The buzzer blares throughout the gymnasium and the celebratory music shakes the stands at Bayfield's anticipated victory.

78 to 82, by way of a three-point shot from the side, the game was officially over.

And much to Alesha's delight.

She enjoyed a game or two from the comfort of her dorm when she had nothing else to watch but being in the stadium was a whole other overwhelming experience.

Especially on her own.

But she promised to be there per her insistent suite-mates request.

From Alesha's vantage point, she can already spot Alana's searching squint as the cheerleader scans the seated sections diagonal to the basket.

Alesha smirked at Alana's expression as she stood, craning her neck and waving as the now-standing crowds shifted in unison to exit the stadium.

Alana eventually spots her and her RBF of focus switches to a smile as she waves back.
The two share a quick convo of hand motions indicating that one will call the other once outside and both disperse to fall into the lines of exiting Bayfielder's.

The mid-October air was crisper at night and Alesha was thankful she wore her jacket despite the heat from earlier that day. She tugged one of the sleeves over her hand before tucking it in her pocket while her other hand held her phone.

Her thumb taps over the screen like lightning as she responds to Alana's text, letting her know exactly where she is outside the arena.

The two had plans to go out after the game, regardless of them winning or losing, for food and drinks at one of their new favorite spots.

Alana just needed a moment to change in the cheerleader's dressing room before coming out.

MoBooty:
It's cold as a bitch out here.
Hurry up!

Lana:
Well, no one told you
to go outside naked heaux.
Tryna be cute and fast...

MoBooty:
Wench, I'm fully clothed.
It's just cold. And I'm hungry

Lana:
I bet😌😏

MoBooty:

Lana:
Nothing😌
What side are you on again?

MoBooty:
Nigglet...the side facing
the gas station. Section E.

Lana:
Ok ok ok...Here I come.

Closing the thread, Alesha switches to another.

Mochii:
Jade! Yo ass better be
up and dressed

Jade:
Um...

Jade:
Not me checking the
contact thinking my mama
was texting me just now 😂

Jade:
but I'm up.
Im gonna meet
yall over there
and get a table.
How long do you
think you'll be?

Mochii:
Waiting on Lana now.
We shouldn't be more than 10-15.

Jade:
Okay. Just let me know.
I'm leaving the dorm in like 5.

Mochii:
Bet.

A tempered sigh passed between her glossed lips and she was surprised she couldn't see it based on how the air had her teeth chattering.

It wasn't like she wasn't dressed warmly, although the jacket she chose was pretty thin. And she was wearing a slightly cropped tee underneath because of her newly acquired waist beads.

Perhaps Alana had a point.

Alesha glances up bitterly from her phone and her eyes scan aimlessly over the passerby's. Most of them students or alumni, a grip of them sporting Bayfield's colors.

A pair of students catch her eye as they breeze past her hand in hand. The woman struts in high-waisted jeans and a cropped Bayfield hoodie that accentuates the sway in her walk.

Her boyfriend was tall and sported a fitted black tee that stretched over his broad back but hung loose over his torso, jeans of a similar wash hanging from his waist in an attractive sag. He glances over at his companion with a lazy smile, leaning in to peck her temple before the two continue to fall onto the dispersing crowd.

She smirks at how cute they are, it immediately vanishing as a she had a reoccurring revelation.

"Damn Im single..." she mutters under her breath, rolling her eyes.

They fall back to her phone and she's about to scroll on Instagram until a text notification drops from the top of the screen. She expects it to be a text from Alana but feels something in her chest turn at the discovery of it being from someone she'd been trying not to think of.

Maybe: Hoemin
Can we talk?

Maybe: Hoemin
Please?

Alesha pursed her lips at the text, her thumb skimming over the other texts she'd ignored from him from the past few weeks. Perhaps it was petty of her to not just block the fool instead of letting him see the read receipts on his every attempt to contact her since the night of the homecoming party.

But something was satisfying and a little flattering about Jimin texting her periodically, knowing damn well Alesha wasn't going to respond.

He was a persistent fucker. She'd give him that.

Her bottom lip slots between her teeth as she stares at her phone, narrowing on the chat box awaiting to be filled by her anticipated response.

She contemplates.

"Fuck it." She exhales.

Mo🥺:
About what?

Hoemin:
A lot! You haven't
received any of my texts?

Mo🥺:
Maybe.

Mo🥺:
Ive been kinda busy tho so..

Lies.

Alesha's smirk was downright evil as the ellipsis bubble danced at the bottom of her screen.

Hoemin:
Ok. Well..
are u busy now?

Mo🥺:
Kinda. So whats up?

Hoemin :
🙄Doing what?
Shivering?

The flutter in Alesha's chest plummets at Jimin's latest response and instinctively, her head whips up to scan the crowd. She looks ahead towards the parking lot first, seeing no one familiar to her. She then looked towards the stadium's exit, which was still purging clusters of Bayfield fans.

But to her left, a heated tingle at her nape compels her to look over.

Strolling up with a casualness that has Alesha hopelessly staring, Jimin approaches her where she leans against the bricked wall.

And damn he looked good.

Double dark denim over a fitted tee beneath it, his muscular legs seemed longer with every graceful step.

He wasn't blonde anymore, a shade Alesha thought suited him too well and for some reason the darker look made him seem taller.

More mature.

Broader.

Finer.

🥴

An elated smile spreads the pillows that were Jimin's lips and he tilts his head to toss a lock of his bangs from his brow in the dreamiest way.

So dreamy in fact, that it nearly made Alesha sick.

She scoffs.

"The hell? You stalking me?" Was the first thing she'd said to Jimin in weeks and although it warmed his heart to hear her voice, it panged it simultaneously.

His shoulders sag at the blankness of her stare and he lets out a heavy sigh.

"Now why would you think that?" He huffed against the cool night air and Alesha shrugs.

"Iont know. The very Joe from "You" way you just responded to that text like you've been watching me?" She snarks. Jimin pauses mid-step with an astonished smile, poking his canine with the tip of his tongue as he mapped her adorable scowl.

"Oh my god...Look! I'm parked over there. I just looked up and saw you Mo..." he says, much to Alesha's disbelief. But from the way he points emphatically over her shoulder, Alesha turns her head to spot the silver sedan chirping its tail lights at her in the distance.

She pouts, still not convinced coincidence was the blame for this encounter.

"Hmm..well, doesn't really explain why you're here.." she mutters obtusely and Jimin can't help but laugh as he continues his slow approach, tucking his key fob back in his pocket.

"Oh? So everyone else is allowed to be at the game but me because you hate me..." he laughs and Alesha whips her head back to him just as he's close enough for his shadow to touch hers.

"Basically. Since when do you like basketball anyway?" She counters back accusingly. She leaned away and Jimin smirked as he joined her at the wall, giving her at least a foot of space as he pressed his shoulder cozily against the concrete.

"Since when do you?" Jimin matches her tone.

Alesha says nothing for a moment and it's not because she didn't have her rebuttal already in the chamber.

Seeing Jimin this close, looking a different type of suave with dark hair and even darker eyes, after not seeing him at all for weeks was doing something to her. It chapped her ass more than anything.

How dare he be so fine when she disliked him so much?

Even his smell was distracting and he wasn't even that close.

"Alright. What do you want? You've got until Lana gets here.." Alesha exhales with mock boredom, forcing herself to look away from the Adonis beside her as if she were scanning the exiting crowd.

"Are you seriously that mad at me? Still?" Jimin lifts his brows and Alesha looks back over and blinks slowly.

"Still? Who said I was mad at all? I've been busy as I've said. So don't flatter yourself.." She responds curtly.

Jimin squints at her with scrutiny for a few seconds.

"Fine...But that doesn't explain you ghosting me. You could have just told me you were busy instead of leaving me on read." He responds, folding his arms over his chest and Alesha regretfully peeps how his pecs smush together a little.

"Ghosting you? Psssht..Boy..." she waves her hand dismissively at him. Despite it, Jimin flashes a smile with his tongue poking at his inner cheek.

"Yes. Ghosting. It's been like 2 or 3 weeks since homecoming and I've been reaching out constantly. Texting and calling. And from you, nothing. I was starting to worry if you were alive and considered popping up at your dorm but decided not to..."

Alesha could feel the space between them thinning as Jimin spoke. Or perhaps it was just the heaviness of his tone wearing down on her, deep, raspy, and almost right in her ear.

"Hmmph...good choice." She manages to say through a thickness forming in her throat, tucking her hair, which was still ironically styled long and straight, behind the curve of her ear to dispel the little tingle there.

She braves a look over her shoulder at Jimin, finding him pouting and round-eyed with his head tilted slightly. His look is as earnest as it's expectant and at her silence, Jimin scoffs.

"Right...but you're not mad at me?" He asks, his smoldering gaze pinning Alesha as if he were pinning her up against that wall with that magnificent body of his.

He might as well have been from the way he loomed over her, his shadow eclipsing her as she stared back at him.

This wasn't expected. Jimin didn't seem like the type to grovel and something about it was intriguing.

And arousing.

A tingling warmth spreads lower the deeper Jimin's eyes bored into hers and she reflexively presses her legging-bound thighs together for some relief.

She resented their chemistry. Even now, staring him down with disdain and annoyance in her thoughts, her body wanted nothing more than to feel him.

"Yeah well...Believe whatever you want. I'm cool." She says coldly, maintaining her front of indifference even though she is anything but.

Jimin sighs tiredly as she turns her head to watch the rush of exiting fans slow to a trickle and a silence settles between them for a moment.

A grateful silence.

Alesha really couldn't stand to look at him more than she had to and she was starting to think Alana was taking her sweet ass time on purpose. At the thought, she lifts her phone to unlock it and shoots a text to her dilly-dallying ass friend.

She knew the arena was big but damn.

Mobooty:
Fam. 😒

Lana:
IM OMW. Our coach
had to talk to us.
But I'm walking out
the dressing room now.
I promise.😘

"Ugh," Alesha huffs at Alana's response, tucking her phone back into her sleeve.

All the while she did her best to ignore Jimin and his cedar wood-vanilla scented cologne. A signature scent that brought up too many memories.

But it didn't matter how she pointedly avoided his gaze.

His presence was like a scalding iron puffing steam over her like she was a stubbornly wrinkled piece of linen. Even the tension she tried to maintain in her shoulders smoothed out the longer she felt him close to her.

Whatever that meant.

She sighs.

"Ok look. Maybe I was a little mad. But don't act like you didn't know why..." Alesha says over her shoulder, still not looking at Jimin as he lifts his head sullenly.

"Naw, I know why." He shakes his head. Alesha then turns to him, surprised a little at his admission.

"And I'm sorry about that. Truly. I put you in a weird spot at the party and made you uncomfortable. I never wanted that..." he continues, inching closer to lessen the gap between them.

Alesha stiffens but doesn't recoil, her eyes only giving him a sizing once over as she considers his words.

"Eh...my feelings weren't hurt or anything. I just didn't like how you handled it. I just needed to distance myself a little." She admits the half-truth and Jimin nods.

"I understand. I don't want you to feel like you didn't matter in that moment. To be honest, I barely remember shorty. And I mean that. If what she said was true, it wasn't memorable. But when I told you I cared about you, I wasn't bullshitting, Mo. It hurt having you ignore me like that. And I probably deserved it for the first couple of days but..I don't know..." Jimin pauses with a shrug, looking away briefly.

The glimpse of his profile was accentuated by his clenched jaw and Alesha furrowed her brow curiously at his demeanor.

"But what?" She says to urge him to continue and Jimin returns his gaze to her softly. He steps closer, keeping his lean against the wall casual. But they were now close enough to feel each other's breathing, tempered and short between them.

"I just thought we were a little better than that." He admits finally, actually sounding as hurt as he implied.

Alesha tucks her bottom lip between her teeth, worrying the skin there as she studies  Jimin's expression.

Perhaps damn near a month of no communication was a bit excessive. It wasn't like what happened that night truly hurt her feelings. But it was the way the idea of being just another female Jimin entertained and how the possible aftermath of it being put in her face yet again made her feel.

She knew him and how he was. She'd always known. Why did it matter so much when she worked so hard to keep herself from getting overly attached?

Was it bad to care?

"Damn..." Alesha said to herself.

"Fine....." she hissed, melting into the wall as she kicked the pavement between them. Jimin stills expectantly as Alesha finds her words.

"You're right. The silent treatment might have been a bit excessive so...Apology accepted. I guess..." she mutters, rolling her eyes up to look at him briefly before looking back at the ground.

Jimin tilts his head and beams sexily, his smile creeping slowly over his pout.

"Yeah? So we're good?" He perks up slightly. Alesha lifts her head and looks him up and down with another resentful sigh.

"We're not besties or nothing but yeah. I guess.." she repeats and Jimin grunts.

"Oh, you guess, huh?" He chuckles and just before Alesha can retract her statement, Jimin closes the gap between them.

She gasps and her lips part for something to say but nothing comes out when something softens in his expression. From playful to something deeper.

Jimin's lips still curved with the ghost of his smile, but they tucked into each other when his eyes fell on Alesha's.

Without a warning, he reaches forward and gathers her jacket just below the lapel in his hand to tug her forward, tipping her chin up with his other hand.

"What.." she mouths but it all goes silent once the eyes she avoided lock onto hers.

Her breath hitched as she searched him for any traces of deceit or manipulation, but only found vulnerability as he leaned forward to plant a soft peck on the tip of her nose.

"Shh," he subdued her, angling her head back further to place a peck on her pout, suckling gently at her bottom lip before parting them to tease his tongue at her mouth's entrance.

Jimin's lips always tasted sweet, like he'd been sucking on candy all day or something. And they were always soft, sometimes barely feeling there until he wanted you to really feel them. Alesha stifled the tiny moan as it caught in her throat but the way her eyes flutter made her forget for a moment how much dislike she'd been harboring for this man was now for nothing.

Out of habit, her teeth scrape over Jimin's bottom lip, and the warmth of his sigh has her insides churning.

"Oh hell..." she says inwardly, already melting into him further as his lips overtook hers.

Reality blows over her like the chilly autumn breeze and Alesha pulls away abruptly,  blinking hard and visibly caught off guard by the unexpected PDA.

She glances around as if anyone gave a damn enough to notice the kiss, finding little to no one since pretty much everyone leaving the arena was now deep off in the parking lot.

When her eyes find Jimin's again, they're hooded and lowered on her lips. When they lift to hers, they're sparkling with something Alesha wouldn't dare identify.

Just then, a little triumphant smirk twitches at the corner of his mouth, and immediately earns himself a sharp shove to the chest.

"Damn him.."

"Um...excuse you.." she feigns disgust, lifting the back of her hand to her lips as if she were going to wipe them.

Jimin clutches his shirt dramatically and staggers back a few steps against the wall. The little intimate bubble surrounding them pops, giving Alesha a chance to breathe comfortably since she feels his lips on hers after so long.

Sure they'd kissed plenty of times before.
Mostly when they were drunk or naked, sweaty, and tangled together on either of their beds.

But this kiss wasn't anything like those kisses.

This kiss had feelings.

"Ouch...What'd I do?" Jimin whined breathily, still rubbing where Alesha struck him and his wince was entertaining enough for Alesha to feel like they'd leveled the playing field.

A little bit.

"That's what you get. I accepted your apology. That doesn't mean getting all cozy like that, you gremlin. Baby steps." She smirks, though the way her tongue swiped over her lips to taste where his had just been betrayed her light rejection completely.

Jimin doesn't protest though, since he was also sucking the faint taste of her lip gloss from his bottom lip as he nodded.

"You're right. My apologies.." he remarks, lifting his hands in surrender. He then stuffs one of them in his pocket while using the other to stroke his bottom lip with his thumb.

"You ain't sorry. Shut up..." Alesha shoves him again, more playfully this time and Jimin shrugs nonchalantly.

"Maybe..." is all he says before going quiet, giving her a look she knew all too well.

Well. Here she was again. Staring up into those endless pools of sin he called eyes with a throbbing coochie and conflicted heart.

Feeling more annoyed now that her body was betraying her thoughts, Alesha sucks her teeth with a reluctant smile.

"Ugh...Why you gotta look like that?" She asks and Jimin looks down at himself curiously.

"Like what?" He frowns, looking back up at Alesha seeming even more handsome than he was two seconds ago.

"Like..like ugly.." she concedes finally and Jimin's head tips back as he laughs at the familiar jab. The sound of it seemed to echo from the walls of the hollow concrete tunnel they stood at the mouth of, reminding Alesha just how alone the two were now.

"You think I'm ugly? Foreal?" He cocks his brow and Alesha nods.

"Yep." She quips and Jimin grins.

"Yeah yeah..I missed you too baby.." he responds all too casually, stealing a second to look away as some people pass them. But Alesha's gaze lingers on his passive profile, one little word in his voice floating ominously in her mind.

"Baby?"

Just then, Alesha flinches at a sudden tap on her shoulder and she turns to find Alana behind her.

She blinks cartoonishly in both surprise and relief at her appearance finally, not sure if she trusted herself alone with this man for much longer. He already had a way of dissolving her walls, in more ways than just figuratively.

Now he was adding new pet names to the mix.

"Damn girl...about time.." she huffs, tucking her hair behind her ear again anxiously.

"I know. Sorry I had you waiting. I was tryna find my...oh here they go.." Alana trails off distractedly, digging in her Bayfield cheer bag to ensure she has her keys. All changed out of her uniform and back in her jeans and cropped hoodie, Alana didn't even bother with her cheer makeup in her rush to meet with Alesha.

Her eyes go wide when she looks up to find Jimin, looking different as hell and devilishly good as he peeks around Alesha.

"Oh. Hey there...Jimin.." she drawls out as if she wasn't sure it was actually him since his signature blonde was no more.

She shoots a questioning side eye to Alesha, who just shakes her head stiffly before busying herself with pulling her spiral key ring from her wrist.

Jimin watches Alesha fidget with clear amusement before turning to her roommate.

"Hey Lana." He smirks, giving her a quick nod before pushing himself from the wall with his elbow. Alana gives the former blonde a once over with narrowed eyes.

"Sup...What yall doing out here?" She asks cheekily, shifting her gaze unsubtly between him and Alesha.

Jimin shrugs.

"Oh you know, keeping your friend company...Hey, y'all looked good out there tonight. I saw you shaking them pompoms like a pro." He jokes and Alana sucks her teeth with her usual smile.

"Shut the hell up. You ain't see shit. And since when do you like basketball anyway?" Alana wrinkles her nose and Jimin rolls his eyes at the irony of her question.

"Why do I keep getting asked that? Why can't I like basketball? Mo doesn't like it and she's here? Why don't you ask her......" he huffs defensively, regarding Alesha briefly with a sheepish smile.  She avoids his eye like the plague despite biting back a smile that Alana surely caught a glimpse of, piquing her curiosity even more.

"Ok ok...Calm down Jamal. You got it..." she jokes, then turning to Alesha.

"Anyway..you ready? Jade just texted me and said she got us a table."

"Where yall bout to go?" Jimin inquires nosily and before Alesha can tell him he is nosey, Alana responds.

"Over to Joe's. You know they have those deals in drinks and shit after games now. Why? You wanna come?" She offers without thinking and Jimin's eyes immediately shoot to Alesha's.

She glances up at him widely and she stealthily shakes her head at him, making him smile in silent understanding.

"Naw its cool. I was just heading back to my dorm anyway. I got an early rehearsal in the morning so..." he trails off, rubbing the back of his neck with his eyes still on Alesha. They drop suggestively as he scans her body and Alana acts oblivious to the smutty telepathic conversation happening right in front of her.

"Oh yeah...showcases are coming up. I saw the flyers in the student center." She says and Jimin regards her with a nod.

"Yeah. But yall have fun. Good job out there Lana. Seriously... Mo, Ima hit you up later..." he says as he slowly begins stepping away and Alesha leans away from the wall as if to follow.

"Are you?" She lifts her brow.

"Duh. You gon respond or do I have to come find you?" He mirrors her expression with an equally challenging and slightly flirtatious brow.

"Try it and see what happens.." She flirts back and Jimin smiles in a way that's liable to break anyone's resolve. Especially hers.

He nodded bashfully as he stepped away from the building, tapping a closed fist against the wall in a tiny display of victory before moving forward to pass the two ladies watching him.

"Bet. Aight Lana. See you.." Jimin taps her shoulder playfully in passing and Alesha turns her head subtly to watch him go with her usual fake-annoyed smirk and scowl, but it melts to reluctant fondness the further Jimin grows smaller in the distance.

"Uglass.." she mumbles under her breath and when she looks over at Alana, her head tips back in reaction to the way she is looking at her.

The way Spongebob was looking at Squidward after he caught him hoarding all those Krabby Patties.

"What?" Alesha crinkles her brow.

"What?" Alana mocks and Alesha's expression deadens the longer she watches her grin spread. Rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time, Alesha brushes past Alana to venture off towards the parking lot.

"Quit smiling and bring yo ass.."