Hiding in plain sight
Moving cars out of the road is much harder then I initially thought, especially now we know we have to work fast but also as quiet as humanly possible. Just saying im getting increasingly frustrated and working up a sweat would be a huge understatment and I can tell the rest of the group is feeling the same
Namjoon kicked a tire ten minutes ago but only ended up hurting himself and not the car, which only made him more angry with the fact that the door wouldnt open but once we told him its probably locked he calmed down so fast I'm honestly impressed. Jackson and Lisa have bickered back and forth the whole time, and Seungmin has told them to shut up many times which is nothing out of the ordinary
Jimin and Taehyung have made a good team and have been smiling through the bullshit, laughing and being weird amongst themselves. I cant help but chuckle at their behaviour, glad that the group can remain so possitive through everything that's going on
Hoseok, Yoongi and Seokjin have been looking at the map for a while now and im starting to thing they are all just as dumb as each other. Jungkook is the only person who hasnt really said a word, looking a little sad perched on the edge of the car seat beside me while I figure out how to hotwire this piece of shit
With that thought, I look over at the boy with a tiny smile but he doesnt notice, still staring ahead with slightly wide eyes and his hands fiddling with the dark sleeves of his hoodie.
He looks like he's going to explode any second
"Jungkook? are you. . . you know," I ask awkwardly before waving my hand in circles and pulling my lips into a tight pout, trying to find the right words to say "Uh. . .are you feeling okay?" I add with a slightly raised brow
Without any warning he bursts out laughing, hitting the dashboard lightly as if ive just told him the best joke of the century. I cant help but laugh myself at his adorable laugh and mannerisms, its crazy how he looks so intimidating and scary until he opens his mouth and says something so innocent and wholesome. He's the complete opposite to what I had assumed and that makes me feel a little bad.
Right in this moment, I realise I may be starting to like these guys as friends, rather then just the guys we got stuck with as the people around us turned into flesh eating 'zombies'
"Thats. . . Thats the best thing I've heard all day," Jungkook breaths out through his laughs, holding his hand over his chest to try and calm himself down. I rasie a brow at him sharply, trying to figure out if he's teasing me or genuinely laughing at my stupid attempt to ask if he's okay
"Yes, please laugh at my awkwardness," I chuckle anyway and lean back in my chair, I rest my head on the soft leather and watch him closely as he begins to slowly come down from his laughing high. He finally stops and copies my actions, leaning back in the chair to look at me without straining his neck. He then smiles softly
"Im okay, I was just day dreaming,"
"Day dreaming?" I ask and he nods "Mind telling me what about?"
He stays silent for a little while, his face going through all different kinds of facial expressions before landing on a small, childlike pout that makes my heart clench
"I. . . I dont-" He hesitates, quickly turning his body away from me to stare back out the window. My brows furrow but I don't say anything yet, giving him a chance to figure out what he wants to say or if he even wants to talk about it at all. A few seconds of silence passes by before he turns back towards me, the same sad expression plastered across his face
"I cant stop thinking about your friend. . .Uh Rina?" He huffs out, his voice cracking. I nod my head but stay quiet to allow him to continue and he takes the oppurtunity to clear his throat and look away "I just cant stop thinking about what happened to her and I know I didn't know her well. . . or at all really. . . But when I think about the school all I can see is her being t-torn apart and-"
I quickly reach out and take his hands in mine to stop from speaking, seeing how hes becoming overwhelmed with the image thats been burnt into everyones mind. He huffs out a breath and clamps his mouth closed as I run my thumbs over the back of his hands comfortingly, something my brother used to do on the rare occassions that I would get upset. It feels foreign to be comforting someone, but I don't hate it at all, seeing how he gives me a tiny smile makes me feel a little better too
"You aren't the only one being haunted by that image, and I can tell you now that everyone else has been thinking of it too," I say softly, looking down at my hands that hold his gently "But we have to find other ways to remember them by. . . I know you said that you didnt know her but you must have seen her around, and if you didnt see her you definantly heard her," I say in a teasing tone, knowing that the woman would definantly give me a cartoonish glare if she were here
Jungkook laughs softly and nods, sniffing a little
"I remember when I first met her when we were younger. . . she was very bright and smiley, so she didn't change much, but me on the other hand, hated school from the very moment I stepped on that damn bright blue carpet," I chuckle, remebering the first day of elementary school as if it were just yesterday "So I wasnt very happy, But Rina managed to make me smile with her paper mask that was supposed to be a bunny but looked like a deranged . . . I don't know but it was god awful and I had night mares about it for years."
I glance back up at Jungkook to see him smiling at me, listening as I tell the story that was overshadowed by all the bad and even worse shit I've seen in my lifetime. Im thankful that hes listening to me ramble as I've never really had anyone do this wihtout changing the conversation or telling me to shut up, other then Rina of course
hence why I gradually just stopped talking as much and stopped talking to people other than my siblings and my small group of friends. My thought sparks another thought and before I get chance to push it back and shut my mouth, its already tumbling out like no tomorrow
"Rina was the only one who would sit down with me and talk for years and years about absolutely nothing yet everything at the same time," I chuckle, and Jungkook does too before coming serious again "Basically, what I'm trying to say is. . . Just remember her smile, rather then. . . you know."
A few moments of silence goes by and I begin to think I might have said the wrong thing or something unbelievably stupid. Did I upset him more? judging from his face he seems to be deep in thought, not really happy but not angry or upset either. Just as I'm about to pull away, a bright smile appears on his face making me let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding in
"Youre very good at this. . . I feel like ive just been through a therapy session," He laughs, almost in disbelief. Feeling like the mood needs to be brightened, I decide to take his and my own attention away from the depressing apmosphere filling the large car
"Am I a good one or a bad one?" I ask, raising a brow
"Definantly a good one, I feel like I gained more braincells." He says and looks off into the distance dramatically, his large innocent looking eyes softened and slightly bloodshot. I laugh and him and pull my hands away, feeling much lighter myself.
"If you dont mind me asking, how did you. . . I dont know. . . uh do that?" He asks awkwardly though his body is more relaxed and comfortable around me, like we have become friends through our little conversation. I cant deny that we have, I defiantly like the kid so far
"well, I just took a page out of my sisters book and ran with it since shes all philosophical and shit," I laugh a little as I think back to my sister and her calm relaxed yet bright and bubbly ways. Namjoon reminds me of her in some odd way that I cant quite put my finger on
Maybe its the constant clumsiness and frustration they seem to keep to themselves or maybe its the random bursts of not knowing what the fuck they are doing amidst their smart rambling.
"Was she a therapist at the hospital?" Jungkook asks, breaking me out of my odd thoughts. I look towards him, impressed but surprised that he figured it out from that little snippet of information I gave him
I nod my head and brush down my sweating palms on my jeans with a soft smile "Mhm, my brother is a security gaurd there too but he was going through the med school process. . . wow, I'm really the black sheep of the family huh?"
"I doubt that, youre really smart too," Jungkook is quick to respond, not even giving me a chance to dwell on the thought. I surpress the sudden curiosity and smile, which is something I've been a little to much of lately but if Hyeri was here she would tell me its not agasint the law to smile every once in a while and that kind of sounds like somthing Seokjin would say
"You think so?" I ask quietly while raising a brow at him, he shrugs in a nonchalant manor and tilts his head cutely
"We all do. . . Jackson seems to think so the most though, I think he has the hots for y---"
I drown out Jungkooks voice as a movement in the distance catches my attention. I rub my eyes and lean forward, squinting as if it will make my vision any better. I stare for a few seconds before the bone chilling realisation hits me
Its a large group on the infected, heading right towards us and fast
"Jungkook, we need to tell everyone to hide underneath the cars or just anywhere,"
"huh? why-oh shit, nevermind," he chimes and we both jump out of the car so quick I almost trip over the seatbelt. We both run towards the group wihtout saying anything but motioning towards the bottom of the cars, and judging from their change in demeanor they instantly understand somethings wrong but I cant hear what they are saying as we are to far away
luckily enough, Seungmin catches on quickly and starts ushering for everyone to hide while also motioning towards the large herd heading right towards us. By time Jungkook and I reach them they have already caught on and are getting beneath the cars, I give Jungkook a nod and he returns it sweetly though I can see the worry plastered across his face before he follows their lead and rolls under the a van to our left
I follow, my knees scraping the floor and ripping my jeans but right now all I can thing about is the infected slowly but surely catching up. I close my tightly, hoping we get through this one without another casualty