Taehyung seldom walked to school. It was a rare occasion when he was able to wake up early enough to get breakfast, even more rare when he could stop eating in time to leave, and the rarest was when he could actually make the 7:40 subway and get to school before they closed the gates. He was forced to sprint from the subway stop everyday and climb over the fence in the back of the school almost as often.

 

But, here he was, walking to school. It was strange. He had plenty of time and wasn’t used to it at all. He decided to take the long way to school, the scenic route, so he could see the cherry blossoms falling. They were beautiful. The small white petals gently fell off the branches and came to rest on the ground before him, and the wind whisking them away shortly after.

 

It was then that Taehyung saw him for the first time. He was crouching down in front of a small box, a ramen cup in each hand. He placed them both in the box. Taehyung was confused, so he walked a bit closer to see what the other was doing. Inside the box were two kittens, both white with a few light brown spots here and there. The boy picked one of them up, resting it on his knee and scratching behind its ear lightly. He smiled down at the little kitten and Taehyung felt his face heat up. A few petals landed on the boy's hair and the other felt a sudden urge to them away. What the hell? Why am I feeling this way about someone I don’t even know?

 

The boy looked down at his watch, sighed, and placed the kitten back in the box before getting up and walking away. Taehyung couldn’t move. He had many thoughts running through his head, wondering if he should ask the other for his name or phone number, or if maybe he should just forget about the other entirely.

 

Taehyung looked down at the kittens in their box and pulled out his phone to take a picture. He looked at the time and nearly dropped his phone. It was already 7:30 and he still had a long way to walk. Looking back down at the kittens, he made an impulsive decision. He picked up the box and started walking to school.

 

♥♥♥ 

 

They met officially the next day. Jin dragged the poor kid over to sit with them at lunch claiming he had just found the cutest thing ever. Taehyung's breath hitched when he saw Jeongguk, remembering how the younger looked under the cherry blossom and the feeling he got in his stomach when he smiled.

 

“Umm… Hi. My name’s Jeon Jeongguk,” he said, his voice soft, looking down at his feet. “I just transferred from Busan.”

 

“WAAHH! Awesome! I’m from Busan too!” Jimin shouted, jumping up from his seat and reaching across the table to bro-hug Jeongguk.

 

“Sit down and be quiet. People are staring,” Yoongi said, tugging Jimin back down by the hem of his shirt, and the other allowed himself to be pulled down with a pout on his face. Jimin was definitely strong enough to remain standing if he really wanted to, but he really couldn’t refuse Yoongi. None of the others could ever figure out why Jimin did whatever Yoongi told him to, though Taehyung could see the way Jimin looked at the older when he thought no one was paying attention. Taehyung had been wondering lately if he was the only one of his friends who was never going to get a boyfriend. Even Hoseok had a girlfriend, though she went to a different school.

 

While Taehyung was staring off into space, wondering about the future of his teenage love life, the others were fawning over Jeongguk.

 

“You have the most adorable baby cheeks ever!” Hoseok exclaimed, pinching the poor kids cheeks.

 

“Isn’t he just the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen? He looks just like a little bunny rabbit,” Jin said, taking a seat next to Namjoon and giving him a peck on the cheek. “Don’t you agree Taehyung?”

 

The other was still spacing out, staring at Jimin and Yoongi.

 

“Taehyung!” Jin called, waving his hand in front of the other’s face. The other still didn’t reply.

 

“He’s in alien mode, Jindda,” Yoongi said, directing his attention to Taehyung. “Yah! V!”

Taehyung snapped out of his thoughts. “I thought I told you not to call me that in public!”

 

“Right. Right. It’s your alien name or whatever. You’re undercover or something. Anyways, Seokjin was trying to ask you a question,” Yoongi said, brushing the younger off. Taehyung looked back over at Jin, not saying anything.

 

“Don’t you agree that Jeongguk is adorable?” Jin asked.

 

“Ahh… I… well… I…” Taehyung glanced around the table, then back to Jeongguk. “I- I have to go to the bathroom.” Taehyung got up from his seat and left the table, hiding the splash of red on his cheeks.

 

Really adorable.

 

♥♥♥

 

“Oh, Taehyung! You’re in this class too? I didn’t know you sing!” Jeongguk said excitedly, sliding into the seat next to Taehyung, who flinched and dropped his pen on the floor. They both bent down to pick it up and their fingers brushed. Taehyung felt a small spark fly up his arm. He had that feeling in his stomach again. It was the same one he had when he saw Jeongguk smile. He quickly drew his hand back and looked up at the younger. He blushed when he realized how close their faces were. The other smiled.

 

“Your eyes…” Jeongguk said, searching over Taehyung’s eyes. “They’re really… awesome. I could just get lost in them”

 

 

“What made you want to dye your hair orange?” Jeongguk asked the other, sitting up in his seat.

 

Taehyung sighed. “The others dared me to. The only reason I’ve kept it is because there’s a bet.”

 

The other gasped. “But- But gambling’s illegal! We aren’t eighteen yet!”  Taehyung couldn’t help but chuckle at this. The younger was still so innocent.

 

“We make bets about everything. You’ll get used to it. Anyways, its not hurting anyone amongst friends is it?”

 

“No, I guess not, though you did have to dye your hair,” Jeongguk said, using Taehyung’s pen to draw a small doodle in the corner of the page.

 

♥♥♥