The drone of the teacher's voice reverberated through the air as her back was facing the class. Writing getting marked onto the board as she spoke.
"However, motivation is a complex psychological process which-." The teacher continued as Jungkook sneaked his way into the class. He sat himself in the seat of the shared desk with Namjoon, trusting his friend to hopefully catch him up to speed.
"Hey." Jungkook whispered, his voice sounding somewhat harsh compared to the soft tones of the teacher's.
"You're late." Namjoon responded, his eyes staying glued to both the board and his notes.
"Yeah, no shit." He adjusted in his seat, putting down his backpack and pulling out a notebook from it. He caught a glimpse of Namjoon's notes as he came back up. "Can you catch me up?" Namjoon turned to answer when the teacher faced the class and interrupted their conversation.
"Jeon Jungkook." Jungkook looked up at her in response. "I see you finally decided to show up." She continued. "Glad to see you're back to your old habits." She sighed before turning back to the board as Jungkook let a hint of guilt shadow onto his face. The boy fell silent for a moment before his lack of focus took over and he turned to Namjoon once more.
"Hey, you changed to Mr. Ryo's class, didn't you?"
"Yeah." Namjoon didn't look up back at Jungkook when responding, instead electing to keep the majority of his attention on the teacher.
"So, you have a free period after lunch?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Do you want to go shopping with me?" At this, Namjoon looked over, confusion evident.
"Sure. I guess. Why? What do you need to get?" He put his pen down, all his attention now on the boy beside him.
"I um... I did something kind of stupid and want to get a gift to apologise."
"Tae said you two sorted things out."
"Oh yeah, it's um... It's for someone else..." Jungkook swallowed and bit his lip hoping for no further questions. Namjoon opened his mouth and widened his eyes as if to ask a question, but remained quiet. As far as Namjoon knew, Jungkook didn't have anyone else outside of him and Taehyung. Overhearing the pair of voices chatting away, the teacher had turned her focus towards the two.
"Maybe you boys would like to go first?" She folded her arms as she looked at the two, waiting for them to answer. Jungkook looked up, eyes wide, and unsure of what was meant by the question. "With your 'Goals and Aspirations' assignment I set?" The two looked at each other, Namjoon looking a lot calmer compared to a mildly panicking Jungkook. Namjoon stood up.
"I'll go first." He smiled and gathered a set of papers from his desk. He made his way to the front of the class, clearing his voice before looking to the teacher for permission to speak. She nodded in response and he focused his mind, almost as if about to put on a performance. "I, as far fetched as it may sound, one day hope to be the president of the United States."

Jimin sat at his desk, attention pulled away from the teacher. A piece of paper capturing his focus instead.

Things I want to achieve:
1. Get into Seoul Institute of the Arts
2. Be part of a big dance show (outside of school)
3. Go to Japan
4. Write and produce a song
5. Learn how to play the guitar

He hesitated before adding an additional point.

6. Meet Jungkook

He looked at his writing for a moment before feeling a presence beside him.
"Jin suggested we switch things up and I partner with you, while he partners with Hoseok. You cool with that?" Yoongi looked at Jimin who had shaken his thoughts away and brought himself back to reality. Right. Lab partners.
"Yeah. More than fine." Jimin chuckled somewhat sadly to himself. Part of him was relieved that he didn't have to face Hoseok again so soon, but another part was upset that he didn't even have the chance to make things normal between them again.
"So, things are weird between you two?"
"What? No. We're fine..." He couldn't hide the evident lie on his face and Yoongi glared back in a stubborn stance, showing that he wouldn't give up that easily. "Okay, things are weird. Something happened, but it's fine. Well, it's not fine, but I don't want to talk about it." Yoongi simply nodded in response before bringing Jimin's anxious tone down to a serious one.
"Okay. Well... Remember I'm here if you do want to talk." Jimin let out a soft nod followed by a smile laced with sadness.
"I know." He looked at Yoongi who had turned his gaze down towards his notebook, page excessively blank. He bumped his shoulder against the boy's playfully, a bright grin emerging on both faces shortly after. The only difference was that Yoongi's faded a lot sooner than expected.
"Jimin..." The atmosphere had gotten serious again. "How come we're not as close as we used to be?" Jimin's eyes widened at the question, completely unprepared to tackle the subject at that current point in time. "Like, I know people sometimes just drift apart but... It was around the same time your Mom died, and I can't help but think that I did or said something which initially pushed you away..." He continued.
"No, God no, It was nothing like that, I just..." He paused for thought. "When my Mom died... Things were a lot to handle, and I don't know... I guess Hoseok was there for me a lot at the time. He understood what I was going through, with him having lost his Dad..." He began doodling aimlessly on the corner of his open page. "I don't know. I guess it's not so much that I drifted away from you. But more that I drifted closer to him..." His voice had faded quieter and quieter the more he spoke, almost as if ashamed of the words emitting from him. The two sat in silence for a while as the remnants of their conversation lingered in their minds.
Yoongi looked at the bright head of hair on top of Jimin's head, before allowing his gaze to fall to the boys face again.
"How'd the dream thing go by the way?"
"Uh..." He stuttered for a moment, an internal battle taking place whether to lie or tell the truth. If I told the truth, would he even believe me? "Wouldn't know. Didn't have another dream like it." Yoongi nodded to himself upon hearing the answer.
"That sucks. At least it means it was only a one time thing though, right?" Before Jimin could reply, the large drilling sound of the bell dismissing lessons ripped through the air and into their eardrums. Students began packing away their things, Yoongi joining in with the unifying action. He grabbed his bag once it was full, slinging it over his shoulder before laying his eyes on Jimin's hair once again. "Cool hair by the way. Suits you." He ruffled a hand through the boy's hair before leaving the classroom, not leaving space for a response. Jimin packed away his pens and notebook before glancing at his phone to see what he had next.
Dance.

A few minutes late, taking time to change into his dance clothes beforehand, Jimin entered the dance studio. His class was in the middle of stretching and responding to the register. His name entering the air as he had entered the room, a simple "Here." being called out from his lips as he made his way to join Hoseok and Seokjin. He couldn't help but avoid eye contact as they all began stretching together. Seokjin took the majority of the conversation space upon himself to fill. As much as Jimin didn't want it to feel awkward, it did. Hoseok hardly said a word as he focused on his stretching, wanting to get all thoughts related to Jimin out of his mind. So this is how things are going to be from now on, huh? Jimin thought to himself. Great. As if today wasn't already terrible. The class worked on all the large groups performances. Adding choreography and discussing the technical elements for the show, as well as rehearsing and finessing already complete pieces. It was a blessing that Jimin and Hoseok didn't have to work on their duo performance.
"I don't want things to be different between us, alright?"
Hoseok's words rung in Jimin's mind.
Then why does it feel different?

Since it was around noon on a weekday, the stores weren't that full compared to normal. Namjoon and Jungkook walked through the almost empty isles. Various toys, food, and stationary items surrounding them. One specific large white metal crate filled to the brim with soft toys caught Namjoon's eye. He delicately plunged his hand into the soft mass, pulling out a round yellow animal plush. The felt tongue peeking out of it's mouth as a separate piece of material. He looked at the plush before letting his gaze wonder to Jungkook, who was looking at a pot of pens more seriously than the usual person would.
"So..." Namjoon started. "Your new tutor."
"What about him?" Jungkook replied, still engrossed in the various pens staring at him.
"Is he the one you're getting a gift for?" Jungkook broke the staring contest with the pens, looking towards Namjoon instead.
"No? Why would it be?"
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time you've developed a crush on a tutor." A smirk started to crawl it's way onto Namjoon's face as he looked at Jungkook with teasing in his eyes. Jungkook rolled his eyes.
"Okay, listen. You were the first guy I had ever spent that much time with since I realised I was gay, alright? Of course I was gonna fall for you."
"Little Jungkookie had a crush~" He sang. He held the plush up to his chin, acting extra cute to further make fun of the younger boy. He put the plush back down and the two walked a bit farther through the store before Namjoon spoke up again. "To be fair, you were impossible to teach. It was probably a good thing you made a move on me so I had an excuse to quit."
"Hey, I wasn't that bad." The two laughed. "God, my Mom was so confused when you quit."
"Yeah... Probably because I told her to find someone less attractive to teach you."
"Less attra- Wow, way to boost your own ego!"
"You boosted it first by trying to kiss me!"
"I was young, okay!" They laughed some more at the ridiculousness of how they met. It was amazing that they somehow managed to become friends after all that.
"If it's not for your tutor, who is it for then? You said it was an apology?" Jungkook began looking at the rows of sketchbooks and charcoal pencils. Picking one of the ring bound books up as he hesitated to answer.
"It's just... Someone new."
"Should I be jealous?" Namjoon raised his eyebrows jokingly. Jungkook looked back at the older male.
"You're lucky this sketchbooks expensive, or I'd be hitting you with it right now." Namjoon walked over to the boy and looked at all the various art supplies in the aisle they were in.
"Okay, well whoever this person is... Are they actually into art at all, or have you just gotten distracted?" Namjoon crossed his arms as Jungkook glanced back to the sketchbook in his hand.
"Maybe I got a bit distracted." He put the book back down before sighing upon realising that he had absolutely no clue what to get Jimin. Admittingly he didn't have to get the boy a gift, by any means. The two seemed to be okay as of now, but Jungkook still felt bad for how he had treated Jimin's life when forced to live it. This was just an extra way for him to say 'I'm sorry', that's all. It definitely wasn't a secret desire to shower the boy in gifts and try to tell him how amazing he is. Of course not. That'd be ridiculous.
"What sort of things does this person like, then?"
"Um... Uh, dance... Uh..." Jungkook stumbled to think. "He likes dance."
"Okay, well that's a start."
"Yeah, but he doesn't wear like sports clothes or anything because he's insecure about his body. Which is absolutely ridiculous, might I add, because his body is amazing." Namjoon chuckled softly to himself.
"I'm sure you'll find something." Namjoon put his hand on Jungkook's shoulder comfortingly. Then walking off to look at the home decor section nearby, leaving Jungkook to walk after him at his own pace. As Jungkook walked behind Namjoon, a pop of color caught the corner of his eye. He backtracked slightly to see it in full view. A journal with a design containing a line going across the front diagonally, was now rested in his hands. On one side of the line, a watercolour image of a dancer with an unfolded fan. The paint tapered of in fiery flicks, adding a heat and emphasis to the image. On the other side, a watercolor hooded figure sat at a computer with coffee stain patterns in vibrant colors of watercolor around him. It summed the two up harmoniously.
"It's perfect."

The chatter as students talked throughout the lunch period had increased over the course of the hour. Each individual slowly getting louder and louder, trying hard to hear each other over the rest of the hall. Seokjin, in particular, had been rambling on for the past ten minutes non-stop. He had been talking about his Mother and her new business she had begun setting up. Being impressed that it was completely separate from his Father's company.
"She's even using a fake name so that no one makes the connection, it's quite impressive to be honest. I never thought she'd put herself out there like that but, people surprise you I guess." He kept talking in between shovelling in mouthfuls of food, making the best use of his time. After a few minutes of this talk, Jimin had begun to zone out. His mind becoming completely numb to everything going on around him. Slowly fading into a fuzzy interpretation of the events unfolding before him. "She's not even setting up an official website or anything, just a small Etsy shop. She's really doing everything herself, and I-"
"WILL YOU SHUT UP ABOUT YOUR MOM ALREADY!"
Jimin had finally snapped.
He breathed heavily, almost in shock at the words that came out, almost involuntarily. Shit. "Not everyone wants to hear about how amazing your Mother is okay? " He tried to calm himself down, but the words kept pouring out, his mouth having a mind of its own. "Some of us don't even have Moms to compare to yours anymore. Some of us don't want to GODDAMN HEAR about ALL THE LOVE AND ATTENTION you get from YOUR MOTHER!" He slammed his hands on the table as people stared at him, his group falling silent. Shit. Shit. Shit. His eyes darted around for a second, before standing up in a panic and walking away without another word. Seokjin looked at Hoseok. He tilted his head slightly in the direction that Jimin left, indicating that he should go and talk to him. Instead of getting up and following the boy however, Hoseok instead shook his head and looked down, choosing to focus on his food instead. He looked at Yoongi for a second, before seeing that he was in a similar zoned out state as Jimin had been before. He decided that he should just go himself, packing his stuff up and chasing after the long-gone dancer.

After searching various classrooms and hallways, Seokjin finally stumbled across Jimin. He had been sat against the lockers with his head down and knees to his chest. Sighing in a mixture of relief and exhaustion, Seokjin slid himself down the wall, sitting next to the younger. Jimin looked up confused as to the new presence beside him, but, upon seeing Seokjin, let his head fall back down.
Of course it isn't Hoseok.
Seokjin looked at the younger and immediately went to his default response in these situations.
"God, you could fill an ocean with those tears of yours. You're going to need an ark at this rate." He paused for effect. "Luckily for you, I Noah guy." He waited for laughter from the younger yet nothing came. Time for round two. "Hey, how about we go bowling together? You know, I really like bowling. It's right up my alley." He paused after but received no reaction again. "I don't like German sausages though. They're just the wurst." At this Jimin's head lifted once more but with no positive expression found on his face.
"Why are you even here?" His face had become stained with tears and his eyes looked empty and lifeless as he stared aimlessly into the space near Seokjin's head. Seokjin leaned back letting his head rest against the lockers behind them.
"Because you're upset. And I worry about you." He turned his head towards Jimin. "What happened out there?" Jimin hesitated answering for a moment, before the words were slipping out of his mouth.
"It would have been my Mom's birthday today." He said as he looked down to his hands now visibly playing with the sleeves of his blazer. "Hearing about your Mom, it just... I don't know. It got to me, I guess."
"I understand that." Seokjin responded quickly with an empathetic tone laced in his voice. This caused Jimin to look at him directly, slight disgust on his face.
"How the fuck would you understand that? Your family's perfect." He practically spat in anger.
"Actually. It's not." Seokjin made direct eye contact with Jimin, stern expression clear on his face. "Joowon's not my real Dad." Jimin's face changed at the new information. "My real Dad left when I was eleven. He told my Mom that he didn't love her anymore and left overnight. Never said goodbye. Never said anything, he just... Poof. Gone." Jimin's heart was beating fast. He never knew any of this in the several years of knowing Seokjin. "Whenever anyone mentions their Dad... I get a sudden ping of sadness. I mean my stepdads great, I guess, but I don't know... I guess I just never got that closure with my real Dad. Or even any real reason to hate him and be glad he left, you know? Like, he was a great guy. He was the best Dad I could ask for. And sure, he didn't die but... I mean, he might as well be dead because I haven't heard from him since. What's even the difference from my perspective?"
"I didn't know that..."
"It's not exactly something I advertise. I'm not exactly... Big... On talking about emotions and what not."
"Why is that?" Jimin asked.
"Why be sad when you can be happy, right? Most problems are small anyway, like whatever's going on between you and Hoseok? I presume that's small, right?" Jimin didn't respond, almost trying to ignore the situation all together. "Why don't you just talk to him? I'm sure whatever it is can be sorted out."
"No. It can't."
"What even happened with you two?"
"I... I don't even know. Everything just got... Complicated. And-and messy. It just all got so fucked up... I just miss when things were simpler, you know?" Jimin sighed.
"Yeah... I know." Seokjin said as he put his hand on Jimin's shoulder. "Just talk to him about it, yeah?"
"Yeah."

Finally arriving at home after a long day of studying, Jimin finally had a chance to sit down. He had spent several hours in the library, studying for all his subjects. He had spent so much time focusing on dance that he had unintentionally left all other subjects out. There was a high chance that he wouldn't get chosen by the scouts from Seoul Institute of the Arts. So, he still needed to get good grades as a backup.
He took off his shoes and set his bag on the ground as he went inside it to find his now empty water bottle. His journey to the sink was interrupted by a note on the counter from his Father. Clear instructions telling Jimin to get new groceries. He sighed before picking the note up and folding it into his pocket and putting his shoes on once again.
Back into the cold, I guess.

As the familiar cold hit his face, he walked with his hands pressed tightly into his pockets. His shoulders hunched up slightly as an obvious pink tint had overtaken his nose and cheeks. He sped up as an attempt to get out of the cold as soon as possible. A loud "HEY!" from across the street caught his attention. He ignored it, assuming it was probably just a group of loud drunk men together, and continued walking.
"REMEMBER US, PRINCESS!?" Jimin froze and realized he had to make a decision. If these guys were about to attack some innocent girl then he should go and stop them. But he also didn't want to risk getting caught up in a fight with them. He continued walking as he heard the snickering coming from the group fade into the distance. He felt bad, but fear had gotten the best of him, and he didn't want to do anything to get himself hurt.
It was better to play it safe.
Right?