Terrible Things

Chapter 11 - Then

Christmas music filters through the room, the music soft compared to the voices around me.

I'm curled up on Namjoon and Jin's couch, my legs pulled up beside me, a steaming mug of coffee in my hand as I watch Jimin and Hoseok bustle around the room, the santa hats on their heads bouncing with each movement.

"I wanna put the star on top!" Jimin cries, dodging Hoseok's hands.

"You're not even tall enough to reach the top of the tree," Hoseok fires back, lunging again for the decoration. Jimin steps out of the way, Hoseok barely missing his target.

"Doesn't matter," Jimin whines. "I can use a chair or something!"

"That's cheating!" Hoseok turns to me, narrowing his eyes at me. "Are you gonna let him cheat like this, Yoongi?"

I close my eyes, making a show of squinting them shut and shaking my head. "I don't see anything."

I can hear Jimin giggling, a small smile pulling on my lips at the sound. I crack my eyes open, catching sight of his rosey cheeks and his mouth open as he smiles at me.

"Damn couples," Hoseok mutters, shaking his head.

I laugh, careful not to spill my coffee. Jimin blows me a kiss, my cheeks warming. He was just too cute.

Hoseok stops pouting over his loss, instead helping Jimin look for something he could stand on. As I watch them argue about the cons of using a wheeled-chair to stand on, I wonder how I got so lucky.

Jimin and I have been dating for a little over a year now, and it's like our lives have never been separate. He's blended in perfectly with my friends and, despite how it seems, he may be even closer to Hoseok than I am.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, to have to pay for this much happiness, for Jimin to find something about me that he can't stand or realize that he can do so much better. But it's been a year and we've been living together for a few months now, and so far nothing.

Since we moved in together, my friends warned me that there may be a transition period where we got irritated at having the other person around all the time. I had been wary, but apparently my worries were for nothing. When Jimin moved in, it was like he had always been there. We molded around one another easily, falling into an easy pattern.

My bedroom is now filled with bookshelves of Jimin's manga, my closet stocked with his work out clothes. I even had the basement turned into a makeshift dance studio for him. It wasn't perfect, but he had been happy with it.

It would be so easy for us to have a life together, a happy one.

Jin enters, breaking off my train of thought as he holds up a silver tray. "Christmas Jell-O shots bitches!"

Jimin and Hoseok, who still hadn't managed to place the finishing touch on the tree, squealed in delight. I set my coffee on the end table, stretching out my arms as I rise from my spot on the couch. I make my way over to them, stepping into Jimin's side. I wrap my arm around his waist, not missing the small smile he gives me when he notices.

"Can't we ever get together without getting absolutely wasted?" I groan, looking over the tray. About a dozen little cups around arranged around it, the shots looking like harmless santa hats. But I knew better. Underneath all that whipped cream and strawberry was a whole lotta danger.

"Oh hush," Jin scoffs. "As if you could say no to alcohol. You're like the master of all things alcohol related."

I shrug, not even denying it. Jimin just laughs, bumping his hip into mine. Namjoon comes rushing in from the kitchen, his hair tousled and cheeks flushed. "Sorry," he mutters.