FRAT LINE|Year 2&3-KNJ✔️

++20++

++THIRD++

Malia's cold hands wrap around the steaming mug as she sits in the cafe. She picks it up and takes a sip of her hot cocoa, eyes looking outside, watching as the sky glooms.

Today is a grey day. The clouds fill the sky, blocking out the sun. It looks as if it might rain at some point, much to Malia's dismay.

She's fine with the clouds, she's fine with dark overcast that they bring. It doesn't bother her and it's not like she had any outdoor plans that they'll be potentially cancelling if they do decide to release the downpour.

The only thing thing that her day consists of is speaking to her mother. The day that she was pulled to the Dean's office, her mother called her right after she got off the phone with Seokjin.

She wasn't upset, she wasn't disappointed in her for the infraction, she was sad. Mrs. Ward was holding back tears as she asked what happened. She didn't know what was going on at all or why her daughter felt the need to swing on her dance coach. All that Seokjin told her when she asked, was that it involved Namjoon and it'd be better if Malia told her herself.

As a mother, Mrs. Ward felt terrible. She felt as if she failed her daughter if Malia couldn't tell her these things or talk to her about them. She felt like maybe she wasn't as safe of a space for Malia as she thought that she was.

But she withheld all of those emotions, she withheld her tears. She didn't want to bring them up, as they focused more on her and not her daughter. And Mrs. Ward did not want to make the situation about her in any way or make Malia feel like she did.

So instead, Malia told her what happened in the office that day. She told her mother how it all started over the summer. She told her about how Raeya tied into their senior year of high school and their freshman year. And when she began to feel overwhelmed, she asked if her mother could come out to see her. She knew that it was such short notice but Malia didn't want anybody but her parents. She didn't want anybody but her mother.

So Mrs. Ward informed her husband of the situation and they made plans to drive up a few days later. Mr. Ward wouldn't be apart of the initial conversation if Malia only wanted to have a mom-to-daughter talk but he still wanted to be there for his daughter.

Mr. Ward also called Namjoon himself. The 21-year-old was terrified seeing the man's name pop up on the screen but he knew that he had to answer. There was no way of getting around it. It's his first step, Janae's words played in his mind.

As a quiet roll of thunder goes by, the bell to the cafe door sounds. Malia looks toward it an smiles when she sees her mother. For the first time in days, Malia's eyes well and fill with tears.

The moisture stings her dry, tired eyes and she blinks to alleviate the pain. Her mother looks around for her as she steps further into the restaurant.

When Mrs. Ward's eyes find her daughter, her smile grows. She walks over and Malia stands up, hugging the woman tightly.

"Oh, my baby. I am so sorry I'm late. There was accident on the interstate and I had to weave my way through that traffic mess they had going on."

Malia looks at the time on the clock and smiles to herself. "It's okay, Mom. You're only six minutes late."

"That doesn't matter. I said I'd be here at 9:30 and I wasn't."

"We're never on time for anything." Malia says as they take their seats.

"Yes, but I've always been on time for you. Seems I've been lacking on that lately." Mrs. Ward says as she sets her purse on the table, off to the side.