The beginning of the day was sunny, with beautiful, blue sky and only little of clouds on it. It was supposed to stay like this, the weather wasn’t supposed to change, which was perfect for the band’s plans. The boys wanted to have this trip in a while and finally, they could, as it was their free day.

They’ve sat in the car: Hoseok claiming the seat in the front, together with the manager, who would drive them to their destination. Namjoon, Seokjin and Yoongi in the middle while the maknae line decided to sit in the back. With final checking if they had taken everything what they needed, and a small smile from the manager as he was asking whether they were alright, they finally left.

At the beginning, the day was sunny, but it didn’t stay this way. Soon it changed as at first clouds started to cover the sun, it became darker but still not gloomy. Everyone was lost in their own little conversations, Namjoon and Seokjin playfully arguing about something, Hoseok making sure Yoongi wouldn’t fall asleep, just so he could annoy his hyung while manager was smiling at the attempts of the dancer, still focused on the road. Jimin managed to get Jungkook engaged in a discussion with him.

Taehyung was the only one who was silent. It was unusual for him, but not in this circumstances and although he was the only one who knew about it, no one paid attention. He preferred it this way anyways.

He had this weird feeling in his guts when he first saw that the wind was stronger, the trees were bending because of the strength of it. He could feel it in his bones that it was going to rain and Taehyung never liked this kind of weather, not when they were outside, especially on their way to somewhere. But it was bearable.

The first raindrop hadn’t fallen yet when he finally heard it. It was far, far away, and could be easily mistaken with a truck but Taehyung had been too wary not to know what it really was. When he heard the thunder his eyes widened and his breathing stopped for a short while, his fist clenching. But then he inhaled and exhaled, trying to stay calm, telling himself that it was still too far away, the storm wouldn’t be here. He wouldn’t have anything to be afraid of.

But actually, whenever he or anyone else was trying to assure him that there was nothing to be afraid of, he still couldn’t stop thinking about it.

He didn’t say anything. He stopped paying little of attention he had to others, only listening to the wind outside, waiting for more thunders to come. When he didn’t notice any more, he relaxed a little bit more.

The storm was probably far away and stopping anyways. At least he hoped so.

Until another thunder could be heard.

Closer this time.

Taehyung bit his bottom lip, clenching his fists again, and he tried to act normal and not allow any of his bandmates to see him in such a condition. Before he could even start trying to assure himself again that it was okay, there was another thunder.

And lightning.

Taehyung felt his bottom lip trembling, his body was almost shaking but he still tried to control his reactions, although he knew it would be useless finally; there was no denying now, the storm won’t leave so easily. So he tried another way.

“Namjoon hyung,” he said, making sure his voice would be normal, cheerful, with no hint of fear. He had heard a lot of times that he was good at acting and this one time he was especially proud of it. “Can you give me my earphones?”

Namjoon did as Taehyung had asked him to, giving his dongsaeng the earphones that Taehyung had put previously in his backpack, not wanting to lose them anywhere. He handed them to the other boy, still not taking his attention from Seokjin.

Although Taehyung wanted to do it fast, he knew his movements couldn’t be too rapid or the members would see something was wrong. So even if he was almost panicking inside, he was still calmly connecting the earphones to his phone before putting them inside his ears.

Taehyung had no idea why but the voice of his friends had always brought him comfort, they had always calmed him down. That’s why he decided to listen to their own music, letting voices of others soothe him. It didn’t matter they didn’t know about his fear, hearing them singing and rapping was good enough.

And the music would be able to muffle the sound of storm.

The boy made sure the music wouldn’t be too loud so he wouldn't bother others as he closed his eyes, pretending to relax or maybe even try to fall asleep, when in reality he tried to focus on Jungkook’s voice. It was fine at the beginning, Taehyung managed to stay calm for a few minutes, he didn’t even notice when it finally started to rain. But it wouldn’t last forever.

The next thunder was louder, much louder than the previous ones, and even if Taehyung was bracing himself to hear it finally he didn’t think it would be this loud. Once the sound reached his ears Taehyung forgot for a while that he was with others as he let out a gasp and his heart seemed to skip a beat. Fortunately, no one noticed, but Taehyung wasn’t able to get rid of this fear so easily now.

Soon he saw the clear shape of lightning cutting the sky. It was clear, almost blinding, so sharp, and Taehyung could feel tears gathering in his eyes, threatening to fall. He didn’t care anymore about his surroundings. He didn’t care that he had his shoes still on as he brought his knees to his chest, pressing them to his body tightly as he hid his face in them. His hands pressed the earphones, trying to mute other sounds completely so only Yoongi’s rap would be audible right then for him.

Taehyung closed his eyes tightly, trying to breathe, trying to be calm. He saw nothing but darkness, he heard nothing but their own songs, and he had no idea how long it lasted. It felt like hours but he knew it would be only seconds. He wanted to let out a sob but he couldn’t, he knew he couldn’t; but he needed. He pressed his mouth against his knee then, not wanting to stop covering his ears, and tried to breathe, hoping that his sobs would be muffled. When he finally thought the overwhelming, suffocating atmosphere was enough, he looked up with a small hope that maybe, just maybe, the storm was over.

But it wasn’t.

The sky was much darker now, he noticed, as if it was evening. The members were occupied with each other and no one, not even Jungkook nor Jimin noticed Taehyung’s condition, but it was alright. Just as Taehyung wanted to close his eyes again, the lightning came again, together with the thunder.

And this time he wasn’t able to muffle his sob.

He closed his eyes tightly, hiding his face in his knees again. He made the music louder, stopping caring if anyone would hear it. He didn’t care, the only thing he cared about was so that he could hear only this.

Taehyung was shaking all over, his breathing already becoming irregular as he was gasping for air, choking on his own sobs. The music didn’t help because he still heard another thunder and he started sweating, small droplets covering his forehead. Taehyung felt the first tear falling down, then the second one following soon after. He sobbed again, his shaking got worse, and nothing, not even members could calm him down now.

Taehyung was crying silently, gasping for air, trying to deny the fact that it was storm but it was harder and harder, almost impossible now, when someone put their hand on his shoulder. At first, the boy hadn’t noticed it, but then when the person tightened their grip Taehyung gasped, opening his eyes and looking at the person.

Jimin, who was sitting beside him, wasn’t talking to Jungkook anymore. He was looking at Taehyung with a small smile on his lips and concern in his eyes. Taehyung never wanted Jimin to find out but he didn’t care now, he was too afraid to care, with his body still shivering, tears still gathering in his eyes.

Suddenly, Taehyung felt a wave of nausea. He tried to swallow it down; he knew he wouldn’t throw up but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to get rid of the feeling, it was too uncomfortable.

Jimin still didn’t let go of Taehyung’s shoulder, even when he saw that Taehyung was crying and his breathing was irregular. It made him only more worried, as he took one of Taehyung’s fist with his free hand. Taehyung was so afraid that he hadn’t even noticed how hard he had been clenching them, his nails digging in his skin. The slightly older of the two squeezed his fist reassuringly and his friend’s shoulder.

“It’s okay,” he said and only when Taehyung actually heard his voice did he realize his earphones were gone. “You don’t need to be afraid, you’re safe.”

Taehyung wanted to respond but another sob left his lips. Another thunder could be heard and he started crying, hard, with tears falling from his eyes continuously. Jimin brought Taehyung’s weak frame to himself, hugging him as much as the belt would allow him to, trying to comfort his friend.

“You won’t be hurt, the storm won’t hurt you. Don’t worry, you’re with us.”

Taehyung didn’t stop crying but there was some comfort coming with these words and Taehyung could sense it so he clung to Jimin, wanting to hear even more, wanting to be comforted. He didn’t want to be afraid.

“Focus on me, okay?” Jimin whispered to Taehyung’s ear, this time his hair. “Don’t think about anything else, just focus on me. You’ll be okay now, you’re with me.”

Taehyung didn’t stop crying. His breathing was getting more and more normal, he was slowly calming down, but he was unable to stop his tears. He wanted to but it seemed they were falling on their own will and Taehyung had no strength to do anything so he just stayed in Jimin’s embrace, the other boy’s shirt was slowly getting soaked with his tears.

The thunder and lightning were still there and Taehyung could hear or see them. Each time he did he would become stiff, unable to move, almost unable to breathe, but Jimin would always notice it. He would talk to Taehyung, making sure he would gain the younger boy’s attention, he would do anything to help the latter relax.

And slowly, he was succeeding.

The storm lasted another fifteen minutes, long fifteen minutes for Taehyung. But even if it was over finally, Jimin still didn’t let him go.

During their way to their destination Taehyung was too distracted to look at anyone, see if others knew what had happened. They probably did, after all Taehyung must have been quite noisy and Jimin was speaking to him. They probably heard them unless the members were sleeping or too engaged in their own business.

When after another twenty minutes they finally were in the place they wanted to spend the day, Jimin still didn’t let go of him, with his arm wrapped around Taehyung’s shoulders. When they were outside, Taehyung noticed Seokjin throwing a quick worried glance at him and he felt embarrassed, ashamed of himself. He looked down at his feet, not wanting to see anyone eyeing him, judging him for crying like a child.

“Are you alright?” he heard. Taehyung looked at Jimin and nodded, not really liking the fact that he was asked about it. He didn’t want to get this much attention.

But Jimin didn’t judge him. He just smiled again, and his smile was so nice and reassuring and comforting.

“Good. But Tae,” Jimin still wasn’t finished as he looked at Taehyung carefully. He made sure no one was listening to them so the younger one wouldn’t be uncomfortable before he continued. “Remember, don’t hide anything. If you feel uneasy or anxious about something, tell us next time.”

He wasn’t mad, he was just worried. Taehyung knew this and understood, grateful for having such an amazing friend. And he knew Jimin wasn’t the only one, each of the members would say this, but in this one moment Jimin’s words mattered the most.

“Thank you.” he responded with a small smile.

Taehyung was still shaken, he was still overwhelmed, even after the storm had passed. But he finally could feel relieved as well.