"You comin'?" Jungkook rushed him as everyone left the classroom.

"You can just go ahead." he nodded towards the door. He still had some books to put in his bag and didn't want to slow him down, even though he was secretly wishing he would stay.

"We're going in the same direction, we might as well go together." Jungkook sent him a wink.

"But I..." he started, since he was obviously not going to take the bus.

"I need to get in shape for the soccer tournament, might as well start now, no time like the present!" he his tummy as if it was a huge beer belly, when it was just about the fittest abdomen he had ever seen.

"Well, I'm certainly not going to stand in the way of you becoming a soccer champion." Jimin announced, giggling. He was having a hard time hiding how happy he was.

Jungkook took the books and impatiently threw them into Jimin's bag. "Let's go!" he impatiently told him, smiling.

"So I've been reading the book you gave me...” Jungkook said when they reached the quiet part of the path. The school grounds were too noisy with happy teenagers celebrating their short lived freedom at the end of the school day to maintain any sort of coherent conversation.

“You mean the book you gave yourself.” Jimin snorted, taking a subtle step to the side to widen the gap between them. Why, oh why had he gone for a garlic feast for lunch? He could taste the thick coating of garlic that had taken over the inside of his mouth. His breath almost definitely reeked.

Jungkook chuckled, slowly starting to bridge the gap that Jimin had just created.

“They sound like best friends, Snufkin and Jim...Moomintroll.” he sounded intrigued.

“They are!!” Jimin said delighted, he was over the moon that he was taking such a liking to the story.

“I guess that sorta makes us best friends too.” Jungkook guffawed as he patted his shoulder as a friendly gesture, a best-friendly gesture. Jimin held his breath, which was extra challenging with his heart beating so fast.

“But why didn't you warn me it was such a sad story I picked?! Snufkin is leaving... for the whole winter...!” he frowned. It was too cute how invested he sounded.

“It's only for the winter, he'll be back next summer.” Jimin assured him, careful not to breathe in his direction so he wouldn't suffocate from the garlic stench. He stuck his hand into the side pocket of his bag in a desperate attempt to find an abandoned breath mint that was looking for a home. No such luck.

“Yeah, but I mean... a whole winter is a long time... what if Snufkin meets other friends? What if he doesn't come back? What if the Moomins move? They don't even have cell phones, they have no way of contacting each other!” he exclaimed, almost outraged. He didn't know why he cared so much about this story, but it was amazing him that he did. He wanted to partake in the conversation, but he didn't want to put him off with his bad breath. He collected a bit of saliva in his mouth and swallowed it in an attempt to get rid of at least some of the garlic barnacles in his mouth, to no avail..

“And Moomintroll doesn't want him to leave, he even told him! How could he be prepared to leave knowing that?” Jungkook leaned in to emphasize his point. Jimin instinctively covered his mouth with his hand to keep him from smelling anything.

“I know, shocking, right!” he mistook it for a gesture of surprise, perhaps luckily so.

“Moomintroll even got permission from his parents to go with him, but Snufkin didn't want him to come!! How heartless is that! I couldn't believe it. This is the guy you think I am?” he looked at him incredulously, his eyes scanning him up and down for an answer.

Jimin took a step back. “I eh...just said you kinda sorta looked like.... only a small facial resemblan...” he mumbled, keeping his mouth as closed as he could without it looking too weird. He couldn't go on like this. He had to do something, but what?

Jungkook erased the distance between them, looking him right in the eyes. “I just want you to know that I'm not him, you know. I'm not going anywhere, and if I leave, you're welcome to come with me!”. He looked very serious, his eyebrows emphasizing his point. Jimin didn't know how to react to that. He didn't really know what he meant either, they barely knew each other and they were still in high school, why would he go with him? Then he noticed that he was chewing on a piece of gum.

“Hey ah...do you have gum?” he asked awkwardly, breaking the intense atmosphere Jungkook had created.

“Oh... yeah. Yeah. Hang on.” Jungkook stuck his nose into his bag and came up with nothing but a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I guess this was my last one... unless... you want this one?” he joked, holding the rolled up gum between his lips, bending towards him as if he was offering him to take it. He was obviously joking. Jimin knew full well he was joking. He was supposed to laugh and say something like 'You're crazy!'. But instead, as if possessed, he could hear himself say “Okay.”, and then he leaned in close, so close that it made his head spin, and felt his tongue spring out to snatch the gum up. There was so much going on inside of him, but the moment the tip of his tongue grazed the edge of Jungkook's lips everything went completely quiet. His senses took over. His lips felt warm, soft. How where they so soft? Did he use a special lip balm? They tasted good. A faint scent of peppermint played with his nostrils. Probably the gum. He tried to focus on the gum. It was all that he could do to keep from sticking his tongue further into his mouth. It was so tempting, it burned. He so desperately wanted to kiss him, it physically hurt. And then it was over. As suddenly as it had started. He could feel himself starting to freeze up with panic, but knew that was the worst thing he could do. He had to make it look like he had just been going along with the joke, going a bit too far, but still, just a joke.

He nonchalantly leaned back, putting his hands in his pockets. “Thanks.” he nodded coolly, theatrically chewing on Jungkook's chewing gum that was now in his mouth, walking ahead like it was no big deal, while his head nearly exploded over how big a deal it really was.

He could hear Jungkook chuckle. He had pulled it off. He had actually pulled it off.

“Though... if you ask me... I'm guessing Moomintroll has a thing for Snufkin.” Jungkook smirked as he caught up to him, acting as if nothing had happened.

“What? No! They're just friends, and he has a girl-Moomin he likes.” Jimin objected, careful to always be one step behind him so his X-ray eyes couldn't pick up on anything. Was this Jungkook's way of asking whether he had a thing for him? He couldn't believe what he had just done. He ruined everything. Yet he regretted nothing.

“Don't believe everything you're told. The signs are everywhere.... like... how heartbroken he is to see him leave, and how he does everything he can to go with him, cuz he just can't bare to be apart from him. Come on... no friend is going to go that far...right?” he said as if it was obvious. Jimin got a pang in his stomach. Did he suspect...? Did he know...? His heart started trying to punch a hole through his ribcage, preparing an escape route.

“Ehh... what...no... I mean...” Jimin started objecting in a high pitched voice, but he had no idea what to say.

“Oh, like...don't worry, I'm not implying you...” he laughed brightly like that was a ridiculous assumption. “like, the character...in the book....” he explained. Jimin breathed easier, cancelling the full on defcon 1-mode into which his body had leaped.

“And there's nothing wrong with that by the way, it's a modern world. Don't be so closed minded.” he gave him an overly dramatic disapproving look. He was kidding, but still it was nice to know that he was this open minded.

“No, I'm not....I don't have a problem with people being.... you know... but this was written way back when, you know... so I'm just saying... it's unlikely.” Jimin smiled and shrugged his shoulders, doing everything to hide who he really was.

“Pfft, oh please... like there weren't gay people way back when... you can't even say it can you?....GAY... people being gay... gaaay...” he sang with his enchanting voice.

“Maybe if I say it often enough you'll get used to it.” he chuckled.

“But yeah, that's my theory anyway... you can take it or leave it.” he winked at him. It wasn't really a theory if it was the truth, Jimin thought. He just hoped he didn't suspect him too. Even though he said he didn't, you never knew. And with the stunt he had pulled with the gum. He was on thin ice and he knew it. He only wished he was a talented figure skater.

“That's me.” Jungkook announced and pointed down the road.

“Wow, hey, I didn't know you lived in my neighborhood.” Jimin was delighted. They even shared a bus station. Man, if only he could take the bus, then they could ride it together every morning.

They waved goodbye and Jungkook disappeared down the road. It was idiotic how ecstatic it made him to have him living so close by. This was getting out of hand. This was definitely not going to end well for him. But hey, there was no harm in watering this one-sided crush of his, since no matter how much water he gave it, a plant kept in the dark would never get the chance to bloom.

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AN: Woohoo! Made the deadline this time haha :)

See ya again in a week! *determined to rise to the challenge*