(JIKOOK) Texting Story Snippets

Straightforward

The younger huffs, but a smirk lightens his grim expression. Taehyung squares his shoulders, sitting up slightly in his chair. "Tell him I'll fight him if tries to mess with you. Tell him to leave you alone, you're an angel."

"Tae-" Jimin cringes at the compliment, the pitch of his voice rising as he chastises the other.

The atmosphere seems to change for a moment, their small laughs filling a quiet night with the gentle sound of everything being okay. It's alright, as long as they all stay together. Taehyung wants to make it stay, but his curiosity calls for another question. It breaks the silence, the words that pass his lips. "How did you know I was mad at you? Did Jungkookie tell you before?"

Jimin shakes his head. "No. You glared at me." It was simple as noticing the absence of a spark in Taehyung's eyes, the missing hug he wasn't embraced with, the slight pout on the youngers lips.

"Ah." Taehyung nods.

Jimin wants to give in to the fear inside his belly that tells him to leave this conversation as it is. Taehyung wouldn't mind, he would understand. He watches the side of the youngers down turned face and sighs. "Tae?" He should tell him, it's only fair. Taehyung deserves to understand him, so that if there's even the slightest chance the boy could think he left because of him it can disappear.

"Maybe we should go inside. Hobi missed you a lot, but I might have influenced him badly. He probably needs a hug." With his chestnut colored bangs tickling his forehead before he swoops them back with his fingers, Taehyung smiles awkwardly. His heart beats off key.

"S-sure, but I think-" Jimin tries to keep going, continuing with his heart still on his sleeve.

Taehyung chuckles. "We've been out here for a while, everyone is probably worried."

At this point it's obvious that the other is uncomfortable. Does he not want to hear the truth? Jimin wants to give into the relief of keeping it secret, but the wounding of his heart begs him to let it out. "Taehyung."

"I-" The younger assaults his bottom lip with his teeth. "You don't have to say it, because I can only imagine how hard you're trying to be brave enough just to say what it is."

Taehyung's words sound cryptic somehow. "What do you mean?" He tilts his head, swiveling in his seat to face the other more directly.

Maybe if Taehyung didn't know Jimin like the back of his hand, maybe then would he not be able to see the story the boys sad eyes tell. The only answer he can obtain for not seeing the truth in Jimin's stare before lies within the smallers capabilities. Jimin is good at hiding what hurts, keeping the misfortune of his pain from his eyes, masking it with a false happy. Taehyung can see it clearly now, but of course knowing what might have happened to Jimin doesn't make him eager to hear it spoken. "I don't know." The younger speaks, teeth nervously grinding together during a pause. "I don't really know anything, it's just a guess, but I don't want to hear you say what I think you might say."

Jimin's head shakes slightly, a combination of surprise and confusion making him lean a little farther back into his chair. "What do you think I'll say?" He asks, hints of amusement contaminating his tone. He can't help but feel eager to hear what Taehyung has to say now.

This time, the silence Taehyung offers is not welcomed. He can see how anxious Jimin is for his response, and it makes him trust his own instincts further. The smaller is reluctant to say what hurt him, and with what Taehyung can figure out himself through simply piecing together timelines and probabilities, he's confident in his answer by the time the words gain freedom from his lips. "That man hurt you." He says clearly into the rising tension, into the cloud that covers their hearts with a layer of fear and depression.

The older boys lips part, mind numbing suddenly and he can't understand why. His thoughts freeze, but somehow a name still forms on his tongue. "Y-Yugyeom?"

He's right, he knows he's right. Taehyung sighs, because Jimin's question translates directly into confirmation. "Yeah, the one that took you." He feels Jimin's hand tighten around his own before their fingers weave together. Taehyung dares a glance at the others side profile, noticing the boys eyes closed, lips tight lined, forehead wrinkled with an expression so deeply rooted in agony it nearly cripples the youngers heart to see. "You've been different since you came back from that." He finishes gently.

Jimin fills his lungs with fresh air, letting the fragrance of home filter through his senses and take over his mind. He lets the blanket emotion of safe that derives from the scent trickle into the blazing fire of hurt that wreaks havoc inside his head. If Jungkook could be beside him, the bad thoughts wouldn't stand a chance anymore. But, in a moment of needed self assurance, Jimin puts up a good fight against the monster that is his anxiety and his fear, the lying tales of his insecurities that awful man made worse by taking away his feeling of worth. "He did." Jimin whispers, exhaling audibly.

Taehyung nods, despite knowing the other can't see him. "He hurt you?"

"Yeah."

"Physically."

Jimin's heart lurches painfully, Taehyung's inquiries hurting even more than he anticipated they could. He stiffens his jaw and musters the strength enough to hold back the sting of tears in his eyes. "Yes." Jimin says sharply, straightforward.

"Was it what I'm thinking it was?"

Another question that almost calls for a roll of Jimin's eyes. He sighs softly, aware of the way his confession could be making Taehyung feel. He can't let his own emotions run away from him again, for not only his friends sake now, but for himself. Jimin knows that he's made a mess of things and he intends to fix them. With a softened expression now, Jimin replies, "I can't read your mind, TaeTae.".

He shouldn't ask anything more. Taehyung knows what the truth is now, he can see it as if it were words written inside of Jimin's irises. He doesn't ask another question, he says the truth, what he believes to be the truth, so that maybe the smaller won't have to. "He assaulted you."

"He raped me." Jimin fires back immediately, and the words feel like bags of lead lifting off of his chest. He breaths in deeply to calm the chaotic nature of his nerves reacting to the exposure, fear trying it's best to climb up his throat again. Feeling everything from relief to pure terror all at once leaves Jimin's body covered in goosebumps, heart racing even as he tries to breath his way out of an oncoming wave of panic. Why did he just say that so carelessly?

Taehyung hates being right about terrible things, he's always hated it. But he's never hated it more than he does in this moment. Remembering how Hoseok once described the fear he witnessed in Jimin's eyes whilst the smaller boy lost his breath, the same night that he ran away, Taehyung worries Jimin might panic and his own heart starts to beat fast over the thought of it. He shakes his head, releasing Jimin's hand that he holds to instead rub soothing circles on his back. He groans. "Jiminie, I didn't want you to say it."

-///-

A/N: I don't know why I can't make anything simple heh.. I'm sorry this took so long, I've had everything from internet problems to family issues come between me and writing this out ahhh TT

One more angsty chapter and we'll start getting to happier places, I promise 😊 Thank you for your encouraging comments my loves, you don't know how much I need them to keep going sometimes. I tend to have some insecurities of my own, to be honest, especially about this story and how it's being perceived. I've become really attached to it and I'm trying my best to do it justice.

I hope you all are doing well and I hope that you always feel happy and loved! I love you so much~ 💕 Thank you for giving me so much happiness. Thank you for being here.