Sitting in the middle of a crowded restaurant was the actual last place he wanted to be right now. But there was still exactly thirteen hours left on the countdown timer located on his phone, and he really didn't know how else to spend them. Because sleep was definitely not going to be an option. Not when his insides felt like they were actually on fire, a distinct boiling sensation that he absolutely hated.
Every single time his phone went off he jumped, only to be severely disappointed when it was just another notification that someone had liked his newest photo or his favorite YouTube channel had uploaded a new video.
Until finally it was the sound of a text coming through and he practically dove for where his phone was sitting.
"Easy there. Jesus Christ, I know the bread sticks are good but find some chill."
"Shut up."
Taehyungie
Hey baby omega
Just thought you'd want to know your alpha is awake and in absolutely rare form
Apparently his hair is so long now it's annoying so he made some wild, strange attempt at a man bun and ended up with pig tails instead
He just walked out the door with them so that should be fun
Make sure you're here no later than six thirty, okay?
Seokjinnie
I wish you would have gotten a picture that sounds so cute
I'll be there
Thank you TaeTae
Taehyungie
You can thank me by making sure I don't get yeeted out a window
Seokjinnie
Stop being dramatic
It's only on the third floor
You'll probably be fine
Taehyungie
Really regretting agreeing to help you right about now
...
"Still going through with it?"
"Let me guess, you don't think it's a good idea either."
"I never said that."
"You were about to."
"Look, weather I think it's a good idea or not is irrelevant."
"What would you have me do instead?"
"Ideally? Move on. Preferably before you pull a Yoongi and end up with a kid."
"I can't believe you just called it that."
"Really? That's the difficult thing to believe out of all this?"
"I'm gonna need you to shut up."
"Do you even have a plan or are you just gonna wing it?"
"Isn't that how I do most things? It's always worked out before."
"Okay, counter, look at how well that went with telling this same alpha how old you were."
"Alright, good point. However, I've learned from my mistakes and I'm ready to turn over a new leaf."
"Uh huh. Tell me what your plan is then."
"My plan is to start telling people how old I am when we first meet."
"You're impossible."
"Look, my plan is that I have no plan. I just know that I want my alpha back."
"What if he doesn't want you?"
"Pretty sure he never would have sent Taehyung to check on me if that were the case."
"True."
"Plus I really get the feeling Tae wouldn't have helped me if there was no reason to."
"Then I guess go get that alpha, baby omega. Just remember the little people who helped you along the way."
"I promise I'll never forget you."
...
While sleep hadn't been an activity he thought possible, at some point he'd managed to fall into a fitful state of it, head carefully laid in Namjoon's lap as they watched some wholly entertaining documentary on the process of rainfall. Actually, he probably had just how boring the whole thing was to thank for the small amount of rest he was able to get before everything seemed to start happening all at once.
"Jinnie?" Namjoon's voice was quiet as he gently shook him aware, waiting until his eyes popped open before nodding at the coffee table. "Your phone's been going off for the past five minutes."
"Shit." Sitting up so quickly it had the blood rushing from his head and downwards, causing a reaction so violent he almost threw up. Fighting against the dizziness he snatched up his phone, gasping when he saw a number of notifications from Instagram, as well as no less than five missed calls from Taehyung. There was a voicemail that came along with the last one, as if he had finally given up on trying to get through and figured this was somehow his best course of action to relay whatever information he had to give.
"Shit." Taehyung's voice played within his mind, and he tried not to feel as panicked as the other sounded. "Shit shit fuck."
"What?" Namjoon jumped up as Seokjin did, watching as he grabbed his wallet and keys and began stuffing them into his pockets.
"I gotta go." He barely even took the time to grab his hoodie and fling it over his shoulders, not even letting out a whimper when the zipper whipped around and smacked noisily against his hip. There was a moment when it seemed like he was going to fall over and land badly trying to force his feet down into his shoes, before crying out in frustration, bending down to aid the process with his hands.
"Where? What's wrong?"
"Jungkook... fuck." Choking on the sound that wanted to come out and instead mixed with a sob had him stopping, taking a deep breath in to try and calm himself. "Jungkook's been shot. There was... fuck I don't even know. Something went wrong and he's hurt and I need to fucking go. I need to be with him."
"Fuck." Snatching his own keys, he didn't even bother to turn off the television as he stuffed his feet into the nearest shoes. "Come on, I'll drive you."
