The way Jongin has suddenly taken to hovering around him, aware of his every movement has Jimin on edge. It’s particularly because the former male was so reserved before; now he’s like a mother hen, going out of his way to make sure Jimin had a nice day or already ate something before meeting up with the rest of the dance team.

                 He corrects himself; it’s not really a team meeting, because they’re holed up in the west side stairwell, which happens to be the farthest one from the dance studio. Everyone is present except for Min and Seokjin, so it’s not much of a meeting as it is a hangout between friends.

                 Friends, Jimin echoes to himself. It has a nice ring to it.

                 They’re seated up in the third floor landing. Jongin sits against the wall between Jimin and Seulgi, Yugyeom and Jane are lounging on the steps in front of them, and Soonyoung is standing, animatedly walking about as he speaks.

                 “So for our next performance,” he says, waving his arms for no definite reason. He reminds Jimin of a certain orange idiot. “I think a team dance is really, really overdue. We haven’t really done anything as a group, mostly solos and duets.”

                 “What about that cover we did back in November?” Yugyeom says, drumming on his knees. “There were three of us.”

                 “That doesn’t count, you and Jongin were my back-up dancers.”

                 “Excuse me—”

                 Soonyoung waves him off. “Anyway, group performance! We can perform during the Athletics Festival next month. How does that sound, guys?!”

                 Jongin glances over at Jimin. “Are you in?”

                 He’s acutely aware of everyone turning to stare at him. “I mean, sure, I guess… I do better in groups,” he says meekly, scratching his head. “What kind of performance?”

                 “Nothing too difficult, we’ll just choose a pop song and go from there!” Soonyoung beams, already demonstrating some potential dance moves. Jane is heard giggling at him.

                 “That’s pretty… safe,” says Jongin. “Though we’ll need some key moves or maybe a highlight towards the end? Like, a .”

                 Soonyoung starts jumping up and down. “OOH, OOH! WHAT ABOUT TUMBLING?”

                 “Do you even know how to tumble?”

                 “No, but Yugyeom-hyung does!”

                 Yugyeom makes a face. “I sprained my ankle during the showcase, remember? I don’t think it’d be safe for me to try anything. I can just barely do choreography now.”

                 “I don’t know how either,” Jongin mutters with a persistent frown. “It doesn’t really show up in ballet.”

                 “It… shows up in hip hop,” Seulgi starts. “But I’m pretty unstable with it.”

                 “Same here,” Jane adds sheepishly.

                 They look at Jimin again. “Do you… know how to tumble…?” Soonyoung asks.

                 Jimin blinks and replies, “I’ve… been doing it for the past… seven years…” to which the rest of them start grinning widely at.

                 “So it’s settled,” Seulgi says, “Jimin’s going to flip, and if Yugyeom feels better when the show arrives then he can join in for double the power.”

                 “I’M SO EXCITED!” Soonyoung squeals, practically vibrating. “Can we start on the choreo now?”

                 “What is this?” They whip their heads in the direction of Seokjin’s voice, caught and terrified like a deer in headlights. Their team leader stands on the edge of the stairs, his hand gripping the railing. He takes his time glaring at each of the members and takes a significantly longer moment glowering at Jimin. “Are you all skipping today’s meeting?”

                 “Uh… Maybe?” Yugyeom replies. Jane thwacks him on the elbow.

                 Seokjin lets out a frustrated sigh. “I had more faith in you lot, and you all decide to deceive me like this. How dare you—”

                 “It was my idea.” Seulgi speaks up. “I suggested that we group up somewhere else, because we looked like we didn’t want to be in the studio today. If you have a problem with it, you can speak to me.”

                 "And if you have a problem with her," Jongin growls. "You're gonna have to go through me."

                 “That will not be necessary,” the senior scoffs. “I came to speak with Jimin. A word.” He shifts to glance at Jimin before stalking down the stairs.

                 Once he disappears, the other kids visibly relax. However, Jongin is still rendered stiff and has taken to staring at Jimin with concern flooding in his eyes. “Do you want us to come with you?” he asks quietly.

                 Jimin swallows and shakes his head. “N-No, I should handle this by myself.”

                 Seulgi frowns. “Are you sure? What if he pulls something and tries to threaten you?”

                 “If he makes you leave…” Jane squeaks.

                 “It’ll be okay,” he replies, getting onto his feet. “Don’t worry.”

                 “Stay alive,” Yugyeom adds.

                 Jimin hobbles downstairs and finds Seokjin in the hallway, a few paces away from a set of lockers. He doesn’t look up from the tiled floors. “H-Hi.”

                 “Why didn’t you perform at the dance showcase?” Seokjin asks, still staring at his phone.

                 “… I—” He swallows again. His hands are starting to shake. “I-I got nervous.”

                 “We had to postpone and reschedule the entire show just because you were a little ‘nervous’. You had a responsibility to fulfill, but you let all of us down.” His words are relentlessly cold and sharp, as if they’re daggers intended to stab Jimin through his ribs. “Do you feel good about yourself?”

                 The typical move would be to apologize, bow for a few seconds, and forget about it. Instead, Jimin in a breath and looks up. “W-Well,” he stutters, raising his voice. “What are you going to do about it?”

                 Seokjin finally turns to look at him, eyebrows furrowed. “Excuse me?”

                 “Are you going to threaten me, like you did everyone else?” He’s treading on enemy territory, a barren warzone with active landmines in the ground. He doesn’t know if his steps will kill him, but he doesn’t stop. He can’t go back to being a coward now. “Are you going to make sure I never make it into another dance team again? Are you going to throw me and Taehyung so off balance that we’re not going to call each other ‘friend’ anymore? Are you going to make Yoongi-hyung edit another damn picture of me?”

                 Seokjin gapes, shocked to the point that he looks mortified. He stammers, “just what are you accusing me of?”

                 “You know wh-what you did, sunbae. Don’t play the innocent card,” he seethes. “It’s too late.”

                 The elder stares blankly before narrowing his eyes. He raises his nose a little and says, “is it really? I don’t imagine getting rid of you had a deadline.”

                 Startled at his sudden change of expression, Jimin staggers as he retaliates. “What—What do you mean?”

                 “Ah, so you’re curious now?” He folds his arms across his chest. “I’ve been trying to get rid of you, as you might’ve figured out.”

                 “But… why? Why are you trying so hard to ruin me?” Jimin rolls his hands into fists and breathes hard. “Last I checked, I haven’t done anything to you.”

                 “I must apologize; I do mean ‘you’ in its plural form… I want to get rid of both of you—you and Kim Taehyung.”

                 Jimin stares. “You want to get rid of me and Taehyung?”

                 “Must I repeat it, you despicable ingrate?”

                 He pauses for a moment and looks to his side. “Did you hear that, Tae?”

                 One of the lockers swing open and Taehyung steps out, clearly unimpressed. He gazes directly at Seokjin and they can almost physically see the respect he previously held for him fade for disappointment. He murmurs, “I can’t believe my ears.”

                 Seokjin looks taken aback, embarrassed even, until he releases a hoarse laugh. “What is this, an intervention?!”

                 “It might as well be,” Taehyung says, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you were a jerk this whole time. I thought you were cool, but… you’re an to my best friend.”

                 “Must you jump to conclusions?” he asks rather sarcastically. “All you’ve witnessed is one conversation. I’m just a little bothered that Jimin here failed to perform at the showcase. Why make such unsightly assumptions?”

                 The orange-haired boy grits his teeth and lets loose; Jimin never expected to see an infuriated Taehyung again so soon. “One conversation? I’ve heard all kinds of things about you, man. I’ve heard that you’re a psychotic backstabber who steps on other people’s failures for popularity. I’ve heard that people just give you things because of how you look, not that you’ve ever worked for it. I’ve heard that you’ve never bothered to do anything yourself, and that all it takes for people to fall at your feet is your name. That’s why it was so easy for you to steal Jimin’s work. I’ve also heard that you’re secretly a woman, but that’s beside the point.

                 All this time, everyone’s been telling me these things, but I never bothered to listen. Jimin is my best friend, but I never believed him when he said something bad about you. I looked up to you… I realize now that it’s a ing mistake.”

                 “Best friends!” Seokjin shouts, startling them. He’s suddenly red in the face, as if he’s been quietly steaming this whole time and someone’s finally moved the lid. “Best friends, best friends. That’s all you two ever go off about. Have you ever stopped to think even once, that whatever you may call ‘friendship’ is nothing but a fluke?!”

                 Taehyung takes offense, but Seokjin keeps going before he can make a sound.

                 “How long are you going to be ‘best friends’ for? Ten years? Five? You don’t ing know. You won’t even know if you’ll be friends past the end of June. Do you honestly think that you’ll be friends forever? Friendship doesn’t last. It never will, and yet you two dare to cling on such a loose idea like rabid flies.”

                 Both Taehyung and Jimin gape, some degree of fear seeping from their skin. But they can both see it; they can see how Seokjin looks at them now, with that scornful glint in his eyes. They can see how immeasurably broken he is, and it’s clear that he lacks something they’ve grown accustomed to.

                 “Best friends, don’t kid yourselves,” he growls. “There’s no such thing. True friendship doesn’t exist.”

                 “You’re wrong.”

                 Jimin whips his head at Taehyung, who stands with his shoulders relaxed, his head high. There’s no estimating how much confidence is surging from him, and if he thought back to it, Jimin would’ve been once again envious. But right now, he’s struck with awe as his friend speaks calmly and clearly, baritone voice making his spine tremble.

                 “I don’t know what your life’s been like,” he says. “But it looks like you’ve never had anything close to what I have with Jimin. You don’t think friendship exists, because you’ve never had anyone you could call a friend.”

                 Seokjin scoffs and threatens to step closer. “How dare you assume my life—!”

                 “But I’m giving you a chance,” Taehyung interrupts without blinking. “It’s not as beautiful as people make it out to be, but friendship is real. It’s when you love another person for their company, for the person that they are. It’s when you ask for a lot, not much at all, give away your last kidney and don’t expect anything in return. It’s when you forgive someone even when they stabbed you in the back, betrayed you, but you forgive them because… you just don’t want to lose them. It’s stupid, it’s selfish, and it’s ugly. But it’s real, and I’m giving you a chance, just one chance. Let us be your friends. It’ll take some time, but… if you’d just let us, then maybe you’ll finally get to know what it’s like.”

                 He outstretches his hand in complete innocence, and yet both he and Jimin know it’d be too much for Seokjin to take it.

                 The senior growls at him, making it a point to step back. “G-Get away from me. Why would I ever—! I’d never befriend the likes of you. You can’t fool me with such a—such a stupid idea!”

                 “Sunbae—”

                 “Be quiet,” he hisses, shifting his gaze towards Jimin. “Both of you are utterly insane. Hold onto your moronic, fleeting friendship, because neither of you are welcome at my party. Jimin, don’t plan on showing up to any meetings from here on out. I don’t want you in my line of sight.” And with that, he turns and paces away in huff.

                 After a moment, Jimin glances at Taehyung. “Did you record all that?”

                 “Sure did!” The other male beams, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Neither of you are welcome at my party.’ Well, I wasn’t invited in the first place,” he snorts.

                 “All the more reason to crash it, and expose his real self to everyone there.” Jimin lets out a relieved sigh.

                 "True, but are you alright? You just got kicked out of the dance team."

                 He shrugs. "It's not like that's going to stop me from dancing." Jimin grins and links their arms together. "Nice plan, by the way."

                 Taehyung bursts into a bright smile and obnoxiously nuzzles into Jimin’s neck. “Thanks, best friend!”

that skyrim reference
if you don't know, when you start the game Skyrim, the king of the city Solitude is dead lol
but also == king of loneliness : ' ) 
sorry for the long wait! I haven't written chapter 40 yet, but 41, 43, 46, and 47 are good to go !!!
this is what happens when I write out of order—
eight more chapters left!