Author's POV: 

You asked, staring at him. He looked at you a little confused but gulped, nodding.

"It was... everything was true... I.. I'm sorry if you don't feel the same. It's nothing much, you're still my best friend. I can't lose you but you're just too good to be able to be friends with... I might've been greedy but I don't regret it. Don't be mad at me." He wasn't sounding like himself, he knew, you knew it as well. His voice sounded so desperate, that he was worried. He knew you wouldn't unfriend him or something but if it made anything awkward, he wouldn't be able to handle it.
You just stared at him before walking toward him and said, "We're best friends, right?" He hesitated, feeling a little hurt but nodded.
"Let's not... become too close or we'll drift apart." You said, your eyes were teary. He frowned and asked, "What do you mean?" 

"I don't want to be anything more than friends with you." 

Lies. Fucking lies. All your mouth spit out right now, without any hesitation were lies. You couldn't believe you lied like that. He looked hurt, his face looked hurt but he smiled saying, "Hey... I don't want anything other than us being how we are, okay? I just... drunkenly spoke it out." 
"I know.." You said and smiled, a fake smile. You didn't want to ruin things like this but, you didn't want to lose him. Being anything more than friends... at some point, it'd end up in a fight, right? What if you both broke up? Just the thought sounded so scary to you. 

Soon, they started calling you both as you quickly said, "Let's go!" He nodded. 
You both got down, but you were so guilty, for hurting him like that. But you couldn't find any other way.

---Time skip

"You both good?" Jimin asked as Taehyung nodded. You quickly went away with Mina to hear the teacher's announcements. Taehyung bit his lips and looked down, "Why did you let me drink?!" 
"She definitely likes you back..." Jungkook said, feeling disappointed. 
"Maybe there's some other reason too. You know it's obvious, you both are special. As you said, she's different, right? So... maybe it's some issue. You can try to check it... don't lose the chance idiot!" Jimin said. Taehyung sighed and nodded, looking down.

A few hours passed by, and it was awkward, painfully awkward. The only thing you didn't want was for you both to drift apart and right now, you felt like that was the exact thing which happened. You both weren't even talking properly. It was so painfully awkward and disgusting. You hated this feeling. You didn't know what to do. 

Dinner time... everyone was eating. You just gave a piece of beef to Taehyung who thanked you. Just that, nothing more. Taehyung wanted to talk to you but you sort of made an invisible wall between you both. You could sense the painfully awkward moment. You all slept in your tents, 2 tents for each group. Mina asked you if anything was wrong, but you denied it. Everyone noticed, but... you didn't know what to do. You thought avoiding him and slowly becoming friends again would be a nice idea... maybe it wasn't.

---Next day

"Okay students! So... we're having a mountain race basically. You have to run up the mountain and come down while carrying another student on your back! A male and a female pair." The teacher said as one of the students protested, "It's dangerous!"
"You're single." Another student said as a debate started but you were busy, grieving over your life to even hear them. 

"Okay so. You all pick a partner! The winner gets a $500 check!" The teacher said. The students cheered and formed groups. A few students left, not wanting to participate. You were standing there, not knowing what to do. Mina and Jungkook were pairing up, god knew why. And Jimin just took a random girl he found. Taehyung stood there, staring at you but his eyes widened when he noticed Mark coming towards you from a distance.
"I might not have a chance but I won't let that weasel have his chance," Taehyung spoke and quickly stumbled towards you making your eyes widen. 
"Hey... let's participate." 

"Huh? You and me?" You asked, sounding perplexed. He nodded and said, "Umm... you know the price is pretty good... I don't have a partner." 
"Oh.. but-" You were about to protest but he held your hand, desperately looking at you. You could see Mark from the corner of your eyes and gulped, "S-Sure..." 
Gosh, his jealousy was so wrong yet so right.

Soon, you all assembled in a line as he said, "I'm sorry. I don't want you to be uncomforta-"
"Taehyung." You said as he looked at you confused. 
"I'm not uncomfortable... I just... I-" You were speaking but the teacher spoke, "Get ready!!" 

Taehyung quickly bent down saying, "Get on me." You hesitated but got on his back, wrapping your arms around his neck. He held your thighs and said, "Are you okay?" You hummed. He looked at the teacher who blew the whistle. He started running as you held onto him tighter saying, "I'm heavy..."
"You're lighter than a feather." He smiled slightly. You couldn't help but smile. This is how you both were, Taehyung and Y/N. Not the way you both acted all this while. 

"You're sweating so much.." You said, looking at him. He sighed and said, "Running... right now." 
"Slow down..." You spoke but he didn't seem to listen to you. 
"You're not carrying me to win the money anyway." You said. His steps halted for a moment as a few other students surpassed him. But he continued saying, "What?" 

You sighed, not wanting to continue your words. You calmed down and kept quiet. He clenched his jaw saying, "Y/N, not with me... please. Don't stay quiet with me." 
He was already at the top of the mountain, running down. 
"Careful... you'll trip." You said, holding him tighter. He felt your sense of protectivity and said, "Please... we have to talk." You kept quiet. 

Taehyung crossed the line as the teacher said, "And the winner is... Hyunjin and Yuri!" 
You sighed as Taehyung was panting. He put you down as you stood in front of him. He was so exhausted.
"We couldn't win." 
"I don't care." 

You took a few steps towards him and removed the hair sticking to his forehead because of sweat. He just quietly closed his eyes, feeling your touch. It was just a few hours yet the entire atmosphere around you both changed. It felt so... awkward, intimate and even more nervous. Somewhere, you were hurt, he was hurt.

Everything happened so suddenly, the sudden confession, the sudden rejection, and the sudden occurrence of events were making you both feel so different. 
"Let's talk." He said in his soft voice. The tone which he only used with you. 

You both were in a remote era, where no one else was. Somewhere in the forest area. He stood there and stared at you saying, "Y/N... I just- feel different with you. I couldn't hide it... I was drunk but- if that makes you feel uncomfortable with me- I'll take everything back. Y/N, why are you ignoring me for the past few hours? It's fucking killing me. Just those few hours are killing me..."
"I..." You couldn't form words. You were so overwhelmed. You didn't want her to feel that way, you really didn't. You wanted to take back everything you said and hug him tightly, saying that you also felt the same. But what about the after-effects? What if you both drifted apart? He meant too much to you, he meant almost everything to you- the one who comforted you- laughed and cried with you, the one who occupied your heart as no one else could. 

You were bad at speaking up, you were terrible at it. You loved to hide in the self-made bubble and escape from the world, you liked to swallow everything down and forget it. But he wasn't letting you. You thought you could just ignore the fact that he confessed and be friends again but he didn't even let you be consistent for a day. He was so impatient, too impatient.

"Taehyung.." You mumbled as he hummed, looking at you with hopeful eyes.
"I don't want-" You stopped. You saw how his eyes were reflecting hurt. He was hurt, maybe not by the fact that you were rejecting him but by the fact that you were hiding from him. 
"Don't hide from me... please. Tell me what's wrong... I know how you feel, Y/N. I know it all. Stop lying to me... at least, tell me why you're acting like this."

"I'm scared.." You confessed. You hated to be this nervous, your heart thumping in your chest so loudly, you hated all of this but you couldn't bear to see him hurt, because of you. If not anyone else, it was him, someone you could never even dream of hurting.

"I love the way we are... w-we're so special. I know... I always knew we weren't... normal friends. We were different and it was obvious.... everyone knows... so do I but- I feel like... if we become closer... we might fight... we might break up and we'd drift apart. If we drift apart... I won't be able to handle it... you're so special to me... I wouldn't be able to bear it... I'm sorry..."

He quietly listened to you and said, "Are you scared because being too close would drift us apart and it'd be hard?"
You nodded, looking down. He took a few steps closer until his shoes were nearly touching yours. 
"Special people... have special stories... and even more special endings." He said, smiling. You looked at him. who said, "We aren't changing, Y/N... we're just growing how we should. I can tell you for sure that we'll never change, Y/N... we will never change. You trust me, right?"
You stared into his eyes, he was so sincere. How was this all so well hidden beneath the layer of friendship? All this love and adoration, all this intimate sincerity, where have these all been?

"I promise you, Y/N. I'll never change... I could never... and it's the truth. I know... maybe, we could change but I promise, I'll make sure we're together for the longest time possible. I think... trying to become less than what we feel and want to be... would drift us apart even more. Will you give us a chance?" He asked. 

You stared at him. You wanted to nod, you really did. There were so many doubts, so much insecurity, and so many trust issues but you wanted to go along, with him. You didn't say a thing, but you took a baby step towards him and quickly stood on your toes, trying to reach his level as you placed your lips on his, giving him the best answer with silence.

Maybe... everything was on the line or maybe it wasn't. Maybe everything was going to end up wrong or maybe it'd end up right. But right now, thinking about it would just waste the precious time you both had. And you couldn't afford that. With thousands of risks and an unsure heart, you took the step, the one step which was going to create a new chapter in your life.