Spacing out
Love AgainThe rest of school passes by fairly quietly. By the second period after lunch I had gotten used to Taehyung drawing attention to us so the staring didn’t bother me as much.
“Taehyung!” A group of girls bounce up to him as we pack our bags. The last bell rang earlier signalling the end of school.
“Yes?” He looks at them in an amusing annoyance. These are one of the prettiest girls in our level and I’ve never seen any guy so unwilling to talk to them before.
One of the girls bats her eyelashes at Taehyung. “We’re going to get spicy rice cakes at this cart down the street. Want to join us?”
Taehyung turns to look at me and I raise my eyebrows at him. “I have tutoring with Jungkook.”
“And you don’t need help with that?” He asks cutely.
I laugh, rolling my eyes. “You need about as much help as that kid in school work. Go, I’ll see you if I see you later.” Pulling my bag along, I leave Taehyung with the girls.
Outside, I take a turn towards the snack store to get banana milk and a sandwich.
“This too, please.” A tanned arm drops another bottle of milk onto the counter. Without looking at who it is, I pay for the extra item with mine.
“What are you staying back for?” The owner of the extra milk, Namjoon, asks as we take a sit at the empty bench outside the store. He pokes the straw into my banana milk while I work on the packaging of my sandwich.
“I have tutoring session with Jungkook later,” I tell him. Speaking of which, “I don’t suppose that kid came to find you, had he? He passed his test.”
Namjoon laughs. “As a matter of fact, he did. But only because Sera sunbae told him to, he said.”
“That kid.” I cuss under my breath. Why did he have to give me away? Then, eerily, the kid in question calls me from down the corridor.
“Sunbae!” Jungkook waves as he jogs towards us. “I’m so sorry but can we postpone today’s session? My mum just called me home for something important.”
I nod. “Okay. Hurry along, then.” Jungkook doesn’t forget to thank me as he runs off. Blinking, I look down at my sandwich and sigh. I take a sad bite into the bread and think about what I should do now that Jungkook bailed on me. All my books are in the locker – should I just study on my own? Maybe I should go find a new book to read. I take a sip of banana milk.
“How about studying with me?”
“What?” I blink up at Namjoon and he blinks back at me.
He angles his head in question. “You were rethinking your plan for later, no? Study with me if you don’t have anything else to do.”
“No.”
“No? That was fast.” Namjoon raises his eyebrows at me.
I frown. “I’m done thinking for today. I’m going to go space out somewhere.”
“Tree?” He asks after a while of silence.
Considering this, it doesn’t really sound all that bad. So I agree, “Tree.”
I quickly finish the rest of my sandwich as Namjoon watches quietly. When I’m done, he carries his still half full milk with him as he stands. He holds out a hand which I instinctively grab, my own banana milk in my other hand. I let Namjoon lead me out of school and towards our hideout, our hands clasped tightly though I don’t know if for heat or what. The feeling of my hand in his is one I’ve never felt before, but it's somehow weirdly natural. Besides, it’s keeping my hand warm this wintery afternoon.
We reach our willow tree too soon and Namjoon lets go of my hand as I run in. I throw my bag at the base of the tree trunk and lie down on the prickly grass. I let my eyes wander among the clouds for a while before closing them.
“Lie on this instead,” Namjoon’s voice comes through and when I open my eyes I see him standing over me with a blanket in hand.
“Where did you get that from?” I ask. Rolling over, I let Namjoon spread out the blanket before I roll back onto the warm material.
To answer my question, he points at a little cabinet I hadn’t realised was built on the trunk like a little treehouse. A key hangs from the keyhole of one of the cabinet doors, and from where I am I see another blanket and some apples inside. Reaching into his pocket, Namjoon pulls out a spare key and throws it at me. Then, he clears his throat and pulls out the other blanket opening it up over my lower body. I flush in vague conscious that my skirt might have ridden up a bit while rolling around. I also think about how my leggings aren’t doing a very good job at keeping out the cold. I wrap the blanket around me looking like I’m at home ready to sleep. Then pushing myself up, I sit cross-legged instead and wrap the blanket around my shoulders. I stare into the green distance and... blank out.
A bird flying across catches my attention and following its flight, I break my reverie. It is now that I remember I’m not alone here. I twist around looking for Namjoon to find him lying on his stomach on the grass doing homework. He has his head propped up on his palm, the weight supported by his elbow digging into the grass. From the looks of it, it seems like he's already done quite a bit of homework. As if sensing eyes on him, he looks up and smiles.
“Are you done spacing?” He asks, his cheek dimpling.
“I guess not,” he answers himself when I don’t. Slouched over, I stare mindlessly past his face.
Subconsciously, I see Namjoon stand and pull a packet of something out of the tree cabinet. He pulls open the plastic and tips out the content. A white packet falls into his hand. He then proceeds with another plastic packet and does the same thing. Now, holding the two white packets in his hands, he shakes them lightly.
“What are you doing?” I ask when he approaches me, one white packet in each of his hands. He brings them to my face and oh! Warmth spreads across my cheeks where the white packet touches. I realise now that these are heat packs.
Namjoon doesn’t stop rubbing my face and neck with the heat packs as he speaks. “If you’re done here let’s go. It’s cold.”
“Jjun.”
“Hmm?”
Looking for a split second into his eyes, I let myself fall onto his chest as I wrap my arms around him. Namjoon stiffens but quickly regains composure and returns the hug. The heat packs now warm my back where his hands are. I feel myself melt into his warmth and I involuntarily sigh in contentment.
“What am I supposed to do, Jjun,” I say before my brain has time to process the words, “I don’t think I’ve ever stopped liking you.”
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A/N: (Random but) on a side note, who else is excited for Chinese New Year!
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