3000 Stars

Challenger

This has got to stop.

Taehyung turned off his phone, slamming his head onto the pillow. A week had passed, and he had come to understand Yoongi's strategy: post as many pictures as possible and hope. This was beyond knowing that Yoongi would never get what he wanted. It was pathetic.

Taehyung had to do something.

He sighed, rolling over and staring at the dark screen of his phone. What would get to Yoongi? A duel, perhaps. But Taehyung had never dueled-- at least, not in the past couple of years. His strategies were dated and the rules could have changed.

He sat up, opening FaceUpp again and clicking to the arena page. As he scrolled through the basic rules, his mind continued to return to Yoongi's posts.

'I wish I knew where you were.'

'You're amazing, please come back.'

'I'm entering the arena. Wish me luck.'

If he was going to duel Yoongi, he had a short time frame before Yoongi shot up through the ranks, as most newbies did. If he failed, he would have to figure something else out. His power didn't fit the arena. It was better for those beauty battles. Then again, he had never tried very hard.

But trying hard, as Yoongi demonstrated, never worked very well.

Taehyung continued scrolling through the rules, barely paying attention to most of them. They were simple. A few edits, obviously to accommodate the rising number of 10-Ks. Taehyung got off his bed, checking his photo. It had shot to 3,455 stars. A new record, and one Hoseok would surely bother him about.

He slipped out of his bedroom, walking down the hallway to the bathroom. Once inside, he locked the door, took a deep breath, and looked in the mirror. It was a reliable test, and as usual it didn't fail him. As soon as he made eye contact with his reflection he felt a strong pressure on his chest, his body locked, and he watched in stunned wonder as what looked like a soft glow began to emanate from his body.

His power had always unnerved him. This new level was no different. He struggled to move, conscious only of the knowledge that he was drifting closer to his reflection. Perhaps he should have asked Hoseok to come with him, make sure he could shake him out of it. But no, Hoseok was nosy. He would want to know what had got Taehyung going like this. Taehyung would have to figure out how to shut off the power on his own.

But how? Distracting himself with nothing available was--

His phone pinged, the soft chime ringing through the room, and Taehyung jolted back, slipping and falling onto the floor. His phone hit the ground and shot across the room, smacking into the wall. Taehyung shook his head, tapping it, and blinked, turning to stare at it. He had thought he had his notifications off. He reached for the phone, tugging it over to him.

You have one text from ***-***-****!

Taehyung frowned, tapping on the notification.

***-***-****: feel like going to the arena today

T: I'm sorry. I think you have the wrong number.

***-***-****: Nah I know who you are

Taehyung set the phone down, looking at his reflection cautiously out of the corner of his eye. He felt himself starting to move toward it again, but the phone pinged, saving him from worrying about it.

***-***-****: It's been years but I still wanna fight you

T: Excuse me?

***-***-****: What 

***-***-****: I know who you are V

Taehyung's breath caught in his throat. He forced a small laugh, setting the phone down again. Of course. Of course. Someone must have stalked him from the account. He visited it too frequently to look anything but suspicious. That must be it, right? There was no way this person knew.

T: You're mistaken.

***-***-****: I doubt that

***-***-****: So can we duel

T: I'm not V.

***-***-****: Quit making me laugh I know my rival when I see him

T: I don't have any rivals.

***-***-****: You do now

T: Stop texting me.

***-***-**** not until you agree to meet up

Taehyung blocked the number. Taking a deep breath, he met the eyes of his reflection in the mirror, quickly breaking eye contact when he felt his joints start to lock in place. He had to figure out a way to control this. Sunglasses? Too obvious. Contacts? Too long to take out. He might just have to avoid eye contact, which wasn't hard in a phone-addicted society. He didn't want to stand out, but he needed a way to control it, especially if the votes continued to go up.

He met his own eyes again, taking a deep breath. The sensation traveled across his body, and he shivered, watching as the soft glow brightened to an aura. The votes must be climbing. He cursed his idiocy for posting a trendy picture, but it would work for his purposes.

Now... how to stop it?

He stared into his eyes, acutely aware of the pain in his chest. He needed to suppress the power. How had he done it before? He wished he could close his eyes. Staring was beginning to get painful. He remembered one of Yoongi's posts, his highest ranking at 3,023 stars, and felt a slight shift in his body. He was free.

Immediately he made eye contact again. He had to test this. As soon as the feeling crept over him, he thought of Yoongi. The feeling disappeared. Taehyung made eye contact again and thought of Hoseok. No feeling. So... he had to be focused on himself? That would explain why he looked so distracting.

His phone pinged.

You have one message from ***-***-****!

But I blocked him, Taehyung thought. He was sure he had.

No matter. He would deal with it later. He opened his phone, navigating to the FaceUpp app, and took a deep breath, clicking on Yoongi's profile. A few taps later, he was committed.

You have sent Yoongi one message!

T: Fight me.