✪16✪

“Ow,” I pouted the moment I opened my eyes the next morning. “My head hurts. And my nose feels like a watermelon.” Seven pairs of eyes looked at me.

“Um hello.”

My eyes landed on a blonde haired boy with chubby cheeks and a wide smile, his eyes little crescent shaped peepholes. “Are you Jimin?” I asked curiously.

“Yes, hi Jimin. I mean yes, I'm Jimin and hi to you and um- thank you for coming for me. For helping me get away from Hutch.”

“Of course," I smiled sweetly.

“How are you feeling?” Jin asked.

“Um I’m blooming, thank you. Why?”

They looked at each other and Yoongi grinned deviously. “I’ll tell her! Babe you had your first experience with drugs!”

I wrinkled my eyebrows. “You guys drugged me? I know you'll want me to shut up but don't you think drugging me is a bit much and-”

Hoseok laid a calm consoling palm on my shoulder. “No…your eyesight was terrible yesterday so I guess your other senses were working overtime. You inhaled the fumes too well.”

“Oh.”
Didn't really make sense, but sure.

“I’m guessing my nose weighing a million tons is one of the repercussions of being drunk and high?”

“Yes,” Sarah beamed. “It’s broken!”

“Yay.” I scrambled out of the covers and froze when I saw myself in my dark grey pyjamas. “Why am I in my nightclothes?”

“You bled all over your shirt,” Jungkook muttered while ruffling his hair and admiring his reflection in the ugly life size mirror with a dirty brass frame.

“Who did it?”

“Did what?” Taehyung asked cheerily.

“Change my clothes! Who changed my clothes?”

“Oh that,” Yoongi grinned. “We aren’t creepos, Joan. Sarah did it.”

I exhaled in relief and stretched my long legs. “Good. If you guys are done ogling, I’d like to shower.”

“I want to talk,” Jin got up suddenly, his overlarge shirt hanging on his broad frame. “Alone.”

“Ooh,” Taehyung, Sarah and Jimin grinned immediately like the dorks they were and Jungkook clumsily knocked over a lamp.

“Oh. Um okay, I guess.”

Jin and I walked out of the room and I dragged my towel after me. “Is this about the constipation and stuff which I said yesterday?IswearIwasjustteasingIdoloveyouandpleasedon'tbreakupwithme-," I pulled out my best puppy eyed look and he laughed loudly and took my hand in his, rubbing my knuckles with his large thumb.

“It’s not about that,” he promised softly.

“Then what-?”

“Shush,” he placed one of his long crooked fingers over my lips. “Let me speak.”

“Okay.”

“I realised that I never really asked you to formally date me.”

“Huh?”

“I asked you why you aren’t dating me and then I sucked your face. I didn’t ask you to officially be my girlfriend.”

“Can you see me?”

“Uh- is that a trick question?”

"What?!"

"You know. That thing with a double meaning or whatever." He puffed out his chest proudly. "No, I cannot see you."

"It was a genuine query, you pea sized maggot!"

"Oh. I still don't know what to answer."

"You. Say. Yes."

"Yes?"

“Can you tell how much self control I’m exerting on myself to not roll my eyes and stick my knife in your hard abdomen?”

“Uh-”

I hit him on his head repeatedly with my towel. “You big fat piece of selfish underwear! You made me believe that you were going to break up with me and got me all serious and worked up so early in the morning, do you understand how hard it is to not be lethargic? You have ruined the lazy stress free beginning of my day, you frog faced potato chip!”

“May I join?” Sarah asked politely. "Beating up Seokjin looks fun."

“Holy guacamole, where did you come from?”

“Oh I have been here the whole time. Couldn’t miss the fun,” she grinned happily. "I walked behind you to watch some drama, a messy breakup and a poorly executed murder, but slapping him with a towel works too."

I tossed her my faithful piece of baby pink coloured cloth. “Have at it.”

“Wait what? Joan let’s talk about this, sugar, you don’t want to hurt me now- ouch! Sarah get off me!”

I glowered at Jin before leaning forward and kissing him softly. “This is what you get when you scare your girlfriend and harass her when she's half asleep.” I kissed his pale cheeks because I was feeling all cutesy before making my way to the bathroom. “Bye Seokjin.”

When I looked behind I saw Jin being pummelled by air.

***

“Daddy where are we going?”

“Someplace nice,” he smiled. “You won’t want to come back.”

I grinned toothily at the man and skipped ahead, tugging on my mother’s hands.

“Sweetie,” my mother gestured to me. “I love you, you know that right?”

“Yes Mommy,” I chirped.

She pulled my chubby baby-fat-filled cheeks and smiled fondly, hugging me tightly. She removed a red hairband from her pocket and placed it on my black hair, tucking the short strands behind my small ear. “Joan, honey, don’t be scared, okay?”

“Don’t worry, Mommy. I’m not afraid.”

She smiled once more and lifted me up, carrying me down the deserted path behind my father.

“Why are you crying?” I felt the little raindrops come from my mother’s eyes.

“I’m- I just- sweetie don’t talk okay?” She abruptly turned around and started walking quickly in the opposite direction, the flow of her raindrops increasing with each step. I watched my father continue down the road, oblivious to our disappearance.

I heard a roar from the distance and after around five minutes, the man turned up and he looked so angry. I shrank in my mother’s arms and tried to pretend I wasn’t there.

“Going somewhere?”

“You can’t do this!” my mother cried. “She is three years old, for God’s sake!”

“Better I do it now than some government official do it later,” he muttered darkly, before reaching out to me and yanking me harshly out of my mother’s arms. “Mommy!”

“Please, please, she’s our only daughter! Don’t do this! We’ll protect her. I’ll keep her hidden, please, give her back!”

“No! Stay back woman!” He hurried down the way we came and my mother ran after us, still crying for me. I didn’t know what was going on. Finally we reached a secluded spot. A bright green tank stood right in the middle of the clearing. In my father’s arms, I was high up, and I could see a dark, stinky liquid sloshing inside. It wasn’t a pool? I knew pools were filled with water but water looked nice. It formed such pretty patterns when the Sun was there.

“What is that, daddy?” I asked curiously.

“Alcohol,” he replied shortly. He placed me on the ground and dragged me forwards.

“It smells funny, daddy.”

“Okay.”

“Please! Let her go!” my mother begged again. I didn’t like it when she cried. I tried to go to her but Daddy pulled on my hand, twisting it until I let out a shriek of pain. I rubbed my little fingers and stared up at him with anger. Why did daddy hurt me?

He grabbed my feet and turned me upside down, my red and white polka dotted frock riding up my thighs and I giggled, thinking he was playing a game with me. The ‘alcohol’ thing was getting closer and closer. Far too close. I looked at my parents, my eyes wide, before my head disappeared under the liquid.

I thrashed and squirmed. I didn’t like the game. The alcohol went up my nose and it burnt so so much. I couldn’t breathe. My parents wouldn’t hurt me. They were playing with me but I wasn't having fun and my head hurt.

Everything hurt.

After a while, I couldn’t bring myself to fight it. My parents did want to hurt me. They weren’t playing with me.

“Joan? Joan!”

I could feel myself drifting further and further away in the dark murky liquid.

“Joan, please, get up! Help me, Jimin!”

And then the hand that was holding my ankles let go and I was sinking deeper and deeper…

“It’s Jin, it’s me! Joan!”

Until I was not. Another hand, rough but much bigger than mine lifted me out of the tank and I couldn’t breathe. It felt like my mother but I wasn’t sure because I couldn’t see clearly. It hurt.

I looked up and finally and saw deep brown eyes, so scared but so kind, just watching me. The boy didn’t look too much older, only seven years old and his hair was so nice and brown and curly. Like light chocolate. I wanted to reach out to touch it but I couldn’t feel my hands.

“Can you hear me?” he whispered.

I nodded.

“Are you okay?”

I shook my head. Everything hurts, I wanted to say, but my mouth wasn’t responding. So I just closed my eyes and relaxed on the grass. I felt the boy lift me onto his lap and hold me tight, just like my mother did before she let go.

I felt the boy open his mouth, but then he just closed it again and continued to gently rock me. Good. I didn’t want to talk.

It just hurt all over.

┻━┻┻━┻┻━┻┻━┻┻━┻
A/N_

An insight into Joan's past^
If it sounds like she's too mature for a three year old, or that her language is really good and stuff, it's because she did have a good vocabulary

She has an eidetic memory so she remembers everything she hears, that's why she knew big words etc etc

Also my nepheepoo loves me but he had to sit on me for hours and break my back for that to happen 😃👍

Any physiotherapist here lmao

Or masseuse

That can fix my back haha

Ghoddammit I'm nutty and I'm going bananas so I'm just gonna go-