Save Me

5

"You're telling me you met a sexy, cold guy and a hot, British guy?"

"Yes, and now I don't know what to do," Laila whines, putting her face in her hands.

"Go for the British guy!" Alex exclaims. "Why would you waste your time on a guy who doesn't seem interested?"

"Yeah, but sexy, cold guy is mysterious," Theo grins.

"They have names, you know," Laila huffs.

"Yeah, but he's British!"

"Okay, and he's sexy!"

Laila looks between her two arguing roommates before falling back on her bed with a groan. She knew James would be an easier route. He was flirty from their first encounter and seemed like a really sweet guy.

But Taehyung was... well, he was Taehyung. He was a smartass and mean and pushed her buttons.

But she had also seen him crack a bit, and he was kind of funny and really adorable when he tried to hide his smile.

"Alright, alright, I'm going to the library," Laila says over their arguments.

She grabs her trench coat on her way out the door and sifts her arms through it as she starts to walk.

The library was this incredible building with an indescribable amount of books. It was probably one of Laila's favorite places on campus, and she loved the smell of cinnamon and paper that slapped her on the face when she opened the door.

She makes her way towards the shelves and smiles at the old novels, picking one up curiously before flipping to the first page.

"Hm," she cocks her head at the page and purses her lips. "Should I get you?"

She lifted her head to look back at the books, and in doing so, saw Taehyung staring at her through the spaces of novels on the opposite side. The brunette scoffed once seeing he was caught and started to quickly walk away, and Laila blinked before scrambling after him.

"Hey!" she whisper shouts, meeting him at the end of the aisle and grabbing his wrist before he could run away.

"What are you doing?" he snaps, ripping his hand out from her hold.

"I'm not the one staring at people in a library!" she defends.

"At least I'm not the one talking to a book like it can talk back!" Taehyung growls back before walking away.

Laila huffs at his comeback, staring at his backside for a few seconds before jogging after him.

"Seriously, what is your problem?" she asks, dumbfounded.

"Look," he says, turning around and closing his eyes with a sigh when she runs into his chest. "Quit trying to talk to me. I'm not someone to get close to, alright? I don't want to know you, I don't care to know you, and I'd appreciate it if you'd just leave me alone."

Shocked, Laila stands there and swallows the lump in her throat as she watches him walk away. She felt like he had just reached into her chest and squeezed her heart, or perhaps ripped it into pieces would be more accurate.

"Laila?" Theo calls out in concern when she slammed the door to their apartment shut, him and Alex watching with wide eyes as the upset girl storms to her room, grabs some clothes, and then locks herself in the bathroom.

After stress crying in the shower, Laila changed into the comfiest pair of sweats she owned before going straight to her bed and cocooning herself under the blankets.