Yoongi loved fire. He loved watching the flames dance, watching them consume whatever fuel they were given, watching the sparks fly off, the smoke rise up into the sky, the glowing embers slowly fade. He found it fascinating, beautiful, enchanting, entrancing. But he did not have the desire to set everything alight the way everyone thought. He would never willingly hurt a living creature, and he was not a pyromaniac, or arsonist. He hadn't meant to set the girl's dress on fire. It really wasn't his fault. In fact, if anyone was to blame, it was the girl, who was being ever so careless. Not Yoongi. But of course, who would blame the sweet, popular, pretty girl when there was Yoongi involved. Yoongi, who carried a lighter with him all the time despite being in school, and despite not being a smoker. Yoongi who had no friends, Yoongi whorarely spoke, Yoongi who was weird, odd, who didn't fit in well. Yoongi who was small and scrawny. Yoongi who was deemed 'ugly’ and a 'freak’ and even a ‘sadist’. Of course they believed her. Of course it was Yoongi's fault to them. Of course they even thought he did it on purpose. That he enjoyed it. That his frantic attempts to try and put the flame out, were actually him trying to increase the fire, burn her, or assault the girl, depending on who told you the story. If Yoongi didn't have friends before, he sure as hell didn't after that incident. No one even dared come near him.

 

All except one boy. One inquisitive, yet shy boy. A boy who had an adorable overbite when he smiled, and big, round, star-filled eyes.

 

This boy, still so naïve and full of wonder, was curious about Yoongi. He'd heard the stories - of which now there were many, all blown vastly out of proportion, and some even completely made up - surrounding Yoongi, but these only heightened his curiosity all the more. He had yet to speak to the older boy, so far only watching him from a safe distance. At this particular moment, Yoongi was sitting by the trees next to the playground. He appeared to be carving a stick, fashioning it into a pencil of sorts (“a spear!”, the others would say, “he’s a psychopath and now he wants to kill us all with a spear!”.

 

“Is it true that you can control fire?” The boy asked, causing Yoongi to drop his makeshift pencil in surprise. Yoongi looked up at the boy, who's head was slightly cocked to the side, eyes genuinely curious; not mocking, not scared.

“Is it?” The boy prompted.

Yoongi shook his head, “No.” His voice was incredibly deep and quiet. The boy unconsciously crouched down across from Yoongi.

“Oh.”

Yoongi didn't reply, simply resumed refining his little stick pencil.

 

The boy returned the next day. This time Yoongi was in the same spot, but he was writing something in a little green notebook.

“Hello.”

Yoongi nodded in acknowledgement but continued to write. The boy sat down cross-legged opposite Yoongi, but the latter still did not look at him. The younger boy picked up a stick and began fashioning a pencil shape out of it, the way he'd seen Yoongi do. Yoongi finally looked up at the boy, who was now so focused on his task that he didn't notice.

 

“I'm Jungkook,” the boy introduced himself upon their third meeting. This time Yoongi was absently playing with his lighter, making sure the flame didn't go anywhere​ near the dry twigs and leaves near him.

“Hi. I'm Yoongi,” Yoongi offered with his low voice.

“I know.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Sorry, no I didn't mean it like that, I just-” Jungkook took a breath in, “Never mind. Can I join you?”

Yoongi shrugged, “Sure, you've never had to ask before.”

“Sorry,” Jungkook mumbled, embarrassed.

Yoongi smiled, “It's okay. Y-you’re not, scared of me though?”

“No,” Jungkook stated simply. “You don't seem like you would hurt anyone.”

“Thank, you?”

Jungkook finally sat down to join Yoongi. He fished around in his pockets before brandishing the small stick pencil he'd been working on the previous day.

“Look, I made this!” Yoongi chuckled slightly, but brightly enough to show his gums. Jungkook thought he looked beautiful when he smiled. He always looked sad otherwise.

“So, if you can't control fire, why is everyone so scared of you?”

Yoongi sighed, “I don't know. People like to have a ‘monster’ they can blame. I guess I am that monster.”

“You're not a monster.”

“You don't even know me, Jungkook.”

“But I know you enough to know that you're not a monster. Not even close.”

Yoongi blushed a pretty shade of pink. His lighter flicked on, and off, and on again, his eyes trained on the little flame as it disappeared and reappeared. On and off. It was mesmerising, and soon Jungkook was entranced too.

“How would you know,” Yoongi mumbled quietly.

 

“Why is Jungkook always with Yoongi recently?”

“Maybe Yoongi bewitched him or something.”

“Yoongi's gonna kill Jungkook!”

“He's such a good kid, what's he doing hanging around with Yoongi?”

“He better watch out, Yoongi's definitely planning something. Why else would Jungkook be with him all the time? Surely not by choice.”

“Yoongi's a sorcerer or something. He can control Jungkook.”

“What if he comes after us too?”

 

“Are you a pyromaniac?”

Yoongi looked hurt. “No, of course not! I thought you said you believed I wasn't a monster,” he said, mumbling the last part.

“No, no, no I didn't mean it like that! I just - the lighter. Why the lighter? I’ve seen you burning little scraps of paper a few times too.”

“It's beautiful,” was all Yoongi replied, flicking his lighter on.

 

Yoongi soon found himself looking forward to the little visits from the younger boy. After all, he was the closest thing to a friend he'd ever had. Plus, there was something incredibly charming and cute about the younger boy. Maybe it was his beautiful bunny smile, maybe it was his childlike curiosity, or maybe his dorkiness, and the fact he didn't care what others thought of him, or maybe his adorable laugh. Maybe it was the whole package that was Jeon Jungkook.

 

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Yoongi was falling.

 

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Falling too hard and too fast.

 

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Faster than he could control.