INTO THE WOODS - PJM

CHAPTER THREE.

But for some reason, he feels that if he leads you out of the labyrinth of trees and back to camp, his time with you will be cut short and things will go back to you only talking to him because you have to. He didn't like the idea of that at all, and he hates the painful twinge of his heart when you aren't paying attention to only him.

How could Jimin pass this opportunity up? Simple; he can't. And he doesn't.

"I don't know." He replies after a few moments of silence and strongly resisting the urge to smirk at his scheme.

And just like that you are sent back into the dark spiral of unknowingness. You consciously breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth as calmly as possible with closed eyes, yet you wind up sucking in as much air as your lungs can hold in a shaky gasp just to cough it out half a second later as if it was laced with acid.

Watching your unsuccessful attempts at calming yourself down, Jimin feels his heart drop. Of course, he wanted to stay with you for as long as possible, but seeing you in a state like this was worse than not having the chance to spend possibly the day with you...

But what if there was a middle way? Could he spend time with you while also somehow leading the way back to camp? It sounded stupid, even in his head - how could he possibly pull off a stunt like that? Something had to go wrong, something had to happen and he just had to jump in and save the day. Glancing at your trembling form, he bites his lip and shuffles his foot in the sticks and leaves that blanket the forest floor.

And suddenly, there was an arm around your shoulder and a warm form wrapped around your own. You jump at the sudden contact, quickly zipping your lips closed before an embarrassing squeak could escape. Jimin's hands awkwardly pat your back while your face is squished against his chest. While the gentle embrace does distract you from your previous trauma, it instead replaces it with utter confusion and shock.

Was Jimin actually trying to comfort you right now? It was bad enough that you were lost in the woods with him, and now you have somehow broken him?

Clueless as to how to handle the situation you simply stand there, welcoming Jimin's awkward back-patting and admittedly nice warmth as a useful way of slowly calming yourself down. Your previously tensed muscles relax allowing you to just concentrate on the slight shifting of your head every time his chest inflates with breath.

Ten seconds and two awkward pats later he slowly peels away to step back a small pace and look at you.You feel slightly chilly at the missing feeling of warmth.

"They'll probably notice we're missing..."

The 'probably' drives a pang of insecurity through your heart, but you wipe it away quickly. You had already allowed yourself enough drama today.

"Yeah, you're right." You straighten your spine. "We'd best stay here, it'll make it easier to find us if we keep to one spot."

Jimin nods silently in agreement, his dark eyes scoping out the very green clearing. It was better than nothing; he'd have half a day sooner than none with you any time, little as it may be.

Meanwhile you shift uncomfortably on the spot. Lord knows how long you have to wait for someone from camp to notice two of so many participants missing.

Deciding to lean against the nearest tree, you carefully muster Jimin out of the corner of your eye, not wanting to be too obvious or creepy. He doesn't seem panicked at all, his face almost automatically re-assumes his usual passive expression.

You decide you'd just have to pass the time, so you slide down the tree trunk to a sit. Jimin hesitantly follows your example, seating himself across from you, and once again the most awkward of silences settles. Not that you're not used to it by now.

The summer heat is still sweltering, so you opt to fan yourself with your hands while you ponder on starting a scientific research on how it was possible for someone to survive these cooking temperatures dressed in several layers of black clothing, and even though you are dying of fluid-loss by sweat in the shadow of your tree Jimin barely seems affected in all his hooded glory.

You stare at him, sitting barely three feet across. He stares back at you. You both look away. No one says a word.

Maybe you should scratch your last will into the trunk of a tree in case you have too much time on your hands. You heave out a sigh, and the wind almost seems to mimic you when a light breeze ruffles the trees.

"I guess we'll have to uhm- pass the time somehow", he pokes aimlessly at a pile of leaves with a stick. "You know, until they find us..."

After stuttering out the words, Jimin has to strongly resist the urge to pat himself on the shoulder. He'd actually talked to you- by himself not to mention.

His voice is barely audible and some of the words got stuck in his throat, yet you have to keep your eyes from widening to the size of saucers. The most antisocial person you'd ever known just tried, even if poorly, to start a conversation with you, and considering you were literally deep into the woods you weren't one to miss a chance at possible human interaction.

"Yeah," you follow his example and look around the forest floor for a stick, "So uh, for how long have you been coming to this camp exactly...?"

Jimin runs a hand through his messy black hair. He doesn't answer right away, though he listens intently to every word.

━━━━━━━━━

It would be safe to say that your plan failed pretty epicly.

It's currently just past dusk, and still no sign of anyone beside you and Jimin.

Speaking of whom, to your great surprise he'd actually managed to start a small campfire inside a ring of stones he found somewhere off between the trees. When asking him where he'd learned it, he only scrutinized you for a moment before solemnly answering "Camp.".

You still sit across from him, only there's a fire between you now.

Jimin speaks up. "...You should sleep." You shoot him a quizzical look but his face stays passive as always.

"Yeah..." you mutter tiredly. "But what about you?"

He looks up at you in almost puzzled admiration. Not only had you just considered his existence, but you genuinely seemed to care cared for his well being- and he decides he likes it.

"I don't sleep much."

In any other circumstance his monotone replies would strain your nerves to infinity and beyond, but at the moment you're just too tired to care.

You bring your head down to rest on your folded hands and shift on the dry leaves, for what must be the twentieth time, before finding a mildly comfortable position without having any stick or root poke at your back and creating any more bruises than you already have from the less than enjoyable day you had gone through.

Yet, somehow, while laying in the middle of the fallen leaves and grass, with your back to the small pile of burning wood your not so antisocial cabin mate had somehow crafted, you couldn't help but quietly sigh in what seemed like content. You feel a certain tiredness surge through you, numbing your limbs as well as your senses, like that after spending a long day playing outside and climbing trees as a child.

In any other given moment it would seem crazy to think about a day lost in the woods as enjoyable, but as the small fire spreads warmth across your back it is the last thought that shoots through your mind before you become too weak to keep your eyelids from fluttering shut.

Just when your mind is about to go blank and give itself away to the sweet promise of sleep, you feel a soft fabric being placed over your torso in a blanket-like fashion, enveloping you with its comforting scent reminiscent of home. All your muscles relax and your conscious tiredly shuts down as you slowly descend into the welcoming arms of slumber.

Through your sleep hazy stupor, you hear Jimin rustling around a little bit away and, soon after, you think you can almost hear the familiar faint tapping of an electronic keyboard drifting through the comfortable silence.

But, this time, as you somewhat contentedly lay on your bed of itchy sticks and stones, you are strangely okay with it.