Highschool Sweethearts

PROLOGUE (S)

"Don't leave, please! Jeongguk!"

Taehyung gasps, waking up to his whole body trembling and his eyes filled with tears. It's been years after they've broken up, yet these damn nightmares won't let him sleep peacefully. He reaches for the lamp on his nightstand, turning it on. "Br-Breathe..." Taehyung whispers to himself, trying to calm himself down. "I should go get Namjoon," he gets off his bed and heads towards his cousin's room.

Knock! Knock!

The door to his cousin's room opened slowly as Namjoon rubs his eyes. "Tae, what happened? It's midnight- wait, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Namjoon's brotherly instincts kicked as he quickly pulled the younger into a hug, letting Taehyung soak his shirt with his tears. "I-I had the same nightmare again.."

"Oh dear.. do you want to sleep in my room tonight?" Namjoon proposed, receiving a small nod from his cousin. He's always wanted a little brother to take care of, and Taehyung was a bit like a little brother to him. After Taehyung's parents got into an accident, Namjoon was his only remaining family.

The older made sure that the younger was asleep when he silently got up, grabbed his phone and went outside. He dialed Yoongi's number and waited patiently for the guy to answer.

"Yeah?" Yoongi answered the call. "What are you doing right now?" Namjoon asks, hearing Yoongi let out a hum. "I'm making a song. Why?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to say that Tae had the same nightmare again."

"The one with that bastard in it?" he said with obvious bitterness in his voice. "Yes, and don't call him a bastard," Yoongi scoffs at his friend.

"After that shit he pulled in senior year, he deserves to be called a bastard. Stop trying to defend him, Joon. He hurt Tae."

"I know that. But sometimes, people do dumb things that anger other people. And sometimes, their dumb actions have good reasons," Namjoon huffed when he hears Yoongi's chuckle on the other line.

"Joon, why are you defending his actions? You always give that guy the benefit of a doubt. He chose his career over his partner-"

"Wouldn't you do the same?!"

Silence.

Silence lingered for a while as Yoongi got ready to speak. "Yes, I would do the same. But, couldn't he have done it in a much nicer, more mature way? If he really loved Tae, he would have talked about it with him!" Yoongi fired back, sighing in frustration. "You know Taehyung, he would have freaked out."

"Well, that's much better than him getting his heart broken into pieces and leave him feeling shitty, right?" Yoongi states, leaving Namjoon silent.

"And besides, we could have gotten Taehyung to calm down if he freaked out. But instead, he now thinks he's unworthy of love and is unable to trust anyone," Namjoon did agree with Yoongi, it would have been way easier if the two had just talked it out.

"I guess you're right..."

"Anyways, how's Taehyung now? Is he asleep?" Yoongi asked worriedly. "Mhm," Namjoon hummed in response. "Good. Well, I should go now. You should too. Look after Tae and get some sleep as well. Goodnight, Joon."

"Goodnight," he hung up.

Namjoon looked up at the night sky, watching the stars shine brightly. He sighs. "Were you fighting with Yoongi?" Taehyung appeared by the doorway, his hands gripping the doorframe. "I-I thought you were sleeping?" asked Namjoon. "I woke up and noticed you were gone, so I tried looking for you in the kitchen, then I heard you shouting," Namjoon scratches his head.

"I'm sorry, I thought I was quiet."

Taehyung walked over next to his cousin, "Were you fighting with Yoongi?" he reiterated his question from before. "N-No.. just don't mind that," although, Taehyung knew his cousin was lying, he decided not to push it. Namjoon looked up at the sky, drowning in the beauty of the night, his eyes twinkling along with the stars above as his blue hair flowed seamlessly with the cold, breezy wind.

"Your mom used to love stars," Namjoon states, his cousin smiling at the mention of his mother. "I know.. she used to paint stars alot and hung them up in my room," he says, remembering how his mom proudly showed off her star paintings to her husband. They were such a lovely couple.

"What about you, Joon?"

"Hm?" Namjoon hummed. "What did your mom love to do?" Taehyung asks, noticing how quickly Namjoon frowned. "I-I don't... know. Why are you asking me this all of the sudden?"

"I noticed that you never really talked about your parents much. I mean, when you took me in after my parents died, we were both just 16. When I asked you about your family, you told me that you don't want to talk about it," Taehyung looked at his cousin with sadness, he could tell that Namjoon clearly loved his parents, but he's uncertain of whether that love is still the same as before.

"Let's just sleep.. okay? We'll talk about it another day," Namjoon excused, ruffling Taehyung's soft hair. "Okay," Taehyung giggles. His cousin flings his arm over Taehyung's shoulder, both walking into their shared home.