The Void [JJKxOC] AU

Chapter Five: Take A Picture

DISCLAIMER:
Jungkooks thoughts
Raines thoughts

"I don't know what the hell possessed you to partner us up," Jungkook complained as he handed Namjoon a bowl of freshly made Ramyeon. He took a seat on the floor beside his friend, opting to eat at the coffee table instead of the counter tonight.

Namjoon dug into his bowl, slurping up an ungodly amount of noodles. He finally got them down and answered Jungkook. "You two have the same major. Plus, you're the only two who aren't struggling right now."

Jungkook set his chopsticks into the bowl. "Engineering?" He asked in disbelief.

Namjoon nodded as he continued to eat. "Chemical Engineering too. You're both fucking boring, so there's also that." He chaffed through a mouthful of noodles.

"Boring." Jungkook scoffed, digging into his bowl. "You're not going to be saying that when I'm saving the planet."

Rightfully so, it wasn't the coolest job. When people asked him what he was going to school for, they would simply smile and nod at his answer. No one knew what chemical engineers did, but Jungkook did and that's all that mattered. He would have the opportunity to make a difference in the world. Although that dream sounded cliche, it gave him a sense of purpose. To know Raine probably thought the same made him feel a bit more understood.

"The planet?! Jungkook, you barely care about saving yourself!" Namjoon half-joked, but Jungkook knew there was some truth behind his words. Especially lately. Namjoon had a front row to the destruction of Jeon Jungkook. It broke his heart to see someone who was like his little brother set fire to everything around him, but he needed to let him do it. Jungkook needed to let this out of his system, one way or another.

Jungkook wasn't always good at being vulnerable. He hadn't even cried at his mother's funeral. Namjoon didn't even think he'd cried over her death at all. It wasn't healthy but, neither were his coping mechanisms.

"That's not true." He argued as he toyed with the noodles in his bowl, suddenly losing his appetite. He could lie to Namjoon, but he couldn't lie to himself. His actions as of late were reckless, careless, and plain old destructive.

"You drink enough whiskey to float a battleship." Namjoon finished the last bit of his Ramyeon and placed the bowl on the coffee table before turning his attention to Jungkook, who had chosen to ignore his snide remark. "And anyway, I saw you guys working perfectly fine this morning."

Jungkook thought back on their interaction that morning and, although it had been more amicable than usual, it was still odd.

**

"You may use the last twenty minutes of the lecture to familiarize yourself with your partners." Professor Choi announced as Namjoon closed the laptop, interrupting its connection to the whiteboard.

Namjoon turned on the lights so that everyone could find their partners, but Jungkook had already found her. He'd been staring at the back of Raine's head since the beginning of the lecture. He'd barely paid attention all morning, finding the waves in her ponytail ten times more interesting than statistics.

Jungkook still couldn't understand it, but Raine knocked his world off its axis. Something as simple as the text message he sent her took him twenty minutes to plan out. He didn't want to come across as a jerk off again, but he also wanted to be to the point and direct. It seemed simple, yet it was nerve-wracking enough to have him biting his nails down to the skin. He usually didn't second guess himself, but he'd reread his message over at least four times before sending it.

As if she could sense him thinking about her, Raine turned her body to look back at Jungkook. His palms became clammy the moment their eyes locked. Raine gave him a half-smile. He could tell she was feeling as uneasy as he was about this whole thing.