"Ah...I just love pissing that girl off. Anyway, what's up? What's the move? Want me to come up there or no?"

Jade giggles at Alesha's sinister tone as she adjusts the airpod in her ear. The Galleria was surprisingly bare considering the time of day and Jade was thankful. She wasn't in much of a mood to be rubbing shoulders with strangers. The cool open air and melding scents of perfume counters, Chickfila, and floor wax waft around as she stepped off the escalator.

Hips sway in her denim, her mind drowning in thoughts she wishes she could dispel, Jade gazes at the store monikers in passing as she responds.

"Nah you don't have to. I'm not really hungry, to be honest," she mutters.

"Hmm..then what you finna do?"

"Walk around. Window shop. Clear my head. I'm stressed." Jade admits reluctantly.

She keeps close to the second-floor glass railing, keeping a leisurely pace and occasionally glancing downward at the scattered groups of midday shoppers.

"About what? Something happen?"

Jade paused at Alesha's question.
Part of her wanted to tell someone about her most recent run-ins with her ex had her feeling. How the image of Taehyung's face wouldn't let her mind rest or how her heart ached every time she thought of him.

But her pride wasn't going to allow her to accept that she genuinely missed him and resisting even his friendship put her at war with herself. So while she didn't feel like talking about all that was plaguing her, she knew Alesha could offer her some useful anecdotes.

"No, nothing crazy. Just some stuff with classes and my advisor. I need to choose a new major soon and I'm drawing a blank. All of my classes I'm taking now were in line for the old one but.." she opts to say, technically not lying about what was stressing her. She could hear Alesha's keys jingling and muffled chattering as she walked through the student center.

"Remind me again why you don't want it to be pre-law anymore. I thought you really liked those boring ass classes." she huffs with the effort to push the door leading outside open with her hip.

"Says the computer science major..."Jade snorts dryly, continuing her stroll.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. And girl. I don't know. Maybe because it was something I thought I wanted. Something I thought would be good for me. But maybe I just wanted it to work because it looked good on paper. I don't know. I'll figure it out though.." Jade exhales roughly, finding herself at another escalator. She contemplates whether she should make her way back down to the first floor.

Through the phone, it was clear that Alesha was now outside by the ruffled gusts of wind blowing into the speaker.

"Yeah, you will but don't force it..or else you'll look back and wanna ask yourself 'Why the hell did I settle for this when I knew it wasn't for me?' and by then it'll be too late, ya know?"

Of course, Alesha was under the impression that Jade was actually stressing over school. Hell, she should have been with deadlines approaching so fast and midterms coming up already. She'd gladly obsess over anything else but a stupid boy, a very pretty boy she couldn't keep seeing the potential that he didn't seem to see himself. It was foolish, and Jade couldn't accept being a foolish girl.

"Yeah true. But ima figure it out though.."  she sighs, deciding to get on the escalator that would take her back to the first floor.

"Anywho, so Alana and Yoongi kissed? When? Where? How?" Jade's mood switched with the topic seamlessly, needing the gossip to distract her. Alesha snickers through the phone.

"Mmhmm. Girl you should have seen the way they were in the caf all hugged up on each other like nobody could see them."

Jade's brows shoot up in surprise on her way down, her gaze fixing on someone distractedly as she listened.

"Hugged up?? So they're together now?" she furrows her brow, half squinting ahead as she prepares to step off the moving steps.

"Now THAT, I don't know. Probably not since she was tryna be all slick about it. But I'll find out more. I couldn't get the nitty gritty from Lana's ass since she bolted.." Alesha snorts, recalling the way her suitemate flipped her off on her way out of the caf. Jade perts her lips in mild disappointment, her eyes now inconspicuously following a pair of shoppers passing the escalator curiously.

"Dammit. Well, that's ok. We know where she lives." she muses, earning a chuckle of agreement from Alesha.

Now on her way towards her car in the student center parking, Alesha is fumbling with her keys and picking up her pace.

"Precisely." she huffs, ready to be out of the heat.

The line was quiet for a beat as unlocked her car on the passenger side, tossing her bag in the seat quickly before shutting the door and walking around to the driver's side. She knows Jade is still there since she can clearly hear the mild mall ruckus in the background, but she does not think much of Jade's silence since she is busy starting her car.

Once it rumbles to life, along with the radio and the much-needed gust of A/C, Jade speaks.

"Hey, what's up with you and that pretty boy?"

Her voice switches from Alesha's phone to the car's speakers.

"Who? Jimin?" Alesha frowns, checking her mirrors.

Now approaching a tall set of chairs and a table in the food court near the fountain, Jade perches herself on one of the seats to continue spying. Her expression goes stoic, although her gaze hardens speculatively on the pair she'd spotted from the escalator.

"Naw, Tattoos. Pretty pizza boy," she utters. Alesha smirked at the nickname that she was sure would be sticking in the group chat. By now, she's pulling out of the parking lot and heading to the dorms.

"Tattoos...pizza..Oh! Jungkook? Whatchu mean what's up?" she plays dumb for the fun of it but Jade doesn't entertain it.

"Yeah him. Are you all still talking?" she immediately follows up. The question has Alesha smiling for some reason, but she promptly shakes her head as if Jade could see her.

"I mean...We're still working on the project, yeah. But not talking talking. I mean we talk but not like that.."

At her response, Jade hums thoughtfully and Alesha's smile falters.

"Why?" she drawls out hesitantly.  Jade remains quiet for a few more seconds, tilting her head as if to get a better view of the familiar stranger and the person he was walking with, him carrying what appeared to be a couple of H&M bags.

His tattooed arm sways at his side as he toted the bags, the bulge of his bicep partially hidden under his oversized white tee that contrasted his warmly tanned complexion, as well as his coal-black hair. From Jade's vantage point, she could make out Jungkook's profile and glint of his facial piercings, and the way he smiled when he spoke inaudibly to her.

He carries on a conversation with a young woman walking beside him with deep caramel skin and long thick curly hair that bounced when she moved. She was slender with humble curves under her baggy jeans and cropped yellow tee, standing several inches shorter than the tatted male, smiling up at him as they entered a store through of set of glass doors.

Jade's eyes lifted to the glowing white apple logo as she spoke.

"Oh ok. I was about to be messy. He up here with some chick in the Apple store." she notes, still watching the two venture deeper into the store. Luckily it wasn't too crowded for Jade to continue being nosey.

From her car, Alesha is in the dorm's parking lot with a scowl of focus on her face. "Oh? He did tell me he had a sister. Maybe it's her.." she makes a turn into a space.

"Was somebody adopted because from what I can see, this sister is a sista? A lil bitty thang with a whole bunch of hair. I can't see her face though."

It shouldn't have but something in her stomach turned. Possibly because she's reminded of the day she saw Jimin in that very mall with a girl. And just as she acknowledged it then, it felt stupid to feel any kind of way when she wasn't pursuing him for anything serious.

All Jimin seemed interested in was the friend's with benefits type of deal, and Alesha was ok with that up until she wasn't. Seeing him for the first time since the party had her reconsidering some things.

But with Jungkook, she had nothing much to consider. They were just friends and whatever or whoever he did wasn't any of Alesha's concern. Even if she felt an odd tension between them whenever they worked together in the computer lab. Or whenever his name or gamer tag popped up in her notifications.

With a resigned sigh, Alesha pulls her keys from the ignition.

"Ok...Well me and him aren't fooling around. We're just project partners and we game sometimes. All platonic."

Both Alesha and Jade glance up to smirk and wink at the unseen camera before resuming their conversation.

"So yeah...That's his business." Alesha concludes. Jade makes a face of mild disbelief but doesn't press the issue. She knew Alesha well enough to know she had a little crush on her project partner, but it would be more entertaining for her to just stay tuned versus probing. Plus, she had enough BS on her mind as is.

"Hmm. Well good. I can stop staring at them through these baby palm trees looking crazy." she opts to say and Alesha laughs as she gathers her things from the passenger seat.

"Please do! But im finna take my ass in the house and eat a hot pocket or something. I give up on finding anything better. Hurry back so we can jump Lana and ask her about Yoongi. I hope she's up there too."

Alesha's car door slams and chirps back at her when she locks it, prompting Jade to hop down from the high seat she is in.

"Oooooh Ok bet. I'll see you at home girl. I'm about to get out of here." she responds giddily, embracing the opportunity to harass the youngest of their trio.

One thing about Jungkook was that he was always a man of his word. If he says he's going to do something, better believe he will always follow through. Major or minor.

So when he told his teenage sibling, that was more of a pain in his ass than anything, that he would take her shopping for her birthday, he meant it.

Even if she would make him regret it.

"You got me fucked up if you think I'm buying that shit Lauren."

Jungkook's sister shushes him harshly, glancing around the scarce Apple store as if she were embarrassed by her brother's volume. After finding no one paying them any mind, she scowls up at Jungkook, looking like the perfect blend of his dad's nose and eyes, and his stepmother's hair and complexion.

In front of them on display was a pair of white Airpod Max headphones.

They vibrated under Lauren's fingertips as they played music from the display phone via the Bluetooth connection, and she caressed the padded ear cushions with a pout.

"What? But this is the one I showed you..." she whines, all while Jungkook leans forward to get a better look at the price on the table again. He cracked a smile that Lauren knew meant he was doubling down on his previous statement.

"Yeah, but you ain't say shit about it costing that much. You need a job with tastes like that bro..." he mutters, straightening back up. At his suggestion, Lauren grimaces.

"A job? Ew. Don't you have money? All those tips you've been stacking up slanging pizzas and shit.." she remarks, catching a sharp pinch on her arm by her brother.

"Watch ya mouth. And what does that have to do with you? That's my money to put on my deposit for my apartment so I can get the hell out of sharing a wall with you and Julien's stank ass."

Lauren grumbled something under her breath as she rubbed where Jungkook pinched her arm.

"Oh so since you're finally moving out, you think you're too good to buy your lil sister something nice? You aint shit. You said you owed me something for my birthday.." Lauren's pout deepens but shifts to a mischievous smirk when Jungkook's pierced brow lifts at her sternly.

"Yeah, and I thought you were gonna say some shoes or a lil skirt or something. Not some $500 shit.." he tilts his chin at the headphones still propped up on display.

"If I'm dropping that much on some headphones, they'll be mine." He chuckles.

"You'd be better off asking Dad. That puppy dog shit might work on him. And stop cussing at me before I snatch one of those batwings off your face.." he threatens, referring to Lauren's eyelashes.

As if to accentuate his jab, Lauren blinks up at him cartoonishly as if she were offended. Being used to his not-so-empty threats, however, she opts to roll her eyes at him in defeat versus challenging him.

"I really can't stand you. Ima tell everybody you know that you're cheap." she turns away, turning her nose up at him playfully. Jungkook laughs as he follows behind his little sister as she strolls forward gazing at the other gadgets on display, his attention now on his phone.

"Please do," he smirks, texting distractedly for a few seconds before stashing his phone in his pocket.

"You two finding everything ok?" asked the third Apple employee in the last 6 minutes they'd been in the store. The young male smiles brightly at them as Jungkook glances up to regard the sales associate cooly before nodding his head.

"Yeah, we're good. Thank you.." he begins, only to have his sister interject.

"Um Actually, would you mind seeing if you have the AirPod Max's in pink? We were.." Lauren cuts in, soon to be silenced by Jungkook before she can finish the sentence.

"We're good! Appreciate you though," he emphasizes before giving the store employee a polite smile. They returned it and made sure to give Jungkook another name for him to forget as he told them to come see him if they needed anything.

They wouldn't though. Jungkook was already nudging Lauren towards the exit.

"Move Lauren... I gotta get ready for work soon and you bullshittn.."

"Dang! I just wanted to see them! I bet if some girl you like said she wanted them, you would buy them." Lauren complains as Jungkook continues to lead her towards the door.

"I've never liked anyone enough to spend that much. Hence why you aren't getting em. Anyway, you better think of something reasonable before I change my mind. And Nothing in here."  Jungkook points his thumb over his shoulder, bumping Lauren with his elbow. She grumbles an insult under her breath but doesn't object any further, rubbing her arm sourly as they exit the Apple store together.

"Fine..."

Some time later after leaving the mall, Jungkook is driving with his sister in the passenger seat. Instead of the headphones, he did pay for a few outfits as promised, seeming to appease his sister somewhat.

He glances over at her as she plans her look for some Halloween party her school is hosting out loud, noting that one of the pieces Jungkook paid for would be perfect for her vision.

"Aye, speaking of parties and shit...You still owe me for not snitching on you for going to that Gamma party and coming home fucked up. When Im gone, I'm not gonna be able to save your ass every time you wanna sneak around with your smut ass friends." His lip curls bitterly with the statement, recounting the times he'd acted as DD for them, knowing damn well their asses shouldn't be drinking anyway. But Jungkook would much rather be the one getting them home than leave their dumbasses at the mercy of some other dudes with bad intentions.

"I wouldn't have to sneak if you stopped being lame and just take me with you.." she mutters lowly, pushing the shopping back to the floor of the passenger side with a stiff thump.

"What was that?" Jungkook side-eyes her and Lauren exhales loudly in exasperation.

"Nothing. I get it, ok? I owe and I'm on thin ice.."

"Paper thin. Our parents got enough on their plate without you adding shit to it because you going through some rebellious phase. It's reckless and stupid. Next time I might just leave your ass there and let you figure it out."

Jungkook came from a lower-middle-class family. His father, who became a widower shortly after Jungkook was born, married his stepmother when Jungkook was around four years old. They met at an after-hours children's clinic while Jungkook was sick, feverish, and congested, and his father was at his wit's end, struggling to care for him while trying to keep his job.

Valencia, the receptionist at the clinic, had offered a comforting smile to his father during that stressful time, and a connection had blossomed from there.

Growing up without a mother, Jungkook had only known the dynamics of a fragmented family, where his father's efforts to provide and his stepmother's attempts to bond with him created a complex environment. Adding a rebellious teenage daughter and a socially disconnected adolescent son to the mix didn't help.

"No, you won't," Lauren said, bristling at the idea of Jungkook leaving her high and dry. She knew he would never just leave her hanging. He never had.

Despite being the one who terrorized her the most during their childhood, he had always been her protector. She could feel his cold glare slicing across her cheek, and she offered him an apologetic nod.

"Sorry. Look, I hear you..." she sighed as Jungkook's gaze resumed itself on the residential streets he was all too familiar with.

"Do you? I don't understand why you're in such a rush to grow up. Life isn't all parties and fun outside of high school. I've told you this; Shit's expensive." he chides, prompting Lauren to scoff under her breath.

"Well if is, why are you moving? Don't you help Mama and Daddy?"

At that, Jungkook furrows his brow deeply, one hand resting on the steering wheel while his tongue probed at the inside of his cheek.

"I just....need my own space. I've got projects to work on, and I can't focus with all the noise at home. I'll keep helping out as much as I can, but I can't do everything. You have to start pulling your weight too. Not even with money, but by staying focused in school. The sooner you do, the sooner you can get out and be one less big ass mouth to feed."

The playful jab was enough to melt the frigidity of the conversation, ebbing the bitterness of Jungkook's eventual departure. It wasn't even like he was moving far away, but it felt like.

Home was home, ya' know?

As he pulled up in front of their house, Jungkook made no moves to get out of the car. Lauren gathered the shopping bags from her brother's backseat, glancing over at him curiously she kept the car running.

"You not coming in?" she asks and Jungkook glances over at her with the shake of his head.

"Nah, I've got somewhere to be. You got everything? " he tutts his chin towards his backseat and Lauren nods, knowing it would be a a mild argument later had she left her stuff in his car again.

"Yeah yeah..Thanks for the shoes and perfumes and stuff. Cheap ass." she mutters the last bit even though there was no way her brother wouldn't hear it. Jungkook merely chuckled at her sarcasm, knowing she was only messing with him.

"You're welcome, dumb ass. Just remember what I told you." his hand goes to the gear stick, preparing to shift into reverse as Lauren opens the door. She pauses, her expression crinkling as if she were in deep thought.

"Which part? You talk a lot." she pouts, but a smirk creeps onto her face the second Jungkook's frown is visible in her peripheral. Giving him a sugary sweet smile that's all too reminiscent of his stepmother, Jungkook shakes his head again in resignation.

"Whatever...Get outta my car, Idiot." he laughs, nudging his sister's shoulder gently until she shuts the passenger door behind her.

His smile gradually faded as he watched Lauren walk up the driveway and into the garage. He waited until she was safely inside before backing up and pulling off, a mix of concern and pride swirling in his chest.