varsity | vmin

31

     "You've got this, babe. Just walk in like nobody's staring." Jimin patted Taehyung's back to complement the mini pep talk he was preaching.

     "Easier said than done," Taehyung argued, closing in on the double doors at the school entrance. This was his first day returning to school after his suspension, and he was already dreading the attention it would bring.

     "It's just like any other Monday, Tae. Relax." Jimin put some distance between the two as the jock hesitantly pushed open the tall, glass door, casually walking into the school as if he never left.

     Expectedly, a few glances lingered in the couple's direction, but the pair remained unbothered, aiming for the nearest staircase to find their lockers. All Taehyung wanted was for Jimin to hold his hand to remind him that he was okay, but he knew that would only bring on more nosy glares so he refrained.

     To neither's surprise, whispers began picking up on either side of the hallway, causing Taehyung to look back at the gossiping students confidently, asserting his dominance in the school's social rankings. This action, for the most part, shied away some of the stares and silenced the whispers. Whether Taehyung changed or not, his name still held power among his classmates which always worked in his favor.

     "Will you come to my locker with me?" Jimin tugged at the jock's sleeve, suddenly shooting out the question.

     The silver-haired boy frowned at the older. "Why do you need me to come with you?"

     "I... I just didn't want to be alone... that's all." Jimin scooted closer to his boyfriend, to the point where their arms were brushing up against each other. That's when Taehyung knew something was wrong. Jimin was afraid.

     "Are you scared of something?" The pair rounded the corner, walking out into the second floor hallway, the younger eyeing Jimin with concern.

     "I don't know... because now that you're back... that also means..." Jimin never finished his thought as if he was embarrassed, but Taehyung caught on pretty quickly.

     "You're not scared of Junhyeon, are you?" Taehyung gritted his teeth, hating the thought that Junhyeon made his baby feel afraid or unsafe. "Because I'm not letting anybody hurt you again, Jimin."

     Jimin looked to the ground and nodded slowly. "I just want you there to protect me, just in case."

     Taehyung then draped a protective arm across the older's shoulders. "Okay, I'll come with you," he smiled, walking his boyfriend to his locker so that he felt safe. As much as he wanted to re-break Junhyeon's face for having such an effect on Jimin, he knew he just needed to focus on making sure the older was comfortable.

     Taehyung stood watch as Jimin fished books out of his locker for his first half of the day. "Don't you find it funny how we're weeks away from graduating and our teachers still want to put us to work," Jimin laughed.

     "The fact that I'm free from this prison in a few weeks is the only thing keeping me going," the jock giggled back as Jimin shut his locker and motioned for the pair to venture towards Taehyung's locker.

     "At least you're back for these last few—" Jimin stopped talking, causing the younger to look up and find the purpose of the abrupt pause.

     Clear as day, there stood Yi Junhyeon and three other football players surrounding Taehyung's locker. The silver-haired boy was quick to tense up at the sight, having to fight every instinct in his body to refrain from recreating Thursday's episode.

     Jimin didn't hesitate to clutch onto his boyfriend's arm the moment he and Junhyeon made eye contact, heart rate increasing rapidly.

     Junhyeon cleared his throat, inching closer to the pair cautiously. "Hey guys..."

     Taehyung began clenching his jaw, the fury in his eyes pinning Junhyeon down as he spoke. The sound of his knuckles cracking alerted the attention of nearby students who watched the scene play out attentively.

     "Can I... um... can I talk to you, Jimin? In private." Junhyeon moved his fingers nervously, switching his gaze from Jimin to Taehyung.

     "No way, Junhyeon. You're not going anywhere near him." The silver-haired boy stepped forward, creating a barrier between Junhyeon and his boyfriend.

     "I'm not looking for trouble, Tae. I just wanna talk to the kid." Junhyeon threw his hands up in surrender, looking onto his former teammate with pleading eyes.

     "If you've got something to say, say it here." The jock stood his ground, crossing his arms proudly as he did so. There was no way he'd let Jimin out of his sight after knowing how fearful he was of the guy.

     Junhyeon rolled his eyes, turning his attention towards Jimin. "Okay... I'm not really sure how to say this, but here it goes. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did to you a while back. Looking back on it, I realize how wrong and stupid that was, and I just want you to know that I regret it. You've never done anything to me to deserve it and I've given you shit for four years of your life, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for it all. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but it just makes me feel a little better knowing you got to hear this from me. I honestly don't know why I did it. I guess I thought bullying a nerd would make me look cool. I thought being popular was everything, and it sucks knowing that it took me twelve years of school to learn that everything that happens in high school doesn't mean shit in the long run. I take back anything I've ever said to hurt you because I know you probably take those things to heart. There's no other justification for me saying such degrading things, other than the fact that I'm insecure myself and thought passing it on to someone else would ease some of my struggles. But, in the end, it only multiplied them. So, once again, I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me." Junhyeon flashed a friendly smile before bowing towards Jimin, the relatively sparse crowd surrounding them watching with eager eyes.

     "Thank you, Junhyeon. And... I forgive you. All I want is for this feud to be put to rest and move on from it completely." Jimin seemed to handle the entire situation with such maturity, it shocked Taehyung.

     "I agree. Thank you, Jimin." Junhyeon smiled once again, reaching a hand out for Jimin to shake. Gladly, Jimin engaged the apologetic boy, shaking his hand before the shriek of the bell separated the two.

     "Hey, Junhyeon!" Taehyung called out before he disappeared into the sea of students on their way to class. "I'm proud of you." The silver-haired boy nodded his head in approval, Junhyeon bowing to him as well.

     "What do ya say? Bros again?" The boy reproached Taehyung with a firm hand stretched out.

     Taehyung eyed the peace offering, nibbling at the inside of his cheek. Though, he only stared at the waiting hand for a second before moving his gaze to look Junhyeon in the eyes. "No," he deadpanned. Junhyeon's expression fell. "Look, Jimin may forgive easily, but... I don't. It's gonna take some time for me to get back to the way things were."

     Junhyeon tried his best to hide the pain that was written all over his face as he listened by simply nodding. "I respect that." He flashed a quick half-smile to Taehyung who did the same. "I'll see you around then." The boy waved his former teammate off, joining the cluster of students on their way to class.

     With that, Taehyung turned back to Jimin, hugging him protectively. "Are you okay?"

     "Yeah. That was hard, but it was worth it. I don't feel so scared anymore," Jimin mumbled into his boyfriend's sweatshirt.

     "Great, that's all I needed to hear." Taehyung pulled away, sending Jimin a quick smile before parting ways to go to their separate first periods.

[a/n:
if anyone is still reading/enjoying this book still, i applaud you.
anyway, i'm hella emo rn bc one of the members, lee jun young, from kq fellaz (not the official name) isn't debuting with the rest of the group :(
still, i recommend that y'all go watch their most recent youtube video bc it's the bop of the century, and my babies deserve heaps of love and support uwu! xx]