Morning light crashed in like a wave of disturbance, accompanied by the sound of her alarm buzzing from where her phone remained stashed in her clutch.

Demi's dreams were washed away on the tides of San José, drowning in the abyss of her conscious reality as she awakened.

She groans softly as she lifted her head, her eyes barely open. She opts to keep them closed when the dull sting between her temples and the ache of dehydration in the pit of her stomach has her wincing.

"Mmmmghh" she groans, pulling her phone from underneath her pillow lazily to check the time on it. She brings it very close to her face and notes that it's barely noon with one eye.

Which explained the alarm. She always woke up at 11:30 on days she had no class to keep from wasting the day. Even if she was hungover.

Demi exhales heavily through her nose and allows her head to plop back down on the pillow, her eyes still shut as she did a mental recap of the night.

"Mmm...Damn Demi...how much did you even drink? When did I get back home?... I can't remember shit..." she slurs in her mind. Memories from last night are a blur and come to her in flashes as if her brain was doing a reboot and gradually loading images of the party as she gained consciousness.

Stepping into the Gamma house.

Scoping the scene with her sorors.

Eyeing Seokjin in the distance...

"Damn he looked good...dirt bag..." she thinks, continuing down the stream of recall.

Taking a few shots.

Strolling to a few songs.

Taking more shots...

"..yeah I overdid it...."

She then remembers going to the upstairs deck that overlooked the backyard pool.

She needed to get some air but it was too dark and crowded in the front, so she suffered through the smoky haze on the deck when...

"You hiding from me?"

"You would think that.."

"Come on. Stop being like that...
we can go to the third
level where the view is even better,
less noise. Zero smoke...
and we can just talk."

"Just talk?"

"Just talk...Promise.."

"Hmmph...just talk my ass...I guess I proved him wrong...Stupid ass...I'm capable of fun...." she remarks about the car wash and Seokjin's challenging smirk as it filled her drowsy mind. She grunts humorously, concluding her inner monologue.

Demi begins dozing off again, only to be awakened several minutes later by her phones buzzing beneath the pillow. She must have hit snooze instead of turning it off.

She groans pitifully as she made sure to hit 'stop' instead of 'snooze' again.

"Ugh...I need to eat...and take something...my head's bout to explode.." she thinks in reference to her aching stomach and pounding headache, continuing to whine softly as she rolls over.

Shower. Food. Aspirin.

Even if she would be lounging around her dorm for the rest of the day, she'd rather feel at least a little refreshed as she suffered.

As she sits up in the bed, it takes her a few seconds to notice a few peculiar facts of the moment.

Her contacts were still in. Ouch.

That explained why her eyes felt itchy and dry when she tried to open them. Out of habit, she reaches out in search of her bedside dresser where she kept her glasses and contact case. But her hand touches nothing, making her open her eyes completely to notice peculiar fact number two.

She was not in her room.

She wasn't even in a room she recognized. The decor was plain, white walls that were adorned with sports posters and Bayfield banners, and the air smelled of male body spray.

The bedding was a soft mustard yellow with white sheets and pillows, also holding that same deeply masculine scent.

Sunlight beamed in from the window on the far left side of the room, casting rays over the bedding that covered Demi's body.

Making the next fact apparent.

She was naked, only covered at the bust by the unfamiliar comforter that smelled like downy fabric softener and...

Beside her, snoring lightly but still looking as good as sin, was Seokjin.

The literal man of dreams.
Or nightmares...

He lays asleep, shirtless with his arm resting over his abdomen and his attractive set of pectorals muscles on display. His head was turned away from her, but the curve of his cheekbones and lashes were visible from where she sat.

And that's when it all came flooding back.

Demi never went back to her dorm.
Hell, she never even left the Gamma house.

In fact, it seems she spent the remainder of her night upstairs with Seokjin.

Drinking and talking.

With their bodies.

Realization hits her like a wave smashing against the bank and her widened eyes trailed off from Seokjin's slumbering form to a random spot across the room.

"Just talk...Promise.."

"Oh god....oh god oh god oh god..." she mutters, clutching the blanket that covered her breasts as if it would protect her from reality.

"The dream wasn't random...it was.." she whispers and before she can finish her thought, Seokjin stirs beside her and jostles the mattress as he turned on his side to face her side of the bed.

She tucks her lips in and holds her breath as she watched him settle into this new position, grunting and sighing softly as he seemed to struggle getting comfortable.

Not wanting to wake him, Demi waited until he began snoring again and was sleeping deep enough for her to move. After waiting another 15 seconds for extra measure, Demi tentatively eases her body out from under the thick comforter.

She uses one of her arms to cover her chest as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed slowly, grimacing every time the mattress made a sound.

Once her bare feet touched the floor, the chill of the air has her shivering and it unsubtly reminds her that she's booty butt naked.

"Dammit Demi...Where are your damn panties??" she whimpered beneath her breath as her eyes scan the room frantically for her clothes.

Hell for anything. A shirt. A towel. Something...

But the room was surprisingly (and annoyingly) neat.

"... there's gotta be a t-shirt or something.." she reiterates to herself, not realizing she said it aloud.

"Top drawer.."

Demi's spine tenses at the groggy voice addressing her from behind and she turns her head just enough to see Seokjin still laying on his side. His eyes are closed, his brow furrowed, his hair tussled and all over his head. His swollen lips were pink and pouty.

But he was no longer asleep.

Demi stares at him for a second and one of Seokjin's eyes opens sleepily to regard her before he shuts it again.

"Shirt..top drawer." He repeats, sounding just as sexy as he did before.

It had been a while since Demi heard Seokjin's morning voice and the fact that it had the same effect on her as it did back then made her huff in frustration.

"Thanks but...I'd rather wear my clothes so if you would be so kind..." she begins and a sly sleepy smile spreads across Seokjin's face.

"How should I know? You're the one who took them off...I think..." He mutters and Demi abruptly stands from the bed, not caring that her bare ass was on display for Seokjin as she stomped towards his dresser.

"I don't have time for this.." she grumbles as she went.

The padded sounds of Demi's feet hitting the wood floors has Seokjin waking up fully and he leans up slowly on his elbow to watch her open his top drawer.

Her arm was still shielding her chest but the rest of her is completely exposed, giving him an unobstructed view of the line of her curves from the side as she bent over slightly to rummage through the drawer for a shirt. Brown and supple, her smooth skin had a warm undertone in the natural lighting, making it hard for anyone not to stare.

Especially Seokjin.

Demi seems unconcerned with the heat of his lingering gaze that touched the curve of her spine, traveling over her booty and down her toned thighs as she snatched a random shirt from the dresser. She pulls it over her head, tucking her hand under her braids to pull them out to cascade over her shoulder.

"If you need some pants, there are some sweats in the bottom drawer.." Seokjin remarks cheekily and Demi looks up to find him still propped up on his elbow, face swollen from sleep but fully aware.

And amused.

She rolls her eyes.

"I'll pass. Foreal now....where are my clothes?" She asks and Seokjin shrugs his shoulder.

"What makes you think I know? I woke up naked just like you." He chuckles and Demi narrows her eyes at him.

"Nothing about this is funny Jin. I'm not laughing...I don't even know how this happened! One second we're talking and the next.......I need to find my clothes." She shakes her head as she stomps around to the other side of the room.

As she scanned the floors, crouching down occasionally to peek under the bed and desk, Seokjin rolls onto his back.

He wasn't feeling too great himself, knowing he probably had more to drink than he should have. He covers his face with his hands and rubs over his eyes a few times before running his fingers through his bedhead.

"You're right. I'm sorry...." He muffles through his palm, now deciding it was time for him to get up and make sure the house was still intact since he'd dropped the ball on being an attentive host.

Demi is at the foot of the bed, searching with her hands for what she believed to be one of her heels.

"Ha!! Yes..." she exclaims distractedly and she's barely aware of Jin rising from the bed until he stands up completely.

That's when the sight of his tall, lean, naked body pulled her from her task.

Seokjin was athletic but wasn't the type to accumulate a mass of muscle. The most definition Demi ever saw on him was the perfect placement of his washboard abs and chest. But looking up at him from this angle, she noticed that his legs and posterior had significantly more ripples and mass than she remembered.

Even the veins in his forearms and the size of his biceps seemed exaggerated as he reached up to stretch.

He's been working out...

Unaware of Demi gawking up at him from over the edge of the bed, Seokjin glances over and she immediately resumes her search for her other shoe.

He smirks.

"You know...now that I think of it, they might be in the bathroom..."

"Why would they be in there?" She grimaces and Seokjin shrugs.

"Well they aren't in here...and I doubt they'd be scattered all over the house.." he remarks nonchalantly and Demi's expression turns grave at the thought of her panties hanging from a random light fixture downstairs.

"Oh God please no..." she drawls out, pressing the bottom of her palm against her forehead.

Seokjin regards Demi and he antics humorously for a moment with his lip tucked between his teeth before he steps around the bed casually, flashing her with his perfectly sculpted and equally pale ass cheeks. They clench slightly as he's unsparingly comfortable flaunting his morning manhood across the room. At the sight of his hanging, Demi tries not to watch him move around and finds a spot on the ceiling to focus on as he walked passed her.

He smirks.

"Nothing you haven't seen before love..." he snickers but doesn't spare her glance as he entered the open bathroom doorway.

He shuts the door behind him, most likely to pee, and Demi jumps up to her feet immediately with her heels in hand.

"Lord, he's fine...NO...stay focused Demi.." she mumbles as she paced. How could she honestly expect herself to focus on anything but him right now? Especially when he looked like that!

Her anxiety was bubbling and the ache in her stomach intensified for a reason other than her hangover.

She and Seokjin had sex and it was probably really good sex from the way her thighs still trembled as she moved.

How long had it been since they'd been this close? 4...5 months?

"Ok...ok...no big deal Demi. It was just sex. Drunk sex. Really really good drunk sex that you wish you remembered more of...no big deal. He's not a stranger to you...and at least it was in a private setting...hopefully.." she mutters, groaning inwardly at the possibility of them being more risqué than she'd tolerate.

"No...we came upstairs and never came back down...I remember that much. Fuck, I'm never drinking again..." She says.

Just then, the bathroom door opens abruptly and Demi halts her anxious pacing as Seokjin emerged from the bathroom with his head down. He now had a towel wrapped around his waist for modesty, and in his arms was a pile of red lace and the black and red plaid two-piece set Demi wore to the party. He picked through the articles of clothing carefully.

He approaches her with a distracted frown before glancing up.

"On the bathroom floor...as I expected." He mutters and Demi snatches the small pile of clothing from his clutch.

"Wonderful. Thanks..."

Seokjin chuckles as if he wanted to say something smart, but he keeps it to himself as he watched Demi separate the garments investigatively. She sets them down on the bed and thoroughly inspects the inside of her pockets on the mini jacket and skirt a few times before sucking her teeth.

"Hold up..." she frowns and Seokjin, who had since made his way over to his dresser to retrieve a shirt for himself, turns his head and lifts a brow curiously.

"What's wrong?" He says, clutching the towel at his waist as he bent to now open the bottom drawer.

"My damn panties...Where are my damn panties..." she says, less so to him but more to herself. Seokjin furrows his brow dubiously as he dropped the towel to step into his sweats.

"I mean...you can check the bathroom yourself if you want but that's all I found." He responds honestly as he turns away.

As he pulls a white tee over his head, Demi takes a moment to collect herself.

The more she considered the circumstances and the more her headache intensified, the more she needed to put some space between herself and the situation.

And by the situation, she means Seokjin in grey sweats with no drawls. That's only confirmed further when she glances up to make eye contact with him gazing back at her expectantly, and her eyes drop to the prominent print in his pants.

"Damn...yeah, I gotta get outta here.."

"Fuck it...I'll just go commando." She mutters, setting out to redress herself in last night's outfit. With Seokjin's shirt still covering her body, Demi bends down to step into her little skirt and pulls it up over her hips before reaching for her bra.

Seokjin, now fully dressed, leans against his dresser comfortably to observe Demi expertly putting on her bra from underneath his shirt, immediately taking it off when she had the clasps secured.

Finding his eyes on her, Demi glances up through her brow as she made sure her nipples were covered sufficiently.

"Stop."

Seokjin's brow crinkles with amusement when his gaze is summoned from her bountiful chest wrapped in red lace to her cold expression, and he folds his arms over his chest.

"What? What am I doing?" He chuckles breathily.

"You know damn well...Standing over there...Looking how you're looking...Like you conquered a small country...I bet you're getting a huge kick out of all of this aren't you?" She snarks and Seokjin's smirk fades as his eyes rolled toward the ceiling.

"Here we go..." he mumbles.

"..Having me here in your room half naked where you've probably had all types of women up here naked already. That's how you get them in here huh? Look at them with those dreamy eyes and say you only wanna talk. Yeah, that's how you get 'em..." she trails off, tossing her braids back over her shoulder.

"That's what you're worried about? What other women have been in my bed..." he interrupts with an ironic smirk, making Demi scoff distractedly.

"I couldn't care less...I care about you not lumping me in with them. You know, I bet you can't wait to tell your frats about this..." she mutters bitterly as she fought with the zipper on her skirt, looking away to hide the obvious shame in her eyes as she continued getting dressed.

Seokjin says nothing for a moment, silently watching Demi as she shrugged on the matching plaid jacket.

"You know I'm grown, right? I don't make my bedroom business topics of conversation amongst my peers. Especially who I have sex with..." he says seriously and Demi sucks in her inner cheeks to bite as she mustered up her rebuttal to his attractively astute response.

"Please. I know how men talk." She waves her hand dismissively, sounding a little cryptic as she turns her back on him to sit on the edge of the bed.

Seokjin remains against his dresser, his eyes assessing Demi as she reaches for the heels she'd placed on the floor.

"I thought you and I agreed on a truce last night?" He asks after several seconds of silence, by then Demi was pushing her foot in her other shoe.

"Apparently I agreed to a lot of shit last night that I had no business agreeing to...Wheres my phone.?" She mutters to herself and Seokjin tries not to let her callous tone get to him.

He glances over at the bed, noting the corner of Demi's phone poking out from beneath the comforter and he goes over to retrieve it.

As Demi stands in her heels, Seokjin is stepping up to her smoothly with his hands behind his back.

Their height difference is still enough for her to look up to match eyes with him and his sudden appearance before her has her staggering back an inch.

Wordlessly, Seokjin produces her phone from behind his back with softening eyes and a friendly smirk on his even softer lips.

Anyone as handsome as him would render someone silent if they were to look at them like that and Demi has to blink a few times to gather her wits before taking her phone from him.

"Thank you.." she says dryly, swiping at the screen to unlock it.

She was too tired to notice the missed calls and texts from her line sisters, most likely checking to see if she was ok, and an inconvenient thought occurs to her when an unread text from her oldest sorror pops up on the screen.

"Dammit...I didn't drive. Teisha did. " she says, responding to the text rapidly. As she did, Seokjin studied her expression, admiring the cute way her nose wrinkled when she was focused on something.

He smirks.

"I can take you back." He offers and Demi chuckles humorously at the idea.

"No thank you. I'm ordering a Lyft now," she mutters distractedly.

"You'd rather pay for someone to take you back than ride with me? For free. Ouch...You shouldn't think so little of me, you know. Hurts my feelings a little." Seokjin pouts childishly, clutching his chest as if it ached.

"You'll live. And it wouldn't be for free..."Demi smirks, completing her request for a ride through the app and locking her phone. She then cranes her neck to look past Seokjin at his bedside dresser, sighing in relief to find her clutch that contained her keys.

He steps aside to allow her to sashay over to retrieve it, silently admiring her from afar. Demi pays him no mind as he plopped down on the foot of the bed, tiredly rubbing at his eyes as she walked back toward him.

She doesn't pause as she's about to pass him and it seems as if she was going to walk straight for the door if Seokjin hadn't stood up abruptly and reached out to grab her wrist gently.

"Wait..." he frowns and to his surprise, Demi doesn't snatch away from him as she turned on her heels.

She says nothing though and Seokjin's confused expression mirrors her expectant one. He releases her wrist after a beat and takes a short step back with a sigh.

"So... you're just gonna leave?" He asks, sounding more vulnerable than he'd intended, for reasons unknown to her, it makes the corner of her mouth perk up slightly.

"You'd prefer I stay or something? To do more...talking?" She asks with a lifted brow. Seokjin huffs in amusement, shaking his head as he gazed across the room briefly.

"How far out is your Lyft?" He opts to ask, ignoring her question as he resumes his lowered gaze on her and Demi shrugs blankly.

"I don't know. But I'd rather wait on the front porch than up here..." she says casually, not even intending for it to be an insult and Seokjin lifts his brows in astonishment.

"Wow..ok. Again, ouch." He pouts, stepping away from where Demi remained before him. Something about the way Seokjin was now putting distance between them caused an unexpected wave of guilt to roll over her.

Demi lets out a heavy empathetic sigh.

"I didn't mean it like that..." she begins and Seokjin shakes his head as he sat back down on the bed.

"It's cool. I get it... I'm...uh..sorry I make you feel that uncomfortable." He backpedals and Demi's shoulders droop at the genuine sound of defeat in Seokjin's voice.

Sure. She was hard on him.
Perhaps a little mean.
But it only came from a place of fear and apprehension.

Not hate.

"You don't make uncomfortable, Jin..." she says after a beat and Seokjin drags his wounded gaze up to regard her.

"You sure? " he asks, not seeming that convinced and Demi stares back into Seokjin's eyes for a moment.

Was she sure?
Seokjin was someone that could read Demi like a book. He knew her not because of time but because of intention. He intentionally learned her and memorized every detail that made her..her. And admirably that did make her uncomfortable. But not in the way he was implying.

She lets out another sigh, reaching up to rub at her eye that still itched from being dehydrated and sleeping in her contacts.

"I'm sure...I just need some air. My head hurts and I need a shower." She responds honestly with zero traces of mirth in her tone. Seokjin doesn't respond immediately, silently gauging her expression and watching her eyes.

And despite them being a little irritated and itchy, neither one of them twitch.

He smiles.

"Gotta wash those sins away right? Want me to walk you out?" He chuckles, the humor in his demeanor returning. Demi rolls her eyes but doesn't stifle her reluctant laugh.

"Pretty much." She responds and Seokjin nods in understanding.

"Understood." He says, looking down at his hands.

His tone was calm and definite but not condescending or sarcastic and for the first time since waking up, Demi feels appreciative of that.

She takes a leveling breath before slowly turning away, her braids swinging behind her and her heels clicking against the wood floors.

Seokjin steals a glance in her direction, watching her go thoughtfully before perking up.

"Demi.."Seokjin suddenly calls out just as she reaches for the doorknob.

She pauses to look over her shoulder.

"For what it's worth, I enjoyed your company last night. I always enjoyed your company. And I hope you know I respect you. Immensely. Even if things got away from us and we drank a little more than necessary.......I have no regrets."

Demi chuffed at his statement, smiling softly as she nodded.

"Well...I appreciate that. And I..um....respect you too."

"Yeah?" Seokjin smirks, almost hopefully and a tiny corner of her immovable heart melts.

"Bye Seokjin.." she bids him, trying to make her smile by feigning annoyance.

But Seokjin wasn't worried.

He knew better.

12:15 PM

Joon:
Good Morning😁

Jordan:
Morning❤️ how did you sleep?

Joon:
Like a rock. 😅. You?

Jordan:
Not enough. Lol

Joon:
I feel that. Lmao

Jordan:
Man...I didn't even think
I took my makeup off.
As soon as I got inside,
I changed and got in
bed right before you called.

Joon:
Damn.
What time did
you end up falling asleep
after we got off the phone?

Jordan:
Immediately. 😫
and I slept straight through my alarm.
Jael FaceTimed me just
a second ago from my
aunt's phone, mad as hell

Joon:
Damn 😅 you picking
him up in a lil bit then?

Jordan:
yea lol heading out
the door now.

Joon:
cool. My guy
needs rescuing 😂

Joon:
so... I'm really glad you
were able to come
out last night. It was fun.

Jordan:
it was.
Im really glad too.

Jordan:
that club.
They have events
like that alot?

Joon:
yep. Different stuff tho.
Painting. Pottery. Wine tasting.
But they have Open Mic
events every Saturday I think.

Jordan:
hmm. Good to know.

Jordan:
well..maybe we can
check them out sometime.
When we're free at least

Joon:
Yea. Maybe we can.
Im down for whatever.
Just let me know

Joon:
Even if its something
else you wanna do

Jordan:
Also good to know ☺️

Joon:
😉

Jordan:
hey, i'll text you sometime later.
I have a peeved toddler to face lol
Assuming I survive his wrath

Joon:
man!
Good luck🥴 lol

Joon:
and no worries.

Joon:
I'll be here

1:30 PM

Boongi☺️:
hey

🥜:
hey😊

Boongi☺️:
you good?

🥜:
i should be asking you that.
I wanted to catch up with you
last night but shit got kinda crazy..

Boongi☺️:
aww look at you
worrying about me and shit.
Im straight. Almost had to lay
Tae out but other than that...

🥜:
omg are you serious?
He tried to fight you too?

Boongi☺️:
lol naw. He knows better than that.
We did exchange some words tho.

Boongi☺️:
Im over it.
What about Jade?
She alright?

🥜:
hungover and asleep
I think but good.
We're all just keeping
to our rooms right now

🥜:
I think everyone had a night

Boongi☺️:
i can imagine...

Boongi☺️:
Im sorry about that by the way.
If you felt like i blew you off.

Boongi☺️:
My instincts kinda
just kicked in and..

🥜:
Shut up.
You didn't blow me off.

Boongi☺️:
Feels like it☹️

🥜:
Trust me.
You didnt.

Boongi☺️:
Cool....

Boongi:

Boongi☺️:
wyd tho?
you busy
right now?

🥜:
not shit. Just up.
Was just thinking about
taking my braids down tho..

Boongi☺️:
Aw yea?
Need help?

🥜:
Help? lmao wym

Boongi☺️:
whatchu mean
what do i mean?
Do you need help?

🥜:
what you gon help
me with Yoongi? Lol

Boongi☺️:
your hair.
Duh🙄 you drunk?

🥜:
lol no❤️
i think i can manage.
i put the braids in,
i can get em out.

Boongi☺️:
aw...well...shit.
excuse me for
tryna be helpful.

🥜:
youre funny. Like you'd
know what you're doing
if I did need help lol

Boongi☺️:
i might.
i mean it cant be that difficult.
Plus im good with my hands.
Ive fixed cars and shit.
Braids sound like lite work.

🥜:
chile anyways....😅🌚

Boongi☺️:
lol

Yoongi smirks at his phone, laying on his back shirtless in the middle of his bed. He'd showered and his damp hair stick to his brow as it furrowed with slight frustration.

He almost did it.

He was this close to finally feeling her lips that he'd thought of endlessly for months now.

He was just that close to crossing that line in their friendship. A line that he wouldn't be so nervous about crossing if he actually didn't care about Alana and knew of her past experiences with dirt bag ass men.

Truth is, being buzzed gave him the courage to attempt to cross that line.

Perhaps he'd try again.

But when they were both sober and in a place where no one could spoil the moment.

Not today though.

Boongi:
Im just saying.
Your arms could get
tired or something.
Your heads small but..
ya know...

Peanut🥜:
DO NOT START

Boongi:
😂😂😂

Boongi:
Im sorry 😅

😈: here pussy pussy pussy
*smooch noises*

Boongi:
well....if you want,
you could take them
down over here.
I aint doing shit..

Boongi:
i was gonna order
some food and chill.
Maybe find some shit to watch..

Peanut🥜:
Yoongi

Boongi:
what🌚

Peanut🥜:
you want me to come over?

Boongi:
huh? do YOU wanna
come over?👀

Peanut🥜:
i asked you first,
dont do that 😂🙄

Boongi:
i mean...

Boongi:
yeah...only if u
want to tho.

Peanut🥜:
shut up.
See you in like 30 minutes.

Boongi:
Ok Bet.

Peanut🥜:
And come to the door
with clothes on please sir lol

Boongi:
🌚

Boongi:
Wym?🌚

Maybe: Hoemin

Maybe: Hoemin

Maybe: Hoemin

3:45 PM

Jade:
can you call me?

At first, he thought he was dreaming and the soreness surrounding his eye worsens as he squinted to read the unexpected text.

Taehyung made it back to his dorm on foot probably 30 minutes after Yoongi left him in the middle of the street, per his request of course, and passed out on his couch. He was still in his shoes and outfit from the night before, mouth dry and stale from getting sick a few times before falling asleep.

Before his phone buzzed against his chest, he'd been staring at the ceiling, ignoring the occasional knock on his door that he assumed to be from one or two of his teammates checking on him.

He was sure the fight was the talk of campus already and it was only a matter of time before it was back to the coaches.

"Ugh..." he groans at the thought, swiping his hand over his face shamefully just as he felt the text message come through.

"Can you call me..." he re-reads drowsily, about to ignore it until the sight of Jade's name at the top of the notification has him sitting upright. He doesn't even take the time to respond to her text before tapping the phone icon to call her immediately.

Taehyung had no idea why he was so eager to talk to her.

He knew she was most likely livid over his behavior last night. She and probably a few other people he knew he'd have to face again soon.

But his heart pounded in his chest as he anticipated the sound of her voice.

"Hello?"

Though her tone was neutral and she sounded exhausted, Taehyung's heart still fluttered at her greeting.

"Hey..." he says.

"Hey." She responds lowly.

There's a clip of silence stretching between them that's loaded with tension and a plethora of unsaid words.

"How...are you?" Taehyung asks hesitantly, not wanting to leave too much dry air between them.

"Fine. And you?"

"I didn't ask how you looked..", Taehyung jokes weakly, hoping it wouldn't be taken the wrong way. It was just his usual response to her when she said that.

Thankfully, he hears her scoff humorously on the other end and he imagines her rolling her eyes with a smirk.

"Are you ok?"  She asks, not acknowledging the attempt to lighten the mood.

"From last night, I mean.." she clarifies.

"Im alright. Heads kinda fuzzy and I'm starving but..."

"Were you hurt badly?" Jade interrupts and Taehyung has to stifle his snort.

"Naw.." he chuckles.

"Your face was bleeding the last time I saw you and your eye was damn near swollen shut. How is that not hurt?" She asks and Taehyung shrugs as she could see him.

"Eh....You should see the other guy..." he mutters jokingly and Jade scoffs at his nonchalance.

"Tae...this isn't funny. Nothing about any of this is funny."

"I know. Im sorry. Foreal....I am genuinely sorry. I don't know what came over me last night but I swear..."

"I do. I know exactly what came over you.." Jade cuts him off again and Taehyung pauses his rushed apologies.

"And I wish I didn't...." She continues, exhaling heavily and sniffling from the other end of the phone. Taehyung remains silent as he listened to Jade compose herself, clenching his jaw at the hurt in her voice.

He hurt her.

Not only when he cheated and put her health at risk.

But he also humiliated her in more than one way.

"Well, I only reached out because I was worried about you." She finally says, clearing the emotion from her throat.

"I appreciate that. I was..surprised you still cared." He chuckles dryly and Jade does the same, sounding less amused though.

"We haven't been broken up that long Tae. My feelings didn't just vanish because I hate you right now. I care. More than I even want to..."

"But you still care...I mean, it's good to know." Taehyung says, sounding hopeful. He hears some muffled sniffles on the other line and the soft sound of a mattress shifting as Jade sits up in her bed.

To know that it hurt her even more to know that she still held a considerate amount of love for him in her heart is enough to make the ache in his chest intensify.

She hates that she still loves him

"Jade..." Taehyung begins, pushing himself up on the couch.

"Don't, Tae....*sighs* ....Look, I gotta go. Put some ice on your eye ok?.." she says hurriedly and before Taehyung can get another word in, he's met with the dreaded three doots.

He pulls the phone from his face just as his phone returned to his home screen after ending the call and his shoulders fall in disappointment.

For a second he considers calling her back, or even texting her just to ensure the message was received. To tell her that...

Hell...

He didn't even know.

But God he'd find something to say if it meant he could hear her voice again or hold her attention after she'd ignored him for what felt like forever. Taehyung wasn't used to this feeling. The feeling of rejection and disappointment. The feeling of being held accountable.  It hurt his pride and him to the core and he couldn't imagine it getting worse.

Yoongi did have a point and Taehyung resented every bit of it.

"Fuck..man.." he huffs, tossing the phone on his coffee table.

He then pushes himself up from the couch, stepping on the back of his boot to pull his foot from it. He stumbles forward, feeling the extent of his hangover and possible head injury as the room spins.

"Ugh.."He grimaces and shuts his eyes tightly as vertigo persists, taking a few leveling breaths before shuffling forward.

His bedroom door shuts behind him with a trail of discarded shoes, socks, and overalls in his wake, and the sound of the shower cutting on drowns out the world beyond his room.

Coach C:

My office. Monday at 2.