𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐒

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ¹⁷

"We should get you to bed," Jungkook whispers in my ear. We're still laying on the floor of the bathroom, tangled up together in a mess of arms and legs. My face is streaked with half dried tears, and I probably look like shit. Jungkook hasn't let go of me for one second, and I'm grateful for that. Because if he did let me go I would probably fall apart.

I nod against his chest, sniffing a little.
"I'm sorry," I say again softly. "I know I'm a lot of work."

He shakes his head hastily and then kisses the top of my head, lips lingering "Everyone's a lot of work, Tae. If they aren't then no ones cares nearly enough."

I look up into his eyes. "You're amazing you know that?"
He grins. "Oh, I know. Isn't that why you're dating me?"

I giggle a little. Dating him. I'm dating Jungkook. He's my boyfriend. I run that word through my head a couple times.

Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend.

I can't get enough of it. Jungkook is shifting me in his arms now, changing angles so he can reach over to the counter and grab the first aid kit.

Oh, right. I had forgotten that my arm was still covered in blood. Very calmly, he takes the gauze and wipes out, gently wiping the blood away from the skin. Then he wraps the whole forearm
in gauze tightly.

It hurts, but I don't make any noise. Afterward, he helps me off the ground. We move slowly to my room together, Jungkook closing the door behind us. We don't bother changing into pajamas, considering we both are still wearing sweats froma day of lounging around.

I curl up into Jungkook's side on my bed as he pulls the covers over us. I sigh with contentment. Falling asleep with Jungkook at my side was the best thing before, but now, as my boyfriend. I can cuddle as much as I want.

Jungkook wraps his arms around my back and rests his chin on the top of my head. "I love you," he whispers in my ear.

I only hum back, too tired to say actual words. But he knows, I'm sure. So we fall asleep like that, for the second night in a row.
----
The rest of the weekend crawls by slowly. Jungkook had to go home in the morning, his parents being insistent, so I'm left alone to wallow in self-pity and miss him. That doesn't mean we didn't
text though. We texted, a lot. He asked me at least three times each day how I was doing, wanting to know if I was okay. It was sweet, even if it got a little
annoying after the fourth time.

I wake up on Monday with the sun shining in my face and my father's voice floating up from downstairs. I think he's yelling at me to get and go to school, but I'm not sure. Sometimes I think he just likes to yell at me so he
can test his vocal cords.

I groan and roll over in bed, wanting to go back to sleep. But then I think about how it's Monday, and I'll finally get to see Jungkook. I jump out of bed with superhuman speed, almost tripping over my feet on the way to the bathroom.

I get ready for school in record time, sprinting down the stairs. Taeyong is sitting at the kitchen table, practically falling asleep in his cereal.

"Come on come on come on," I yell in his face. "We're gonna be late!"

He jumps, startled. "What the fuck, hyung?" he asks. "You're never excited for school."

"I'm not excited," I lie, putting my old worn converse on. "I just don't want to be late. So If you're not in the car in two minutes, I'm leaving without you."

He glares at me, but I know he'll listen because I've left without him and I'll do it again.

I run out to the car and turn the engine on, letting it warm up while I wait. Exactly two minutes later, my brother comes out too, lugging his backpack and glaring at the sun.
Typical teenage boy.

"It's too early," he whines as he slides into the passenger seat.

I put the car into drive and back out of the driveway. "Dude." I say. "You get up this early every day of the week."

"Yeah, and it's too early."
I shake my head at him as we head down the street. "That's not a positive attitude."

He squints at me. "Speaking of positive attitudes, what's up with you? Don't say you just don't want to be late again, 'cause that's a lie."

I scoff. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Uh, yeah, I'd like to know. Contrary to popular belief, hyung, I actually do have a soul. I'd like to know what's making my brother so happy,'cause that makes me happy"

I glance over at him in disbelief. But he's looking at me with complete sincerity in his eyes. That's when I realize that I don't spend nearly enough time with my brother. He knows about my tendency towards sadness, but that's about it. "Ok, fine."

I sigh. "But you can't tell Mom and Dad. Or anyone else, for that matter, alright?"

His eyebrows furrow. "Ok, so what is it?"

I tap my fingers against the steering wheel, unsure of how to word this.

"Um. So. Jungkook and I are dating."

~~~~~~~