#ray on the other hand is always teetering between 'Perfectly Okay' and 'I want the earth to swallow me whole' levels of stability

[aria0fgold]

Also can yall tell I love putting Alec in situations where he's pushed past his limit? It's so fun (I swear I love him). It's cuz of the fact that it takes A LOT for Alec to even reached the border of his limit and a liiiil more push for him to get past that, it's just fun to think about the "What will it take for him to just Lose Himself?"

[torannosaurusrexy]

Tongue Tied

➝ Genre: Fluff

➝ Pairing: Slight Kim Seokjin | Reader

➝ Word Count: 7250

➝ Summary: Curse tongues, why do they tend to get in the way of every word in the English language? No, scratch that. Any language for that matter, and why did God feel the need to place a stutter atop your already useless tongue? Jin thinks it’s cute, why wouldn’t he really? The role of Supportive Best Friend is and always has been played perfectly by him. Then again, your stutter only grew in intensity when you spoke to those you didn’t know well, or your already shaky social skills teetered even closer to the edge of implosion.

This curse laid upon you shines brightly like a neon sign when Jin suggests meeting his drop-dead gorgeous set of friends that you’ve only ever seen in pictures, and that alone had you choking on your overly zealous tongue and the endless supply of drool you hold.

“So I was thinking it’d be nice for you to finally meet them.” Jin says before sipping his black coffee, sighing as the hot beverage glides down his throat.

You fiddle with the different colored sugar packets gracing the center of your table, “I don’t know Jinie. It’s just…you know…” You trail off, slipping into a state of half there and half elsewhere…trying to end the conversation as well by separating the cinnamon on top of your freshly brewed latte, avoiding Jin’s captivating eyes.

“It doesn’t slip when you’re around me…so why should it when i’ll be right next to you the entire time?” He smiles when you look back up at him, adjusting the falling shoulder of your jean jacket as a distraction. You both sit in silence as he stares at you, hoping it will make you crack. You stay solid as a rock until he wiggles his eyebrows with a childish smirk painted across his face. “Come on….You keep saying that they sound like so much fun! Not to mention you practically drool when you see pictures of them.”

“I-I-I do not!” Your stutter comes through, a deep blush forming on your face. It’s rare that it slips around Jin, with you and him being so comfortable with each other.

“Ah! Can’t fool me.” He laughs, throwing his head back, exposing the bottom of his beautifully sculpted jawline. “Just this once, please? I promise if you’re uncomfortable…we’ll leave and get Ben & Jerry’s” He calms down, grabbing your petite hands, running his rather large one over the knuckles and kissing the top of it, something he does often. To be completely honest…you’re surprised people don’t ask you if the two of you are dating more often. The touchiness and flirtatious conversations that seem regularly scheduled at this point probably make you two look like the average couple, especially to strangers and even to friends. However, Jin is like a brother to you, always has been and always will be. He’s always been there for you…so you should at least do this one thing for him. Not to mention part of you is itching to meet the statuesque boys from the pictures Jin has shown you.

Not that you’d ever admit it…

You give in, “Okay…I g-g-guess I could give it a try, only for t-the ice cream though.” You end the sentence with a smile, practically beaming once you see the look of pure happiness that has coated Jin’s perfect features.

“That’s my girl. Come on, They should all be at Joons’ place.” Jin smiles, obviously forming a mental image of his group of friends getting into some kind of hilarious trouble. “He just got this killer TV set and Jungkook brought over his Xbox.” He stands, collecting his jacket, throwing it over his arm and reaching out for you with the other.

You look up into Jin’s gleaming eyes like a wounded puppy, cowering into your latte as if the thick cream could swallow you whole and quickly evict you from the situation at hand. “We’re going now?” Your sentence forms but a sense of overwhelming stress and fear start to run rampant through your mind. And despite your best efforts…you can only fit so well into your latte mug.

“Mhm. Namjoon almost burned down his house trying to cook for everyone.” He pulls out his phone, the device vibrating violently in his hand. “See?” You look the screen up and down, reading only the conversations relevant to the topic at hand. A back and forth conversation with a contact labeled Hobi is bright with many emoji’s and caps lock letters dancing across the chat bubbles. You sort through your mind to find the connection to the name and then remember Jin referring to Hoseok as Hobi on occasion. You can’t help but smile when you see Namjoon butt into the conversation to try and argue for his sake. He fails and by the end of the exchange, Jin agreed to come over and cook for them.

Jin to the rescue as always.

You scrunch your eyebrows when a particular message he sent has you confused, “You’re bringing a surprise? What does that mean?” Jin kneads either side of his nose, shame glazing his form.

“I’m talking about you dipshit.” He smiles, holding out his hand for you, “Grab your coat, I need to buy groceries before we head over there.” You accept his gesture, intermingling your fingers and letting him yank you towards the door. You pull him back and take one last swig of your latte only to turn back to find Jin holding your purse.

Seriously…you aren’t dating.

Grabbing groceries was the easy part. Jin did practically everything, placing bread, vegetables, and various types of meat into the small basket you were holding for him, clutching the handle so tight that your knuckles were turning into a white color equal to that of your bones. “I can hear you breathing.” Jin mentions, eyeing you sincerely while placing a few packages of ramen in your basket. “I promise you they’re good guys, nothing to worry about. If anything, the worst that can happen is a tickle fight.” Jin grins, his cute round-framed glasses–that he doesn’t need–completing the look he sports with ease. Seokjin’s looks were never short of beguiling. He’s just so damn gorgeous. His cheeks scrunched up when he smiled, his shoulders were perfect for resting your head on; and he always comforted you when you had a bad day. You were ever grateful to him. Oh, and how could you forget his laugh, his uniquely Jin laugh was the one noise that no matter how bad the situation was, the sound never ceased to make you smile.

“I-” You stop yourself, taking a deep breath–to compose yourself and repel your stutter–closing your eyes and opening them as you exhale. “I know that, you talk about them all the time. I’m just nervous. You know how I get…around new people.” You pause. “Especially hot ones.” You mumble the last part under your breath, not wanting to announce it to the demigod to your right. Regardless, Somehow Jin hears it and turns to you, eyebrows furrowed, almost offended.

“You’ve already seen the hottest person on Earth.” He points to himself, flicking his head to the side all to expose his forehead and allow you a pristine image of his face. You hit just below his shoulder after registering his ego pumped comment, nearly dropping the basket full of food as you do so. He winces, pulling away from you but chuckling along.

Minutes later–after placing multiple well-deserved bruises on Jin’s body–you’ve gone through the self-checkout, sprinting to the car with your arms resting underneath your chin. The super cool temperatures already have you chilled to the bone. You start the heat immediately and warm your hands. Jin drives off after putting the groceries into the back seat, and the two of you fall into a comfortable silence, the only sound being that of the low music coming from the cars’ speakers.

The heat may be turning the small car into a toaster by the second, even so, you’re shivering…and Jin notices. “Are you still cold? The heats at full blast.” The car rolls up to a red light, the most opportune moment for Jin to raise a hand and touch your forehead, making sure you aren’t coming down with something.

“I feel fine, nervous jitters that’s all.” You run a hand through your hair repeatedly, trying to find a good spot for it to lay, unsatisfied every time and moving back and forth.

Jin snorts, sliding his hand to the bottom of the steering wheel only to move it back to the top, “I’ll be there the whole time, i’ll even let you cut an onion instead of socializing.” You nod and place your hand under his on the armrest, allowing him to kiss the top of it like he did in the restaurant and run his thumb over the soft valleys between each knuckle.

“I love it when you talk dirty to me.” You tease, raising a blush to Jin’s face.

You passed countless opulent houses on your way to Namjoon’s home. Jin continues to hold your hand while you stared out the window, an attempt at trying to dilute your nerves further. Little changes however when Jin turns left into a driveway that circles around a beautiful fountain surrounded by bushes spotted with tulips. The setting sun allows rays of light to bounce off the tall domineering windows that catch your eye immediately. Jin releases your hand to park, cool air hitting your knuckles in replacement. “Don’t move.” Jin orders when you sit up and reach for the door handle, unbuckling yourself.

Before you can protest, Jin exits the car and runs around the side to open your door. “M’lady.” He stands straight, holding out his hand and waiting for you to take it.

“What a gentleman.” You smile, accepting his gesture and stepping out of the low ground vehicle. Now standing, the sheer size of Namjoons bachelor pad becomes even more apparent as you take the lead and approach the front door, Jin carrying the grocery bags. What kind of man needs this much space?

You turn and take a grocery bag from Jin so he can knock on the door which not a second later opens to expose a man with flour clinging to his fluffy strands of dirty blonde hair. “Jin!” He smiles, trying to shake some of the flour from his head. Then his eyes land on you, and your heart drops to your stomach. “Who’s this?” You see his mouth move, but all sound has faded out to instead be replaced by the hard pounding of your heart ringing through your ears. You gulp, your ears popping to allow sound to once again flood through.

Before Jin has a chance to comment in tune to the words his comrade–and who you believe to be Namjoon himself–said, a deep yet eccentric tone lifts itself from inside the house, “Joon! Is Jin here?!” Someone rushes towards you, their shadow distorted against the eggshell white wall as they gallivant down the hallway.

“About time.” Someone breathes out, a preoccupied voice.

As assumed, the tall dusty blonde male standing relaxed against his door frame is Namjoon. To be frank, you aren’t sure if the light emanating through the doorway is coming from the chandelier hanging from the ceiling or the handsome young man ahead of you, shaking his head with exhaustion. “I’m so glad you’re here. They’re driving me insane.” Namjoon whispers, running another hand over his dusty locks, shaking more flower from them.

“If you learned how to cook you wouldn’t need to endure the teasing!”

“It is your fault we’re on the verge of willowing away here.”

Jin chuckles, nudging you. “As I was saying…” Namjoon laughs, his grin ending at his cute dimples. He’s even more breathtaking in person, which of course doesn’t help to calm your nerves or subdue the huge lump still renting out square footage in your throat.

“Hyung!” Namjoon isn’t able to continue his delicate conversation with you thanks to a cheerful tone floating through the entrance, belonging to that of the young man whos shadow you saw skidding it’s way closer. You’d recognize that bright red hair anywhere. It’s Hoseok, or so you recall as “‘Hobi”, thanks to the contact info in Jin’s phone. He doesn’t even realize you’re there, either blinded by his stomach or clearly you’ve developed superpowers and can turn invisible at will.

If only…

He pats Namjoon’s shoulder, looking down into the grocery bags Jin holds. “So what did you bring? Better be something worth the wait-” He rants, cut off by his comrade.

“Echem.” Namjoon clears his throat, hitting Hoseok shoulder with his own. Hoseok stutters a turn, looking at Namjoon only to follow his line of sight.

“Woah! Hi!” His enthusiasm only makes your heart beat faster, leaping for your throat.

Jin obviously didn’t warn them or tell them anything about you, exhibited by the sudden embrace Hobi pulls you into. He squeezes you, cutting off your air supply and making you gasp. You drop the multitude of grocery bags as the breath escapes you. Your eyes shoot open wide, expanding into large discs. Hoseok holds you for a second longer before releasing you at arm’s length. “So you were the surprise!” Hobi’s smile is so large it illuminates the entire entrance way. The chandelier hanging above, not standing a chance when compared. Jin nods, smiling at you. You manage to return a struggled smile, lingering there until you look down at your feet.

Egg yolk starts to seep through the bottom of the brown paper grocery bag, tainting the stone steps below you. “Oh n-no.” You whimper, sounding as if you’re on the verge of breaking into a fit tears. “I-I- d-didn’t-” The words fumble out of your mouth, barely audible over the firmament laughter ringing in your ears. It’s Hoseok, laughing up a storm at your mistake and making you flush rose.

Namjoon smacks the back of the red-headed boys’ skull from behind him, stopping the young man’s laughter and instead commenting on your fumble. “No big deal, there’s plenty in the fridge.” Namjoon shrugs, winking at you as he mentions the cracked eggs. And you thought you couldn’t flush any deeper. “Hobi.” He calls, hesitantly breaking eye contact with you. “Grab those for her okay? Then get one of the others to help clean that up.” Hoseok groans but does as ordered, relinquishing you of the heavy bags filled to the brim with miscellaneous ingredients picked up on the ride here. “Jin.” Namjoon cocks his head in the direction of the threshold, telling Jin with that motion to follow and that he’s more than welcome inside. He ushers you forward, placing his hand over yours reassuringly. Namjoon gives off a welcoming aura, one that –despite your pounding heart–helps to ensure you safety and move you forward. He pulls you down the same egg white walkway Hoseok practically danced down and into a drafty living room. Nervous, you risk a glance backward, eyeing Jin who nods slowly and provides you a whisper of a smile, one that may be slight but is all the while reassuring nonetheless.

Once in the open area, you realize that the house is beyond what you first thought it would be.

The walls are all a dark grey, brick and concrete sub walls scattered and far between. The floors change from a dusty desert tile into a light grey wood as you walk. Jin’s presence noticeably diminished from behind you as he enters a kitchen off to the left of the large sitting space Namjoon ushers you into, a bar-like counter allows you to see Hoseok place down the grocery bags he hastily took from you.

He’s still close. You tell yourself, feeling the need to rush to the kitchen and stand behind Jin like a child frightened by a smiling stranger amongst their mother’s legs, her hand stroking their head as a mother should.

Not that Jin would ever stroke your head…

Someone from a couch just up ahead bellows out a yell of displeasure, all in good fun it sounded to be, but alarming to you just the same. You jump, unintentionally clinging to Namjoons muscular arm with your free hand out of pure fear. A sudden wash of anxiety flows through you. Your hands, you fear, have grown excessively sweaty since you walked in and counted just how many friends Seokjin has. The anxiety you feel strengthening due to the fact the Namjoon’s hand clings to yours…and you worry he feels the condensation forming a thin barrier between his skin and yours.

What if he thinks i’m gross…and strange…Oh god!

His expression displays no depiction of discomfort, he’s calm, happy even, and the most he does to show any sign of discomfort is opening and closing his fingers back around your knuckles. A move most certainly done only to adjust his grip in yours. “Looks like Tae’s still getting fed his ass from a silver spoon.”

“Assuredly.” A smaller looking blonde boy chuckles, his face glistening under the shadows of a lit fireplace blazing proudly beneath the wide flat screen. “His vie to win sure is strong, not that he’ll ever beat…” Mid-sentence the sinewy young man with golden blonde tresses clinging around his cheekbones turns to face you, expecting to find Namjoon and Namjoon alone. He raises his eyebrows, neglecting his previously formed soliloquy to instead merge onto a new topic of conversation. You. “Well do my eyes deceive me or is there a pretty girl standing on your arm Joon?” He coos, smiling wide at you and turning towards you slightly. Namjoon looks at you, and it’s not until then that you realize you haven’t even told them your name.

As if possessing mind reading skills… “Her name’s ___!” Jin yells from the kitchen, his volume raised over the running faucet he washes his hands underneath. He smiles, clearly proud of himself for coming into the conversation at the perfect time.

You gulp.

Jin earns you a pausing of the multiplayer shooting game, no doubt some testosterone pumped violent simulation made to make innocent boys into couch potatoes. The boy Namjoon acknowledged as “Tae” turns towards you. Seeing his face, handsome, with glittering eyes hiding a sensual man beneath a soft exterior that you’ve seen break down to reveal a deity of lust. His name is one you’ve engraved into your brain. How could you forget those ethereal features…and his shy expressions. Kim Taehyung. Better known as Tae. He blushes pink, his already bright complection reddening to a deep flush as he looks you up and down. He nods a hello, whispering the word. It takes a mere second, but the dark-haired fit boy next to him on the leather cushions throws his thumbs away from the joystick in annoyance, eyeing the TV and the pause screen flittering across the pixels. He furrows his eyebrows, side-eyeing Taehyung in the attempt of regaining his enemies attention. Then he follows his friends’ gaze to you, and you find yourself to be the one blushing with embarrassment now.

“Hoseok wouldn’t shut up about some surprise Jin was bringing. That’s you?” The boy who was first to acknowledge you asks, smirking suggestively. The tug at his lips pulls a sharp breath from your lungs, the air forcibly ejected from the muscle as it contracts. Curse God for making these men so breathtaking, for you wish some of their beauty was bestowed upon you instead. You struggle to form a coherent thought let alone a sentence as the boys mouth opens to allow his tongue to snake across the plump plain…all you are capable of mustering is a slow perfunctory nod.

The dark haired boy with a billion angry facial expressions sighs, turning back towards the television to instead begin a single player run through, rightfully ejecting the otherwise distracted–and flushed–Taehyung from the game. “Nice to see Jin Hyung finally grew some balls and got a girlfriend.” Your head spins fast enough to draw a quick breeze from the stagnant air, microscopic motes dancing through the hues of orange and yellow that wave in the brick fireplace. Your eyes lock onto Mr. Attitude, clearly, someone needs to get their facts straight, along with a copy of Being Nice For Dummies.

“J-J-Jin and I are–are j-just friends.” You wince at the sound of your stutter, horrified by the syllables and wishing it’d just disappear and allow this encounter to go smoother. Little do you know that the boys sitting and standing in front of you all think you’re completely normal. Nothing has phased them–besides perhaps your sex and beauty–and for that…you’re grateful. You’ve had people approach you, bring up the one thing you are so keen on hiding and insulting your way of speech. Those people are the reason you can’t embrace the way you talk, the very reason you reject your own tongue and dream of a life without the very thing that makes you--you. However improbable it may come across as…you can’t help but wish on blown dandelions, or pray on shooting stars, and of course…rub gravy boars in the hope a magical genie will glide out and whisp away any and all hatred you may possess against your tongue.

You’re free to dream.

“Well in that case,” One of the adonis’s stands, his stature lean and lanky, but encasing thick–dare you say meaty–thighs beneath melanin skin. “I’m Jimin.” Jimin gives you a million dollar smile, earning a rare bat of your eyelashes as payment. “And the ass at the end of the couch is Kookie.” He gestures with a flick of his head towards the young man dubbed Mr. Attitude.

“Jungkook.” The ass at the end of the couch corrects, growling as his avatar throws a hand grenade towards what can only be labeled as a computer, a game operated antagonist. Before being able to show him a piece of your mind, a loud crash from the kitchen calls the attention of all except for Jungkook, who’s already engrossed in the next round of one on one dancing with a computer, except this dancing includes landmines rather than pointe shoes.

“Dammit,” Namjoon mutters under his breath, unweaving his fingers from between your own, “I don’t need them breaking anything besides eggshells in there.” You exhale a laugh, reluctantly letting go of his hand, seeing that it was the only outlet you had to keep from falling to the floor in a puddle of tears. He walks off, the material of his dark jeans caressing the sway of his hips. You can’t help but cock your head to the side slightly as he takes his wide strided steps one after the other.

“Wanna sit?” Jimin’s soft tone calls you back to the ache of your legs, all the walking you did with Jin really drained you…and you hate to admit it, but your not one to exercise for long periods of time, even if it is with Jin who you’d do backflips for if you could manage. You nod, eyeing the plush leather of the couch as Jimin gestures for you to come nearer before he sits. He removes an accent pillow from the mass of the large loveseat, clearing space for you to cuddle up against the warmth of the couch.

A comfortable silence ensues, only broken by Jimin shifting to get comfortable or his whispering, asking fondly if you need anything to which you shake your head with a weak but endearing smile. “Hi.” A deep glimmer of a voice coos from next to you. The voice belongs to a blushing Tae whose smiling, his box-like smile earning a bite of your lip and smile in return.

“Hey loverboy,” Jungkook beckons, “Are you going to play with me or not? Pass the controller to Jimin if you aren’t.” Taehyung’s inner glimmer of pride shrivels to nothing as Jungkook calls him out. Innocent flirtations are cute…not that you deserve them from him let alone anyone in this room. Despite that fact nestled deep into the crooks and crannies of your brain, you still grow tense and feel for Taehyung. Jimin’s been staring holes into you since he turned and saw you clinging to Namjoon for dear life and Jungkook hadn’t said a word about it. Jungkook’s attitude has you filled with a confident filled ire, a sense of ass whooping adrenaline coursing through you, fanning the need to teach him some manners purely evident now.

“I’ll play.” You take the remote from Tae’s long slender fingers and wipe

your hands on the denim of your black jeans, cracking your neck and kicking off your wedge heels. Jimin lifts his hands from their resting place on his lap in a defensive manner, raising his eyebrows and leaving you free to hopefully show Jungkook who the real boss at video games is. You’ve mastered the art of the couch potato. And of course, the position in which only professional blanket tots have mastered. You pull your legs up onto the couch, sitting criss-cross applesauce with your elbows resting on your knees, bent over in preparation for battle. Taehyung sits in awe, his eyes follow you as if he’d never seen a woman before…or perhaps, just one of your swelling uniqueness. To be honest, his schoolboy staring only adds to your adrenaline filled and fast crashing confidence.

Jungkook doesn’t say a word, patiently waiting as you to pick a weapon and choose character before he quickly picks a map he’s obviously familiar with and without a moment’s hesitation, sprints off to find you. With the rapidly decreasing time you have between the initial spawn in and Jungkook finding you, you take in your surroundings and then his, trying to point out any familiarities in order to take him out first. You load your weapon, sprinting off into the nearest building and out a window on its opposite wall. You continue to glance back and forth at his section of the screen and yours. It’s so blatantly obvious that Jungkook is doing his damndest to dig into the depths of his sourpuss brain and pull out your exact coordinates. What he doesn’t know is that you’ve always had a knack for catching on quickly. This is effective when your opponent pinpoints your location and comes running at you. You barely hesitate, using the controls as designed, taking him out with hand to hand combat instead of your pistols; barely breaking a sweat and looking pretty while doing it.

Shocked, Jimin and Taehyung both sit up. Even Jungkook himself is surprised, sitting up straighter as he respawns. You cockily smile and gratefully watch as the previously seen anger floods from Jungkook’s face.

The dominance war continues until he manages to kill you an equal amount of times to you, it’ll only take one more kill to win the round and along with it, win the bragging rights over Jungkook. But breaking the tie won’t be easy. The two of you memorized the map and therefore know where you respawn…Jungkook was practically waiting for you in order to take the last kill.

“Jesus riding a skateboard through New York City, does that fucking TV have to be so damn loud?!” A grumbling voice emerges from behind you, causing you to jump, drop the remote and throw the game. Jungkook leaps at the opportunity, taking the last kill and along with it…flushing your confidence down the toilet. The boys were so engrossed that it isn’t until after the kill that they even notice the presence of another. He’s a pastel teal headed boy, wrapped in an oversized sweater and joggers. He looks as if he just woke up, hair astrew, eyes harboring lilac half moons beneath them and a lingering innocence to him that only the lull of sleep can offer. He yawns, opening his eyes and stretching halfway through only to practically choke on the incoming air upon spotting you.

“Fuck Kook! She had that one! I call disorderly conduct and request a rematch!” Tae argues on your behalf, turning to pat your knee in a supportive manner. You wince at the contact and feel yourself start to feel sick. Bile starts to crawl its way into the back of your throat. The all too familiar taste of stomach acid and your previously drunken latte coming back up to greet you. The overwhelming wash of confidence you had just minutes ago is gone…and now you’ve been thrown back into reality. The reality where you’re a mouse in a room of cats, angelic felines that want nothing more than to devour you whole. Your heart starts to beat exceedingly fast, pushing blood through your body quicker than it can register safely. Your face turns pale, and the mass of your lips starts to tremble.

“You can’t just call disorderly conduct Tae!” Jungkook fires back, fueling a raging fire of an argument between Taehyung and himself. The quarrel goes largely unnoticed, ignored by all in the room except the two participants.

Jimin, one of who rightfully chose to ignore the toddler's’ tantrums notices the rapidly decreasing color in your face, taking the opportunity to move closer and check your well being, simultaneously popping your personal space bubble. “Hey, ___? You alright? You don’t look so good…” Jimin’s hand meets your own as a means of comforting you, sadly you pull away from the gesture quickly, earning a surprised gulp from the man trying his best to bring color back to your features. He looks like a wounded puppy, not unlike a man left at the altar. Almost as if he can feel your sorrow. Who are you kidding? How could he ever truly understand how you feel? How could any of them truly understand how you feel?

“I-I-I-I- n-need to go to the bath- bathroom.” You blink, trying to keep

tears from welling up in your eyes by furiously blinking and swallowing, just barely choking them down.

The tired messy haired boy standing behind the couch speaks up, yawning halfway through his uttered words. “Oh, it’s just this way, i’ll show you.” He starts to move towards the hallway in which the bathroom must lay, but you stop him by standing abruptly, tensing your every muscle.

“N-no that’s not necessary…I can-can find it m-myself.” You dismiss him with a wave of your hand, smoothing down your jeans despite their already smooth exterior and begin walking around the couch, pairs of eyes cauterizing holes into you as you pass, your skin burning beneath their worryful gazes. Darkness envelops you in the connecting hallway, and something about not being able to see down it is comforting. Odd, considering Satan himself could be sitting at the end of it. You find the bathroom, clicking on the lights and softly shutting the door behind you before releasing a harbored breath.

“Should one of us follow her? She looked like she was about to be sick.” Jimin looks back to the others worryingly, his eyes creasing with the motion as his lips purse..

“No, we should leave her be…I think she needed some time to herself.” Taehyung suggests, rising from the soft leather sofa and stretching out a yawn with an arch of his back and twist of his back muscles. Seeing him do so most definitely would’ve made you combust into a smoking ball of ash.

“‘Kay.” Jimin concedes, following Taehyung’s suggestion and relaxing back against the couch cushions, sighing.

“Damn, smells good. Is Jin here?” Yoongi points out. The others nod.

“Who else do you think brought ___?” Jungkook twists his head to the side, glancing briefly at his elder with a tinge of sarcasm to his voice.

At the same time, Hoseok comes crawling from the kitchen with tears streaming down his face. He runs up to Taehyung, bunching up his dongsaengs shirt and wiping his eyes on it. “Yah!” Taehyung yelps in protest, trying to pull the article from his elder’s strong grip.

Yoongi can’t help but snort at Hoseok’s predicament, watching as an endless flow of tears leak from the redheaded boy’s eyes. “What happened to you? Tear gas?”

“Funny.” Hoseok croaks, finally releasing Taehyung’s shirt and tilting his head back to keep any more salt crested tears from falling. Jimin chuckles and points at Taehyung’s shirt, now covered in spots of moisture. “Jin made me cut onions.” He whimpers, “ ___ was going to do it originally but Jin wanted her to hang with you guys.” He finally looks back down, blinking to subdue gathered streams amongst his waterline. He notices your absence immediately. “Speaking of which. Did the maknae line eat her or something? Where’d she go?” The three youngest look at each other with half amusement half betrayal laced within their gazes, staring daggers at Hoseok after acknowledging their shared emotions.

“Bathroom. She looked like she was about to hurl.” Jungkook answers, being the least bit affected by his hyungs jab.

Hoseok nods, licking his lips before taking a seat on the big coffee table that looks as if it’s meant to double as an extra seat if the need was ever to arise. “What did you guys do to her to make her sick to her stomach?” He asks, grabbing the extra controller you left in your wake and logging in to join Jungkook’s round of assault.

“Nothing!” Jimin yelps, clearly disconcerted. “It was Yoongi who made her uncomfortable!” He points at the boy still trying to tame his flowing locks, walking to the overbearing mantel of the fireplace to warm himself.

“Oh please, if you ask me it seemed like she wasn’t really all that interested in you guys.” Yoongi scratches his neck, outstretching his hands for warmth before starting to walk towards the kitchen, dragging his feet.

“Yah! Get back here! What do you mean by that?!” Jimin looks offended, trying to sound tough when his soft exterior only cancels out the attempt.

Yoongi shrugs. “It just didn’t seem like she was enthralled with being in the presence of you guys.” He thinks before continuing, “I wouldn’t take it too hard, most girls don’t like the three of you anyway.” He smirks, clearly proud of his last gib.

“Gee, thanks hyung.” Jungkook says sarcastically, firing his weapon in the direction he believes Hoseok to be. “You could’ve just said that she doesn’t like us.” He adds, killing his enemy with a sniper shot. Hoseok sighs, sweat-drenched as if that one round took more out of him than actually working out does. Jungkook on the other hand looks like he won that round with ease, finding it easy to place down his controller and follow Yoongi into the dining room, the rest of the group following with Hoseok trailing sluggishly behind in defeat.

“Too bland for my liking. I prefer the finer things in life.” Yoongi wrinkles his nose innocently, dropping his end of the conversation.

“She…doesn’t?” Tae whines, fiddling with his utensils. Namjoon joins them at the table, taking the head of the table as usual.

Namjoon reads the room, picking up on a major whiff of discomfort.“Who doesn’t what?” He asks, remembering the last uttered words.

“___. She went to the bathroom. Yoongi thinks she doesn’t like us.” Jimin complains.

“What’d you guys do to her?” Namjoon calmly requests an answer, pouring a glass of soju for himself before handing Jimin the bottle to calm his nerves.

“We didn’t do anything!” Taehyung yells. “Well…Jungkookie beat her in the game we were playing.” Taehyung relinquishes, slipping his gaze over to look at Jungkook who looks the least bit phased if not proud.

“By the skin of his teeth…” Jimin teases, erupting the table in laughter.

“Dinner is served.” Jin boasts, looking up from the colorful pot at the table of starving boys, practically foaming at the mouth. The only thing the room lacks in is you. “Where’s ___?” Taehyung prepares to pounce the contents of the pot, but Jin pulls it away as he takes a glance towards the opening to the hallway, you’re silhouette nowhere in sight.

“She’s in the bathroom.” Jin relaxes. “The guys were just telling me that they think she doesn’t like them.” Namjoon chuckles, following Jin with his eyes as he places down and opens a large bowl of ramen with various types of vegetables and meat tangled beneath the broth.

“You’re lying. She’s wanted to meet you guys for a while, sure she was nervous about tonight but I highly doubt she hates you all.” He smacks Jungkooks hand away before he can serve himself. We’re waiting for her. Jin’s eyes say. “What makes you think otherwise?” He scans the table, looking for a viable answer, finding all eyes landing on Yoongi. “Besides Yoongi being Yoongi of course.” He chuckles, playfully nudging the mint-haired boy.

“While trying to beat Kook, Yoongi walked in. She lost the round and looked like she was about to be sick. Her face got all pale and splotchy…that’s when she excused herself to the bathroom.”  Jimin relives the moment that took place mere minutes prior, his eyes filling with worry and sadness.

“Sore loser?” Yoongi offers, shrugging.

Jin’s too lost in thought to hear Yoongi’s words. Was bringing her here the wrong move…?

“I was hoping to hit it off with her” Jimin blushes, “She’s so sweet and pretty.” Jimin sighs like a lovesick schoolgirl.

“Mhm. Me too.” Hobi pouts, ashamed at himself for putting his hopes up when he believes you dislike them all.

“She’d probably implode if she heard you two say those things. It’s just that her stutter just makes her nervous. That’s probably why she disappeared so suddenly…my bad for not warning you guys.” The room falls silent, all the boys suddenly shell-shocked into a large gap of lingering breaths. Even Namjoon, the brains at the table is utterly shocked.

“She…has a stutter?” Taehyung blinks quickly, his eyes searching for answers as they flutter back and forth across the table’s surface. All eyes lock onto the eldest, a shot of soju gliding down his throat as he swallows.

He coughs, clearing his throat. “I figured you would’ve guessed, she must’ve done a pretty good job at hiding it.” He swallows, looking from pair of eyes to pair of eyes. “It used to be really bad, she barely talked at all.” Jin finally takes a seat next to Jimin, nearest to your impending spot.

“Fuck,” Jungkook says, tracing his fingers along the fabric of the tablecloth. “I feel bad for being such an ass to her now.”

Jungkook winks at Jungkook, smiling. “Don’t worry Kook, she’s a tough cookie. Stronger than she looks.”

“Is that so?” Namjoon’s tone drops suggestively, leaning on his hand.

“Well yeah, she probably just got overwhelmed when Yoongi walked in.” Namjoons’ suggestive tone completely went over Jin’s head. For such a handsome young man, Jin lacks in spatial reasoning occasionally.

“Yoongi, no more assuming alright? Let’s make sure she feels at home here. It’s important to Jin.” Namjoon leans back in his seat, looking out into the sea of faces all belonging to his closest friends.

“Look at you guys. Since when were we the serious group?” Everyone shakes their head in laughter and Jimin shoves Jin playfully.

You hear laughter from the living room where you originally expected to find everyone. It took some time to compose yourself in the restroom. Seeing another attractive young man while previously being surrounded by countless others was your breaking point. You could feel yourself choking up, nerves parking themselves in your throat as a sort of roadblock for words. Embarrassing yourself was the last thing you wanted.

Ugh.

And you were doing so good too. Sure you stuttered a few times, but each one went unnoticed as far as you know. You wet the back of your neck to calm down, fixed your mascara and sauntered back into the main house, greeted by an empty living room and a billion thoughts. That was when you heard it, the welcoming chorus of deep voices laughing together. You entered the large dining space with a faint smile plastered to your lips, the seven handsome young men seated at scattered spaces at the suffocatingly dark wood dining table.

“Just who we were waiting for.” Namjoon stands, calling the attention of the others who do the same. He saunters over to you, his stature much taller than yours. He holds out his hand, offering it to you. Grateful, you accept his kind motion and allow him to walk you to a seat between Jimin and Jin.

“I’m sorry f-for making you all wait. I-I can practically feel the hunger emanating from this room.” The boys are all looking at you, bright smiles plastered on their faces that are almost mechanical, clown-like in nature. The unnecessary and unneeded attention is rather strong but comical, you can’t help but smile and look to Jin who’s the only one with his face in his hands in amused disappointment. Trying to break the tension you inhale and begin the meal, “It smells great Jin. I wish you asked me to help.” He shrugs. “I- uh, I don’t even know where to start. C-can someone pass me the-”

“I’LL GET IT!” Everyone except for Jin yells. He seems just as taken aback as you are, silently subduing his entire hand to instead knead the small space on either side of his nose.

“The…pepper…thanks.” Taehyung obliges, handing you what was requested. The other’s grow sheepish, wearing expressions washed away by varying hues of red. The meal starts off silent, small talk appears to be a thing of the past, and for the sake of the evening, you take a deep breath and pipe up. “Thank you for allowing me to accompany Jin tonight.” You pause, analyzing surrounding expressions. “I’m sure you all had better things to do.” You continue to eat, being an avid enthusiast of Jin’s cooking, it’s nothing short of delicious.

“Are you kidding?” Hobi grows soft, leaning towards the center of the

table, causing you to meet his gaze. “I’m beyond glad that Jin brought you along tonight.” He smiles at you, his eyes crinkling with joy. “I’m a little jealous that Jin’s been hogging you all for himself. We don’t get to be around pretty girls very often. You’re a real treat.” You can’t help to conceal the laugh that escapes your lips as Hoseok finishes speaking, but the room is deathly serious. A chill rides the length of your spine, alerting you that yes, Hoseok and the others don’t get some often.

“What Hobi means is, that despite only knowing you for an evening, we’re happy to have met you and enjoy your company. I personally cannot wait to become better acquainted.” Namjoon, always the one to save the others in tight situations, speaks up and makes you blush. You almost want to thank him for serving as the life vest keeping this gang afloat.

“I second that, not to mention that keeping you around means that I can learn how to kick Kook’s ass like you do.” Tae giggles, earning a zeal filled hit in return from Jungkook.

“Your love for reading as well. Jin tells me you’re quite the avid reader. Perhaps we can talk about it over coffee sometime?” Namjoon smiles, cocking his head to the side sweetly.

“Woah wait! Namjoon gets to hit on her but I can’t?!” Jimin slams down his fist, mock anger displayed across his sublime features.

Namjoon sighs, “Chim, i’m asking her to talk about books over coffee. I’m just making small talk.”

“Oh yeah sure sure.” Jimin jibes sarcastically, smirking at you.

Despite the attention you continue to be fed, your eyes drift to meet Jin’s. His soft aura allowing you to feel comforted again. He reaches for your hand under the table…and for the first time…you think about how you’ll have to let Jimin down gently.

You turn back to Namjoon, answering his plea for a slight book club, “Yeah…I’d like that.”