THIRD
The first week of classes after break runs relatively smoothly. Malia ignores Namjoon's presence yet he finds ways to still be in her vicinity.
One of them being going back to her suite with a person that gets doesn't even like.
Malia isn't surprised in the slightest when she gets out of the shower to find Namjoon on the living room couch.
Nothing's changed. He's still going to be in some girl's face. She rolls her eyes at the thought.
Before the basketball game tonight, her dance coaches did what she'd been dreading. They introduced Raeya Tate as the intern coach for the season.
Apparently, everybody on the team already knows her. She was the captain of the team her sophomore through senior year. According to everybody, she was a great dancer.
But never good enough to get them through finals. Malia thinks as she walks into her room.
With her towel wrapped around her, she walks to her dresser to grab her deodorant. She uncaps and rubs it under her armpits three times before calling it again. Her 'down, up, down' method has yet to fail her. Anything more than that, and she feels like it's too much under there.
"Malia?"
Her heart jumps at the sound of Namjoon's voice, startling her out of her thoughts.
"Oh my God. What do you want?" She asks, hand on her beating heart and eyebrows furrowed.
"Can we talk for a minute?"
"No, thank you."
"Please, Malia?"
"Talk about fucking what, Namjoon?"
"I don't want to be with her."
"Congratulations, a shocking revelation." Malia says sarcastically as she opens her dresser, grabbing a pair of panties and big t shirt.
"I'm serious."
"I hear you. Close my door so I can put my clothes on."
Namjoon steps into her room, closing the door behind him. She rolls her eyes. Of course, he'd do that instead of leaving.
"Things don't feel right with her, Malia."
"Tell it to God next time you step foot in a church." She dries her body off.
"I'm not comfortable talking to her."
"Then you never should've opened your mouth to begin with." She dries between her legs tossing the towel into the hamper.
"I know that." Namjoon says, frustrated. "I know. And I'm sorry. I'm trying to just figure things out and all I know right now is that I don't want to be with her. I want you, Malia."
"Funny way of showing it." She grabs the bottle of lotion, pumping it into her hands before rubbing them together.
"Will you stop with the snarky comments and level with me for a minute?"
"Level with you?" Malia says, appalled as she looks back at him. "I walked home for 30 minutes by myself! I don't care that Taehyung was following me! He's a problem, too."
"I tried calling you and texting you almost all night and you didn't answer me a single time."
"Why the hell would I? So you could tell me all about the wonderful night that you spent with your ex girlfriend? Be fucking for real, Namjoon."
"No, so I could've came to get you so you could've spent the night with me like originally planned."
"You really think that would've went over well with me?"
Namjoon stares at her, unsure of how to respond. The answer is 'no', plain and simple. But he also knows that if he could've at least gotten her alone with him to talk, he could've made things a little bit better.
None of what happened that night helped his case. And though she can't be blamed for leaving with somebody else instead of him, he's still pissed off about it.
"Exactly." Malia says when he doesn't respond. She continues to lotion her body and Namjoon sighs.
"Malia, I'm sorry."
"Will you shut up apologizing and actually do something about it? I'm so tired of hearing the apologies, seeing the apologies and nothing changes."
She feels stupid for even giving him an out for any of this. She feels like an idiot for a piece of her even still believing that they could be anything.
She feels ridiculous for still wanting him.
Malia throws on the shirt and puts her panties on.
"What do you want me to do?" Namjoon asks softly. "Hm? You want me to block her? Done. Leave Chloe alone? Done. I just want you to believe me, Malia."
"You literally got in here because of Chloe. Don't lie."
"It's not like you were gonna answer my texts to let me in."
"Yah, that's kinda the whole point. Didn't you ask for space?" Malia crosses her arms. "For time to figure things out? Did you get the closure you were wanting so badly?"
"Forget what I said. I don't care. I just want you." He takes a step toward her and grabs her by the waist. Malia glowers as she looks up at him.
"Please, Lia. Let me show you." His hands slide to her lower back as he pulls her closer.
"I can't trust you right now." She says quietly.
"Let me earn it back, baby. I will, I promise."
Malia has a hard time taking him seriously. He almost seems like he's begging just to be around her. And for what?
"....fine."
"Thank you." Namjoon fills with relief as he hugs her. Malia suddenly finds all of this to be very odd.
He doesn't look well at all. Like he hasn't been sleeping. She knows that he hasn't been eating very much. She heard Midas telling Tyrell that he was worried about him in the hall earlier.
And though he really may be struggling with his feelings for his ex, if they're affecting him this badly, she wonders if she should even bother at all.
But why won't he just leave me alone then?
Namjoon closes his eyes and exhales as Malia hugs him back. He knows how confusing this must feel for her. It isn't any better for him.
Initially, he thought that it'd be easier for him if Malia wasn't around while he figured his mind out. Turns out, he just feels even more out of his skin.
All that he can think about is Malia when she's not there. It's almost as if he craves her presence.
An emotionally confusing cry for help that not even he can decipher. A shameful plea for peace.
"Can we go to sleep?" Namjoon asks quietly.
Malia draws back and looks at him. He looks exhausted.
"Yeah. Come on." She gets into the bed and he lays beside her. She puts his head on his chest and he wraps his arm loosely around her.
With the weight of Malia on his chest, he feels much lighter than he has in the past couple of days.
They sleep until into the middle of the night.
As Malia stirs in her sleep, she rouses Namjoon from his. She hugs herself closer to him, further intertwining their legs. Namjoon rubs her back to soothe her.
He sleepily kisses her face and she exhales quietly through her nose. She tilts her head up and he feels her lips brush his. He kisses her softly, pulling her impossibly close.
Malia's hands find themselves under his shirt, feeling the softness of his skin as they kiss. She rubs her legs against his and he up rubs her thigh, squeezing a bit. She exhales shakily.
Namjoon' fingers slide between her folds and she whines quietly. He inserts a finger in her and feels her warmth around it. Inserting the second slowly, she feels the subtle stretch. Nothing that her body won't adapt to.
They stay close; feeling needy while the air is thick.
Namjoon presses kisses to Malia's forehead and temple as he makes her cum. She clings to him in the midst of their drowsiness, falling out again in her relaxed state.
Namjoon wraps his arms around her, pinning her to his body as his eyelids feel heavier.
++++++
"What's your problem?" Chloe asks as she stands in front of him with her arms crossed.
"I don't have one." He responds as he side steps her.
Chloe gestures to Malia's door, with the young woman sound asleep behind it. Namjoon was the first to wake this morning, having to use the bathroom and unable to hold it.
They have class in a little while and Namjoon figured he'd make Malia breakfast. Only to be interrupted by her obnoxious suite mate.
Namjoon looks at Malia's door and back to Chloe. "What?"
"You told me you weren't fucking her yet you keep coming around her. And I tried to text you last night and my number's blocked?"
"Yes, and because I'm not."
"Sooo-."
"Just stop." Namjoon groans, throwing his head back as he opens the fridge. "I don't care. Just stop, Chloe. Leave me alone. Please. For the love of God, just fucking stop."
"Excuse me?" She asks, in disbelief.
"You heard me. Your father can keep his goddamn sponsorship. If I have to put up with you to get it, I really don't care about it anymore."
"You literally need sponsors. That's the only way you're gonna make it anywhere as a college athlete. You think you're gonna make it to the league without one?"
"If you think your father's the only sponsor with pull, you're wrong. And if you think I can't get one by the time I really need one, you're wrong again. Get out of my face."
He reaches into the fridge and grabs the eggs and butter.
"You can't seriously be throwing away an entire sponsorship for her."
"I'm not. I'm doing it because I'm sick of you." He states bluntly. "And because of her. Watch out." He walks past her, bumping her arm because she doesn't move.
He walks into Malia's room and grabs her suite key before leaving. He jogs upstairs to his suite and takes the half gallon of buttermilk out before going back down.
When he re-enters, Chloe is no longer standing in the kitchen and he sighs through his nose as he starts making the pancakes.
He shakes his head in frustration, as his mind buzzes with anxiety. He really wishes that he didn't feel like this. He really wishes that he could just forget it all, let everything go.
But he's having a hard time doing it. The only sense of relief that he gets is when he's with Malia. He doesn't have to do anything but just be with her.
When Malia finally wakes up, she's still exhausted somehow. She feels like she didn't get enough sleep at all.
"Good morning." Namjoon greets her as she walks into the kitchen.
"G'morning." She rubs her eye and yawns. "What are you making?"
"Pancakes and eggs. Neither of us have sausages."
"That's okay. Thank you."
Namjoon turns to face her as she leans against the fridge.
"How are you feeling?" He asks.
She shrugs. "How are you feeling?"
Namjoon also kind of shrugs.
"I just want to be with you all day." He wraps his arms around her.
"Well, we can't do that." She says softly. "We've got class."
"Yeah, I know." He pecks her lips gently. "I'm just saying. I'm still a little tired."
"Me too." Malia admits. "I think I'm gonna get a Red Bull or something before class."
"Then I'll just come back here and we can take a nap before practice."
Malia really feels like they should have a conversation, but with the way Namjoon is clinging to her, she doesn't know how to approach it.
All she's ever wanted was for him to like her, to reciprocate what she felt for him.
"Okay." She says quietly.
He pulls her flush against him and she hugs him back. Namjoon has so much that he wants to say to her. He just can't find the words to do so.
He doesn't know where to start. Or how.
Because that would mean acknowledging it. And he doesn't want to do that, either.
++++++
That idea of Malia grabbing an energy drink both works and doesn't work. She doesn't drink the entire can, just a third.
Sitting in her third class of the day, her leg hasn't stopped bouncing as she tries to keep herself awake.
The guy next to her notices her anxious state and taps her. She looks to the side.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm just trying to keep myself awake." She rubs her face and huffs.
"They've got some espresso drinks in the cafe. They come in cans. They have regular energy drinks, too."
"Energy drinks are too much for me." She shakes her head. "I'll probably get the espresso one. What flavors do they come in?"
"Mocha something and caramel frappe... something." He says confidently.
Malia giggles and he smiles at her. The buzzer goes off and he offers to show her where the cafe is. They walk there together.
"LiaLia!" Midas calls her name and she turns to look at him. "You seen Camryn?"
"She should be on her way back. She went to her suite to grab a textbook that she needed."
"Oohhh. Okay." He starts walking to his fourth class and Malia turns to keep walking with her classmate.
"I'm Xavier by the way."
"Malia." She says as she sticks her hand out. He shakes it with a smile on his face.
"I didn't expect that to be so formal."
"I'm usually not. I don't know why I just did that." She says and they laugh.
Chloe raises a brow at the sight of Malia with Xavier. She leans against Namjoon and he looks down at her.
"Look." She gestures her head in their direction and Namjoon looks over. He watches them as he stands with Tyrell and Jay in the hall.
Namjoon's brows dip for a moment, pulling together at the sight of them. He sees the smile that's on Xavier's face and that makes his skin crawl. He doesn't like him.
Malia is single, after all. Yet, it still pisses him off.
She looks over to her friends with a wave, faltering at the sight of Chloe leaning against Namjoon. She puts her hand down and looks away, hooking her thumbs on the straps of her bag.
In her fifth and final class, Malia sits with her cold espresso drink on her desk. She didn't crack it open until the middle of last block and she's only been taking sips. It's working without her having to chug it. And it tastes good.
"The hell is that?" Namjoon sits next to her and points to the can.
"I think espresso with just flavoring. It's working better for me than Red Bull."
"Where you find that at?"
"One of my classmates showed me where they were. He drinks them, too."
"That dude you were walking with earlier?"
Malia nods as she pulls out her materials. "His name is Xavier. He's really nice, I like him."
"Mm." Namjoon hums as he takes his stuff out.
The rest of the class is spent taking notes and asking questions along the way. Malia and Namjoon don't say much else to each other. When they leave the classroom, he tells her that he'll see her at practice later.
"But I thought we were going to nap together?" She stops walking as she looks at him.
"Changed my mind." He says as walks away with a forced neutral expression.
Malia stares after him for a moment before walking back to her suite. She doesn't know why he has an attitude all of a sudden.
She walks back to her suite and Xavier texts her about hanging out. She debates with herself and decides that her safest option is to tell him that they can go out for lunch or something.
He agrees to that. Lunch and then an activity of her choice. If she can't think of anything, he says that he knows some places around that they could go to. There's an indoor trampoline place and an arcade if she's into stuff like that.
They agree to go to the trampoline place and Malia feels content with that. She's made a new friend.
She changes for practice and then, reluctantly, heads to the gym. On her way there, she checks her Instagram. Xavier followed her so she follows him back. They text back and forth until she gets to practice.
She lets him know that she'll text him after if it's not too late then starts stretching. She's dreading this practice. She wishes she didn't have to attend a single one until next year.
Just to avoid Raeya.
"LiaLiaaaa." Kaia calls her and she looks at her. "What you so frowny for over there?"
The question calls the attention of Camryn and Taija.
Malia tries to force it away with no luck. "What are you talking about?"
She looks around the gym and sighs subtly through her nose as the coaches walk over with Raeya.
"You look pissed. Wanna talk about it?"
"Not really." She mumbles.
Almost everyone on the team, with the exception of her, knew who Raeya was when she was introduced. They were shocked that Malia didn't. They were practically fangirling about her being their intern coach.
"Alright, ladies! Good to see you, hope you enjoyed your vacation. But it's time to get back to business now." Coach Tammy says to the group. "With that being said, Raeya is going to run the practices from here on out. We'll pop in for some of them but mostly, we're going to be letting her run the show as we mentor her."
"So you won't be in here at all?" One of the dancers asks.
"Not much. We'll be at the games, of course but we know Raeya's got this." Coach Netta vouches.
Malia's heart thuds in her chest, adrenaline pushing through her veins and all she hears is the rush of blood in her ears.
"It's Malia and Camryn's week to come up with a dance so we don't have to worry about that until it's finalized. You'll run it by coach Raeya for review, alright? Y'all ready?"
The team gets into their positions before the music starts. Malia looks over to the basketball team, knowing that they always watch them, and gets anxious.
"They really getting clean over there. Look at Taija and Kaia." Hakeem says as the team starts to dance and the guys agree.
"Lia too, though. She nice with it. Look at her and Cam." Ty says and Midas beams.
"That's my baby."
Hakeem and Jay clown him while Namjoon watches Malia. She really does deserve the title that she was given.
He notices the three bodies in front of the team and makes eye contact with Raeya. He quickly looks away as his coach blows his whistle.
"Fall out, boys!" He calls as he claps.
The guys start their practice, checking up and going over court positions. Halfway through, they take a water break as their coach goes over some new plays.
When practice is done for both teams, Namjoon takes his sweet time in the locker room. Usually, he's one of the first people ready but this time, he waits for both Midas and Tyrell. They leave the locker room together and he's relieved to see that the dance team is already outside and mostly dispersed.
He notices Raeya talking to one of the girls. She sees him and stares at him, looking as if she's going to say something. She then looks to either side of him, seeing Tyrell and Midas with him.
She exhales heavily through her nose before looking back to the dancer she's talking to. She quickly wraps up their conversation and walks to her car, pulling the door open.
Namjoon's heart beats rapidly in his chest as he and they guys approach their friends.
Malia walks off, heading back to her suite. She has homework to do and she's also crashing.
"What you doing tomorrow?" Namjoon asks as he walks with her.
"I'm hanging out with a friend. Why?" She looks at him and he side eyes her.
"With who?" He can only wonder because if it were any of the girls, she would have just said their names.
"Xavier."
Namjoon takes a deep breath and huffs. "At your suite?"
"Why does that matter?"
"Because we just dealt with this shit. How do you know he not just tryna have sex with you, Malia?" He stops walking and looks at her.
"Guess we'll find out, won't we?" She continues to walk and he scoffs.
"Don't make me have to fight."
"For what?"
"Because you playing with me."
"So you can have friends but I can't?" She looks at him and he narrows his eye at her.
"Do what you want, Malia."
"I'm going to anyway." She puts her hand on the door handle to the suite and Namjoon grabs her to kiss her.
She gets butterflies and rolls her eyes.
"I'll see you in the morning." He says as he walks upstairs.
"Mm hm." She says as she walks into her suite. She gets in her room and lays on her bed and groans.
Why can't she shake this man?
++++++
"Okay, so let me get this straight. You have three siblings. One of them is in the military, one of them is in jail, and the other one is in college?"
Xavier just ran down how annoying his siblings are. They're at the cafe part of the trampoline park. They met there at 2 and it's now 4. They jumped around for a couple hours, jumped into the foam pit that Xavier had to help her out of and played basketball.
"Yeah. My dad was getting busy." Xavier says and Malia laughs. "What about you?"
"Only child."
"What?" Xavier blinks at her. "I don't know if I'm envious or if I feel bad for you. You don't get bored at home?"
"I do sometimes. But my parents and I are close and my best friend keeps me company."
"No boyfriend? Shocking." He fake gasps and Malia rolls her eyes playfully.
"Boys get on my nerves. I'm sick of them."
"Girls are annoying as hell too, though." Xavier makes a face.
"It sounds like you're speaking from experience, sir."
"I am, ma'am."
"Malia! Xavier!" The guy at the window calls their names to get their food. They get up to get it and then continue their conversation.
"It's probably your fault. Girls aren't annoying for nothing."
"Aht. No. That's a lie. I didn't even do anything in my last relationship. She was the one cheating on me. Annoying as hell."
"Awe man. You hurt, huh?" Malia jokes and Xavier looks at her trying to fight his laugh.
"You know what? You funny as hell, Malia." He says as he laughs and sips his drink.
"Funny as hell."
A|N
++ I couldn't wait to introduce my man 🤭 His timeline with Lia with be a little different. You'll see if you've read the original. Thoughts?! Leave 'em heeerrree
XAVIER TORRES