Jungkook’s eyes pierced into hers, his black orbs dark and unsettling. She gulped and went dry. How could she not be nervous when he was looking at her like he wanted to eat her. Or kill her. Something in the back of her mind was telling her to run, but another, more dominant part was telling her to stay. She wasn’t here for him.

Jaera had been sent to detention for arguing with her English teacher. She didn’t care though; she had spoken her mind and stood up for herself, so if sitting here for the next hour and cleaning up classrooms after school is what she got for exercising her rights, so be it. She just hadn’t expected her worst enemy would be there, too.

Jeon Jungkook.

The so-called “kingka” of Bangtan High. Typical dumb. Apparently, he’d been caught tagging on school property so when she walked in the room to see his stupid face she wasn’t surprised. He was always getting up to mischief with his idiotic friends, Taehyung and Jimin. Jaera was a little shocked that they weren’t there with him, but in all honesty, she couldn’t care less.

Jaera was now in her second to last year of high school, Jungkook being a year ahead of her. As soon as she started at Bangtan, it wasn’t hard to notice how popular Jungkook had already gotten. In her view, she couldn’t see any reason why, but according to conversations she’d overhead it was because he was “so good-looking, talented and smart”. My , Jaera would think. If only everyone knew what an idiot he actually was.

Shrugging off her bag, she dropped into her seat and rested her head against the hard surface of the desk. Her short, dark hair fell over her shoulder. The wood was a little scratched up and dented, so it wasn’t exactly the most comfortable resting place, but hey, she was exhausted.

Her tired gaze accidentally landed on Jungkook and she could see he was still staring at her with that ominous look. What’s his problem anyways? Didn’t she have the right to be there, too? She shook her head and ignored him, deciding to catch up on sleep. Drifting off into a dormant state, Jaera’s lips curled into a subconscious smile.

A few minutes later, the girl was woken up by an irritating voice in her ear.

“You’re drooling, ugly.”

Her eyebrows furrowed and she opened her eyes to see Jungkook crouching next to her, a hideous smirk on his face. Without hesitation, Jaera lazily lifted her hand and shoved him back with full force. He tumbled to the floor and she smiled peacefully, closing her eyes once again.

“You’re gonna pay for that,” was all she heard before she was yanked off her chair by her hair.

She held her head in her hands, screaming as she felt the burning sensation in her scalp. Who the hell pulls hair these days?

A few other students looked on in surprise but made no move to help her. Jungkook scowled as he pushed Jaera back into the desk, her hip colliding with the wood harshly. Even though it hurt like hell, she wasn’t going to back down. She lunged at him, wrapping one hand around his throat while the other tugged at his ear. He cursed incoherently as he tried to pry the crazy girl off him.

“Jeon Jungkook, you little !” she yelled, now choking him with both hands.

For a girl, she was quite strong, but there was no doubting that Jungkook was stronger.

Within seconds, he had reached up and ripped her arms away from his throat. Despite Jaera’s struggles, he grasped her wrists, successfully forcing her back against the wall. He glared at her, keeping her wrists pinned beside her and Jaera matched his expression, struggling against his grip.

“Let me go, you idiot!” she spat.

“Not until you apologize!” he growled.

“I’m not apologizing for ! You’re the one who called me ugly.”

“That’s because you are!”

“UGH!!”

The two continued to bicker loudly, not caring that there were witnesses all around them. They were so busy fighting that they didn’t even notice the principal had walked in until a blackboard eraser went flying towards Jungkook’s head, landing on the floor with a thud.

“Jeon Jungkook! Lim Jaera! Come with me… NOW!”

Jaera and Jungkook took the chance to send each other one last hateful glare before reluctantly following Mr. Kim to his office.

I wish he would get eaten by rabid monkeys.

I wish she would suffocate in her sleep.

***

“Can someone explain to me why you were fighting?”

Jungkook and Jaera sat in silence, both gazing around Mr. Kim’s office nonchalantly.

“Jaera? Jungkook? Anyone?”

Jaera rolled her eyes while Jungkook shot the teacher a bored look.

“Well, if you guys aren’t gonna start talking, I guess I’ll just have to keep you in here for the rest of the day until you do…”

The pair didn’t budge. Clearly, the word ‘stubborn’ was closely associated with them.

Mr. Kim sighed. “You know, this is the fifth time this semester that I’ve caught you two fighting. I don’t know what’s going on between you guys, but it needs to stop. This school will never find peace if you two just don’t get along.”

“I’d rather cut off my toes than get along with Jeon Jungkook,” Jaera muttered.

“You’re not the only one, ugly.”

They were about to erupt into yet another fight but Mr. Kim quickly clapped his hands together.

“Enough!” he shouted. His voice boomed, surrounding the teens, who froze in their seats instantly.

“If you two won’t do it willingly, I’m just going to force you,” he stated.

Jungkook’s eyebrows furrowed. “Force what?”

Mr. Kim leaned forward, his eyes burning into Jungkook and Jaera. “Get along or get out,” he snarled.

“What do you mean?” Jaera asked.

Mr. Kim pointed a chubby finger at each of them. “If you two don’t become friends by the end of this semester, consider yourselves expelled from Bangtan High.”

His face was scarred with seriousness and he didn’t flinch once. The office had fallen silent. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. Jungkook and Jaera waited as their minds processed what was happening.

Become friends? With her? Why don’t I just slit my wrists while I’m at it?

I said I’d rather cut my own toes off, not get expelled from school. Is this old man crazy?

Mr. Kim leaned back in his chair, unsatisfied with the pair’s silence until Jungkook finally decided to break it.

“ this,” he muttered, storming out of the room. Jaera watched as Mr. Kim quickly followed him out, so she did the same, lingering behind him.

“Not so fast, young man! Jungkook!”

Jungkook ignored him and kept walking. Like he was gonna take this sort of treatment. He didn’t have to do anything for anyone, especially if it was to do with her. He shoved his hands in his pockets, no plans on slowing down.

“Fine!” Mr. Kim yelled. “You can forget about that basketball scholarship then!”

Jungkook froze.

Did he just…

He slowly turned around to face the principal, fuming inwardly.

“You heard me correctly, right?” Mr. Kim added cockily.

“Stop playing around,” Jungkook threatened, gradually stepping towards him. “You can’t be serious.”

“But I am, Jungkook. You don’t agree to this, not only will you never step foot in this school again, your dreams of becoming a basketball player will remain just that. Dreams.”

“What’s wrong with you? This is all over some petty fighting. It’s not my fault she’s an annoying little – “

“Watch it, boy.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes. “This must be a joke. You can’t actually expect me to become friends with… that!” He gestured at Jaera, who scowled at him in return.

“Let me explain something to you, mister. This is my school. I run things around here, and when I see a problem, I have to eliminate it. And right now, you and Miss. Lim’s hostility towards each other is causing too many problems. This is my only choice…” Mr. Kim said. “I know how much that scholarship means to you.”

Jungkook glared at the older man like he was trying to burn his face off with his gaze. Who would do something like that? How can a principal claim to be caring when he was so willing to ruin his students’ futures?

“So…” Mr. Kim declared. “From this point on, there will be no teasing, no arguing, no insults, and especially no fighting between the two of you. If I hear so much as a peep out of either of you, that’s it.”

Jaera suddenly brightened up. “Wait, so we don’t actually have to be friends? We just have to stop all the fighting?”

It’ll be so simple. All she has to do is avoid Jungkook as much as she can for the next eight weeks.

“Wrong…”

.

“… Like I said in the first place. If you don’t become friends by the end of this semester, it’s over.”

***

“There you are,” Hyesoon sighed, sliding onto the bench next to her best friend.

Jaera looked up and took her headphones out of her ears. “Hey.”

Hyesoon eyed Jaera, confused. “What’s wrong? You look like your grandmother died or something.”

Jaera forced a smile and shook her head. How could she even explain what was going on? It was confusing enough just to think about. She was being forced to choose between befriending the boy she hated most or getting kicked out of school.

“My life is slowly turning to ,” Jaera replied simply.

“Eh? Why do you say that?” Hyesoon asked in a concerned tone.

“It just is,” Jaera muttered. She looked up and noticed a familiar face approaching the area. Her insides turned uncontrollably. “Let’s get out of here, yeah?”

Hyesoon nodded and followed the girl as they headed back into the main school grounds.

Jungkook spotted Jaera and her friend strolling in the opposite direction. Stupid girl, he thought. This is all your fault.

“… But she didn’t even show up. So I don’t know, I might as well give up now, right?” Taehyung nudged Jungkook, regaining his attention. “Right?”

He blinked a few times. “Sorry, I zoned out. What are you on about?”

Rolling his eyes, Taehyung repeated himself but Jungkook was already focusing on other things. How could this happen to him of all people? The Jeon Jungkook. Things are supposed to go his way. But now, he’s being forced to do the unthinkable. He’s going to have to sacrifice his sanity just to please his stupid principal. There was no way.

“… Seriously, Jungkook. Is everything okay?”

Taehyung was slightly frowning at him so Jungkook just nodded, finally becoming aware of his surroundings. “Yeah. Don’t worry about it,” he reassured the older boy.  “Let’s go find Jimin.”

***

Jimin glanced around quickly, before slipping the key into the lock. Yes. The door swung open and he was surprised to see how tidy it was. Checking the hallway one last time, he quickly entered the room, shutting the door behind him.

He wandered over to the opposite side and slid the curtains open, watching the sunlight flood the room. A small smile decorated his face as he admired the dance studio. How many years had it been now? Two, three. It had been too long since he last visited.

He walked over to the wooden bench near the back wall, dusting it off before taking a seat.

When Jimin had snuck into the school’s main office and stolen the key to the old dance studio, he hadn’t planned on using it in any other way except to reminisce. He had no desire to dance in front of the mirrored walls. He had no urge to feel the polished floor sliding under his shoes. Nope. He just wanted to remember.

Warm nostalgia enveloped him as several memories started to replay in his head. They were so young back then. And happy. He missed the good times, the laughs, but most of all, he missed his friends.

He was suddenly brought out of his daydream when he heard footsteps outside of the door.

.

He’d get detention once again if he was caught in here. Mr. Kim had banned anyone from using the room after what they had done…

The door swung open and Jimin exhaled in relief when he saw Taehyung and Jungkook standing there, bewildered expressions on their faces.

“Wow. You actually did it,” Taehyung said, entering the room slowly.

Jimin shifted over to make room for him on the bench. “It wasn’t easy. Mr. Kim has teachers all over the entrance, but since I have my connections it didn’t take long to figure out a plan,” Jimin explained.

Jungkook grinned and took a seat between the two boys. He knew exactly who Jimin was talking about. Miss Yang was their science teacher when they were first years. She was younger than most teachers so when she noticed a group of good-looking boys take an interest in her, she was willing to do anything for them. They were able to ditch class without being noticed. They could access certain school files without getting caught.

Yup. She was their puppet, basically. Of course, the boys thought she was nice and all, but they mostly stuck around her for their own benefit.

“I actually missed this place,” Jungkook sighed, surveying the room. “If I had a day like today back then, this would be the first place I’d go to let off steam… Not anymore.”

Taehyung nodded thoughtfully. “What did happen today? You’ve been acting a bit weird.”

Jungkook let out a long sigh and raked a hand through his hair. He didn’t really want them to know but he needed to let out his frustration. They’d just keep bothering him until he told them anyways. “It’s that ing bastard again,” he replied.

“Who?” Jimin asked.

“Mr. Kim,” Jungkook muttered. “He’s ing with my life.”

“Well, what did he do?” Taehyung asked curiously.

Anger was etched all over Jungkook’s face and his friends were fairly worried. An angry Jungkook was not a pretty sight.

“You guys remember that chick, Jaera?”

The boys nodded.

“We got caught fighting again and now…” Jungkook stood up abruptly and kicked the side of the bench. “Mr. Kim’s forcing us to be friends.”

“WHAT?!”

“He can’t do that, bro…” Taehyung protested.

Jungkook shook his head and leaned against the wall. “He can. He’s the principal. And he threatened to kick me out of school.”

“What the ? He’s psycho, I swear!”

“That, and he’s gonna take my basketball scholarship off me.”

Jimin’s fists were clenched as he listened. “That’s bull… I’ve always hated that guy.”

“We can do something about it, though,” Taehyung said. “Can’t we?”

“Yeah, we could tell the board,” Jimin offered. “They’d fire his if they knew about something like this.”

Jungkook clicked his tongue. “Nah. It won’t work. He’s too high up and it’s way too risky. You know what happened last time we tried to go against his authority…”

The boys frowned, realizing that it was no use. Mr. Kim was a power crazy who liked making their lives miserable. He’s had it in for them ever since they started this godforsaken school.

“This is bull!” Jimin replied, beginning to feel the anger that was reverberating off Jungkook.

Taehyung shook his head slowly in disbelief.

“So I guess I have no choice…” Jungkook sighed. “I have to become friends with Lim Jaera.”

---

 A/N: Woke up this morning to see I had two subscribers (who weren't my friends that I had begged to subscribe haha) so I wanted to update it. I know it's lame to be so happy about two subscribers but I actually did a little dance when I had seen there was some interest in the story so thank you to exokyungsoobiased & HeXm1_Park <3 your support means a lot and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story :)