Time Difference

18. The Point

"Were you planning to be here tomorrow morning?" I asked Jungkook as I crawled into bed.

"Well, I usually go home to get ready for the day," he said hesitantly.

"I was just wondering, what if I miss the bus tomorrow. What do you think I should do?"

"Oh. Well, I bet that uh, Yoongi would tell me that you missed the bus way before you even actually missed it. And so I'd show up in the parking lot to wait for you so you wouldn't even have to call the driver to come get you."

"You think he'd see that I might, mm, miss the buss?"

"Yeah. So I'd go home and shower and come back here and wait."

"What if I missed the bus early, so that when you drove me we wouldn't really be seen by anyone?"

"You're not embarrassed to be seen with me, are you, Aria?" he teased, adjusting himself so he was my pillow yet again. If I could just get to a store I could buy a good pillow and Jungkook could finally have his arm back.

"No, but this is preventative medicine because you might be embarrassed to be seen with me."

"Well, what time were you planning on early missing the bus tomorrow? So I know when to be here."

"Hmm, I thought Yoongi was going to tell you that." My sleepy grin probably made me look drunk, or punch-drunk. I hoped it amused him.

"Okay, I'll ask him."

"Wait, Jungkook, I forgot to change my alarm. Half an hour early?" I said.

"You are committed. Waking up early?" I poked him again, this time in his bicep. "Don't worry, I'll be here."

And he was. I was even a little early because I'd panicked so much I woke up three times before my alarm even went off, finally getting up twenty minutes before it was set. So I went to the parking lot to wait and found he was already there. Either he came early just in case, or my guardian angel – or at least the guy watching my every movement, had alerted him to the change in schedule.

"If you'd gotten up a bit earlier we could have driven by the river for a bit on the way," he said as I clunked down into the passenger seat.

"Somehow kids miss 18 or so years of mornings because we spend them wishing we were still asleep while on our way to schoolrooms." I scoffed. "I can't even remember the last time I saw a sunrise. Well, one that I hadn't stayed up all night and caught accidentally. There's this thing we called Hell week, the week before the school play opens, and every night is run throughs and dress rehearsal and notes and of course you still have to do your homework, write papers, and study for tests, so you're up all night. I had to fix my costume last year that week, because the costumer decided at the last minute she wanted me to make the skirt I was wearing wider, and I wasn't really used to sewing or anything, so I borrowed my mom's sewing machine. I ended up sewing through my fingertip. The worst part was I was so tired I didn't even notice," a short hysterical laugh came out of my mouth, "but then I saw the blood everywhere." Jungkook looked aghast. "No, don't worry, it was okay because the skirt was brown, so you really couldn't see the blood all over it."

"That's ... not the upsetting part of your story."

"Well, it's my fault. I was always in a rush so I never pinned things, just held the edges together as I went. It has consequences for clumsy people. Anyway, you probably get to see all the sunrises you want. I bet you're tired of them." I realized my wording was thoughtless. "I didn't mean tired. I know you can't sleep, even if you want. Sorry."

"It's alright, I'm not that sensitive. But let's not bring up pizza in front of Jin unless we absolutely have to."

"So I can't compliment his recipe?"