FRAT LINE-KNJ✔️

+56+

THIRD

"What happened with Namjoon that he couldn't come again?"

"Nothing. It's stupid, honestly." Malia mumbles as she pulls at her cuticles. Xavier's face screws in terror and he reaches his hand out to stop her.

"I know it's not Chloe again." He says.

I'll curse her out myself. He can't be that dense. He thinks to himself.

"No. It's not her."

"Then what's the problem? I gave them to him for a reason." Xavier says as she sips from her mug.

"I don't know. I told him to leave me alone but I didn't mean it. I know that I should but-."

"Who told you that?" Xavier tilts his head as he asks.

Malia is taken aback by his question. It throws her off, leaving her stuck on what her next words are.

"What do you mean?"

"Who said you should leave him alone? Like why should you?" Xavier asks her pin pointed questions and just as he thought she would, she fails to come up answers as quick as she would like to.

"He hurt me, Xavier."

Xavier bites the inside of his cheek and squints an eye. "How?"

"He lied to me, he played me. He almost had sex with Chloe. All that while still being in my face. He was himself around me. He was his shy, humble, want to be gardener self. And then we got in public around people that knew nothing but his name and his position on a team and he flaked."

"I don't think that second one is on you. It's not necessarily a fault of his own, either."

Malia screwfaces him. "Whose side are you on?"

"Yours, of course. And that's why I'm telling you that Namjoon isn't the same as he was five months ago. Not even three. Now back to my original question. What's stopping you from being with him? What is holding you back from forgiving him knowing that he is learning just the same as you are? I know that he's hurt you, but I'm sure you've hurt him at some point. I'm positive, actually."

Malia stares at Xavier, ready to answer. He waits a few seconds before sipping his own cocoa. It's obnoxiously sweet to him and leaves a weird taste in his mouth. But Malia likes it so he'll endure.

Said girl looks at the table as she thinks. Namjoon did hurt her. He did make her question herself. But he is also kind, he is sweet. His entire presence is comforting for her. His smile, the scent of his detergent. Just him. She hesitates to answer Xavier.

She can't think of a reason that will make her actually want to leave him alone.

Because the truth is, simply put, that Malia has no reason of her own to leave Namjoon alone. No thought of her own can produce an answer that feels right with everything that they've gone through together.

"Hurt people tend to hurt people, Malia. That doesn't make it right nor does it justify anything. But it gives an insight to an explanation. People often judge without knowing the full extent of things. Or not understanding the why. Namjoon is a growing mind that became a product of the environment around him. Heavily influenced by others before he got to make an impression of life for himself.

"I don't think that his intent was to hurt you. You just gave him insight to things that he's never experienced; just as he did you. And nobody is really comfortable with mass amounts of change. Especially not to mindsets that they've had for years. Nobody likes admitting when they're wrong. But he did and he apologized. Though, apologies mean nothing without change.