13

I walk around the place. Everything is dark, except for the moonlight coming through the windows, that's making each of the frames of those be visible on the floor right in front of me with their shadows.

I hear nothing but my heartbeat and my fast breathing as my eyes move around, fast and desperately, as if I were looking for something. I find a white door in the distance, and for some reason I start walking to it. Although I don't know what's behind me, I'm more scared of what could happen if I stayed here.

My hand almost reaches the knob...

I breathe heavily when my eyes suddenly open to meet the familiar and cozy darkness in my room. It wasn't a rough nightmare, but it was creepy enough to have me trembling with a light pressure in my chest. Was I holding my breathing?

I slip my body under the sheets, sitting up in bed while I try to get used to my small room again. After that dream, a strange feeling filled my body. And it's weird, considering I've never been scared of darkness -I kind of used to enjoy it when I was little. But tonight... I feel forced to hug my own legs, and my eyes shake while looking everywhere in the room, trying to find something somewhere.

Before I'm able to stop myself and think, my hand slips down the sheets to my phone and clicks on the first name that appears on my contact list. One tone, two tones... I'm about to hang up and leave it all alone, but his voice stops me.

—Yeah? —Jungkook asks with a raspy voice.

I try to think fast. I could either hang up or come up with whatever excuse as to why I'm calling him this late. I can't tell him I only woke him up because I had a nightmare, and talking to someone -and that someone happens to be him- will make me feel a bit at ease and not that lonely and vulnerable here.

Think fast.

—What's the penalty if one of us doesn't carry out their part of the deal? —I ask fast.

You're so dumb, y/n.

—Are you fucking serious? —he sighs hard— It's 4 am, what's your fucking problem?

—We never mentioned what could happen —I try to sound as convincing as possible—. And it's already been a week.

He sighs again, and I hear him moving under the covers before he clicks his tongue and starts speaking again.

—Is this an excuse to make sure I didn't take anyone home after leaving your house? —his tone sounds funny, playful.

I can almost picture him with that signature smirk right now.

—No —I rush to answer—. Listen...

—I'm a man who can keep a promise —he continues—. But I can tell you what I did after getting home...

—That's not what I called for —I reply back.

Jungkook stays silent for a few seconds. And my fucking god, don't they feel like hours until he starts talking again.

—I didn't think of anything because we are both grown ups. The moment one of us wants to walk away, it'll be okay —his soft voice says—. Why? Do you want to write down some penalties?

—No.

I hear his giggles before he starts speaking again.

—Why are you awake so late, huh?

—I couldn't sleep —I lie.

—So, since you couldn't sleep, you decided to wake me up —he sighs—. Cocktease, I thought we said we would wave a white flag. It's the first rule.

Silence. That's all I'm able to do after he says that. I don't even know why I called him so late into the night, and why I didn't hang up as soon as he answered the phone. And that actually makes me wonder if he's the person I've grown closer to without realizing, after swearing for my life I couldn't stand his ass.

—Do you have plans for tomorrow?

—No.

I don't, except for working as I do six days per week.

—Want to hang out? I'll drive you to work after.

After I agree to it, he doesn't really say what we will do. He only says he'll pick me up at ten in the morning, and he'll come up with something then.

Silence is about to surround us, but he avoids it from happening when he starts speaking again. He keeps saying I'll need to make up for waking him up so late, and how now he won't be able to sleep again. The conversation goes from me saying I'll invite him to a bottle of beer to Jungkook telling me how once he woke up with his eyebrow pierced, after having too many beers in his graduation party.

The conversation flows so naturally, it's a bit weird. I let my guard down, and let him know I've never gotten drunk, which leads to him gasping dramatically. My eyelids start feeling heavy the moment I lay my head on the pillow, while I keep hearing him joke how he needs to see me drunk at least once in a lifetime.

And that's all I remember before everything goes black.

✸ ✸ ✸

When Jungkook picked me up earlier today, I really thought we'd have a chill hang out, where we'd be able to start hanging out as friends. But he takes me by surprise when he says: "Pick a guy and go flirt with him". My heart races against my chest just at the thought of reaching out to a stranger, and talking to him as if I knew him from before.

—No, you pick him up.

Jungkook smiles with joy, finding it funny I'm unable to even choose the guy I'll try to flirt with. His eyes travel across the room, and takes his time before he picks a guy that's seating by himself at one of the individual tables that aren't too far from us. He points at the brunette boy with glasses, that's scrolling through his phone. I sigh, thinking Jungkook will be nice and take back that idea, but he only smiles while sticking his lips together, and making the mole on his lower lip be totally visible, as if it were a second lip piercing.

I try to fill my thoughts with "You will never see him again" "Just see how it goes" "You could always go back to your table". When I'm aware, I'm halfway, only a few steps away from that table. But I panic, all my courage leaves my body and I only feel like hiding away behind Jungkook's back as soon as I get back to my table. When I turn on my steps to do exactly that, my "companion?" moves his hands in the air and pushes me to turn on my feet again back to the guy concentrated on his phone.

Everything happens way too fast. I tap on this guy's shoulder, forcing him to look at me who's towering over him in an intimidating position. I'm convinced I'm invading his personal space, even if I'm standing two steps away from his body. He's looking at me confused, instantly closing his phone before his whole body turns to me.

—Um... —I start— Do you... Can I?... —I sigh again, and let my mouth work faster than my brain—. Do you have a tissue? Those napkins irritate my skin.

I point to the napkin metallic box that's on the edge of his table. The guy says a low "No" and smiles friendly, before going back to his phone. I stand there, only for a few seconds when I realize what's just happened and how dumb I am. Probably this guy is even younger than me, but for some reason I feel like I'm an immature 5 year old compared to him.

I move back on my tracks, reaching the shared table and being welcomed by a grimaced Jungkook.

—It could've been worse —he tries to comfort me.

I refrain from replying back to that comment, and focus on my drink and the drops that are covering the glass that was an opaque white, due to coldness, before I left the table minutes ago.

A tap on the table, on a spot near where my arm is resting, gets my attention.

—I'll give you a demonstration. Pick any girl you want.

I don't need him to demonstrate to me he's able to pull any girl he wants, it's quite obvious he is at this point. But how he looks so full of himself makes the girl, who was fawning over her six feet tall boyfriend, look like a good pick for him.

Let's see if he's as good.

He looks at me with a squared smile, and repeats several times whether I'm sure of my pick or not, because of how good she looks. He can't be so fucking annoying.

With a smile on my face, I nod, totally sure of my pick.

The girl looks confused when he first reaches her table, but just a few words from him has her giggling and twirling her hair with one finger. I get her, because he causes that same reaction in me. But how her boyfriend is still there, in the bathroom, makes me shocked.

I'm so concentrated on how he wins her over enough to be sitting on the place her boyfriend was sitting on, I'm not aware said person just left the bathroom until the thick dude is grabbing Jungkook by the collar of his sweater.

It'd be funny to see how he gets away from this by himself since he knows how to handle everything so well, even if I was the one who put him in this situation. But I can't look away and ignore what I caused.

I'd punch myself if I could.

—I was looking for you —I try to get in between the two boys, although my eyes are fixed on Jungkook—, I told you selling those bibles around would get you in trouble someday.

—Bibles? —the man that's still holding Jungkook asks.

—Yeah —I nod fast—. Poor boy just got out of jail for robbing them, so he's trying to make up for it by helping to sell them. He doesn't realize when he's overstepping boundaries though, don't take him seriously.

I reach for the six feet tall man's arm and hand, making him let go of Jungkook as soon as his strength of his fingers on the fabric of his sweater loosens.

I thank the guy and lose no time in dragging Jungkook out of there, and back to our table, as soon as I get the chance. He's looking at me with squinted eyes as soon as we sit on the table, he doesn't even bother to comment on the whole thing before he spits.

—You knew she was with her boyfriend.

—What? No —I lie.

—It's funny —he looks at me intensely, while supporting both of his elbows on the table—. You were perfect at pulling a big story to save me from getting my nose broken, yet you are unable to lie to me with a short answer.

—Think whatever you want of me —I limit to answer.

I feel him smiling, and looking down. But his eyes are back on me not too long after. He knows I will never admit to knowing she was with her boyfriend.

—By the way —he gets my attention—, that story? How did you come up with it?

—When you have strict parents, you learn how to lie and come up with the dumbest, not totally believable, excuses —I shrug.

Later that morning, we have another argument on who should be paying for lunch. When the simple answer should be: let's divide the bill. Nope. He insists it was his idea, and I want to make up for the mess I made earlier today with that girl and her boyfriend.

I'm starting to think the only reason Jungkook annoys me so badly is because he's just as stubborn as I am. Aside from that, I won't lie and I'll admit I actually had a good time with him. Even when he's teasing, and pulling his sarcasm to crack jokes -or just push my buttons- I kind of have fun. I'll give him that only.