I want to hold your hand,
I want to feel your lips
I want to whisper love in your ear
Please allow me
When I see you, my heart pounds
Don’t hesitate, come into my arms

 

When Jimin said tour guide, the girls thought that there would be sightseeing or something along those lines. They were wrong. What the boys really did was lead them through a crowded strip mall showing them the best stores and restaurants. It was still a lovely gesture, but not what they had in mind. They had gone into quite a few stores but the girls didn't really buy anything. They guys almost did but figured they'd save it for another time. As it turns out, they boys were incredibly fashion forward with distinguishing senses of style. Jimin was casual. He seemed to love snap backs, ripped jeans and basketball shorts, and printed tshirts. V was classier. Button downs, sweaters, shorts, and sunglasses were his style. Jungkook was the ultimate fashionista. When they went into shops he'd be drawn into the different jackets they sold. Leather, jean, any material was good to him as long as he could pair it with something. The boy also had an obsession with shoes. In the strip there was a big shoe store and you could tell Jungkook's heart sped up when they walked by.

"Jungkook no." Jimin mumbled. Jungkook clenched his fists and whined incoherently.

"You have a problem Kookie." V teased. For the first time all day Jungkook looked pissed.

"It's not my fault that shoes are so pretty and I just want them all. " Jungkook groaned.

"Your mom specifically told us not to let you buy anymore." V reminded him. At this point Amy and Reilly couldn't tell if they were being serious. Jimin noticed their expressions.

"You don't believe us?" Jimin asked without looking at them.

"No, well," Amy tried to defend herself.

"I'm addicted to shopping. I maxed out my credit card last month so my mom took it away from me. I'm not allowed to buy anything this summer, except for like food." Jungkook confessed.

"You're kidding." Reilly said.

"He's not." V laughed.

"Oh my god." Amy mumbled. Jungkook gave a puppy dog face to Jimin.

"Can we please just go back there and go in?" he pleaded.

"Nooo." Jimin said firmly. Jungkook accepted defeat and put his head down.

"Do you guys wanna eat or something?" V asked. His stomach was rumbling and he needed sustenance.

"Not really." Reilly said.

"Yeah I'm not hungry either." Jungkook said.

"It's a no from me." Jimin said.

"I'll go get something with you." Amy told V. He felt a pang in his chest. He ignored it and grabbed Amy's hand.

"We'll go eat without you!" He stuck his tongue out and pulled Amy towards a little diner. Amy was surprised at the inside. Strip malls didn't usually have cute little diners in them like this one. She smiled at the interior though. It was made to look like an old 50's diner.

"Do you wanna sit up at the counter?" V asked with a smile.

"Uh sure." She said. V waved to the waitress behind the counter and she seemed to be happy to see him. She was older and seemed to be in her forties maybe fifties. Her hair was a pretty chocolate brown thrown into a bun.

"How ya doing Tae?" She asked. He shrugged and then she turned to Amy. "Who's this beautiful young lady? New friend of yours?"

"I'm Amy." Amy told the waitress politely. She assumed that V was a regular and probably became friends with the staff.

"She's a new friend. She's staying in the beach house next to ours!" V seemed awful excited sharing this news. Amy felt her cheeks go red.

"Well what can I get you kids to drink?" She asked.

"Lemonade?" Amy said. She nodded and looked at V.

"Coke." He said. She walked away to go get their drinks. Amy looked at V with her eyebrows raised.

"Come here often?" She asked. V laughed and nodded.

"I always come here. Sometimes at night just to clear my head. It's comfort food and I like the atmosphere. My dad used to take me all the time when I was younger. But then I hit the age where I didn't like hanging out with him and he got busier with work. Ruby has worked here for like ever. She's known me since I first started coming." V told her. He started laughing. "Sorry I didn't mean to ramble."

"Oh it's fine. I like listening to people tell stories." Amy told him quietly. Ruby came back to them with their glasses and asked if they knew what they wanted.

"My regular Ruby." V said with a smile.

"Um," Amy mumbled. She hadn't looked at the menu and wasn't sure what all they served.

"Get her a bacon cheeseburger." V told Ruby.

"That okay kid?" She asked.

"There's no onions or tomatoes on it is there?" Amy asked.

"Not if you don't want any." She laughed.

"Oh okay. Then yeah that's good." Amy said. She could feel the blush on her cheeks.

"Tell me one." V said.

"What?" Amy asked.

"Tell me a story." He said. His voice was gentle and interested. She seemed to be the only thing in the room. V's focus was solely on her.

"Like what?" She asked.

"I don't know," he laughed. "Why are you in Belleview? How did you and Reilly meet? Something about you."

"There's not much to me." Amy said sheepishly.

"Everyone has a story Amy. I have tons." He told her.

"Fine." She huffed. "Reilly and I met in second grade. I was shy and didn't have a lot of friends. Reilly was the loudest kid I had ever met and for some reason she saw something in me and chose me. She literally walked up to me on the second day of school and told me that I was her new best friend. She found it ridiculous that no one called me their best friend and made it her life goal to keep me happy. And I returned it. We've been attached at the hip ever since."

V smiled. "That's adorable. That explains the bathing suits." So he had noticed the heart.

"Tell me another." Amy said. "Are you and Namjoon really brothers?"

"Ahh Namjoon." V sighed and he looked into the distance. "Namjoon is my stepbrother. His mom married my dad. I was about ten, I think? After that the years blurred together. My mom died when I was a baby. I don't remember her so it's not like a scarring piece of my past. Most people make it a big deal but it doesn't really affect me. Why mourn over someone you never knew? Anyways, my dad met his mom on a business trip to Korea. They clicked and they had a long distance thing going for awhile and then she made the move to the US. She brought Namjoon with her even though his dad still lived there. We've been an odd little family ever since. Although, Namjoon visits his dad a couple times a year."

"Wow." Amy said.

"Again sorry, I feel like I'm just spilling my guts everywhere." He laughed and a faint blush was on his cheeks. "I'm just an open person. I'm happy and I don't mind sharing my life with people."

"I admire that." Amy said quietly. She sipped her lemonade and V felt another pang in his chest.

"Two bacon cheeseburgers, both no tomatoes or onions!" Ruby called as she walked over to the couple.

"Wait you don't like them either?" Amy asked V.

"Nope." V chuckled. "Thanks Ruby."

"Hey you're the one paying me. I should be thanking you." She joked.

"Thank you." Amy told her. Ruby nodded and went off to the kitchen. V and Amy both started to eat. V seemed to be as happy as a little kid. He did give off a childish innocence whenever he wasn't talking. Amy found it kind of cute.

"Is it good?" V asked without looking up from his own plate. Amy's mouth was full so she could only hum happily. V snickered and then started laughing when he looked at her. Her cheeks were puffed up like a chipmunk from the food she was eating. She blushed and smacked him. She turned away and his giggled slowly faded.

"You're no better." She mumbled. She looked at his face and he had managed to get ketchup on his cheek. She pointed and giggled but he was confused. Amy said nothing but gave him a napkin. He took the hint and viciously rubbed his face.

"Are we even?" He asked. Amy laughed and nodded. They ate the rest of their meals in a comfortable silence. Well, the diner wasn't silent. It wasn't crowded but it wasn't empty. Always a few tables open people seemed to eat much faster than they were. They were in and out fast. V decided he wanted to hear more stories.

"I asked earlier but why are you in Belleview?" He asked when his fries were all gone.

"It was Reilly's idea." Amy said. "She has a whole list of things she wants us to do this summer. She got her parents to let us stay in their family's beach house and have the summer to ourselves. It's not my ideal time but she was so insistent that I caved."

"That sounds fun, what would you rather do?" He asked.

"Study." She said.

"Study?" He asked with a disbelieving chuckled.

"Mhm. I wasn't kidding when I said there wasn't much to me. I study. And study. And study. I want to get into a good business university and then get a nice career. It's all I've thought about since middle school."

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I like it. I like money and all the ways that businesses work. I don't know why. Also," the sentence that belongs to the word doesn't come out.

"Also?" He asked.

"I just, I feel like if I do that I'll be good. I just have a nagging feeling that if I don't get good grades that something bad will happen. It's a weird paranoia. I focus on the future and being successful. Everything else seems kinda frivolous and petty."

"Being here with me is petty?" He asks gently.

"Not necessarily. I just, I'm introverted and prefer being by myself. Reilly is my exception. She's the one who keeps me from becoming a hermit." She smiles thinking about her best friend.

"What about your parents?" He asks. He's full of questions. Amy doesn't mind. For once, some one is genuinely interested in what she has to say. The feeling is foreign.

"What about them?" She asked. Her tone turns bitter.

"I just meant. Don't you talk to them?"

"They're never home. My moms a lawyer and my dad has some big corporate job. I forget what he even does. I feel like I inherited my interest in business from him. But they stopped caring about what I do when I became a teenager. They figured I could take care of myself so they stopped hiring babysitters and leaving food instructions out for me. They give me a big monthly allowance and let me be. I don't mind."

V internally cringes at the thought of a thirteen or fourteen year old Amy having to take care of herself. Getting to and from school, getting up, making food, and all that by herself. V was always catered to by his stepmother. Before her, his father. He was the center of his fathers world and still is. He's always been surrounded by a loving atmosphere. The one Amy has seems cold and harsh.

"I told you everyone has a story. That's yours." V said with a loving smile. Amy blushed and took a sip of what was left of her lemonade.

"Soo," Amy said.

"Want dessert? They have the best shakes here." V was back to his excited little kid self.

"Sure." Amy said with a smile.

"Ruby~" V calls. He leans over the counter and gets louder. She peeks her head out of the kitchen.

"What do you want?" She fakes being annoyed with him. At least, Amy thought she was pretending.

"Shakes!" He shouts.

"What kind?" She shouts back. V turns to Amy.

"Strawberry? Chocolate? Vanilla? Cookies and cream?" He asks quickly.

"Strawberry?" She answers.

"Strawberry and chocolate!" He yells.

"Got it!" Ruby yells as she disappears into the kitchen.

"Was she really annoyed with you?" Amy asked.

"Nah, I mean, I don't think so. I might have annoyed some customers." V looked around and tried to see if anyone was giving him a death stare.

"How did you meet Jimin and Jungkook?" Amy asks all of a sudden.

"Them? I've known Jungkook since he was in kindergarten. His parents are close friends with my dad. He really feels like my little brother. Jimin was one of the first friends Namjoon made when he moved in with us. I knew Jimin but never really talked to him. Namjoon started bringing him over a lot so I decided to talk to him and the three of us became really close." V smiled at memories that came floating back to him. He looked at Amy and she was smiling at him. She seemed really interested. His heart felt another pang.

"Ooh I think those are ours." V says pointing at Ruby walking towards them.

"Yummy." Amy says to herself. Ruby set the glasses down and gave them each a straw and an extra long spoon.

"Enjoy kids." She says with a smile. She walks away and V immediately slams his straw into the sweet drink. He takes a sip and the smile that spreads across his face is one of the happiest Amy has ever seen.

•. •. •.

"Do you think they're still eating?" Jungkook asks Jimin and Reilly.

"Probably. They might be each other's faces by now though." Jimin laughs.

"Eh, Amy isn't like that. He puts one hand on her and she'll flip." Reilly says walking to a rack of vintage dresses. The trio decided to walk a couple blocks to an old thrift store after losing V and Amy.

"Really?" Jungkook asked. Guys like Jimin and V could usually get any girl to make out with them no matter of their history. V with his cuteness mixed with seduction and Jimin turned into a greasy son of that girls succumbed easily to.

"Yep. She doesn't even want a boyfriend but I think V might change her mind." Reilly told them.

"So she doesn't, but what about you?" Jimin asked her. His smile was inviting and suggestive, much like his personality. Jungkook felt awkward so he backed away slowly and tried to avoid the couple.

"I wouldn't mind one." Jungkook heard Reilly tell Jimin. He walked backwards a few steps and then turned around. He bumped into someone and he quickly apologized. The guy he bumped into was his height but looked older. His face was slim and soft. His lips small but plump. He had a light grace to him.

"It's alright. I'm not hurt or anything." The guy said. He giggled and thought Jungkook's worried expression was endearing. He was wearing an oversized blue sweater. It sank on his shoulder revealing a delicate patch of skin and also his collarbone. He tried not to stare. Jungkook noticed that he was wearing a name-tag. Seokjin. So he's Korean, Jungkook thought.

"Ah well. Still. Sorry." Jungkook stuttered.

"Again, it's fine. Were you avoiding those two?" Seokjin pointed to Jimin and Reilly. They looked like they were about to start making out in the middle of the store. Jungkook cringed.

"Kinda?" Jungkook mumbled.

"Ahh, I see. Sick of third wheeling?" Seokjin asked.

"I wasn't at first. But then...yeah I guess I am." Jungkook looked down at his feet. Seokjin thought he looked like a lost puppy. He was so cute. He felt bad for him and wanted to see him smile.

"You wanna help me with something?" Seokjin asked. Jungkook looked up and saw that Seokjin was being genuine.

"With what?" Jungkook asked. Seokjin motioned for him to follow. He started walking towards the back.

"There's a couple boxes of stuff that I'm supposed to go through but I can't lift them by myself. I'm the only one working today and you look pretty strong. Will you help me?" Seokjin explained and asked. Jungkook nodded happily.

"Cool, thanks uh, what's your name?" Seokjin asked.

"My name's Jungkook." He tells him.

"Well hi Jungkook. You can call me Jin." He turns on a light and it reveals a large storage room full of half empty boxes of junk and clothing.

"Those ones in the back." Jin points to a stack of four boxes against a wall. They don't look very heavy, but looks can be deceiving.

"Oh okay." Jungkook mumbled. Jin pulls up two stepladders to make it easier for the boys to reach the top box. Jungkook grabs one end of a box and is shocked by its weight.

"I wasn't kidding. These things are heavy!" Jin tells Jungkook. Jungkook bites back a smile and waits for Jin to get a good grip on the box. They lift it together and slowly walk across the room to an open area. They set it down an head for the next one. Jin doesn't try to talk to Jungkook. His focus is to not drop the boxes. They almost drop the fourth but Jungkook catches it when Jin's hands start to slip. His fingers brush Jin's and Jungkook feels his cheeks tingle.

"Is that all you needed?" Jungkook asked when they had set the box down.

"Yeah but wait right there." He told him. Jin ran off to the front desk and Jungkook stood there awkwardly. He shuffled his feet and picked at his nails.

"Here you go." Jin said walking back into the room. He handed Jungkook a slip of paper and smiled. Jungkook examined it. It was just a tear of notebook paper with a phone number on it. Jungkook looked up at Jin. Jin was smiling a weak and shy smile. Jungkook looked back down. It clicked. Jin just gave him his phone number. Jungkook's cheeks went red and he started to stutter. Jin giggled and started to push Jungkook out of the storage room.

"Get back to third wheeling, your friends are leaving." Jin whispered pointing to Jimin and Reilly.