House of Cards

5

"You guys know each other?" Jungkook asked, confused. Shreya opened her mouth but nothing came out. Jackson stepped forward and slung an arm around her shoulder.

"We go way back, right Shrey?" he gave her shoulder a squeeze, and she remembered how he had done the same to Lasya the day she'd discovered them. She squirmed out of his grasp.

"Unfortunately," she muttered, stepping closer to Jungkook.

"Oh, Shrey, always with the jokes," Jackson laughed. He hit her on the arm playfully, which alarmed Jungkook. Shreya always did the same to him. "So," Jackson continued, "how'd you meet my boy JK?"

"None of your business," Shreya snapped, no longer able to contain herself.

"Woah, I was just-" Jackson tried to defend himself.

"If you'll excuse us, my boyfriend and I have a picnic to get back to," Shreya raised her voice, then immediately looked at Jungkook. They hadn't labeled themselves yet, and now was probably not a good time, but Shreya was angry. Jackson had done more than just break her heart, he had nearly broken her family apart. Jungkook didn't look happy about Shreya's sudden labeling, but he didn't look upset, either. He had an expression of pure confusion.

"Shreya-" he tried to ease the tension.

"OH HECK NO," someone yelled from a distance. The three turned to see an angry Leah glaring at Jackson from across the park. She took out her hoops, handing them to Jimin, before she started bolting through a group of little boys playing soccer.

"Is she about to...?" Jackson asked.

"Push you in the pond? Probably," Shreya answered, crossing her arms and making no attempt to stop her rage-filled best friend.

"Ok, this is getting out of hand," Jungkook stepped in front of Leah before she could do any harm to Jackson, but unfortunately nothing could stop Leah when she was mad, so within seconds Jungkook was swimming among the ducks.

"Oops! I wasn't aiming for you," Leah said sincerely, and Shreya helped her pull him out of the pond. "You good?" Leah asked, actually concerned. She hadn't liked Jungkook before, but anyone was better for Shreya than the scumbag who should've ended up in the pond.

Jackson took the time that Leah was distracted to rile her up some more. "Hey Leelee, nice to see that you're still acting like a child."

"You're dead." She lunged at him, but Jimin had seen what she tried to do the first time, and was able to grab her and hold her arms back as he pulled her into him.

"Hey," he whispered. "FIghting won't help anything," he told her softly, and she relaxed.

"Ok, ok, you're right. I'm calm."

"Ok, this is crazy," Jungkook announced.

"I know," Shreya said. "I've never seen anyone calm her down like that." She watched in amazement as Jimin let go of Leah's arms and she didn't try to kill Jackson.

"What? No, I mean what is going on? Jackson? What is this about?" Jungkook was desperate for answers.

"Um, I think you should leave," Shreya told Jackson. As much as she didn't want herself to, a very small piece of Shreya still cared for him, and she didn't want him to be absolutely destroyed once Jungkook had found out what he'd done. Surprisingly, Jackson nodded, and excused himself. He took one last look at Jungkook, with sadness in his eyes. He knew that their friendship would never be the same once Shreya told Jungkook about their history. Leah glared at Jackson as he left, giving him a final warning.

"Alright, time to go home," Jimin told her. He grabbed Leah's hand and pulled her along, leaving Jungkook and Shreya alone.

"So, are you gonna tell me what caused the most confusing fifteen minutes of my life now?" Jungkook laughed. Shreya didn't find it funny. She grabbed his hand and took him back to their picnic blanket, sighing as they sat down. Jungkook motioned for Shreya to just spit it out.

"Jackson and I used to date," she finally said.

"Oh." Jungkook scrunched his nose. "I guess that's kinda weird that we're friends, then?" he asked, trying to understand. Shreya nodded and gave a sad smile. "Did it... end badly?" he continued.

Shreya took a deep breath. "He cheated on me." Jungkook's eyes widened. He had never thought Jackson could do such a thing. "And..." Shreya hesitated. Once she said the next part, there would be no going back.

"And?" Jungkook urged her on.

"And everyone thinks he tried to kill my mom."