Save Me

7

Taehyung was anxious. He always was on days after nightmares, or well, memories.

He was exhausted, both physically and mentally. He felt sluggish and his head hurt, as if having to live through the recollection of his father's beatings wasn't enough torture.

He was heading to his first lecture hall when everything seemed dizzy. His head was pounding, as if someone was hitting his temples repeatedly with a hammer, and his chest felt tight. There were too many people in the hall and not enough air for his lungs.

Taehyung rushes past the doors of his lecture hall and weaves through people as he sprints to an empty hall, trying to get air back into his lungs. He collapsed against a wall and shrunk into himself, bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them as his fingers tugged at his hair. A small whimper fell from his lips as panicked tears rolled down his cheeks.

Everything was too much. He couldn't do this. He wasn't a good enough older brother, he wasn't a good enough student, he was a horrible person, and-

"Taehyung?"

Laila rushes towards him in worry and falls to her knees, touching his arm gently and flinching when he sobs harder.

"G-go away," he cries.

"Shh," Laila slowly reaches her hands towards him again and gently takes his fingers from his hair. "There we go, Taehyung, good job."

She held his hands in hers as he stared up at her with bloodshot eyes, his nose and lips red as tears continued rolling down his cheeks.

"Hey," she smiles softly, reaching a hand up to wipe his tears. She stops immediately when he flinches back in on himself and shuts his eyes with a cry, shaking his head. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I won't touch you. Can you look at me?"

Taehyung sniffles and nods hesitantly, opening his eyes again to see her warm expression.

"Good job," she praises again, placing her hand on her heart and demonstrating a deep breath. "We're going to do this together, alright?"

Laila breathes again and Taehyung sits up more, taking a shaky hand to his heart to try and follow her. It brought a small smile to Laila's lips and she watched as Taehyung's chest fall to a calmer pattern.

"Good boy," she says softly, holding a hand towards him. "Can I touch you?"

Taehyung nods, and she scoots closer to pet his hair. She was so close, smiling at him so proudly, and Taehyung felt his stomach flutter with butterflies.

"Laila," he breathes out shakily.

She tilts her head in question as her fingers curl a strand of hair behind his ear, waiting patiently for him to speak.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispers.

"Don't be," she says, shaking her head. "It's alright, Taehyung. Are you feeling a little better now?"

She laughs softly when he nods , petting down the hair on the nape of his neck before standing up and reaching a hand down. Taehyung looked up at her in question.

"Let's skip for today," she grins. "Missing one day never killed anyone."

"Where would we go?" he whispers, looking at her hand.

"Anywhere you want," she replies, and a small smile tugged at his lips.

"A cafe," he says. "Any cafe."

***

"A chocolate croissant and an iced coffee," Laila announces as she sits down, placing it in front of him.

"Thanks," Taehyung murmurs, offering her a weak smile before taking a sip from his coffee. When he sets it back down, he pushes the plate with the croissant closer to her. "Here."

"I got it for you," she frowns.

"You've helped me a lot today," he says, almost shyly, and looks away as his cheeks warm. "Just... just eat it."

Laila smiles and lets out a small giggle as she nods, accepting the pastry and biting into it. It was mainly silent as they finished their drink and dessert, and it was when Laila sighed and rubbed her stomach that she broke the silence.

"That was delicious," she says.

"Yeah?" Taehyung asks softly, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Laila."

"Hm?"

Taehyung suddenly surged forward with his thumb and wiped the chocolate off the side of her mouth. Her breath was stolen and her face burned as she watched him bring it back to his mouth, his lips surrounding his thumb as he sucked off the chocolate.

"You're right," he nods, looking at her with a smirk. "It is delicious."

Laila, at a loss for words, stared at him. This Taehyung... this Taehyung was playful. He was confident and toyed with her like a cat after a mouse, and it made her feel small under his gaze.

Kim Taehyung, she knew, would be her ruin.