BOYS WHO ASK GIRLS OUT!

❤️

Late, once again, Lola rushed to the lecture hall. For the first time in a long time, she was able to fall asleep. It felt as though Jungkook was of help. Everytime he held her, Lola snoozed. It was like her brain had shut off after the concert, and studio session, which meant she had to miss the first twenty minutes of Criminology...

Around the corner, "Good morning!" A voice called.

Taking a glimpse at the source, Lola's worried face turned into a flaccid one. Standing before her, Penelope snickered. "Move out of my way."

Penelope chuckled, not moving an inch. "Make me."

"What's your problem?" Lola sighed and gave into her trap. Ten more minutes wasted only meant ten more hours of studying. Everything's cool. "I mean- what do you want from me?"

"You know what I want." If Lola had to describe intimidation, it'd be Penelope. Pin straight hair, fox-eyes, a tower surrounded by threatening thunders. Penelope took a step closer, nails digging in Lola's arm. "Stay away from him."

Although scary, Lola wasn't a pussy. She cleared her throat and forced the sharp nails out of her flesh before shoving the girl by her shoulder. "Who's him?"

Lola had realized the joy in pissing Penelope off. It started at the concert, and she couldn't get enough off it. It felt like it was her power.

"Don't fucking fuck with me!" Loud, Penelope screeched. The few students passing by weren't fazed, in fact, they pretended it wasn't happening.

Lola rolled her eyes and shoved her back once more. "Listen bitch-" she pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose, "I don't care about your past with Jungkook, he doesn't fucking like you."

"Did he fucking tell you that?!" Penelope laughed like those villains Lola grew up watching with her dad. It was high-pitched, and comical.

Snickering, "He did, actually." Lola took one certain step and closed the gap between her enemy and herself. "He told me how much better I feel than you do."

War had been declared.

Penelope's eyes twitched as she watched Lola strut confidently to her next lecture. Fingers tangled in her hair, distressed, she scorned.

❤️

Namjoon was curled up, snuggled comfortably in his bed, though his mind was not as relaxed. He'd been turning left to right all night, thinking about two things. The first one was Emma. They had made up again, but he did not see a future with her... The other thing was Lola.

Her stupid red hair had been tied around his brain like a rope, enabling him to think about much else, even Emma was hanging on by a thread, in the pandemonium of his mind. It was on fire, tiny little Namjoons scrounging around to put it out, but it was inescapably red, and way too hot to ignore.

"Fuck-" he groaned, palms fixing to rip his face off. "I'm fuckin' cooked bro."

"Why?" Jungkook then entered. Freshly showered, his black hair wet and sticking to his forehead, chest dripping, only a towel around his waist.

Namjoon gasped internally, clearing his throat. "N-nothin' I- I'm late to class..."

"As if you give a fuck." Jungkook tittered, dodging a pillow flying his way. "Yo hyung-" he searched his drawers for a black and a white shirt, holding them up for Namjoon to see, "which one should I wear?"

This was never a conversation they had. According to Namjoon, men don't choose what they wear like girls do, they just wear it and rock it.

Brows inched closer, "Ion give a fuck...?" He pulled the covers up to his chin and tried dozing off again. It was the best idea in that moment. "The fuck you gon' do anyway?"

Jungkook took a short second, and in his voice, you could hear him smile. "Imma ask bunny out."

"Ask her out?!" Jumping out of the covers, Namjoon rushed to his feet. "The fuck're you talkin' 'bout?"

The force in which he was being held had startled him, Jungkook furrowed his brows. "Yeah...? I got a lil' surprise for her. Also, the fuck's wrong with you?"

"Is you in love with that ginger or some?!"

It was a loaded question. Jungkook sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "I mean, Ion know, I just like bein' with her, y'know?"

Namjoon did know. Everything Jungkook described, he felt deep within him. A string of an emotion he hadn't felt before was tugging at his stomach, tying a knot inside, Namjoon felt as though he'd been tangled in his own intestines.

Only, he wasn't sure why.... There was only one thing he knew, and it was to get drunk. Drinking is the shortcut to numbing your feelings.

❤️

"Sorry, you can't return damaged items." The woman faked a smile, donning the till. "It's policy."

Snatching the red dress off the counter, "It's not even bad, like-" Destiny sighed. "just a lil' rip."

"Yeah... That's what damaged means." The cashier mumbled. She reminded Lola of Penelope. Everyone reminded Lola of Penelope. Even Destiny, with the way she rolled her eyes into the back of her head.

The notification from her phone is just enough to distract her from the fact that Destiny looks like she wants to fight the cashier. The corners of her mouth stretching to her ears when she sees who it is.

❤

️

❤️

"Girl how he done ripped your dress this bad?" As destiny waited for an answer, she realized she wouldn't get one. Lola had been smiling at her phone screen. "Is it him? What he sayin'?"

Lola showed her the messages, "He's asking if I'm free, what should I say?"

"Tell him you's free!"

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❤️

Nerves, like a million ants crawling, rushed through her entire body. The thought of seeing him, even just being close to him, made Lola feel things she wasn't quite used to. It was new, and completely out of this world.

Hovering over the screen, "Why he tryna see you?" Destiny asked, though it wasn't really directed at anyone. "Maybe he's gon' ask you out..."

With those words, Lola's eyes widened. "Des!" She squealed as they sneaked into the back of the store, sitting on the chairs outside of the dressing rooms.

It was the same store they bought the red dress from, although Jungkook had gone a little too far, and now they couldn't return it.

Fingers shaking, Lola started typing.

❤️

❤️

"Girl!" Destiny managed to pull the phone out of her hand, before Lola could hit send. "Why would there be some wrong? You can't give a man the impression that you're worried... Play it cool."

"Okay-" Lola took in a deep breath, deleting the message. "got it."

❤️

❤️

"What do I say, then?"

Destiny tapped her chin, "Ask him where he at, so he knows you're down to link up."

And so Lola did.

❤️

❤️

❤️

Quickly brushing off her suppressed smile, Lola rolled her eyes. "I can't stand him."

"Sure, miss girl." Destiny cackled shortly, before covering her mouth embarrassedly, as an old lady left the dressing rooms holding a plethora of floral print summer dresses.

"Anna come on!" The woman called for her blonde haired blue-eyed daughter, who was walking out of the dressing room holding a long black dress. She'd clearly been shopping for homecoming, which was not so far away.

When Lola and Destiny were left alone, "Not him calling you bunny..." She laughed again, this time way less loud.

Lola swiftly hit send again.

❤️

❤️

"Okayyy, period." Destiny snapped her fingers, puckering her lips to spike more confidence into the redhead. "Stand your ground."

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"Damn, not him being annoying lowkey." Destiny covered her mouth again, giggling at the way he'd been texting her. It reminded her of her highschool relationships. "Just let him pick you up, Lo."

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"The emojis!" Destiny could not hold her laughter any longer. "I'm dead!" She cackled while Lola hit send again.

"Des!" She sighed. "Stop laughing!"

Though, her friend did not.

❤️

❤️

"My heart's beating so fast." Lola breathed haphazardly. "Look!" She took Destiny's hand in hers and placed it on her chest.

"Damn girl!" Destiny, interrupting her cackles, "You literally in love with him!" chimed.

Lola knew she was. She was utterly and completely in love with Jeon Jungkook. All that was on her mind, had been these DMs.

Why did Jungkook want to see her? What was he going to tell her? Was Destiny right? Was he going to ask her out? Too many questions swarmed her mind, and Lola could not wait at all.

❤️

"Who is it?"

Namjoon opened the door. "Me. Your favorite gigolo."

"Don't say that..." Miss Park whispered, signaling him to step inside her office. "You're not a gigolo, you're just my-" She couldn't finish her sentence.

"Say it." Namjoon urged, taking a seat in front of her desk, legs spread, back slouched. "What am I to you? A guy you can fuck whenever you want? A wet dream? Your son's friend?"

"Are you drunk?" Miss Park gulped. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and gently took a seat back in her leather office chair.

"Answer my question!" Namjoon slammed his fist against the surface of her desk. "Do I make you feel young? That why you're with me? Or does our little secret affair excite you?"

She loosened the collar of her button up. Sweat running down her spine. "Joon, please-"

"What if I told Jimin?"

With his words, the room fell silent.

Miss Park gasped, though it got stuck in her throat. "N-namjoon, please, you're not thinking straight."

"Maybe I don't wanna think straight anymore... Hm? Anyone ever think 'bout that?" He threw his head back and groaned into his palms. "It's always Namjoon do this, Namjoon do that. When's it gon' be my turn to be loved?"

"But you are..." Miss Park leaned in, as much as her desk allowed, "I love you."

Her face made Namjoon let out a hysterical chuckle. "You love me? Go tell that to your fuckin' son, first."

"Namjoon, what's your problem?" She had enough. Miss Park rose to her feet, her heels clicking against the floor, she took the other chair right across him. "I know you're struggling with something, but you never tell me what it is."

Feet tapping, lip chewing, heart-wrenching. Namjoon found no words to describe the pain he had been feeling inside. It was feeling that killed him slowly.

"You know why we in this mess?" He asked her, eyes locked on hers. She shook her head, and Namjoon nodded. "Remember last year? The first time we fucked? You know why that happened?"

Miss Park turned red. It was shameful, and she was aware, though somewhere along the way, it had been normalized in her head. "You told me you were into older women-"

"That was a fuckin' lie." Namjoon confessed, yet there was nothing to be confessed, really. Miss Park was well aware, she just didn't want it to be true. "I'm not into older women, in fact, I fuckin' hate older women. They remind me of my fuckin' sister. You remind me of my sister."

Miss Park had her eyes shut tightly. She wished there was a way to completely drown out all the sound, but on the other hand, she knew she needed to hear him. It was the truth, and she couldn't run away from it.

"Only reason I put up with this shit's 'cause I can't let my bros get expelled. 'Specially Jungkook. His ass gets in trouble, you get pissed at him, I finger you, and you agree to give him another chance."

There it was.

The dire truth that Miss Park had been avoiding like the plague. She shuffled in her seat, trying to untie the knot inside her throat, but it wouldn't budge.

"The fuck do I get in return? The risk of losing Jimin. Why? 'Cause his mother's a fuckin' whore."

"Namjo-"

"But you know allat, right? You know I ain't actually care 'bout you? But your ass still lets me do all this? Why? 'Cause you couldn't handle the divorce..." He pointed at her. "Jimin couldn't handle that shit neither, but you know what he did to cope? He cried on my shoulder every night. On Yoongi's shoulder- remember Yoongi? Your son's boyfriend, that you hate with a fuckin' passion 'cause you's a homophobic asshole who only cares about herself?"

Tears ran down her face. Miss Park buried her face in her palms, rocking back and forth as she pleaded Namjoon to stop talking any longer.

"Now I can't get outta this shit. I'm stuck. I know this gon' be over, and you gon' leave me. And then when Jimin learns, he's gon' leave me too. Then the rest of the boys gon' leave me, 'cause I'm a peace o' shit and I shoulda never been witchu. And I know Emma's gon' leave me too, eventually. Everybody's gon' leave, just like my sister."

Miss Park had the urge to punch him in the face, and yet she could not bring herself to. The minute a tear trickled down his left cheek, Miss Park bursted into a violent sob. "Namjoon, your sister didn't leave you! She was killed! It's not your fault!"

Namjoon bit on his bottom lip. "Nah, everything's my fault, 'cause I ain't the typa guy people love. Nobody love me for me. You don't love me... You just love the way I make you feel, 'cause I'm young, and it makes you feel better 'bout yourself.... Emma doesn't love me, she just used to me. One day, she gon' realize she don't love me, and then she gon' leave."

A short second of silence breezed past the windows, before Namjoon opened his mouth again. Sighing deeply, "And girls like Lola don't love me neither... She ain't ever gon' love me, 'cause she loves guys like Jungkook." He wiped the tear off his face, leaning back in order to play it cool, as if he hadn't been pouring his insides out. "Jungkook's the typa guy errbody loves. He's funny, he got the charm... I ain't compare to him. It's fine, I ain't lookin' for love anyways."

"Namjoon, please don't say that..."

His eyes were locked back onto Miss Park's, slowly traveling down to her breasts. "Love ain't fo' me. That shit whack. Just come here and ride me."

❤️

Him and his Mercedes-Benz, which Lola had grew fond of, were by the gate. His arms crossed across his chest, biceps tight, about to explode like balloons, and a toothpick in his mouth, which he swirled left and right until Lola neared him. "Yo."

"Hi!" Unlike before, Lola hadn't though much about her appearance. Flared, low-rise blue jeans, and a soft pink cardigan pulled over a simple crop-top. She stood in white sneakers instead of her usual platforms, which meant that Jungkook could see the wisp of red hair sticking out the top of her head, as she barely reached his broad shoulders. "Why did you wanna see me?" She pushed her large glasses up the bridge of her nose.

Jungkook leaned down, thumb and pointer finger pinching her chin to lift her face, and locked his lips with her glossed ones. He let that one linger for more than most. It had become something he longed for. Maybe she had become one of the few things he could not live without. Although, it was all too soon to tell. Jungkook wanted to ask her out, but he had not a clue how these things worked.

What do boyfriends do, or say?

It was all a blur.

When he pulled away, he opened his eyes to Lola's gradually reddening face. "You cute." He giggled as he plucked the toothpick from between his partly glossed lips, and threw it away. Opening the passenger door, "Get in."

Lola did as she was told, a fire waiting to happen inside of her. Once Jungkook had stepped in, seatbelts fastened, "Are you not gonna tell me?" Lola inquired one last time, challenging her luck.

"It's a surprise." Jungkook pinched her nose and drove off.

❤️

Slouching through the studio garage, "Y'all started?" Namjoon plopped himself on the torn couch.

"Yeah. Where were you?" Jin, disappointed as always, raised a brow. Funny enough, he knew where Namjoon had been. He always knew, but with Yoongi, Hoseok, and especially Jimin in the room, he couldn't scold him like he wanted to.

Gulping nervously, "Sleeping." Namjoon cleared his throat. "Whatever, which song we doin'?"

"Hold Me Tight." Yoongi, by the computer, answered.

"Hold on-" Taehyung, and the others, curiously turned to Namjoon. "where's Jungkook."

From his expression, the others picked up quick.

"Oh!" Jimin snickered, "He's with Jessica Rabbit, huh?"

"Who's Jessica?" Hoseok furrowed his brows.

Immediately, Jimin sighed. "Hyung, it's a reference to the cartoon character, 'cause like, that girl Lola's ginger- and she wore a red dress too, I saw Destiny's posts on insta."

"Ohhhh..." Hoseok nodded. "He's with Lola?"

"He knows we have work to do." Jin interrupts the younger ones, "When will he be back?"

"When he's done asking her out." Namjoon mumbled bitterly.

"ASKING HER OUT?!"

All five of them exclaimed in sync.

"Jungkook's asking Lola out?" Jimin rose to his feet. "Are you sure?"

"He didn't even tell me?!" Taehyung dropped his vape, the same way as his jaw, "Fuckin' bitch!"

"I shoulda known." From behind the desk, they heard Yoongi mumble.

Curious, "Should've known what?" Jin asked.

Yoongi's chin rested on the back of his hand, and everything he said came out a little muffled, yet the others were used to it. "Jungkook stayed here with me last night, said he wanted to finish his song."

"What song?" Jin questioned.

"Still With You." Yoongi answered, and the others had started putting the pieces together. "He said he wanted to use it for something special."

Sitting in silence for a short second, "He gon' ask her out with a song..." Namjoon whispered. Somehow, this smashed his heart into even smaller pieces. None of the boys had realized the angry eyes weren't that of a hatred for Lola, but instead, a longing which he couldn't reach.

"Damn, he one romantic muhfucker!" Taehyung laughed.

❤️

The streets they drove down were familiar, and Lola guessed the location before they had even arrived. Stepping out excitedly, "The bridge!"

The Brooklyn Bridge.

Jungkook had planned it all in a single night. It was nothing extravagant, though Jungkook wasn't sure if his feelings were so either, anyways.

He wanted to ask her out, yet something in the back of his mind kept pulling him back.

He overpowered the feeling and held her hand. "Come on."

Walking the bridge together, he came to a halt right in the center. The first time and place they shared their first kiss. And still, it was a new feeling. This time, the sun accompanied them instead of the moon. Shining across her freckled face, like the sheen of a halo hanging above.

"Lo." Jungkook held her shaky hands in his larger ones. "Ion really know how this shit goes-" he cleared his throat, "but I got sum I wanna ask you."

Lola put her pearly whites on display. Her smile stretching across her face, "You can ask me."

If there was one thing she had picked up from Jungkook, it was the ability to keep it cool. Usually, she'd be melting, though right now, as her heart was beating into oblivion, Lola stood strong before him. Patiently waiting for what she knows is coming.

"Hold on-" Jungkook chuckled as he reached into his pocket and draws out his phone. "remember the song I sang you here?"

She did. In fact, Lola never forgot. "I do."

"I finished it." Jungkook pressed play. "For you."

The instrumentals took her for a swoon, basking in his intoxicating scent while she let the wind take her to become one with his body. "For me?"

"Yeah." His lips moving slightly, as he mumbled along to the lyrics, "It's called 'Still With You', 'cause even after having fights -and you slappin' me- I'm still here with you, about to ask you out."

Cars passing by, birds chirping, cars honking juxstapositioned with leaves falling, Lola couldn't hear any of it. Her ears picked up only his voice, and the music he made.

"So Lo," Jungkook started, "you wanna be my girlfriend?"

Lola didn't need to think about it. She had been waiting for this moment the very first time she felt a connection with him. "Jungkook-" pushing her glasses to her sparkling eyes, "yes! I do!"

"For real?!" His arms had already been sneaking around her waist to lift her, "Fuck yeah girl!" spinning her as he buried his face in her neck.

Chuckles erupting, breaths colliding, they were on cloud nine. Only, cloud nine was high, and a long way to fall...

❤️

"Babe," headphones on his small head, Jimin stood behind the microphone stand, telling Yoongi his ideas while the rest watched. "maybe I should like, go into a higher pitch there."

"You mean here?" Yoongi presses play, and nods in agreement when Jimin confirms. "You're a fuckin' genius, baby." He smiles and gestures him to have a go.

Filled with Jimin's multiple attempts at getting the perfect take, the room turns warm with the sun shining directly into it. The others approve of the song's bridge, but come to a collective agreement—

"Jungkookie should've been here to do his adlibs." Hoseok pointed.

Speak of the devil, "Y'all can't stay away from me, huh?" Jungkook arrived, a wide grin on his face.

"Finally!" Jin throws one leg over the other, and crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Why are you late?"

"Had important things to do." Jungkook shrugged and took a seat between Taehyung and Hoseok.

Jin rolled his eyes, groaning under his breath. "We know you were asking Lola out—"

"And did." Jungkook snickered cockily, brows bouncing up and down.

"She said yes?!" Taehyung smacked his friend's shoulder, bringing his vape back to his mouth.

As if it were a given, "The fuck you think? She gon' tell me no?" Jungkook laughed in vain.

"If you keep this attitude up, she might just dump you." Jin interrupted their giggles, cold, "I'm happy for you, Jungkook, if that's what you want, but you can't be late to recordings... We already started 'Hold Me Tight', and now you have to go over the entire song to fill in your parts. We really can't lose time, Yoongi got a call from a label, so we have to finish this album in a month, or else we won't get the deal."

"Fuckin" hell." Jungkook threw his head back and groaned into his palms. "Hyung, it's just a one time thing... And I'm like, feelin' real fuckin' good right now, don't fuck with my mood."

"Jin hyung's got a point, though." Yoongi, usually not very immersed in their conversations, warned the youngest one. "Don't be late again."

"Aight." The pierced boy sat with his legs spread, and after a short minute of silence, "So..." He eyed the other members. "Y'all not gon' ask me nothin'?"

Immediately, questions started to pour out of them; "Y'all had car sex?"

"How much did you pay her to say yes?"

"Y'all kissed?"

"With or without tongue?"

"You held a gun to her head?"

"I fuckin' hate y'all." Jungkook had been sloppily answering their stupid questions, sighing in between each one. "And Ion have a gun."

"Ask Yoongi's dad for one." Taehyung laughed.

From the desk, "My dad doesn't just give out guns to people." Yoongi mumbled loud enough for them to hear.

Taehyung threw his arms over the back of the couch, facing his older friend, "Ain't he a mob boss?"

"No." Yoongi had been dealing with the same thing ever since the members had found out about his intimidating family tree. "My dad's a retired fuckin' cop, how many times am I gonna tell you this?"

"Yeah." Jimin tuned into their banter. "It's his grandpa that was a mob boss."

"Okay—" Yoongi raised his hands, "He wasn't a mob boss, babe."

"Yoongles..." Jimin gave him a silly look. "I read my grandpa's diary where he talks about yours being one of the greatest bosses of his time. The two of them were always on the paper in the sixties, they had an underground name in the industry, and they were being targeted by some of the biggest mobs in New York... They definitely were mob bosses. We were named after them because our parents wanted us to continue their legacy."

Taehyung hummed. "But y'all turned gay instead." Kissing his teeth as if to display disappointment.

Jungkook bursted into laughter. "For real! Y'all coulda been the fuckin' mafia, y'know continue the Min Enterprises legacy, but chose to be homo."

"Okay, we didn't choose to be gay." Jimin sighed at his two friends. "And y'all are homophobic."

"I'm not homophobic, why would I be scared of a f*ggot?" Taehyung kept teasing his shorter friend, while Jungkook laughed with his chest heaving.

"Jesus Tae!" Jimin and Hoseok sneered at him, offended, though Yoongi was to immersed in the laptop screen to have heard it. He had warned Taehyung many a times to not use that word. "One day, a bunch of gay guys are going to jump you for using that slur in public, and I won't do anything to stop it."

Mocking Jimin's pouty lips, "Awwww." Taehyung cooed. "Scared of words?"

Only two of the members weren't participating in their conversation; Jin, who was disappointed, and Namjoon... Who was disappointed for a different reason. The entire time, he sat with his arms crossed, as though he was trying to make him as small as possible. He didn't want to be seen, or heard, or noticed. It was miserable.

"Hyung?" Jungkook, laughing with the others about his very romantic way of asking Lola out, turned to Namjoon, "The fuck's wrong? This morning you was tryna kill me fo' askin' her out, now you ain't say nothin'?"

He cleared his throat. Namjoon's hand sneaked around the back of his neck, pulling on the few hairs in suppressed frustration. "Fuck can I say? Have fun with the lil' witch." That was when the others noticed something was off... "Uhm, I did my parts already. Can I leave?" He asked, mainly looking at Jin, who was concerned—

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Namjoon sighed. "Just tired, Imma sleep."

And so he left. Six pairs of confused eyes glued to his back. "He doesn't look like he's okay." Jimin said. "Maybe it's about his sister, still."

"He still ain't over it..." Taehyung shook his head in pity.

"Of course he ain't." Jungkook kissed his teeth. "It's his sister. Imagine if yours got killed."

Silence had settled over the room. A sort of suffocating air surrounding them all.

🖤🩶🤍❤️