House of Cards

4

1 year ago

Shreya made her way to the park that she and her boyfriend had been going to recently. She thought he might find him here because he liked playing tennis on the courts with his friends. It was an activity that he had been doing long before they had started dating, and Shreya smiled giddily when she spotted him sitting in the grass by himself, picking at the flowers. Her plan was to surprise him for their sixth month anniversary. As she was about to come out from hiding behind the bush that blocked her from view, a familiar girl walked over to her boyfriend.

Shreya watched in shock as Lasya, a girl she had once thought of as a friend, sat down in the grass next to her boyfriend. She held back her anger as she watched her boyfriend sling an arm around Lasya's shoulders, pulling her closer to him, and they began to laugh.

"Shreya can't find out about this," she heard her boyfriend say. Shreya had to get out of there. She made her way out from the bushes as quietly as she could, running home.

"Jackson, how could you do this to me?" Shreya asked aloud as she sobbed, trying to fight through her broken heart.

Present Day

Shreya shook the bad memories from her head as she made her way to the same park she had caught Jackson cheating on her in. She had been dating Jungkook for almost 3 weeks now, and he had already proven himself to be nothing like Jackson. Jungkook was always happy to see Shreya; his adorable bunny smile was always plastered on his face when she was around him, whereas Jackson would always be staring at his phone. Stupid, Shreya thought, he was probably texting Lasya the whole time. Again she tried to forget her past relationship, but the memories always sat at the back of her mind. She spotted Jungkook getting out of his car across the park. She watched him smooth back his long strands of hair, using the side of the car as a mirror. He opened the passenger side and pulled out what looked like a picnic basket. She audibly squealed and ignored a weird look from a little girl making a flower crown as she made her way across the park. Sure enough, Jungkook's face brightened when they locked eyes.

He lifted up the picnic basket to show her and she smiled. He waited for her to walk to him and offered his hand. Shreya took it happily and he gave her fingers a squeeze as he led her to a nearby tree. He opened the basket to get out an old quilt, and spread it across the base of the tree. Shreya flopped down on the quilt immediately, tired after a long week of volunteering. She sighed and leaned back to look at the clouds. Jungkook peeked over at her and smiled to himself as he fished their lunch out of the basket.

"Is that... pasta salad?" Shreya sat up excitedly. Jungkook laughed at her reaction as he handed her a container of her second favorite food. (Her first was lasagna, but that wasn't exactly picnic-worthy.) Shreya ate the pasta quickly and closed her eyes as she savored the taste. "Did you make this?" she asked through a mouthful.

"Yeah," Jungkook replied shyly. "Do you like it?"

"It's fantastic. I could marry you," she replied without thinking, and then lowered her eyes in embarrassment as she realized what she'd said.

Jungkook smirked, then tilted her chin up to meet her eyes. "Don't you think it's a little too early for that? You haven't even met my parents yet," he teased.

"Oh, shut up," she slapped his arm away.

"Hey, look," Jungkook pointed across the park, and Shreya saw Leah and Jimin walking hand in hand, laughing about something, oblivious to her and Jungkook. She smiled to herself. Leah was a catch, and she'd had a lot of boyfriends, but she could tell that Jimin was different; he seemed good for her, and she seemed good for him. It wasn't like she'd ever say that to his face, though.

"Should we call them over?" Jungkook snapped Shreya out of her thoughts.

She pretended to think about it before answering. "Nope." As much as she loved Leah, the girl could be so annoying. Besides, she was more than happy to be alone with Jungkook, away from the stresses of the hospital.

Jungkook laughed at her response, then let out a deep breath as he laid back on the quilt.

"Tired?" Shreya asked with a smile. He nodded with eyes closed. "Hey," she sat against the tree and lifted his head to place it in her lap, "I'm gonna braid your hair."

He smiled with eyes still closed, "Go for it."

Shreya fiddled with his fluffy dark locks, braiding a few strands together at a time. She'd wanted to touch it the first time she saw him in the cafeteria. It was even softer than she'd imagined.

"Ok, I'm done," she put her hands on his shoulders and was met with no response. He was asleep. She laughed to herself and leaned back against the tree, deciding that she would take a little nap herself.

Shreya was surprised to wake up by herself. The quilt and picnic basket were still there, so Jungkook couldn't have gone far. Maybe he went to say hi to Jimin and Leah after all. She yawned as she looked around the park for him. She was amused when she found him; he was easy to spot in his all black outfit, which contrasted the bright and childish colors of the park. He was talking to someone by the duck pond, his back blocking whoever it was from her view. Dizzy, she stood up and made her way over to Jungkook and his supposed new friend, plastering a smile on her face. His braided hair had begun to undo itself. When she got within a few feet of them, she froze. She could see who Jungkook was talking to clearly now, and he had stopped talking when he noticed her, causing Jungkook to turn around.

What is he doing here? He's in enough fanfics already. Shreya thought angrily. Why does he have to ruin everything good in my life?

"Hi Shreya," Jackson said with a smile. "Nice to see you again."