Love Me || Taekook

|40|

A warm light filtered in through the windows of the house, but did little to relieve the chilling atmosphere. Taehyung and Jungkook stood from the seats they'd found amongst the others. They gave a few hugs and muttered, "Good luck," to everyone there before crossing the room and walking down to the basement.

"Where should we hide? There aren't many good places..." Taehyung looked across the open space. It was pretty much one big entertainment area with a bathroom and a small closet to the left. "Probably the bathroom, right?"

Jungkook glanced to the closed door, hesitating. "Yeah...that's really the only option."

Taehyung immediately started walking, weaving through furniture and scouting for possible options if somehow the bathroom didn't actually work. Nothing. The couch was too close to the ground to hide under, and there was just too much open space to effectively hide behind something else.

Jungkook took a few seconds before following, his body protesting his intended actions. "We can lock the door and cover the window." He hurried his pace, afraid he'd turn around and walk away if his steps were too slow.

"Yeah..." They both walked into the small bathroom. Taehyung stepped inside first, freezing in the middle of the tiled floor. His eyes locked onto the odd sight of rope tied to the towel rack, which had been reinforced by extra screws forcibly pushed through the metal of each base. He'd be lying if he said he didn't know what that was from.

"Don't just stand there. Grab a towel and cover the window." Jungkook locked the door completely ignoring what was still there. He didn't want to deal with those memories at this moment. All that was important was staying safe until Taehyung's parents arrived.

With a light sigh, Taehyung grabbed one of the towels and stood on the toilet, reaching over to the window and opening it slightly so he could shut the cloth into it. "Now what?"

"Now we turn off the light and wait silently." Jungkook found the most comfortable place on the floor that he could, bringing his knees up to his chest with shaky hands. His eyes closed, and he soon felt Taehyung's warm body slide down beside him.

The silence between them amplified every small sound around them - the animals scurrying around outside of the window, the sounds air and electricity running throughout the house, even their own heartbeats and their lungs expanding with air. 

Anxiety brewed stronger than ever before as all the remaining light that had been forcing its way through the thick towel over the window completely faded. Time seemed to stop. It felt like hours before the first sound of the fight outside made its way to their location. The very first sign of the commotion was a yell followed by a scream. Ground shaking growls that were clearly far away still seemed louder than a gunshot. That is... until the guns were actually fired. Seconds that passed like minutes ticked by with no sounds but these. However, of all of the things they were taking in, none seemed more terrifying than the realization that the battle was growing closer.

Jungkook wrapped his arms around Taehyung and held him tightly, trying to reassure his boyfriend even though he was just as scared. He wanted to whisper that everything would be okay, but the thought of being heard strangled his throat and tied his tongue. The only thing he could do was hold the shaking omega as tightly as he could and pray they could leave soon and unnoticed.

It wasn't long before they could hear fighting happening merely a few houses down. Neither of the boys could breathe properly. They struggled to simply release the building carbon dioxide in their bodies, much less take new air into them. Their hearing was fine tuned to what was happening outside, taking note of every change in the sound quality and measuring the distance it was coming from.

Despite all their efforts in predicting the distance of the surely grueling battle that their friends were facing, an unexpected force hit the window and unstuck a corner of the towel.

Taehyung opened his mouth to scream, but his head was turned away and pressed into his boyfriend's chest. His vocal chords itched to be used, but he managed to control them thanks to the quick distraction. Instead, he screamed internally. That half-second of an image that he'd seen through the tiny bit of visible glass stained his thoughts. The crimson color barely visible through the darkness sickened his stomach and tightened his chest. Although, not even that could compare to the gurgling and choking sounds whoever had landed there was making - sounds he could hear even through the hands that were covering his ears.

Jungkook's eyes were wide and locked onto the window. He could see the shadow twitching and shaking. He could hear the oh so familiar sound of someone drowning in their own blood. He could smell the stench of blood that his mind insisted on remembering. His own body shook with terror and yet refused to move even an inch at the same time. He was stuck holding Taehyung and praying that whoever had slit that shadow's throat wouldn't find them.

Against all of his wishes, a loud bang came from the floor above them following the sound of a window breaking. Both of the teenagers froze, their muscles tensing more than they thought possible. Rapid footsteps and more bangs and thumps followed each other closely for several minutes until they suddenly stopped.

Silence hung in the air once again until, one step after the other, someone made their way to the basement.

Jungkook carefully slid Taehyung behind him and focused his eyes on what he could make out of the dark door. Light footsteps searched around the room next to them then stopped in front of their hiding spot. A knock sounded on the door, and a gently voice rang out. "Taehyung? It's mom. It's safe, so you can come out now."

Jungkook let out the breath he'd been holding and turned to look at the omega behind him. A larger gulp of saliva slid down his throat. Taehyung's eyes were wide with shock and he didn't seem to notice anything going on around him. Quickly, the alpha stood and unlocked the door, opening it to allow the other boy's mother in. He rushed back and lifted Taehyung to his feet, though he ended up bearing nearly all of the weight.

Mrs. Kim rushed in and helped hold up her son. One glance at the mostly covered window and she knew exactly what had happened. Her son had just personally witnessed death. The death of a possible loved one. "Let's hurry. We don't have a lot of time."

Taehyung was basically dragged out of the bathroom and through the rest of the house. They rushed to exit the now tattered house and slid into the awaiting car with the precision of an arrow headed straight for bullseye. Taehyung's father was waiting in the driver's seat. He had a few cuts and forming bruises on his face and hands, but his focus seemed sharper than ever.

Before the vehicle's doors were closed all the way, it was speeding off.