This one-shot serves as an example of my writing. Please consider it when making a request.

 

The 19-year-old was leaning against a wall, her head tilted back as she stared up at the ceiling of the fraternity house. The air was filled with the thumping bass of the loud music pouring out of the speakers, and around her, people were dancing and grinding, bodies pressed against one another in an endless swarm of young adult hormones. However, this particular girl was having none of it.

“Heidi, don’t you wanna go dance or something?” her friend asked as she stood next to her, glancing around at the crowd in front of them.

"Or something." Heidi could tell that her friend, Sarah, wanted to just get lost in the small sea of college students, but Heidi couldn't bring herself to do something like that. After all, she really couldn't stand the kind of people she was currently surrounded by, which brought her back to her original thought. "I really don't even know why I came here in the first place."

"I do," Sarah piped up, raising her voice over the new song that was considerably louder than the last. "Free alcohol!"

Heidi glanced down at the bottle of Bud Light in her hand and tilted her head to the side, acknowledging the truth of her friend's statement before taking a long drink of the beer. "You aren't wrong about that. But honestly, I don't know if cheap beer is worth being around all these people. You know this isn't my kind of scene."

Sarah looked down at the floor then. "I know. I'm sorry I dragged you here, but, you know, I was hoping to see him..."

Heidi glanced sideways at her friend, immediately knowing what all of this was about before the girl said another word. "Sarah, are you seriously still chasing that guy? Even after what happened last time?"

"Yes, Heidi, I am," Sarah responded, suddenly indignant. "Just because you have to be all moody and hate everyone doesn't mean that I can't have a good time and find someone that I'm attracted to!"

Before Heidi could come up with any kind of response, Sarah turned sharply and did exactly what she had been wanting to; her figure slipped in among all the moving bodies, and Heidi quickly lost sight of her. And while she could have pushed her way through and found her friend, she didn't know what she would say to make the situation okay again. Instead, she just slumped back against the wall, the thumping music blocking out any thoughts she might have had.

As she was running a quick sweeping glance over the crowd, one face in particular caught her attention, but it was not Sarah. There was a boy, with fiery orange hair, staring back at her, meeting her gaze with something in his eyes - she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but was it a knowing look, as if he understood her? She didn’t have very long to considerate it though because he was suddenly moving through the crowd in her direction, and she wasn’t sure if she should wait to see what he had to say or attempt to slip away. However, she hesitated a few moments too long because he was leaning against the wall next to her before she could make a decision.

The boy didn’t say anything for several long moments, simply looking out at the crowd, in much the same way that she had been doing before he had come over. Taking advantage of the moment, she looked him over casually, trying not to stare for too long, and noticed that he was pretty well dressed, but his clothes were far from the style that the frat boys tended to wear. For some reason, she felt a little bit of relief at this realization, probably because she had never been a big fan of the frat boy type.

Finally, he turned back toward her, leaning his right shoulder against the wall as he faced her. “You don’t seem to be having much fun here.”

Rather than turn to face him as well, Heidi just continued to face the crowd, her gaze dropping to her feet since she wasn’t particularly used to the unprecedented attention this boy was giving her. “Uh, no, I don’t usually come to frat parties like this. But my friend wanted to come, so here I am.”

“You sound like a good friend.”

Heidi shook her head. “Ironic that you would say that, since I just managed to piss my friend off in about two seconds.”

The boy tilted his head questioningly, which Heidi saw out of the corner of her eye. It was sort of an endearing gesture. “How did you manage that?”

She sighed then, knowing that the situation with Sarah really was her fault. “There’s this guy she likes, and I think she only came to this party to find him and see him. But it’s like she’s chasing him with no result, and it’s a little pathetic to watch, honestly.”

“You don’t sound like the romantic type.”

The boy’s comment caught her off guard, and it angered her a little bit because who was he to assume what she was like? He didn’t know the kind of things she had been through or the kind of people she had been forced to put up with for years, so how could he know what kind of person she was?

“I don’t think you have any right to-” She was angry enough that she could have spewed irritated remarks for several minutes, but he cut her off with a request that took her by surprise.

“Come upstairs with me.”

He didn’t even give her a moment to make a decision either way; grabbing her wrist he pulled her out of the main room and down the hallway toward the staircase. There were couples in the hallway, most making out, among other things, but none of them paid any attention to Heidi or the boy who was now pulling her up the stairs.

Heidi was in so much shock that she couldn’t even utter a word as he pushed open the door to one of the three bedrooms upstairs and pulled her inside before shutting the door behind both of them. He didn’t say anything as he sat on the bed and turned his full attention to her, leaning back on his palms, his eyes studying her closely.

“Y-you know, we really shouldn’t be in here-“ she started to say, but he cut her off quickly enough.

“Just sit on the bed,” he nearly purred, patting the space next to him. “I don’t bite on the first date, don’t worry.”

Heidi knew her face must have turned beet red when he said that because he cracked a grin without any warning. She was still hesitant, but the sudden smile on his face made her think that he wasn’t lying; he didn’t seem particularly dangerous. Maybe a little out there, but not dangerous. She took the couple of steps from the closed door to the bed and sat down carefully, still aware that they were in someone else’s room, likely without that person knowing.

When she moved her gaze back to the boy who had dragged her upstairs, she was immediately aware that he was simply staring at her, his attention never wavering from what she was doing. It probably would have seemed more eerie if his eyes and the rest of his face hadn’t been so incredibly handsome.

Neither of them said anything for several long moments; the boy stared at her while Heidi tried to avoid meeting his eyes altogether as she felt very flustered and embarrassed. Finally, she felt the very real need to break the silence that had engulfed the room.

“I don’t even know your name…”

The boy tilted his head to the side the slightest bit, the grin beginning to creep back onto his face while he clearly considered his words before he responded. “I’ll tell you what it is, on one condition.”

Heidi turned her head quickly to search his face. “What condition?”

“I’ll give you two options, and I simply want you to be honest with your actions.” He paused for a moment, perhaps purposefully trying to build up the suspense. “Either you aren’t interested at all and you get up and go back downstairs to lean against the wall and scowl and wonder how you wound up at this party, or…” He trailed off then, just looking at her face closely.

He didn’t make any move to finish his statement for some reason, but he also didn’t move anywhere, so Heidi quickly became confused. “Or what?”

“Or you let me do this.”

He didn’t miss a beat as he leaned in close, his face suddenly maybe an inch from Heidi’s, and she felt herself inhale sharply in surprise. He waited for a moment, holding her eye contact, but she didn’t move; something inside her told her there was no reason to follow the first option he gave her. Anyway, she was curious now. She wanted to see where the second option would lead, even though she had a decent idea of that already.

Her thoughts were proven correct when he leaned closer, and before she could take another breath, his lips were on hers, just for the briefest of moments, and then his face returned to the distance it had been before. The kiss had been nothing more than a peck, a light brushing of skin, but it had been enough to send a burst of warmth rushing from her lips to the rest of her face.

The heat remained even as he leaned back, and she felt a small twinge of dissatisfaction at the lack of his presence – but where had that come from? Just a minute ago, she had been ready to bolt from the room and return to the party, maybe find Sarah and go back to their apartment, but now… Now she was disappointed that he was leaning back on his palms again, looking at her face as if he was gauging her reaction. Somewhere inside her, she hoped that he wasn’t displeased with it.

“Taehyung.”

If he hadn’t paused after uttering the single word, Heidi might not have had the opportunity to comprehend that the word was the name he had promised to give her in exchange for the short kiss. She didn’t reply for several moments, allowing the name to sink into her thoughts, letting it bounce around inside her head for a few moments. It was such a nice name; it genuinely had a ring to it that she couldn’t quite place. She just knew that she liked it.

“Taehyung…” she finally echoed, the word trailing off as she realized that he had risen from the bed and was reaching for the door knob. This snapped her out of her thoughts, and she was able to blurt out “Wait!” before he slipped out of the room. “You’re leaving?”

He turned, a half-grin pulling up one side of his lips as he met her gaze once more. “Don’t worry. You’ll see me again.” And before she could utter another word, he was gone.

True, he was gone for now.

But Taehyung was far from forgotten.