INTO THE WOODS - PJM

CHAPTER FOUR.

Looking around, you settle on which direction to go, even though every which way you look seems the exact same. You suddenly feel a sliver of insecurity coil in your stomach, and you begin to second guess your explorative desires. You don't want to lose sight of your little campsite in the midst of scouring for food and you don't even have a phone to call for help from if you venture too deep in the forest.

Your stomach grumbles in protest. You're hungry. When's the last time you ate? You can't seem to recall, but it certainly feels like forever ago. Biting your lip, you firmly decide that you are doing this for the greater good of feeding both you and Jimin. You absolutely refuse to die of starvation, no way.

You begin to march off into a random direction. Not even a few steps in, you hear loud shuffling behind you and you nearly jump two feet in the air at the startling sound. You freeze, no longer feeling very adventurous as you slowly turn around.

And, thankfully, it's just Jimin.

You visibly relax, letting out a small sigh of relief. You don't know why you've suddenly become so jumpy lately - maybe it's the way your nerves had been completely short circuited just the day prior, but you guess that's just what nature will do to an inexperienced, nonconsensual forest explorer such as yourself. The boy is sitting up now, looking around with glassy, bleary eyes. His gaze lands on you and he gives you what looks to be an uncharacteristic attempt at a small, sleepy smile when he notices the familiar oversized garment bundled around your figure.

You snort at the way one side of his hair sticks straight up, holding back a laugh in fear of offending him. Jimin takes a second to shake the grogginess off before getting up and stretching just as you had done a few minutes

before. His expression assumes its natural state of indifference as he adjusts his clothing and runs a hand through his locks to tame them.

He turns to you, brows creasing as he sees how far away you stand from him, practically at the tree line that circles the clearing in all directions. Jimin takes in your position; halted mid-step, torso twisted around to face him, and belongings all neatly tucked away in the small mini backpack you brought with you. He puts two and two together and tries to hide the searing embarrassment that blazes behind his brown eyes.

"...Were you leaving..?" Jimin's voice is quiet and distant, as if he's withdrawn into himself, sinking back into his shell. You are confused and for a few moments you don't respond, but soon come to the realization that the way he had caught you must have looked like you were leaving him to be left for dead in the middle of the forest.

Quickly, you make a move to try and dissolve the incredibly uncomfortable situation, before your lost-in-the-forest partner could convert back into his one-syllable-conversations snailhouse.

"No, of course not!"

You try your best to sound confident, convincing, and possibly not like a child who's been caught stealing candy. And although your posture would make it possible to think you were in fact leaving, the thought of Jimin assuming so drives pangs of shame and sadness through you. And apparently, it shows on your face.

Jimin's face, while he doesn't seem completely convinced yet, softens a bit at the expressions you're practically wearing for display, although you seem to be trying your best to unsuccessfully hide them. He was already used to people constantly shunning him, to say the least, so how could he have possibly expected you to stay with him all through a cold night, lost in the forest? You're clearly uncomfortable with being alone with him, otherwise you wouldn't try to secretly-

"Uhm... I was actually trying to go find us some, you know, food..."

His train of thought is abruptly cut short by your meek reply, and a silver lining of hope glistens on Jimin's horizon. Did you actually.. mean it? You were going to stay with him after all?

You, however, are praying to whatever higher deity out there Jimin won't laugh at you for this. You must look like a small child right now, wandering off desperately to in a forest you know nothing about or where to even find any source of nourishment. Suddenly, the forest floor becomes as interesting as never before, and you look down to overcome the embarrassment painted on your face as the air hangs still with no reply for what feels like a century to you.

You shyly glance up at Jimin again, feeling the overwhelming need to pull his sweater tighter around you until you completely disappear inside it. You nestle your face a bit deeper into the soft collar, hoping to hide the bright pink blush dusting your cheeks.

Jimin looks at you impassively, even though on the inside he feels like he's about to explode. He could tell you were telling the truth, and his heart jumps up to his throat when you cutely try to hide yourself inside his sweater. Wait, cute?

"Oh." he softly replies, quickly turning his head to avoid eye contact as he pretends to scratch an itch on his nose to obstruct his slowly flushing cheeks from view. What is he thinking all of a sudden? You're cute? Sure, he enjoyed basking in your company - so much more than he liked to admit - but crushing on you was just too absurd. You would never see him in that way; he was almost certain you wouldn't have looked twice at him if you weren't stuck being his cabinmate.

Jimin shakes his head and mentally squashes his feelings down, wilting his blossoming flower of affection towards you. He hasn't felt such pining for a long time; it's almost like his heart is slowly pumping to life the more he sticks around you. But he just can't seem to control it - there's an indescribable pull towards you and it seems to grow stronger by the hour.

"Maybe... Maybe we should try to find our way back. I really don't want to spend another night here." Your voice comes out quiet, at first, but it raises firmly when you point out your concerns. Jimin's gaze is centered elsewhere and he won't look up to meet your eyes no matter what you do. Slightly concerned, you frown, wallowing uncomfortably in the silence that plagues the air like a bad smell.

Then he speaks, finally, though somewhat hesitantly as if he wanted to say something else, "I might know a way back." Internally, you want to scream and jump for joy, just the mere thought of finally escaping this miserable forest making you instantly forget your earlier vexation. You keep it in though, save for the grin that sneaks across your face.

"Well, let's go then! What are we waiting for?" You're practically vibrating with excitement, itching to get back and take a nice, long, hot shower and change out of these dirty clothes. Jimin glances up at you, catching sight of the dazzling smile you shoot at him, the darling curve of your lips burning its image into his mind.

You motion for him to hurry up before you take off into the labyrinth of trees, your smaller form drowning in his jacket. The dark haired boy stands stiff in his spot, completely drunk off the ideas of you and him that swirl around in his mind.

The budding blossom in his gut gradually begins to sprout from its bed of hopeless desires and blistering fondness, its roots gliding along his ribcage and reaching deep within to take hostage of his tender heart. His bottom lip trembles and he can no longer negate the sentiment he holds for his roommate.

Jimin takes off after you, head ducking shyly as his athletic figure easily navigates over fallen logs and rocky slopes to catch up with you, the warmth in his chest never ceasing.

This feeling - he likes it. He really likes it.