Save Me

11

Taehyung felt good. It was like everything was starting to finally fall into place. He had been raking in cash almost every single night, his sister's birthday was approaching, and him and Laila hadn't been in any arguments lately.

They weren't exactly friends, but Taehyung allowed her to sit next to him and they often shared small talk, which occasionally led to bickering.

But Taehyung liked how she fought back. She wasn't afraid to stand her ground or call him out for something. The way she matched his banter had him feeling a little more than he'd care to admit.

"Hey, Laila?" he says softly, looking at her shyly.

"Mhm?"

Taehyung watches those plump lips of hers spread into a close-lipped smile, and he bit the inside of his cheek. He swore she had to be wearing lip gloss or something because woah.

"My, uh, my sister's birthday is coming up and I don't know what to get her," he says, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Can you help me?"

"Oh, sure! There's makeup, clothes, w-"

"No, I mean..." Taehyung clears his throat and looks away, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. "Come with me."

"Oh," she blushes, laughing softly. "Sure, I'd love to."

"Okay," he murmurs, smiling down at the ground.

He doesn't even know why he asked her to accompany him to buy his sister a gift. It just... felt right?

He told himself it was strictly to help figure out a present for his sister. That's all.

"I'll pick you up later," he says once class ends.

"Do you even know where I live?" she asks, an amused smile forming on her lips when his face grows red. "Give me your phone."

"Why?"

"To put my number in. Stop being stubborn."

Taehyung feels breathless, and he watches with wide eyes as she places his phone back into his hands before walking away. He fumbles with the device to verify that he actually had her number, and when he saw her contact saved, he bit down on his lower lip harshly to stop the excited smile threatening to lift his lips.

***

When Taehyung parks at her apartment later that day, he swallows the nervous lump in his throat and texts her with trembling fingers that he was there. She came out moments later and opened the car door before settling in beside him. She smelled strongly of vanilla and honey and Taehyung's fingers tightened on the wheel.

"Ready?" she smiles.

Taehyung gulps, nodding lamely before backing out of her driveway.

"So what is she into?" Laila asks once they enter the mall. "Does she like makeup, clothes, accessories, bags, shoes?"

"Um..." Taehyung smiles sheepishly and shrugs.

"You're no help," she sighs, grabbing his wrist before tugging him into the first store.

As they were shopping, Taehyung felt himself ease up. Laila was actually really funny, and cute, and her smile when she laughed was pretty, and-

"Taehyung, focus," Laila whines, holding up a purse. "What do you think?"

Taehyung blinks out of his trance and looks at the purse. "I think she'll love it."

"Perfect," Laila beams, nudging her head towards the register. "Let's go."

Taehyung frowns when she digs her wallet out from her purse and catches her wrist in his hand, causing her eyebrow to raise.

"What do you think you're doing?" he scoffs.

"I'm helping pay?" she explains, like it was obvious. "I wanna get in on the birthday gift too."

"She's my sister," Taehyung counters.

Laila shrugs, slapping his hand away before pulling out some cash. Taehyung followed grumpily, their combined money falling into the cashier's waiting hand.

"Thanks for helping me," Taehyung murmurs shyly once they exit the store.

"It's no problem," she laughs, her curls bouncing as she shakes her head. "I hope she likes it."

"Me too," Taehyung sighs, and then they fall into silence.

As they continued walking, Taehyung caught a few people staring at them. Well, their disgusted gaze was more targeted at Laila than himself.

Taehyung feels a different type of anger build in his gut, and his fingers tighten on the bag as he watches a woman whisper something to her husband while staring at the innocent girl beside him.

Taehyung stops walking and opens his mouth to tell them to stop fucking staring before he feels a soft hand slide into his own and squeeze his palm before gently tugging him forward.

"Don't," Laila says, walking forward with her head held high. "That's what they want."

"I don't get it," Taehyung grits angrily, letting her pull him away as his blood boils. "Why are they being so fucking rude?"

Laila smiles, almost sadly, and squeezes his hand again. It caused him to frown and look at her in question, and she glanced at him before looking forward again.

"I'm used to it. I-"

"You shouldn't have to be," he interrupts, his voice laced with frustration.

"I know," she says quietly. "But, Taehyung, my skin is different. People don't like different."

"I like different," he argues quickly.

Laila blushes and smiles so wide her eyes turn into little crescent moons. She cranes her neck back to look at him and strokes her thumb across his knuckles, hoping he would see how grateful she was for his words.

Later, when Taehyung dropped her off, they sat there in silence until Laila unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to him with a small smile.

"Thank you, Taehyung," she says, her voice like honey as she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Happy birthday to your sister."

Taehyung gulps and watches her with wide eyes as she disappears into the safety of her apartment. He hesitantly raised a hand to touch his cheek and broke out into a soft giggle, feeling his face grow hot underneath the pads of his fingers.

When Taehyung made it home, he launched himself onto his bed and smiled into his pillow.

Today was a really, really good day.