Hope ~ Taekook

had to look up something weird for this chapter First Person to guess what wins

Tae woke up again around noon and headed back downstairs. Even with the living room door just a couple inches opened he could hear furious voices arguing from the kitchen. He put an ear to the crack and held his breath, straining to make out the words.

"God dammit Jimin, can you please sit down?"

"I won't!" Jimin shot back. If Jungkook hadn't said his name already, Tae wouldn't have recognized Jimin's voice. It was twisted with anger and something else he couldn't recognize, something he had never heard from the boy before. "How could you let this happen? You said you don't even talk to them anymore."

"And I don't! Jimin you know they are still after me... what am I supposed to do?"

"The same as I did, Jungkook! Cut all ties, leave them behind... let Yoongi go. Hey!"

There was a hard thud as bodies hit the wall, and Taehyung took advantage of the struggle to slip into the living room. He closed the door as quietly as he could, and luckily the kitchen door was closed.

"I told you they are hunting me down! And look what he did to me.... I can't... I can't Jimin. I won't... but I have to... Maybe if I go back now they'll forgive me, take me back in. Or else he'll kill me as soon as he gets the chance!"

"Oh, shut up!" Jimin said "You're not going anywhere. But Taehyung might, after you came home like that last night. What must he be thinking of us now."

"You think this was the first time that boy has seen someone beat up like that? Look at the way he treated my wounds, he did it better than you have ever done it."

They were quiet for some time. Tae looked over his shoulder, wondering if he should quickly slip back upstairs before the other two boys noticed him. He didn't know what was going on, but it had to be awful if it was able to set both, Jungkook and Jimin, off like that.

Tae didn't have time to make a choice because only seconds later Jimin was walking into the living room. He stopped as he noticed the other boy.

"Taehyung?"

Just a few moments later Jungkook appeared in the doorframe, his face showcasing even brighter blues and purples than the night before. Jimin opened his mouth, then took his cue from Jungkook's silence and decided not to say anything. Both were looking at Taehyung with their eyebrows raised, waiting for him to explain himself.

"You're home early." He said instead, glancing back at Jimin. Jungkook wasn't even looking at Tae anymore, maybe already knowing he wouldn't get an answer.

"He knows that I am paying his rent." The red head said to Jimin. "He opened the letter for the rent increase."

Taehyung considered saying something, but Jungkook already rushed past him, only shooting him a cold glance. The back door banged shut behind him, leaving Tae and Jimin in an uncomfortable silence.

"Okay..." Jimin said, sounding uncharacteristically hesitant. "Have you spoken to Jungkook about it yet?"

"Not really. He was not really in the state to talk much last night." Tae answered.

The other boy weighed that for a second, then sighed and said, "Fair enough."

Taehyung ignored that, but Jimin spoke up again, "Don't push him, though. He will come to you when he feels the time is right."

There was a slight pause before Tae left the living room. He silently walked back upstairs to his room and sat on the bed, his duffel on the ground to his feet. The bag was the perfect size to fit everything he owned, and it didn't take Tae long to pack everything in it. Now that the drawers were unfilled and the bed side table bare, he realized how empty and cold the room had been the whole time. Him spending a month with Jimin and Jungkook didn't change anything at all, the same barren room than before, the same barren room as in that exact moment. How could it affect him so much, even though his presence had no effect at all?

There was only one thing left to do. Tae's stomach churned a little with nerves as he fiddled the key out of his pocket and carefully put it on the bedside table. He had cherished the key to this house and carried it with him wherever he went, so the missing weight in his jacket pocket gave him shudders. As a child he never had a key, never had the ability to go wherever he wanted whenever he wanted. His parents always had a tight grip around his neck.

Taehyung pushed those thoughts aside and hurried out of his room down the hall. His hand trailed over the banister of the stairs and lingered a little longer as he stopped on the last step. Jimin nor Jungkook were anywhere in sight so Tae slipped through the front door and pushed it shut without looking back.

His walk quickly sped up to a jog and by the time he was out of their street he was running. He left the house and his roommates and their too-good promises behind him, but the weight of his filled duffel bag felt like an anchor around his neck.

Since it was a Sunday the store was closed and unlocking the door and walking inside felt more wrong than like coming home. Tae walked straight towards the back but stopped in the doorway. Everything was the same as he had left it behind last Friday. Usually the mattress and everything around it was a mess by the end of the weekend. It took work to finally walk into the room but finally he pried is bag loose and dropped it in front of him. He unzipped it in one long move but then left it standing there, opened but untouched. Tae slowly retreated and stormed through the store front outside away from the busy street.

It had been a while since he was in this area of the city, but the run did nothing to calm the restless anxiety gnawing at his stomach. He reached the store in worse spirits than he'd left with. And his mood even worsened as he saw who was standing right in front it.

A/N not my fave chapter, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated

have a nice day or night or anything in between

:)