ODDS OF SURVIVAL - TAEKOOK

CHAPTERTHREE

It was ridiculous that he was actually feeling awkward right now, standing in Jungkook's parents' living room. 

It wasn't as though he and Jungkook were dating and he was meeting his parents for the first time. Though this would be a hell of a circumstance to meet them if they were. 

And it wasn't like there was any sort of established social etiquette to be observed in the case of—all right, he may as well admit they were zombies. 

Actual zombies. 

How the hell were there so many of them all of a sudden? Enough that things were already getting startling dystopian. Maybe he really should have been paying more attention to the news. 

He shifted the baseball bat Jungkook had handed him awkwardly. Never having been much of one for sports the weight of it was unfamiliar, but he was reasonably sure he'd be able to swing it effectively if necessary to defend himself.

Jungkook had been upstairs for several minutes now, and Taehyung was starting to get nervous he might not be coming back down.  He was also nervous to go up and check, though. 

If one of those things had killed Jungkook, or Jungkook had become one of them, it would be better for him not to go up there and draw attention to himself. 

But still...what if Jungkook needed help? 

He resolved to wait five more minutes, then go check. Until then, he just needed to stay calm. 

Five more minutes. 

He could manage for five minutes. 

Impulsively, he reached up to smooth his hair down to reinforce the outward appearance of "calm" and nearly gagged when he encountered the stiff, slightly tacky texture of drying blood. 

Okay, these five minutes were already off to a bad start.

To distract himself, he looked around and took in the trappings of Jungkook's childhood home.

The house was nice. Jungkook's parents were obviously well-off. No wonder Jungkook was so quick to destroy property; he probably had no concept of money or expense. 

What was that jackass doing working at a coffee shop, anyway?

Really he supposed he shouldn't complain about that, considering he'd be dead right now if Jungkook hadn't been slumming it in the customer service industry.

That insufferable, muscle-headed man-child. That entitled, melodramatic pain in the ass. 

Oh, good, he was feeling better already.

Thinking about how much he hated Jungkook always proved to be an oddly effective means of distracting himself from his worries.  Honestly, it was probably the only reason he hadn't fired him a long time ago. 

Arguing with Jungkook was always strangely satisfying, since Taehyung always felt like he had the upper hand. Jungkook seemed to lack the emotional control necessary to carry out a proper argument with words, so they usually ended when Taehyung made him angry enough that he stormed off or broke something, and Taehyung would consider it a victory. 

One small victory to temporarily quell the relentless stress of his life and constant anxiety regarding his future. 

It wasn't exactly a healthy coping mechanism, but it was something that kept him functioning.

This was all a mistake, though. He shouldn't be trusting his life to someone when they'd been antagonizing each other since they'd met. 

Jungkook may have saved him once, but odds were good his life would be in danger again and Jungkook might make a different decision.