a/n: this chapters gonna be rlly long because it's the kind of...theme setter?? idk whatever also i'm vmin trash byr
Slowly, Kellen entered the house with a nervousness that could probably be seen from afar. Her hands were sweating, and she continuously bit down harshly on her lower lip.
"I didn't think you'd show up." His voice rang through her ears. A voice she once found comfort in.
The girl nodded quickly and turned to face him. "Uh, yeah, well...your mom did invite me. My appearance is a part of her birthday gift." She tried to joke, covering up the fact that she kept glancing at his wrists. They were covered in multiple gel bracelets with various rock bands on them. But she knew what was under those bracelets.
"What a lovely gift."
An uncomfortable tension filled the hallway, and Kellen decided to escape. "Um...I'm gonna go say hi to your family. It was nice talking to you, Jungkook."
The boy felt slightly hurt that he had just become 'Jungkook' to her again. But he didn't want to comment on it. "Talk to you later then." He unwrapped his sweater from his waist and put it on. "I'll be back in a little bit."
She didn't question where he was going, and made her way into the kitchen where everyone was.
Jungkook's mother quickly noticed her and smiled. "I'm glad you could make it!" She said happily. Kellen just nodded and gave her a short hug.
"Happy birthday." She said. "Who all is here?"
The woman looked around and pointed to the group of people in the corner of the room. "Jimin and Taehyung are there. Jungkook invited them, then just left. He's ridiculous." She muttered the last sentence. "But go ahead and make yourself at home, as usual."
Kellen's smile was empty and emotionless, but she still flashed it, before making her way to the two boys in the corner.
Taehyung noticed her first, and waved. "Hi, finally someone we know is here!" He laughed. "That kid just left us alone."
The girl chuckled awkwardly and looked down at Jimin, who was sitting silent in a chair. His smile was similar to hers; empty. They were both pretty messed up, so she understood why he closed himself up.
"How is she?" Jimin asked, scooting over a little. Kellen sat on the other half of the chair, and shrugged.
"She hasn't been home in a while." She admitted. "But she left a note that said she would be around for Christmas."
He nodded and looked down in deep thought. "Do you think she's back on it?"
Kellen didn't reply. She didn't want to accept the fact that her sister had broken her almost four month-long streak of sobriety. Or that her whereabouts are a mystery to everyone. That's just something she wasn't ready to accept. And she didn't think it was a good thing to tell Jimin.
"Hey, we'll just go hang out in Kookie's room, okay." Taehyung said loudly. "I'm sure he'll be back soon."
After a quick second of thinking, Kellen stood up and reached her hand to Jimin. "We can talk later." She assured.
-
Kellen exhaled deeply, looking at the messy room. She hadn't been in this house for a little over a year. But every memory was fresh in her mind, like they'd only just happened.
Her fingers trailed across the dusty television that Jungkook never used, then she looked over at the pile of books he never read. Everything was the same, but different.
"Come on, Jimin, don't be so sad." She heard Taehyung say quietly. "Or I'm gonna be upset too."
Not bothering to look at the two, Kellen continued examining the room and what had changed. Almost everything was the same, except for his clothes and some posters that were taken down. He still had the same black and red comforter, the same bean bag chair sitting in the corner, and the same teddy bear that she'd gotten him for their first shared Valentines Day.
When she turned around, she smiled softly. Jimin was in front of Taehyung, leaning back against his chest while Taehyung whispered in his ear. She found it cute that they cared so much about each other.
"...and if she does come back, are you sure that she'll feel the same? I don't want you to get your heart broken." Kellen knew that Taehyung was talking about her sister.
Jimin had fallen in love with Kellen's older sister, Tristin, and they had a thing for a while. But since Kellen and Tristin grew up in a rough area, they were exposed to bad people. Tristin eventually got caught up with some girls who liked prescription drugs a little too much. That only led her to get hooked on other drugs though. And she's been struggling for a year. It was around the time Kellen and Jungkook split up, actually. A lot of things had happened around that time last year.
Tristin found herself falling into an addiction, thus leading to her fallout with Jimin. Taehyung came out as bisexual, Jungkook admitted that he self harmed, their older friend Hoseok disappeared...and of course, Kellen and Jungkook broke up. All of that happened within a span of two months, and Kellen just eventually separated herself from her friends.
"Oh, hi."
Kellen looked up and she felt a small smile appear on her lips. "Hi, sorry. We wanted to get away from the boring, wine drinking adults." She said.
Jungkook just nodded and tossed his bag down carelessly onto the floor. "I see." he commented. "Nothing's changed, right?" he smiled timidly and looked around his room.
"Not at all." Kellen mused, wiping some dust off of a large, velvety, bright blue box. Jungkook tensed up as she lifted it from it's spot on the bookcase. "But I've never seen this before."
"Oh...that's nothing. It just has, like, junk in it. Don't snoop through it." He tried to hide the harshness in his voice. "It's really nothing," Jungkook reached for the box and pulled it away more forcefully than he intended. "I swear."
Kellen sighed and nodded stiffly. She had a pretty clear idea about what was in it, but she wasn't in any place to scold him. They weren't together anymore.
"I think Jimin should get back home. He told me he had a long night yesterday, and now he's falling asleep." Taehyung said awkwardly. He could feel how tense it was in the room.
"Uh, yeah, okay. I'll give you guys a ride. I need to talk to him anyway." Kellen mentally thanked Taehyung, and pushed past Jungkook. "I'm gonna go say goodbye to your family. It was nice seeing you." She said to him.
Jungkook grabbed her wrist. "My sister will be home next week for a little bit. I'm sure she'll want to see you." He said monotonously. "You can come over more often."
Slowly pulling her hand away, Kellen nodded. She looked at Jungkook and examined how much older he looked; how tired he seemed too. The life that he had when they were 16 was gone, and now replaced with a permanent frown.
"I'd like it if you would come around again."
Kellen quickly stuttered out something incoherent, then sighed in exasperation. She looked over at Taehyung, who was still coddling Jimin to his chest. "I'll leave first." She said to him, not bothering to see Jungkook's expression.
a/n: what did u think
