DOLLY | Namjin (ON GOING)

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"It's simple. You just have to follow me around, okay, Seokjin? Seokjin?"

Namjoon was in the middle of walking up the stairs with Jin right behind him, explaining the plan, but soon figured out Jin was no longer behind him. Immediately concerned, Namjoon groaned and tossed his head back, standing alone on the staircase, but he soon figured out what happened when he looked up at the crowd by the doors. 

Jin doesn't like school, large crowds, or loud noises. And all three of those were just a few steps away.

"I should be getting paid for this pain and suffering," Namjoon muttered as he turned around and descended the stairs, looking around for Jin. He walked every which way possible in search of Seokjin, until he spotted a pair of big, amber orbs gazing up at him from the leaves of a bush. Namjoon sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Seokjin, what're you..." he mumbled, walking over to the bush, only to see the eyes retreat. Feeling foolish, he crawled around the bush until he saw Jin, his heart melting just a bit at the sight of the boy curled up among the bushy clump. Namjoon slowly sat next to him. Jin pouted and turned away, plopping onto his side.

"You don't like school, huh." Namjoon whispered. It was more of a statement than a question. Seokjin didn't say anything, he just looked over his shoulder at Namjoon, tears pricking his eyes, before looking back down at his feet. He shook his head slightly.

Namjoon let out a breath, he was thinking what he should do. He was just a student, out of all the things he expected to happen to him in his life, he never would've expected a friend to be delivered to his front door, he didn't feel ready for all of this, but he also loved the feeling of being needed by someone. Jin was more like a toddler than a friend. Not that Namjoon minded.

The student set a hand on Jin's shoulder, trying to get him to look at him. "I can't miss school. I know you don't understand, but I really can't. Do you think you could try just one class? I promise nobody will be looking at us."

Seokjin turned over to face Namjoon, but didn't say anything.

Namjoon breathed out of his nose. 'He likes cuddles, small spaces, and pet names.'

"Jinnie? Did you hear me, Jinnie?"

Namjoon saw the way how Seokjin's face lit up at the sound of a nickname. His nickname. Then he shuffled closer until he was close enough to plop his head on Namjoon's chest.

"Ohh, there we go," Namjoon chuckled, slinging his arms around Jin's back to pull him closer. He sat up on his knees, moving his arms down to Jin's waist, rubbing his head with one hand. "Do you like that, Jinnie? Should I keep doing that?"

Seokjin didn't answer, but his little purrs of contentment were enough to tell Namjoon that he was indeed enjoying it. And honestly... Namjoon was too.

The bell had rung a few minutes ago, it was now 8:06, but Namjoon wasn't nearly as panicked as he was earlier when getting ready for the bus. It was nice, just the two of them with a few occasional lollygaggers, but nobody bothered them since they were hidden in a bush. And that seemed to make Jin feel safer.

"Let's try one class, hm?" Namjoon grunted softly, helping Seokjin off the ground by lifting him. Then he took hold of Jin's hand to A) make sure he didn't run off and B) make sure he felt secure. Seokjin nodded and followed Namjoon up the concrete stairs, entering the doors of Bangtan High.

It was a nice little school, not too shabby, but definitely old. It wasn't Namjoon's favourite place in the world, he only liked the library, it was where he spent all his free time since nobody else went in there, and he was sure Jin would like it too. He was a man who cared about his grades, but he didn't care about being late, so he brought Jin to his locker. The teacher wouldn't notice anyway.

Nobody was in the hallways, except for the skippers, who were more focused on avoiding the teachers than this new "student" with the school loner. Namjoon brought the boy to his locker and entered the passcode before taking his bag off and shoving the binders he didn't need for period A in his locker.

"This is a locker." He explained as he rearranged his bag, kneeling on the ground as Seokjin stood there, looking around the empty hall with the same dreamy expression. "This is where people keep their school things. You and I can share one, the password is 10 36 10, but make sure not to tell anyone else or they can break in. Got it?"

Namjoon looked up at Jin, who just stared back at Namjoon idly. Namjoon smiled.

"Got it, Jinnie?" He corrected himself. Seokjin broke into a smile and nodded energetically.

𓆩♡𓆪

Namjoon's first class was history, but thankfully it went smooth. Since there was group work, Namjoon just brought Seokjin to the back of the class to explain the basics of school, and nobody could hear them since everyone else was talking with their groups.

He just explained things that students do like raising their hands, asking to go to the washroom, groaning about homework, and he also told Seokjin to do none of those things to avoid drawing attention to them. Namjoon just wanted the day to go smoothly without anyone realizing that the boy was even there.

Period B, greenhouse management, didn't go as well as Namjoon wished. None of the students cared about Jin or Namjoon, but the teacher noticed when Seokjin kept spilling dirt on the floor and sitting on the ground to play with it, no matter how many times Namjoon cleaned it up and told him to stop.

 The teacher was overly chill, luckily, and believed Namjoon's ridiculous lie about Jin being his long-lost stepbrother that just transferred to the school. Namjoon just hoped the teacher wouldn't ask any other staff about Seokjin, then they would see that Jin indeed wasn't a student.

But finally it was lunch and Namjoon quickly grabbed Seokjin's hands, taking him to the library to avoid the cafeteria, AKA the busiest area in the school.

Now they sat at the back of the dim library. It was a small and cozy place lined with many shelves of every book to exist, some tables at the end of aisles, all with a flickering lamp. Some students thought it was haunted, but really the dimness just added more charm to the place, at least that's what Namjoon thought.

"So, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Namjoon smiled and turned to face Seokjin, who looked very comfy on the beanbag chair, curled up like a small puppy. 

"It was a bit lonely without Teddy." Seokjin sighed with that same dreamy tone he always had, looking off into space again. Yes, Teddy, Jin had been complaining about Teddy all day.

"But you had me, didn't you?" Namjoon asked, amused.

Seokjin nodded, looking down at his knees. Namjoon's smile turned into a slight frown. He knew that Seokjin probably hadn't enjoyed the day at all, it was noisy with lots of students, and he didn't get to wander around like he usually did with his pretty dresses and tea parties.

 Namjoon didn't really know what to do, he was basically forced to take Jin with him, no way would he leave him home alone, but he didn't want Seokjin to feel uncomfortable. What would the consequences be if Namjoon consistently brought Jin to the very environment he was uncomfortable with? Would he run off? Would he go back to where he came from? Namjoon finally felt needed, and he wasn't about to lose that. He was gonna make it better for Jin, and he knew just how he'd do it.

"Hey, Jinnie?"

"Hm?"

"Do you... do you wanna go dress shopping? Right now?"

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now."

"Yes. Yes I do."

"Great. Let's go."