NICOTINE ||TAEKOOK||✔️

🅂🄸🅇

"Kim Taehyung, is that a hickey?" 

 Taehyung really wasn't thinking when he showed up to his usual lunch table without at least attempting to cover the marks Jungkook had left. And it wasn't like he'd gone and forgotten about them; he couldn't if he tried, but he'd accepted that they were there and hadn't tried to hide them since he walked in to his class with a hand on his neck, claiming to have a cramp. (Thankfully, he didn't get in trouble.) "What?" Taehyung asked, sounding more surprised than he probably should've. 

"Taehyung," Jimin repeated, gesturing at his neck. He moved the hand Taehyung had subconsciously brought to it. "Those marks. Don't even try to blame it on a curling iron." 

"They're nothing," Taehyung lied, sitting down. He avoided Jimin's eyes the best he could. 

"That's not nothing," Jimin said. "Those are lovebites, Taehyung. You may be a hell of an actor, but you can't lie to me. Especially about something like this." 

Taehyung sighed, creating a story in his mind. "They're from drama, alright?" Taehyung said exasperatedly, Okay, this could work. "We were experimenting with makeup today. I must've forgotten to wash them off." 

 Jimin leaned back. "You're lying." 

"M'not," Taehyung muttered weakly. Jimin sighed, leaning forward in his seat. He reached toward Taehyung's neck, and Taehyung froze as soon as he realized what was happening. Jimin's thumb ran over the skin. 

 "It's not wiping away," he said simply, and that was all he needed to say. Taehyung bit at his lip, sighing when Jimin gave him that look. "He's no good, Taehyung; you know that." 

 "I know," Taehyung replied quietly, as if if he wasn't Taed with it, it would somehow become untrue. "He's nothing but trouble. And not just at school. He breaks someone's heart and gets off on it. I'm not going to let that happen to you." 

"It's not going to happen," Taehyung said feebly. 

 "No, Taehyung, you're distracted because he's attractive, and he's probably feeding you a bunch of the same bullshit his mouth has spewed countless times before. You've barely known him for two weeks, and you've already let him in your pants." He wanted to tell him that technically, no pants were gotten into as they'd both stayed clothed the entire time, but he didn't think that'd really help the situation. 

"Don't let him get to you. He's a bomb, and bombs are made to explode and obliterate everything around them. Even innocent things that get a bit too close. Especially those." He knew the meaning of what Jimin was saying and knew he was right beyond belief. So he nodded his head, not bothering to hide his irritation when he said, "I know. It was a stupid mistake, and it won't happen again." 

Jimin searched his face for any hint or inkling that Taehyung was lying. Taehyung must've passed, as Jimin smiled weakly at him and sat back in his seat once again. "Good." 

"Change the subject," he demanded after a few moments of unbearable silence. He wanted to forget the past three hours of his life had ever happened—closet shenanigans and all. "I passed that quiz; I thought I was going to fail," Jimin said, and Taehyung wanted to roll his eyes and ask him for something surprising. But he was already skeptical of their conversation's turns, so he nodded and said, "I knew you would." 

"I should've listened to you," Jimin continued, smiling. Taehyung found comfort in the fact that he was being so understanding despite "Oh! And Yoongi invited us to another party." Taehyung rolled his eyes. "Another one that we'll have to politely refuse at the last minute? Or make up some unbelievable excuse, but Yoongi will believe because he's Yoongi and he likes to believe that nobody lies?" Jimin nodded. "There must be something different about this one, though. He said it's a little over a month away." Taehyung quirked his eyebrow. 

"And they're already talking about it?" All Jimin had to say was, "It's going to be at Jung Hoseok's," and Taehyung understood. The last time Hoseok had held a party at his house during their freshman year, he'd had so many complaints and cop cars that Taehyung had assumed were the reason he hadn't had another. 

Hoseok was many things: a dick was one of them, but Taehyung thought he was at least smarter than the average human. He supposed he wasn't. "I think Yoongi's caught on," Jimin continued. "Figures if he tells us now, we'll have longer to be prepared. He really wants us to go." "But we're not," Taehyung amended, because if there was one thing to be guaranteed at a Jung Hoseok party besides alcohol and sexual advances, it was Jungkook. Combine the three of those things and present them to Taehyung, and you have a recipe for chaos. "No," Jimin agreed. 

"Probably not. But I still feel bad about it. Poor guy just wants everyone to get along." "We'll all get along the day they stop being pricks to everyone who doesn't fit in with their group of assholes," Taehyung stated. "I don't see that happening any time soon." 

"Suppose you're right." Jimin smiled to himself, playing with the apple in front of him. "Aren't I always?" Taehyung joked, and he hoped he hadn't just jinxed himself. He needed to be right, if only this one last time. He refused to believe he could be wrong about Jungkook .