Jimin's Pet | Park Jimin (a hybrid story)

^.^Fifteen~~

Hoseok~
I stood patiently in front of the mirror while Jimin queued up the music. Even though I tried not to, it was impossible not to look at Poppy standing alone in the center of the room, waiting.

Waiting for Jimin, my brain harshly pointed out to me.

I felt the light go out of my smile as it registered that this girl was not mine... would never be mine. If Jimin already had feelings for her, I couldn't even entertain the thought of being with her—ever. I tried to steer my mind away from any thoughts of her, other than as a little sister.

Leaning against the mirror, I waited while Jimin went to the center of the room and got into place, my stomach involuntarily clenching as he placed one hand against the small of her back.

While my insides fairly simmered with jealousy, I schooled my face into a look of disinterest and focused my mind on the subject at hand—dance. This wasn't going to be as easy as I thought it would be.

Poppy had already told me she didn't have any training as a dancer, so I couldn't imagine that this was going to amaze me. No offense to Poppy, but it took years of professional instruction to develop the kind of body control that made a dancer ready for competition. Jimin's chosen style of dance was so technical, I couldn't even imagine her being anywhere near the level he needed her to be. And Jimin had confided to me that he wanted to compete within the next year. I didn't understand how he thought this would work.

The music started and the two dancers started to move, slowly at first, but building in intensity with the music, their movements becoming increasingly more difficult. 

I straightened up and stepped away from the mirror, completely absorbed in watching them. My eyes momentarily closed in panic, anticipating a tragedy as Jimin swung Poppy through the air, the hard floor within inches of her face. But she landed gracefully on her feet, just as she was supposed to.

Everything that I loved about dance was happening right in front of me. They were perfectly in sync with one another. Their moves were both tightly controlled, but with the softness that comes with grace.

It only took one glance at Poppy to see she was every bit as lost in the moment as Jimin was. But there was something more... something that made me think Poppy, indeed, had a dancer's heart, even if she'd never had any training. It was the complete and utter joy on her face. Even though she had complained about coming to dance, that had all disappeared as soon as the music started. I could only describe the look on her face as euphoric. She practically floated around the practice room, and as much as I tried to close my heart... she had captivated me.

Jimin~   
The last notes of music faded away and the silence slowly brought me back into reality. My heart was pounding, not only from exertion, but also from the high I get from my drug of choice... dance.

I glanced over toward Poppy, who had dropped to the floor in a graceful heap. She slowly pulled herself up into a seated position, elbows leaning against her bent knees, chest heaving as she sucked in long gulps of air. I bent down to help her up and noticed a bead of sweat trickling down the side of her neck to her collarbone. Eying the low neckline of the camisole she wore, I grinned at the thought of where that tiny drop of moisture would eventually end up.

I had danced with many other partners, but with Poppy it was different. I couldn't judge on my own how we looked when we danced together, but I knew how it felt to dance with her. The only word I could come up with to describe it was otherworldly. She was the right one; I knew it in my soul.

Her eyes looked expectantly up into mine, hopeful that I was proud of her performance. And as I took her hands to pull her to her feet, I realized I wanted her as my partner in every way, not only as a dancer. Up until now, I had kept my feelings to myself, but I knew now she needed to know how I felt. I wanted her to know.

Pulling her closer, I said, "Poppy, I lo..."

Clap...clap... clap...

Both Poppy and I turned to where Hoseok stood, slowly clapping his hands.

"That was amazing... awesome... I can't even find the words to say how great that was. Poppy, are you sure you haven't had dance lessons?" Hoseok gushed over our dance routine.

Poppy shook her head, blushing, her tail swishing back and forth lazily. She loved to be praised, possibly even more than I did. Hoseok slid in between us and put his arms around each of our shoulders.

"I have a few ideas how we can make it even better," he said, looking at me. "It just needs tweaking a little bit."

Of all the dancers I knew, Hobi was the one who knew how to make a dance pop and grab your attention.

As soon as I nodded in agreement, he turned toward Poppy, "You and I are going to have to spend a lot of time in the practice room. Are you up for that?"

You and I? Why would she need to spend time in the dance room with Hobi?

My mind flashed back to that look in the car this morning that was just a little too long. I silently observed him now, pulling Poppy away from me. Hae was right; I was going to have to keep my eye on Hobi.