"Hey, you're going to get hurt--Move, you're going to get hurt. Sometimes being too courageous is the problem. Shout out, Shout out to ask to save you. If not, from now on, watch closely..."

~FACE-Nu'EST

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Orange. That's what color they'd dyed his hair. Sunday morning, Jungkook had come over again, and helped color Taehyung's hair a vibrant orange, and Taehyung had stared in the mirror for the longest time wondering who he was looking at. He knew it was him, he still looked as sad in the eyes as he did before, maybe not as tired as he used to, but it was him, still him. And then there was that orange.

Walking down the school hallways, he wasn't sure if everyone was staring at him because of the color, or because of what Jae-hwa had said. Taehyung found himself absently fingering the charm Hana had given him. Mrs. Park had given him a chain to hang the charm on, and Taehyung had wanted to wear it around his neck. He liked having a place for it besides his pocket.

He followed Jimin down the hallway, still not quite knowing where his locker was by heart, Jimin had to show him.

When Jimin lead him to his locker, he leaned against the one next to it, giving Taehyung a grin. "You notice everyone looking, right? Or are you just so modest it's stupid?"

Taehyung entered the combination. "I've noticed." He couldn't understand them looking at him for that, his hair was a different color, was more teased, but otherwise he wasn't any different. He could understand them staring and judging because of the things Jae-hwa had said and done, but he couldn't picture them staring because of that.

Jimin rolled his eyes. "Just remember, don't listen to Jae-hwa, you can ignore the attention if you want, since you've got a girl in mind, but make sure to ignore Jae-hwa, or at least look like you are."

Taehyung swallowed, that would be hard. Just the thought of her made him feel somewhere between vulnerable and angry. Jimin was asking a lot, Jimin was asking for Taehyung to throw everything he thought out, at least what he thought about Jae-hwa, what scared him, the mental hospital. He didn't know if he could do that, especially not so fast.

"Dude, stop staring off into space, Hana's coming." Jimin said, elbowing Taehyung in the ribs.

Taehyung looked up. Hana was walking with her head down, a sling on her right arm, her eyes watching her feet. Don't be sad, Hana, don't be sad, I don't want to see you sad... Almost like she could read his thoughts, she looked up. When she her eyes met his, she smiled big. Don't fake a smile, I know it hurts...

Jae-hwa had hurt her then. Taehyung felt terrible as soon as he saw the sling, like he'd swallowed a rock, and it ate away at him from the inside, bit by bit, turning his inside to fragile crystal, pieces breaking off constantly.

Then she walked up to them, waving to Jimin before pointing to Taehyung's chest then pointing to her smile, then she continued with a hand gesture Taehyung didn't understand.

"Ah...I..." Taehyung started. He couldn't even remember what she'd done with her hands, she'd done it so fast. Let alone try to guess what she'd meant.

"She said she's glad you're back." Jungkook came up from the other side, giving him a pat on the back before leaning on a locker. "I'm sorry, Hana, I didn't get a chance to show him any signing."

Taehyung blinked. Signing... "Oh..." He licked his lips. "Hana-ssi...Could you teach me...?"

Hana's eyes widened, then she grinned and nodded. Taehyung could see Jimin smirk in the corner of his vision.

Then the bell rang, and Jungkook swore. "Time for class already? And here I thought we were pretty early."

Jimin put his hands in his pants pockets, leaning toward Hana. "Walk with us to class, Hana?"

Hana nodded. But Taehyung knew exactly why he was asking her to, besides the fact that Jimin was trying to set him up with her, it was also because of Jae-hwa. Wasn't right between arriving at school and when classes started when Jae-hwa picked on her?

But wait...Hana had looked sad. Did that mean Jae-hwa had already said something to her? That she'd already done something? She didn't look hurt on the surface but...in her eyes was something else. I want you to be happy Hana.

~~~

All throughout class, everyone stared. he wished they would stop looking at him. Do they believe Jae-hwa? Do they think I'm some kind of pervert? Some panty snatcher? They would believe Jae-hwa, wouldn't they? Jae-hwa seemed to have her finger on the school's pulse, the IV drip of everything that ever happened anywhere. I can't do this...

Taehyung had glanced over at Hana a million times, whenever he could, be it that he'd drop something so he had an excuse to look over his shoulder, or whenever someone raised their hand off behind him, he'd check to see if she was alright.

The worst part was, Jae-hwa's desk was right next to Hana's Jae-hwa could say a lot of things to her and do a lot of things from that close. He couldn't really do anything about it. Don't say anything to her, Jae-hwa, please, just leave her alone, it's me you want gone, don't bring her into it...

After class, it was apparent Jae-hwa had said something, or done something. Taehyung clenched his fists as everyone but Jae-hwa and Hana started leaving. Jimin, Jungkook and Taehyung didn't move. He wanted out of the room, just because Jae-hwa was sitting there. But he stayed because of Hana, despite how much he feared Jae-hwa getting him sent back, he couldn't leave, not after what Jae-hwa had done to Hana last time, not with her arm already in a sling. He guessed Jimin and Jungkook were staying because of that too, or something similar to that.

"What?" Jae-hwa asked eventually. "You wanna stay for me and Hana's heart to heart?" She sneered.

Taehyung licked his lips. Not being afraid was hard. Even now he could feel his hands shaking. Jae-hwa's just a person, just a b*tchy person, I shouldn't be scared...

Jimin just stared at Taehyung, obviously expecting him to do something. If there was ever a good time to do something, it was before anyone got hurt. Taehyung ran his tongue of over his lips.

After a second of convincing himself to do it, he got up and went over to Hana, tentatively taking her hand mostly to get her attention. But her hands were warm and soft, her fingers even gracing his hand felt funny. "...Hana-ssi, let's leave..." He honestly didn't know what else to say, he couldn't find it in himself to confront Jae-hwa directly.

Jae-hwa stood up faster then ever, stomping over to Taehyung, her heels hitting the floor hard with each step. "Ooh, has Taehyung grown a backbone for his little sl*t? Maybe you're forgetting, I can ruin you, you're just barely out as it is, I'll send you back to hell." She gave Taehyung a push. "And you can't do sh*t about it, because if you pull that, you know what I'll tell them, it's really easy to plant a gun in a locker you know."

"You can't do that!" Jungkook said, "Jae-hwa, that's--!"

"And who here even gives a damn what you're even saying?" Jae-hwa sighed. "Do you have to whine and b*tch like a five year old girl and look like one too?"

Jungkook lunged at Jae-hwa, and Jimin grabbed hold of his shoulders to keep him from attacking her.

Jae-hwa grinned, then went back to looking at Taehyung. "Well? Dog? Aren't you going to try to bite too? Your owner already took a shot, wanna try?"

Taehyung watched Jimin try to calm Jungkook down, but by then, the younger boy was yelling out a stream of curses. A teacher would hear him if he kept going as loud as he was.

I can't. I can't do this, I... Taehyung caught sight of Hana's expression. She looked so hurt, so miserable. How must it be to have to watch everything happen in absolute silence? She must feel so alone. Hana blinked and a set of tears fell from her eyes. I have to. I have to, I don't care if you think I'm crazy, you can't make angels cry.

"Well, doggy? You gonna bark, you little orange puppy, or wh--?"

"Stop talking." Taehyung started, his voice low and cold. He'd never spoken like that to anyone, but he'd never hated someone so much. Taehyung pulled Hana to her feet. "We're leaving."

"You're not going any--!"

"Jae-hwa, shut up, don't talk to me anymore."

Jae-hwa looked dumbstruck, she her mouth opened and closed like she intended to say something, but she was quiet. Jimin and Jungkook got quiet too. Taehyung didn't want to be in the room anymore, so he pulled Hana with him toward the door, when he looked over his shoulder at Jae-hwa, she was smirking, but he tried to ignore that. She'll do something awful, I know she will.

Jungkook and Jimin followed him out of the classroom, and when they were out, Jimin smiled big. "I knew you could do it."

Taehyung looked down at his feet, swinging his arm back and forth. Then he stopped, realizing he was still holding Hana's hand. He quickly let go of her hand looking anywhere but at her. "M-Mianhaeyo, Hana-ssi..."

He looked down at his hands. He liked the way her hand felt in his. It felt right in a way, it had felt so right he'd forgotten he was holding it.

Taehyung licked his dry lips. Why are you doing this to me, Hana? It hurts. Why are you doing this? This was all so fragile, like a thin sheet of ice. He had a paper. Just a piece of paper that said he could be outside of a mental hospital, outside of a prison. If all of it went away, if he was alone again in a white room, the more Hana made him feel like this, the more it hurt.

Jimin groaned. "God, Taehyung, how do you go from sexy to cute?"

"Well," Jungkook started. "We've still got a lunch break to get to, right? Let's head up to the roof." He sounded a little upset. Not quite himself, subdued, and his eyes dark and missing the spark they usually had. Don't believe what Jae-hwa says, don't let her pick on you too...

Jungkook started walking off, and it didn't look like he cared if anyone followed him. Taehyung couldn't help feeling how Jungkook's name was familiar, when he was upset, it seemed more familiar, and he wished he knew why. Jungkook where are you from? What did Jae-hwa do?

"Ah..." Taehyung started mostly to get Jimin's attention. "Jimin, can I have a *dollar? I want to go get strawberry milk." That, and he wanted a second to himself to think, just a moment, then he'd go back. Recently he'd found he didn't like to be alone. He knew why. After all that time alone, he'd almost come to fear it, the time alone meant time with everything that troubled him, time to sit and see what he'd done to Appa replay in his mind in vivid detail.

Jimin nodded. "Yeah, sure, the lockers aren't far. You want me to come with you?"

"No, I'll be alright." I'm not helpless, I'm not crazy, I thought even you would know this by now... "You don't have to."

"Or Hana could come too." Jimin said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Taehyung looked over to Hana, who had started following Jungkook, trying to catch up to him. "I don't want to trouble her."

Jimin shrugged. Then they walked over to the lockers and Jimin eventually gave him the dollar, saying, "You know, you really should find something more...not-girly to drink. But when you're done, we'll be on the roof."

Taehyung nodded. But I like it... That's not crazy, right? "Thank you..."

Jimin gave him an eye-smile. Then went off down the hallway toward the roof.

Taehyung went the other way, toward the cafeteria. The halls were empty, the only thing he could hear when he walked was his own footsteps, his own breathing. It wasn't like the white room, he wasn't trapped, and the sound had never echoed back in the white room, the padding prevented that. The loneliness scared him a little, but it wasn't as bad as the white room, he didn't feel nearly as bad as he thought he would.

Jungkook felt bad. That wasn't true at all, what Jae-hwa had said was nothing but a lie, just a way to get him angry, he couldn't have taken it to heart. He couldn't have. Then what was it about what she said? What was it that made Jungkook so angry?

There's nothing you can do! It's hopeless! Can't you see that...JUNGKOOK!

Taehyung stopped walking. He remembered that. He remembered that, it was when he was living with Jae-hwa, not that long after they adopted him, but long enough for Taehyung to know about Appa's drinking problem, about his gambling.

He couldn't remember who had said it, and he couldn't remember why...

"Hey!"

Taehyung was about to look, before he was grabbed by the shoulders and pushed up against the walls. Taehyung winced, his back hitting the wall hard. He'd closed his eyes for a second, but when he set eyes on the person who pushed him, his assaulter grabbed Taehyung's tie and pulled him toward him.

"Pumpkin head, you're walking on glass, no one talks to my girl like that." He said, then pushed Taehyung back against the wall again, making Taehyung hit his head.

Her boyfriend. Jae-hwa's boyfriend. After a white flash from the impact, Taehyung tried to even just get a look at him. He had dyed white hair, a black beanie, and a piercing through his lip. His eyes were almond in shape, dark in color and outlined with black. He wasn't wearing a school uniform, instead wearing a white shirt, with a red flannel shirt, jeans, and red converse. Around his neck was a black bandana.

He raised an eyebrow at Taehyung, looking to the side and chuckling for a second before pushing him toward the wall again. "Yo, you think I'm playing, Pumpkin-head? I better hear a 'Sorry, I'll never do it again'."

Accent. He has an accent. It took Taehyung a second to even register what he was saying. Daegu. That's what it sounded like, like he was from Daegu.

Taehyung licked his lips, he couldn't say sorry, he wasn't sorry, he'd do it again. He reached up to his hands which were currently pushing Taehyung toward the wall, trying to get them off. "Please, it hurts, stop..." Taehyung started.

"Oh, it hurts? Awww..." He pulled Taehyung away from the wall and pushed him into the wall harder. "How's it hurting now, you crazy son of a b*tch?"

Taehyung winced. He wished he wasn't alone. He wished a teacher would hear and come stop this, that Jae-hwa's boyfriend would just leave. That's why she'd smirked, that's why. This was the guy she'd called when Jimin punched her, the guy who beat Jimin up after. He's going to do that to me too.

"Stop...!" Taehyung said. That last push had slammed his head to the wall so hard he saw stars floating around in his vision.

He let go of Taehyung. "You're a baby. Can't take a little pain? This will be easy enough to get through that pumpkin head of yours then."

He punched Taehyung in the stomach. It seemed like he was about to do it again, but one punch was enough, Taehyung doubled over to the ground, just laying there, clutching his middle as stabs of pain went through him.

"Good boy, now you say some more sh*t to my girl? You'll get more of this. You pick a fight with her again, you pick a fight with me."

Taehyung watched him casually walk away as if nothing had happened, even yawning as he walked down the hall with his hands in his pockets. Taehyung laid there for a while, just holding his middle, breathing.

What do I do? I don't want to pick a fight, I don't want Jae-hwa to pick on Hana...

What can I do?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N:

*When I say dollar I mean the equivalent of it. if it was Yen it would have been 100 yen, I just don't know the conversion of Won to Dollar by heart, please forgive me *Bows*

If you haven't figured out who Jae-hwa's boyfriend is yet, and don't hate me yet, you might next chapter, when I just tell you flat out who he is (Basically) xD

And any spelling mistakes or typos were entirely by accident, and I will go over it when it's not super late and I can read for beans :3

~Neri knows the muffin man~