"Oh fuck." Nayeon cursed as she touched the back of her jeans. Her hand was red from the blood stain.
She felt her face turn red and she quickly leaned against the lockers hoping no one had seen.
"Hi, what are you doing?" Namjoon asked.
She quickly looked up embarrassed. "Nothing."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, are you?"
"I'm much better now. Did you like my apple pie?" He grinned.
"It was good." She responded. She saw a few people going by staring at them while judging. "Are you sure you want to be seen with a skank?" She added looking up.
"Are you sure you want to be seen with a lanky awkward guy?"
"They don't say that about you. In my case they do." She sighed remembering the new note on her locker.
"I don't care what they say. Do you want to walk to lunch together?"
"I...uhh..."
"What is it?"
She could feel her menstruation leak through her underwear turning her face a deeper shade of red.
"Did someone say something to you? I can—" he reached over to grab her hand and saw it stained with blood.
She quickly pulled away ashamed. "I'm sorry." She apologized looking down at the ground. He smiled sweetly.
"You're apologizing for being a woman?"
"It's kind of gross."
"Don't be embarrassed. It's natural. It's what your body is supposed to do. Here, take my jacket to cover up so you can go change." He told removing his jacket.
"Thank you so much." She said wrapping it around her waist. "I'll wash it and give it back. I promise."
"It's okay. Don't worry about it." He smiled.
•••
"Have you seen Namjoon?" Jin asked Nayeon.
"No. I've been looking for him myself." She said. She was standing by the cafeteria door looking around the tables.
"New one?" A guy smirked as he walked by. "New what asshole? Keep saying shit and I'll shove my foot down your throat." Jin screamed.
"Hey, it's okay." Nayeon said pulling him back.
"No. I don't want them to call you names."
"Hey Nayeon!" Jimin beamed as he walked in.
Jin rolled his eyes, "Go away."
"Don't be mean to him."
"It's his fault people are talking about you."
"What are people saying?" Jimin asked paranoid.
"Do you live under a rock? People are slut shaming her because her roommate told her boyfriend that she found you two sleeping."
"Stop. Don't listen to him. Let's go eat." Nayeon quickly said.
"They're slut shaming you again? Because of me?" He asked in disbelief. Now he understood the looks everyone had been giving him.
He glanced around and saw people whispering and looking at them. Jimin started walking to the center of the cafeteria.
"Where are you going?" Nayeon asked trying to follow him behind. A crowd formed around him and she couldn't get through.
"Got something to say spaz?"
Jimin turned around to look at him with a frown. "Yeah, I actually do." He responded. Some people took out their phones to record and he took a deep breath.
"Get the fuck out the way." Nayeon told as she squeeze through the crowd.
"I want everyone to stop slut shaming, Nayeon."
She froze as everyone's eyes turned to look at her. "We're just speaking the truth. I mean she's been with Yoongi, you, Namjoon and now even, Jin." He scoffed.
"She's my friend!" Jin yelled defending her.
"She's not a slut," Jimin spoke interrupting his bully and everyone else's talking. "We didn't have sex that night and we never did. She's my friend, I love her and respect her. Just because she's friends with guys that doesn't make her a slut. She can be friends with whoever the hell she wants. She doesn't need to justify it. Maybe you all need stop being so stereotypical and sexist."
"Jimin, you don't have to..." Nayeon quietly said. Yoongi, Namjoon, Jungkook, Taehyung and Hoseok had just walked in the cafeteria to witness the crowd of people.
"What the hell is going on?" Hoseok asked.
"Ooh! Must be a school fight!" Jungkook enthusiastically said as he took out his phone to record.
"If it was a school fight there would be noise and teachers would try to stop it." Yoongi said as they walked towards it.
"He's right. No school fight is ever this calm." Taehyung added.
As they got closer he could hear Jimin's voice and he slowly started to panic. "Jungkook open up the way." Hoseok instructed.
"Alright mother fuckers move it, move it," he said. They moved without hesitation and let them go to the front.
Yoongi saw Jimin and Nayeon in the center of all of this with Jin on the side. His heart was beating so loud and his mind was racing.
"You're lucky she fucked you and now you're denying it? What a pussy."
"We didn't have sex." Jimin repeated sternly.
The crowd started talking and it got louder and louder. Nayeon felt like she couldn't move. The noise was starting to give her a headache and she didn't know why, but she was so embarrassed of it all.
They made her feel like she was a slut for embracing her body and for being friends with mostly guys.
She knew it wasn't true, but when people told it to you so much you started to believe it. So, she bit the inside of her cheek feeling herself tear up.
"Maybe she'll wanna have a threesome with me."
"I always knew she was a whore."
"Skank."
Jimin felt himself get heated to the point he felt like he could explode. "She didn't sleep with me! She couldn't have because I'm gay!"
Silence.
Yoongi's heart dropped to his feet as the blood left his face turning him more pale. He held his breath to embrace the backlash for it.
"And before any of you go harassing my roommate or my friend Taehyung just know that I already have a boyfriend. He use to go to my old school and that's why I got kicked out. Now fuck off and stop accusing her of something she didn't do."
Nayeon walked you to him worried. "Jimin, stop, why did you say that? Why?" She whispered her eyes flooded with tears.
"You've done so much for me and you've stood up for me when no one did. It's turn now. I owe it to you."
"Did you hear that? He just confessed that he's a fag on camera!" One screamed.
"I always knew he was a faggot. I've been trying to tell everyone." Another said.
"Oh for fucks sake! This is 2019, we've evolved and we can't accept different sexualities? This is why the world is fucked up. Because of shitty people like you." Nayeon screamed furiously.
She took Jimin by the hand and pulled him through the crowd out of the cafeteria. "I don't know what we're going to do, but those assholes won't bother you. I will think of something and it'll probably—"
"Hey," he said cupping her face, "It's okay. I'm okay. People already suspected it. What's the worse they can do? Beat me? Write mean notes? They're already doing that."
"No, no, no. It's not fair. It's just not fair. You don't deserve this." She weeped.
"When has life ever been fair? I'll be okay. Don't worry about me." he cooed wrapping her in his arms.
It took a lot of strength to not have an anxiety attack at that moment. The fear he felt of being beaten to death was drowning him.
And the fear wasn't precisely to die. It was the fact that he started thinking that maybe it would be for the best.
Did his life even matter?
Aside from Taehyung and Nayeon, did anyone else actually cared about him? He knew Yoongi did deep inside, but he also knew he wouldn't show it.
To constantly fear of what the world has to say about him terrified him. It felt like he had a sign on his back that told all his insecurities for everyone else to see.
"I have to turn in a book at the library. You can go back to eat. I'll catch up with you in a bit." He said pulling away and planting a kiss on her forehead.
Nayeon didn't follow him behind. She knew he needed space. And she was also drowning. In her own sorrow of seeing him hurt.
Jimin leaned over the bookshelf attempting to catch his breath. His chest felt too tight and it almost felt like his clothes were asphyxiating him.
When a hand touched his shoulder he jumped up startled. "I didn't mean to scare you." Taehyung whispered.
Jimin sighed relieved. At the same time he was very disappointed and sad to see Taheyung. Not that he didn't want to see him of course. He just wished it would've been Yoongi instead.
He feared that now that he had told the world he was gay he wouldn't even want to come near him again.
And that hurt so much.
To him it almost felt like their love was as tragic as the moon and the sun. Both chasing each other, but never being able to be together as much as they tried.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put any of this attention on you. I shouldn't have—"
Before Jimin could finish his sentence Taehyung pulled him in for a hug. "I'm not going to stop being your friend."
Jimin felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest. He returned the hug gulping down his emotions.
"Thank you."
"For what? This is what friends are for."
"You don't know how much it means to me." He whispered.
"Jimin, I adore the way you are. You're so kind and very thoughtful. But, you have to learn to be a bad person even just a little bit. Be greedy and selfish. Mainly look out for yourself. Protect yourself," he said in the most sincere tone.
Jimin listened attentively with the ache still present in his heart. He felt so lost and so lonely though he had him and Nayeon.
"You're so used to holding up weight for others that you forget how much you can bare."