"Struggling to catch your expressions, struggling to catch your smiles..."

~Gone-JIN

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When it was over and time to go home, the bus ride was rowdy, but Taehyung had never been happier to leave, not because of the classes, but Jae-hwa. She didn't do anything else that day, at least not as far as Taehyung knew. She was probably already spreading rumors. Him running away hadn't helped.

They'll think I'm crazy by tomorrow, everything good will stop tomorrow. With her around, he was sure the days that he could be free were numbered, with her influence, she could have him gone as soon as tomorrow.

As soon as Jimin And Taehyung came through the front door, Mrs, Park rushed to hug them. "How was school?" She asked, hugging Jimin, then moving to hug Taehyung, but stopping. "Wh-What happened?" She said, looking Taehyung up and down.

Jungkook had tried to help him clean it up in the bathroom for the most part, getting the juice out of his hair and skin, but nothing could fix the white shirt it had stained red in splashes, or the white pants.

"Some b*tch poured tomato juice on him at lunch." Jimin stated, setting his backpack down and continuing into the house and sitting on the couch.

"Jimin, language!" She said, then turned back to Taehyung, gently taking his backpack off for him. "I'm sure she didn't mean it..."

"She walked up and poured it right over his head and called him a crazy bastard." Jimin said. "She was bullying him..." Then he got quiet, frowning.

Why are you upset, Jimin? None of this happened to you...

"Bullied?! What?! Who told--?" Mrs. Park took a deep breath, calming down, then she put her hands to Taehyung's shoulders. Her hands were warm, her eyes that of someone who was going to explain something to a child. "Go upstairs and change, and then give me the dirty ones, okay, swee--?" She stopped, swallowing what she was going to say. "I'll see if I can get the stain out..." She continued.

Taehyung nodded, then headed upstairs. Swee-? Was she going to say...? Was she going to call me...? She wouldn't, I'm...just a job. He chewed his lip. Why would she say that? Didn't that mean that she...loved him? No one ever loves me...

Taehyung shook his head. She must have meant something else, it probably just slipped. He chewed his lip hard, almost to the point of it hurting. He wondered what it would be like to hear that spoken to him, what it would feel like.

Kyung-mi wasn't home, but Taehyung still peeked at her closed door before going into his room and closing the door behind him.

He loosened his tie, looking over in the closet for something else to wear. After going through it twice, he decided on wearing more things that Jimin had picked out, A black paisley patterned shirt and a pair of jeans.

Then he changed and bundled the dirty uniform into a sort of ball. He could have done it neater, might have been easier to see around, but he didn't want to fold dirty clothes. Normal people didn't do that, right?

Then he brought it downstairs, trying to look around it so he wouldn't trip. Mrs. Park met him halfway and took the clothes from him.

"Oh, I've got it, Taehyung, you could have just asked for me, you didn't have to try to come down that stairs with all that." She smiled over the ball of clothes, "She's just mean, okay? Don't worry." Her voice was back to the explaining-things-to-a-child voice.

I'm not a kid, I know, I understand, she's a b*tch who's going to take me away from you. Taehyung nodded, and she smiled sympathetically, going back down the stairs and probably heading toward the laundry room.

Jimin rushed up the stairs next, grabbing Taehyung's hand as he went past him up the stairs and pulling him back up the stairs with him. Taehyung stumbled once, then caught himself and followed Jimin.

Jimin pulled him into his room, then he let go of Taehyung's hand, going over to the closet. Taehyung just stood awkwardly by the doorway, not sure what to do with himself.

"We're going out. For a walk. I want to show you something." Jimin said, pulling the tie off.

"A-A walk?" Taehyung asked, watching Jimin pull out a pair of ripped jeans and a black sleeveless shirt.

"Jesus, you make it sound like I'm going to kill you." Jimin sighed, unbuttoning his shirt. "It's just a walk over to the park nearby, chill."

Taehyung nodded, looking down at his feet while Jimin changed. He shouldn't just watch, that would be weird.

After a minute, Jimin grabbed Taehyung's hand again, pulling him out of the room. He'd put on a snapback to go with his outfit. Jimin pulled him down the stairs, before he opened the front door, he yelled, "Eomma, I'm taking Taehyung to the park!" Jimin didn't even wait for an answer before he opened the door and pulled him out. Jimin pulled him to the edge of the property, then let go of his hand. "Don't just stand there, let's walk then."

Taehyung nodded again, walking with Jimin down the sidewalk. It was still nice out, birds whistling happy tunes, the trees swaying softly in the wind, dogs barking somewhere off in the background in their nice neighborhood.

The day was perfect, but his heart felt like it was slowly dying in his chest. All of this is going to go away. He glanced at Jimin, who was walking pretty quietly besides humming to himself, his eyes on his shoes as he walked.

"I'm sorry, Tae. I'm sorry you probably had the sh*ttiest first day ever, probably would have been better if we avoided the cafeteria, if we'd just stayed on the roof." Jimin sighed. "And I'm supposed to be helping you with mom to get better."

Taehyung looked up at him. "...That's not your fault." This might be the last day anyway, he might as well say what he thought. "She would have done that anyway."

Jimin looked up at him and smiled big. "That has to be the longest sentence you've ever said to me." He put a arm around Taehyung's shoulders, "Can't believe I thought you'd wreck the place, you're eerily calm most of the time." He wagged a finger at Taehyung, fake pouting. "It's annoying, stop it."

Taehyung gave Jimin a tight lipped smile. "I'm--."

"If you say you're sorry, I'm going to walk away right now."

"...I'm just..." He licked his dry lips. "You wouldn't like me."

Jimin was quiet for a second, "You keep saying that. Dude, don't speak in riddles, girls don't like that."

Like I have a chance with girls. But Taehyung nodded anyway.

"When you nod, I feel like you're not really listening. Girls are very important, you could--Wait, Unless...you like guys?" Jimin asked.

Taehyung looked up at the sky for a second, then shrugged. He hadn't really thought about it, he'd never really thought of love in general, because he didn't even have parents who loved him, family that loved him, friends that loved him--why would he seek any other kind of companionship?

"So...does that mean you don't have a preference?" Jimin asked after a second.

"I guess." Taehyung shrugged again.

Jimin nodded. "Then don't talk in riddles, 'cause people in general don't like that."

Taehyung tilted his head. He supposed that was probably true, though he wasn't talking that way on purpose. But I can't tell you what's really going on in my mind, you'll think I'm crazy, you'll send me back to...

They walked in silence for a little while. Jimin had been right about the park, it wasn't far, just a block or two. It was open space, so much open space, and there was a big hill, dotted with trees, and then there was a playground, filled with kids running around and playing on the swings and the slide and the monkey bars, their parents pushing them on the swing or sitting nearby on a bench, all of it along a sort of path, the path continuing on deeper to a building, and then onwards to where Taehyung couldn't quite see.

It was all so nice, so happy. The world was such a nice place. He'd miss it in that white room--that white box--that cage.

A little girl came running up to him, pigtails bouncing with her steps, "I know you!" She said, tugging at his hand.

Taehyung felt a smile come to his face, one he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. The little girl from the store, she actually remembered me. "I know you too." He said, kneeling down to her level.

"Did you find your Eomma and Appa? Did they give you hugs?" She asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

Taehyung didn't know how to answer. No, they didn't, because they left me, and they aren't coming back. "Um...Yeah." He lied. He couldn't tell her, he didn't want to ruin her, not like how he was.

She jumped up and down. "I told you! They love you! Don't run away anymore, my Eomma says it makes something 'attack her heart'."

Taehyung nodded slowly, biting his lip hard. He couldn't look her in the eye.

"Hyung, be a good boy for them, okay?" Then she turned when a woman by the playground called her. "Bye!" She said, then surprised him with a hug. Her small body was warm, and her little fingers gripped his back tightly, her cheek pressed up against his for a second or so.

Taehyung watched her run over to her mom, though her mother gave Taehyung a questioning look, probably wondering who this strange man her daughter was talking to was. Of course she did, she loved her.

He eventually straightened, staring at his feet for a moment. He'd lied to her, absolutely lied. Why can't that lie be true? Just that one lie...

"Tae?" Jimin asked. "Are you crying?"

He looked up at Jimin, shaking his head. He wasn't, as much as everything hurt, he wasn't crying, though his eyes stung a little like he might.

Jimin looked off to the side, nodding to himself, putting his hands in his pockets. Then after a bit, he continued walking, Taehyung walked with him again. Jimin looked upset.

"You've met her before?" Jimin asked, still looking away.

"Yeah, at the clothing store...When I ran away." Taehyung said quietly

Jimin nodded. "She's sweet."

Taehyung looked from Jimin, to out in front of him on the path, and he stopped walking. He hadn't meant to, it just happened, and he couldn't stop staring, no matter how much he told himself that staring for that long wasn't normal. "J-Jimin..."

Jimin looked up, "What?" He asked, stopping with him, then following Taehyung's line of vision. "Oh! Dude, you liar."

Taehyung almost felt like he didn't hear Jimin. She's an angel, a beautiful angel. He remembered thinking that at school earlier too. She looked even more like an angel sitting on a bench, feeding birds, the sunlight hitting her hair in just the right way to make it shimmer. He chewed his lip, just staring as she tore pieces of the bit of bread she had in her hand and tossed it toward the birds that had gathered.

Jimin looked back and forth between Taehyung and the girl. "Talk to her."

Taehyung shook his head, "I c-can't." What if she knows? She was with Jae-hwa, what if she just makes fun of me? I'm going back anyway, why waste her time talking to me?

Jimin laughed. Taehyung was glad she was still faraway enough to be out of earshot. "Sure you can, you talked to that little girl."

"...That's different, J-Jimin..."

Jimin took Taehyung by the shoulders, standing in front of him. "Tae, I want you to forget about what Jae-hwa did, not everyone from school is like that, and I want you to remember you're sexy as f*ck." Then Jimin turned Taehyung around and toward the angel. "Just ask her how she is, what her name is, whatever, something!" Then Jimin shoved him toward her.

Taehyung tripped and nearly fell. I can't do this, I can't, I shouldn't... He swallowed hard, walking a little closer. But... I guess I'm already halfway there...

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A/N: I cry like a baby whenever I watch the "Gone" M/V, it's just too much >O< I just...It's beautiful and sad at the same time, if you haven't seen it, you'll see what I mean if you watch it ;_;

~Neri's got no jams professionally~