His Boxy Smiles

Chapter 25

They watched him sleep.

He looked so peaceful yet restless. His face and skin had more colour but even with the knowledge that the boy was awake just half an hour ago, he looked lifeless.

The events that happened earlier kept running in their heads too. The way Taehyung's face went pale at the mention of sleep. There was such a heaviness to how Taehyung had let go of his words too. It scared them what the boy might have running through his mind.

Was this some kind of post-car accident thing? Like those things people go through after going through such a terrifying experience? PTSD?

Was Taehyung having nightmares? Or was it darker than that? Did he know that he died eight times?

No. That's impossible.

They made sure he didn't know-- and so far, they hadn't let it slip when they were around the boy. Not even when he's asleep.

"D-do you guys think Taehyung..." Jimin trailed off. "Do you think Taehyung's hiding something from us?"

"Do you think so?" J-Hope asked back.

"I think so," Namjoon answered. "You guys think so too right?"

Everyone nodded.

"Is it possible for Taehyung to be going through post-traumatic stress? Or am I just being paranoid?" Yoongi asked.

"It's more than possible..." Jin trailed off.

"He might be worrying about the comeback and ARMYs. I think he feels like this is all his fault," Jimin suggested.

"That could be it. But there's more to it," Namjoon agreed.

"Should we ask him when he wakes up?" Jungkook asked.

They were quiet.

Could they really? Do they really want to know? Judging by how Taehyung looked so terrified earlier, could they really take whatever the boy has running through his mind? At some point Taehyung would tell them on his own accord right?

But doesn't this kind of mindset put them to this kind of situation in the first place? That was the exact same thing the six of them have been doing before the accident. They knew Taehyung had a lot of things going on with his drama schedules and the preparations for the comeback; all the while trying to hang out with them.

Suddenly, realization hit them hard once again.

The reasons as to why Taehyung kept bugging them to hang out with him was because he wanted to tell them he's having a hard time. That spending time with them was what Taehyung felt like the best way to cope with his piling schedules.

They felt bad.

No. They felt horrible. They're the worst.

"We screwed up real bad, didn't we?" Yoongi sighed angrily.

"Yeah, we did," Jin was clenching his fist.

"We're the worst!" J-Hope cried exasperatedly, earning a hit on the back of the head by Jin.

"Keep quiet! You'd wake him up, hyung," Jungkook scolded in a whisper.

"Sorry," J-Hope whispered back.

They know now- that Taehyung loves them greatly too. But he still doesn't know how the feeling is mutual so they have to show it to him when he wakes up. They will make sure he knows that they love him too, like the brother they'd never have.

{ New cover credits to @SarahLoveBabe ! Thank you so much for putting your time and effort into making this book a cover. Although its simple (just my kind of style), it's really nice and I really appreciate it.
To my lovely readers, thank you so much for reading this fanfic of mine. I can't tell you how grateful I am to see you guys reading this story and voting for it. I hope you guys stay until the end.
Please comment however you like; feel free to ask me questions.
~Love, KezLois. }