Dreaming Alone | taekook ✔️

t w e l v e

"Where were you?" Madeline asked as she pushed a few coins into the vending machine slot.

"Going on adventures. The usual." Taehyung answered.

"Get me a coke." Yoongi called from his seat in front of the piano.

"What did your last servant die of?" Madeline shot back, but she went and got him one anyway.

They were in the common room of the boys' dormitory, where it was deserted for most of the day. It was where the trio first met and every time Taehyung walked through the door, nostalgia sank into his skin and a smile tugged at his lips.

Today, however, was another story. He was frowning— frowning because he couldn't stop thinking about Jeongguk. The reason for his tears remain a mystery to the brunette, and it bugged him. It was like the ravenette had somehow transferred part of his hurt and planted it in Taehyung's soul.

"We thought you fell into a ditch or something." Madeline told Taehyung as she sat down next to Yoongi, who was already playing a melody.

"And you didn't come looking for me?"

Madeline and Yoongi offered different answers at the same time.

"You know that the signal's too bad for us to call you."

"Maddie got distracted by this really cute girl in the auditorium."

Taehyung smiled half-heartedly, mind elsewhere. "Typical." He commented as he laid down on the couch near the fake fireplace, forearm under his head like a pillow as he let Yoongi's music fill his ears. The magic Yoongi created with his fingers always amazed Taehyung, always put him at ease. He wondered how the ravenette was doing. "Hey guys?"

"Yeah?" Yoongi stopped playing.

"What would you do..." Taehyung stared at a particular stained spot on the ceiling. "... if you know someone's hurting, but they refuse to talk about it?"

"You let them know you're there for them." Yoongi said simply. Madeline nodded in agreement. "Just don't force them to open up. They'll open up when they want to."

Madeline got up, her features showing concern as she poked at Taehyung's side. "What's wrong, Tae?"

Taehyung propped himself up on his arms to look at both his best friends. "Remember that Jeongguk boy?"

"Not the best first impression, but yeah." Madeline tilted her head to the side, the tips of her ponytail brushing against her shoulder.

"I saw him cry today."

"Why?" Yoongi asked.

"I don't know." Taehyung replied honestly, "And it's my fault."

Madeline furrowed her eyebrows. "How is it your fault?"

"I said something. And he... reacted pretty violently."

"He might be having a bad day." Madeline shrugged, "I don't know what his deal is, Tae, but I'm sure whatever you said wasn't intensional. You need to stop blaming everything on yourself. We know how you are."

They did. In fact, they knew him more than anyone.

"Oh. Off topic." Yoongi spoke, "Apparently I'm getting a new roomie soon."

"Good for you." Madeline said, "I hope he isn't as messy as you are."

"I heard he's a neat freak."

"Even better."

Something in Taehyung's heart lurched when he spotted the ravenette in the dining hall that night. He peeked at him from behind his glass of chocolate milk as Jeongguk got in line with his father, holding a plastic tray. He squinted and silently prayed that the boy chose the hash browns over tater tots. (They were soggy sometimes).

Taehyung couldn't make out what food the ravenette had gotten for dinner, but he did notice the way Junseo snatched the knife off Jeongguk's tray when the dinner lady handed it to the boy, giving his son a hard look. The ravenette didn't even bat an eyelid.

While Yoongi and Madeline carried on their usual routine of playful bickering, Taehyung waved subtly at Jeongguk, hoping to catch his attention. When they locked eyes, the brunette nudged his head towards the empty seat next to him.

Come sit with us.

His father had walked away, joining a table full of adults, so Jeongguk didn't see why he shouldn't head over to Taehyung despite his built-in shyness. But before he could even make up his mind, somebody's body collided against his, causing him to drop his tray of food.

Taehyung shot out of his seat when the crash sounded across the dining hall, provoking a silence that further deepened Jeongguk's humiliation.

Jeongguk felt his nerves crawl uncomfortably beneath his skin as people stared. He turned back to see an unpleasant face of a blonde-haired boy. "Oh I'm sorry." And he left Jeongguk with all eyes on him.

"Here."

Jeongguk whipped his head around again and his eyes widened, seeing Taehyung kneeling onto the floor with a wad of napkins in hand.

"You okay?"

He nodded automatically.

Taehyung began cleaning the tomato sauce and spaghetti off the floor, feeling grateful when his two best friends joined his side.

"We got a spill!" One of the dinner ladies shouted.

Jeongguk watched them, almost in awe.

"Stop staring and help." Madeline said sharply.

"Right." The ravenette got to his feet and fetched more napkins, undoing the mess until the dining hall staff came with actual mops. "Thanks." He mumbled.

"Who was that?" Yoongi asked, shooting a dirty look in the direction the blonde had left in.

You wouldn't want to know, Jeongguk thought to himself. His father appeared a little too late for his taste.

"Go back to the cabin and change, Jeongguk." Junseo told him, pointing at the sauce spilled onto his sweater.

"I'll save you some dinner." Taehyung promised.

"No it's okay." Jeongguk interjected, thin lipped, "I wasn't hungry anyway." His eyes darted around the dining hall as he turned towards the door. "Um, goodnight."

The trio glanced at each other, the father not even bothering to reason with his own son before he walked away.

"Does his dad not give a shit?" Yoongi questioned.

Taehyung had other concerns. "I'll go get some food and we can bring it to him in a takeout box."

"You know where his cabin is?" Madeline asked, peering back to check on their own trays of food that they had left unguarded.

"Yeah, right next to mine." The brunette looked at her. "You okay with that?"

"Jeongguk leaves a bad taste in my mouth." Madeline admitted, "But I'll go wherever you two go."

__________

If you were suddenly transported to the sun because of an evil scheme devised by an evil Russian chicken and asked to take of your clothes and make love to the burning flames and then recite the presidents in alphabetical order of their middle name while juggling eleven midgets holding soda cans between your two front teeth that will be operated on by 86 evil Czechoslovakian dentists named Farkus who got their degrees studying the taste buds of Tom Sellect at a college named after some guy who wasted away his life by eating pork grinds naked in his basement while searching for pictures of Kristen Dunst to use for purposes that cannot be explained by the 1972 Junior High class of some school that no one cares about in Eastern Idaho where woodland creatures choose to spend their lives trying to recreate some bad 1940's soap opera instead of frolicking happily in the woods, would you prefer chocolate ice cream or vanilla?

i'm sorry please don't leave—