Eva.

I sat alone in the apartment since both Lily and Maria had late night shifts at work.

Taking advantage of the quiet of the apartment, I decided to complete the assignments given but for the past hour, but all I had done was stare at the book and the words somehow began to mock me. Pushing the book away from me, I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath to supress another wave of stress.

“Calm down, Eva,” I whispered to myself, trying to fight back the tears. Now here’s something about me, that under stress, I tend to cry a lot and that was what I was doing now as well.

A few treacherous tears escaped my eyes and I hurriedly wiped them away despite knowing that I was alone. I closed my eyes again, taking deep breaths to calm myself down when I felt something soft on my legs. I opened my eyes to find Miva looking up at me with sad eyes, sensing my sadness right with me. I sighed, picking her up and hugging her close as I reminded myself to stay calm over and over.

Just as a sob tore through my throat, the door bell rang. I frowned, wiping my tears as I headed towards the door. I wasn’t expecting anyone home for another two hours at least.  Cautiously, I looked through the peephole to find Got7’s leader, JB standing outside holding a small bag in his hands. Exhaling slowly, I forced a smile on my face as I opened the door.

“Hi,” I grinned, waving at him, “Come on in.”

“Hello,” he frowned, closely studying my face as he crossed inside, “I came to return Lily’s bag.”

Gulping, I forced another smile on my face. He didn’t know me that well so I’m sure he won’t be able to tell that I was crying. I hope that’s the case, anyway.

“You didn’t have to, Maria was going to pick it up on her way home today,” I followed him to the couch where he dropped the bag. Nudging Miva to the side, he sat down on the place previously occupied by me, studying the books laid out on the table.

“Do you want something to drink?” I politely asked, pulling at the hem of my shirt nervously. He didn’t reply but kept on staring at my books. I couldn’t even begin to try and read what he was thinking because of that damn poker face.

“Are you okay?” he suddenly asked, looking up at me, his eyes warm. Shocked, I raised an eyebrow at him, debating whether to tell him or not.

“Eva…?” he said softly, getting up and looking at me straight in the eyes. I in a deep breath, pulling at my sleeve, looking everywhere but at him.

“I’m fine,” I forced out, smiling tightly.  He crossed his arms, not looking convinced. He stepped forward, gently grabbing my arm.

“You don’t look fine,” he whispered, tilting his head down so he could look at me.

“I-,” I gulped, stepping back, “I’m just a little stressed that’s all.” I shrugged, trying my best to seem nonchalant about everything.

Without saying a word, he grabbed my hand, leading me to the couch and asking me to sit down. I grabbed the cushion from behind me, hugging it close. He nudged me, giving an awkward grin.

“Come on, tell me what’s wrong,” his eyes were suddenly so warm that without stopping, tears freely flowed down my cheeks. I wasn’t one to cry in front of others and this shocked me as I was weeping in front of someone I had not known for long.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he murmured, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. I sniffed, wiping away the tears with my free hand as he quietly stared back at me.

“College has been more stressful than I thought,” I whispered, taking in deep breaths as JB gently rubbed circles on the back of my hand.

“It’s supposed to be stressful,” JB quietly replied, wiping a tear with his free hand, “No one expects you to be perfect with everything. You moved to a foreign place, are studying in a foreign language, of course things will be stressful.” I shook my head, opening my mouth to protest when I felt an arm around my waist before I was pulled against JB. I sniffled, closing my eyes, trying to calm the pounding of my heart. He was so close, his cheek resting on the top of my head, his heart right under my palm, beating as fast as mine.

“Better?” he whispered, his grip loosening slightly.  

“Better,” I replied pulling back, “thanks.”

“No worries,” he winked, leaning forward and gathering the scattered papers and books, “Let’s get your mind off this for a little while. ”

“JB don’t,” I protested, leaning forward to take the things back when his head whipped in my direction, eyes narrowed. I smiled, slowly leaning back in the couch.

“Worrying over something like this isn’t good for your health,” JB scolded, piling everything up on the table, “What do you usually do to take your mind of things?”

“Listen to music, go out for a walk or watch a movie,” I shrugged, a different warm feeling spreading through my chest at his worry. He hummed, staring at me for a moment. He looked conflicted, like he was having an internal debate before a look of determination crossed his face. I frowned at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Since I was the one who suggested being more careful in public situations, I cannot agree to going for a walk,” he thought aloud as he pulled out his phone, “but what we can do is order take-out and watch your favorite movie, fair?” I grinned lightly, nodding.

Even though it was pleasant, this sudden change in attitude wasn’t helping my case. I needed to supress whatever I had been feeling and his worry and attention towards me was only fueling this feeling.

Why can’t you go back to being rude JB!

Unaware of my mental insults hurled towards him, he got up, browsing through our movie collection when something caught his eye. With an annoying smirk he turned towards me, showing me the Real Got7 DVDs Lilly had brought. My cheeks instantly warmed up as I coughed, looking away.

“So… you’re not a fan.” I wanted to slap that smirk off his face yet I found it adorable at the same time.  This guy was messing with my brain!

“I’m not, these are Lilly’s,” I defended, looking down to let my hair cover my face.

“And you didn’t watch it with her?” he clearly wasn’t buying what I was saying. I coughed, shaking my head.

“She needed a companion and there I was,” I shrugged, daring a peek at the smug leader. He looked so satisfied with himself that he abandoned his search for a DVD and strode over to me, plopping down right next.

“Are you sure it was because she needed a companion and not because I finally was able to turn you.”

“What are you, a vampire?” I retorted, my cheeks probably as red as a tomato by now. He laughed, shaking his head.

“You are so cute,” I whipped up my head up at him, eyes wide with shock. Did he just literally…

Chuckling, he patted my head, going back to his search. Damn it heart, stop getting so excited. I’m dead sure he meant that in a lame way. I needed to get a grip!

“What a monstrous amount of chick-flicks,” he muttered, throwing back another DVD. I sighed, shaking my head at his attitude.

“Well, because chicks live here,” I rolled my eyes, laying back in my seat, totally disregarding the pile of assignments I had to complete.  He looked up at me, scanning me over before shaking his head and picking up a random CD.

“I thought you were cheesy, never knew you were this cheesy,” he showed me the cover he was holding, giving me a pointed look.

“In my defense, I had read the book before,” I snatched the disc from him. He nodded, clearly not convinced. Thus began my train of fresh, murderous thoughts.

The two of us were wrapped up in our respective blankets with enough food to feed an army laid out in front of us. The movie was playing in the background but we totally ignored it, cracking lame jokes and challenging each other. For some reason I felt at ease with him, I was enjoying his company more than I should have been.

“Oh wow,” I whispered, eyes as big as saucers as I watched JB fit another marshmallow in his mouth. During our many challenges he had let it slip he could fit a lot in his mouth and curiosity got the better of me as I challenged him.  Turns out he wasn’t lying.

“Okay I get it, stop already” I laughed, taking the bowl of marshmallows from him. He winked as he struggled to chew the 25 marshmallows in his mouth.

“Are you human, Bummie?” I shook my head, plopping in a marshmallow. He gave me his favorite poker face, leaning over and flicking my forehead.

“One, yes I am and two, don’t call me that,” he narrowed his eyes at the evil grin on my face.

“Bummie don’t like it?” I pouted, pinching his cheeks as I spoke in a baby voice. He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes. I gulped, inching back on the couch as he looked up at me. Everyone knew about JB and his rage but I never could have thought that that rage would be the cause of my death.

“Eva…” he softly spoke, looking at me with an evil smile, “you have five seconds to apologize.” I coughed, inching back on the couch as he began to count down. Just as I was about to run away, a scream came from the TV, causing me to let out a surprised scream.

“Was it a horror movie?” JB asked, chuckling. Rolling my eyes, I let out a giggle.

“You choose this… thing, apparently,” I sassed, crossing my arms.

“Scared?”

“Of your face? Yes,” I grinned. He made a face, throwing a cushion at me. I dodged it, sticking out my tongue at him. He smiled, shaking his head but what caught my attention was the look in his eyes. It was unreadable but yet, sent a wave of warmth through my chest.

“Thank you, Jaebum,” I said suddenly, surprised, but decided to continue, “I really appreciate this.” I closed my eyes, feeling myself well up again. Just then I felt a soft hand on my head, coaxing me to open my eyes.

JB was so close, too close for my heart to handle. Instinctively, or maybe due to the hormones clouding my mind, I leaned in, lightly pecking his cheek. When I pulled back, his eyes were closed and breathing was ragged.

“Oh,” a voice came from the door causing us both to spring up from the couch. Maria stood at the door, smirking at the two of us. I smiled back innocently, just as Lilly walked in, looking at the two of us suspiciously.

“Hello,” JB smiled, waving.

“Hi,” Maria grinned, coming over to pat my shoulder. Dear God no. I knew what she was thinking and it was going to take a lot to convince her she was wrong.

Lilly gave me a knowing look, before turning her attention to JB, “Thanks for returning the bag, JB. I hope you had a good time here.”

I swear to God she’s sneaky just as much as she’s deadpan and out to ruin me.

“I should leave now,” JB looked at me, winking, “Please make sure I don’t have to come down again.”

“Come down for what?” Maria gave us both a suggestive look which caused me to groan and throw a cushion at her.

“She was having a stress attack when I came to return Lilly’s bag,” JB ruffled up my hair, “see you later.”

“Bye,” I softly smiled, waving at him. He waved back as he turned around, leaving. As soon as he left, Maria got up, grabbing my shoulder and forcing me to sit.

“Details, now,” she looked like a little kid on Christmas, hungry for candy. Pushing her, I speed-walked to my room.

“Nothing happened, okay,” I shouted as I tried to slam the door shut but Lilly was already holding it, composed and smirking. Sadly, I was out of escapes when Maria sprinted into my room and sat on the bed coolly. My luck.