NICOTINE ||TAEKOOK||✔️

🄾🄽🄴

It started when Jungkook ended up in Taehyung's drama class. 

 Taehyung was less than thrilled when he found out, honestly. Jungkook had a reputation for fucking when he had the chance (which was quite often) and smoking or drinking when he didn't—and sometimes doing them at the same time. He was rumored to have slept with at least half of the staff, male and female alike, and tended to take whatever he wanted without a second thought. He was trouble, simply put. 

 And now he was in Taehyung's drama class—Taehyung's treasured drama class. The one class that gave Taehyung the motivation to even get out of bed on Monday morning, the one class that Taehyung excelled in, and the one class that made Taehyung feel comfortable enough to answer questions and sit near other people It was his haven. 

But Jungkook? Jungkook felt more like a personal hell, sent by God himself. And, yeah, okay, Taehyung had never spoken to him or even spared him a glance in the hallway that required eye contact for more than two whole seconds, but he'd heard what people said, what Jimin had told him, and what Yoongi had passed on from his endless groups of friends, and that was reason enough to avoid him at all possible costs, right? 

 Taehyung took a seat toward the front of the room and nestled into a corner, somewhere he was sure JungkookJeon would never dare sit with his bad-ass reputation on the line. He was right, it turned out—Jungkook went straight for the back of the room and stuck himself in the chair furthest from the teacher's desk. When he walked in, everybody went quiet, save for a few brave whisperers who couldn't stop talking about him. They were quite terrible at it, too; Taehyung heard them speak of a rumor that Jungkook had killed someone over the summer, and really, Taehyung didn't like the guy either, but murder? Wouldn't he be, like, in jail or something? Fucking idiots. 

Taehyung felt relieved when the teacher walked in—Mr. Seokjin, the same one he'd had last year—and greeted them all with a smile that was just the right amount of cheerful. After the normal introductions of a teacher on the first day of school, he'd finally taken a seat. 

"I'm recognizing a few faces," he began. "About half of you, at least. This is a good thing since this year I've deemed it best to pair you guys up—put those of you new to my class with those who've already gone through a semester of bearing my loud voice. Just to make sure we're all on the same page, you know." He let out a laugh. "So for the next fifteen minutes, I want all of you to converse and see who you'd click with well enough to deal with for the rest of the semester. Begin."

Taehyung was about to rise from his seat when Mr. Seokjin called his name. "Can I see you for a moment, Taehyung?" 

Taehyung sighed, wondering what he could've done to be called to his desk this early in the year—literally ten minutes into the first class. Nevertheless, he dragged himself to the desk and smiled warmly at his teacher. "Yes?"

"Taehyung," Mr. Seokjin began with a grin. "How's my star pupil?" 

 Taehyung let out an awkward chuckle; he'd always been sh*t at accepting compliments. "Fine, I suppose. And you?" 

"Still alive," he answered, shaking his head. His expression changed then, from joyful to almost a bit regretful, and Taehyung felt his heart drop. "Listen, you know you're my best student, right? And not just in my class—you're passing all your others, too. And you never get into fights, you never get called to the office, and the only time I hear your name in the teacher's lounge is to remark on how excellent you are in and out of class." 

Taehyung felt his cheeks going red; he wasn't very good at taking compliments. He was sure at least half of what his teacher was saying was a lie, but he wasn't about to point that out. "Um, thanks." 

Mr. Seokjin sighed. "That being said, it makes you a great role model. A fine example-setter for some of our more troubled students." 

 Taehyung shrugged, not fully understanding the direction of the conversation. "I guess?" Mr. Seokjin let out another breath, this one deeper than before. "I'll cut right to it—I've assigned Jungkook Jeon as your partner." 

Taehyung's smile dropped instantly from his face, his skin going flush. Of course. Of fucking course. It's Taehyung's junior year, and he's going to be stuck with the biggest dick in all of school for half of it. Damn, his need to please teachers. Damn, his squeaky-clean record. He'd have caused more trouble in his previous years if he knew this was the outcome of being well-behaved. 

 "Oh," was all he replied with.

"I know he's not ideally someone you'd be friends with," Mr. Seokjin continued. "But he's a good kid, I'm sure of it; he's just a bit more layered. And I think you could do some real good for him."

Taehyung looked in the back corner of the room where he found Jungkook sitting, smirking wildly at a group of girls who took to surrounding his seat—he seemed in his element in an environment of admirers, a wicked gleam in his eyes as he undoubtedly led them all on just so he could watch them crumble. Taehyung didn't like it, or him, at all. 

 "I can try," Taehyung muttered. "He's just..." 

"Harmless," Mr. Seokjin supplied. "Now, I feel uncomfortable talking about my students behind their backs, especially to another student, so I think our conversation is over." He leaned back against his desk. "You'll be nice to him, won't you?" 

Taehyung bit his lip, his gaze flickering back to Jungkook's seat once again. He could do this—he was an actor, after all. He could act like Jungkook's friend if nothing else. It'd be a challenge, but Taehyung was nothing if not competitive. 

 "Yeah," Taehyung whispered. "I'll be nice to the kid." 

With one final smile from his teacher and an appreciative pat on the back, Taehyung found his way back to his seat and purposely ignored Jungkook's existence for the rest of the class. 

 ~~~