"I pull you in to feel your heartbeat,

can you hear me screaming "please don't leave me"?"

***

Panting uncontrollably, I flew into the enormous hall where Taehyung's graduation ceremony was being held. Actually, enormous was an understatement – it was gigantic and cramped with people. I started swaying my head back and forth, frantically looking for Taehyung's light-brown hair.

Driving on the way here had somehow helped me to calm down my raging nerves. My emotions were still heightened, only not to the point of showing physical symptoms. I was strongly determined to talk to Taehyung; I was finally going to tell him everything. I wanted to be straight with him, he didn't deserve being lied to.

To be fair, I had tried telling him about Jungkook's sudden reappearance that same night. Yet, he was just too busy molesting my lips and my body. Not that I complained – I was still at fault for not making him stop and talking things out.

I started making my way through the crowd, stretching out my neck to see better. The place was overcrowded with exalted students and their proud beaming families. Everyone was talking loudly and cheerfully, cries of laughter echoed through the high walls. This contrasted vividly with my crippling anxiety. I felt like an invisible ghost swimming in a sea of blindfolded happy people, bumping into them, none of them making eye contact with me.

Taehyung was nowhere to be seen. As I gathered, the ceremony had just ended and people were slowly but steadily making their way to the exit while casually chit-chatting. I wondered whether he had left. If he did, then that meant I'd missed everything and I had let him down. He'd be disappointed in me, yet again, and it would break my heart for the second time since last night.

I suppressed the wave of hopelessness washing over me and gathered all my faith. He was there, he had to be. I felt that he was near, it was just that I couldn't spot him in this vast sea of random people.

My attention was drawn to a male frame to my right, dressed in oversized black clothes, resembling a smudged black spot in the middle of the crowd, standing out. His voice was oddly familiar and made me look in his direction immediately.

I had never been so happy to see Yoongi.

There, to his left stood another male silhouette, a little bit taller. His light-brown locks fell in front of his coffee brown orbs. His dark chocolate voice washed over me, wrapping me up like a soft blanket.

With my breath in my throat, I dragged my numb feet in the direction that they were standing, my mind suddenly going blank. What am I going to say when I go there? How is Taehyung going to react when he sees me? What if he pushes me away?

Internally fighting the urge to run away, I pinned my feet a couple of meters behind them and stared into empty space. The voices around me now sounded distant and tuneless. I suddenly couldn't take another step.

"Hey, Y/N!" A familiar voice called out my name from behind and someone's heavy arm fell on my shoulder, squeezing it tightly.

I looked up to see familiar ebony hair and a pair of charming eyes, a perfect smile beaming from underneath them.

"Hey, Jin." I greeted him in a weak and quiet voice, as if I was afraid that someone might hear me in the clutter around us.

"Are you alright?" As opposed to mine, his voice boomed loudly, making me wince. "You look a little bit pale. Actually, a lot pale." His eyebrows dipped in concern. "Do you need some water?"

"No, I'm fine," I rasped while being anything other than fine. Jin shot me a suspicious look.

"Okay then. I suppose you're here for Taehyung's graduation, right? Come on, the guys are over there!" He patted me lightly on the back, urging me to go with him, but I could barely make a step forward. My throat suddenly felt dry, causing me to let out a little cough.

"No, I- I don't know-" I stuttered, completely aware of how stupid I probably sounded. I inhaled sharply and ran my fingers through my hair in a slight frantic. Jin stared at me quizzically, furrowing his brows in confusion.

Before any of us could say another thing, Taehyung turned around and his orbs cast over me. Our eyes locked in a mesmerizing, powerful gaze and I suddenly felt as though the world around me had stopped spinning. My stomach turned upside down while his expression remained practically unreadable. He was dressed semi-formally in a white shirt, the first couple of buttons undone, a black coat and ripped jeans that emphasized his long legs. I had no idea what the actual reason was – be it my unbearable need to see him again or the fact that he was mad at me, but he completely took my breath away.

I stared right back at him, incapable of moving an inch. In my panic, I offered him a faint smile. Jin started walking towards the group and I absent-mindedly followed him, as if my legs were moving on their own.

"Hey," I breathed out when I was finally standing in front of Taehyung. My eyes darted to his hands clutching on his diploma. "Congratulations. I'm so sorry I was late. I'm an idiot and-"

Without saying another word, Taehyung grabbed me abruptly by the wrist, pulling me into his arms and close to his chest. He tightly embraced me and the close proximity of our bodies allowed me to inhale his intoxicating fragrance. I shut my eyes slowly, feeling all my troubles wash away in the warmness of his hug.

"You came," He uttered softly, stroking my hair and my back. There was no sign of the coldness in his voice from last night. "I'm glad."

"So am I," I whispered close to his ear and his grip on my body tightened. At that moment I didn't care who was watching us. Taehyung's arms brought me so much warmness and comfort that I felt like a child tucked in their bed.

He pulled away while his hands still rested on my shoulders. His gaze was so kind and gentle that it spoke more than a thousand words ever could.

"Hey, Y/N!" Another voice snapped us out of our little moment. I turned around only to see Jimin strolling our way, his hands in his pockets, a cheerful grin plastered on his face. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Same here," I simply smiled at him.

"Will you join us for lunch?" Jimin asked, his eyes glowing with anticipation and excitement like those of a small child.

"Yeah, to celebrate Tae's graduation," Jin joined in, patting Taehyung on the back like a proud father. Yoongi remained silent ever since the moment I had arrived, not even looking at me.

"Um," I hummed, searching Taehyung's gaze to determine how he felt about it. He suddenly took my hand in his behind our backs, intertwining his fingers with mine. The gesture was so small and it still sent goosebumps all across my skin, making me feel like the very first night he had touched me at his apartment after saving me from Jaebum.

Taehyung offered me an approving gaze and nodded.

"Yeah, sure. I guess, why not?" I shrugged my shoulders awkwardly, feeling the blood rush into my cheeks and tainting them in light pink. Yoongi, who was standing to my left, scoffed almost inaudibly, but I decided to ignore that.

"Great!" Jimin cheered as pure happiness radiated from his whole being, in contrast to Yoongi's dark face. It was kind of funny watching them next to each other. "So, how should we do this?"

"Y/N and I are going to take my car," Taehyung said nonchalantly. "You guys could go with Yoongi's car and we'll meet you there."

"Got it." Jimin gave us a thumbs up and I let out a little chuckle at his energy. Part of me realized he was only that enthusiastic because he probably hoped I'd call Celine and tell her to come too. It amused me.

My smile instantly froze on my face when my attention was drawn to something, or should I say someone, in the crowd I didn't expect to see. My gaze darted to a pair of familiar deep doe eyes that glared right at me with such intent and firmness that I felt as though they were drilling holes into my skull. My stomach turned upside down and I had to remember how to breathe when the air got stuck in my lungs, causing me to inhale sharply.

Jungkook continued to stare at me, his eyes were the only visible thing on him, the rest of his face being covered by a black mask. A baseball cap rested on his head, hiding his lustrous raven black hair. He was so motionless, almost statuesque in the middle of the chaotic cram of people in the hall.

I wondered whether he was just a hallucination like the previous time when I had seen him at the club. No, this time he looked as real as he could get. Not a muscle flinched on his face as his orbs didn't even blink, never leaving mine. My eyes rounded in disbelief, instinctively clutching on Taehyung's hand.

"What's the matter?" He asked softly, turning his whole body to face mine, his eyes shifting to my form. I looked around frantically. I hadn't even noticed that the other three boys had left.

"Y/N, are you alright?" Taehyung's voice was infiltrated with gentle concern, taking over me like a warm wave of affection. I unwillingly shifted my eyes to meet his, still feeling Jungkook's stare burning into me.

"Yes," I rasped, each flutter of my heart feeling like a clap of thunder in my ears. "Actually, no. We have to talk."

"Yes, we do." Taehyung agreed, causing me to look at him with a confused expression on my face. "I thought a lot about last night. I was so harsh to you when you were in such a vulnerable state. You had your reasons for not telling me about Jungkook and I get it. I respect your decision." His gaze lowered to my lips as cupped my cheek, stroking one of my sides with his thumb. "What I regret the most is not telling you that no matter what, I'll never give up on you. You should know that. I'm never letting you go again. Not when my whole heart belongs to you now."

I couldn't breathe, my heart hammering in my chest.

"I'll wait, no matter how long, but I'll wait. Until you're ready to love me too." Taehyung's wide eyes stared right into my soul as his lips found mine, his hands running back up on my waist. He deepened the kiss even more, his palms travelling to the back of my head and pressing my body harder towards his. All of my concerns of the people around us melted away as our lips collided into each other, while the voices echoing through the hall became distant background noises.

Taehyung slowly pulled away from the kiss, leaving me breathless.

"I- I have to tell you something," I said in a husky voice, regaining my composure.

Taehyung started at me questioningly and I averted my gaze to the place in the crowd where Jungkook was, searching for him with my eyes. He was still there and his eyes were glaring, sending chills down my spine. His eyes were furrowed in anger, nay – in pure unfiltered rage, his chiseled jaw clenched under the black mask. His face was that of a lurking beast as he continued to stare at us. My lips trembled as adrenaline started flooding through my system.

"You can tell me later." Taehyung's voice penetrated my ears, causing me to look back at him. Nibbling on my lip, my gaze darted back and forth from him to the spot Jungkook was standing, only to realize that he was suddenly gone. I caught a glimpse of his dark hoodie disappearing around the corner and when I blinked it was like he had never been there.

"Come on, my car is in the underground parking lot," Taehyung took my hand, urging me to follow him. "The others will be waiting for us."

I followed him with a sheepish expression on my face, not having fully processed what had just happened. Was Jungkook really there or was my sanity finally starting to evaporate?

Perhaps he was just a product of my imagination, an illusion of my guilty conscience. My heart was feeling as if it was going to explode as Taehyung kept leading me to his car, his palm gently squeezing on mine.

After walking for a couple of minutes, I instantly spotted his Audi in the almost empty parking lot. I shuffled silently to the passenger's seat while Taehyung unlocked the car and I opened the door, ready to hop into it.

Someone's quickened footsteps behind me suddenly caused me to turn around, my whole body stiffened in alarm.

"Y/N!" Taehyung's horrified voice screaming my name was the last thing I heard. Everything happened so quickly, as though someone had pressed the fast forward button, when I felt a dull pain in the back of my head, something cold and damp making contact with my skull with such rapidity and force that I couldn't take a glimpse of what it was.

Taehyung's eyes rounded in terror, pure fear written on his face. I looked right into the core of his eyes before my numb body fell on the ground with a loud thud and darkness came over me.

"Y/N!"