Jungkook was in his room, playing Overwatch on his computer and looking for ideas online on his phone about ideas on first dates. He went on dates before, his first date with Crystal, they went to the movies to see a scary movie, but they were friends before they went out, so he knew what she liked. He knows Jimin likes to listen to music, play volleyball and shopping for new things, he is always wearing designers’ clothes. Jungkook sighs, his fingers pressing the keyboards as he plays his game,

“Or we can go bowling,” he mutters, but does Jimin like bowling? Or I could just text him. Or let him choose what he wants to do since he was the one who asked. His team winning, he pauses the game, picking up his phone, he clicks on his name, do you like bowling? He types, he stares at it for a few seconds and presses send and goes back to his game. In a couple of minutes, his phone beeps and a message from Jimin pops up, I was just going to ask you that, let’s go bowling on Saturday, reads the message. Jungkook smiles, amazed that they had the same mindset, he has always wanted to go bowling, it been awhile since he went bowling, he was glad to go with Jimin, their first official date.

As he got hungry, he goes to the kitchen while his sister prepares supper, he opens the fridge,

“There is nothing in there,” says his sister, “I have to go shopping tomorrow.” Jungkook sighs, grabbing a box of raisins, he opens it and puts some in his mouth. He closes the fridge, looking over his sister’s shoulder,

“Rice?” he says, complaining, “We ate that yesterday, can’t you make like pizza or something.” His sister glares at him,

“Do I look like a ing chief,” she retorts, Jungkook rolls his eyes,

“Yugyeom is coming over later, he’ll probably stay for dinner,” he says, as he walks to his room.

As he waits for Yugyeom, he decides to start working on his project, it was due on Wednesday, even though the teacher allowed them to work on it in class, it was not enough time. After school, he was able to go to the art store to buy the materials he needed to get a head start on the project. As he reads the guidelines, he realizes the project was easy, they can sculpt anything they wanted from a plain flower to something complex as a human face. The door opens, Jungkook turns around,

“Hey,” he says Jungkook,

“Hey,” says Yugyeom, closing the door behind him as he walks towards the bed, “Ready to get your kicked?” Jungkook laughs,

“You wish,” he replies, turning around the chair, “We’ll play after dinner, it would if we stop in the middle.”

“Sure thing,” says Yugyeom, he clears his throat, “So, you going to tell me what’s going on Jimin?”

Jungkook stares at him, he did promise to tell him, he sighs, “Well, we’re kind of dating,” he says, Yugyeom stares at his blank,

“So, are you or you not?”

“We are,” says Jungkook, “We’re going bowling tomorrow, first date.” Yugyeom shakes his head, getting silent for a second,

“What’s up?” asks Jungkook, Yugyeom shakes his head,

“He must really like you,” says Yugyeom, his voice trailing off, thinking about something. Jungkook stares at him, noticing something was wrong, Yugyeom laughs.

“Anyway, you should start dating someone too,” teases Jungkook, “We’re only young once.” Yugyeom glares at him, rolling his eyes, “Just cause your whipped doesn’t the rest of us have to be,” he teases him back. Jungkook laughs,

“But I’m kinda nervous,” he says, “I mean, he is a senior, what if he gets bored or something.” Yugyeom stares at him, “Knowing Jimin, he wouldn’t accept going on bowling, if he did not like it, he doesn’t seem the type.” Jungkook nods his head, Yugyeom is right, he stares at his friend, with a smirk,

“What?” says Yugyeom,

“Hmm, you don’t think he is as bad as you told me he is at the beginning of the semester, you totally like him,” teases Jungkook, glad Yugyeom does not view Jimin in a bad way, his best friend is warming up to his boyfriend, now he just has to get Crystal and Jimin to get along and the rest of the school year will go smoothly. Yugyeom laughs,

“I still think he is a pain, but I realize he is not as bad as he acts.”

“Oh,” says Jungkook, “You’re close to Mike, right?” Yugyeom stares at him at the random question,

“Well, yeah,” says Yugyeom, “Why?”

“Well…” says Jungkook thinking about how to ask Yugyeom if he knows about his cousin without looking jealous even though he is, “Well, I learned that he does not get along with Jimin because Jimin dated his cousin and broke up with him.”

“Oh,” says Yugyeom, “Damn, that’s weird on many levels.” Jungkook sighs,

“So, Mike never mentioned it to you?” asks Jungkook, Yugyeom shrugs his shoulders, shaking his head no, staring at him shifty with a smirk,

“Do I sense a hint of jealousy?” asks Yugyeom, Jungkook opens his mouth to protest but nothing comes out, unable to come up with a fast remark, he is jealousy, denying it made no sense.

“Well, don’t be,” says Yugyeom, “I believe Jimin…really likes you, you should see the way he looks at you.”

Saturday morning, Jungkook did not want to wake up, he wanted to sleep in but before heading to bed, he got a message from Jimin, telling him that they should go bowling around three o’clock. Jungkook stares at the alarm clock on his desk, vibrating, the clock reads twelve o’clock pm, he sighs, wondering why he set the alarm so early when the date was at three. He still has an hour, Jungkook considers going back to sleep but he knows he’ll oversleep. He gets up to go use the bathroom, he uses the bathroom and rinses out his hands before splashing water on his face. He brushes his teeth afterward and turns off the lights, closing the door behind him. He notices his sister in his room,

“Hey,” she says, “Want to go shopping with me?” Jungkook stares at her, still feeling sleepy, he did not stay up last night playing games because he did not want bags under his eyes for his date with Jimin, but he did go to sleep at eleven o’clock. He stares at his sister, puzzled,

“Since when do we go shopping together?” he asks, sitting on the bed, his sister sighs, crossing her arms,

“Do you want to or not?”

“Nah,” replies Jungkook, “I’m going out in an hour.” His sister lets out a loud sigh, and walks out of the room,

“Don’t forget to lock the house on your way out,” she says.

As Jungkook gets ready to go out, his heart starts to race at the thought of being on a date with Jimin. He never thought he would go on a date with Jimin, everything happened so quickly, he could not help but feel nervous and anxious. He puts on a pair of black jeans with a white collared long sleeve shirt, not wanting to overdress since they are going bowling, he wanted to feel comfortable. When he was ready, he paces back and forth in his room, staring at the time, it seems to be going slow, barely turning two-sixteen, he sighs. Feeling suffocated, he heads downstairs and into the living room, he turns on the television, before getting comfortable, his phone beeps. He quickly takes it out, hoping it was Jimin, he opens it, but it was a message from Crystal, informing him about a party one her friends from her volleyball team were throwing tonight, he sighs. He replies to her message, telling her that he will think about it, he was not in the mood to attend a party, but it’s been awhile since he got together with his friends, so he could not bluntly tell her no. She replies telling him to let her know if he is going so they can go together, she also told him Yugyeom already said he is going. As he replies to her text message, the doorbell rings, he gets up to go answer it. He opens the door and it was Jimin, Jungkook stares at him surprised, he has seen in his casual clothing, but he still could not register how good looking Jimin is, maybe it was the evening sun radiating him in his blue ripped up jeans and a Black shirt with Nirvana on it. Jungkook scans him from head to note, taken in by how beautiful he looks,

“Hi,” says Jimin, smiling, 

“Ah, um, hey,” he replies, feeling nervous, Jimin clears his throat,

“Sorry, did I arrive in early?”

“Huh? Nope,” replies Jungkook, giggling, “Let’s go, it’s better to go now, maybe it won’t be crowded.” Jimin smiles,

“Yeah, it’s Saturday evening, it usually doesn’t get crowded, my friends and I usually go to Mission Bowling Club.”

“That’s cool,” says Jungkook, “Let’s go.” He locks the door and follows Jimin to his car, Jimin unlocks the doors with a click of a button, he gets in the car, and watches Jimin slide into the driver’s seat and starting the engine with a push of a button. A hint of cinnamon and apples, a fruity aroma fills the car, as he turns on the air conditioner. Jungkook glances at him as he pulls out of the driveway, he observes his movement, wanting to run his fingers through his blonde hair, Jungkook rubs his hands together, forcing them into submission. Jimin catches his gaze and smiles, they reach a red light.

“Plug in your phone,” says Jimin, “I want to hear the type of music, you listen to.” Jungkook laughs, pulling out his phone, he goes through the settings, adding his phone and connect it via Bluetooth. He scrolls through his playlist,

“English or Korean?” he asks, looking at Jimin,

“Whatever you want,” replies Jimin, eyes turning back on the road. Jungkook plays Lost Stars Adam Levine, the volumes it up but not too loud that they could not talk, hoping that Jimin does not think it is too slow.

“You like Adam Levine?” asks Jimin, as the lights turn green,

“I listen to his songs, but this one is my favorite one,” replies Jungkook, observing Jimin’s movements, a sigh escapes his lips, adoring the subtle tilt of his head as he turns at the corner, as if he his movements are planned ahead of time, feeling a chill, Jungkook rubs his arms, thinking if Jimin was as nervous as he is sitting in the car.

Jimin pulls into the parking lot, arriving at Mission Bowling Club, there were cars parked but not many of them. They get out of the car, and Jungkook waits for Jimin as he locks the car.

“I reserved a lane,” says Jimin, “Sasha works here.” Jungkook stares at him surprised,

“Really, that’s cool, she can hook up,” he jokes staring at Jimin who smiles at him. As they walk, Jungkook, his anxious and nervous were fading, feeling his heart rate slowing down, Jimin glances at him and they smile at each other. As they walk to the counter, they engage in small talks about the first time they went bowling, learning that aside from his friends, bowling was something Jimin did regularly with his father when he was little.

Before they head to play, they decide to grab lunch first, sitting across from each other, Jungkook smiles at Jimin, his eyes scanning the place. It was not crowded, and everyone was doing their own things, children laughter fill the area with sounds of pins being knocked over and machines. The air was cool which felt wonderful, it was early March, so the weather was warm but a bit hot.

“First time here?” asks Jimin,

“Oh, yeah,” replies Jungkook, “I always thought it was a plus so we always go to Lucky strike instead, it’s pretty nice.”

“It usually is but, on the weekend, they are open for family,” replies Jimin, “I like it here, Sasha can hook us up.” Jungkook chuckles, taking a sip of his lemonade as they wait for their food. Since he had nothing to eat, his stomach starts to growl at the smell of the food being made, he looks up at Jimin, hoping he did not hear it but realizes Jimin was to busy to looking around. The waiter comes with their burgers and fries, placing them on the table,

“Wow,” says Jungkook, his mouth watering, “Their burgers are huge.” Jimin laughs, and Jungkook clears his throat, feeling embarrassed, stop acting like a kid, he curses himself. Jimin grabs a fries and dips in ketchup before tossing in his mouth, Jungkook picks up his burger and takes a bite of it, wanting to ravish the whole thing because he was hungry. After finishing eating, Jimin rubs his stomach and Jungkook does the same, both burst out laughing,

“I didn’t eat anything just, so I can eat her,” says Jimin laughing, Jungkook nods his head,

“Yeah me too,” he replies, “I did not eat anything.” They both take a sip of their drinks, gazing at each other, suddenly feeling shy, Jimin bites his lips, running his fingers through his hair, lowering his gaze.

They get ready to bowl, with Jimin starting, he gets up, Jungkook watches him as he grabs a blue ball,

“You sure you know how to play?” he teases him, Jimin squints his eyes, making a face at him, he walks up to the lane, Jungkook laughs watching him. Holding his hand straight, he swings the ball out and back and releases the ball. Watching the ball as it rolls and knocking down seven pins, he turns around with his hands up in the air,

“Yes!” he exclaims,

“Damn,” says Jungkook,

“That was practice,” says Jimin, picking up another pin, Jungkook watches him as he rolls the ball, Jimin clenches his hands watching the ball, knocking down the remaining pins,

“Ahh!” he shouts, laughing, it was Jungkook turn, he picks up a red ball,

“Show me what you got,” mocks Jimin as Jungkook walks pass him. Jungkook takes a deep breath, eyeing the pins and releases the ball, watching it and knocking down all ten pins, getting a strike, Jungkook turns around laughing as Jimin glares at him,

“I’m kind of a professional,” teases Jungkook, Jimin rolls his eyes, mocking him, and Jungkook laughs.

Jimin crosses his arm when Jungkook gets another strike, getting ahead of him, mouth open in disbelieve,

“How do you do that?” he asks, staring at Jungkook,

“There is a trick to it,” replies Jungkook, “Want me to show you.” Jimin nods his head, picking up the ball. They approach the lane, Jimin standing in front of him, Jungkook stands behind him,

“Move your foot to right just a little right in the middle of the middle dot,” he says as he adjusts Jimin, moving his feet with his hands, realizing that is the closest he has been to Jimin since their first kiss, he gulps, his heart racing and face warming up. He adjusts his hand, looking over his shoulder, Jimin’s hair slightly brushes against his cheek, making his temperature rise. Jungkook clears his throat,

“Make sure you curve the bowl when you release,” he says backing away before his heart jumps out of his chest. Following Jungkook instructions, he curves the ball and they both watch it rolling, knocking down all ten pins. Jimin jumps, excited, he runs up to Jungkook hugging him,

“I did it,” he says, letting him go, Jungkook gazes at him, smiling with his whole face, Jimin smiles, feeling shy, “That was easy.”

 As they play, laughing and teasing each other, time went by quickly, it was already five o’clock, and they were getting tired, they decide to end the game, with Jimin with the most points, he learned quickly kept getting strikes. They laugh at each other, releasing how competitive they both were even though Jungkook decided to take it easy, he loves seeing Jimin excited every time he got a strike, he would hug Jungkook, forgetting that they were competing.

After they were done, they say bye to Sasha on their way out, with their sodas in their hands, not wanting the day to end, they glance at each other as they walk to Jimin’s car,

“That was fun,” says Jimin, his voice warm and rich, Jungkook stares at him his heart beating faster with each step, it was silent for a moment, as Jimin waits for his response but Jungkook’s was focused on calming his beating heart,

“Did you have fun?” asks Jimin, looking at him,

“Oh,” says Jungkook, “Sorry, of course, I always have fun with you.” Gazing into his eyes, Jimin blushes, his look of bafflement becoming a shy smile, turning away as he sips the drink. As they walk, Jungkook’s hand brushes against his hand, he looks down at their hands, would it be weird if I hold his hand. He stares at the car that was not far away if he wanted to hold his hand, now would be the perfect opportunity, his pinky brushes against Jimin’s hand but he folds it, too nervous to try. Jungkook sighs, feeling like a coward, fidgeting with his fingers, and suddenly he feels Jimin’s fingers intertwine with his, he looks down at his hand and at Jimin, who was smiling at him. Jungkook could not control his grin, he clasps their hands tighter but not too hard, as they walk to his car, holding hands, both unable to keep their gaze on each other from shyness. A subtle gesture that made his heart pound as if he run an entire marathon, no words were exchanged, not awkwardness just a natural feeling of affections and love. Their hands like two children, and there was peace in their hearts, every doubt and fear out of their minds.

“Want to go shopping with me?” asks Jimin, Jungkook stares at him,

“Shopping?”

“Yeah, I must buy something at the mall?” replies Jimin,

“Right now?” asks Jungkook,

“Hmm mph,” says Jimin, nodding his head,

“Okay,” replies Jungkook, “Let’s go.” Jimin smiles at him, Jungkook smiles back, glad Jimin still wanted to spend time with him.