face. Today went much better than expected. Opening the door connected to your hallway you’re surprised to come face to face with Jungkook. So surprised that you take a step back and trip, beginning to fall backwards down the stairwell before strong arms wrap around your middle and bring you upright. His arm moves so one hand cradles your head and you both just stand there in shock as you process what just happened. You almost fell down the stairs and Jungkook caught you. You almost fell down the stairs!

“Don’t scare me like that!” You yell, pulling away to slap his rather firm chest.

“How was I supposed to know you were on the other side!” He exclaims,

“I almost died!”

“You probably just would’ve gotten concussed but…hey I caught you! Where’s my thank you?”

“You want me to thank you when you almost killed me??” You ask and Jungkook rolls his eyes.

“You’re so dramatic. Also you uhh threw your taco bell and I’m pretty sure that’s a rat eating it.”

“What?” You scream, jumping into his arms-not like you needed to though since they’re still wrapped tightly around you- hiding your face in his neck and trying not to picture that rat. You’re a bit of a hypochondriac so just the idea of what diseases the rat could be carrying is freaking you out. Jungkook only chuckles at you before reopening the door leading towards the hallway and carrying you towards your front door where you effectively release him. “You owe me dinner.”

“Do I?” He asks, raising an eyebrow at you.

“You made me drop my taco bell and I haven’t had dinner yet.” You pout.

“Do I always have to take care of you?” Jungkook sighs before unlocking his own front door and pulling you inside.

“What do you mean take care of me? I’m just a random person remember?” You quip but Jungkook ignores you as he scours throw his fridge. “Bambi stop ignoring me.” You whine which finally gets his attention.

“Sit thief.”

“If thief is your attempt at an affectionate pet name I hope you know I hate it.” You tell him, moving to sit at the barstool anyways.

“All the more reason to use it. Now thief, welcome to Jungkook’s ramen shop where we only serve the finest cup ramen. What flavor do you want?”

“If this is a restaurant shouldn’t you be wearing one of those big white hats or something? Also chicken please.”

“Boring choice but okay. Also I’m not wearing one of Jin’s stupid hats.” Jungkook says, turning on the kettle before moving to face you.

“So you’re telling me he has one? Here… In this apartment?” You ask, eyes glinting with mischief. Jeon Jungkook will be wearing one of those stupid hats even if it’s the last thing you do.

“I feel like if I say yes I’m going to regret it.” He tells you earnestly but you pay him no mind as you scour the kitchen looking for said hat. It’s not in the cupboards or pantry and you’re beginning to lose interest in finding it until you come across the linen closet in the hallway. You wouldn’t think it’s in there but the way Jungkook stiffens has your spidey senses tingling. With a flourish you open in the door exclaiming ‘aha!’ as you retrieve the item of your dreams along with an apron that says ‘kiss the cook’.

“Since you’re preparing my food I need you to wear a hat. I don’t want to find a hair that’s not mine in my ramen.”

“I’m not wearing that.”

“Fine.” You say with a huff, placing the hat on the counter in front of you. “At least wear the apron?” You bat your lashes at him and he concedes, putting on the stupid thing with the frilly edges. Step one: complete.

When Jungkook is busy pouring the boiling water in the cups and trying not to burn himself you sneak up behind him, the hat clutched between your fingers as your knees bend in preparation to jump on his back. While not the most conventional method he’s annoyingly kinda tall and if you can get above him you have a better chance of securing the hat onto his head and getting him to keep it there. As soon as the kettle is placed down onto the counter you attack, yelling out a war cry as you launch yourself onto him and almost falling off in laughter at the girlish scream that makes it past his throat. Lucy is barking from what you assume to be his room and the apartment is a madhouse as Jungkook teeters side to side with your legs wrapped around your face and your fingers trying to center the hat on his squirming head.

“Stop moving!” You yell, accidentally bonking him square on the head with your fist.

“Ow! Stop fucking hitting me!” He yells back, once again squirming beneath you.

“I wouldn’t have to if you just stayed still! We could’ve avoided this if you had worn it in the first place.” You’re both too busy arguing to hear the footsteps of one of the other inhabitants of the apartment emerge from their bedroom but when you both spin around you’re surprised by Seokjin causally leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face.

“Say cheese.” He smiles, blinding you with the flash before you can hide behind Jungkook’s head. “Jimin will love this.” He snickers and like Jungkook’s hair is a joystick for him to move you pull it forward to urge him to walk towards Seokjin.

“Don’t you dare send that! He has enough blackmail material on me already!” You yell, your grip on Jungkook slipping as you attempt to stomp the ground only to realize mid-movement that you’re not actually on the ground. Thankfully Jungkook has faster reflexes then you and catches you before you can fully fly off his body, slamming your upper half into his back while his other hand slides higher up your thigh to secure you now around his hips. It takes you a moment to register that your leg is so warm where his hand is because there’s no fabric barrier and it takes another moment to realize your skirt has probably slid up an embarrassing amount. “Okay put me down, put me down.” You say, slapping Jungkook’s arm to force him into urgency.

“Alright, alright.” He says before ungracefully dropping you onto your ass.

“I hate you.” You tell him before straightening out your skirt.

“What were you two even doing?” Seokjin asks and you sigh.

“He won’t wear the stupid hat.” You grumble and Seokjin sighs.

“Kookie wear the hat.”

“Yeah bambi wear the hat.” When Jungkook is still adamant he won’t be wearing the hat you look up into their ceiling light dramatically before pouting.

“Look Kook you made her sad.” Jin says, gesturing to you still staring into the light.

“What’re you doing? You’re gonna make yourself go blind, stop.” Jungkook says but you hold up a hand to silence him.

“Hang on I’m trying to make myself cry.” You tell him and Jungkook only chuckles.

“You’re ridiculous. If I wear the hat will you stop?” Immediately you look over to him with watery eyes, blinking rapidly to try and get the annoying circles out of your vision.

“Yes.” You grin, clapping as he adjusts it to sit lopsided on his head. That’s good enough for you as you jump up in glee. You’re too blind- really those spots just won’t fade away- to notice the almost fond smile Jungkook sends you.

“You might as well take a picture. This is the only time you’re gonna see me like this.” Jungkook tells you and you grab your phone off the counter and point the camera at you.

“Say I love you” You tease.

“I hate you” Jungkook says and you giggle. All is right once again in the universe.

Friday finally comes along and you have a slight problem. You’ve been so busy with Jungkook and Lucy- you have to make sure she’s getting proper care and long walks- that you forgot you were supposed to invite Taehyung over to Jimin and Yoongi’s for game night. And now you’re frantically blowing his phone up at four p.m. hoping that he didn’t make plans already. Stupid Jungkook. Like the angels above have taken pity on you, Taehyung is thankfully free and fully okay with you dragging him to Jimin and Yoongi’s place. Per tradition, they provide the place and the drinks and you provide the snacks. Though you’ve been craving fried chicken lately so you’re someone tempted to bring over a whole meal instead. You’re still deep in contemplation when Taehyung arrives at your door, a bag of chips in his hand because he didn’t want to arrive empty handed. How thoughtful.

“Do you think I should bring fried chicken?” You ask Taehyung, grabbing a few things before you leave for Jimin’s.

“If you want to, I certainly wouldn’t mind.”

“Friend chicken it is. Bambi was telling me about this place yesterday and apparently it’s really good.” You ramble, slipping on your shoes by the door.

“Bambi?” Taehyung asks, following you once you’ve locked up.

“Yeah, a friend of mine.” You tell him, eyeing the old taco bell stain in the stairwell. You hope the rats enjoyed your five dollars worth of tacos.

“Is that their favorite movie?” Taehyung asks and you wonder why he’s so curious. Though you guess that’s not the most common nickname and maybe he’s just trying to get to know the people you hang out with.

“No, they just have big doe eyes. They’re kinda pretty sometimes.” You shrug, not thinking too much about what you’re saying.

“Hey my friend has eyes like that too! Though that’s a pretty common eye shape.”

“Yeah but I’d be able to recognize this pair anywhere. They’re quite distinctive.” Taehyung just nods, probably getting bored talking about a pair of eyes he’s never seen on a person he doesn’t know.

“Hey how come I’ve never really met any of your friends besides Hoseok? Are you hiding them from me?” You tease though you are a little curious. Sure he’s only meeting Jimin because Jimin basically forced you to do so but you’ve never even really heard him talk about his own friends.

“More like I’m hiding you from them. You’re just too cute; they might slip up and fall in love with you or something.” You laugh and roll your eyes, shoving his arm lightly.

“Yeah right.” You scoff, yelping when Taehyung nudges you to the side with his whole body in retaliation to your push. “You want to fight Taehyung?” You ask him, brow raised in challenge.

“Bring it cutie.” He laughs running down the sidewalk a bit as you attempt to check him. “No fair! You can’t just run away.” You pout, placated by the soft kiss he presses to your forehead. You take the moment of weakness to push him, giggling as you run away in the direction of Jimin’s apartment building with Taehyung hot on your heels.

There’s something unnerving about the way Jimin is observing you and Taehyung, a critical eye he’s never had before when you’ve introduced other guys. Normally he’s bubbly and warm, already giving them a hug like they’re his long lost friend but today he’s rather distant. It’s extra odd since he suggested you meeting but maybe Jimin is just feeling like playing the bad cop today. The doorbell rings and distracts you from observing Jimin who’s observing Taehyung as the boys watch you with anticipation. You’re pretty sure you can hear Yoongi’s stomach rumble as you answer the door while Taehyung heads to the bathroom.

“Oh hey Namjoon.” You say, not quite expecting to see his face. You haven’t really seen him since he accidentally punched you- you almost get the feeling he’s been avoiding you since.

“Oh hey Y/n.” He says sheepishly and you just give him an easy smile.

“You haven’t been avoiding me have you? Joonie I’m not mad at you.”

“You’re not?” He asks incredulously.

“No. The bruise healed already by the way, it was pretty small.”

“I’m so glad to hear it.” He breathes out, sounding pretty relieved.

“Just for future reference, if it’s an accident I won’t get mad at you for it.” You tell him.

“Good to know. Oh it’ll be $12.74. Half off for friends and family.” Namjoon smiles, a big one that makes his dimples pop out.

“You’re too kind to me Joonie.” You say, making sure to tip him 50% just because.

“You’re too kind to me.” He parrots but happily accepts, waving you goodbye before disappearing back into the hallway. Closing the door Taehyung reemerges from the back hallway and hurries over to give you a hand.

Setting the food down on the coffee table the boys immediately dig in, not even giving you time to grab plates. Sitting between Taehyung and Jimin, you happily munch away and the four of you eat in silence as My First First Love plays on the tv. Despite Yoongi’s claims that it’s cliche, you’ve caught him watching it every time you come over. He even teared up a little at the bridge scene.

When the wings are picked clean you ask Jimin to help you clean up solely to interrogate him from the safety of the kitchen. “Stop looking at Tae like that.” You whisper yell and doesn’t even look at you as he’s throwing the bones in the trash.

“I’m just trying to see if he’s the right choice.” Jimin whispers back.

“Right choice? You say that like there’s another option.” You say only to scoff. “Besides it’s my decision anyways.”

“But my ship.” He whines and you sigh.

“Just give him a chance okay? He’s really sweet and I want him to actually like you if this turns into something. Plus you’re the one who asked to meet him.”

“You’re right.” Jimin sighs. “He did think to bring chips after all. Jungkook would never.”

“Jungkook?”

“Who’s ready to get whooped in Mario Kart?” Jimin yells leaving you to stand alone in the kitchen, utterly confused. What does Taehyung have to do with Jungkook? Shrugging it off you head back into the living room, your seat next to Taehyung now occupied by Jimin who has decided Taehyung is his new best friend. He even gave him the matching controller, something you and Yoongi had to earn. Sitting next to Yoongi, you lean your head on his shoulder as Jimin teaches Taehyung the rules of Mario Kart.

“You good?” Yoongi murmurs as to not attract attention from the others,

“Yeah Jimin just confused me is all. You like Taehyung right?” You ask.

“Of course, he’s my friend. What’d Jimin say?”

“Something about making sure Taehyung is the right choice. Whatever that means. And he mentioned Jungkook which just confused me.”

“I think he meant that you just act very different around the two. From what I’ve seen you’re pretty meek around Tae and while it’s cute it’s a little out of nature for you. We’re just used to you being a spitfire is all.” Your mind drifts back to Hoseok’s shocked expression when Taehyung referred to you as shy. Was the you around Taehyung really so different? Sure you were more nervous and struggled to think of what to say and were half as snarky as usual but that’s not a bad thing right? You’re just evolving. Besides Taehyung likes this version of you. But everyone’s doubts has you wondering if it’s really you at all. You’d never change yourself for someone else, right?

You can’t get the thought that maybe you’re holding yourself back around Taehyung out of your head all night, leaving you to not enjoy game night. Every time you interact with him you can’t help but wonder if you’re being yourself or if you’re portraying an image you’re not. Because while Taehyung does make you nervous and sometimes does make you stumble on your words, the more you’re aware of how you might be changing your behavior the more you’re aware that you’re suppressing your harsher burns or remarks that you’d have no problem saying to anyone else. You wonder if Taehyung realizes how different you act with Yoongi and Jimin compared to him or just amounts it to the fact that they’ve been your long-term friends. You don’t know, you’re not sure of anything at this point regarding you and Taehyung. You wish Jimin never said anything because now you’re left second guessing.

The thought follows you into the week and even leads you into ignoring Taehyung’s texts if for nothing but to not accidentally lie to him. You don’t want him thinking you’re a fake person and at this point you’re so turned around that you’re not even sure how you could make sense of what’s going on in your head. The more you think about it the more you’re convinced that you’re not yourself around him but the more you convince yourself the louder your doubts get because what if you’re only convinced because you think you should be. The only time you get any solace is with Jungkook and Lucy so naturally you’ve been spending time with them. Though it’s only to see her of course, never Jungkook. Which is why every day you make sure to bring her something new. Whether it’s a costume- yes you went back and bought her the pink onesie, she hated it but you got a cute picture- some new treats, toys, or even little bows you never came empty handed because that would mean you also partly came to spend time with Jungkook. And wanting to spend time with Jungkook would mean that your annoying e-boy neighbor finally broke down your walls and created a little home in your heart. It would mean that he’s finally become your friend and that’s information that can’t get out. Besides if he finds out you think of him as a friend would that change the way he interacts with you? Would you no longer be able to make fun of him and call him names like bambi just to piss him off?

You think about this as you’re stood outside his door, a hand raised to knock on it and two coffees in hand- Jungkook had promised you to teach you all the tricks in Smash Bros so you could finally beat Jin tonight and it’d probably take a while so you needed to stay awake- paired with a pup cup from Starbucks for Lucy when the door swings open and Jungkook’s doe eyes are frantic. “I’m so glad you’re here.” Is all he says before pulling you into a hug, the pup cup falling to your feet as you struggle to hold onto the two larger drinks. He grips you like a child holding a teddy bear for comfort, his breath ragged against your neck as he hides his face in the crook there. You instantly panic because something has him obviously scared but try your best to remain calm to comfort him. As best as you can you wrap your arms around his back, careful to hold the two cold drinks away from him.

“You okay?” You ask softly although very aware the answer is no. You and Jungkook have never gone down this road before- one of soft words and touches- so you try and navigate it as best as possible even if that means asking redundant questions.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with Lucy, she just keeps coughing and she’s spitting out this white foamy stuff and I don’t know what to do because she’s so hot that I’m scared to carry her in case she overheats and I-“ He sobs out, pushing into you harder as he tries and hides the tears. It’s a little futile however as you can feel him shaking around you but let him collect himself before gently pulling away to set the drinks down. Gingerly you wipe his tears as he hangs his head down in shame- probably from breaking down in front of you (his frenemy)- and you gaze up at him softly.

“It’s gonna be okay, I’ll go with you to the vet and we’ll deal with it from there. You can even hold my hand if you need to.” You joke trying to crack a smile to get him to cheer up a little but it doesn’t do anything for him. “Do you have a kennel for her or anything?” You ask and he shakes his head no, his bottom lip trembling.

“I’m such a bad dog dad.” He sobs and you’re so frantic to calm him down you place little kisses along his face to try and stop the tears. He tenses immediately when he pulls himself out of his thoughts long enough to realize what you’re doing and you pull away embarrassed.

“We can use a box with some thin blankets it’s fine.” You say, refusing to acknowledge what you just did. It’s something that’s better to just sweep under the rug and forget it happened. Grabbing a smaller box from recycling- you’ve never been so thankful for Costco than in this moment- you hurry to Jungkook’s bedroom where you can hear a little honks from Lucy. Gently opening the door you find her nestled in a bunch of blankets on Jungkook’s bed, the fan blowing directly on her while her head nuzzles his pillows. The footsteps behind you alert you of Jungkook’s presence and you nod to Lucy lying on the bed.

“See you’re not a bad dog dad at all, she loves you. She’s finding comfort in your scent right now.” Stepping into the room you gingerly walk towards her as to not startle to poor puppy, setting the box down beside you on the bed.

“Hi baby, we’re gonna go to the doctor okay?” You tell her, gently moving her out of the nest and onto the comforter as you hurry to stuff the little nest into the box. “Bambi do you have a hoodie or something that you’ve worn recently?” You ask and immediately he begins fishing for one in his laundry basket. The hoodie is just a plain grey and you feel a little bad at the inevitable stains but place it into the box anyways before turning back to Lucy. Carefully you slide one hand under her shoulder and head while the other slides under her bottom half before you carry her almost like a newborn baby into the box. It’s not the best crate but it’s the best you can do at a moments notice. Jungkook immediately takes the box from you, careful to hold it from the bottom as you hurry back into the living room and grab his keys from the rack and the two coffees- you’ll probably need them for the long night ahead of you.

Googling the nearest 24 hour vet clinic seeing as it’s around 9 p.m you hurry into your car and head off. You attempt to play music to calm everyone’s nerves but Jungkook turns it off and instead you sit in silence as your navigation occasionally calls out directions.

A ten minute ride later you’re once again hurrying, Jungkook sprinting through the doors when Lucy starts to gag. You follow after him, coming in just in time to see one of the Vet Tech’s take Lucy to the back. Jungkook slumps against the counter as the receptionist readies some files for him to complete and you take the clipboard from her after urging Jungkook to sit down. Quietly you fill out the information sheet for him, only occasionally asking him questions for things you don’t know the answer to. You’ve just sat down when they call for Jungkook, his hand finding your own and you squeeze it thinking he just needs a moment of comfort when he tugs on it, refusing to let go. “Come with me?” He whispers and you nod, immediately standing up to follow him with his hand still sat comfortably in your own.

“So we’ve took her temperature and she’s running a high fever and obviously she’s coughing but can you describe her other symptoms if she had any?” The Vet Tech asks and Jungkook nods.

“She uhh coughed up this white foamy stuff that kinda had the consistency of snot and she was gagging before we came here. She’s probably been coughing for the last couple of hours.”

“Did she do or eat anything out of the ordinary today?”

“She met my friend’s dog. I know she doesn’t have all her shots but I thought it’d be okay since he has all his.” Jungkook mumbles and the guy nods along while making notes.

“We’re just going to take a few tests to make sure we have the right diagnosis and then we’ll get back to you. We’re not that busy so it should only take an hour or two at most. If you’d like to go back in the waiting room we’ll call you back when we’re ready or you can wait here if you’d like.” He says before exiting the small room and disappearing.

“What do you want to do?” You ask Jungkook and he just sighs.

“I don’t know. Do you think this is my fault?” He asks, his normally sparkly eyes are dull as devastation and heartbreak take full form in them. It hurts you to watch and you almost feel your own heart break at his evident pain. As much as you love Lucy you only spend a few hours a day with her so your pain can amount nowhere close to Jungkook’s.

“I don’t think we should go there, especially when we don’t have a diagnosis. Let’s just stay here so you can nap. You look exhausted.” You tell him and he sneers.

“You want me to sleep when my dog could be dying?” He yells and you flinch away.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. And she was puking up snot Kook it’s not like she was coughing blood. It’ll be okay.” You tell him, trying to be understanding and not take his yelling personal. “You don’t have to sleep alright?”

“Alright.” He sighs, sitting back down again before laying his head in your lap. “I’m sorry for yelling.” He mumbles, turning his head to bury it into your thigh to hide his embarrassment.

“I know, it’s okay.” You say softly, brushing your fingers through his hair. He closes his eyes and eventually his body relaxes enough that you realize despite his previous words he has in fact fallen asleep. You continue stroking his hair as he snores lightly against you, praying that for his sake Lucy is okay.

“Sorry that took so long, we had an emergency surgery and Lucy got put on hold for a little.” The Vet says as she barges in, your head banging against the wall as you startle awake. Jungkook groans from your lap, rubbing his eyes as he pouts at being abruptly awoken.

“It’s okay.” You croak out, voice hoarse from sleep. You stretch all your limbs, your back cracking wonderfully as the Vet waits for both of you to wake up, somewhat amused.

“We looked through the test results and it turns out she has Kennel Cough. It’s nothing too serious, it typically clears up on it’s own but since she’s not fully vaccinated we’re going to give her medicine to help clear it up faster and make sure it’s fully gone. By the time the medication is finished be sure to bring her back for her final vaccination and just don’t let her around other dogs until then okay?” You both nod and she gives you the prescription, before informing you that’d she’ll be right back with Lucy.

Checking your phone you realize that it’s currently 2 a.m. and you wonder just how long the two of you have been sleeping on these hard chairs. The vet appears shortly later with a sleepy Lucy- apparently they gave her some medicine to make her sleep through the night- along with a crate. “Figured you’d need a real one of these instead of a cardboard box. I already put her blankets and the jacket inside so she’s all good to go. Just make sure to stop by the front desk and sign out.” With a wave goodbye and a get well to Lucy she leaves the two of you alone again.

“Do you think the crate is free?” Is the first thing Jungkook says to you and you laugh, ruffling his hair.

“I don’t know Bambi. If not let’s just make a run for it.”

“Just what I want to be arrested for: stealing a dog crate.” He laughs, rolling his eyes as he presses a gentle kiss to Lucy’s forehead. “Let’s go home baby.” He says and for a moment your tired mind thinks he’s talking to you. Shaking your head of useless thoughts you lead him back to the reception desk where he pays for her care- the crate surprisingly was free- before you lead him back to your car where this time he lets you play music on the drive home.

Pulling up to your apartment complex, you park before taking the elevator this time to the second floor, too tired to walk up a measly two flights of stairs. You’re just about to fish your key out of your bag when Jungkook’s hand on your wrist stops you. “Will you come in and help me make sure she’s settled?” He asks and he looks so nervous while asking you that you can’t say no- not that you were planning to. Nodding you follow him inside after taking your shoes off, tucking her into her bed that’s in the corner of his room.

“Do you think I should let her up here?”

“Your body heat might make her fever worse.” You tell him and he visibly deflates. “It’s okay you can wake up bright and early if you want to sit by her side all day tomorrow. But she’s so knocked out she probably won’t even realize you’re not next to her right now.” It’s the most you can offer him as your own drowsiness sets in and every time you blink your eyelids stick together for a little longer.

“Do you just want to stay here?” Jungkook asks and for a split second you’re wide awake. “You just look so tired I don’t think you could make it the ten feet next door.” He chuckles and you roll your eyes.

“I could.” You huff and Jungkook doesn’t say anything as he observes you.

“You don’t have to though.” He says softly, moving to lay flat on his back.

“Touch me and you’re dead.” You tell him, the bed creaking as you settle down beside him. He hums in response and you roll onto your side, letting sleep take over.

Surprise, Surprise-when you wake up Jungkook has broken your rule. In fact his whole body is wrapped around you as his leg is nestled between your own while one arm wraps around your waist and the other has somehow slid under your neck. It’s entirely too domestic of a scene with a once sworn enemy and you scramble to get out of this position before Jungkook wakes up. Except he was either already awake or your squirming awoke him as he mumbles at you to stop moving before encasing his arms around you and rolling so you’re effectively trapped under him. It does render you motionless but it also renders you breathless since he’s so heavy. I mean really what is this kid eating?

“I can’t breathe.” You say into a mouthful of pillow only further suffocating himself. Jungkook only hums in response, snuggling into you further like this is the most natural thing for you two to do. You manage to turn your head enough to not be face deep in a pillow and choke out, “You’re too heavy. Get off.” as he finally gets the hint that he’s been killing you softly and rolls to the other side of the bed.

“Sorry.” He says at least having the decency to look remorseful and embarrassed by the fact that he almost murdered you.

“You broke my rule, I said don’t touch me.” You scold him, already reaching to the side to grab the pillow.

“But you cuddled me first!”

“Don’t care, I have to kill you now.” You shrug before whacking him in the face a little bit harder than you meant to. “Boom, headshot. You’re dead.” You giggle, probably way to nonchalant about the fact you woke up entangled in the arms of your nemesis but if you don’t think about it, it can’t hurt you.

“You really think a headshot could kill me, the indestructible Jeon Jungkook? Never!” Jungkook says, reaching around to grab a pillow to hit you with before Seokjin’s voice sounds through the other side of the door.

“Jungkook are you playing with your action figures again? I told you that’s weird.” You stifle the laugh fighting to break out with your hand, taking much to pleasure in the fact that Jungkook’s face is bright red and he can no longer look you in the eye.

“No Jin! I’m talking with Y/n.” He yells before his eyes widen at his mistake. He just outed you both as…cuddle buddies. The door bursts open at that, Seokjin being much to awake for whatever time it is in the morning with his phone pointed directly at you for incriminating evidence.

“It’s happening!” He screams, waking up Lucy who manages something that somewhat resembles her normal bark.

“Lucy!” You and Jungkook both scream, scrambling off the bed to check on her. Seokjin keeps his camera on you both as you and Jungkook fuss over Jungkook’s tiny puppy completely forgetting that he’s in the room.

“Everything is falling together so beautifully don’t you think Jimin?’ He whispers and you look up for a moment in confusion having heard him but he only winks at you in response. Seokjin sure has a lot of secrets.

You finally reach out to Taehyung feeling bad for ignoring him for a week but also needing closure. You need to see once and for all if you really are a different person around Taehyung. It’ll only have to be after the class that started it all, your 400 person lecture that is the whole reason you and Jungkook even became aware of each other’s existence despite being neighbors. You’ve asked him to meet you after class seeing that it’s the last class of the day for you and you didn’t think it was fair to keep Taehyung waiting any longer. He was a good person and he deserved to know where your head is at. You almost hope that if this doesn’t end up working that you can genuinely still be friends.

Jungkook has apparently decided to save you a seat- which is a little odd since you’ve never made an effort to sit next to each other before- if him flagging you down is anything to go by. He did make a good choice in seats though- choosing to be in the back and near the edge of the long rows- as it means you don’t have to climb over a bunch of people just to get to him. “Hi.” He breathes like he’s relieved to have you sit beside him. You wonder if he thought you’d just turn and walk in the other direction.

“Hi bambi.” You smile, pulling your laptop out of your bag and sticking it on the little tray connected to your chair. “Thanks for saving me a seat.”

“Anytime thief.” He actually snorts when he watches your face drop, apparently still getting satisfaction from the old nickname.

“Are you never going to let that go?” You sigh, slumping back into the chair and placing your head in your palm.

“First you took my backpack, then my plant, then my dog. Is there anything you haven’t taken from me?” He teases and you huff.

“I give you a cute nickname like Bambi and you decide to stick me with thief. Why do I even try to be nice to you?”

“Because I’m adorable and it’s impossible not to be nice to me. But if you’re really so hard done by it I guess I can call you Thumper.” He shrugs, cackling at the disgust that takes shape on your face.

“Gross. Matching pet names is what you came up with?”

“It’s thief or thumper, your pick.” He has an evil glint in his eyes as he smiles so wide at you that his whole face crinkles, his shoulders rising up to shake in laughter. It might be the happiest you’ve ever seen him and you suppose if thumper makes him so happy it’s not so bad.

“Fine thumper will do.” You murmur, chucking when he high fives himself like a total loser. The professor then comes in and the class falls silent- which is a little odd since normally this class is never quiet- as he turns to face you all.

“It’s come to my attention there is a thief among us. Last week a student reported their laptop missing from this class that has yet to be returned. If you know anything about this and have substantial proof as to where it is, you’ll receive extra credit on your next paper.”

“Any chance it was you, my favorite little thief?” Jungkook whispers, groaning in pain when you elbow him.

“No and like I’d share it with you. You don’t deserve the extra credit.” You whisper back.

For the rest of the class Jungkook is surprisingly quiet, so much so that you even forget he’s beside you. When you do remember he is though you get oddly creeped out because in the time you’ve known him he’s rarely ever quiet. Even if he’s not making noise with his mouth he’s tapping his foot or fingers along to an unknown beat and yet he’s eerily silent. Turning to him in concern you watch as he analyzes the back of everyone’s head in great concentration, moving along the row in front of you slowly as to gain every detail. “What’re you doing?” You ask, ignoring the professor as he wraps up the lecture. Looking at Jungkook’s screen you notice that he hasn’t even written down a single thing from today.

“I’m looking for the laptop thief.” He says nonchalantly like it isn’t weird to stare at the back of stranger’s heads for the past hour.

“And you’re finding that out from looking at the back of their heads?”

“Yes, I’m seeing who looks most like one.” He tells you and you turn to him fully to get his attention.

“Do I look like a thief?” You ask, unmoving as the people around you quickly gather their stuff and head out of the lecture hall.

“Yes.” He says matter-of-factly. A smile making its way onto his face as he can read the clear irritation on yours.

“How so?”

“It’s just something about you. One look at you and I knew you were it.”

“That’s because you saw me with your backpack in my hand dumbass. You’re not batman with your ‘here comes trouble’ detector.” You scoff, finally moving to put your laptop in your bag. You’ve only just realized you two are about the last ones in the lecture hall and the remaining few can probably hear your conversation. You don’t need more people thinking you’re a criminal.

“That’s- that’s not even a thing? Have you ever watched a superhero movie in your life?” Jungkook asks, like he can’t fathom the fact that you were just spitting nonsense. Honestly you had seen some superhero movies but you didn’t care much for them.

“In my defense, spidey senses are a thing as well as a guy who literally shoots webs from his hands? How does that make sense?” You can’t help the smile that takes over your face when he groans in agitation, turning around to catch him running a hand through his hair and fixing his glasses- you were right, he only wears them for the aesthetic which is why he never has them on at home.

“He was bit by a radioactive spider!”

“How did it not die when being around the radiation? It’s literally a tiny spider.” You ask and Jungkook just looks at you exasperatedly.

“People don’t die from radiation.” He deadpans, flicking your forehead for being stupid.

“But it’s a spider. Also how did he not die from being exposed to the radiation? Wasn’t he like a scrawny guy?”

“That was Captain America you idiot.” He scoffs, rolling his eyes as well. You knew that but Jungkook is too fun to piss off. Besides it’s only fair since you know he gets the same satisfaction from you.

“I know idiot.” You grin, flicking his forehead as you skip away from him and towards the doors.

He chases after you a matching grin on his face as he grabs onto your hand to slow you down. “So you’re purposely being irritating?”

“Don’t act like you don’t do the same.” You giggle, completely unaware of the third set of eyes in the room.

“Uhh am I interrupting something?” Taehyung asks and you suddenly remember you were supposed to meet him after class.

“Taehyung hi.” You smile at him awkwardly, taking a step away from Jungkook who drops your hand.

“You know Taehyung?” Jungkook asks you and you nod.

“Yeah I forgot I was supposed to meet him outside of class today.” You tell him before turning back to Taehyung. “Sorry about that by the way.”

“So Jungkook’s bambi?” Taehyung asks though it’s more like he’s talking it through himself. “And you’re the backpack thief.”

“That sounds like a bad rip off of Percy Jackson.” You joke, trying to displace some of the awkward tension in the air. No one laughs.

“Taehyung how do you know thumper?” Jungkook asks, his voice teetering on actually angry. It’s not the type you’re used to hearing for the one he directs at you is normally more light-hearted and teasing. This type is deep and gravely like he has hot coals burning in his windpipe.

“We went out a few times.” Taehyung says and you find yourself backtracking when you watch Jungkook’s face drop a little. You’re not sure why it drops but his downcast expression worries you all the same.

“It wasn’t anything serious though. It’s not like we’re officially together.” You don’t know why you rush to reassure him, especially since Taehyung is in the room and you’re talking about him, but you can’t help but feel guilty for his sadness. You feel a little bit like Jimin did when he moved out.

“So that’s it?” Jungkook finally speaks though his voice is noticeably weaker.

“Yeah.” You say, hoping that’ll solve whatever problem is happening between you right now. That seems like it’s the wrong answer though as he turns around and exists the doors on the other side of the classroom. You wish you could chase after him and find out what’s wrong but you don’t know what to say.

“Taehyung I’m sorry.” You start, after following him out to a secluded bench near the building you were just in. “I didn’t mean to say that I wasn’t serious about you. I do like you and our dates did mean something to me. I just- he looked so sad and I panicked.”

He’s silent for a long moment and you grow antsy beside him before he decides to speak. “Do I make you feel confident?” He asks, turning to you head on so he can read your body language as you try and process his question.

“What?”

“I was confused by why Hoseok seemed so shocked when I described you as shy and then I saw how you reacted with Jimin and Yoongi but I amounted to it being because you’re old friends. But seeing you with Kook who I know you only met a few days before me, I can’t help but notice you’re almost a different person. So, do I make you feel confident?”

“You…you make me feel nervous but that’s only because you’re so handsome.” You start only for him to cut you off.

“But you should be used to my face by now. Do you think Jungkook is handsome?”

“Of course but I don’t really see the relevance. Sorry let me rephrase, I’m not very good at expressing myself.” You ramble, mind sent into overdrive as you scramble to think of words.

“Sweetheart,” Taehyung says softly, placing a hand on your cheek to soothingly stroke his thumb along your cheekbone. “you deserve someone who you can easily express yourself to. You shouldn’t have to struggle to find the words.”

“But I’m like that with everyone, it’s just who I am.” You shrug but Taehyung stops you again.

“You’re not that way with Jungkook. I’ve heard you tell him off just fine in plenty of his stories about you. You never seem to find the wrong words around him. Even when you were stressed about his feelings being hurt just now you could find something to say. Besides, I don’t think we have half as much chemistry as you and Jungkook do. He almost kissed you that day Lucy peed on him.”

“He what?” You exclaim, pulling away from Taehyung in shock.

“I mean this in the nicest way possible but don’t you think it’s time you wake up and realize what’s right in front of you? Jungkook hasn’t been exactly subtle about his feelings for you and I think in your own way you weren’t exactly subtle about yours for him either.”

“So you’re telling me I like Jungkook?” You say, the words coming out slowly as you process the sentence. As odd as it sounds on your tongue you feel a small weight lifted off your shoulders.

“I’m saying that you should re-evaluate your relationship with him. I think you both mean a lot more to each other than the other thinks and it’s pretty easy to see on the outside. I just wish I would’ve figured out who you were sooner so I could avoid hurting my best friend.” Taehyung sighs, turning away from you to watch the people around you blissfully unaware of the mess that is your life.

“Best friends?” You exclaim. “But I never heard much about you, no offense.”

“We lost touch a little this semester when I became engrossed in my classes. If your portfolio is good enough they’ll show it to nearby galleries to display so I’ve been quite busy. The only bit of free time I’ve spent with you.”

“But we went to Hoseok’s show?” You say, still trying to piece it together.

“Again, time spent with you but since he’s my roommate I can’t exactly not show up to his recital. Also you and Hoseok are terrible actors, I could tell you were exes the moment you stood awkwardly behind me.” Taehyung chuckles and you slap his arm in response.

“Hey I could’ve been shy!”

“We both know that’s not true.”

“Is that why you never talked about your friends much? Because I’d probably know them through Hoseok and that’d be awkward.”

“Yeah. I didn’t exactly know you were his ex at the time you asked me out. We’d only been living together for a couple months at that point.” Taehyung shrugs and you sigh. A lot could’ve been avoided if you and Taehyung had actually talked. Though you’re starting to realize that this is the easiest it’s ever been to talk to him now that the pressure of a relationship is off.

“Hey Tae, do you think we can try being just friends? I really do enjoy your company.” You ask, a little too nervous to look at him for his reaction. Facing rejection is never easy.

“I think we could work something out. Besides I don’t know if you noticed but this is probably the best conversation we’ve ever had. Ironically it’s about us breaking up, if you can even call this that.” Taehyung laughs and you laugh along beside him. Funny how some things work out.

The next task on your list is finding Jungkook. You look at the dining halls first- Jungkook’s favorite place despite the fact that everything is either soggy or undercooked- but he’s nowhere to be seen. Then you head to the library thinking he’ll go to the last place you’d think to look for him- which of course makes it your second- but he’s not there either. Your last resort is to head home and see if maybe you can find him there. Jin answers the door this time, jerking his head back towards the hallway where Jungkook’s room is.

“He’s back there sulking.” Jin whispers, handing you a tub of ice cream and a spoon. “He won’t let anyone in but I’m sure you’ll get special treatment.”

“Jin, am I in your OTP?” You ask. His eyes widen comically as he shakes his head side to side.

“No, of course not. What even is that? Sorry I don’t understand you and Kook’s nerd lingo.” He rambles and your mind- ever the hyperfixator- focuses on one word. In all the time that you’ve known your neighbors, you’ve never heard Jin use the word nerd. And you’ve been here countless hours every day. But one person you know that has an infinity for the word nerd is Park Jimin who you already know shares secrets with Jin.

“Hmm okay. Though you might want to tell Jimin your ship could be sailing fairly soon.” You wink, enjoying the fact that this time you’re the one leaving with a smirk and he’s left confused.

Knocking softly on his door, you ignore the way he groans “go away” at you and open it, ducking just barely in time for the pillow to graze the top of your head. “Thumper?”

“Hey bambi. I brought you ice cream.” Slowly standing up, you take in the way Lucy is wrapped up in his arms like a little plushie, a thick blanket wrapped around him as he burrows into the pillows the longer you observe him. Handing it to him along with the spoon you sit on the edge of the bed, picking at the loose threads as you try and find the courage to confront what just happened.

“Taehyung and I broke up, if you can even call it that.” You say suddenly, the spoon in Jungkook’s mouth falling against the mattress with a soft thud. You grimace at the hard stain that’s going to form but Lucy is delighted at the sticky residue left on the spoon. Lucky for her Jungkook is boring and likes vanilla ice cream.

“You what?” He asks, mouth hanging open until you push it closed.

“Don’t leave your mouth open, you’ll catch flies.” You giggle. “But yeah we decided we’re better off as friends.” You leave out the part that you decided you also might have feelings for Jungkook because today has already been an emotional day for you.

“Is-is there a specific reason why?” Jungkook asks almost pleadingly and as much as you want to give him the answer you hope he’s looking for you can’t. Not until you’ve slept on it, not until you’re sure that this is what you want. He deserves that at least.

“We just didn’t click the same. I was pretty shy around him actually. Can you believe that?” You laugh and Jungkook sighs.

“Why were you never shy with me?”

“You’re kind of infuriating. Besides Taehyung never pushed my buttons like you do. There was nothing to be snarky to him about.” You shrug, your mind momentarily thinking back to what Jimin said what seems like such a long time ago: you’re not good at flirting! You’re just mean and shit. While a little ineloquent for your taste it sadly does some you up. You guess you were forever destined to end up in an enemies to lovers.

It only takes two days for you to realize you’re an idiot. It only takes two days for you to realize that you may have accidentally been falling in love with your nemesis turned frenemy this whole time while not knowing it. You’ve always been bad with feeling but surely no one is that inept: well expect you of course. You should’ve seen it coming with the way he was constantly on your mind and began inviting yourself over to his place- something you don’t even do to your childhood best friend Jimin. Or that fact that you climbed in his bed, tired but competent to know that you’d probably wake up with his arms around you. And yet you continuously pushed these thoughts away under the pretense that he thought of you as nothing more than a frenemy at best- it was probably painfully obvious like when he put on the stupid chef hat to make you happy or when thief lost its negative connotation and became a sweet nickname for you. Perhaps the most glaring reason is the fact that he gave you matching pet names but in conclusion: you’re an idiot.

“How could I not notice?” You whine to Jimin as you walk through campus. You’re on a rather old path- one that’s less of a straight shot to the student union- enjoying the shade that the buildings provide from the sun. Summer is beginning to settle in making walking around campus your least favorite activity.

“They do say love is blind. Did you see that whole show they created? Yoongi and I made a shot game so whenever Jessica talked about her and Mark’s age gap we had to drink and I’ve never got wasted to fast in my life.” He snorts at the memory and you almost wish you had been there but drunk Jimin was undoubtably the clingiest Jimin. He was the epitome of the “I love you” drunk and as much as you did love him sometimes it was a bit too much for you to handle. Yoongi, however, loved drunk Jimin because Jimin gave him all the attention he was unwilling to express desire for. “I can imagine.” You laugh. “But I guess I don’t really know what to say. We’re rarely not arguing.”

“Yeah but isn’t it that ‘I want to kiss you but also punch you’ type?”

“Just how much do you and Jin talk about us? You’re starting to pick up on each other’s diction.”

“You should just give the people what they want and messily confess to him. It really sets the tone for your ‘i love you, I love you not’ relationship.” Jimin laughs.

“What should I say? Should I do it 10 things I hate about you style?” You ask, unaware that you’re passing the life science building,

“Yes! Give me an idea of the performance.”

“It’s not a performance, it’s a confession but nonetheless,” You pause and take a deep breath to gather your thoughts. “I hate the way you piss me off like the day we first met. I hate that I can hear your infuriating voice in my head all the time. I hate the way you talk to me like a friend. I hate the way I can’t stand to simply just be around you anymore. I hate the way you call me thief or thumper.” You’re too deep in your monologue to notice the way Jimin visibly panics in front of you, shaking his head rapidly from side to side to try and warn you silently to stop talking. Yet like any shakespearean play you run too long, too deep in your own feelings to notice the dagger you aim at your own heart.

It hits home when a shoulder checks into your own, a hurt, “If you hate me so much you could’ve just said so” coming from your favorite voice and you crumble. Because just like Romeo and Juliet you killed your love before it could have the chance to truly blossom. You think for once you might actually hate yourself as you watch his figure disappear as he breaks into a jog. Your heart cracks even further when you realize it’s probably because he’s crying- the imagine of him shoving his face into your neck to hide them from you resurfacing. And then you’re crying because you just ruined what could be the best thing you didn’t know you had. You wish you would’ve just said something two days ago because you don’t think you’ll get the chance to even speak to him again even if it’s just to apologize.

Silent tears streak down your cheeks- you thought it’d be a cool thing to learn how to do when you were younger (cry silently that is)- as Jimin leads you away from the curious eyes of the other students as they no doubtably wonder what has you crying at a little past noon on a weekday. You wonder what they’d think if they knew you accidentally broke the heart of the boy you’re in love with while planning a confession. It was a simple case of wrong place, wrong time and yet just like that he’s gone. You laugh at the irony of it all- you lost him before you even had him- and Jimin just stares at you with pity. You hate it and so despite knowing he’s just trying to help and that you’re being irrational you shrug him off you and sprint to your own apartment, hoping for solace in the silence. For once it’s nice to come home to nothing.

You can’t sleep. It’s been approximately twelve hours since you crushed Jungkook and you can’t sleep not knowing if he’s okay. He probably won’t answer when he sees it’s you- he won’t answer your texts or calls- and yet you can’t stop yourself from getting out of bed and knocking on his door. It’s asking for your own heartbreak but you figure you deserve it at this point. No one comes after five minutes so you knock again and wait another five. Not wanting to look like an idiot for standing in the hallway when no one is home- or at least willing to answer- you head back to your own apartment.

The next morning you wake up early in hopes to catch a glimpse of him going on his morning run- he always goes just before 8 a.m. so he can come back, shower, and then fall back asleep before he needs to leave for class- and yet his figure never emerges. Concerned you knock on his door and to your surprise Namjoon answers. Unsurprisingly he’s not happy to see you. “Go home Y/n.” He sighs. When he sees your dejected expression he pauses in closing the door on you. “Did you mean it?”

“No, he wasn’t supposed to hear that. I was um practicing confessing.” You murmur, looking down at your hands awkwardly as you reveal your true intentions to Namjoon. You feel much too vulnerable. “Have you ever seen the movie 10 things I hate about you? She confesses in a similar monologue to what I was attempting but I didn’t make it to the end when he heard.”

Namjoon hums for a moment before nodding like he’s come to a resolution. You wish he’d tell you what it was. “Give him time okay?” You nod solemnly before ducking back into your own apartment.

The next day you resolve to buy him a succulent plant, a little aloe vera one from the market Taehyung works at. The plant is what started this whole hatred turned friendship turned…whatever this is. If you hadn’t argued over one stupid little plant you’d probably have never spoken after you awkwardly returned his bag. You’d have no reason to. So you hope that while it’s not a big gesture, it’d at least be a small place to start. Quietly you sneak to his front door and place it on the welcome mat, knocking quickly before ducking inside your peephole. You watch in anticipation as the door cracks open before closing again, the little succulent still on the mat. You heave a sigh, wondering what else you could do.

The next month passes by slowly and every day you stop by the store to buy another succulent. You’ve started to associate them with Jungkook, picking one up for every day you think of him. Each one is named something different, tied with a different memory you have of him. Lucy: for obvious reasons. Frosty: for the first time you started to see him as something other than a frenemy. Bambi: for the man of the hour himself. And your personal favorite, thumper: a fuzzy little cactus that resembles a rabbit’s tail. Thumper also marks the day that started it all, the chain reaction that led to you discovering just how much your e-boy neighbor meant to you.

“Holy shit.” Jimin says, stepping into your apartment for the first time in a month. You’ve become a bit of a recluse, though you did apologize to him for shrugging him off when he was just trying to help you that day. The only time you do interact with people is when you go to class, the market or Jimin and Yoongi’s for game night. Other than that you just stay here alone, brewing in your self-made despair. “It’s like planet of the plants in here or something. Do I need to worry about you being a hoarder?” Jimin asks and you shrug.

“My mind kinda hyperfixated on succulents and the succulents remind me of him so I’ve been collecting them.”

“Have you tried talking to him?” Jimin asks.

“He wouldn’t pick up my calls and Namjoon said he needed time so I stopped trying. I tried giving him an aloe plant like Cherry but he didn’t accept it.” You sigh, picking up the plant he discarded and brushing along its leaves. Bonjour-dubbed the word sprawled across the welcome mat- wilts a little when you touch it and you wonder if your sadness is infecting it.

“This blows. Especially since it’s all over a misunderstanding.”

“Has Jin mentioned anything about how he’s doing?”

“I don’t think he’s faring much better. Jin has to take Lucy on her morning walks now because he barely wakes up in time for class. Apparently he’s taken up an interest in herbology though and is growing spices, wonder who he’s trying to remember.” Jimin nudges your shoulder and you roll your eyes.

“He’s probably doing it for Jin as a birthday present or something.” You’d rather not get your hopes up. He’d have talked to you by now if he missed you right?

You evidently get your answer as a harsh pounding on your front door wakes you up and half-asleep and a little uncaring about who’s on the other side you throw it open. Sleepily you rub your eyes while wondering why whoever was so desperate to talk to you is suddenly silent when the haze in your mind clears enough to register Jungkook stands before you with a 10 things I hate about you dvd case clutched in his hand. His eyes are red-rimmed and his cheeks are tear stained making you instantly reach up to wipe them away before you retract. He probably doesn’t want you to touch him. “Did you mean it?” He croaks out and you stare at him confused.

“Mean what?”

“When you said what you hate about me did you mean it?” Your eyes flicker to the dvd in his hand and it clicks.

“I love you.” 10 things I hate about you be damned. You’re done with dancing around your feelings and painting them in fancy words. Sometimes as you’ve learned from Taehyung it’s better to just be blunt.

“You- what?”

“I love your smile and the way your eyes crinkle when you laugh. I love the little things about you like the mole on the bottom of your lip or the way you’re always humming a random tune. You tease me and piss me off but I’ve never wanted to kiss someone in my life more than you. This past month has been awful without you and I don’t think I can stand another minute without you. So call me a thief, call me thumper. Call me whatever you want as long as I’m yours.” He’s silent for a minute before the dvd case falls to the ground, his hands instead reaching up to cup both of your cheeks as he brings his mouth down onto your own. His lips are softer than you expected, fitting easily against your own as he presses them to yours tenderly despite the urgency behind his actions. Gently he parts your lips open to deepen the kiss and you sigh into him, pressing your body into his own wanting to feel his warmth. He only parts when you both need air, the two of you panting as you still stay close together.

His breath fans your face as he places three gentle pecks to your lips, his head resting against your own. “I love you too thumper. I don’t think I’ve ever loved someone half as much as I love you.”

“I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I wish I would’ve spoken to you sooner. And you know, for stealing your backpack.”

“Aha! So you do admit you stole it!” He laughs, grinning as you attempt to shove him away only to pull you closer. “But I’m sorry too, I should’ve heard you out sooner. And I’m sorry for always calling you a thief.”

“I already told you that was fine.” You laugh, leaning back to kiss the tip of his nose.

“Yeah but I know you hated it. I only kept calling you it though because you stole my heart.”

“Gross.” You fake gag, bending over to pretend to vomit. He giggles at your behavior, wrestling you closer to him as you try and turn around to walk away. “Who knew my boyfriend was so cheesy?”

“Stop pretending you don’t love it.” He says, finally looking up and noticing the terrarium that is your apartment. “Why do you suddenly have so many plants?”

“I got a succulent for every day I think of you.” You say, squealing when Jungkook attacks your sides.

“And you said I was the cheesy one!” He screams, chasing after you to tickle you further when you finally break free.

“Jimin our ship has finally sailed!” Seokjin whispers into the phone from next door. You and Jungkook had left your front door wide open, giving him a prime view as the two of you chased each other around, very much stupidly in love.

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