don't blame me ✧ taennie

lord save me (my drug is my baby)

finally. we made it ya'll.

it's only by the time taehyung makes his way upstairs from the basement at home that his bones have begun feeling heavy with exhaustion. every step feels like it's taking forever. he could probably fall asleep like this, if he allowed himself to slump against the wall, to close his eyes just for a moment.

but the distinct scent of blood lingers in the air, nearly suffocating in its brutal reminder of what happened, of how badly jennie got hurt. he forces his feet to move through the house, heart threatening to break his ribs with how hard it's thrashing around in his chest, anxious and terrified.

overhead, the ceiling creaks, the sound of footsteps making their way across the floor, and taehyung's heartbeat stops. he rushes up the stairs, breath caught in his throat, only to come to a screeching halt when he sees jennie down the hallway.

looking like she's trying to leave. with shoes on and a hood thrown over her head, hands shoved into the front pocket of the jumper.

she stops in his tracks when their eyes lock, mouth parting at the sight of taehyung. her eyes are dark, and even without any source of light to set them ablaze, they're shining—more than any human's eyes should shine. taehyung is once again reminded that the person he likes so much is as far from human as it gets.

and still, he finds himself thinking that he doesn't care.

"where are you going?" he asks, breathless and confused and scared.

beyond everything, he's nervous. it's a foreign feeling for him, especially compared to the rage he'd been feeling just moments ago when he ended jeon hyeonu's life with cold blood. but he lies his eyes on jennie, and all murderous urges disappear from him—which is strange in itself, considering that the person standing in front of him is someone he's been chasing with an intention to kill for months now.

jennie ignores his question in favor of taking a step closer with furrowed brows and asking, "where are you coming back from?"

taehyung's mouth parts uselessly. but jennie doesn't even wait for an answer, already spitting out the next question.

"why is there blood on your cheek?" she asks. and when taehyung's features shift into something more stern, when he clenches his jaw and looks away, jennie lets out a shuddering breath. "what did you do?"

his tongue betrays him once again, tying itself into knots. he doesn't know how to say, i killed one of my own for you.

"taehyung," jennie whispers, stepping so close that he can smell the eucalyptus and spearmint essential oils of the shower gel she'd used. barely an arm's reach away. "what did you do?"

"what was right," taehyung says, unable to make himself look into jennie's eyes again, afraid of what he might see in the dark of her irises. "hyeonu won't bother you anymore."