Jimin and Jungkook walked side by side silently, letting the noise of the more busy areas of the city fade behind them.

Jimin's hands were in his hair, twisting the silky strands to secure them with a large hair clip, revealing his outgrown undercut and the smooth curve of his neck.

Jungkook looked at him intently, mesmerised by the way Jimin did his hair, always effortlessly graceful.

He sighed however, as he looked down to his jaw where a purple hue plagued his pretty skin. It had been a few days since the fight, and things had more or less gone back to normal at school.

That is, if not for the growing admiration the students held for Jimin and his friends, who refused to bend to the will of the school's bullies.

Most people, including some members of the MCSC, were getting tired of Hansol and Leemin's tirany, resulting in bigger groups forming between students to avoid getting picked on.

Jungkook looked back to his feet, mind going back to the rage he had felt upon discovering Jimin's state in the bathroom. His hand tingled to hold Jimin's smaller one in his.

So he did.

Gently, his long fingers wrapped around Jimin, whose hand melted in his own easily, locking in a soft hold.

Neither of them spoke a word, scared that if they did, it would dispel the magic surrounding them.

Jimin knew what Jungkook was about to say, he always scolded him when he let the people at school hurt him.

The moment came only a few minutes later, when Jungkook handed him a popsickle he had just bought at the corner store, both of them sitting on the swings of a small neighbourhood playground.

"I hate to see you letting people hurt you," Jungkook mumbled, gently holding the cold treat to Jimin's cheek as he arrived behind him.

"I hurt people too, I deserve it," Jimin said, mostly to himself as he looked down, rocking the swing he was sitting on.

"Jimin-"

"Listen Jungkook, I don't want to get angry at you," Jimin said softly.

"Listen Minnie, it's fine to get angry," Jungkook said reassuringly.

Jimin chuckled sadly.

"You know, last time I got really angry, I hit my mom. Punched her right in the jaw. That was the day we found the kittens, remember?"

Jungkook didn't say a word, sensing that Jimin still had things to say. He simply looked at him gently, rocking his own swing gently as he nibbles on his own popsicle.

Jimin didn't dare look at him, keeping his eyes trained on his shoes instead as he spoke rather hesitantly, as if the words themselves hurt to say.

"I could-" he ushered, "I could hurt you too, and I-"

"Yah," Jungkook gritted between his teeth, suddenly looking at Jimin with knitted eyebrows.

Jimin turned to look at him, and realised it was the first time he saw Jungkook genuinely angry, not just pretending o be to hide other feelings he wanted to dismiss.

"You don't trust me?" Jungkook asked.

"No... where did you get that from?" Jimin looked down, ashamed and guilty. "It's not that I don't trust you, I just... I don't trust myself."

"Then trust me, hmm?" Jungkook said, getting up from his swing to stand in front of Jimin and place his hands on the sides of his shoulders, squeezing them slightly.

He leaned down, trying to catch Jimin's fleeting gaze into his prying eyes.

"We all fuck up Jimin. You always act like you're such a criminal that should be locked away-"

"Because I am!"

"You were!" Jungkook rectified. "But you're not that person anymore!"

"Yes I am, people don't change Jungkook!" Jimin yelled.

"Of course they do!" Jungkook spat, matching his tone. "Who the fuck even are you? Where's the guy who gave me a second chance when I was being an asshole to everyone?"

"You were an asshole but you weren't dangerous!"

Both of them were yelling at each other on the top of their lungs at that point, perhaps in what was their first fight.

"Of course I was! And I changed didn't I? Stop wallowing around in self pity like it's going to somehow restore the balance." Jungkook screamed. "You did what you had to do when you stayed a yes in juvi and never assaulted anyone since!"

"But I'm scared!" Jimin cried out. "I'm scared alright, scared that one day, we'll have a fight just like this one and I won't be able to control myself and I'll hit you and ruin everything!"

Jungkook leaned backwards slightly. He was no longer holding Jimin's shoulders, towering over him as he tried to catch his breath from the rant he had just yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Hit me," Jungkook said.

"What?"

"Hit me," Jungkook repeated, "If you're so scared of hurting me then try. I'll show you that I'm not that weak, and you're not that strong."

Jimin looked into his eyes hesitantly, seemingly trying to read any malice or fear in his eyes.

"Come on, hit me." Jungkook said again.

Jimin sniffled, blinking back the tears that had begun to sting his eyes as they taught before standing up and gently slapping Jungkook's chest.

Jungkook scoffed.

"You call that a hit," he asked, before slapping Jimin right across the face so harshly Jimin had to stumble a few steps back to counter the force. "That's a hit, now come on, hit me."

Jimin looked up to him, utterly shocked that Jungkook would ever hit him. As the younger raised his hand to hit him again, he quickly grabbed ahold of his wrist and punched him instead.

His eyes widened suddenly, horrified that he had let his instincts quick in as he watched Jungkook hold onto his jaw painfully. His eyes filled with tears, about to apologies when Jungkook jabbed his fist right into his stomach.

Jimin coughed, feeling his insides churn, especially since the wounds from the fight at school hadn't healed. He clenched his fist, before hitting Jungkook again, both of them getting in the rhythm of a violant fist fight.

Jimin wasn't thinking anymore, his full attention was directed on Jungkook's every move in order to dodge better, hit better.

"Yah!" Someone yelled.

He couldn't hear, neither of them could.

Jimin was too hell bent on proving Jungkook wrong by hurting him, and Jungkook was determined to show Jimin that he was capable of handleing anything coming to him.

"What the fuck do you two think you're doing," a man yelled and Jimin's hands were suddenly pulled back and locked behind his back.

He snapped out of it again, suddenly looking up at Jungkook to see his face completely battered up.

He was about to cry out an apology, but suddenly he realised he had trouble breathing, opening his mouth in a desperate need to gulp as much air as he could. His senses were flooding back in.

Pain, excruciating pain. Everywhere.

He raised his hands up to look at them, knuckles completely red. He brought them up to his own face, but as soon as they graised his skin he winced, looking at his hands to see the very tips of his fingers glazed in his own blood.

Everything was a blur, glancing at the police officer putting Jungkook in hand cuffs, his own hands being pulled back again, before both of them were shoved in a police car.

Suddenly he was sitting in a foldable chair in a police station, a medic tending his wounds.

"Yah, are you really high schoolers?" The cop asked as the two of them sat in front of him, "look at you guys."

Jimin looked to Jungkook. He was really ruined, but oddly, not an ounce of guilt came to him.

He couldn't feel anything other than the defending pain coursing through his veins.

"Yah," he called gently, Jungkook looking over to him. "I think you broke one of my ribs."

Jungkook stayed silent for a few seconds, before chuckling. And then his chuckle escalated into a laugh.

"What did you expect?" He said. "I told you, you're not that strong."

And Jimin laughed along with him, the two police officers looking at each other questioningly.

"Yah Kookie," he called again.

"Mhm?" He hummed.

"I trust you," he said.

There was a slight pause, both of them looking at each other silently as Jungkook gauged the weight of those words.

"Mhm," Jungkook finally hummed.

"And I'm sorry, for hitting you."

"Yeah, me too."

A/N:
hey friends!

I finally updated this fic, yay me! My summer has literally been so hectic, like I've just been all over the place and did so many things with so many people.

Anyways, no one cares, onto the more important things:
thank you so much for reading this !

Honestly it makes me so happy to read all your comments so make sure to leave lots

hope you enjoyed his new update and see you in the next one :)))