⫣7⫦ Jump

"So. Are you ready to have some real fun, Lian?"

I'm still sitting in his lap and his hands are still draped around me. I've gotten so comfortable, I barely noticed any more. Only that I have grown so relaxed that I forgot all about the reasons this is a bad idea.

He rests his chin on my shoulder, his voice so close to my ear that his breath tickles the small hairs on my nape.

The others helped themselves to some drinks and are smoking, totally relaxed and at ease. They tried to offer me some too, but I politely refused.

I have my limit about doing things my parents will definitely not approve of.

But something tells me they won't stop trying. And an even smaller whisper tells me that I don't want them to.

I'm almost inclined to let Taehyung know that I'm already having fun, but I won't give in that easily. Despite everything, I'm still going to say that the day was fine, but that I wouldn't hang out with them after that, even if it will be a lie. It's the smart thing to do. The logical one.

So I remain quiet.

The chuckle he lets loose vibrates against my back, sending electrifying shocks through me.

"All right boys," he then calls out and the others turn to him.

"How about we show her the main attraction?"

Their answering smiles make my heart flutter. They are downright glowing with glee. My stomach drops.It can't mean anything good with these guys.

"Hell yeah!" Jungkook yells out, already jumping up. He shared a sofa with Jimin who also stands, a drink in his hand. And even though it's colorless, I highly doubt it's water- vodka for sure.

He drowns it in one go and throws the plastic cup on the floor like he doesn't have a care in the world. He's the only one not jumping up with glee, but it does nothing to chase away a foreboding feeling.

One by one they get up and when Taehyung stands too, he takes me with him.

"What main attraction?" I hear myself asking, my damn curiosity overwriting all common sense. RM grins, a lollipop in his mouth.

"Gotta wait and see. We wouldn't wanna to spoil the fun."

I can do nothing but let myself be dragged by Taehyung as he grabs my hand. The lake lays in a little valley and we now walk passed the house, where a small path leads up to a large hill top.

"We're going up there?" I ask, looking at the ascent.

Trees and bushes grow on either side and obscure the view to the top. J-hope comes to my side with a grin.

"I thought you did Gymnastics- scared of a little exercise?"

I look up at him with a frown.

"I only told the ones who picked me up that I did Gymnastics."

He only shoots me a bright, innocent smile, and shrugs with his shoulders.

Then we start walking.

The nature here is truly beautiful, all green and woody and the smell of forest surrounds the place like perfume. I actually feel at peace here- if it wasn't for the foreboding feeling in my stomach as we climb further and further up.

The boys jump around, hoot, throw stones into the trees and laugh unhinged. At one point, Jungkook starts chasing Jin up the hill, his long, powerful legs allowing him to catch the other boy just after a short while, both of them laughing uncontrollably on the floor where they fell. I can only keep up with them thanks to my years of training, but my breath is still coming out heavily as we make it to the top.

The trees fall away and a clearing comes into view....

And then there's the drop.

The clearing opens up and just falls away, all the way down to the lake that now lays directly beneath us. A few meters below us actually.

Taehyung takes my hand again and nudges me to the edge.

My heart nearly jumps out of my chest as I see the drop: At least 30 meters down, the water glitters up at me- calm and still, so unlike my racing heartbeat.

I grab on to Taehyung hard and a really bad feeling spreads in my stomach when I looked at him and see that recklessness shine out at me again.

"You- You can't be serious!" I bark out, hoping they aren't about to do what I think they are.

"Afraid of heights, little princess?"

I look passed Taehyung at Suga who spoke. There's a provocative expression on his face, his hands crossed in front of him. Challenging me.

"I'm afraid of dying!", I shoot back, but only receive a snicker.

"No one's gonna die." RM assures me, but I don't feel at ease at all.

"You're really going to jump?"

Jin barks a laugh. "You think we came up here to just enjoy the view?"

I take a look back down, adrenaline rushing through my body, my mind dizzy with the drop down.

"You are crazy." I breath out.

They all laugh, but no one corrects me. Yes. They really are crazy. And they don't mind at all.

"I'm not doing this. No fucking way!" I yell in desperation, but they don't take me serious."Well, look at that. She is already cursing. We are really doing a good job of corrupting her."

There is not a trace of shame in Jimin's voice, only smugness.

"No worries, Lian," Taehyung tells me with undeniable delight in his voice.

"We can show you first."

I'm about to protest when Jungkook suddenly breaks away from the group. He walks back to the edge of the forest and then turns.

The breath goes out of me when I see the wide, devilish smile on his lips.

He can't-" I start to whisper, but Taehyung pulls me to the side.Were were still standing close enough to the edge to be able to look down. Time seems to slow down as Jungkook starts running- right towards the edge and the drop below.

I stand there, unable to do anything as the others hoot, yell and whistle excitedly. And then he jumps. Goes right over the edge.

He lets out a scream- but not of fear. It's a scream of joy and freedom. With an open mouth I watch as he tumbles down and then hits the water with a loud splash.

He is gone for only a few seconds before he breaks the surface and yells up something undefinable from below. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"See?" Taehyung whispers in my ear, which makes me jump like a scarred cat. "No one is dying."

I don't know when or how, but I suddenly become aware that I grabbed his arm tight and am almost hugging it like a pillow. I shove him away. Jimin jumps next, without a scream however, but my attention is already on Taehyung again.

"I'm not jumping!"

"Your decision, but we certainly are." J-hope yells as he's already flying past me.

He sails thought the air too.

One by one, they jump, all of them screaming in joy and craziness.

Down below, I can see them heave themselves up on a flat stone that reaches out of the deep water like a little island. They wave up at me and Taehyung now- the only ones still standing on top.

I turn to him, frowning.

"I'm still not jumping."

He smiles at me, his hands on his hips, standing with a swagger as he levels me an amused stare.

"And why not?", he asks, like there's no reason for me to be protesting.

"Because this is insane!"

"So?"

I throw up my hands in frustration.

"You call this fun?"

He finally lets his hands fall and comes closer, stopping only an inch in front of me.

It always feels so damn hard to breath when he does that. He searches my eyes for a moment, like I'm some interesting book he's reading, then smirks. My eyes dip down to those lips against my will and I swallow hard.

If only he weren't so damn pretty!

"Didn't you hear them? Didn't it sound like fun?"

I try to protest but he puts along finger over my mouth, silencing me. My body freezes at the touch and I can do nothing but stand there, watching him with big eyes.

"Before you tell me it's dangerous- I know. We all do. That's why it's so exciting and fun."

I have no idea how anyone can be so fast, but before I can even breath another word, he turns me and gives me a push so that I stand at the very edge. I let out a shriek of fear and close my eyes shut, my body locking up. I'm so sure he's about to push me.

But instead Taehyung comes up behind me, his full body pressing against mine in a tight back hug, all hard planes and strength beneath the thin layer of fabric.

His hands are locked in front of me, giving me a false sense of security. I feel his breath close to my ear, his scent in my nose.

"Open your eyes, Lian."

His voice is low and daring and I pry them open. Adrenaline curses through me, twisting in my stomach and to a place father down as I stare at the empty air in front of me.

I let out a rattling breath, my legs weak but there is a tingling feeling growing. Right in my centre and it's so intense, for a second I am sure I'm gonna let out an embarrassing sound.

"You feel it, don't you?" his low, soft spoken words are like a dangerous lullaby, drawing you in, heightening the tingling heat in my lower core.

"That rush cursing through your body, making the world sharper and brighter. Turning everything into... more."

I almost let out a moan at his deep voice. He's the devil, I decided. A devil who knows exactly how to get to me.

Because it's true.

It's like everything around me is in clear focus- including the drop below, looking impossibly far and the boys looking up to where I stand. They're waiting.I feel his hands more imminently too, laying over my lower stomach, right at the source of all those emotions.

"Do you know what this feeling is, Lian?" Taehyung asks now, his finger stroking over my lower stomach in circles, enforcing the swirling sensation inside.

I never had anyone touch me like that- least of all a boy, and yet it doesn't feel alien. It feels just right. And exciting.

"Fear?" I breath out, my mind unable to properly think while he touches me like that.

"Yes and no." he whispers back, nestling his mouth closer to my ear and at the nape of my neck, letting out a long hot breath.

"That's the feeling of being alive. It's fear and excitement mixed together, but only you can decide what you let it become. You see: this moment right now is the true thrill, not the jump. Once you step over the edge, the fall is but a single moment. But this decision right now is what makes this whole thing so much fun."

I feel his hands leave my stomach then, travelling up my arms. His skin on mine makes my hairs raise up and I can't help myself from letting out a shuddering breath.

He lets go then, but his face stays close.

Quite literally the devil on my shoulder.

Without his hands, the adrenaline spikes even more. One step- that's all it would take.

I know it's stupid to do it- that I'm being guided into something I normally wouldn't do. It's like there's more to this jump. I would hit the water, but who would I be when I come up? My life is going all right: I have a future and a stable family and nice friends- and yet I never felt like this. This thrill taking over my body, taking my breath away and yes- making me feel alive.Alive and wild and... free!

And in addition to my inner struggle, I hear the soft, coaxing, deep voice in my ear, like it's nothing more than a thought in my head.

"What's it going to be Lian? Are you brave enough to find out what awaits you at the bottom? Is the fear going to win, or your curiosity?"

I lean forward, almost without wanting to, my gaze solely concentrated on the deep water below. The coiling and rummaging in my stomach feels like a hurricane, throwing my thoughts around in my head like they're nothing but loose leaves in an autumn breeze. It's about to carry me off. I can feel every muscle in my body- every singly place where the wind touches my skin.Feel the heat of the boy still directly behind me. I am still looking down. The feeling in my stomach screams like a beast. But before I can decide whether it's telling me to jump or run back down, I hear the vibration of a little, wicked smile next to me and a single, soft word.

"Jump."

And so I do.

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