Fall For You

01 | 𝐵𝑜𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑦.

𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑂𝑁𝐸.

Jennie Kim stood outside on the sidewalk in front of her best friend, Kim, Taehyung's house. Exhaling, her warm breath visible in the cooler autumn air. It was beginning to get colder earlier in the day and she was not wearing warm enough clothing.

Checking the time on her phone, it read 11:57. It was too late to ring the doorbell.

Not wanting to wake anyone in Taehyung's home, she made her way next door to her own house. With too much on her mind, she struggled to unlock the door, the key missing the keyhole in the dark.

Taehyung and Jennie have been next door neighbors for as long as she could remember. According to her dad, Taehyung's mom would babysit Jennie and Taehyung as babies while her own mom was off at work in the hospital.

The entirety of her childhood was a happy blur of memories that starred a brown eyed, brown haired boy.

It was with Taehyung's mom that Jennie had learned how to cook. Since her parents were always working rounds at the hospital, Jennie had eaten microwavable dinners for an entire decade. When she decided she was fed up with it, at the age of 10, she began to watch his mom cook, while a displeased Taehyung joined along. Besides, he said it was better than playing alone.

Growing up, Jennie and Taehyung had gotten along well. And even when they didn't, they made the effort to show some interest.

Taehyung learned how to cook, and Jennie started reading Taehyung's Manga collection. Her favorite series were 'Demon Slayer'. When she confessed to having a crush on Giyu Tomioka, the super cool demon slayer of the water pillar, Taehyung had mercilessly teased her. Despite her embarrassment, she always threatened him for spilling his secret.

Making the best apple pie.

Finally letting herself into the house, she yelled into the open, "I'm home!" to notify her dad somewhere in their two-story home. Slipping out of her shoes, she quickly jogged up the stairs to her room.

Over the years, her room had changed along with her new interests. At five, her room was fluffy and a shade of baby pink, decorated with cute brown teddy bears. When she was eight, her parents took her to a ballet concert, and the teddy bears minimized and were replaced with ballerinas and ballerino snow globes and action shot posters. By the time she turned twelve, she had convinced her parents to let her repaint the walls a shade of grey, and the ballerinas and the teddy bears almost ceased to exist, now replaced with picture frames of her trip to Paris.

Now at seventeen, she had kept a few photographs of her Paris trip, photographs that Taehyung took, and one teddy bear she kept on her bed.

Taehyung was getting really good at photography, having most of his best landscapes framed.

When she had persistently asked him to sign and date each of his photographs before framing them, he was so embarrassed--but Jennie was serious when she said he would be famous one day.

She teased him about him making millions one day, selling his work to National Geographic, and that she would sell the photos she had of his, quit her job and settle with the cash she made off of his art.

Slithering out of her short cheerleading skirt and throwing her top to the floor, Jennie pulled on gray sweatpants which hung just below her navel, showcasing her toned abs. Settling with her loose, white branded t-shirt, she pulled it over her head, and tying the ends at the back, extenuating her curves.

Now comfortable, she crawled into bed, recalling her bad night.

Thankful that it was a Friday night, she felt relieved that she didn't have to go to school in the morning. She knew that school would come eventually, but when your parents are doctors, you never get to feign being sick.

At 12:06 midnight, Jennie had tossed and turned in her bed, not feeling an ounce of tiredness.

Sitting up, she looked out her window and into Taehyung's.

Dark.

Taehyung's bedroom window was so close to her own that they had no trouble hopping back and forth when they were kids.

Jennie's dad put a stop to the window hopping when they started high school. His reasoning was because it "wasn't appropriate given that their bodies were going through changes".

She was so embarrassed during his 'talk' but it never stopped them from crawling over every now and then when they were too lazy to use the front door appropriately.

Reaching for her phone charging on her nightstand, she shot Taehyung a text.

Jennie: r u home

Taehyung: Nope, why?

Jennie: just wanted some company :( i had a p shitty night.

Taehyung: im omw see u in 15

Starting to feel bad that maybe she was cutting his night short, Jennie began to shake her leg and gnaw at her nails. She knew that his curfew wasn't for another hour and a half yet.

Taehyung was turning eighteen next month, and had no driver's license restrictions. Plus, his mom was way too trusting. Jennie was certain that even after her birthday in a few months, her mom wouldn't give her reasonable curfews unless it were the special occasion ones and the no curfew restrictions at Taehyung's house. Her parents knew she was safe there. Taehyung would've been on his way home, and she tried to tell herself that he wouldn't have left in the middle of anything important.

Suddenly, it struck Jennie-- she didn't know where Taehyung was. Usually, they spent most of their free time together. She couldn't wrap her head around the idea that he was off having fun without her. They haven't spent Friday nights together ever since she was old enough to date. Shaking her head, she thought it was dumb for Taehyung to be sitting around at home on Friday nights.

Jennie went to Seoul Academy, and spent her Friday nights out with a boy, or some of her cheerleading friends. Tonight, she had been at the football game and then at a party.

Taehyung and Jennie used to go to school together in middle school, but it all changed when his parents divorced, and his dad paid for the expensive private all-boys-academy.

At one point, she knew that Taehyung had been dating a girl named Irene from a different school, but he hadn't mentioned her in a couple of months. Perhaps Taehyung was at his school's football game.

"Jennie?"

Taehyung's voice called out, muffled through the glass. Getting out of bed, she walked over to the window, opening it as she smiled at his familiar face.

"Wanna come over?"

"Will it wake your mom up?" Jennie was already climbing over, Taehyung's hand held out for her.

"Nah, she's on a date." Helping her land on her feet into his room, he closed the window behind her. "Your parents gonna be worried?"

Jennie shrugged. "Mom has graveyard shift and dad never checks up on me before bed." Scanning his room, she plopped onto his bed. "Even if he did, I'm sure he'd call your cell before panicking."

Nodding, Taehyung settled himself into his desk chair, swirling around a few times, playing with the string of his hoodie. Not long after, he began to fiddle with his laptop, eyes glued to the screen, not particularly concerned with engaging in conversation. Loving this about their relationship, he never felt the need to force conversation or act differently to fit her. She could just sit in his company while he did whatever he was doing.

Transferring photos from his camera, Jennie took the time to reminisce his room. Taehyung's walls were still white, and the cream colored rug that covered most of the hardwood floor in his room was still the same. Even the corner of the rug still had a red stain from when they left their slushy to melt in its paper cup a few years ago. His bookshelf was crammed full of his Manga collection, that were still tidied and dusted, his TV and game consoles, his video games left sprawled all over the floor. Jennie made a face.

Boys were so messy.

Getting up from his bed, Jennie walked over and squatted down to neatly put his games away into their respective shelves.

"Is something wrong?"

She turned to find Taehyung leaned forward in his desk chair, hands propped on his knees, and his eyes fixated on her.