CupCake.

8

"You promised," Jimin frowns, confused by Penelope's rejection when he offered her food. She hadn't eaten breakfast nor lunch so Jimin took her to the restaurant down the street from school. He held out a piece of beef he had just cooked and held it in her face.

Perfect way to break their diet. Beef.

"I'm not hungry. Jimin." She mumbled. Penelope felt on edge. She hoped Jimin let her loss of appetite go and he'd eat himself cause all she wanted right now was her best friend. But even she seemed to be avoiding her along with her own family. "Penelope—"

"Please," she croaked. The voices inside her screaming. The same voices that screamed at her while she exercised, ate and did her homework. "Please just let it go." She looked up to his eyes. Red rimmed, little veins in her eyes visible and tears threatening to spill as her lips quivered. "Cupcake, what'd they do—" laughs came from the entrance, catching the attention of both individuals and a couple of other individuals. In walked Min Yoongi with JaeHee under his arm and three other people behind them. Penelope quickly looked away. "Can we leave right now? Please?" she begged, her hands shaking violently and breathing becoming ragged. Jimin looked between both of them, already knowing both of them didn't get along well. He nodded and as soon as an employee passed, he politely asked for a takeout plate for his food. The plate quickly came and although it hadn't even been a minute, Penelope panicked more because it felt like time was going relatively slow. Her heart beat against her ribcage harshly and her body shook faster. Tears stream down her face and Jimin noticed that she wasn't just having a hard time.

She was on the verge of panic attack. Something about her brother triggered her and she was about to lose the restraints on herself. He quickly put the plate of leftovers in the bad and placed the change along with a tip on the table and stood, taking Penelope by the hand. They took the back entrance, away from Yoongi's eyes and landed in the alleyway. He placed his food down on a basket and cupped Penelope's face as she leaned against the wall trying to breathe. "Penny—"

She sobbed and shook trying to move her head away from Jimin's grasp. "Cupcake—" she couldn't drown out the harsh words and listen to Jimin's velvety voice. They screamed in her head as if they were right by her ear. "Baby," he called, worried for his sweet vanilla cupcake with soft chocolate sprinkles disappearing into her red cheeks. "Baby, listen to my voice." She tried. Lord knows she was trying her best. "They won't stop." She whimpered. "They're everywhere. Every word. Every voice. I hear them in my head."

"Think of something that makes you happy—"

"The only thing that made me happy was my mother and she's gone. There's nothing happy in my life anymore, Jimin!" Jimin knew that wasn't true. He saw it in her eyes. HE shook his head. "Don't lie to me." He spoke. "Don't tell me there's nothing happy in your life when you laugh at my stupid jokes. You laugh so hard, they disappear behind your eyelids. Don't tell me there's nothing happy in your life when I hear your heart beat in my eardrums from a mile away when you know you're going to see me." Like a cliché Korean drama, the world seemed to slow down. Everything in motion, from the man walking past the ally to the people serving soju to each other in the restaurant, slowed down just for this moment. Penelope stared into his brown eyes, calming her inner war slightly. Her stomach stopped quivering in panic and fear and shook in pure nervousness. She thought she had been discreet towards her developing for the now black colored fellow. "That was because I was running," she stuttered constantly, trying to keep her cool but failed. Jimin smiled softly, leaning in closer. "I'm glad I'm the happy thing in your life."