Peaches & Cream

Ch. 4: Let Me Make It Up To You

With his head planted on my aching shoulder, Jungkook and I sat in complete silence as if time itself stopped once our bodies touched. And, as the chilling breeze danced around us, I felt goosebumps form on my skin, looking down at his hoodie that covered my shivering legs. I felt terrible, but with every failed attempt to move, he seemed only to get closer. It was clear that we had to go, but seeing him in such peace made me strangely want to protect it for as long as I could. 

"Okay," I thought to myself. "Just a little longer,"

--

"Miraya!" my heart skipped a beat as Jiah's voice pierced through my sleeping state. With Jungkook still beside me, I could see Jimin trying to wake him as well.

"Jiah, what time is it?" I whispered, attempting to stretch my body as much as Jungkook's position allowed me to. Cold to the touch, his skin was ghostly pale, lifeless almost. 

"It just hit 3. What were you guys doing out here? It's freezing!" Jimin exclaimed, picking Jungkook up by his arm as he murmured something under his breath. Searching his face, his eyes were still sealed as if stuck in deep slumber. 

"I found Jungkook out here alone and so, we talked and then ... I guess we just fell asleep," I tried to explain, piecing the puzzle on the go, questioning how we managed to stay completely still for 2 hours. I guess, it was a very long day for the both of us. Jimin and Jiah, however, were not convinced in the slightest, but it was too late for interrogation, so with that, we said our goodbyes and went to our dorms.

"Miraya, you're so cold, honey. You're going to be sick tomorrow. Do you want me to stay at your dorm tonight? We can even skip school, hmm?" Jiah looked me in the eyes with pure concern written all over her face, caressing my shoulders covered with her jacket.

"No, no, Jiah, I'll be okay don't worry. Just need to sleep it off." I said with a reassuring smile, sniffing back the mucus running down my nose as stage one of my evident flue began. Nonetheless, she stayed with me for another hour, warming up with some jasmine tea as she debriefed the whole party before finally hugging each other goodnight.

--

6:30 a.m.

Unfortunately, and to no one's surprise Jiah was right. I was sick. Rotting in my pyjamas, all teary-eyed from the constant sneeze attacks. And to make matters even worse, I had the worst migraine in the history of migraines. Truly, I've never felt more defeated. Just, phenomenal.

But, although it was the last thing I wanted to do, I couldn't afford to slack off on the second day of school. Not after paying a whole mortgage worth of tuition to attend this capitalistic prison. So, after taking all my medication and rubbing Vaporub on my body, I was off to conquer the day. 

"Hey, flip-flops! Oh, wow, what happened to you?" a familiar voice exclaimed once I entered the elevator. Of course, it was none other than Tae and his boxy smile. Honestly, I would rather it be him than some random person see me in this state since he already met my other alter ego. Which, let's be honest, was the rock bottom of my character development. 

"Just feeling a bit under the weather, that's all," I chuckled, as the scent of Vaporub filled the air. There's no denying I looked like a sick Victorian child but my mom did not raise a quitter so I had to commit to the act.

"Okay, well, don't die on me. You're the only reason I'm even going to class today," he smiled softly, trying to meet my sleepy eyes.

"What happened to making your mom proud?" I smirked, looking up at the way his blonde hair was perfectly tucked under a baseball cap.

"Moms will nag all the time, I've come to terms with it. Flip flops, on the other hand, seems to know what she's talking about." his innocent laugh played in my ear, as his hand gently patted my head. Nibbling on my lips I scoffed, masking the burning desire to let out a chuckle. Tae was funny but didn't need to be reassured of it, or else his ego would blow through the roof. So, I stick to the innocent teases. And, once the elevator doors opened, we headed off to our first class. Microbiology.

--

After our final class, Tae and I headed to the nearest coffee shop to debrief today's sessions. Overall, it wasn't too bad, the only thing that kept me going was the fact that the content while dense was still very interesting. Especially, anatomy. Tae, on the other hand, spent the entire day washing his hands after learning about the amount of natural bacteria on our skin. He was mortified, to say the least.

Watching the sunset, we walked to our dormitory before waving each other goodbye. And, even though my dorm didn't miraculously change floors while I was gone, I swear, it felt like I climbed 9 flights of stairs. So, once I finally reached the front door, my hands were virtually trembling. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm naturally lethargic, but with this cold, my body was feeling extremely fatigued. Sinking myself into the warm covers of my bed, I let out a big sigh of relief before wrapping myself like a human burrito. Unfortunately, the world seemed to not want me to relax, as I was rudely interrupted by an unpleasant knock on my door, resurrecting my frustration which now grew tenfold.

"Jungkook?" I questioned the man in front of me with a furrowed look. Confused not only by his mere presence but also by the fact that his hands were holding bags full of food. He looked completely different. His hair was parted to the side, leather jacket and silver chains layered on top of the same white T-shirt from the night before. I guess he took my allegations of not being "hotter in real life" a bit too close to heart. 

"Can I come in, or should I unpack here?" he asked with a teasing grin as I quickly moved out of the way. Noticing the pile of laundry on the sofa, I rushed to cover it with a blanket before welcoming him inside.

"Yes, of course, um ... what are you doing here? Since when do you know where I live?" I practically bombarded him with questions, naively ignoring the buffet he was unpacking on the dining table.

"Jimin told me you weren't feeling good, so I asked Jiah about your whereabouts. Don't worry, I'm not a stalker," he explained with a small chuckle as if that was supposed to calm me down. 

"Right," I whispered with a slight nod, still trying to process the fact that he was in my dorm. And, as if noticing my dissociating state, he waved me down to the table while my eyes widened at the absurd amount of food in front of me. 

"I wasn't sure what you liked so I just got a bit of everything," he said nonchalantly, nibbling on his lip ring as his eyes glanced up at my stunned face. But before I even tried to protest against his doings, stressing over the money he wasted, my body was pulled onto the chair next to him.

"Hey, what's this?" his index finger pointed to the purple bruise on my shoulder that peaked under the blanket that was once covering it. Pulling the fabric over the spot, I glanced back at him. 

"It's you," I snapped, harshly at first before letting out a small chuckle. Evident confusion filled his face, trying to decipher the meaning behind my words as his brows furrowed with each firing neuron. 

"Me? What do you mean?"

"You don't remember? At the entrance?"

After a few minutes of complete silence and a couple more confused looks from his end, the space between us was finally filled with a big gasp. And, as his gaze lowered to my shoulder once again, his hand was hesitant at first, before slightly hovering over the bruised mark. 

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you, I promise," he burst into a sigh, searching my scattering eyes. And, although I was intrigued by his innocence, I tried to calm him down with a reassuring smile, promising that it wasn't a big deal. 

"Wow, so not only did I get you sick but I also gave you a bruise," he scoffed, shaking his head before opening a thermos of chicken noodle soup. Giggling at his frustration, I could see that he surely did not find the situation funny in the slightest. 

"Jungkook, really, I'm fine. This was so unnecessary." I leaned closer, meeting his eyes before he gestured for me to open my mouth as I was now inches away from a spoonful of soup. And, as I did so, he let out a warm smile, feeling the tension slowly set him free.  

"Let me make it up to you," he said softly, wiping the corner of my lips with his thumb, using his foot to move my chair closer to him.