Paradise in You | sope

paradise lost | five

The rest of the semester went by in a blur.

Yoongi had returned home as his parents had told him to, but he refused to say anything to them. It was clear that his parents looked guilty about the words that they had exchanged with Yoongi, but honestly, Yoongi had been too hurt to even try to look at his parents. It's not like they knew that they had caused harm to Yoongi by putting him in a difficult position.

He stopped doing any church-related activities. After everything, his heart wasn't in it anymore— not the way that it was before. Every time he even tried to look at religion, all he could remember was Living in Hope, and how places like that promoted harming innocent youth just to get them to integrate back into heterosexual society. It didn't feel right to Yoongi that he continue to follow a religion that was so hurtful, and he made sure to let his parents know beforehand.

"I'm finding God on my own terms," Yoongi informed them. "This is not up for debate."

And it wasn't.

The threats of being kicked out couldn't phase Yoongi the way that his parents were hoping that they would. Hoseok's mother was a lawyer, and she was quick to inform Yoongi about the rights he had. She hadn't hesitated to appear at Yoongi's doorsteps, reminding Yoongi's parents how bad it would look on them if they were to abandon Yoongi while he was still a minor. With that, Yoongi's parents backed off, giving Yoongi the space, but also making it very clear that any form of relations that they used to have was now gone.

Yoongi was sure that his parents were just counting down the days for him to leave the house.

At the very least, his parents hadn't taken anything from him. They still financially supported him, and after realizing that the friendship with Hoseok wouldn't go away, they seemed to give Yoongi more money, which Yoongi saved in his savings account so that when he finally had to leave, he'd have money to jump off of.

Things at school had gone down the rails. The cross country team unsurprisingly did not win anything at the meet, though no one admitted it was because Hoseok and Yoongi had been absent. Yoongi had finally gotten comfortable with being an outcast, to the point where he finally decided to start sitting with Hoseok. This had plummeted any chance of redemption for Yoongi at the school, but he found himself not caring. He felt a lot happier being next to Hoseok and Namjoon, and he didn't need anyone else to make himself at home. He embraced the change from golden boy status to black sheep and devoted his energies to figuring out ways how to support those who were similar to Hoseok.

The rumors surrounding Hoseok creating a club for those in the LGBTQ+ community wound up being true. Yoongi began tagging along with the meetings, becoming one of the first allies in the group that could help keep the kids in the group out of trouble. Oddly enough, Yoongi found himself much more comfortable surrounded by those like Hoseok and Namjoon, and he made it his mission to make sure that everyone could feel welcome— at least in that little space.

Hoseok and Yoongi had become inseparable. There wasn't a single day that you wouldn't find them together— whether it was in the study rooms with Namjoon, during lunch breaks, in the mornings, or after school, anytime anyone needed Yoongi, they knew that wherever Hoseok was, Yoongi was sure to be. They were each other's first 'good mornings' and each other's last 'good nights', and whenever they could hang out, just the two of them, they did so.

"I think this is what your parents were worried about," Hoseok remarked, shaking his head. Yoongi rolled his eyes and continued to watch the movie, letting his head continue to rest on Hoseok's shoulder. "Imagine if they walked in here."

"I'm just resting my head," Yoongi mumbled, scooting in closer. "Friends can rest each other's heads."

"And borderline cuddle?"