Ruined (A BTS fanfiction)

Chapter 3 - Spiral

I'd be lying if I said the first time I left Jinyoung alone with the boys I wasn't nervous. But as I left Jinyoung gave me a reassuring smile and I felt more relaxed. When I got back, the house was still standing. The boys greeted me with big smiles and they reluctantly said goodbye to Jinyoung.

"How was it? Did everything go okay?" I asked.

"He was so much fun!" Hoseok said jumping around excitedly.

"He was really funny and smart," Namjoon chimed in.

"He was so cool," Taehyung said, but his smile faded a bit "I don't think he likes me though."

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"He didn't talk to me or Tae very much," Jimin said. "I'm worried we made him mad or something."

"It's okay. I think you're reading too much into it." Jin patted Jimin on the back. "He's really nice, Mom. I'm happy you're dating again."

"You really like him, don't you?" Yoongi walked up to me.

I looked at him and Jungkook. The expressions on their faces hurt my heart.

"Yes, I really do." I bent down and put my hand on his shoulder. "But you can be honest if you don't like him."

"Don't worry," Jin said. "If you like him, that's enough for us."

Yoongi smiled softly and nodded. I pulled him into a hug and before I knew it, I was being crushed by all seven of them. I couldn't think of a better way to die.

As the weeks progressed and Jinyoung babysat more, Yoongi started warming up slowly. But Jungkook still remained distant with him. A distance Taehyung and Jimin also felt and desperately wanted to close. So, when the opportunity arose for them to be alone with Jinyoung, they were thrilled. Our old babysitter needed help moving, so Jin, Yoongi, Namjoon, and Hoseok were going to help her while I was at work. After I was already at work, the four older boys struggled to leave the house.

"I wanna go!" Jungkook said pulling on Namjoon's sleeve.

"Sorry Kookie," Namjoon said gently pulling his arm free. "You'd just be in the way,"

"You guys aren't big enough to carry all the heavy boxes," Jin explained.

Taehyung pursed out his lip at the implication, obviously starting to want to go more. When Jimin noticed this, he whispered a reminder of why staying was a good thing for them. After some more back and forth, they were finally able to leave. Now, it was just Jinyoung and the three youngest. Before Jinyoung could suggest any sort of activity, Jungkook had run upstairs. Jinyoung turned slowly to the only two boys now left in the room. He smiled at them, but looking into his eyes, Jimin felt as though he was unhappy to be alone with them. But he tried to convince himself he was imaging it.

"How about we play some board games?" Jinyoung suggested.

So, Taehyung and Jimin excitedly started getting this set up. Jinyoung slumped down onto the couch and watched them with a blank expression. Jimin started to feel uncomfortable. He got so caught up in Jinyoung's apparent displeasure he didn't realize when Taehyung was about to walk into him with a stack of the few board games they owned. The two boys yelped as the game pieces and boards scattered across the floor.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" Jimin said bending down the pick the pieces up.

"What are you sorry for?" Jinyoung yelled suddenly.

The two boys looked over at him, shocked. His tone was filled with so much anger. They looked at each other unsure of what they did so terribly wrong.

"It was Taehyung's fault." Jinyoung stood up.

"Y-you're right," Taehyung said. "I'm sorry."

But this only made Jinyoung angrier. He cried out in frustration and threw his hands up.

"Honestly, do any of you have a backbone?" Jinyoung cried. "All seven of you are pathetic, but you two are the worst! It's infuriating watching you stumble around life like cowards."

Jinyoung was screaming at them now. Taehyung couldn't fathom what they had done to provoke such an outburst. He was starting to get scared. But when he looked over at Jimin and saw tears building up in his eyes, that fear turned to anger.

"Why are you being so mean?" Taehyung said, stepping in front of Jimin. "What did we even do? Mom would be really upset if she heard you talking to us like this!"

Jinyoung laughed. "Now's the time you choose to feign bravery? I've tried to ignore this, but I can't do it anymore! I don't understand how your mother can stand to live with such selfish brats. You must feel so much guilt for sucking the life out of her with your neediness."

Jimin could no longer hold back his tears, they started streaming down his face. He didn't understand how this person his mother had talked so fondly of was now screaming at them.

"Please, don't yell anymore!" Jimin begged through tears. "I'm really sorry."

Jinyoung gave Jimin a look of indescribable distain and started towards him. Taehyung stepped forward, blocking him. His knuckles were white and he had an uncharacteristically furious expression.

"If you don't stop right now..." His voice was shaking. "I'll hit you."

Without even looking at him, Jinyoung pushed Taehyung aside so forcefully he slammed his arm onto the coffee table. Taehyung cried out in pain. Before Jimin could run to him, Jinyoung smacked him across the face.

"Man up."

Jimin stumbled backwards, holding the side of his face, utterly stunned. Jinyoung raised his hand to hit him again.

"Stop it!" Jungkook screamed from the doorway to his room. "If you touch him again, I'll call mommy!"

Jungkook held a phone tightly in one hand and the door handle in the other. Jinyoung's expression changed instantly. He lowered his hand, looking at it. He looked panicked for a moment before regaining his composure.

"You won't tell her." He said, returning to his usual calm self. "You don't want to ruin her happiness, right?"

When everyone returned home we found Jinyoung sitting in the living room alone. He told me the boys had been in their room the entire time. After he left, I opened the door but none of them even looked up. I tried to ask them what was wrong but they shrugged me off. Jin tried to reassure me that they were just upset about not being able to help with the moving, but I had such an unpleasant feeling. It wasn't like them to sulk over something so small. Eventually, I gave up and began making dinner. A while later, Yoongi went into their room.

"Are you guys still upset about not being able to go?" He asked.

None of them looked him in the eyes. A bit frustrated, Yoongi walked over to Taehyung and tried to grab his arm. Taehyung flinched and pulled his arm away, trying to cover it. But Yoongi saw the large bruise on his elbow.

"What happened to your arm? Did you trip or something?" He asked.

Taehyung looked over at Jimin, an appeal in his eyes. But Jimin shook his head, Jinyoung's last words to them weighing heavily on him. Yoongi was starting to get concerned. That's when he saw Jungkook lying on his bed, tears slowly dripping down his face.

"Please tell him." Jungkook said softly.

That was all Taehyung needed. He was not going to let Jinyoung make Jimin or Kookie cry ever again.

"Jinyoung pushed me into the coffee table." Taehyung said.

Yoongi listened to Taehyung explain the story, all of his suspicions confirmed. He spun and ran from the room.

"Wait," Jimin called after him. "Don't tell mom!"

Yoongi ignored him and raced down to the kitchen. The three of them followed. Jin and I had almost finished dinner when they ran in. Before I had the chance to react, Yoongi grabbed my arm and said the three words that would spiral my life out of control.

"Jinyoung hit them."