It was 6:30 am when Jungkook's alarm went off. He had struggled to sleep, but that wasn't unusual for him. He got up and headed to the bathroom. He was shocked when he saw his face in the mirror. He looked horrible. The bruises were much more noticeable than they were last night, and his lip was split open, it stung like crazy. His face was sore, especially in his jaw and cheek area where he had been hit by both Namjoon and his dad. He debated on whether he could bare showing up to school looking like this. He didn't want to get behind in class, so he decided to it up and go. He washed his face and cleaned up his bloody lip. He slipped on some comfy clothes and combed out his soft black hair, parting it how he liked. He took one last look in the mirror and sighed. It'll be okay...maybe no one will ask what happened. And with that thought he grabbed his backpack and started walking to school. He felt slightly relieved when he arrived in his classroom and Jimin was already there. Jungkook walked over and noticed a boy he didn't know sitting on Jimin's desk talking to him, but as soon as Jimin saw Jungkook his attention was on him.

"Hi Jungkook!!" he beamed, he was extra cheerful for some reason. "Oh, this is my friend Taehyung." 

"Hey. Nice to meet you Taehyung." Jungkook smiled shyly at the two of them. He still wasn't good with new people. 

"Woah, what happened to you?" Taehyung asked. Jungkook's smile dropped almost immediately. Jimin noticed the change in Jungkook's expression and decided to answer for him.

"He got in a fight yesterday, with Namjoon. I don't think he wants to talk about it." Jimin explained, trying to get Taehyung to drop it.

"Oh....Sorry Jungkook" Taehyung said, bowing his head slightly.

"It's fine....you don't have to apologize." Jungkook replied. Of course things were already getting awkward. Jungkook was debating what to say next when the teacher walked in. He was saved.. As usual, Jungkook struggled to pay attention during class, he was too tired and sore. He must have yawned 100 times by lunch. Jungkook was thankful for the break as he could now rest his head on his desk, but his rest didn't last long, as Jimin started nudging him after about 5 minutes. Jungkook lifted his head up and looked at him sleepily.

"what?" he asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Why are you so cranky?" Jimin replied, thinking maybe he shouldn't have disturbed Jungkook.

"Sorry, I didn't sleep well last night.'" 

"Ah....I see. Are you gonna eat lunch?"

"I don't have anything to eat." 

"Oh! Do you want some of mine? We can split my sandwich." Jimin offered. Jungkook felt bad taking his food, but his stomach was growling so loud he just couldn't say no.

"Okay, thanks." He replied as Jimin handed him half the sandwich. They ate together quietly until Jimin suddenly asked a question.

"So....would you maybe want to hang out after school today?"

Jungkook stopped eating and stared at Jimin with wide eyes. "You want to hang out with me?" He never really had friends before so he wasn't used to being asked to hang out. 

Jimin laughed. "Of course I do! I figured since we walk home together you could just come with me to my house. We could play some video games or watch movies or whatever." 

Jungkook's face lit up. "I would love to!"

There it was, that rare smile that Jimin wanted to see. The two of them high-fived and finished their lunch. Jungkook didn't even want to stay for the rest of class. He was so excited to go to Jimin's house, but he was nervous at the same time. He wondered what Jimin's family would be like, probably a lot different from his. He knew he was gonna feel out of place, but he hoped he could just ignore it and have fun. When the bell rang he threw his stuff in his backpack and waited for Jimin to be ready to leave. 

"Okay. Let's go!" Jimin said and the two of them left the room and headed outside. It was a nice day, the sun was shining brightly on them as they walked. Jungkook took off his hoodie so he was just wearing a T-shirt, much better. He took out his phone and sent a quick text to his parents letting them know that he was going to a friend's house. Jimin looked over at Jungkook and laughed.

"You don't talk much do you?" He asked. This question seemed to fluster Jungkook, like he didn't know how to answer it.

"N-No, I do, I just have to feel comfortable with the person." Jungkook explained, looking at the ground instead of Jimin.

"Do you not feel comfortable with me?" Jimin replied, slightly taken aback. Jungkook glanced at Jimin with wide eyes, afraid that he upset him.

"I do! But we only just met yesterday, I'm getting there, it takes time." 

"I understand. It's cool, no need to freak out about it." Jimin laughed and put his arm around Jungkook, tugging him closer, causing Jungkook to laugh too. Before long they were in front of Jimin's house. 

"We're here!" Jimin announced.

☁ ☁ ☁ ☁

Jungkook took a good look at the house before him, it was much bigger than his. It was a white, two story house with tons of beautiful plants and flowers surrounding it. He suddenly wondered what Jimin would think if he saw what his house looked like. He felt embarassed just thinking about it. 

"Your house is really nice." Jungkook commented.

"Thanks! Come on, let's go inside." Jimin replied, leading Jungkook to the door. They went inside and took their shoes off. As they were standing by the entrance Jimin's mom came over to greet them.

"Hi sweety, is this your friend you were telling me about?" She asked.

"Yeah, this is Jungkook. Jungkook this is my mom." 

Jungkook bowed politely to her and said hello. 

"Nice to meet you Jungkook. Make yourself at home. Would you like something to drink?" 

"Sure." He replied following her into the Kitchen, Jimin right behind him. 

Jungkook looked at what they had and took a can of pop, so did Jimin. They thanked her before going upstairs. Jungkook felt a little better when he saw that Jimin's room wasn't much different from his own. It was a little bigger than his, much cleaner, but still just a normal teenager's bedroom. Jimin plopped onto a beanbag chair and Jungkook followed suit, sitting in the one next to him. 

"Oh this is nice. I need one of these." Jungkook said, stretching himself out. Jimin chuckled, he liked how Jungkook found pleasure in such little things.

"You're funny Jungkook. Wanna play some games?" 

"Yeah definitely. Any game is fine with me, whatever you think is fun." 

"Alright." Jimin rummaged through his games and picked one he liked. They spent the next few hours shooting eachother up, needless to say there was a lot of laughing and angry screaming. When Jungkook somehow managed to beat Jimin, despite barely playing video games at home, Jimin nearly threw his controller. Meanwhile Jungkook had fallen backwards he was laughing so hard. 

"JEON JUNGKOOK. HOW DID YOU BEAT ME? YOU BRAT." Jimin yelled. He was a little angry but at the same time he was happy to see Jungkook finally being comfortable enough to laugh and joke around with him. "Keep laughing, I'll get back at you." 

Jungkook didn't know he was capable of laughing that hard, he can't remember the last time he did. After things calmed down and they were about to start playing again there was a knock on the door. It was Jimin's dad. 

"Hey guys. Are you hungry? We were thinking about ordering a couple pizzas. Does Jungkook want to stay for dinner?" He asked.

Jungkook was surprised by how nice Jimin's parents were. "Sure! If you don't mind..." Jungkook answered.

"Of course not, we are glad to have you!" Jimin's dad replied before leaving the room. The boys went back to their games until they were called for dinner. Jimin's parents even let them eat upstairs in his room. Jungkook felt like totally pigging out, especially after taking the first bite and remembering how good pizza was. Jimin laughed because Jungkook's face as he ate the pizza was hilarious, it was like he was having a religious experience or something. 

"Your parents are the best. I'm Jealous." Jungkook remarked. 

"Are they really?" Jimin asked, he didn't think his parents were anything spectacular.

"Yes, so much better than mine. All my parents ever do is fight." Jungkook replied, looking kind of upset. Jimin was quick to pick up on Jungkook's feelings, he decided to try and get him to talk about it.

"They do? What about with you? Do you not get along with them?" He asked.

"I mean, I get along with my mom, but my dad is another story." Jungkook answered, finishing his dinner and setting the plate aside. Jimin's expression had become much more serious, he seemed very concerned. Jungkook wasn't sure if he wanted to continue this discussion or not. Jimin suddenly scooted closer and placed his hand on Jungkook's back, it lightly. 

"Are you okay? If you don't want to talk about it we don't have to." Jimin assured him.

"I.... I think I need to tell you something, but I'm afraid because I've never told anyone before." Jungkook said quietly. 

"Don't be afraid. You can tell me anything Jungkook, I'm here for you."

"He....he hits me." Jungkook replied, his voice trembling. Jimin's eyes widened as he heard those words, and it took him a second to notice that Jungkook was starting to cry. Jimin quickly pulled the boy into his arms. 

"Jungkook....I'm so sorry." He really didn't know what else to say. He was horrified. He knew something was up with Jungkook, but he didn't expect it to be so bad. "Why haven't you told someone? You know that's not okay, that's abuse!" 

"I'm too scared to tell anyone, it might get worse! I don't think I could take it if it did." He explained. "Please don't tell anyone, okay? Not even your parents." 

"I won't, don't worry." Jimin assured, as he continued to rub Jungkook's back, trying his best to comfort him. He really wanted to tell someone, he wanted to help Jungkook, but he wasn't sure what the right thing to do was. He didn't want anyone hurting his friend, but he didn't want to break hid trust either. He decided that for now he would respect Jungkook's wishes and not tell anyone, he would just be there for him in any way that he could. He grabbed a box of tissues off his desk and handed them to the other boy. 

"Thank you." Jungkook murmered. He felt his heart race as Jimin held him, it was a strange feeling. He wasn't used to people showing him affection like this, but it was nice. After a few minutes he calmed down and wasn't crying quite so hard. Jimin let go of Jungkook and looked him in the eyes.

"Listen, if you ever need somewhere safe to go, you are always welcome here. Okay?" 

Jungkook smiled and nodded. "Okay." 

Jimin smiled back. "Do you feel better now that you told someone?" he asked.

To be honest, telling someone about the abuse he suffers is like ripping off a bandage. He knew it had to be done, but it still hurt like hell. But he felt relieved now that it was over.

"Yeah, thanks. I'm sorry, we were having so much fun, I didn't mean for things to end up like this." Jungkook laughed awkwardly. He felt a bit embarassed that he cried the first time he hung out with someone.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad that you felt comfortable enough to share something like that with me, besides everyone needs to cry sometimes." Jimin reassured him.

Jimin really was a great person. He's easygoing, a great listener, and knew when to be goofy and when to be serious. Most importantly he made Jungkook feel safe. He was the perfect friend. Jungkook really couldn't have asked for someone better. 

A friendship is blossoming! I hope you all are enjoying this story. Please subscribe and comment!