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chendersonfic · 3 years

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Fall River Street

The yellow cab exhaled as it rolled to a slow stop in front of the quaint four-bedroom house nestled at the end of Fall River Street. The house reminded Addison of a mausoleum, untouched by the passing of time and preserving everything on the inside without any discernment. The golden red fall leaves swept along the front yard like a royal cape. This picture was exactly why local real estate agents would favor fall as the best time for their listings, the foliage added a type of natural magic that you simply couldn’t conjure up or recreate with photoshop.

He stepped out of the cab and closed the door behind him, gazing at the house with childish apprehension. His father was dead, and this was going to be a long week. He was here to help his mother prepare the house for sale. She didn’t need four bedrooms all to herself, and she had long forgotten her past dreams of having grandchildren that would run through the hallways and bring the house alive with their noisy laughter. She was ready to downgrade to a one-bedroom apartment close to him and planned on spending the rest of her time volunteering and knitting scarves for the homeless.

But first they had to tackle a lifetime worth of accumulated garbage. If hoarding was a woman, his mother was her cousin. Nowhere near as bad as ceiling-tall piles of useless trash, but prone to collecting tchotchkes, broken kitchenware, and sentimental rubbish. Now they had a week to sort through it all before the realtor would come back with a photographer and list the empty house for sale.

“There you are honey,” said the tiny silver-haired woman who came out to greet him on the stoop. His mother looked so small, much smaller than he remembered her. Then again, it had been years.

He walked up the stairs which still had a print of his boyish hands embedded in the concrete.

“Hey ma,” he said, and gave her a long overdue hug, then followed her inside back into his past.

Everything was just as he remembered it, down to the creaky floorboards in the hallway and the janky seashell vintage living room lamp that would provide erratic light bursts in capricious intervals.

“I made you lunch,” his mother said, making her way into the kitchen.

“I’m not that hungry,” he called back from the living room, still looking around at all the familiar yet long-forgotten details that painted the picture of his childhood.

“You have to eat,” she replied, walking back in with a tray of soup and sandwiches. If anyone really had to eat, it was her, but he decided to skip that conversation for now. This wasn't the time to stress her out about her food intake.

He grabbed the tray from her, and they ate in the living room, surrounded by silence. If there was one thing he appreciated, it was the fact that his mother knew better than to cry in front of him. He wasn’t good at handling people’s emotions anymore, he only had room enough for his own.

“The house is in good shape,” Addison stated, taking a sip of the chicken soup. His mother nodded.

“You know, Tom Hadley comes by to help with it,” she replied casually. He felt the soup suddenly stuck in his throat.

“He does?”

“Yes, he’s been a big help. He came by the other week and fixed the refrigerator. Are you boys still in touch?” Addison tried to swallow, but the lump remained. He shook his head no, not being able to utter a word.

There was a time, so long ago it felt like another lifetime altogether, when it wouldn’t have crossed his mind to leave his town and move away. He had no grandeur plans of making it out, or the need to test the waters anywhere else. He would have been content staying right where he was, close to his best friend Tom.

“Oh, before I forget. You wouldn’t mind going to check on Mrs. Beckett next door, would you? I try to look in on her at least once a day, but I think seeing your face might be good for her.” When Addison appeared confused, she added. “She has dementia now, her memory fluctuates. I think it started with Mark’s suicide you know,” she added with sadness. “I think it just permanently broke her.” The boy’s face flashed in Addison’s memory with vivid cruelty. His green eyes, his brown curly hair, and the smile that seemed almost a permanent feature of his mouth.

“Mark Beckett killed himself?” He wanted to make sure he didn’t mishear her.

“Hung himself right there in the bedroom,” she said, shaking her head. “He was a good friend of yours, wasn’t he?” Good friend was a stretch, Addison thought to himself. Mark was universally beloved at Fall River High, and if he was ever in Addison’s vicinity, it was because he was good friends with Tom. Really if he thought about it, all of his friends were Tom’s friends. He had a natural knack for it, getting people to like him. Addison was the opposite. His nose had been mostly buried in books growing up, apart from the occasional hoop session with Tom, or riding his bike through the neighborhood. His friendship with Tom started out mostly due to convenience, as the boys lived down the street from each other. But it had quickly developed into a strong bond.

“Can I sleep in the guest room?” He asked, finishing his soup.

“Sorry honey, it’s packed with stuff. You’ll have to sleep in your old bedroom until we clear it out tomorrow.” He nodded in defeat, and after cleaning the dishes, he slowly made his way upstairs, back to his childhood bedroom. It was a museum, with everything preserved just as he had left it. The blue bed sheets, the wooden desk with carved words and scribbled phrases, and the deflated basketball abandoned in the corner.

He put down his bag and sat down on the small twin bed. He had spent countless hours in this room, and many of them had included Tom. But he left it all behind the second that he turned 18. He first kept afloat with a restaurant job while going to a community college in the evening. And now he made his living as a video editor, making just enough to be comfortable. His small apartment housed two plants as his only company.

He got up and walked over to the desk and opened the drawer. It contained two old textbooks, four pens, a yo-yo, and an old notebook. He opened the notebook and flipped through the pages, until he found it. A list of names scribbled over and over again, like a mantra or a spell. The ink was dark, and it looked as if he had stabbed the pages with the pen that wrote it.

Steven Hades Michael Dornes Sean Trevley Mark Beckett

The list of names went on for a countless number of pages, in that same exact order. Until he got to the last page, where a new name appeared.

Steven Hades Michael Dornes Sean Trevley Mark Beckett Tom Hadley

He closed the notebook with force, then shut the drawer in a hurry. He would get rid of it tomorrow, burn it or throw it out with the rest of the garbage. Bury it forever, never to be found again. He turned off the light and tossed and turned on the small bed for the rest on the night.

In the morning, feeling sleep-deprived and emotionally empty, he turned on the coffee pot, hoping the brown liquid would keep him awake enough to tackle the boxes he needed to sort through in the garage. It wasn’t an easy task, and he spent the next hours rummaging through countless cords and cables, old tv remotes, Christmas decorations, pictures, and even managed to find parts of his old bicycle.

On his lunch break, he took a beer from the fridge and sat on the front porch, watching the street. He noticed a group of people walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. He spotted Tom’s distinct shuffle right away. He raised the beer to his lips and tried to remain calm. He wasn’t going to run back into the house like a coward. The group got closer, and he recognized Tom’s wife and his childhood friend, Jodie, walking next to him, along with her parents. In his arms there was a small toddler.

The group decided to stop right across from him—because God possessed a dark sense of humor—as Jodie bent down to tie her shoelace. That’s when Tom’s gaze drifted in his direction and froze. The two men made eye contact, and it wasn’t until Jodie pulled Tom by the hand a minute later, that he finally looked away and continued walking.

Addison took a few shaky breaths. He tried to focus on something, anything, to take his mind off of what had happened. He looked at his small handprints in the pavement. His father wasn’t thrilled when he saw what Addison did to the brand-new stairs. In fact, if he remembered correctly, he caught a few belt lashes for the stunt.

He brought his right hand and placed it over the handprint. “Nothing happened. Nothing happened. NOTHING HAPPENED!” He heard the chant in his ears and dropped the bottle of beer, letting it crash on the pavement. The yellow liquid slowly seeped into the cervices of his childhood fingers. He looked at the broken glass for a long moment, then slowly began to clean it.

The next day of cleaning was no better than the first. He finally got through the garage, then made his way into the office, while his mother still worked on the guest room. Later in the day they had lunch together, after which his mother asked him to go check in on Mrs. Beckett.

He walked over to the house next door and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Still nothing. Just as he was about to leave, the window curtain fluttered. He stopped in his tracks.

“Mrs. Beckett? It’s Addison, your neighbor,” he called out, hoping he hadn’t scared her. A moment later the door opened, and a small older woman in a silk vintage robe and hair rollers appeared, scrunching her eyes at him, as if she were trying to place his face.

“Remember me?” He asked.

“Well of course, of course my dear. Come on in,” she replied, smiling. He felt strange about accepting her invitation, still unsure if she really remembered him, but he decided to walk into the warm living room anyway.

“Sit down, please. I’ll make us some tea,” she motioned towards the couch, and Addison listened obediently. A few minutes later she came back, a tray with tea rattling in her shaky hands. He quickly took it from her and put it down on the table.

“Here, your favorite,” she said, handing him a small plate with toasted bread, butter, and honey. Addison stared for a moment, trying to remember if he ever ate that food combination before in his life, but he decided not to comment.

“So, how are you?” She asked excitedly while adding sugar to her tea.

“I’m good Mrs. Beckett. I’m here helping my mom with the house. I’m sure she’s already told you that she’s selling it,” he replied, trying to make polite conversation. She chuckled.

“My silly boy. Always with the jokes. How is school going?” She asked, and Addison was starting to get the feeling that something was not quite right.

“Uhh, I graduated many years ago, Mrs. Beckett,” he replied, but she cut him off, slightly flustered.

“Will you stop calling me Mrs. Beckett? It’s not funny anymore.” Addison stared in confusion.

“Who…who do you think I am?” He asked, and she rolled her eyes.

“Well you’re my son, of course. You’re Mark,” she replied, smiling at him with fondness. “Eat up,” she said, watching the toast in his hand. Addison took a bite, unsure of how to proceed.

“I’m not Mark, Mrs. Beckett, I’m Addison. We went to the same high school. I lived in the house next door. Don’t you remember?” He asked, and something flickered in her eyes.

“Oh, don’t. No, please don’t. Don’t talk about him, Mark, you know it makes me sad,” she said, her voice quieter now.

“Why does it make you sad?” He asked.

“What those boys did to him…it’s terrible Mark, truly awful,” she said.

“What those boys did to who, Mrs. Beckett?” He pressed on, already knowing the answer.

“Addie, of course,” she replied, and his childhood nickname caused a sudden sharp pain in his chest.

“More tea?” She asked, smiling all of a sudden.

“Who told you about that?”

“Who told me about what?”

“About what they did to…Addison,” he said, his name feeling clunky coming out of his own mouth.

“I don’t know what you mean honey,” she replied confused, then brought the delicate china up to her lips and took a sip, forgetting she had said anything. He left shortly after, with Mrs. Beckett still thinking he was Mark. He didn’t have the heart to tell her twice.

He came back home and continued to work until it got dark. After dinner, he went to his bedroom and looked out the window, onto the back yard. Him and Tom would lay on that same grass and look for their constellations in the sky. They would spend hours, shoulder to shoulder, diligently making their way through the stars. They could always spot Addison’s large Pisces constellation with ease, but no matter how hard they tried, they could never find Antares—the star that marked the Scorpion’s heart.

On the fifth morning he found that the coffee machine which allowed him to get any work done while running on no sleep, broke. And despite the fact that his mother had every other unnecessary extra kitchen appliance, she did not have another coffee machine, so Addison walked over to the local breakfast spot in order to get one. He sat sipping on the hot coffee and waiting for the waffles his mom had requested, happy that her appetite seemed to be returning, when the door opened and Tom walked in, carrying his son. There was no time to hide, he saw Addison right away, and walked straight on over to him.

Tom hadn’t changed all that much, except for the beard and the few wrinkles that now surrounded his tired blue eyes.

“Still pulling on those fingers eh?” He said by way of greeting after 17 years. Addison quickly untangled his hands, embarrassed by his nervous tick. The curly blonde child in Tom’s arms clung to him like a baby koala.

“He’s got Jodie’s hair, but he has your eyes, nose, and lips,” Addison replied, studying the beautiful boy. Tom smiled.

“Jude,” he said, then to clear up Addison’s confusion added, “That’s his name. Jude.”

“Ah, the patron of lost causes,” Addison said.

“Let’s just say he came to me at the right time,” Tom replied, and Addison finally met his gaze.

“He’s a beautiful child.”

“How long are you in town for?”

“Just until Sunday.” Tom nodded.

“I’m sorry about you father,” he said, and now it was Addison’s turn to nod.

“Selling the house?”

“Yeah, my mom’s downsizing, and moving closer to me.”

“You on your own?” He asked, and both men felt the strangeness of the question.

“Yep, just me and my books and my work,” Addison replied.

“Sounds like a good life,” Tom replied.

“I heard about Michael…Beckett.” He didn’t know what made him say it. Tom looked embarrassed.

“Yeah,” was all he could come back with. “Dornes is doing 20 in prison for distributing drugs. And Trevley was hit by a drunk driver. Died on the spot,” he added.

“And Steven?” Addison asked, barely able to get the name through his mouth.

“He’s still around. Drinking his way to the grave,” he replied. Another name hung between them in the uncomfortable silence, but neither one of them said it.

“Here you go,” the waitress appeared and handed him the bag of food.

“Thank you,” he replied, getting up to leave.

“Listen, why don’t you and I go out for a drink?” Tom suggested. Addison thought about it for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

“I have too much work to finish up at the house. Some other time,” he lied. He opened the door and walked out, but Tom followed him.

“Hey,” he called out and Addison stopped. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I was a coward.”

“Don’t,” Addison pleaded, but Tom continued.

“I should have stopped it. I don’t know why, I don’t know why I froze,” but Addison couldn’t listen anymore. He walked briskly, until the voice behind him faded.

On his way back he tried to block out the swarming memories of his childhood best friend that were now viciously attacking his mind. He couldn’t allow himself to remember. Not now, not when he had a whole day of work still ahead of him. For the next eight hours he tirelessly threw out boxes of trash, then sorted through more boxes in the attic, until his hands were black from the dust and dirt. He was so tired that he felt like he would finally be able to get some sleep. Only two more days, and he would be out of here for good. But while he could control his thoughts and memories in the daytime, he couldn’t control his dreams.

The grass felt cool underneath his body, making him break out in goosebumps. Tom was right next to him, staring at the sky yet again.

“Still can’t find it Addie,” he complained frustrated, as his constellation continued to evade him. He had just changed the brand of his deodorant, and Addison inhaled the pleasant citrus scent. The soft white cotton shirt that clung to Tom’s rapidly growing teenage body was illuminated by the moonlight. Addison turned towards him, laying on his side. Tom turned his head. He would usually make a stupid joke, but not that night. He studied the other boy’s face carefully, then slowly leaned in. The first kiss was as soft as a feather. But when their lips touched and the world didn’t end right then and there, Tom went in again, this time more forcefully. His mouth tasted like the orange popsicle he ate on their way home from school.

Addison woke up with a start, his shirt soaked in sweat. He never thought anything could be worse than the nightmares he’d had on and off for years. But he was wrong. This was far worse. This memory that he had so carefully locked away years ago, felt like hell on earth.

He took off his drenched shirt and changed into a dry one. It was still dark outside, but he turned on the light and began to pack his room. He needed to finish everything as quicky as possible, before he’d end up like Michael Beckett, hanging from the ceiling, waiting for his poor mother to find him.

On the 6th day Addison and his mom finished cleaning the kitchen. All that was left was the living room. They met a couple buyers who picked up some of the furniture, although his mother had insisted on keeping the unreliable vintage lamp. They were eating lunch, when the house phone started ringing. It was another neighbor. There had been a tragedy out on the lake.

“Tom Hadley? No, not possible,” he heard his mother say, and his heart felt still. Suddenly, he remembered it as clear as day. Waiting outside of the building for Tom, who was taking longer than usual. Deciding to walk in and meet him in the locker room, where he would shower and change after hockey practice. But Tom was still talking to the coach. It was Steven Hades and Sean Trevley that he bumped into that day.

“What the fuck are you doing in here, weirdo?” Steven spat out, his voice venom in Addison’s ear.

“Where’s Tom?” Addison asked, uncomfortable but not yet afraid.

“Where’s Tom?” Steven mimicked him in a girlish voice. “Tom, Tom, Tom. Why do you follow him around like a creep?” He asked, approaching him. Addison felt his throat tighten. Michael Dornes walked in, and he hoped the stupid encounter would be over, but Steven continued.

“Answer me, weirdo!”

“He’s my friend,” Addison replied, his voice shaky now. Dornes ignored the scene and started changing out of his uniform. Addison prayed for Tom to come, but instead he saw Mark Beckett enter the locker room next. His famous smile still in place.

“You wanna know what I think?” Steven said, ignoring everyone else in the room and zoning in on Addison. He was inches away now. “I think you’re a fag.” Addison saw Michael’s smile vanish from his face.

“Come on Steve, leave him alone,” he said. Steven’s head snapped back to him.

“Why are you defending him, are you a fag?” He asked. Michael laughed nervously.

“No man, come on,” he replied, then went silent.

Steven turned around and walked towards his locker, and for an incredibly naive moment Addison thought he was leaving him alone. Until he saw him grab the hockey stick.

What followed next was a blur. He was on the floor, Steven’s massive form pressing into his back with his knee. He couldn’t breathe. He heard Steven shouting for Michael to hold down his legs, which he didn’t realize were flailing around, trying to kick off the larger boy. And then he felt his pants and underwear being roughly pulled down, and everything went white as the piercing pain tore him in half. At some point he looked up, and saw the blue eyes staring back at him in frozen horror from the locker room’s entrance. They were Tom’s.

He was discovered by the coach, about 10 minutes later, who ushered him to the nurse. When they asked him about what happened, all he could reply was, “Nothing happened. Nothing happened. Nothing happened!” If he said it enough times, it would surely come true.

“There was an accident,” his mother said, sitting down across from him and waking him up from his memories.

“What happened?” She wasn’t sure yet, but the neighbor said it involved a dead body and Tom Hadley. It was later that night that the woman would call back with the full story.

In the early hours of October 4th, a small fishing boat containing two men left the local harbor. Only one man returned: Tom Hadley. Steven Hades’ body was fished out by divers a few hours later. Tom Hadley was let go almost instantly, without any suspicion of foul play. He told the sheriff that they had been drinking, and he fell asleep. When he woke up, a drunk Steven had gone overboard. The sheriff had no reason to doubt the story. Steve was a notorious drunk.

The next day was his last day in town. The house was almost empty, apart from a few more pieces of furniture. His mother was going to stay with her sister for a week, and then come down to her new apartment.

Later that day, without even really knowing why, he found himself at Tom Hadley’s house. He stood at the front door for a moment, but just as he had decided to leave, the door opened, and a curly haired blonde woman popped out.

“Addie!” She chirped. “I didn’t know you were in town!” He smiled.

“I’m leaving tomorrow morning just thought I’d pop in and say goodbye.”

“No! If I knew you were here earlier, I’d have invited you over for dinner. You’re catching me at a bad time now, I’m getting ready to fly out for a conference in a couple hours. But please, come on in. We can catch up while I pack!” He wanted nothing less than to catch up with Jodie, but he didn’t want to be rude, so he followed her inside.

He sat on the edge of the bed as she stuffed her suitcase with clothes.

“Is Tom here?”

“No, he took Jude for a ride. That little sweet monster is teething and being a complete nightmare. He only calms down in the car for some reason.”

“The joys of parenthood,” Addison replied, not knowing what to say. The good thing about Jodie was that you didn’t have to say much, she usually had the conversation covered from all angles on her own.

“Tell me about it. I thought I was going to be the good parent. Turns out I’m the one that can’t get away fast enough,” she laughed, stuffing another blouse into the already overloaded suitcase. “Don’t tell anyone this, but Tom didn’t want him when he found I was pregnant. He asked me to get an abortion. I told him no way was I killing a baby. You know what his stupid answer was? That murder was justified in that case, because he was going to be a shitty father.” She shook her head in disbelief. “But he’s way better at it than me now. He has a lot more patience,” she mused, and Addison nodded. “Frankly, I wish he’d agree to move out of this damn place and it’s nonstop rain. I want to go somewhere tropical, like Florida. Can you imagine the three of us in Florida, with a beach house that has an outdoor shower? But I can’t even see Tom anywhere else. This town’s gloom has almost become a permanent part of him, you know?”

“What happened with Steven Hades by the way?” Addison asked, changing the subject.

“Oh gosh, what a freak accident, right? I mean we all know Steven and the bottle were best friends, but I didn’t realize how damn bad it was. But you know the strange thing?” She asked, scrunching her nose is deep thought. “Not many people knew this because he was embarrassed about it, but he was deathly afraid of water. Couldn’t swim. Not sure how Tom even got him to agree to go fishing to be honest,” she replied, then went back to talking about Florida.

As he was leaving, Jodie promised she would tell Tom that he visited.

On his last night Addison walked out onto the back porch and popped a bottle of beer. Four miles away, Tom wrangled with his son, who wouldn’t stop crying. His wife had already left, and it was too late to get his parents to help. The little boy continued to wail for no particular reason.

“What is it, Jude?” He asked, but got no reply expect for the continued screams. He was slowly losing his mind. The stress of the week catching up with him finally. And now his son wouldn’t stop crying.

He brought him outside into the back yard, into the cold air, hoping it would calm him down. But the crying continued. It was the most helpless feeling, not knowing what to do, and not being able to ease his pain. “Please, please Jude,” he begged the little boy, bouncing him in his arms. “I don’t know what you want. I don’t know,” he stammered. Then finally he broke down in a long sob, startling the boy into silence. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled through the tears, “I’m sorry.” His legs felt shaky, so he sat down on the grass, holding onto Jude tightly, and looked up at the sky.

Four miles away, and halfway through his beer, Addison’s eyes also drifted to the sky. They both saw it at the same time. The large star shining as bright as the sun. It was Antares, the Scorpion’s heart.

The beautiful sight made Addison breathless for a long moment. He smiled and felt shivers run down his arms and back. Tom held onto his boy, suddenly feeling the weight of the world release from his shoulders. “It’s okay now,” he said. “Daddy’s got you.” After a long while, they both went back inside. Addison to his childhood bedroom, and Tom to the living room couch.

The next morning, Addison woke up early and gave his mother a kiss goodbye. He took the box with the vintage lamp, then grabbed his bag and walked outside shivering in the brisk morning air, passing his handprints on the front steps, and getting into the waiting yellow cab. The low hum of the idling engine was the only sign of life on Fall River Street.

#heartbreak #love #highschool love #lgbt #lgbtromance #gaylove #gay #shortstory #short story #romance #valnetinesday #dark #fallriverstreet #gayshortstory #fiction #crime #rape

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bratkook · 7 years

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clairvoyant. (m) part four.

masterlist

word count: 9.5k

no warnings this chapter, just nice friendly banter between friends.

The white ceramic mug filled with hot chocolate felt warm in your hand as you brought it back and forth from your knee to your lips in an almost robotic motion. You had your roommates knitted blanket balled around your waist, covering your legs as you sat criss crossed and hunched over your laptop on your bed.

The both of you were in preparation mode, neither of you bothering to turn on the lights in your dorm or open the blinds and instead choosing to have your faces lit up by the blue cast coming from your laptop screens. She was busy typing away, finishing up a 17 page essay on god knows what, her hair was sticking up in different directions from the countless times she ran her fingers through it in frustration, she had a stained grey hoodie on and her purple duvet covering her bottom half. It all screamed stressed college student.

“It’s times like this that I regret being so into history when I was in highschool. Why? Why did you let me do this Y/N?” She shouted out at you, deciding to chuck one of the countless pillows on her side right at you, successfully smacking into the left side of your face, causing your hair to muss up and your teeth to clank against the ceramic mug as you tried to take a drink.

Your fingers rubbed at your front teeth as you turned and glared at her, seeing her face hidden behind her hands as she screamed into them. “I didn’t know you back then Wendy, but in retrospect, you’d be typing up a 17 page essay on something else right now. At least this is something you enjoy.”

She peeked back up from behind her hands, shrugging in agreement at your words, “Very true.”

“Plus, some guys get boners when you mention you’re a history major.”

Her lips turned up at that, shooting you a wink, “Also very true.”

She sighed and flopped onto her back in defeat, your gaze went back to your laptop screen. You had photoshop opened up and a few pictures you had taken of your friends spread out but you were currently working on color correcting a picture of Taehyung.

“How’s it coming along?” Wendy asked, her attention now gone from her essay and completely focused on scrolling through social media on her phone.

You hummed as you studied the picture some more, “It’s coming. I just feel like I’ve been staring at Taehyung’s face for so long that he’s gone ugly.”

She snorted at that, hopping out of bed and going to peek over your shoulder to see the picture you were working on. “Now that’s impossible.” Her chin rested on your shoulder as she watched you fiddle with the levels before finally deciding that it was good and you’d come back to it later, you needed a break from seeing his face staring right back at you.

“I guess.” You reply, raising the arm that wasn’t still holding the mug up for a stretch, hearing stuff pop and feeling the tension in your shoulder ease up. You had been sitting here since noon, reviewing and editing pictures for the upcoming exhibit at the end of the month and it was now 9 at night. It was something they did every year so you had been preparing for this since the start of the summer, which is when you had taken these pictures, you had just held off on editing due to focusing on other projects and work but you couldn’t hold off on any longer.

“I guess,” Wendy mocked your voice, smacking the back of your head before retreating back to her bed, “he is god sent Y/N. A classic Mcdreamy, honestly.”

You reached across your bed to set the empty mug down on the desk at the end of your bed, “Wow Wendy, want me to put in a good word for you?”

She slapped her palm against her chest, “Oh no, my heart is way too fragile for the man that Kim Taehyung is. He’s wonderful to look at from afar and I am but a weak woman who would cry after a one night stand.”

You sat back on your butt and laughed, Wendy had told you time and time again that the college life just wasn’t for her. She couldn’t handle mindless hooking up and Kim Taehyung was the literal definition of a mindless hookup, him being the kind of guy that would suggest getting you an uber before your post orgasm glow faded, leaving the weak feeling vulnerable and a little betrayed.

“Honestly I applaud you.” She continued, placing her headphones around her neck as she fixed up her bed a bit.

“And why’s that?” You ask, mimicking her actions and tidying up your bed as well, tossing her knit blanket back at her. Your cream coloured duvet being smoothed out and your graphic pillows being placed at the head of the bed, one adorning a repeating pattern of an eye and the other having a drawing of a moth on it.

Wendy plopped back down on the bed, resuming her stewing position and attempting to finish off her essay, “Because you have a heart of steel.”

Your sock covered feet padded their way to flick on the light to see the mirror held above your desk, using it to help fix up your hair that had been in the same lopsided ponytail since you woke up. “Negative. I’m just not looking for commitment right now. Believe me, if I had any romantic feelings for Tae I would’ve been a crying ball of mush by now.”

Your fingers raked through your hair, smoothing out the bumps and pulling out any of the knots as you remade the ponytail and began digging through your drawers for a change of clothes. You slipped off your faded graphic tee and threw it in the hamper, it smelled like coffee and inner frustrations, instead you grabbed a distressed white tee and slipped it on. Wendy was talking in the background but a sound coming from the hall caught your attention.

You could hear boots stomping around and childish laughter, your finger was raised up, successfully shushing Wendy and making her ears perk up to listen. “Is that…”

A loud smack could be heard before someone groaned out in pain, “Ow, fuck you Min Yoongi.” The voice rasped out, sounding a lot closer now.

You mouthed out a sorry at Wendy, which she shrugged off with a smile, deciding to slip on her headphones and play music to block out the events that were about to happen while going back to her essay.

You were expecting knocks to come from your door but instead it was swung open, eliciting a scream from you and a gasp from Wendy, both of you having your hands placed over your hearts.

“Jesus fucking–”

“You really should lock your door Y/N, you never know what creeps could be lurking.”

Your fists were balled up and you couldn’t hold back from smacking him on the chest repeatedly, “Fuck you Yoongi! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Tae and Hoseok chanted behind him, phone’s being held up, pretending to record the cat fight. His fingers wrapped around your wrist, stopping you from assaulting him as he gave you a dry smile, “Don’t attack me for proving why you should lock your door, I could’ve been a creep.”

You glare up at him, seeing him huff out a piece of hair that had fallen out of place from your attack, “You’re not far from it.” You grumbled out, yanking your wrists out of his grasp and going back to your clothes. “Now please tell me what I have done to be graced with your presence.”

The three of them seemed to finally realize your roommate was in, giving her a small greeting which she returned before she turned up the volume in her headphones and typed away. Taehyung made himself at home, sitting on your bed and looking at your laptop, “Hey, thats me!”

Hoseok sat down behind him, looking over his shoulder just like Wendy had done earlier, “That’s all of us, you self centered fuck.” Smack. Tae’s red hair flew up at the impact, his fingers rubbing the spot Hobi had hit.

“This was before you dyed your hair, please refresh my memory was Ronald Mcdonald your inspo?” Hoseok teased him, laughing out at the shocked expression on his face.

“Fuck you Jung, this red hair makes me a chick magnet–”

“Who even calls themselves a chick magnet anymore?”

“Someone who gets a lot of pussy!”

They continued their back and forth bickering but the first comment caught Yoongi’s attention so he made his way to the bed, seeing the files you had open of the photoshoot you had them agree to months ago. It had been shot in two days, half of the pictures being shot with colorful confetti outdoors with your DSLR and the other half, which were shot on film and were not on your computer, being in black and white in a studio. “What was this for again?”

You were holding up two pairs of jeans against yourself, not being able to decide until Hoseok pointed at the blue denim with holes in the knees, “The Fall photography exhibit.”

“Yeah but isn’t that a good ways from now?”

You gave him a curious look, “No, Yoongi. It’s next week.”

His eyes widened at that, “Fuck me.” His hands ran down his face as he groaned, he obviously lost track of time and most likely didn’t even know what month it was anymore. “I need to start editing my photos now.” He spoke to himself, going through a game plan of how he would get it done.

You grabbed the changing divider you had in your room for situations like this and slipped behind it, changing out of your sweats and into the pair of jeans before folding it back up and resting it against the wall.

“You’ll get it done, you planned it all summer. Don’t stress.” You gave him a reassuring smile as you made your way to them, saving the files in your computer before closing the laptop and shoving it into your side bag, choosing to sit down in front of Taehyung with your back against the wall.

He snapped his fingers in realization, “Right, speaking of stress, I got you a job.”

Your back straightened up at that, eyebrows raised up as you waited for him to elaborate. “Just say the word and it’s yours. I put in a good word for you at the photo studio I work at and if you want it, you’re hired.”

“Yes! Yeah I want it!”

“Good, I was gonna beat you down if you said no. They’re most likely gonna have us work together since our schedules are similar but you start Monday so you have today and tomorrow to bask in unemployment.”

It was like the angels began to sing, you had been searching for a job after you quit the last place you had been working at for months, being tired of getting yelled at by drunken customers that spit more than they actually talked. The amount of times you had come back to the dorms, exhausted from school and work, reeking of meat and cheap soju was ridiculous so you quit a month before school started. The stress of bills hadn’t piled up yet due to the fact that your scholarship was still paying but you knew if a job wasn’t found soon you would spiral again.

“I’ll text you the time and location if I don’t see you before. I gotta go start editing, you just lit a fire under my ass Y/N.” He reached over and ruffled your hair before leaving, making a note to lock your door and shoot you a wink before shutting it.

“Party tonight, you in?” Tae asked the second Yoongi left, his hands reaching out and digging into your left shoulder at an attempt to massage it.

“I’m gonna pass, is it at the Delta fucking whatever’s again?”

His thumb dug deeper into your shoulder making you wince and slap his hand away, “No, just a house party. I got my roommate to agree to go.”

You gave him a side glance, seeing Hoseok roll his eyes, “He agreed to go for fun or did he agree to go to baby sit you?”

He hummed at that, “Now that you put it that way…I’m gonna have to get him super drunk from the get go. Better start pregaming now.” He shot up from the bed and just walked out, no goodbyes, his mind too focused on thinking what drinks he’d force down Jeon Jungkook’s throat.

You could just picture Jungkook now, wide eyed and very out of his element. It had been three weeks since the start of school and you had only really interacted a handful of times, a few times when you were in his and Tae’s room and a few other times in class but you never really hung out, or fulfilled the open promise of coffee. Regardless the few interactions you two had made it very clear that Jungkook was very far from Taehyung, he entered college with a serious determination to study, he always declined offers for parties and always seemed wary when Tae mentioned drugs so the fact that he agreed to go to this house party was very shocking.

“Poor kid.” Hoseok sighed out, he was laid back on your bed, his hands behind his head, looking rather comfy.

“I’m tempted to go to make sure Tae doesn’t get him black out drunk but I can’t waste anymore time with these pictures.”

He shook his head, “Tae’s wild but he’s not an ass, he probably just wants to show him what he’s been missing. I think he’ll be fine.”

That was true, he wouldn’t leave him like a fish out of water. He would probably just ease him into alcohol and leave it at that, as long as Jungkook didn’t naively say yes to everything he would be fine.

Your stomach grumbled out and you looked down at it with a frown, your hands going to pat it in realization that it was in fact empty.

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes mom.” You muttered out, avoiding eye contact.

He squinted at you, his eyes scanning the room for possible food leftovers for proof and as they landed by your bed he gasped, “Y/N, you better not tell me that this,” he held up the open box of coco puffs as evidence, “is your sorry excuse for a meal.”

Your lips pursed as he scolded you, refusing to look at the pathetic meal he held up. “So you had cereal and whatever substance is in that cup–”

“Hot chocolate.”

“Cereal and hot chocolate. Wow so nutritious.”

You stood back up from the bed and grabbed your side bag that was on the floor, “Where are you going?”

You opened the leather bag and inspected the inside, sunglasses, lotion, gum, a tiny plastic bag Tae had handed you at a party to keep safe, your wallet, some sd cards, an extra lens a handful of rings that you decided to just slip on and your laptop. “To go eat, since you scolded me. Are you coming or are you gonna stay here?”

He shot up with a smile, hands rubbing his stomach, clearly looking forward to filling it up with whatever you mentioned. He also took the liberty to pick up your camera, hanging it off his neck with pride.

“Wendy,” you tapped her shoulder, taking her out of her deep concentration. She slipped off her headphones, eyebrows raised in question, “wanna come eat with us?”

Her eyes flicked down at the page count, a sigh leaving her when she saw it was only 10 pages done out of the 17 needed by tomorrow, “Can’t, I’m just gonna grab something from the cafeteria and come back here to finish. Thanks though.”

You nodded in understanding, motioning for Hoseok to follow you out of your room. The hallways of your dorm were full of autumn decor, a few orange and red leaves drawn out on paper being hung up on the wall and a bulletin board full of activities being held this month on your floor. October was approaching and all the girls on your floor were planning a get together to decorate and watch horror movies, that was one thing to look forward to in the pile of homework you had.

“The girl’s dorm is always so cute, the closest we get to decorations is opened condom wrappers everywhere.”

Yeah, you’ve seen that. Everywhere. Your dorms encouraged safe sex but the guy’s were just messy as hell, completely unsanitary. It was truly a mystery why you were always there.

The both of you swiftly exited the building, walking down the trail that lead off campus and onto the main road. Hoseok was busying himself with snapping shots on your camera, for once not complaining about the weight because you had switched the lens out for a smaller single zoom lens.

He walked mindlessly behind you taking random snaps of nature and himself, occasionally looking up to make sure you didn’t stray too far ahead. The streets were rather empty and there weren’t many people on the sidewalks, letting you freely kick the fallen leaves as you walked slowly.

You were on a hunt for a place you had come to one night when you were very drunk with Jimin and you knew it was just a few blocks from school. You remembered it perfectly despite not being sober, you also remember Jimin having to feed you because your fingers just couldn’t remember how to hold your chopsticks.

The second you spotted the red exterior you reached back to stop Hoseok from ramming into your back. Your palm froze him in his tracks and he looked up at the sign, “Ramen, really?”

“Hey, this beats coco puffs and hot chocolate. Show some respect.”

He wouldn’t argue with that, besides he had a soft spot for ramen, never really being against having it as a meal because it was always satisfying.

The two of you were seated quickly and in a booth in the corner, per the request of Hoseok asking for a booth with the best lighting. Mason jars with the drinks of your choice were brought to your table and you both ordered, before you were given a chance to breathe Hoseok slid your camera your way and you knew what he meant.

Over the past couple of months you had become Hoseok’s photographer of choice, he had a pretty decent instagram following and according to him you were best at bringing his visions to life in a way that fit his feed. You didn’t mind it, he was fun to take pictures of and with and him tagging you in all the pictures you took for him had gained you a good following on your photography page.

You flipped off the lens cap, adjusting the shutter speed and ISO before pointing your camera at him, his gaze was cast off to the side, staring out of the window beside the booth and the soft light from above hit his face at just the right angle, accentuating his profile and making his jaw look sharper, his teeth gently bit the straw attached to his mason jar and you could applaud him for looking so great doing something so simple. He changed his facial expressions a few times and switched up his posing for options and you knew he’d find one he liked.

That process was repeated the second the food was set in front of you, the both of you standing up and snapping shots of the food like a pair of idiots but like Hobi said it’s all for the shot. The bowls were turned infinite times, the mason jars had to be just right and so did the utensils everything had to flow and Hoseok trusted your knowledge to get this shot before you were allowed to actually enjoy the meal.

The whole ordeal took about 10 minutes so when he finally decided one or you got the shot you instantly dug into your meal.

“So,” he wiped his mouth, setting his chopsticks on top of the bowl, “how drunk do you think they are right now?”

You shoved a clump of rice into your mouth, mulling the question over as you chewed, “Not drunk enough. I bet Jungkook has to drag his ass back to their room, if he can carry him.”

He let out a low whistle, “If he can carry him, Y/N that boy is built like a fucking rock. He can probably carry Tae with one hand easily.”

That you hadn’t known, he always looked so…not buff? He was timid, and soft spoken, the only time he really spoke out was the day you had decked him with your camera so I guess his personality made him seem smaller than he was. Maybe Tae should work out with him since he had a sudden urge to buff up.

You just shrugged, if he carried Tae back to the dorms completely wasted Namjoon would be livid when it came time to do rounds at the dorm, the amount of times he had let Tae, or any of you really, off the hook was absurd and it was shocking he still held the position of being RA, it was most likely due to the fact that he had a charming personality.

You pushed your noodles around with your chopsticks as you took a sip of your drink, seeing Hoseok’s phone vibrate twice, indicating a new message.

“Ooooh, is that your girlfriend.” You teased him, stuffing the noodles into your mouth and slurping them up with a grin when he ignored your question. “How are things with, what’s her name? Yeob–”

“Irrelevant.” He took a pretty aggressive bite out of his meat before scowling and locking the phone to get rid of the notification.

“Trouble in paradise?” You wiped your face, looking down at your bowl and seeing that your meal was disappearing, a clear display of how starving you were.

He took a sip of the broth and sighed, “Yeah, I guess.”

Did you wanna press this? You weren’t quite sure if he wanted to talk about it because he came off as rather dismissive. Him and his girlfriend have been together for about five years, high school sweethearts that kept going strong regardless of moving and going to different universities. He always talked about her and she had come to visit in the past and everyone kind of thought she was the one for him but things have obviously changed.

“She cheated on me.”

Your hand froze on its trip towards your mouth, your grip loosening on the chopsticks so your noodles slipped through them. “What?”

That was all you found appropriate to say, in reality you wanted to call her every name in the book because who would cheat, especially on someone like Hoseok? He deserved better, it was for the best that he broke up with her and moved on to someone else. There were plenty of girls in the university that had their sights out for him, he could snag one up easily.

“She’s been texting me nonstop apologizing–”

“Fuck her.” You blurted out without noticing, “She can’t do that and apologize once you dumped her.”

His lips pursed out at that, eyes locked on his bowl of food, “I…I didn’t dump her.”

You just decided to set your chopsticks down because food was gone from your mind. “Hobi, what do you mean.”

He took a sip of his drink, stalling, “I mean, she texted me a week or so ago telling me she cheated but that she was drunk so I told her I forgave her….I love her, I couldn’t just end it but I probably should have.”

“I gave her another chance, and yeah shit was weird because there was like a giant elephant in the room that neither of us were acknowledging but I fucking tried to make it work and then–” he lets out a frustrated sigh and his palms rub his face,

“then the other night she sent me a fucking video. A video Y/N.”

“Oh no.” You mumble out.

“She was sucking off some guy and sent me the video he took of her with we should breakup being the only text under it. I fucking blew up, I called her and text her like a madman and got nothing in response and now, now she’s texting me saying it was a mistake but I can’t. Not anymore.”

What a bitch.

“Has she been calling you?”

He nodded and right on cue his phone lit up with her face, signaling a call.

“Go find some girl tonight, sleep with her and call her while doing that.”

“Y/N, I’m not that horrible.”

You just shrugged in response, “It was just a suggestion.”

Hoseok just sat there, staring at his phone as it continued to buzz and eventually light up with the notification of a missed call. You could tell he was thinking over what you had said and it was honestly very petty to do but at this point it would make her feel like shit to know how it is to be the one getting explicit content of your significant other with someone else.

Both of your meals were basically done and it was obvious they weren’t going to be touched after the current topic so you raised your hand and politely called over your server to ask for the check.

“Look, I know it feels horrible right now and you have every right to sulk about it but don’t let her weasel into your head and cry her way back to you. You’re a great guy Hobi, you know that right? You treated your relationship with respect and you loved her with all you had, this is all her fault. And if you want to let loose and have fun, you go ahead and do so.”

He looked up at you and you just wanted to bring him in for a hug, his eyes just looked so defeated but you didn’t blame him.

“Thanks Y/N,” you handed the waiter your card when she brought the check, not letting him get a chance to offer to pay, “I think I’m gonna head out to that party Taehyung went to, just to forget about this, no promises on hooking up with someone. Did you want to come?”

You took your card back and began putting everything back into your bag as you both prepared to leave, “No, I’m gonna head out to the school cafe and work on my pictures for a bit. I promise I’ll be back to my normal riot self once these are finished. Make sure Tae or Jungkook aren’t blacked out and keep me updated.”

The both of you got up, Hoseok slapping a few bills onto the table as a tip before you exited the building.

The chilly air hit your skin and you shivered, letting out a laugh when you felt Hoseok drape his jacket over your shoulders and your camera around your neck, “Thanks, be safe okay? I’ll send you the pictures later tonight. ”

He nodded and pulled you in for a hug before waving and walking off in the opposite direction from school. You tightened his jacket around yourself as you watched his silhouette get smaller in the distance, once you could no longer see him you grinned and started your short walk back to school.

The roads were pretty empty now, a few cars drove by and you passed a couple of people that you knew went to your university but besides that it was quiet and alone, something you weren’t used to experiencing while being in college and dorming so you took your sweet ass time getting back there.

You snapped a couple of pictures of the half dead trees, lit up by the streetlights so their remaining leaves let off a slight orange tinge. The reality of Yoongi scoring you a job still hadn’t hit you yet and when it did you were pretty sure you were going to smother him with love because you really needed it. He always mentioned his job at the studio was relatively laid back, all he did was set up lights, backdrops, and occasionally get called on to take shoots which would be great experience and maybe you could network there who knows.

You were reviewing a few shots you had taken on the walk just now with a giddy expression as you reached the concrete path that lead you to the quad when you noticed that your phone started vibrating. You dug it out of your pockets and answered when you saw it was Jimin calling you.

“What do you want?” You teased, hearing his soft gasp.

“You know, if I knew being a caring friend would get me this treatment I would’ve stayed a loner.”

You rolled your eyes with a smile, continuing your walk up the path lit up by tall lights. You could see your destination up ahead but you kept your slow pace.

“Such a baby. But excuse me, hello Jimin how’s your night going?”

There was rustling on the other end and you knew he was walking around, whether it be in his apartment or just roaming the streets. “That’s better…but my nights going good. Namjoon just called me trying to get me to go out to that party everyone’s at, you going?”

You readjusted the strap from your bag higher up your shoulder, “That’s the third time I’ve been asked today and nope, I’m editing nonstop tonight. Did Namjoon convince you?”

“Almost but then my mom called and said if I show up hungover to her fucking brunch event she’s shunning me from the family.”

You could just picture Jimin showing up with giant shades on to hide how badly he looked while the rest of the guests were dressed in their most expensive attire. Everytime he went to one of these events he would call you, using your phone call as an excuse to leave a conversation about him eventually taking over the family business.

His hatred for these events was very evident, both his parents knew but they baited him in with money. Jimin wasn’t foolish, yes he wished he could choose a path of his own and be happy but he also knew that without money came stress and unhappiness, so he chose to suck it up and then complain to you.

“And shunning equates to you saying bye to your money right?”

“Exactly and we can’t have that.” He let out a sigh before speaking again, “Anyways, I was gonna ask you to come over and pig out on pizza but seeing as you’re on a editing marathon I’ll let you go. Let me know if you need anything alright?”

You hummed as you neared the cafe, seeing the lights on through the windowed walls, “I might show up at 1am in the mood for pizza.” He said that was completely fine with him and then said his goodbyes.

Your hand grasped the metal handle and pulled the door open to the cafe, smiling at the two girls behind the counter as you approached them and ordered an iced coffee before sitting down at the half booth by the corner. They were open until 1 am, you had about 3 hours or less to edit before they kicked you out.

One of the workers whose name you learned was Jisoo came and brought you your drink with a smile before returning back behind the counter to clean up. You took a sip and sighed before pulling out your laptop and opening it up to continue where you left off.

The amount of times you sat in this same booth doing this was laughable, most of the workers here knew how you liked your iced coffee and knew you had a favorite spot to sit at, they would come by and ask if you wanted another coffee after a few hours but besides that they would leave you alone. It was nice, it made it more comfortable to sit here for hours on end when you felt like you had a personal connection with the baristas.

The plastic straw of the drink was between your teeth, currently being gnawed at while your right hand worked on bringing the light catches back into Jimin’s eyes, you had adjusted the tone of the light pink hair he had at the time and had made sure everything looked right colorwise. This concept was very keen on color so you made sure everything popped without being overly saturated.

Considering this was the only set of photos you would be editing you were determined to give it your best effort. The other set was being blown up the way they were shot. Black and white, grainy, showing the true beauty of film, a big contrast to the photos you were currently working on.

Seeing these pictures just brought back memories of summer. The trouble you had gone through to find this location and forcing the guys to help you cut up confetti because you could only find gold and that just wouldn’t do. How many injuries the guys got from fucking around and slipping on the confetti, the end tally was 10 scrapes, a handful of bruises and Namjoon almost breaking his arm from the rough fall he had taken.

You set your cup down with a smile and fell into a rhythm, all of your photos were shot in RAW so if anything simple needed adjusting it was easy to do to speed up the process. You filled in empty spots with extra confetti, sharpened them up and made sure they didn’t get lost in everything going on in the background.

The screen flicked back and forth between photos until you decided you were completely satisfied with it and proceeded to move on to the next one. You had finished the shots of Yoongi, Jimin, Namjoon and Taehyung. The last two remaining were Jin and Hoseok and if you were quick enough you could finish them off before 1am.

Your eyes scanned over the picture of Hobi looking up at the confetti with a smile, the confetti that fell in front him being out of focus as well as the background.

Alright, this will be quick.

Your fingers tapped on the mousepad before deciding what to do when you heard a voice fill up the quiet cafe. Your gaze moved away from your screen and up towards the voice, seeing a boy with a black bomber jacket ordering an americano.

His hair looked disheveled, either really bad sex hair or the effect of him running his hands through it, his body language made it clear he was exhausted so maybe just a college student cramming for something?

You were about to regain your focus on work until you heard the barista call out his name, then your ears perked up.

“Here you go Jungkook.”

“Thanks.” He mumbled out with a smile, turning around to leave and before you could help it you were calling out his name also.

His cup of coffee stopped before it could reach his lips and then his eyes started their search for the voice, bouncing over every seat until landing on you, sat in the back with your hand raised up waving him over.

Red flags waved around in his head along with a tiny voice chanting ohfuckohfuck as he gave you a smile before shyly making his way over, choosing to stand by the table instead of sitting down right away.

“I thought you were at that party with Taehyung?” You moved your bag, plopping it on the ground beside you and scooting over so he had some room to sit, he looked at the seat for a moment before deciding to just sit down, both of his hands cupping his warm cup of coffee as he thought of a response.

“Yeah, I was. It just…got a little too crazy for me.” He looked nervous, refusing to make eye contact, fingers tapping against the cup and rolling his lips together. Was he hiding something? Maybe he did something while drunk that he normally wouldn’t have done?

“That’s usually how house parties end up. Did you have fun? Taehyung didn’t peer pressure you too bad did he?” You saved the file you were working on and gently pushed your computer back so you could really face him, your own drink in your hand.

Jungkook set his cup of coffee down and ran his fingers through his hair, looking conflicted for a moment before deciding to finally look at you, seeing your eyebrows raised in question. “You okay?” You asked him, tilting your head slightly.

He pursed his lips, looking like he was talking to himself internally before taking a deep breath, “Y/N…”

You nodded slowly, motioning for him to continue, if anything happened tonight that made him act like he’s acting right now you wanted to know.

“You seem like a really nice person. Someone who is always there for people, loyal you know? I told myself I wasn’t gonna say anything but I really have to.” Okay now you were confused…

“Jungkook, whats up?”

His hands were on their way to run through his hair once again but you caught them in your palms, seeing his eyes go wide at the contact, “Taehyung’s cheating on you.”

Huh?

Jungkook looked utterly confused when you started laughing, letting his hands go to cover your mouth as your giggles filled up the empty cafe. His brows were furrowed, thinking maybe you were just in shock and the waterworks would begin any moment now.

“You’re kidding right?”

Oh yeah, she’s in denial. He thought to himself, his left hand going to gently pat your right shoulder in an attempt for comfort.

“No, he kept taking shots and I kept pretending to take them so he got really drunk, then I lost him for a bit and when I found him again he was making out with some girl. I had to leave, I couldn’t watch that happen and I wasn’t going to tell you because I just felt like it wasn’t my place and then I see you here and you’re working hard while your boyfriends out there being a dick and I couldn’t help myself.” He was rambling now, his lips moving too fast it was shocking the words he was speaking were coherent and not a slur altogether.

Your laughter stopped with his explanation, a smile adorning your face because that was actually really sweet.

“He was really drunk so–”

“Jungkook.”

“–maybe you could forgive him? But you needed to know–”

“Kook.” You tried again, finally stopping him and letting him catch his breath and take another sip of his drink, although maybe he should just leave it because he honestly looked like he was about to puke out everything he ate today.

“Drunk or not I wouldn’t forgive a cheater but,” you gently placed your hand on top of his that was still on your shoulder, “me and Taehyung are not dating.”

The confusion clouded his eyes once again, he was looking at you like a lost puppy and it dawned on you that you’d probably have to explain your relationship to him and you weren’t used to doing that. Everyone in your friend group never asked and never wondered but Jungkook was definitely wondering now.

“But you’re always at the dorm late and he always tells me not to come to the room unless I want front row seats.”

You quickly took a sip of your coffee as you thought of what to say. He had an assumption already but he didn’t want to go out and say it in case it offended you, plus a part of him told him that maybe you really were in shock and were now going to make lies up to mask your hurt but he didn’t want to go out and say that in case that offended you as well.

“Tae and I sleep together occasionally but it’s nothing serious. No labels, no commitment so yeah, we’re not dating. It’s just fun.”

Fun? He didn’t really understand how sleeping with each other while also sleeping with other people was fun but then again he had never been in a situation like that so what did he know.

“So…you’re okay with it?”

You took another sip of your drink and nodded, “Yeah, it’s not like the only person I sleep with is Tae. The way I see it is I’m young and not entirely convinced that commitment is up my alley at the moment so until then I’m not going to limit myself.”

Jungkook hummed in understanding, that made a little more sense to him now. Why would you get into a relationship knowing that wasn’t what you wanted, it would suck for the person who was more emotionally invested.

“Is that something you would recommend others do?” He shyly asked, his fingers resuming their tapping from earlier.

“Others as in you?”

Nod.

“Hmm…it depends really. Have you ever had meaningless sex, no strings attached, one night stands?”

His messed up hair shook as he nodded his head no.

“Ah, so only sex with a girlfriend?” He blushed at that, he didn’t understand how you could openly talk about sex in public, albeit the cafe was practically empty but still.

“Or a boyfriend, sorry for assuming.”

He immediately turned to face you with wide eyes, boths his hands help up in front of him, “No, no I’m not into–guys aren’t–I’m straight.”

Jungkook watched you shrug your shoulders and say okay cool, still waiting for him to answer the question.

Alright, Jungkook could totally have a conversation like this. I mean he only had two options, ignore the question and end the conversation even though he strangely wanted to talk about it because really who else would he talk about this with, or he could just answer it and see what direction this conversation would go in.

“Yeah I guess…it wasn’t really a normal thing it only happened once before we broke up.”

“And that was the only relationship you had?” That was hard to believe, yeah it was obvious Jungkook wasn’t a very open person at first but he was attractive. You’d have to be completely blind to not think so.

He nodded and sipped his warm drink, slowly seeming more comfortable. After getting what he thought was Tae cheating off his chest he looked more at ease, a little anxious but that could be due to the coffee or the conversation at hand.

“But you’re hot.”

He choked on his drink, his fingers wiping the few drops that had spilt over his lips and on his chin, “Thanks–”

“Did girls just not approach you or did you just ignore it?”

Jungkook just shrugged because he honestly didn’t know. Maybe girls had approached him but he had been too naive and inexperienced to know any better. The only relationship he had was with a girl who he had known for years, friends since the start of middle school and one day she just blurted out that she liked him and wanted to be his girlfriend and all he could mutter out was a dumb okay if you want. It only lasted a few months before she broke it off and they stopped talking altogether.

“Alright,” you clapped your hands together with a grin, “this is your first year of college and since relationships aren’t common ground for you maybe you should ease into it?”

“How?” He wanted to know, he was growing tired of feeling like an inexperienced child. Of course there was nothing wrong with that but at this point he just wanted something to happen.

“Ask a cute girl out on a date? Someone from your class, someone you see on campus. Anyone here would say yes instantly. Plus you have me to help if you want?”

“Like…coach me?”

That was a good way of putting it, “Yeah, sure. I’ll tell you what to say, how to make a move. All that good stuff. Once you get into the groove of things you decide if you think the hookup lifestyle is for you.”

Okay, he’d basically have to tell you everything for your coaching to work and he was already getting embarrassed by it. Yeah he remembered you saying he didn’t have to be careful about what he said around you but that didn’t mean he’d get word vomit.

You slid your phone over to him so he could input his number, which he did with slightly shaky fingers, and then you sent him a text with suggestive emojis and your name just because you knew it would make him blush.

You closed your laptop and nudged his thigh so he could reach your bag for you. The cafe was closing down which meant it was now 1 in the morning. You slipped your silver laptop and camera into the bag and took the last sips of your coffee before standing and giving him a smirk that made him a little nervous.

“I promise,” you gave his cheek a gentle pat with your hand, “that you’ll get laid by the end of October with my help.”

Oh god.

“If you want.” You shrugged. He finally got up and you both slid out of the booth. Jungkook stayed a few feet behind you, seeing you wave at the baristas so he did the same before exiting the cafe.

The temperature outside had dropped significantly from when you first entered the place so you zipped up the jacket Hoseok lent you. It swallowed you whole and Jungkook just laughed at how silly you looked.

“Hey, we finally had coffee together.” You told him with a giant smile, giving him a hug and noticing he felt extremely warm, but then you were backing up, he noticed you were always quick to say your goodbyes and leave, “I’ll see you later yeah?”

You turned around and started your walk to the road by campus, already knowing you were heading for Jimin’s for the pizza he had promised when Jungkook yelled something out.

“I want it!”

That stopped you in your tracks, your brows furrowing as you turned back around, “Huh?” You shouted back, the two of you were about 20 feet apart but the slight wind made it a little difficult to really hear.

“I want your help!”

You threw your hands up with a stupid smile, shooting him a thumbs up as you walked backwards now. “Hell yeah! It’ll be great! Send me a text whenever you find a girl!”

He stood there, watching you slowly walk away and noticing you weren’t going towards the girls dorm at all. He could take help from you, you clearly knew a thing or two about carefree living, especially if you were wandering off campus at 1am. It wasn’t like you were going to a friends house to watch movies, right?

But little did Jungkook know that’s exactly what you were doing. Moana was currently being played on Jimin’s flat screen as he cut up the pizza he had just taken out of the oven and you poured the both of you cups of soda.

“How’d the editing go?”

The glass cups were placed on top of the wooden coasters on his black coffee table in the living room along with two plates, “Good, just two pictures left to edit and then I’ll be ready to blow them up for the exhibit.”

Jimin walked out of the kitchen, a black oven mitt in his right hand that held the pizza tray and a wooden slab in his left hand that he placed beside the drinks before setting the pizza tray on top. “I’m excited for your exhibit by the way. I’m curious to see how you pulled off a photoshoot with us idiots barely cooperating.”

You watched the strings of cheese stretch out as Jimin pulled up a slice before dropping it onto his plate once his fingers burned, “You’ll be surprised with how well they turned out. Maybe you should buy one of the pictures and hang it up there.” You pointed to the area of blank space on the wall above his dining table.

“I’ll think about it.” He hummed out with a grin before deciding he didn’t give a shit about the roof of his mouth and took a bite of the hot pizza.

“So, how excited are you for tomorrow?” The shit eating grin on your face made him scowl, you clearly knew he was extremely unexcited for tomorrow. If he had to put his mother’s brunch events on a hate list it would be a solid two, right above kidz bop and below vomiting.

“Super!” He sarcastically answered, “How excited are you at joining me for the thanksgiving fundraiser dinner?”

Now that made you almost choke on your pizza as you swallowed it, “Fuck you were serious about that?” A few months back Jimin had mentioned needing a date for that event because his parents kept trying to set him up with random rich girls and he was getting fed up so you were his go to choice in making his parents stop trying to play matchmaker.

“I’ll give you five grand.”

Daggers. Pure fucking daggers were being thrown his way from your eyes, “Jimin you can’t pay me to go to events with you, you’re not my sugar daddy.”

That made him laugh, hysterically, to the point where he wiped tears away from the corner of his eyes. “That could be arranged.” He joked with a wiggle of his brows.

A scoff left you and your fingers itched to toss the crispy crust you held right at his face but you held back, choosing to bite a chunk of it instead. Jimin was too much sometimes but then again so were the rest of the guys.

“Sometimes I wonder how life would be if I would have chosen different friends back in freshman year.”

The second the words left your mouth your phone sounded off, the ring letting you know someone wanted to facetime you and because of the time it was either Taehyung or Hoseok.

“You wouldn’t be getting drunken facetime calls right now that’s forsure.” Jimin giggled to himself as he shuffled closer because his nosey self wanted to see the scene that was about to unfold.

You picked up the phone, noting that it was Tae calling and you swiped accept without a second thought, the loud sounds of house music making you turn down the volume slightly.

“Y/N!” He yelled out, his face extremely close to the phone.

“Taehyung, how are you doing cute stuff?”

He whined and pulled the phone back as he rubbed his eyes with the hand that was clutching onto a red solo cup. “Great, ‘miss you though. And look who else is doing great.” He dropped the cup in his hand and tossed his whole arm around someone, yanking them next to him and into shot.

“It’s Jungkook!”

You tilted your head at the screen because that definitely was not Jungkook.

“Tae that’s not–”

“He’s an animal, he takes shots like a champ don’t you Kookie.”

The black haired man who was obviously very drunk nodded along with a smile, “That’s not Jungkook.”

Tae scoffed and looked at his new friend and then back at you, “Of course he is. Tell her you’re Jungkook man.”

“I can be whoever you want baby.”

Oh great.

“Taehyung that’s Yugyeom he literally lives across the hall from you. I saw Jungkook earlier on campus.”

Taehyung made the funniest face, not quite sure if he believed you or if you were fucking with him because he was drunk. But if you were telling the truth that meant he had lost Jungkook and that was a big fat no in his book. So him being Tae did the typical Tae thing, “Sorry I gotta go I think my phones broken.” His drunk ass then proceeded to chuck his phone across the room at full force while you and Jimin watched as the screen blurred together before the entire thing went black when it probably hit a wall or something hard.

“He’s literally fucking insane.” Jimin laughed out as you stared at your phone screen in awe. Taehyung was literally fucking insane, exactly how Jimin put it but he sure did know how to keep things interesting.

You sent Hoseok a quick text telling him to keep his eyes peeled for Tae if he was still at the party. “He’s going to regret that tomorrow when he can no longer take his precious selfies.”

The amount of times drunk Taehyung had full on broken his phone to the point of no return was absurd. It’s gotten to the point where your group places bets on the time frame he’ll break it at the next outing you all attend, it’s almost always past 1am depending on if he’s mixed his liquor with a few pills or not.

“My family’s gonna wonder why the fuck I keep buying iPhones.” Jimin sighed in faux annoyance as he went onto his phone and placed an order so Taehyung wouldn’t be completely phoneless.

“No!” You shouted with a laugh, “You need to stop reinforcing his bad habits, he’ll never learn if you keep giving him phones to break.”

Jimin’s gaze slowly lifted towards you, his face saying oh really? “Need I remind you of the time when your baked ass swore your phone would fly if you put it on airplane mode?”

You suddenly couldn’t hear, and wow the movie just go so interesting.

“Where did your phone end up? In the pool.”

He was tilting his head closer to you so you could see him from your peripheral as hard as you tried not to.

“It was still salvageable but oh no, what did Y/N decide to do to dry if off? Put it in the fucking microwave!”

You could feel your lips quivering as you held in your laughter, “Okay! Okay I got it! But what did you do, you bought me a new one and gave me the lecture of a lifetime, told me this phone didn’t have insurance and guess what? I still have it in pristine condition so thanks.”

He mocked your voice under his breath as he completed the order on his phone. He knew Taehyung was harmless and meant well, and besides he was practically a brother to him and in Jimin’s eyes if the roles were switched he knew Tae would do the same for him.

“Shut up and watch Moana.”

That’s how the remainder of the night went, the entire pizza being consumed and Moana along with half of Brave being watched before you felt yourself drifting off on his couch. You deemed his couch the perfect place to sleep and you weren’t worried about not being in your dorm considering it was saturday and they were pretty forgiving on saturdays.

Your breathing was evening out and your face was smushed against one of his pillows when you felt him whispering next to you, “Y/N come on.” His finger gently prodded your cheek once before he repeated your name.

“What?” You mumbled out.

“You’re not sleeping on the couch c’mon.” He took it in him to grab both your arms and haul you up in your half asleep state. Your arms were wrapped around his neck as he basically dragged you to his room, your sock clad feet rubbing against the rug he had in his hallway.

Once you finally reached his room you sat on his bed and yawned as he pulled back the duvet for you. “Aw,” you reached for his cheeks and squished them between your hands, “I might just take you up on that sugar daddy offer.” You patted them gently which only made him laugh and shove your head away.

“Go to sleep, I’m gonna clean up and then knock out too. There’s a charger by the bed if you need it.”

You mumbled out a thanks as you slipped in between the sheets, plugging your phone in and seeing it was 4am along with text notifications from Jungkook.

You rubbed the rest of sleep out of your eyes to see whatever text he sent you.

Jungkook 3:15am The girl in the coffee shop

Jungkook 3:18am Jisoo

Jungkook 3:19am Help pls

He was adorable and this would be very entertaining for you and hopefully very exciting for him. Your fingers tapped across your phone as you wrote a response out and hit send.

Y/N 4:25am I gotchu my lil grasshopper

#bts #bangtan sonyeondan #bts smut #bts writing #bts scenarios #jungkook #hoseok #jimin #taehyung #namjoon #jin #yoongi #clairvoyant #writing #new

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