Save Me

14

"You look dead."

"Thanks," Taehyung mutters, taking another generous sip of his coffee.

Taehyung looked, well, not the best. He had dark eye circles and looked sick in a way that could only be explained from exhaustion. He had been taking up too many painting jobs and it was showing.

"Are you okay?" Laila asks, her voice laced with concern this time.

Taehyung nods, placing his now empty cup away before rubbing his eyes. He felt gross, he looked gross, and all he wanted to do was crawl under his covers and never come out again.

Laila nods hesitantly, though she knew there had to be something wrong with him. She didn't want to ask again though, fearing he would shut her out if she pried too much, so she focused back on the lecture.

That is, until Taehyung's head fell onto her shoulder.

Laila blushes and looks down at him quickly, the exhausted boy fast asleep against her shoulder. He looked really handsome like this; usual furrowed eyebrows relaxed, dark eyelashes brushing against his cheeks, and his lips pushed out into a pout.

She couldn't help but coo at him, brushing a fallen lock off of his eyes before letting her knuckles run down his cheek.

It was a bit hard to focus on the rest of the lecture, what with the weight of his head on her shoulder and his nose or lips occasionally brushing against her neck, but she managed. Taehyung only snored once or twice, to which she would smack his thigh and he would grunt and shift a bit before falling back asleep.

"Taehyung," she calls softly, patting his shoulder. "Wake up."

When he didn't budge, she rolled her eyes and pinched his arm, causing him to bolt upright.

"What was that for?" he whines, looking like a pouting child with his bangs in front of his eyes.

"Class is over," Laila informs, raising an eyebrow.

She brushes his bangs away before standing up and collecting her stuff, missing how red his ears became.

Taehyung curses himself mentally for falling asleep and stands up as well, scrambling out past her and through the doors. Laila simply giggled and shook her head, knowing he was probably more than embarrassed.

***

"You're telling me that cold, sexy guy-"

"Taehyung," Laila interjects.

"Whatever," Theo waves his hand dismissively and starts again. "You're telling me he fell asleep on you?"

"Yeah," she smiles shyly and shrugs as if to not make it a big deal, but her heart was speeding up just at the memory of his calm face resting so close to hers.

"So when's the wedding?" Alex teases, adjusting her purse on her shoulder.

"Shut up," Laila huffs, her two friends snickering.

"Hey, hey, he—GIRLS!" Theo shouts, a pout on his lips as they shove their shopping bags into his hands.

"Do you want your smoothie or not?" Alex counters, folding her arms over her chest.

Theo rolls his eyes but sits down at the food court table obediently, setting the bags down carefully in spaces he could find around the table. He may be annoyed, but he wasn't an asshole. He knew expensive clothing and he knew better than to ruin their pretty shape.

The two girls walked up to the register and ordered their usual—two strawberries and one mango—and chatted away as they waited patiently for their drinks.

"Thank you," Laila smiles, grabbing her drink from the server.

As she turned around, she was surprised to bump into a sturdy figure and even more surprised when the lid of her smoothie popped open and spilled on said sturdy figure.

"Laila!" Alex gasps, looking at the scene in horror.

Laila's face was beat red as her eyes slowly lifted to view the man, his face looking something between shock and amusement.

"Well, hello to you too, Laila," James chuckles, pinching the drenched fabric of his shirt and pulling it away from his torso.

"James, I-I'm so sorry!" Laila exclaims. She stands there, embarrassed beyond belief, before she grabs some napkins and starts wiping them against him desperately.

"Laila, hey—Laila," James laughs, grabbing her elbows gently with his hands. "I'm fine, really. It's just a shirt."

"But, I—James, I just ruined your shirt," she gulps at the realization. "Let me buy you a new one!"

"That's alright," he says, shaking his head at her sudden idea.

"No, really, I want to," she smiles nervously. "It's not like we're in a place where I can't."

James hums hesitantly before looking at Alex, who was watching with an all too amused expression.

"Go on, it's okay," Alex grins like a cheshire cat. "Just text us when you're done."

Laila nods, feeling embarrassed by the people watching them in the food court and tugging at James' arm to pull him in the direction of a nearby clothing store.

"Alright, so do you want black, white, brown, gr-"

"Anything is fine," James says before gulping when she narrowed her eyes. "Black is fine."

"Great," Laila beams, spinning around and grabbing the shirt. "Let's go."

The pair smiled sheepishly as the cashier gave them a weird look, but Laila paid for the shirt and what was done was done, so she could finally go back to—

"What are you doing?" she shrieks as James slides the shirt off his body, his toned muscles on display for her eyes.

He definitely was sculpted by the heavens, she thought, as she watched his dimples form as he laughed and ripped the tag off the new shirt. Even his back had muscles—how could a back look so good? She was probably staring, Laila stop staring, Laila stop—

"I don't fancy going home in a smoothie drenched shirt," he replies, slipping the new shirt on.

Laila pouts, her cheeks warming again for the nth time as she mutters another apology.

"'S alright, love," he grins. "How do I look?"

"You're just begging for a compliment, aren't you, British boy?" she huffs, though a smile was already growing on her lips.

"Amuse me," he replies, his smile softening and his tone a little shy.

"You look handsome," she says, turning on her feet and walking away quickly.

"Handsome?" James laughs, jogging after her. "That's quite the compliment."

"Is it?"

"Coming from you, absolutely."

Laila tries to hide her blush by letting her curls fall, but James beats her to it, trying to tuck it behind her ear and chuckling softly when the stubborn thickness wouldn't agree.

"I'll see you later then," he says softly. "Since you're with your friends."

"Alright," she mutters, shoving him away in hopes he wouldn't see her flustered face.

She could hear James laugh as she walked away, and maybe she smiled widely and felt her heart speed up a bit.

Just maybe, though.