"Where's Taehyung?" asked Jimin.

"Shouldn't you know? You're his boyfriend," answered Myungjun, one of their more distant friends.

"O-oh, yeah," said Jimin. "He didn't text me today. He usually does. I thought maybe he was with you and had forgottten his phone at home." It wasn't a lie.

"Well, he wasn't. Did Hobi hyung talk to you guys lately?"

"Uh... yeah." Jimin's mind was too far off in the distance to continue the conversation wiht Myungjun, however. "You know what? I'll talk to you later. I have to go now, sorry." He rushed away from the table, concern for Taehyung consuming him.

Taehyung hadn't been lying exactly when he said he wasn't feeling well. He really wasn't. His lips burned like crazy, his head was lighter than a balloon, and his chest ached as if he'd tried to swallow a table. And the voices in his head weren't making any of it better.

What's he gonna think?

He probably knows now.

Good job, genius, now he hates you.

No way will he ever talk to you again.

Why did you do that? He doesn't even like you.

You definitely crossed the line this time.

Taehyung flopped over on his stomach on his bed.

His lips... were so soft though.

What I would give to taste them again.

And then,

Jungkook will probably get to taste them everyday if Jimin's plan works.

And the image of that in Taehyung's mind wouldn't leave. Jungkook and Jimin, sitting together. Jungkook and Jimin, sending gazes to each other. Jungkook and Jimin, always together. Jungkook and Jimin, kissing each other. Jungkook and Jimin holding each other. Jungkook and Jimin. JungkookandJimin.

Jealousy, anger, and hurt flooded Taehyung's mind. 

"Tae Tae!" Jimin pounded on the door. "Tae! Ope--" Jimin's fist fell through air as the door was yanked open. "Jinnie-hyung!"

Seokjin gave Jimin a tight smile. "Any reason you had to knock so hard and loud like a maniac?"

Instead of answering, Jimin stepped in. "Is Tae here?"

Seokjin nodded. "He's not really feeling well. He didn't text you?"

Jimin shook his head as he kicked off his shoes before makng his way deeper into the house as if it were his own.

"Well then I don't know if you should go..."

It was too late. Jimin was already at his best friend's door.

"Tae~hyung! Open up please! It's me."

Seokjin rolled his eyes. "I'll be going out now, Jiminnie. Call me if you need me."

"Sure, hyung!"

Jimin returned to his task of knocking at Taehyung's door.

---

Jimin had knocked for three minutes before it occurred to him that Taehyung might be somewhere else in the house. He then spent time looking in each room, constatly texting and calling out for his dongsaeng. He gave up; the only room left was the bedroom.

"KIM TAEHYUNG. I KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE. I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU'RE ACTING LIKE A HORMONAL BRAT, BUT I NEED YOU TO STOP. DON'T MAKE ME BREAK DOWN THE DOOR. YOU KNOW THE ABS I HAVE MEAN I HAVE THE STRENGTH TO DO IT. YOU HAVE ONE... TWO... THR--"

Taehyung jerked open the door. "Okay, okay, I'm here. No need to overreact. Sheesh."

Overreact?

Jimin decided to not stay hung up on the statement and be hapy that his friend finally opened his door. "Finally," he breathed. "Do you know how long I've waited for you? Why didn't you answer the door before? Or your phone?"

Taehyung, ignoring all of Jimin's questions, shoved past the older and made his way to the front door. Jimin followed.

"Uhhh... are we going out? Are you hungry? I could get you food--"

"I'm going out," Taehyung said as he slipped on a pair of shoes. "You do whatever."

Jimin frowned. What was with Taehyung today? "Then I'll come with you."

Taehyung stood up and walked over to Jimin, leaning over to exaggerate their height difference. Taehyung knew Jimin hated it when he did that. "You do whatever, as long as it's not with me."

Jimin tried not to gasp externally as well. "Why?"

Taehyung didn't answer, instead turning around and walking out the door, closing and locking it behind him. Meanwhile, Jimin tried not to cry. He had never been good at holding back his emotions. And Taehyung had never acted like this before.

It's not like it was a personality switch. Taehyung wasn't that perfect of a person. He knew how to be mean, and was even good at it. He could pinpoint people's weaknesses and batter them there until they cried. The better he knew them, the easier.

He just never showed that side of himself to Jimin. He reserved it for the people that had bullied Jimin and some others he thought deserved it.

It wasn't painless turning on Jimin like that, though. He went easy on him, only doing enough so that the other wouldn't dare go near him, at least for the day. That was all Taehyung needed. He just needed some time to figure out his heart. He knew that if he stayed by Jimin, he wouldn't be able to control himself. The jealousy, the desire. All of it would overwhelm him and drive him insane. He just needed to drive Jimin away for a while.

Walking helped clear Taehyung's mind. He knew what he had to do. All he would do is continue. Help Jimin get the man of his dreams, live content knowing that Jimin was happy. That's all Taehyung wanted, for Jimin to be happy.

Thinking of this flashed the frown that was on Jimin's face as Taehyung left the house in Taehyung's mind, and an pulsing pain erupted in Taehyung's chest. He hated causing Jimin emotional distress.

Taehyung turned back to start heading home.

---

When Taehyung arrived back at his house, Jimin wasn't there. Seokjin was.

"When did you get back, hyung?"

"Hm? Oh, just a minute ago. Where were you?"

"Out for a walk. Did you see Jimin?"

"No. You left without him?"

Taehyung nodded and went back to his room while his brother cooked dinner.

---

Taehyung didn't see Jimin at school all the way until lunch, which was odd. And when Taehyung was noticed by Jimin as he headed to their table, he stood up and left.

"Where's he going?" asked Taehyung.

Myungjun shrugged. "I dunno. Just said he had to leave."

Taehyung pursed his lips.

---

Walking down the empty hallways like he usually did when he told the teacher he was going to the bathroom, Taehyung tried to find Jimin. He'd snuck a peak into the older's sixth period class, and he wasn't there, so Jimin had to have been roaming the halls as well.

Hearing faint talking just around the corner, Taehyung sped up his pace. There was a higher pitched voice in there as well, with the telltale squeak of Jimin. All the other voices faded out in Taehyung's head.

The crowd came into view. It was Jungkook and his friends, with Jimin and some girls.

"Hey, Jimin, I heard you have a boyfriend," said one of them.

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

The guy nodded slightly. "Didn't take you for the gay type at first, but now I can kinda see it. You actually look really gay."

"What the hell, Jinhyun? How can someone 'look gay'?" yelled one of the girls.

"Hey, no need to get so triggered, babe. Just stating the facts."

"I don't think you know what facts are," said Jieun, and for a short moment, Taehyung liked her.

He didn't know why he was just standing there, eavesdropping, but he couldn't find the courage to take Jimin out of the situation.

Jimin.

He looked so small, despite being older than most of the others. His stature was slumped, the way he got when he was unconfident or embarrassed. The smile he wore was fake.

"Okay fine!" surrendered Jinhyun. "But seriously, look at him! He's so short. And dude, I'm sorry to say it, but you need to lose some weight, too."

That statement alone woud have make Taehyung explode, but added up with the fact that everyone started laughing, even Jungkook, made him a raging volcano.

Taehyung stormed in the middle of the crowd, grabbing Jimin's wrist forcefully. "I'll take my boyfriend now," he said. As he was pulling Jimin away, Taehyung's eyes met Jieun's. She was the only one not laughing, and gave Taehyung an apologetic look. Taehyung looked away, dragging Jimin farther and farther away from the scene.

When he deemed them far enough, Taehyung turned to face his best friend. Jimin was struggling to escape his grip.

"Let... go... of me..." he said, voice strained. Taehyung obliged.

"You skipped class to meet up with them?" asked Taehyung accusingly.

"Stop it, Taehyung. It's not a big deal, he was joking."

Taehyung tried not to let his surprise at Jimin defending the other show. "It wasn't funny."

"Well everyone laughed."

Taehyung reached out to try to confort Jimin, but the other flinched.

"Don't act like you're so much better."

"Jimin..."

"What?" Taehyung could see tears filling the older's eyes. He sniffled. "I was so... worried about you! And you j-just were there the whole time, and then you left, without me! What is wrong with you? What... did I do?"

Taehyung pulled Jimin's arms toward himself, and wrapped him up in a hug, shifting so that Jimin could cry into his shoulder.

"I... hate you. I hate everybody. I hate Jungkook." Jimin took a shaky breath. "Who am I kidding, I could never hate Jungkook."

Taehyung suppressed the pain he felt to focus on Jimin.

"I'm sorry," Taehyung spoke into Jimin's hair. "I'm sorry."

Yay! Another chapter done. As always, I'd love it if you commented! Thanks for reading~