Chapter 35: Pictures

     "How in the..." I say to myself, sitting up with my eyes still fixed on the printer paper with a picture inked in the center. I swallow hard at the familiar surroundings in the photograph.      I stand up on the bed and snatch the paper. Holding it under my nose, I inspect the picture to find a disturbing realization.     "Someone...was there?" I ask myself, seeing Yoongi's bed from one of the windows and the two of us lying in the center, his arms wrapped around me while I slept on his chest.      I felt like throwing up. Someone had come to my house and put a picture on my ceiling while my parents were at work. My head was suddenly pumped with air and my knees buckled. I sit back down, holding my head with one hand while the other clutched the now wrinkled paper.      "What's going on? Who is doing this?" I ask myself, throwing the paper across the room and cupping my face in my shaking hands. Tears pooled in my hands, my mind racing with endless possibilities to the texts and now this.      That night, I locked every door and window. I slept with the whole upstairs lights on until my parents came home and turned them off for me. I was not going to let some creep steal from me ever or...whatever he was trying to do.     I went to school with baggy eyes and a foggy mind. If it weren't for the coffee stop, I would've fallen asleep at the wheel for sure. Jiwoo met me outside the school with no sign of the boys.     "Good god, you look awful," she gasps, my eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. "Sorry, but what happened?"     "I wasn't going to take any chances with that robber so I slept with the lights on and woke up at 5," I explain while heaving a long yawn. "You going to that party tonight?"     "Of course! If Jimin asked me to it, I have no choice," she smirks at the thought of Jimin. 'I wish I could be that swooned right now. Beats feelings like this.' "You wanna sip of my espresso?"      "I might," I yawn again as she hands me her small, plastic cup that she must've bought this morning. I sip the bitter drink, wanting nothing but to just be energized again.      "I don't think you should go to the party tonight," she says, taking back her drink as I stop at my locker. Spinning the combination lock, I almost forget my number, resulting in me stopping and staring at he lock dumbfounded. "You look dead."     "Yoongi wants me to go though, and I want to see Tae anyways," I reply, rubbing my eyes as I scan my locker for my textbooks. "I'll be...fine," I add in between yawns.      Grabbing my books, I whip around too fast to accidentally run into someone. Yoongi looks down at me, his eyebrows raising at my presence. "Dea? Are you..."     "I'm fine," I yawn, shaking my head in frustration before walking away towards first period.      "Is she okay?" I hear Namjoon ask as I pull out my phone, allowing myself to stop to check my notifications.      "She's super tired and was spooked from last night," Jiwoo replies, my eyes widening at a sudden text from an unknown number.     "What spooked her last night?" Jimin asks. "Yoongi, what did you do?"     "Me?!" He replies just as my phone slips from my hands and I race to the bathroom. "Wait...Dea! Dea, come back!"      I find myself hurrying into the common room and out the double doors. The phone didn't concern me; that was the text's job. It sent a picture of Yoongi placing a kiss on my forehead that morning when I found him boxing downstairs and a caption, 'if I ever see him kiss you again, he's going to end up hurt.'     I hold my hands behind my head, trying to circulate air throughout my lungs. "What is happening? Why me?" I breathe, tears pouring down my face onto my t-shirt.      "Dea!" A voice calls out from behind me. I don't turn around; instead, I meander my way to a cement ledge holding a tree that lined the whole block. Plopping down on the shaded cement, I hear the faint ring of the bell from within the school, signaling my tardiness.     "Go to class, Yoongi," I choke up, raising my head to find him standing before me with my phone in his hands.      "Not until I know what's going on," he demands, bending down so his face have to slant up to meet my gaze. "Just tell me who's been texting you and I won't ask any..."     "I can't!" I snap, my eyes piercing into his. "I'm sorry but...ugh!" I try my best to wipe my tears, not wanting to imagine what I might look like in his eyes. But that appeared to be the least of his problems.      "Why can't you tell me? What're they sending?"     "Nothing...leave it alone," I mutter, snatching my phone from his hand and getting up to go back to class when my wrist was suddenly grasped. "Let go..."     "Give me a hug first," he replies, my furrowed eyebrows rising at the words that escaped his lips. My head slowly turns to find him still bent down and my wrist captured in his grasp.      I stop fighting his strength that was sure to exhaust me anyways after 10 seconds. He stands up, immediately returning to his 5 inches taller than me self. Suddenly pulling my arm, I follow the pull and end up in his arms where he hugs me.     "Are they doing any harm to you?" He murmurs in my ear as I slowly hug him back. I couldn't help but start crying again before shamefully shaking my head no.      "It's just...an old friend that is sending me meaningless threats. I don't know why...why I'm getting upset over it," I sniff, quickly pulling away to wipe my tears. He immediately sees this and pulls me back against his chest, not caring if I accidentally leave a few tears behind. 'I hate lying to him like this.'     "I don't know why you had to hide it from me," he sighs, holding me a bit tighter before finally letting me go except my shoulders. "Just because I'm your fake boyfriend, doesn't mean you don't tell me shit," he says, raising his eyebrows in an act to try to look serious.      Cracking a small smile, I nod my head before jokingly petting his head. "You're a good, fake boyfriend then," I tease, allowing him to release me and shake his head at my action.      "You're so weird," he chuckles, nudging my arm as he leads us back inside the building. "But it suits you," he adds with a gummy smile. My cheeks flush pink at the compliment as we continue our way back to class side by side.