"'Cause you see, lately something's changed in my mind. Seems the fire within me has died. I'm a stranger to myself, I don't want to feel this way..."
~Lonely-2NE1
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He heard another thump from the direction of her room. Before that had seemed like just her being annoyed, but now he wondered if she was okay. He took the copy of his document and folded it and put it in his pocket, then he went to Kyung-mi's door, knocking lightly.
It was quiet, she didn't answer, "Kyung-mi? It...It's Taehyung..."
Kyung-mi screamed, "What do you want?! I said I was sorry! Don't talk to me!" Then something else hit the door, hard, and it scared Taehyung away from the door.
"I...I forgive you..." He didn't entirely. If they fed you pills too, why'd you force them on me? You know what it's like. But he wondered if he could blame her anymore, if she was bipolar, then didn't that mean she tended to do things she didn't especially mean? Things she regretted later? He walked back to the door, turning the doorknob, opening it a little, Kyung-mi threw something else and he closed the door.
"Go away! You crazy bastard!" She threw something else at the door, "Just go...Mom's waiting, right? Mom wants to shower you with love and hugs and presents, right?! Don't keep her waiting, Murderer!"
Taehyung took a step back away from the door. Don't call me that, don't... Kyung-mi wasn't going to listen. But he said it anyway. "She... loves you more then she loves me..."
After a second, her door cracked open, but Kyung-mi wasn't at eye-level, kneeling on the floor and staring at him, head tilted to the side slightly. She was completely still, it didn't even look like she was breathing, she only blinked. Her hair was a mess, frizzed out everywhere, mascara running down her face, she looked furious with him.
"Then why isn't she the one knocking? Why isn't she here asking me how I am?" Kyung-mi asked flatly.
Taehyung chewed his lip. I don't know. Maybe she just hadn't noticed yet, maybe she was about to and he beat her to it. There must be some reason.
"Taehyung! Come on!" Jimin yelled from downstairs. "We've got to walk there!"
Taehyung stood there trying to see what she must be thinking. It was entirely possible that she wasn't all that sick, Residual Schizophrenia sounded like it wasn't quite as bad as it could be, not as full on, more of just traces.
Kyung-mi frowned. "Leave, then. Go, get out. Go with my dumb brother and have fun." She said, squinting at him. "Beat it."
Taehyung swallowed, then looked at her once more before making his way down the hallway. Kyung-mi hated him, he wasn't sure why he would have thought for a second that if she was hurting, he could help. She hates me. She wants me gone.
When he started going down the stairs, he saw Jungkook waiting at the bottom, wearing dark jeans, and a plain white shirt under a dark blue jean jacket, his hands in his jacket pockets. He smiled that gummy smile of his when Taehyung came down.
"How've you been, hyung?" Jungkook asked, rubbing Taehyung's shoulder when he came down the stairs. Jungkook didn't let him answer before groaning. "The things they're saying about you at school, Ugh..." He grimaced.
Right, they're calling me a pervert and some kind of playboy. Taehyung shrugged.
"But Hana taught me some sign language, I could teach you a bit too?" Jungkook offered, giving Taehyung a slight smile.
Taehyung looked up. "R-really?" He wanted to be able to understand her more then anything, he wanted to be able to 'speak' to her, to actually be able to talk with her. In reality, he barely knew Hana, he didn't know her favorite anything, didn't know what she liked, what she didn't like, if she had a brother, a sister, a dog--he couldn't have said more then a few sentences to her.
Jimin threw his arms up in frustration. "Kookie! You can teach him later! Come on, let's go!"
"Hyung, calm down, it's not like the store is going anywhere." He sighed then said to Taehyung. "I'll show you later, when Jimin calms his overly excited self down."
Jimin rolled his eyes.
~~~
After getting hair dye, they all sat in a café, sipping iced coffee, topped with whipped cream, and caramel, and chocolate, and strawberry syrup. Taehyung was the only one who didn't insist on all the toppings, only getting whipped cream and caramel.
At first they had wanted to sit outside, but it was getting kind of cold and the iced coffee would have only made it worse. And it was nice inside, the café had a cozy feeling to it, the chairs a thick oak, there was a few cushy sofas too, over by the corners and the entrance, the tables felt like they were from someone's house, nice, worn wood, polished and glossy with wood finish, but having a few chips at the edges. There was music playing in the background, kind of quiet, but loud enough to hear.
Around them, a few other people sat at tables, some of them alone with textbooks or laptops, others with friends, giggling and telling stories, and others still that were having quiet discussions.
Jimin giggled as Jungkook told some story about his little sister, and Taehyung quietly sipped his coffee through the clear straw in the drink, watching the coffee go up the vacuum.
"TaeTae, what about you?" Jimin asked.
He blinked, then licked a bit of whipped cream off his lips. "Huh?" He wasn't listening at all, and he hated the noise he made without thinking.
"I was asking if you feel as sugar-high as I do." Jungkook said, then he crossed his arms on the table and rested his head on them. "I have such a buzz going on right now, I could scale the walls."
"Ah..." Taehyung started, thinking about it for a second. "No."
Jungkook looked to the side at Taehyung, still resting his head on his arms. "Hyung, your coffee isn't loaded with sugar." Then Jungkook groaned. "Speaking of sugar, I'm going to rant about major PDA between Jae-hwa and her boyfriend. After school gets out, they are always right outside the building, literally just right outside, and I swear, he has his hand f*cking up her shirt and no one says a thing, not one thing. Like everyone walks by and goes on with their day, right?"
"Of course they do, Jae-hwa's got sh*t on everyone." Jimin said, sipping his coffee.
Jungkook bit his lip for a second, and Taehyung saw a fair amount of hesitation in his face. "Okay, yeah, but you'd think the guy was invisible, like, not one teacher sees him hanging out outside everyday? It's kind of disturbing that they let an expelled student just hang around, I know school policy, he's not allowed on the grounds."
"He was allowed enough to beat me up and get away with it." Jimin shrugged. "She probably has one or two things on the teachers, or maybe they're just scared of the guy, he's intimidating."
Taehyung went back to sipping the iced coffee. He wondered if that meant that if he started ignoring Jae-hwa, that her boyfriend would do something. I don't want to pick fights. I won't win. I won't try to win. I won't hurt anyone ever again.
Jimin took out his phone. "Sh*t, four missed calls from mom. Hold up, let me call her."
Jimin called his mom back, holding the phone to his ear. "What's up, mom?" He asked after a second. "Yeah, we're just at the coffee shop...Yeah....No, I haven't....What?" Jimin froze. "What is that supposed to mean? ... Well why do you--? Okay, okay, mom, I get it."
He hung up and sighed, putting the phone on the table. Taehyung didn't like the feeling he was getting. This is about her, it has to be.
"What's up?" Jungkook asked.
Jimin took a deep breath, taking off his snapback to run a hand through his hair. "Kyung-mi started a bonfire in the house."
Taehyung's eyes widened and he stopped sipping the coffee. A fire? Kyung-mi, please don't be trying to... Don't do that, don't try to do that. He heard Jungkook choke on whipped cream and chocolate. Don't hurt yourself over this, Kyung-mi, not over me.
Taehyung had felt terrible when he was alone, and he may have rammed himself into that padded door countless times trying to get out, wishing someone would come get him, but that had gotten him nowhere but strapped down, or restrained in someway. There were days he wondered why he was born, if it would matter at all if he wasn't.
If Kyung-mi felt like that, and it was his fault, that somehow she felt like no one loved her, he couldn't forgive himself. He knew what it felt like, that was what every day felt like to him. He wouldn't wish it on anybody.
"Is she...okay?" Taehyung asked slowly.
Jimin shrugged. "I hope. Mom didn't say, she just asked us to come back to help clean the place up while she tries to calm her down, she's apparently still very angry at mom for a number of things."
One of them being me.
"...Want me to come and help?" Jungkook asked tentatively. "Did she say how much of a mess it is?"
"No, just that she wants us over there. You don't have to come if you don't want, Kookie, I know it's a drag."
Jungkook shook his head, "No, it's fine, hyung, I don't mind." Then he stood up, pushing the chair back with a screech against the wood floors.
Taehyung watched Jimin get up too, and Taehyung followed suit. Jimin rubbed at his eyes absently. "Prepare for a lot of yelling and screaming and name calling then."
As they left the coffee shop, Taehyung wondered what it was about him that Kyung-mi didn't like so much, why it was that she thought that Mrs. Park had stopped loving her.
Why does she think that I'm taking her place?
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A/N: Heeeello~ how've you been?
I want everyone to notice I still haven't really for sure put what color they're dying Taehyung's hair :3 The reason is simple~ I don't know, I can't decide. I'm between Orange and Purple, because those are my favorites that he's done (Besides when it's brown or black <3) So maybe tell me what you think? I'd really appreciate it.
(>^~^)> <(>O< <)
Oh, and like the new cover? It was made by sincerelytop ~ Her covers are bae, and her stories are just asdfghjkl when she comes out with a new chapter, I fangirl so hard >O< lol SO RANDOM SHOUT OUT TO SENPAI~
~Neri~