~After dance~

Time to see the boys... oh God...

"They know we're coming?" Chaeyoung nods, "yep, and I told all three of my girls where we're going. Do you have your pepper spray?" "Always," you reply, holding the bottle up triumphantly before shoving it back in your purse. "How was dance love?" You smile, "really good actually." "Let me guess... Jimin was ogling you the whole time?" You scoff, "not in the slightest..." Chaeyoung gives you an 'are you sure' look that makes you sigh.

"Okay well he didn't exactly have a chance to, his coach said today was a weight day so they were working out the whole time, not actually playing on the court." "Ohhh so that's why he wasn't staring at his future girlfriend." "Chae!" "What? It's true!" she protests, "don't act like you don't like him." "Well I'm not acting, I don't like him like that. We're friends. We even shook on it. I don't like him like that and I never will."

Chaeyoung groans, "why are you so stubborn? He's hot, you're hot. Smash!" "Oh my God." "What?" "He's a playboy, I'm sorry I'm not trying to get my heart broken." She frowns, "sometimes even playboys change. I told you the story about junior year, when I-" "Converted Jackson back from 'playboyism' as you called it. You made him feel the crazy emotion called 'love'." She nods, "exactly. Who knows, maybe you're that one for Jimin."

You look at her, "not to be a dick... but care to remind me how your relationship with Jackson ended?" She gulps, "fair." Yeah, Jackson cheated on her after a year. Once a playboy, always a playboy. Not your scene. "You know... you never talk about your exes." "Three," you mumble, "I had three. The most recent one being the most serious."

Chae looks at you, "who were they?" "Just high school boys, the usual. One during freshman year, the other beginning of sophomore... and the last from the end of sophomore year til the end of senior year. We broke up because of college. We agreed we wanted to go as free spirits, in a way. Meet new people, try new things..." "But you miss him, don't you?" You sigh, "more than anything. He was always so charming, so cheerful. You know what's funny?" She shakes her head. "He's actually older than us. Yeah, he started school two years late because of family issues when he was a kid. Now he's the happiest person on the planet."

She smiles, "he sounds like he was wonderful." You huff, "yeah... amazing. Goes to show that even the ones you think you'll last forever with... they may be different than you thought." Although she can sense the bitter undertone in your voice, she doesn't press. You're always so grateful that she never presses. You love it when people give you a chance to talk first.

After another few minutes of walking, you reach the address Tae gave Chaeyoung. Apparently they already follow each other on social media and are talking every day. You're happy for her, Tae seems like a nice guy. He seems sweet, caring. So does Jimin. As long as she's happy, you are too.

"Alright, apparently this is Taehyung and Jimin's apartment but the other's are over." "Others?" She nods, "Jungkook, Jin, Namjoon-" "Got it," you interrupt, your head spinning already. How are you going to keep up with all these names. You look over at your appearance. You look nice, you got changed in the locker room. Jimin shouldn't be here yet, he's probably just finishing up practice. Their coach either lets them go five minutes early or five minutes late, there's no in between. That's the impression you got, anyway.

Chaeyoung knocks, and soon enough, the door opens. "Hey Chae, Y/N!" Tae chimes, stepping aside for the two of you. Although you're nervous, you walk in and notice several other boys in the room. "From left to right. Jungkook, Jin, and Namjoon. Yoongi and Jimin haven't gotten back yet." You hum, "nice to meet you all, I'm Y/N." "Chaeyoung." Tae smiles at the two of you, closing the door. He doesn't lock it, probably for Jimin and Yoongi.

"Alright, we have the best news you'll probably ever hear," Tae cheers. You and Chaeyoung look at him in confusion. "We have food!" "Tae I think I love you," you reply with a soft look, watching as he laughs. He guides you over to the table, showing you the assortment of what looks to be homecooked food.

"Are you guys rich or something?" Chaeyoung asks. "Ha, I wish. Curtesy of Kim Seokjin, we have all the foods in the world." "This is my world, you're just living in it," Jin sassily replies, smirking as he shows off the table of food. Alright, heavy narcissist. Write that down. "Ignore him he's strange," Namjoon says, shaking his head with wide eyes. Smart one. Write that down too.

As the night settles down, the group of you end up falling into natural conversation that makes you feel almost at home. You learn that Namjoon is a junior, Jin a senior. Namjoon is heavy in business and Jin is studying acting, just like Tae. Apparently the two of them go out on the weekends and practice together. That's... honestly pretty cute.

"Okay so these acting sessions... how much do I have to pay you to get in on them?" you ask, raising a brow at Taehyung. "Oh nothing, we'd love your compa-" "100 dollars per hour," Jin interrupts. "Excuse me?" you gasp. Taehyung looks at Jin in disbelief. "What? Why would you charge her?" Tae inquires. "We're broke college kids. Must I say more?" "Smart move Jin, capitalize on other's. Good," Namjoon praises. Businessmen will be businessmen.

Before anyone can say anything else, the door opens, and in stumbles Park Jimin and Min Yoongi. "Where'd you guys go?" Tae asks, walking up to his friends to check on them. "Took a run around the campus," Jimin replies, his eyes widening once they meet yours. "Y/N," he whispers.

Oh - and that's another thing. He ignored you in bio today and didn't sit with you at lunch. You tried approaching him but he said something about having to be somewhere and that he'd talk to you later. So much for walking you home every night. This is exactly what you mean: you can't even rely on him to walk you home, how can you-

"I didn't see you when we came out... you should have waited for me," he pouts. Wait he... was looking for you? "Why were you looking for me?" you ask in confusion. "This girl... so I could walk you home! Remember yesterday?" You go still. You were wrong. That hurts to admit, but yeah, you were wrong. He looked for you. Maybe you're being way too harsh on the guy. After all, you don't know him.

"I'm amazed you remembered." He smiles, "of course I did. Tell me someone else walked you." Chaeyoung raises her hand, "that would be me." "Thank God," he lets out, placing a hand on his chest, "don't walk home at night without anyone, can't have you being kidnapped." "I'm surrounded by six boys, if I'm getting kidnapped, it's going to be by you six."

Jimin snickers as him and Yoongi join the circle on the floor, Tae straggling behind. The apartment is small but much larger than the dorms. It's a school apartment, so still on campus but farther away from the main buildings. One day this is where you could end up, if that's what you choose. The boys all look at each other, smiling. Then, Jimin speaks.

"So, what were you talking about?"

~~~

The music plays as she sways back and forth, completely entranced by the sounds in the room. Jimin leans against the counter, watching closely. Tae is not too far away, mingling with Chaeyoung, Jin, and Namjoon. Meanwhile Yoongi went to Tae's room to work on a project he had. Not a school one, just a personal one.

Jimin watches as Jungkook shyly approaches Y/N, talking to her. She eagerly talks back, messing around with him. Jimin can't help it: his left eye twitches. She's supposed to mess around with Park Jimin and Park Jimin only. Not Jungkook. Wait what? Jesus Jimin get your act together.

She bursts out laughing, Jungkook smiling at her reaction. "That was funny Jeon, you should tell more stories!" "You think?" Jimin just barely manages to hear them say. He clears his throat, holding his glass up and taking a swig before scooting down the counter more. He keeps his eyes on the floor as he comes closer, able to hear them much more clearly. It's still hard over the music they're playing, but still.

"You know, you kind of look like an athlete. You play any sports?" Y/N asks. "Not yet, but I was hoping to do track at some point. People say I'm uh... really fast." "This weekend, you me, track. I'd love to see." "Really?" Jungkook questions in disbelief. "Yeah of course!"

Okay - that's it

Jimin downs the liquid in his glass, harshly placing it on the counter and turning on his heel. Within the blink of an eye he's standing next to Y/N, his arm instinctively wrapping around her waist. She jumps at the contact, looking at him. "Huh? Jimin, what are you-" "I know this isn't great music for it..." Pop music. It's always pop music. "But... can I have this dance?" She's genuinely surprised by his actions, raising both her brows.

"You're serious?" "Of course," he murmurs, keeping his eyes on her and not Jungkook. She looks at Jungkook, which only infuriates him more. "I'll be back in a few minutes, okay Kook?" The younger boy nods, "sure!" Jimin doesn't even hesitate, he simply pulls her off to the side.

No one's watching as they stand in the corner, him placing both his hands on her hips. She carefully places her hands on his shoulders, looking at him in disbelief. "Dancing? Really?" she asks with a small smile. "I couldn't resist, you haven't really talked to me all night... I missed you," he admits. The crazy part is... he's not lying. His heart is beating faster than ever right now.

"I thought I was the one that was supposed to miss you. Remember what you said in bio? You should be grateful, I know you-" "Missed me," he finishes, returning her small smile. "You missed me too... right?" "Depends." "On what?" "How wide will you smile if I say yes?" He breaks out into an eye smile, looking down for a brief moment before meeting her eyes again.

They simply sway back and forth to the beat, the music not matching them at all, but no one cares. She gets a little more comfortable, letting her arms completely wrap around his neck. In a perfect world, this would be the part where he reassures her everything is okay, that he'll keep her safe. This is the part where he's supposed to kiss her. But he's not here for that. He can't fall for her... he just can't...

"So are you actually a playboy, or is that just a title you use to sound cool?" He shrugs, "depends." "On what?" He waits a moment, softly grinning, "how wide will you smile if I say no?" Just like he did - she breaks out into a wide smile, softly giggling too. The sound blesses his ears, her eyes crinkling up from her smile.

"You're not bad, Park." "Neither are you, L/N." The two meet each other's eyes for a few more moments. Then, the song switches to the next one. She sighs, "thanks for the dance, but song's over-" She goes to move, but he keeps her in place, suddenly fearing her departure. "One more song," he mutters. Although he can tell she's hesitant, she gives in. "One more. That's all you're getting." "That's all I need... just don't go yet... please..."

For just a moment, his vulnerable side came out. The last time he let anyone go it destroyed him. He can't let her go now, even if it's just for a few moments. Granted, she'd still be with him, but something about her being away from his body makes him scared.

Without second guessing himself, he places his forehead against hers, her breath stalling. He can feel how her body almost went still from his actions, which makes him smile. "What did you want to tell me yesterday?" she asks, closing her eyes. He does the same, embracing the darkness. Yesterday... in the moment, all he wanted to do was scream how much he liked her. But now, he knows it's just lust. It has to be.

"Ah, I forgot. I was probably going to invite you somewhere or something." He pauses, then pretends that he remembers. "Oh wait, I got it. I wanted to ask if you'd like to come to my basketball games." "I'm on the dance team moron." "Huh?" "I'll be at all of them. The whole point of the dance team is to cheer you on." "O-Oh yeah, right," he stutters. He completely forgot that the dance team and cheer squad are at every game. Since there's no football at school, basketball is the big thing. The dance team performs at the fifteen minute interval between the second and third quarters, like their version of half time.

"So I get to watch you dancing... for me?" She chuckles, "nice try Park. It's for everyone, but I guess you're included in that." "I'll take it." He has never felt such a strong desire to kiss anyone before. Now he's here, slow dancing with this gorgeous woman with the smell of homecooked food in the air. Everything is perfect for a first kiss between couples... but he can't. Why is he so stupid for thinking this is just lust? He has to try anyway, but this is more and he knows it, he just won't accept it...

"Would it be weird to ask for your number?" He can feel the way she almost fell over. "No, not at all. Here," she replies. He reluctantly backs away, watching as she brings out her phone. "You get yours too," she commands, and he's quick to obey. They exchange phones, typing in their numbers and names for each other. Of course he types in 'Jiminie <3' for hers. When they trade phones again, he's shocked to see she put 'Freshie'.

Jimin smirks, quickly changing it to 'Princess <3'. "Jiminie? Really?" "Couldn't resist," he replies with a wink, shoving his phone into his back pocket. His hands find her waist again, pulling her closer. "The song's almost over," she complains, still holding her phone. He takes it, shoving it into his other pocket. "Focus on me," he whispers. As if entranced, she agrees, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Their foreheads meet once again, their breath hitting one another's. Everything is just right. "I want to get to know you more... is that okay?" he asks, his eyes meeting hers. "Yeah... yeah, that's okay. As long as I get to know you more too." He softly smiles, nodding. Yeah, he's going to get to know her...

He's going to get to know all of her...