Friends?

Why would he want to be friends with me??

Jimin couldn't bring himself to respond to Yoongi's text. But he certainly thought about it. All weekend long.

No one, no one, had ever asked to be Jimin's friend. Not even Namjoon. His friendship with Jimin sort of just happened. Which was perfectly fine, but this...

This was strange. The pastel boy was strange.

He had a unique kind of patience. And compassion.

Evidently, Jimin didn't feel as though he deserved either.

But it warmed his sad heart to think about.

"He...wants to be my friend."

He felt like a child. Even more so when he heard himself say those words out loud. But at the moment, Jimin didn't care. Because for the first time in a while, he felt special. And for whatever reason his cold behavior and cruel actions hadn't brought Yoongi to hate him, Jimin was grateful. Really grateful.

His chest felt warm and he didn't know what to think of it.

▫️▫️▫️

A few days passed and Jimin found the courage to reply to Yoongi.

Via text, of course, because he couldn't be seen talking to the boy casually at school otherwise people would start asking questions. Because people were annoying like that.

He was still at school, though, and it was in the middle of class when Jimin decided to take out his phone and take that step.

me:
I guess we could try again

He waited anxiously, glancing over at Yoongi and wondering if the boy would take out his phone, too. He did.

pastel boy:
texting in class?
bad boy to the core, aren't u park jimin

me:
why don't u shut up
min pastel boy

pastel boy:
lol
so what's this about trying again?

me:
don't be difficult or I'll change my mind...

pastel boy:
right right, of course
so
my house again?

Jimin felt a slight bit of warmth in his cheeks. Curse my shyness.

me:
could we talk at the coffee shop this time?
I wanted to get coffee anyway

pastel boy:
sounds good
coffee date it is then <3

"Date??"

"Park Jimin, is there an issue?"

And once again the urge to smash his face into a machete surfaced, as Jimin now realized all his classmates were looking at him as a result of him having spoken this aloud. He scanned the room with an evil eye in an attempt to mask the flustered redness of his complexion. Not much luck.

"No. No issue, sir."

"Then please be quiet while I'm speaking."

"Yes, sir."

He sunk into his seat, subtly pulling out his phone which he had so nearly dropped a moment ago.

me:
wtF is wrong with u

pastel boy:
XD what did I do??

me:
don't "XD" me
u little brat

pastel boy:
oh its cuz I called it a date

me:
I'm starting to hate u more
cheeky brat

pastel boy:
ow
that's not how u flirt, jimin

me:
tf?
I wasn't trying to??

pastel boy:
I know
but I'll bet u don't know how to

me:
excuse me?
even if I don't what does that matter

pastel boy:
flirting is a great way to start
y'know
putting yourself out there
getting more comfortable
and besides it's a useful skill if u ever find someone u like

me:
that
seems unlikely...

pastel boy:
nonsense Jimin
we'll practice ok?

me:
but
I don't
I mean that's
I don't know
if
...

pastel boy:
u wanna get more comfortable with yourself
don't u Jimin?
don't worry I won't make u flirt with me lol

Oh, thank goodness. Jimin let out a shaky breath, trying to ignore the thoughts threatening to pass through his mind right now.

pastel boy:
so after school?
golden spoon?

Jimin hesitated. No, stop, you're supposed to be moving forward. Don't change your mind again.

me:
okay...

▫️▫️▫️

"That Jimin guy hasn't done anything recently, has he?"

"Suspicious..."

At lunch, Seokjin and Hoseok both eyed Jimin's table in the cafeteria, skeptical looks painted across their faces. Meanwhile Yoongi sat quietly eating his food, not commenting on the matter until Hoseok spoke up again.

"He's not hurting you in secret, is he, Yoongles?" The redhead leaned forward to peer at his friend's face. "It's weird. This is really weird and it's making me uncomfortable. He never leaves you alone. I'm not complaining, it's just...I'm worried."

"Maybe he got bored of it," Yoongi said. He made a brief glance at Hoseok, who sighed in dissatisfaction.

"Again, it just seems weird. What if he's planning something sinister??"

"He's not an evil villain, Hobi."

"That's exactly what he is!"

"I agree with Hobi," added Jin with a resolute nod. "With all he's done to you and for how long he's been targeting you, there's no way a guy like him could suddenly just...get bored of it, right??"

"Right! It's making me uneasy..."

"Let's just forget about it for now, yeah?" Yoongi said softly. He gave the two of them a stern yet somehow gentle look, which shut them up, then shifted his attention over to Jungkook, sitting silently. He lowered his voice to a whisper only the boy could hear. "You okay, Guk?"

Jungkook didn't speak at first. Then, in a voice almost too quiet to perceive, he said, "I'm uneasy, too."

And Yoongi sighed, reaching his hand up to comb through Jungkook's chocolate brown locks.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Guk. It'll be okay."

*

*

*

*

As planned, the two ended up meeting at The Golden Spoon shortly after school let out. Except due to unspecified reasons, Yoongi was a little late, meaning Jimin had no choice but to sit and wait awkwardly at the coffee shop until the pastel boy should arrive.

He wished it didn't have to feel awkward. He used to come here alone all the time. Why did that accustomed feeling have to change now?

Luckily, Yoongi wasn't too late, but Jimin acted as though he had been waiting for hours and glared at the mint-haired boy as he walked towards him.

Slipping out of his winter coat, Yoongi revealed his pink, button-down shirt and an open-front cream sweater that matched his white jeans.

His sense of style is so cute...

Shut up, me.

"You weren't waiting that long, were you?"

Yoongi pulled out the chair across from Jimin and sat down. Jimin rolled his eyes.

"How long I was waiting doesn't matter. The fact that this was your idea and I was left waiting at all is pretty rude, don't ya think?"

"Fair point. I'm sorry, Jimin."

He didn't expect to hear an apology. It kind of hurt a little. "Whatever. Can we get this over with so I can go home?"

"Don't you want coffee?"

Jimin raised an eyebrow.

"You said you wanted to get coffee here, too, right? Are you in a rush to leave?"

"...no."

"Good. Well, I've got an idea."

Oh, that doesn't sound good.

"I told you we're gonna have you try flirting, remember?" Yoongi said, a touch of amusement in his tone. "Well-" He paused to turn towards the counter where a certain barista was cleaning his work station. "Here's an opportunity."

"Taehyung??"

Jimin's eyes stared back at Yoongi in dismay, his heart giving an aggressive knock on his chest due to both embarrassment and panic. Yoongi just nodded and smiled.

"Yes, Taehyung. He's told me he's gay, so it won't be awkward to try a little flirting with him, right?"

"Wrong," Jimin hissed. "I am not flirting with that annoying little br-"

"Park Jimin."

He flinched.

"From the times I've talked with him, Tae seems like a sweet guy, moreover a really lighthearted person who wouldn't make you feel bad about something like this. You understand?"

Jimin hung his head for a moment, pouting before letting out a sigh of defeat. "I understand," he said. "But I...I mean I don't know the first thing about-"

"Just tell him he's cute."

Jimin raised his head abruptly.

"Don't you think he's cute?"

Pursing his lips, Jimin turned towards the counter at the exact moment the barista sported a little smile of pride from having just finished his small cleaning job.

Jimin thought about it for a moment. "Yeah," he said in reluctant agreement. "I guess...I guess he is."

"Cuter than me?"

"What?"

"I'm just messing with you." Yoongi stifled a laugh, reaching across the table to gently push Jimin's shoulder. "Now go. Go tell him."

That little push wasn't enough to get him going. Jimin had to muster up a lot of extra internal strength, personal commitment to get up from his seat, but eventually he was able to do it. And he approached the counter, which to his relief wasn't blocked by any other customers at the moment.

At Jimin's arrival Taehyung looked up with a big smile.

"Heya, Park Jimin! The usual?"

He froze. Didn't prepare myself enough, I didn't prepare myself enough, I didn't prepare myself enough, I didn't p-

"Uhm..." He couldn't make eye contact. Every time he tried, Jimin felt a prick of nervousness in his chest, shutting his mouth. He tried. He really tried, but anxiety gripped his tongue like a vengeful cat. Taehyung watched the boy's face with concern.

"You okay, Jimin?" He asked. "Did you wanna try something different today-?"

"You're..."

The barista waited as Jimin completed the struggle of getting those few little words out.

"I think you're...pretty cute-"

And all of a sudden a shocking thought struck Jimin like a brick to the head, and his eyes widened to their full capacity as he blurted, "W-wait, you don't even know that I'm gay, what am I doing???"

And Taehyung immediately blurted in the most dramatic tone, "You're gay??"

Across the coffee shop, the pastel boy let out a high-pitched laugh that brought instant color to Jimin's cheeks.

Oh, this sucks, this was an even worse idea than I thought it would be.

"Jimin, are you for real??"

Taehyung gazed intently at Jimin, clearly amused by the situation just like Yoongi was, except even more than that he was genuinely surprised by this information and seemed as though his life depended on finding out if it were true. This, needless to say, did not please Jimin, and he was almost tempted to ask if The Golden Spoon had any machetes on hand that he could borrow.

Jimin's breathing left his mouth in a nervous tremble. He groaned and slammed his fist against the countertop.

"If you tell a soul I'll make sure you regret it, Taehyung."

"Of course I won't tell anyone!" Taehyung announced. "But also, can I say something now??"

Jimin gave him a weird look. "What?"

"I think you're pretty hot!"

And once again from across the shop Yoongi's laughter could be heard. And Jimin looked back, hoping to silence the boy with an admonishing glare, but Jimin was the one who was silenced.

Yoongi was smiling that gummy smile, looking Jimin in the eye as he sent the boy a thumbs-up.

Jimin felt his heartbeat quicken. He sent the pastel boy a thumbs-down.