The music was loud, the air thick with the heat radiating off the bodies on the dance floor as they jumped and swayed to the beat, the DJ playing a fun disco song. The crush of the bodies and the heat was supposed to be annoying, but no one seemed to care, everyone enjoying the night. Sweat dripped down Taehyung's back and face, his hair sticking to his forehead as he doubled over in laughter in response to Jihan making a particularly funky dance move, whooping in amusement.
"Impressed right?! I told you I'm an expert, took you long enough to join me."
He didn't exactly like the partying scene but Jihan finally convinced him this time, as their last year in high school rolled in and the famous 'opening' party was held by Ken and his clique, the designated party organizers at the school, he decided to go for it and try new experiences in his senior year. At that moment he was glad though, despite the heat, despite the crowd, he felt happy, the adrenaline emboldening him to laugh loudly and just dance to his heart's content in the dim strobe lights.
"C'mon move those hips. Like that!"
Jihan grabbed his waist, his hand hot over the red silk blouse Taehyung chose for the occasion, trying to get his hips to move the same way he was doing earlier. Taehyung gasped a giggle before indulging him, putting his arms over his shoulders and gyrating together with the boy.
He was so caught up in his fun, still giggling when he noticed the boy had stopped talking, but was now watching him intently, hooded eyes glinting with a foreign look that suspiciously resembled desire. His eyes dipped below to his lips before his tongue came out, wetting his lips. It wasn't long and then he was leaning down, his warm breath hitting Taehyung's face as he slowly came closer.
Taehyung's body just acted, pushing away from him, eyes wide and stammered a quick excuse: "Umm I'm kinda thirsty, gonna grab some punch." striding away before he could say anything.
'What the hell just happened?'
Jihan was his friend since freshman year of high school, and he had never seen this look in his eyes before. He was definitely trying to kiss him, Taehyung just didn't understand why, since his friend has a girlfriend, albeit a long distance one, and he never expressed any interest in Taehyung or any other guy for that matter.
'Maybe he's drunk? Someone must've spiked the punch, yes, that's it.' He nodded to himself, exhaling as he tried to still his wild heartbeat. 'Weird..' He didn't really lie to him though, he was thirsty, but he needed water.
He nudged past the heavy masses, towards the large refreshment table and promptly grabbed a bottle of water, chugging down half of it in a few gulps. The effect was immediate, the water cooling off his overheated body and calming him down. Leaning on the table, he wiped off the sweat from his forehead, fingers combing through his freshly dyed silver hair.
Jihan had also convinced him that he needed a 'new look' for the new year, urging him to shed his nerdy glasses and good boy black hair for a more bold look.
"Loosen up Tae! We're seniors now." Taehyung agreed, also in the name of trying new things in his last year, letting him give him a makeover. He wondered if people even recognized him, he'd been getting more attention since he arrived at the party, the whispers of his fellow classmates not as quiet as they thought.
'Wow, is that Kim Taehyung? He looks like a fucking model.'
'Gosh I didn't know he hid those breathtaking looks behind his thick framed glasses.'
'That's right bitches, goody Kim Taehyung is gone now.' He smirked to himself, taking another sip of water.
He had to be honest though, the praise was nice. He felt confident, more powerful than ever as he walked in his red silk shirt tucked into black skinny pants that hugged his curves, showing off his figure quite nicely, long earrings dangling from one ear and his make up mysterious and smokey, the appreciative looks were definitely better than the disregard or even disdain he got at school. He laughed a little as he remembered his mother's shock when he showed her the makeover before leaving.
"Is that really my baby Tae?" She gasped, "You look like a heartbreaker now."
Patting his face lightly she warned "Be careful son, I don't want you to mix with the wrong crowd, this party..."
"Don't worry mom! You know I always am, I won't even stay too late, I'll ask Jihan to drop me off early ok?"
She nodded, smiling at him, both cheeks held in her hands as she dropped off a kiss on each. "I know sweetheart, I trust you. Have fun!"
As the adrenaline ebbed off, his exhaustion set in, after all he wasn't used to this much excitement in one night and he was ready to call it a night and leave.
'Well I definitely can't ask Jihan to take me home now.. too awkward.'
He wasn't ready to face his friend yet and the weird thing that happened between them, but he came with him and he didn't know anyone else either, this crowd was all unfamiliar for Tae.
While contemplating this dilemma, his ears picked up someone whispering his name in a hoarse voice at his right, almost going unheard in the loud music.
"Tae.. hyung. Help."
He wasn't wearing his glasses, and his vision was a bit blurry but as he came closer, he could make out Jae's staggering body moving towards him while calling his name. Jae was his classmate, and they didn't talk much except for that time he asked him out and Tae had to turn him down after being warned about him by Jihan. He was nice to Tae, but he trusted Jihan who was more knowing than him, plus he wasn't really attracted to the boy, so he didn't see a point in it. Since then Jae avoided him completely, never even saying hi when he saw him in the hallway, pretending he was invisible like most people. He felt a bit bad but he respected his decision, he understood his ego might have been bruised, he did turn him down.
"Jae what-" he was cut off by Jae's body slumping forward over his, as he struggled to keep them both upright. "What the-"
'He must be drunk too.'
"Get away from him!" Jihan's voice was barely registered in his head after he heard what Jae said next.
"H-help me, Tae. Please help...me.." the boy whispered desperately in his ear before falling to the floor, his head hitting the tiles with a resounding crack, Taehyung not managing to hold him up in his shock.
His body convulsed on the floor, mouth foaming, eyes rolling to the back of his head. The sight was enough to snap people into motion, the dancing stopping and a small crowd of students forming a circle around him, panicking to get their phones. "SOMEONE HELP! CALL THE AMBULANCE!" Taehyung screamed, horrified at the frightening sight, his body trembling so hard he couldn't move from his spot.
"Let's get out of here." Jihan yanked him away from the boy, briskly walking towards the exit.
"N-NO! We need to help him, he will die he's-" A sob broke out through his words and he couldn't stop babbling as he tugged his hand away from Jihan and ran back to the boy. But when he reached him he didn't know what to do, he had no knowledge about first aid. A girl tried shaking him, screaming at him to wake up and answer her to no avail.
Jae gurgled and gagged, then abruptly his body stopped moving completely, lying still on the floor. It was all too fast, too sudden.
Soon the ambulance and police were there, a paramedic immediately checking for a pulse and performing compressions on his chest. Taehyung's heart caught in his throat when the paramedic sighed and shook his head, confirming what he suspected already. Taking the boy's now completely still body away, the ambulance was gone, only the police stayed, questioning the kids about what happened and taking notes before telling them to go home. The party was suspended, everyone in disbelief over what transpired.
"Come Tae, I'll take you home." Jihan bit his lip as he watched the boy walking silently next to him. He didn't look up or even reply to him when he asked if he was ok. He hadn't uttered a single word since he gave his piece to the police, being an eyewitness. Jihan gave him a hug, rubbing his back to comfort him before letting him into the car, the way his body trembled against his made him more worried for his friend.
Taehyung couldn't stop shaking the whole ride home, Jae's pleas for help replaying over and over in his ears. He asked for help from him.. but Taehyung couldn't help him, and now the boy was dead. Taehyung would never see Jae again.
He was still trembling even after arriving home, letting Jihan explain what happened to his worried mother, who immediately took him into her arms.
"It's gonna be okay, you're okay baby, you're okay."
Only after he was in the safety of his bed, wrapped in the warmth of his mother's embrace did he allow his tears to come. Hard sobs wracking his body, "I couldn't help him mama, I couldn't save him."
"It's not your fault. You did your best, it's not your fault." She repeated as she dropped kisses to his head, whispering comforting words to the distraught boy. "No more of those parties, no more, should've never let you go.." She muttered into his hair, hugging him tightly. Not letting him go until he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, face red and tears silently running down his cheeks even as he slept.
____________
A/N: Hi! How are you all doing? I hope everyone is safe and happy :) I'm back with this fic, sorry for the long wait, couldn't write due to personal reasons, but I was so happy with your comments and messages to me, and those who waited for me I'm so thankful to you and I love you <3 I reallyy hope you like this one. It's a high school fic but I promise I'll try to not make it cliche, plus there's a twist... hehe. I would love to hear your thoughts, I've been feeling more insecure over my writing probably because of the long-ish break I took, so your feedback would be appreciated. Thank you! <3 <3