Jimin
"Taehyung wait," Nox starts climbing off the table and sets her Converse covered feet on the ground. The remaining fragments of her warmth have started to cool down ever since she left in order to get to Taehyung. The surprised look in his eyes is burning in the back of my brain. I can't fathom how betrayed he must feel right now.
I get off the table as well, but Nox is already chasing after Taehyung in the hallway and I'm too far to listen to what they're saying. It's obvious that he didn't like what he saw thirty seconds ago. What the hell was I thinking, dancing with my best friend's girlfriend? I put my hands on her in ways that were meant to satisfy my own curiosity, in ways that I wanted because I wanted to see how she would react being touched by me. I wanted to see her enjoy it, despite knowing deep down that it's wrong.
God, I must be fucking wasted.
I can't do that to Taehyung, fuck.
He likes Nox a lot, why the hell did I act this way? What the hell has gotten into me?
And for fucks sake Nox was drunk too, so what does that make me?
She's going to hate me after this.
I remember when she texted me earlier, when she mentioned about something regarding Taehyung. She briefly implied that something happened between them, but then she said we would talk later since I was busy. Whatever it is that happened can't be good and I probably made matters worse.
I stride towards the hallway where I last saw Nox take off, when I spot the two talking near the kitchen.
"What the fuck was that Nox?" Taehyung snaps at her aggravated. "We have one goddamn argument and then you go mess around with my best friend?"
"That wasn't what it looked like Tae," Nox says and when she's about to open her mouth to proceed, Taehyung cuts her.
"So, what you're trying to say is that I didn't just see you dancing with another man who was running his fucking hands all over you?"
"No-I mean," she stammers. "Yes, we were dancing, we were having fun but it's not like that."
"I can't fucking believe you Nox." Taehyung snarls and Nox grabs his arm as an attempt to calm him down, but he snatches it away. They haven't noticed me standing there just yet and there's nothing I can do right now to lighten the situation. If anything, I'll infuriate Taehyung more.
"Would you please just listen to me?" Nox cries. "Nothing happened up there. We were only dancing. Just how we did when we were at the club."
"So, you'd let any guy touch you while dancing in a club?"
"Tae, he didn't fucking touch me like that okay?" She bursts. "I trust Jimin. He would never cross over the line."
Taehyung throws his head back and runs his hands through his dark hair. A hysterical throaty laugh escapes his mouth when he suddenly grits his teeth and locks his jaw.
His eyes drill straight through her, as he walks closer to her, backing her up against the wall. For the first time I see Nox cowering against someone and that's when she tilts her head slightly, only for her sweet green eyes to lock with mine. Her pink lips are agape, a pink flush blanketing her ears and cheeks. Her fists are clenched, and her knuckles are white.
He drives his fist to the wall, causing her to flinch and that's when I step in.
"Taehyung that's enough, you've had a lot to drink." I say as I drag him away from her, but Taehyung resists by forcefully pushing me away.
"Get the fuck away from me," He barks. "You think you're out in the clear you piece of trash?"
When Taehyung turns around, his dark eyes meet mine and his expression hardens.
"We will talk later." He says lowly. "This is between me and Nox."
"Fuck no. You're drunk and you're like a loose cannon now Tae-" I start, but then he interrupts me abruptly. He grabs me by the material of my shirt and pushes me against the wall. His nostrils flare and his breathing accelerates as he raises his fist to hit me when Nox immediately grabs his arm, in an attempt to stop him. She's quite strong as a woman and I can't help but stare in admiration as she twists his arm and with my help, we tackle him so that he doesn't do anything rash. Taehyung, on the other hand has a bigger built than both of us so he manages to shake us off almost effortlessly.
"I asked you to stay with me instead of going to the hospital. I saw it in your eyes that you couldn't handle it. You were on the verge of a breakdown, and I hated that I couldn't do anything to make it better. You had told me about the things that happened in Brimere Route. I never pushed you Nox." He says shakily, looking directly at her. "I never backed you into a corner, I never attempted to force you to talk about sensitive topics. And even when you told me about the collision with those drunk drivers from four years ago, you never told me you trusted me."
"Tae..."
"And now, here we are you're finally saying that you trust him." he finally concludes with a bitter smile on his face. "You could never trust me Nox could you?"
"Of course, I trust you Tae," Nox says. She reaches out to grab his hand, but he pulls away once again then looks away from both of us. Nox looks up at me with teary eyes; what I would do to wipe those glimmering liquid diamonds away from her face...
"Jimin, could you please go?" She asks sweetly. "This is a personal matter between me and Tae."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I retort.
"I can handle him." She says.
"I'm sure you can but-"
"Jimin, please," she begs me with her soft eyes. "I'll be fine, I promise. This has nothing to do with you."
I have no doubt that Nox will be able to handle the situation with caution, but Taehyung is the one who concerns me and more specifically, his actions.
He can be quite reckless when he loses it.
"If anything happens, I'll be outside." I tell her before making my way to the other room.
This isn't my place to speak.
And clearly, she doesn't want me to.
This is between them.
She isn't mine.
So, I take my leave without looking back.
"Whoever comes up with the best pick up line gets to win a date with this crazy bitch!" one of Cassie's old friends' shouts into the plethora of men in the back yard, and everyone cheers in response. A few guys take a few shots of moonshine while some aim for the jugular by going up to her and giving it their best shot. Only a handful guys came up with creative lines, but some other drunken bastards were acting sleazy and the shit they were telling her were borderline creepy. Some people were filming the entire scene, but I made to sure to keep a safe distance because the last thing I want to do is meddle around when this has nothing to do with me.
This has nothing to do with you.
The gravity of her words encumbers the flow of my thoughts. Her words are a harsh relentless cacophony I can't seem to put to a halt. My fist tightens into a fist to the picture of her steel jade gaze fixed on me, warning me to keep my distance. The silence that came after that giving me no room to protest because she knows I'll do exactly what she asks whenever she asks. I'm on my knees for her all the goddamn time, but she doesn't realize it. Ever since her abusive ex showed up at our apartment complex, I protected her against him. I defended her honor without her even having to ask. I saw the pain in her eyes, the endless torment that was like a storm having never met the calm. And maybe that's the problem right now; I care too much about what she has to say, because compared to back then, I acted solely on instinct. I let my intuition guide me when Elijah started banging at the fence, demanding to have a moment with Nox, whereas now, I take everything she says to me into consideration. And I can't help it.
I can't help but care about everything she tells me.
I want her to keep telling me things.
I don't want her to stop talking to me.
"I will sue you! Why, may you ask?" A guy suddenly says to Cassie. "Because you stole my heart."
"Aww, that's the sweetest thing a man has ever said to me!" Cassie pouts and I notice Namjoon get off the couch behind them. He shoves a guy away as he walks up to her. He doesn't get to her before a line of wasted jocks and frat boys bombard her with seemingly disturbing pickup lines. They trash him around and I can tell by the irritated expression on his face that he doesn't like that one bit.
"Are you a farmer? Because you sure know how to raise a cock."
"If I flip a coin, what are my chances of getting head?"
"Zero to none, pretty boy!" Cassie squeaks.
"Are you from Ireland?" Another guy asks, "because my dick be Dublin."
One of the frat boys approaches her with a shit eating grin. If I remember correctly, he's Hunter Andrews-Anderson or something. He's wearing nothing but gray sweatpants and it's November. The only reason I'm feeling warm is because of all the drinks I've downed but he's probably had a lot to drink since it's protocol to drink in a frat house.
"Let's play carpenter," he says in a husky voice. "First we'll get hammered. Then I'll nail you."
But Lexi simply laughs at him. "Did you look that one up?"
Hunter's arms fly around Cassie, and he attempts to drag her away from the crowd. He whispers something into her ear, but I can't tell because of the noise and the distance between us. His fingers trail up and down her shoulders and her face immediately falls, but for some reason she decides to go with the flow. Her brown eyes clash against mine and her mouth opens only slightly and yet she keeps quiet.
The fact that she remains silent is alarming. She isn't the type to let a guy boss her around, much less in a public setting. My gaze falls on Hunter's hands, that are like a vise around her shoulders, not allowing her any room to move or steer away from him; his nails are almost digging into her skin and judging from her quiet demeanor she clearly doesn't want to go anywhere with him. The rest of the guys in the crowd leave as soon as they realize that they won't be getting any, but I refuse to let her go this easily. Cassie isn't in her right mind to leave with him.
She whines and reaches for her cup on the table near the couch. Once, I finally reach them, I snatch the cup away from her hands and she peers up at me with wide liquid brown eyes that almost begged me to let her have one more drink.
Cassie has always been the fun-loving and adventurous type. She loves being on the edge of her seat and is the kind that really enjoys being the center of attention even if it is only for a short amount of time. But she always has established boundaries and lines she would never consider crossing. Usually when we hang out at public settings such as this, she's the one keeping an eye on me while allowing herself to blow off some steam.
Ever since James died, she tried to convince everyone around her that she's still the optimistic, bright girl who always loves being around people. Deep down, I knew that the façade she put on was nothing but a distraction. People were a distraction. The parties, the interactions, the drinks, and the narcotics helped soothe the pain she tried so hard to bury inside of her only for the wound to open more and more each day.
Which is why she was trying harder each time to relieve herself.
"Okay, that's enough," Namjoon snaps out of nowhere and that's when he pushes through not giving a flying fuck about the people around him. "What the fuck is this, Hunter?"
"Hey man, what's your problem?"
"My problem is that you're going after a woman who's drunk and in a vulnerable state."
"Yeah, well so are the thirty hammered dudes out here." Hunter states.
"You," he says to Cassie. "Get the hell away from here. Go sober up or something."
"I think that's up to her to decide Joon."
"I second that," Cassie slurs. "This isn't even about you, so why do you stick your nose in my business?"
This has nothing to do with you.
Why the hell is she defending him right now?
What in the ever-loving fuck is happening tonight?
"If you were sober, I couldn't give a shit if you wanted to fuck this guy." Namjoon grits. "But this is what he does, he prowls, targeting intoxicated girls and gets his way with them."
"What the hell are you saying? Are you making this shit up just because you're not getting any pussy tonight?" Hunter throws his head back and extends his hand to the nape of his neck when Namjoon goes up to him with a hard expression. "You should let her speak for herself instead of trying to paint me in a bad light."
"I think you should back off." I intervene. "Clearly you're in the wrong. You're both intoxicated, so let's just all forget about this and move on."
But all Hunter does is shrug, offering me a sly grin. "All I hear is the sound of you shutting the fuck up little man." He throws a semi playful semi provoking punch on my chest when he adds, "This has nothing to do with you."
"I suggest you leave her the fuck alone before-" Namjoon booms, tightening his fists.
That's when my body moves on its own accord. My hand shaped into a clenched fist automatically flies upwards, aiming for the condescending look on Hunter's face. The knuckles on my right hand collide with his left cheekbone; I can feel my fingers crack as I apply a considerable amount of force on one singular hit. I'm infuriated at the way he touched my friend and the way he looked at her like she was a piece of meat. I punch him again and again and he cowers, but I don't stop.
I don't want to stop.
This has nothing to do with you.
It might have absolutely nothing with me, but if I witness shit getting blown out of proportion, I will goddamn make sure I'll fix it.
I hear screaming, I can see the lights flashing from multiple cell phones, some people are cheering, girls encouraging me to continue with this brutality and I feel hot. A wave of adrenaline washes through me when I see Hunter cower like the pathetic excuse of a human that he is, against my punches, until his entire body curls and I strike him with my knee across the chest.
Who's a little man now?
"Jimin, calm the fuck down!" Namjoon yells at me. "Snap out of it dammit." He grabs me by the arm and drags me away from him.
"Fuck off" I grit as I shake him off. "Leave me alone."
Hunter coughs out and spits before wiping his nose with the roof of his palm only to find a crimson stain.
"You're a sick fuck." He spits blood on the ground before looking up at me with purple marks tainting his skin.
Good, his ego is as bruised as his shit face. That ought to teach him a lesson.
"Maybe I am." I say lowly.
"Everyone, get the fuck out. There's nothing to see here." Namjoon snaps aggravated. "Head back to the front yard. And you," he then glares at me. "Don't drink another fucking drop Park."
"Yeah, sure thing." I mutter, then decide that it's time for me to take off. Namjoon returns to Cassie and says something into her ear that I can't hear. She nods then they head back into the frat house. He wraps his jacket around her petite frame when her eyes clash against mine. I give her a nod signifying that she'll be alright with him, and she gives me a small assuring smile. I pace in the middle of the piss stinking yard with my car keys in hand.
As I make my way to my car, I catch a glimpse of Nox from the corner of my eye, holding Taehyung's hand in hers.