"I'm coming this weekend" Jungkook said into the mic as he stood at his balcony. Tonight was warmer, he didn't need to wear his jacket to stay outside nor did he need to blow on his hands to keep them warm.

He missed spring so much.

"You are? How come?" Jimin asked while munching on his midnight snack.

"You don't sound excited at all"

"Ah, my mistake. Oh my god? No way! I've waited all my life for this moment thank you!" Jimin gushed over the phone "Is that excited enough?" He asked in his calm voice again, picking up another gummy.

"I kinda wanted to talk to you but not so much anymore" the taller sighed making Jimin chuckle.

"Just say you miss me and go" he replied "Always making excuses" he added shaking his head.

"Always thinking so highly of yourself"

"I learned from the best" he shrugged.

"And who is that?"

"You obviously"

"So you think I'm the best" Jungkook's smirk grew a bit more as his ego inflated.

"... At thinking so highly of yourself" Jungkook could almost hear him roll his eyes, and let out a soft chortle.

"Also the best basketball player in the group, the best driver, best drinking buddy, and best gamer, the list can go on but I'll be humble" he boasted proudly.

"First of all, none of the others think you're the best driver"

"But you do, because you're not scared of driving with me" he pointed out and Jimin chose not to admit he's right.

"What does best drinking buddy even mean?"

"Since I can hold my liquor, I can match whoever wants me to go drink with them"

"Namjoon can do a good job too"

"But you wouldn't invite Namjoon"

It's already the start of May. Time flew fast between school, work, and Jimin's exam preparations. He was busy all day everyday and barely had to time to rest, and when he did, it mainly consisted of texting his friends and catching up with Jungkook.

They would chat and call, although the latter was less frequent, but it was all enjoyable regardless. Through their conversations, Jimin could tell that the other was much more comfortable with the way he feels about him. They would joke about it or even flirt sometimes, just like now.

"So it's all about me?" Jimin asked a soft smile stretching his lips as he spoke.

"Shouldn't it be?"

"It should. But just to let you know, I would invite Namjoon"

"Maybe if I'm not available"

"You refuse to accept that I'll choose someone over you?"

"I am just hoping the intention is reciprocated"

This weekend was the first time he was going to see him in person again. He might not have shown how eager he was, but he can already feel his heart thump at the thought.

"Your game is getting better. It's almost as if I am flustered" he praised, followed by a few coupled giggles on each sides of the phone.

"Are you excited about coming home?" Jimin asked when they both went silent.

"I miss my room, I miss Friday nights, I miss Tae" he replied, leaning on the railing of his balcony with his forearms.

"Have you talked to him since he threw you out the chat?" Jimin snickered.

"I'm sure you enjoyed witnessing that huh?" Jungkook smiled.

"Just a little... It was a bit funny"

"Come to think of it, why didn't any of you invite me back in. You just totally let it happen"

"And get on Tae's bad side? No thanks"

"You're already on it, what are you talking about"

"All because of you"

"I did nothing"

"Umm? You made him insecure"

"I think we should all just agree to blame this whole thing on Lisa" Jungkook shrugged and heard Jimin click his tongue.

"How convenient Jeon, how convenient" the shorter laughed.

"Are you gonna disagree?"

"Not at all, in fact I blamed it on her when Tae and I argued" he admitted.

"No way... And you have the nerve to judge me? I used my ex, but what is she to you?"

"My best friend's ex?" He giggled.

"That does not give you a pass kid" he snorted.

"I mean we're basically the same person anyway" Jimin defended, trying to make an excuse.

"We're polar opposites Jimin" Jungkook was flabbergasted.

"Don't be dramatic... we both like basketball, we can sing, we have vaguely similar fashion style?" He tried.

"Wow, sounds like I could be literally any other person you know"

"How different are we then?"

"First of all I'm cool, you're not" he joked.

"Not that again" Jimin responded.

"Our fashion styles are nothing alike, we listen to different music, we don't spend our alone time the same, we're vodka-tequila, we approach problems differently" Jungkook listed effortlessly, as if he'd thought about it a hundred times.

"Very well prepared Jeon, when is the group presentation?" Jimin asked making him chuckle.

"Still a bit far, I'll hit you up when I need a partner" he responded, throwing in a double meaning to the sentence.

"Stupid" Jimin rolled his eyes with a pink tone dusting his cheeks.

"I have to go now" Jungkook finally said.

"Okay, see you Friday" Jimin smiled.

"Good night"

"Night" he whispered back.

"Later." Jungkook hung up and walked back in, setting his phone on his bedside table and crashing on his bed.

---

"Friday night baby!" Hoseok shouted as he opened the door to Yoongi and Namjoon's house.

"Your parents aren't home this weekend right Joon?" Jin asked as he removed his shoes "Because I got us booze!" He exclaimed as he lifted his backpack up with his fist triumphantly.

"Tonight's gonna be a good night" Yoongi smiled from the doorframe, taking the bag and pulling out the two big bottles.

"Jaykay is bringing the beer. I told him he had to do at least that if he wants to go through that front door" Hoseok said with a playful roll of his eyes.

"You two are cool now? I heard you were still butthurt Hobi" Yoongi joked earning a mocking grimace from the older.

"I have a bit of pride compared to you who ran back to him the second he said hi" he countered.

"Come on it's Kook, we can't be mad at him for too long" Namjoon replied with a smile. The doorbell rang, and behind it were two high-schoolers holding a bag of snacks and chips.

"Hobi! We brought you those gummies you wanted to try that day. My dad finally got a box at the store" He announced, giving Jimin the bag so that he could remove his shoes as well.

"The craziest thing happened on the way, where's Yoongi?" Jimin said while walking inside "Yoongi you remember that guy from our class who always sits in the back and doesn't talk to anybody?" Jimin asked upon seeing the boy of interest.

"Yeah me?" The senior student replied.

"Not you" he shook his head "The other dude. Turns out he's really not like that in real life, it was so weird seeing him all bubbly with his girlfriend downtown" he explained in an animated tone, excitement present in his voice.

"I think we're still describing Yoongi" Hobi snickered, earning a nudge from the younger.

"Really? You've been single ever since I came here so I can't tell." They continued talking about the random things that happened during the week, munching on food and sipping on drinks.

"Wait so you guys are cool too?" Jin asked pointing at Jimin and Tae, who just nodded nonchalantly.

"Everybody making amends behind my back, man I was ready to see some drama tonight" Yoongi complained gesturing towards the big bowls on the tabletop "I even got the popcorn ready, different flavors too" he sulked.

"I see him everyday for hours at work. It'd be real awkward if we didn't talk things through" Jimin pointed out "Do you know what he said? He told me he was using me to get back at Jeon. Something about how he knew it would piss him off to deflect on me" Jimin shook his head in disbelief.

"Well he did call you out, so I say it's a success" Namjoon nodded looking at Taehyung.

"Yeah except it's toxic behavior" Jimin countered.

"I'm sorry, no hard feelings Chim" Taehyung smiled again while they did their special handshake.

"Whatever, don't do that again though" he warned.

"I won't" the other agreed.

"I bet Kook is purposefully late. You guys never believe me when I say he loves to make a noticeable entrance" Jin complained.

Speaking of, the bell chimed again but this time Yoongi had left the door unlocked, so they just had to scream "Come in!" in unison for the last boy to appear by the doorframe, holding 3 six-packs of beer.

"Regular beer for the adults, and watermelon Jack Daniel's for the children" he announced as he set them on the table as well.

"Glad to be an adult for once" Yoongi boasted.

"You're with the children actually" Jungkook corrected with a wiggle of his pierced eyebrow.

"It's your first Friday back and you want to make a public enemy out of me?" He asked, scandalized.

"Just kidding, pick whatever you want everybody. I bought the sweet ones for Tae mainly" Jungkook chuckled, finally greeting his friends in turn.

"Good to see you buddy" Namjoon smirked as he stood up to shoulder bump him.

"You got the white claws? Nice" Hobi said, satisfied as he took one from the pack.

"A Rona for me" Yoongi said before grabbing it and putting it in the mini-fridge.

Jungkook picked up one of the cold watermelon drinks and turned around, roaming his gaze to spot the top of bright pink hair from behind the couch. He walked towards it and extended his arm to put the bottle in Jimin's visual field.

The boy raised his head up and his lips immediately stretch into a smile. He held the beer from his hand and watched as the tallest boy circled around the couch to sit next to him.

"So now you think I'm a child?" Jimin asked as he turned to face the other, propping a bent leg on the couch to be more comfortable.

"No~ but it matches your hair color" Jungkook smirked, clinking his own beer against Jimin's and taking a sip.

"Technically this is closer to red than my hair" the younger pushed.

"Give me a break Park" Jungkook rolled his eyes triggering a heartfelt giggle from him.

"When did you get this piercing? It wasn't there in Easter" Jimin pointed out. It didn't look bad, in fact he liked it a lot. He wonders if he could ever get one of his own.

"Last week. It was a spontaneous kind of thing" Jungkook shrugged.

"Did it hurt?"

"Not really, it did get a bit swollen right after but it quickly healed," he responded "Why? Thinking of getting one too? Come to think of it, you still haven't called me for that tattoo you talked about" he reminded.

"I still didn't figure out what I'm gonna get" he said, scrunching his nose "I'm not sure about a piercing though... I wouldn't know where" he smiled.

"On your face or somewhere else?" The taller raised an eyebrow in a suggestive manner.

"What do you want me to say, my nipples?" Jimin followed.

"All I'm gonna say is that's kinda hot" Jungkook pursed his lips cheekily.

"Shut up" the other laughed, hitting him with the closest pillow and getting up to where Yoongi and the others were.

"Things are going well" his classmate whispered with a smirk.

"I didn't tell you so that you keep watching me" he whispered back.

"It's harder than you think man" Yoongi chuckled.

"Try" he insisted, a blush suddenly creeping on his ears and blending them into his hair.

"What's that on your face Yoongi?" Hoseok suddenly interrupted with a scrunched up expression. Namjoon's attention shifted to them as he tried to find what Hobi was talking about but there was nothing.

"Right there, you lips are stretched weird, it's creepy" he added, making Jin snort a laugh.

"You're really testing me tonight. I can't smile in peace?" Yoongi replied.

"Oh you know, as long as I don't witness it"

"I always have to hear your obnoxiously loud laugh but do I complain?"

"My laugh is nice" Hobi shrugged his shoulders.

"And I'm the smartest here" Yoongi replied, earning Namjoon and Jimin's forced coughs.

"My laugh isn't nice?" Hoseok looked around to the others, offended trying to find someone who agrees.

"It's... endearing" Tae replied, not to hurt his feelings "But it is really loud" he nodded.

"I can argue that mine and Jeon's are the nicest" Jimin found himself boasting and Hobi clicked his tongue.

"Who asked." he said, bitter about the comment.

"You think so princess?" Jungkook smugly said from the back of the room where he still sat.

"The best laugh is my brother's, end of story" Yoongi claimed "It sounds so sarcastic, he legit goes ha ha ha and he means it" he joked, making everyone laugh in response.

"What about me! Nobody talked about me." suddenly Jin interrupted.

"Not to say draw your own conclusions but... Draw you own conclusions" Yoongi tightly smiled, earning a smack from Namjoon.

"Having the nicest laugh is overrated anyway because you have have best jokes. You trigger the laughs, you see?" Namjoon defended, swinging an arm around Soekjin who immediately felt much better.

"Does he owe him something?" Jimin whispered to Hobi.

"Jin is his ride back to campus" the college boy replied.

"Makes sense"

"Alright guys, who's down for a round of CoD?" Hoseok asked, grabbing the controls and sitting on one of the cushions by the TV. He was shortly joined by Jin, and Namjoon who called in to replace the loser.

Taehyung was watching YouTube videos on his phones, happily giggling at a joke and biting on a marshmallow, when a hand shook his shoulder softly.

"Hey..." his cousin's deep voice said besides him.

"Hi" he replied, putting his video on pause and turning to face him.

"Do you mind stepping out with me for a bit?" Jungkook asked, starting to walk towards the door while the younger followed him suit.

Jungkook knew this had to happen sooner than later. The way they were acting around each other was very unnatural and he could tell his baby cousin hated it. If Tae wanted to make a point then he succeeded, so maybe it's time to move forward and talk things through like the others did.

"How are you doing Tae?" He asked with his hands in his pockets, looking down at the quiet street from the rooftop.

"Good...you?" The younger responded.

"Just fine yeah. I want to apologize cause I haven't been here for you, not lately, not a while before that either. I've seen that you were hurting and I didn't do anything to help" Jungkook started. 

"Yup I remember..."

"You didn't deserve the cold shoulder I gave you on Easter, I let you down so many times over the past months and I totally understand if you don't want to forgive me yet" he admitted.

"Are you coming back to the group?" Taehyung asked.

"Little by little yes. Friday nights here and there, a weekend with you guys after Yoongi and Jimin's finals" he shrugged.

"You know, I just missed you so much" the younger boy muttered, almost embarrassed to say it out loud.

"I missed you too. But you know, taking that time because of the whole thing with Lisa doesn't mean I don't care about you, or that I love you any less... I needed to clear my thoughts, feel better and help myself move on" he explained.

"You've never had a relationship, or at least not a serious one so you probably wouldn't understand how breakups work, but I'm sure if you were in my spot you would've done the same" Jungkook added, looking at his cousin with a smile and setting a hand on his shoulder.

"I do understand, I understand perfectly... To be honest, I wasn't mad at you for distancing yourself because of the breakup. It's more because you're the only person I'm comfortable talking to and..." Taehyung wasn't sure if he was saying the right words. He'd wanted to let things off his chest for so long but now that he has the opportunity, it all seems so complicated.

"Tell me Tae, what's been on your mind?" Jungkook encouraged.

"I was---upset? that you weren't here to make me feel better you could say." he elaborated, "Then you and Jimin... you were talking to him and not me so I got jealous, thinking I did something wrong-"

"No Tae of course not"

"I know but it's really hard for me to chase that thought away right now" the other replied, rubbing his neck with one hand.

"What happened?"

"Everyone is leaving Kook, Jimin and Yoongi are going to college and I'm gonna be left alone... When you disappeared, it started hitting me that everyone is gonna do exactly that starting next year, and it made me sad" Taehyung finally voiced out his concerns, regretting that he might've sounded ridiculous.

Everything made much more sense to Jungkook, he's never seen Tae so conflicted before and at least now, he can try to make him feel better without having to play a guessing game anymore. 

"We're not gonna leave you Tae, you'll see us on the weekends" he reassured.

"Why would you come back though... Yoongi will be with Joon, you'll have Jimin right there, and Hobi and Jin only tag along when everyone is gathering" he said, a deep sigh leaving his lungs.

"What are you talking about, we'll come back for you Tae " Jungkook searched for his cousin's gaze, squeezing his shoulder to get it.

"You say that now, but it'll probably sound less exciting when you actually have to do it" the younger chuckled humorlessly.

"No no listen to me... Nobody is leaving you behind. I'll come back even I'm the only one" Jungkook smiled, "Though I really don't think Jimin and Yoongi will last a month without seeing you" he added. 

He should've known Tae would feel this way, he was always surrounded by this specific group of friends, and he even shallowly expressed this concern when Yoongi was about to graduate last year. Jungkook thought they'd moved on from this particular issue then, but it seemed Tae's fear of abandonment ran deeper than he'd estimated.

He was always a shy kid who didn't open up to a lot of people, Jungkook being amongst the privileged because he was his only friend up to a certain point in life. They used to be so close as children, playing around together all the time and having the most fun. But it all started to change when Jungkook was having his own problems with his adoptive parents. 

In his teens, Jungkook started acting different. He was coming home late, always getting in arguments with his parents, causing scenes during family gatherings, while Tae just wanted to spend time with him like old days. He got to know Namjoon who wasn't the best influence back then, and it basically signed the end of their tight knit relationship.

No matter how much he tries to deny it now, there's always been a small grudge against Namjoon in the back of Taehyung's head. He knows that it's the way of life and that Jungkook was bound to make new friends and all, but the way it happened wasn't pleasant.

Jungkook befriended boys who were nothing but bad news, he became someone Tae didn't even recognize at first, just to get back at his adoptive parents and give them a hard time. He never talked to Tae about anything and certainly didn't hang out with him as much. 

He replaced him with cigarettes sometime after his 16th birthday, which in the first year was occasional but grew into an addiction like most things later. Weed was no stranger to the two high schoolers, especially not after getting to know college guys from Bayman.

Taehyung just couldn't do it, he couldn't sit on the bleachers and watch his cousin and best friend be taken from him. If Jungkook was trying to be a tough boy then he was going to do the same thing. 

He started getting himself in trouble at school, picking fights with kids older than him, just about anything that would get his cousin's attention. He succeeded when Jungkook gave him a long scolding session for trying to smoke one time. I made a mistake, I don't want you to do the same. That's what he said that day, and they were almost inseparable since. Until Lisa.

"I don't know about that. I really messed up with Jimin... I was mean to him when he was just trying to help" Taehyung sighed.

"You guys seemed fine down there" Jungkook pointed out.

"He doesn't want to make it a big deal, but I'm pretty sure he was hurt from what I did" 

"What did you do?"

"You know how I used to do all the wrong things to get your attention back then, but now that kind of became who I am, so it doesn't really work anymore" he pursed his lips.

"Tae, did you pick a fight with Neal for me? He could've hurt you." He should've been aware, but then again he only found out about the fight weeks after it happened. 

"It didn't matter Kook, I didn't care. And it's not just you now, I thought that if I act out of character you guys would pay more attention to me and-"

"Tae... I understand what you're going through, I do. Hell I was doing the same to my parents because I was afraid they wouldn't care about me as much as a biological child... But that's just wrong, I mean they were worried about you, I was worried about you" Jungkook replied, his eyebrows knit and voice grave. 

This wasn't a behavior to get used to, it was very manipulative and Taehyung should learn better than to use his friends like that.

"I know, I know but... I realized the fight wasn't working so I used Jimin and your own isolation to keep all of you invested in me. The year is ending and I needed a way, I was feeling desperate." The look on Jungkook's face was plenty confirmation of how bad he acted. He's worried that this might cost him their friendship.

"Tae you're gonna need to promise me that you won't do that again" Jungkook said, "If you ever feel left out, just talk to us, put us in the loop and let us show you that you're not being left behind." Jungkook couldn't begin to imagine what Taehyung would've gone through if they carried on without addressing these issues.  

"I promise" Tae nodded, looking quite determined.

"We all care about you, and it's just one year anyway, you'll be with us sooner than you realize it" Jungkook shrugged.

"If I graduate high school" the younger joked. 

"If you don't I'll tell uncle to give you extra hours every shift"

"You wouldn't"

"Oh I would" they chuckled.

"What about Jimin though?" Tae asked, catching Jungkook off guard.

"What... about him in fact...?" he hesitantly replied.

"How do I make it up to him?"

"Oh, right." he remembered, "Jimin probably didn't make it a big deal, as you said, because everyone was finally getting back together and he didn't want to ruin that for us" Jungkook said thoughtfully.

"Which is why I feel bad"

"I say don't worry about it. Jimin, he's... kinder than you might think" he replied with a soft smile. "Should we get back to the others?"

"Yeah" The two walked down, minds clear and moods brighter. Taehyung found his spot back on the bed with his marshmallows, while Jungkook stood leaning on the doorframe. He watched as the Pink haired boy argued with Jin over who's playing next.

"You lost Jimin, it's my turn okay?"

"You're gonna lose too, I'm just speeding things up"

"Go talk to Jungkook or something" Jin said pointing at the door and just like that, Jimin's attention completely shifted to the young man who was already looking their way. He immediately gave up the game and walked to him, casually sliding his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"I almost thought you were smoking again" he pointed out.

"I didn't almost have diabetes to relapse again" the taller replied, pushing himself off the frame and meeting the other halfway.

"I'm guessing the tension between you two is resolved?" Jimin asked, subtly nodding towards Taehyung.

"Yeah you could say that" Jungkook responded, suddenly having the urge to drag a hand up to the fluffy pink hair. "You're pretty amazing you know?" he found himself say. His hand instinctively moving to card through the soft locks.

It didn't take long for a bright smile to bloom on Jimin's face with his eyes turning into crescents. "...What was that for?" he bashfully asked.

"Because... You say you'll kick my ass in that game but you can't even win against Namjoon" he replied, concealing his real thoughts and earning an eye-roll from the sassy high schooler. 

"You're not chasing Jungkook around the room Jimin? You're letting him touch your hair like that?" Yoongi said from the TV area, making everyone look in their direction. 

Jimin immediately pushed the hand off and started fussing, ending up in another squabble between him and Jungkook, hitting each other with random objects and such. 

"I will kill you" Jimin whispered when he was close enough to Yoongi, then pushed him towards Jungkook to run away from the bottle of water about to drench him.

---

Hello everyone! I'm sorry I'm late...

How did you find this chapter? Please do share your thoughts I love to read them!

-Aida-