"You coming home for Thanksgiving right?"

Demi's mother asks the question for the 4th time that month on their weekly night call, and her daughter's initial response is a robotic head nod and upward rolling eyes as if she could see her through the phone.

It wasn't as if she'd missed any other holiday
at home and with Thanksgiving well over a month and a half away, she really didn't get why her mama was pressing the damn issue.

"Of course I am. Regina's bringing the baby and the kids?" she counters, untucking the phone between her ear and shoulder as she places an airpod in and settles into the chair at her desk with a sigh.

It was a typical Saturday night for her, reveling in the silence on her dorm's floor since most of the other students were out partying or home visiting their families for the weekend.

She was never one to go out unless it had something to do with her sorority and she didn't mind it one bit. Demi preferred to stay in any way with her cozy oversized sleeping shirts and slippers, gaming or catching up on her shows.

The sound of running water and pans clattering faintly backdropped her mother's voice.

"You know she is. Daniel is also bringing that girlfriend of his too," she responds, Demi visualizing the slight bitter grimace on her mama's face. She smirks at the thought.

"Same one from last year?"

At her question, her mother chortles loudly.

"Tuh! Whatchu think?.. I can't even remember the last one's name, bless her heart. I'm bout to tell him to stop bringing strangers to my house unless he put a ring on their finger because I just can't keep up..." she rambles.

Demi laughed at her mother's candor as she recalled the roster of women her younger brother had trailing behind him and through their home since he was in high school. He didn't start being more consistent until he started college but they never lasted more than a year.

"Mmmhm...that'll be the day." Demi purses her lips, glancing up at the mirror across from her briefly. Her long braids cascaded over her shoulder and she eyed the ends mindlessly as she raked her fingers through them.

Her new growth was making her scalp tender and she knew that meant it was time to take them down. But something about the style made her feel things she wasn't quite ready to let go of yet.

Nostalgia being one of them.

She sways in her chair, tossing a glance over her shoulder and toward her bed quickly before resuming her attention to her mother's rambling.

"..better hope I don't call one of them heffas the wrong name one of these days. Anywho..Everyone will be so excited to see you. I'm so glad that after you graduate, you'll have a moment to just settle down. Maybe even bring someone home for a holiday for once." her mother continues, still toiling away at something in her kitchen sink.

Demi was grateful she wasn't in front of her knowing she'd receive a splash of suds for rolling her eyes again.

"Yeah, Mama. Maybe..." she mutters as she twists one of her braids around her finger, shooting another inconspicuous glance behind her before turning away.

"Oh! Speaking of, I heard Gerald will be in town that week. You remember Gerald right?" her mother continues without a hitch and Demi's expression drops.

"Mama..." she warns and she could already hear the exasperated sigh through the phone.

"Before you even say anything...It's your father who is inviting him over. He's still good friends with your brother Demi and just because the two of you didn't work out in the past doesn't mean..."

"..I thought I'd already made it clear that I'm not interested in being set up with anyone. Daddy ain't slick. He likes Gerald for me because they're from the same frat and because he's in the same career field as him. If he could arrange all of his children's marriages and name our children he would. Dang near did.." Demi huffs, spinning in her chair aimlessly with a childish pout as her mother shuts off the water.

"Now stop that...He just doesn't want you to settle for anything less. You know how he feels about Regina's husband." she remarks and Demi smirks.

"Oh, Clark? The architect who graduated top of his class at Cornell..who makes 5 figures and drives a Tesla...that Clark?" she responds cheekily, knowing her mother would be scowling back at her as the sound of a paper towel roll rattles when a sheet is snatched from it.

"It's not all about money. He just wasn't who he envisioned for her is all." her mother says as she dried her hands.

Truth was, it wasn't about money. Demi's parents brought her and her siblings up to be self-sufficient and never have to depend on a spouse for financial security.
She'd looked up to her oldest sister for her grace and integrity, as well as her go-getter mentality.

Who she dated never raised a cause for concern because Regina didn't entertain men who couldn't add to her life.

But ever since she introduced Clark to the family a few years ago, their father all of a sudden questioned her judgment based on one thing and one thing only.

Regina didn't settle.

She just didn't marry a black man.

And Daddy didn't appreciate that.

"Right." Demi sighs, keeping her known opinion to herself as her mother switches back to the previous topic.

"Well, it's not like you are dating anyone. You're beautiful and smart but you close yourself off and put so much focus on your studies and whatnot..."

"You say that like it's a bad thing.." Demi snorts and her mother sighs.

"We just worry that you're lonely baby...I'm worried you're not actually living."

"Mama I am living. But why does living have to include getting married and popping out babies? Why can't living be just for me without the burden of giving someone full control of my heart and feelings and...." Demi trails off, only for her mother to cut in.

"Love isn't a burden to those who experience it purely, baby. I'm just afraid you're missing out on something that could really bring joy to your life. Now me?... I couldn't care less who you love. Greg, Ted, Tom. Dick. Harry...You could be a lesbian and I'd be ok with it, long as you're happy."

At that, the annoyance in Demi's expression fades to a tiny smirk.

"A lesbian. Daddy would have a conniption" she grunts.

"Maybe. He'd be alright though. But I'm serious." She laughs and Demi chuckles softly at the black screen of her phone. She taps it awake to note the time.

"Yeah....I hear you, Mama. Look, I've got some studying to get back to so I'll talk to you tomorrow or sometime this week, ok?" She says, sitting up in her chair. Demi's mother scoffs knowingly from the other side of the line.

"Studying on a Saturday night? Alright, I'll take the hint. I hope you know how proud we are of you though and I can't wait to see you for the holidays. " she squeezes in and Demi smiles.

"Yes, I know. Me too."

The warmth of her mother's tone was felt as soothingly as her embrace. Demi missed her mom and made a mental note to drive out there before Thanksgiving to surprise her if she could find the time.

"Ok. Love you, Baby." Her mother says gently with a soft chuckle and Demi's heart aches a little at the sound.

"Love you too Mama. Bye."

She exhales in relief as the call ends, quickly taking her an AirPod out and setting it on her desk.

Her hands raked over her face as she spun in the chair slowly, allowing it to guide her into the view of the young man now sitting upright in her bed.

With a slight cringe on her face, her fingers part to allow her to glance at Seokjin leaning up comfortably in no shirt and joggers.

His skin was smooth and took on the glow of the soft lamp light casting over him and his bed head shook back into some semblance of a style as he ran his fingers through it.

Muscled arms flexed casually as he did, elongating his torso and drawing Demi's eye over his milky smooth chest and taut abdomen.

He glances up through his fringe to note Demi's transfixed look and his mouth droops into a confused frown and lifts his brows.

"What?" He then smirks, dropping his head slightly to follow Demi's gaze and unreadable expression. She blinked and schools it to look more casual as she returned to his face.

Picking up the phone mid-unplanned cuddling with a man she never thought she'd let in her bed, after sex she swore they'd never have again after the last few impromptu sessions since homecoming, to answer a call from her mother he insisted she answered.

A thing Seokjin had a way of doing.

Insisting.

"Do you want them or not?"

The ball of lace unraveled and dangled from the hook of his index finger, merely inches from Demi's face.

Something told her she should have ignored that damn text from him after getting off the phone with Jordan. She could have easily acted as if she didn't see it.

Even with him offering to bring her the pair of panties she'd left in his room after their night together. A night she wished her body would allow her to move on from.

But alas...

Here she was. Barefoot and bare-faced. Braids wrapped in a silk scarf with her body swallowed up by a random oversized hoodie she snatched on her way out her door.

She squints menacingly as she reaches up to snatch her drawls but any hope for that flees when they jut up and out of her reach.

Seokjin baits her with them a couple more times before Demi damn near cussed loud enough to wake the entire South hall.

"Asshole!.." she whispers harshly, her arm still extended as she did a tiny hop in an attempt to retrieve her undergarment but it proved to be pointless since Seokjin had the obvious advantage here.

"Ah ah...not until you agree to my terms." He chuckled, lifting Demi's panties higher. At that, her arm falls limp to her side, and slaps her bare thigh in defeat.

Street lamps buzz softly in the distance, accentuating the silence of the night as she glared into Seokjin's comically smitten eyes and he clutched Demi's panties in his fist to stow behind his back.

Demi narrows hers, sizing the man up in his dark sweats, ball cap, and slides.
The fuck boy uniform, as she'd call it.

But dammit he looked good.

"What terms? My panties in exchange for my time? This is extortion.." she hisses with a reluctant smile and Seokjin exhales.

"Well, when you say it like that...but I was going to give you these back anyway. Still though...what would be so bad about you and I seeing more of each other?" He shrugs.

"It always comes back to that. You wanting more after we spend a night together." She mutters, her teeth chattering slightly as a chill runs over her. The corner of Seokjin's lips perk up.

"A really good night." He tacks on and Demi bites her inner cheek.

Perhaps because the sex was still fresh, but the staleness of her hangover still lingered at the front of her head while the memory of Seokjin's tongue teased at the back of it. Demi found herself staring at it as it roved over his lips occasionally out of habit.

"Yes. It was..." she mutters. Seokjin's lips spread into a close-lipped smile.

"It was. So?" He lifts his head from its lean against the wall.

"What are you asking for again? More sex? More time? A relationship? What?.." Demi trails off and Seokjin gazes up at the blackened sky for a moment thoughtfully.

"Yes." He blinked when he returned his attention to her, showing no sign that he would elaborate and Demi kicked herself internally for laughing out loud.

"Yes? To what??" She counters and Seokjin shrugs again.

"Whatever you're willing to give. Come on...Why are you making me work so hard Demi? We've gotten all of the BS out of the way. We get along just fine outside of that imaginary beef you concocted to stay away from me. You still like me..."

"Barely." She mumbles.

"Fine. Say you don't like me then." Seokjin shifts his stance suddenly, standing up straight and squaring his shoulders to her. Demi furrows her brow and looks him over questioningly.

"Huh?" She leans away and Seokjin pushes up the bill of his cap so that his soft eyes are more visible.

"You heard me. Look me in the eye and say you don't like me, you're not interested or attracted to me, and that there is nothing between us. Say it to me and mean it..and I'll walk away right now."

Stunned by his demand, Demi stares up at him. Her eyes switch from one chocolate iris to the other and for some reason, breathing evenly became increasingly difficult.

She'd be a liar to say she didn't feel anything. To say she didn't want more of what she felt when she walked out of his room that morning after the party. That longing. Especially since the liquor still aching in her veins blurred the majority of the delicious encounter.

She wanted more.

At her silence, Seokjin's stern gaze melted but the tension persisted.

"See? Now why are you still making me work so hard for this? Afraid you'll actually enjoy it?"

By 'this', Demi wasn't sure what Seokjin was implying. The possibilities varied and both her mind and body ignited at what they could be. Her brain didn't want to accept what it had in mind though and the sensitivity between her legs ached at the notion of Seokjin working hard for it.

As he should.

His tongue peaks out and over his top lip briefly, his head tilting with the question to rest against the bricked wall near the dorm's stairwell exit. The door people tended to use when they wanted to sneak someone in after 2 am.

Ironic of Demi to be the one using it now considering she was the building's resident assistant. It was well past 3 by the time Seokjin pulled up.

But she didn't want anyone peeping her interaction with the young man who had teasingly summoned her with the promise of returning what was rightfully hers.

The question looms over her more pertinently now than it ever had since the man was still in her system.

"I...I'm not afraid." She admits bashfully, escaping the abyss in his pupils to look around him towards the surrounding buildings as if someone were coming.

Seokjin creases his brow.

"Then tell me what's so wrong with us.." Seokjin asks, maintaining a focused eye on Demi's every move.

The softness in his voice was unexpected but not unlike Seokjin's display. She'd known him to be persistent and even a little bit of a beggar when he knew he was going to get his way. Even when he knew he didn't have to. It was infuriating sometimes but only because Demi knew she'd give in.

Just like in Costa Rica.

She sighs reluctantly, pressing her back against the metal door behind her.

"I just.....I don't know what you expect from me. I'm not available for anything serious. I'm trying to graduate next semester and.."

"And you think us being around each other will hinder that? Seriously...As if I'm not here for the same reasons as you..." he steps closer but Demi doesn't seem to notice as she shakes her head.

"No. I just think...." She begins to defend but all words cease the moment Seokjin steps in dangerously close, trapping her between his intimidating height and the door she leaned against. One of his hands tucked sneakily into the large front pocket and he uses it to tug her into him. Their mouths meet abruptly in a full-lipped gasp of a smooch that stuns Demi.

It's quick and barely savored but the air Seokjin stole from her lingers in his lungs as he too stalled to breathe.

Their lips idle, just barely touching and parted as he pulls back.

Their eyes met again and neither of them could see anything else beyond each other.

Finally, Demi inhales sharply and Seokjin tips his head back just enough to say "Stop thinking...".

And with that, he pulled his hand from the warmth of her hoodie's pouch and stepped backward until the light of the street lamps darkened the shadow his hat cast over his face.

Leaving only the lower half in view.

"Unless it's to think about what I said.." he adds with a sly smile as he turns away. Winds kicked up and Demi was unsubtly reminded how she wasn't wearing pants as well as how hot her skin was.

She watched him wordlessly while he walked away along the concrete path between dorms, swallowing back the lust flowing through her body as she pushed herself off the door.

As he vanished around the corner, it was just then that Demi realized he'd left her panties in her pocket.

Her brain piled on the fuckary as she considered everything that had transpired between them since that night.

And many things had indeed transpired.

Starting slow with the consistent texting to the late-night calls. Those gradually turned into Demi sneaking Seokjin into her dorm like she was one of her residents.

It felt very high school and juvenile but there was a rush she felt every time she had Seokjin following behind her up the shadowed hallways of her building at 2 AM.

Not that anyone gave a damn if they just so happened to spot their RA outside of the doors with a man.

But the shame she expected to feel at breaking her own rules and succumbing to Seokjin's temptation was displaced as she only felt guilt for talking about her known disinterest in commitment in front of him.

Seokjin, however, seemed none the wiser, and it was as if he hadn't heard a single word she said to her mother. Or he was just acting like he didn't to appease her.

He lifts his brows at her expectantly, reminding her that she'd been hopelessly staring at him instead of responding to his question.

"You....got something on your mind?" He asks and Demi blinks herself from her daze.

"Oh... it's nothing. Sorry." She shakes her head, beginning to turn away. Seokjin's brow deepens with curiosity.

"Why be sorry about nothing then?" He shrugs. Demi's eyes cut back to him, regretfully so since he was looking at her in the way he always did when he wanted something. Except right now she couldn't tell what.

"It is nothing. I'm just sorry and a little embarrassed that you had to hear all that. My mom is a little long-winded. She usually calls on Sundays." she tapers off with a sigh, waving her hand as if it would explain further for her.

Seokjin huffs in amusement as he massaged his shrugging shoulder casually.

"You're so cute when you feel guilty for nothing..." he mutters mid-stretch and Demi bites back her smile.

Not only because he was right about her baseless guilt, but because of the way Seokjin's partially nude body reminded her of everything they'd just done that should feel guilty for.

"Shut up...I just didn't want to miss her call and worry her. She's insufferable when she's worried.." She admits, dispelling the freaky flashbacks as she slouches back in the chair. As she removed her other AirPod from her ear, Seokjin rose to stand.

"No need to explain Dem. My mom is no different. Especially with the 'When are you going to bring someone home?' convos. I endure those often.." he mocks the thick accent of his mother distractedly as he scans her bedroom in search of something.

"Have you?" Demi blurts out faster than her senses could stop her and Seokjin's brows go up curiously.

"Hmm? Have I what?" He asks.

"Brought someone home.." she says, her voice a fraction smaller now. It was the way she tried to convey disinterest when she asked him about things like that this that was cute.

Seokjin smirks at the way she avoids his eyes and distracts herself with the tips of her braids. After a beat, he sighs and looks up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Uhhh....no. Can't say I have. Which is probably why I get asked so often. I don't really share that part of my life with my parents."

"You don't mention the women you date to them?" Demi lifts her gaze to perk a brow and Seokjin's simple mouth shrugs, seeming like he was hesitant to answer.

She takes note of his pause and realizes she might sound more interested than she'd like to let on. Her eyes return to anywhere but Seokjin as she mutters "Not that it's my business.."

"It's not that deep. I just haven't brought it up. Why mention people I know won't stick around, y'know?" Seokjin counters back nonchalantly and Demi snorts humorously under her breath.

"Oh? Been that many? Or that little?" Demi inquires jokingly, but Seokjin doesn't miss the barb in her tone. It flattered him a little when she unsubtly probed like this, even though he knew she already had her assumptions.

A tickled smirk curls his lips as he responds.

"That little? Oh, so either I'm a man whore or I get very little play. No grey area where I'm just a normal 20-something-year-old man with a decently average dating life. I'm either all or nothing. That's how you see me." he cocks his head slightly, a look that was more alluring than Demi was sure he meant for it to be.

Or maybe she was just that attracted to him. The hell if she knew.

"I just asked a question." she denies quickly with a smile, putting her hands innocently as she turned away in her chair.

Her new favorite escape route from Seokjin's gorgeous and piercing stare.

"Why do you care?"  He smiled, although she couldn't see it.

He didn't sound defensive or snarky with the question. There was the same level of curiosity in his voice the Demi had in hers. But regardless of how he asked her, Demi still couldn't brave facing him as she shrugged her way around the room.

"I'm just nosey Seokjin...by all means if I'm intruding. Feel free not to respond."

As she ultimately comes back into the full view of the man she ironically couldn't look at, Seokjin waits quietly for her to have no choice but to look up at him.

"I have no one to hide. I'm just a private guy. Not to say that there's been no one. I've had some potentials of course but.."

"I bet you have. .." she cuts him off quietly, shaking her head with a little smile.

Part of her wished she hadn't asked. She didn't know why she probed in the first place. It wasn't like she didn't know Seokjin's type, nor did she care anyway.

But the idea of him having 'potentials' did yank at her internally.

Seokjin was private. So private in fact that she couldn't name one girl on campus she could reasonably connect him to.

She smirks at the thought of him flaunting someone though, imagining him draping his letterman over someone's shoulders as they strolled through the dying leaves around the quad.

Them sitting amongst his frats with her perched on his lap, laughing with him as if she never belonged anywhere else.

Walking hand in hand with some petite fair-skinned beauty with jet-black hair flowing down her back as they ascended the steps of some nice house in a gated community. His parents would greet them at the door, smiling broadly with pride at his choice of partner.

In a flash the young woman's complexion shifted from olive to a radiant brown, straight locs becoming coarse and curly.  But the expression on his parents' faces remained as warm and welcoming as they had before.

She dismisses the image as soon as it is born, scolding herself inwardly for concocting such a far-fetched fantasy.

That wasn't her dream. To be on the arm of any man only trying to meet someone else's expectations. She desired more than that.

"Hmm.." is all she says in response to Seokjin, the distracted hum pulling a pout from her bottom lip.

Finding her zoned-out expression cute, Seokjin tilted his head as he watched her.

"Hmm." He mimics, earning a sharp look from her.

"What about you?.. I'm sure there have been some potential suitors over the years.." he ignores her little glare as he leans back on her mattress, propping up on his elbows.

Demi's eyes drop from his face to his elongated torso and lower half.

Seokjin wasn't overbearingly muscled, actually more on the slimmer side.

But when he was laying back the way he was now, the little bit of definition and broadness was on full display. 

Every muscle in his chest and shoulders.

The lines and ridges of his abdomen. 

Down to the waistband of his joggers that had crept just below his hip bones, giving a welcomed little glimpse of the dark tuft of his happy trail that was barely hidden beneath the fleece.

Similarly and just barely concealed is the hilt of his manhood, the hump of it sitting teasingly between his manspread.

Damn, he was distracting.

It hadn't been a full hour since he'd been inside of her and her body still wanted him there.

Had it always been this way?

Was this why she'd always avoided him until now?

It had to be.

Completely oblivious to what was happening in her head, Seokjin's brows shot up at Demi's lack of a response.

"You're thinking awfully hard over there for someone that doesn't date..." he remarks teasingly and Demi frowns.

"What? No..I wasn't thinking about that...." she shakes her head in denial.

Seokjin's eyes soften as she stammers

"No? What were you over there contemplating then?" He asks, tilting his head. Demi's eyes fall back towards it unintentionally and Seokjin follows them.

His knee wags, creasing the thin fabric shielding his crotch so that the shape of his bulge is more defined. As if he didn't know how revealing his joggers were but he wears a panty-melting smirk nonetheless when they lock eyes again.

The intent was clear now and Demi couldn't resist rolling her eyes.

"Nothing at all." She lies with a sweet smile and it's as authentic as the 1b tinted hair threaded through her fingers.

A darkness fell over Seokjin's expression as scoffed at her response, reaching down to adjust the waistband of his pants like he were about to pull them lower.

But a little to everyone's disappointment, he tugs them a bit higher to cover his pubic hair modestly. He does rise from his lean to a stand though, his movement as smooth as it was unexpected.

There wasn't much space between the bed and desk but he still managed to cross it as if he were some stranger claiming the most beautiful woman he'd seen all night in a crowded room with his eyes.

Those same eyes tethered to Demi's from their center, securing her attention as stepped between her bare legs that part reflexively for him. She didn't know why she even bothered putting panties back on. The pair Seokjin removed from her earlier would soon be joined in the hamper by this one gathering heat under his gaze.

He places his hands on the armrests of her chair, caging her beneath his looming figure and smoldering stare.

He always had a way of making her feel so small but never in a way she felt powerless. And what was worse, she wanted to feel encapsulated by him.

Finding her wits, Demi swallows the shuttered breaths to inhale the heady musk on Seokjin's skin. Sex and sweat and the scent of her fabric softener mixed tantalizingly on his chest.

"Nothing at all ?" he repeats her answer over her, leaning in closer. With a smile, Demi leans her head away slightly for Seokjin to chase.

"What you doing?" She asks wide-eyed and Seokjin's tongue runs slowly over his bottom lip as if to answer her question.

"Reading your mind." He gruffs.

Long forgotten was the conversation they were just having. Hell, long forgotten was her damn name when he looked at her like that. She clears the thickness from her throat before speaking.

"Yeah?..well, what am I thinking about.." She managed to say in the thin space he created between them, her chest heaving slowly in anticipation as Seokjin continued leaning in closer.

"Shh.." he says simply, his eyes fixed on Demi's cupid's bow. He presses forward but pauses with his top lip barely touching hers, waiting for Demi to meet him halfway in the proffered kiss.

Slotting her bottom lip between his, Seokjin turned his head to deepen their connection, teasing his tongue along hers in the way he always did to savor her.

Demi cranes her neck and follows the lead of the little dance Seokjin set between their mouths of push and pull. Chase and capture.

Their lips smack deliciously for a few seconds before he pulls away an inch to shake his head with a smile, making the tip of his nose brush against hers as he leans in for another quick kiss.

"How good my lips feel against yours.."  he rasps deeply in a voice that makes her head spin. Demi blinked dazedly as the warmth of his proximity dissipated as he moved.

"And.....how much you hate answering questions but love asking them", He pulls away a little further to say, this time keeping his lips to himself.

Demi finds Seokjin's eyes lingering on hers for a beat before he pushes off the arms of the gaming chair in an effortless push-up of sorts and steps back to sit on the edge of her bed again.

"Thank God. I thought I was gonna suffocate and combust with lust...." Demi says to herself as she inhales deeply for the first time since Seokjin leaned over her.

His last words finally register and Demi perks up in the chair.

"Wait..what?" she asks and Seokjin says nothing at first, merely shrugging as he leans over. He begins lifting the pillows propped at the head of her bed and sifting through the crumpled blankets and sheets before his hands settle on what he'd been looking for.

With his phone now in hand, he leans up so he's back sitting upright and immediately unlocking the screen to read a stream of notifications he'd been ignoring.

Demi furrows her brow at the sudden focus on Seokjin's face, her eyes shifting between his face and the back of his phone.

"Oh...nothing ."

The word is emphasized by his pause and a quick look in her direction over his phone before he goes on to resume tapping away at the screen.

For some reason, it makes her blush and she forces herself to look away to avoid making a fool out of herself. At least that's how she felt sometimes when Seokjin's charms could still overwhelm her.

Foolish.

A comfy silence fills the gap between them as Seokjin responds to texts, even lifting the receiving end of his phone to his ear to hear a recorded voice note.

That's when he stands abruptly, cursing under his breath. The sudden movement made Demi's eyes snap up toward him with mild concern.

"What?" she asks and Seokjin shakes his head dismissively despite him starting to get dressed.

"I just got a text from one of the guys back at the house reminding me we had a meeting tonight for the fundraiser," he says plainly as he pulls the shirt he found behind him over his head.

He then locates his shoes on the other side of the room and goes to gather them.

It dawns on her then that he was getting dressed to leave and Demi sinks in her seat a bit, unsure of why she was a little disappointed.

They'd already done what they intended to do, no reason for him to stay any longer that he had to, right?

The bed groans a little when Seokjin perched on its corner with his shoes set before his feet.

"Oh" is all she says, sounding downtrodden and Seokjin looks to her apologetically.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I lost track of time. Been happening a lot these past few weeks.." he shakes his head as he ties his laces.

"Wonder why.." Demi asks bashfully and it's completely rhetorical, though she hides the emotion from her expression well enough since she turned away in the chair.

Allowing it to do a slow 360° swivel, she toys with her nails as she asks...

"So. Whats gamma's big plan to win the donation this year? Another big party? A pregame event for the Halloween event..." She asks bitterly and Seokjin lifts his head to watch her swivel in the chair.

He smiles handsomely before denying it with a quick shift of his messy bangs.

"Now why the hell would I tell you that?" He chuckles and Demi shrugs with zero humor implied by her expression, her chair still turning.

"Iont know. Because you think I'm cute?" she says and Seokjin barks out a short laugh as he switches to his other shoe.

"Well you are cute..." he pauses, securing the knot in his laces.

"But no." he finishes with a wide, eye-squinted smile. Demi crinkles her nose at him and rolls her eyes before going back to picking at her nail and revolving.

Watching her turn about for a moment, Seokjin glanced around her cozy bedroom as he pondered something. When Demi comes back into view of him, she tilts her head at the conflict in his face.

She frowns.

"What now?"

Seokjin looks at her as she asks the question, his brow crinkling slightly before he looks over his shoulder at the door.

"I can come back when I'm done. If you want me to. We shouldn't be long.."

Demi didn't expect him to say that and her eyes widened a smidge at the offer. In the weeks they'd been sharing time, Seokjin never offered to come back after being with her. Usually, because it was late anyway and she didn't want to risk him staying the night.

Or perhaps he assumed she'd decline anyway.

But something about tonight felt different, even from the way they laid together afterward.

It felt as if it were becoming routine for them to share more time.

"Come back here?" she mirrors the idea and Seokjin nods.

"Yeah. Or we can go out. Catch a movie or get dinner. Or something. It's not late and I'm not doing anything anyway." he goes on to suggest bravely as he continues to collect his things.

He stashes his phone in his pocket and stands to grab the hoodie he draped over her dresser, and Demi toyed with the possibility of doing something public with Seokjin.

But being out and about with him felt more dangerous than being tangled in her sheets every night. Both are feely equal in appeal though.

She considers it, dragging her teeth over her bottom lip slowly with an inverted brow.

Then she sighs.

"Actually...I think I have some actual studying I need to do. And a paper to edit and some to review..."

Seokjin's expression was blank at first as she spoke, any hope he held in it erased and swapped for his most neutral smile of understanding.

"Oh yeah...Of course. You did tell your mom that..." he nods.

"I'm sorry. I can't keep putting it off.." Demi begins, moving to stand but Seokjin shakes his head.

"No, no...Don't worry about it. I can see myself out since it's not late right? No need to be sneaky..." He chuckles breathily as he points over his shoulder with his thumb, doing well in hiding the sting of her soft rejection.

Demi should be used to that look. She's denied and rejected him enough times to know it. Even if she was only doing it to make him want her more. A silly game, sure, but it worked for them back then.

Not so sure about now though.

Her words get stuck in her throat, too many conflicting responses running together to vocalize, so she nods in response to his original question. 

He nodded back, understanding as ever as he turned, keys jingling in his pocket when he moved.

Seokjin's hand is on the nob by the time her voice finds her.

"Jin..."

He pauses at her voice, looking over his shoulder at her as if she was going to tell her that he'd forgotten something.

In a way, he had. Demi just didn't know it.

He lifted his brows at her when she hesitated to speak, now standing in the middle of her room. Pant-less and and conflicted.

"I..um....should be free tomorrow. If the offer still stands.." she braves, her shoulders dropping vulnerably in defeat as the words left her mouth. She then gives him the shyest of smiles, exhuming the hope she'd just stolen from him.

He doesn't show it though, taking a point from her at concealing his true emotions until the very last minute.

He smiles and the doorknob turns under his hand.

"I'll call you tomorrow then."

Her door opens to an empty hallway, thankfully, and the frame of it is filled with Seokjin's height as he steps outside. He pays her one last look before closing it behind him, a soft smile that paralleled the many she'd committed to memory as disappeared.

The moment Demi knows she's alone, her body flops sideways and bounces flimsily against her messy bed. She whimpers pitifully as she rolls over, hugging a pillow beneath her face for her to groan loudly.

"Lord, what am I doing?" She muffles into the cushions, doing her best to ignore that they still smelled very much like him.

Meanwhile...

Post-game. Post-victory pandemonium in the locker room. Post celebratory plans made amongst teammates, Taehyung dragged his feet as he made his way from the vacated arena and across the scarce parking lot.

Bayfield won. He should have been happy but it was no thanks to him. That reality stung despite him knowing he should at least be grateful he still had a spot on the team.

At least.

He reaches his car and staggers sourly with his useless gym bag hanging over his shoulder by the strap with his keys jingling in his hand. Taehyung opens his backseat gingerly, tossing the bag inside.

Across the way, he hears another set of keys jingling and lifts his solemn gaze to spot a familiar car parked a few spaces away from his.

He stalls beside the backseat door, watching his teammate and best friend warily in silence.

Yoongi stands at the trunk of his car, setting his bag and shoes inside before pulling a hoodie over his head. He grimaces with every movement, feeling sore from head to toe after playing every quarter tirelessly.

Yoongi curses beneath his breath as he shuts the trunk, and he notices Taehyung's presence for the first time. He's silent and acknowledges it with a slight crease of his brow.

It's been a couple of weeks since the two had a real conversation. Sure, they may have exchanged a few words amid gameplay in practice or in passing in the locker room. More so from Tae than Yoongi, but he wasn't one to hold a grudge or give people the cold shoulder.

But he also wasn't one to go out of his way to make you feel relevant if you wronged him.

Taehyung knew he'd said some off-hand things that night of the party but he figured after things blew over a bit, Yoongi would be back to normal.

He had to know Taehyung didn't mean what he said...

Right?

"What's up?" Taehyung calls out to him bravely and much to his surprise, Yoongi responds.

"Sup.." he tosses back, his voice holding no emotion.

Taehyung smirks weakly at the greeting.

"You...uh...went hard tonight. Good game." Taehyung rasps, pausing midway to clear his throat. Yoongi hesitates for a moment but nods in appreciation.

"Thanks. Solid?" he asks.

The question surprises Taehyung a little but he doesn't show it in his expression. He instead smirked as he glanced down at his shoes.

"Me? Aw man, I'm good. Can't break a sweat from the bench so..." he chuckles but his smile barely reaches his eyes. They fell to the concrete briefly as Yoongi narrowed his.

"That's not what I meant." He responds curtly, making Taehyung lift his head.

They exchanged a look that froze Taehyung's soles to the asphalt with Yoongi's cold and intangible stare, while his was softer and visibly wounded to the core behind his fading smile.

"I know being benched is hard. For anybody, it would be but for you..." he pauses when Taehyung nods.

"Aw yea.. it's just temporary though. I'll be back in the paint so you don't have to worry about me. I'm straight..foreal. Thanks for asking.." he says with a half-hearted chuckle.

"Of course.." Yoongi says after a pause, the intent unclear since there was no trace of humor or light in his expression. Taehyung's smirk melts away at the callous response and his brow twitches in confusion as he took in the way Yoongi regarded him.

Blank and passive.

He wasn't still angry at him, was he?

After all they'd been through as friends, Taehyung couldn't fathom this being another loss for him.

He staggers for a moment, warring with himself on what he wants to say and what he should say.

"But you looked great out there bro. You and Joon. Yall are like the dream team. I was ready to hop up when ol dude fouled you though." He jokes and for the first time what felt like too long, Yoongi smiles at him. It's small and barely there before it's gone but it was something.

"Now you know we don't need you out here getting in any more trouble," he says, the humor still there.

"Trouble? Me?" Taehyung points to himself, making both of them laugh at the ridiculous break in his voice when trying to feign innocence.

"Yeah you, foo...I know you would have though. Would've been a big ass brawl on the court if you did." Yoongi tips his chin towards the arena and Taehyung looks back at it.

"Hell yeah. I would have decked dude and then G would have jumped in." He mutters as he imagines it.

"Then Ty." Yoongi tacks on with a shrug.

"Then Joon woulda been there elbowing dudes to break the shit up. Big ass."

"Hell yeah.." Yoongi laughed, a cough bubbling up from his chest as he did. Taehyung turned back to face him just as his laughter tapered off, catching him looking out across the parking lot as if he were looking for something.

But he knew just as he was doing the same thing that Yoongi was looking for the next thing to say.

"You would've handled dude easily though. I've seen you in action." Taehyung chuckles again, biting his lip anxiously.

The idea seemed to amuse Yoongi a little from the way his cheek lifted slightly half of a smile.

"Yeah maybe. But I try not to handle shit with my hands anymore. I learned a long time ago that that shit is a waste of time. Keeping my head and being smart always worked in my favor." He says cryptically and instantly the weight of their interaction shifts back to where it was before.

Distant with too many things unsaid. Except what Yoongi didn't say, didn't resonate any less than what he did.

"Sounds like advice I should take..." Taehyung attempts dry humor once more with cock of his brow, leaning more comfortably against his car. Yoongi eyes him blankly before exhaling a scoff through his nose.

"Maybe it is..." he deadpans, holding Taehyung in a stare that said more than he could say.

"...but Ima head out though...Got people waiting on me." Yoongi adds almost despondently, looking away to scan the empty lot again as an escape from Taehyung's gaze.

Taehyung sighs, staggering back a few steps with his palm pressed over the roof of his car.

"Yeah....me too." He lies. Partially. His family was expecting him home for dinner and since they were only 35 minutes away, he didn't have much of an excuse not to be there.

Under different circumstances, they would have been here for the game. His father more than anyone. But Taehyung assured them that there was no use in coming out if he wasn't playing. His mother disagreed but didn't push. His father said nothing, but his disappointment spoke volumes.

So they would wait for him to come home and take comfort in the bedroom he grew up in. Much more luxurious and spacious than the dorm he preferred.

He just didn't want to be alone tonight.

"For sure." Yoongi tilts his chin and says nothing more as he opens the door to enter it and the sound of it shutting echoes loudly in the empty night.

Leaving Taehyung feeling even emptier than he had before...