When Charlie woke up the next morning, she had almost forgotten that she wasn't the only one in her room. The slight weight of the arm that was draped on her torso was a reminder of last night events.
Charlie recalled how she had stayed with Jin to learn more about Hoseok's injuries. Thankfully, his ribs didn't seem too broken, and after she finished helping Jin clean up, he sent her to bed as well. By the time Charlie had come upstairs to her room, Jungkook was already fast asleep in her bed.
As she quietly laid there with her best friend's arm wrapped around her frame, the nerves came creeping back in, just like they had last night when she crawled into bed, but she honestly didn't want to move away from his touch. When she heard him groan and start to move a little, she quickly closed her eyes, pretending to still be asleep.
Jungkook slowly opened his eyes and felt his hand over Charlie, carefully pulling it back and turning slightly so he was laying on his back. He really didn't want to pull away from her. In fact, he always found her presence very calming, but yesterday was weird and something he still didn't fully understand. He reached out his hand, wanting his fingers to tangle with her hair, but refrained from doing so and pulled it back. He pushed himself up and sat on the edge of the bed, still trying to wake up and clear his muddled thoughts.
"Well, you didn't die in your sleep." Jungkook turned around to see Charlie still laying down, but facing him with a small smile on her lips.
"Sorry to disappoint," he replied with a slight chuckle, the tension slightly awkward between the two.
"You feeling ok?" Charlie inquired, clearing her throat as she sat up and turned towards him, crossing her legs and pulling the blanket over her.
Jungkook nodded his head as he looked at her, his eyes gently scanning her features. He had woken up next to her so many times before and teased her on multiple occasions about how crazy she looked with her hair in knots and the drool dried on her cheek, but as he looked at her now, all he thought about was how beautiful she looked.
He had no idea why he felt this sudden change in how he looked at his best friend, but it was definitely... strange. For years, he was the one who protected her, and he was always going to watch after her, but now that their foster parents were gone, it felt as if they could finally live, like they were finally free from their ugly past. However, regardless of how nice it was to have this huge burden lifted off his shoulders, he definitely didn't like this new feeling that was building up inside, it just felt really wrong.
He shook his lead lightly, trying not to overthink things before he stood up from the bed, swiftly walking towards the door when Charlie's voice stopped him.
"Where are you going?" Charlie asked. She didn't know why she asked that, and she felt a bit stupid for even blurting it out in the first place. He probably wants to go eat or take a shower. Afterall, this wasn't his room, so why did she want to know why he was leaving?
"Still kinda pissed about last night, so I'm thinking of just taking a drive," he mumbled and left the room before Charlie could even respond.
Charlie felt empty after he left. She knew he was hiding something and wasn't telling her, which was weird because they told each other practically everything. There was this pit in her stomach that hadn't gone away since last night. She tried to digest everything that happened, from the weird thoughts that filled her head when they were physically close, to the information that Hoseok had shared. Pushing the thoughts of Jungkook from her mind, she decided that she would dive into her work. There was no doubt that Yoongi would be trying to follow this new lead, and she was going to be there to offer any help. She wanted to help Jamie and any other girl that was caught up in this situation.
Charlie jumped off her bed and took a quick shower. She put on some black jeans and a white T-shirt, tucking it into her jeans as the shirt was pretty long on her. She let her hair cascade down her shoulders, still damp as she walked to the kitchen to grab breakfast. Just as she walked in, she saw Jungkook placing his dishes into the sink before walking out, barely making eye contact with her. Charlie snuck a glance at his tight jeans and oversized red sweatshirt as he brushed past her.
"Everything ok?" Charlie turned towards Jimin, who was sitting at the table.
"Hmm?" Charlie asked, confused as to why he was asking her that.
"Between you two," he added, gesturing towards her and the door that Jungkook had just walked through.
"Oh, ummm, I think he's still a little upset about last night. Did you hear what happened?" Charlie opened up the fridge to find something to eat while she waited for his response.
"I did, I'm going through the guest list from the club to see if any names stick out." Jimin took a bite of his toast and pushed through the many papers that were scattered on the table. As Charlie walked to the coffee pot to pour herself a cup, Yoongi walked in holding a mug and stood next to her.
"Find anything?" he asked Jimin. Charlie grabbed the mug from Yoongi and poured more coffee for him. It was never good to see Yoongi with an empty coffee mug. He nodded in appreciation towards her and then joined Jimin at the table, glancing at the various sheets that were spread out. Once Charlie had her food and coffee, she sat down as well.
"Nothing yet. What about Taehyung?" Jimin asked.
"He's still working on it," Yoongi said.
"Still? It's 9 in the morning," Charlie chimed in and Yoongi nodded.
"He was working on it last night for me and again this morning," Yoongi replied as he helped Jimin in looking over the records from the club.
Charlie knew that Taehyung could be a real workaholic, which always caused her to worry about him often, especially when it came to his health and taking care of himself. Once Yoongi would ask him to look into something, Taehyung would treat it as a puzzle, and couldn't stop until he solved it. She had hoped that he wasn't up all night working on this latest project.
"I was thinking of heading over to the club, see if the girls have heard anything. I also want to let them know to keep their eyes peeled for the tattoo since these fuckers had the balls to step foot on or territory," Jimin spat out with hatred in his voice.
"Mind if I come too?" Charlie asked. Jimin's demeanor shifted as he smiled and nodded at her.
"I'll leave here in about an hour," he told her. Charlie nodded, and having finished her food, she grabbed her coffee mug and filled it up, heading upstairs to find Taehyung. All the lights were off as she knocked on the door to his cave and slowly opened it.
Charlie noticed how he had his headphones in and was glued to the screens. She couldn't decipher anything on any of them except for the random pictures she saw. Setting her coffee down off to the side, she walked up behind him, trying her best not to give herself away in the reflection of his screens. Once she was right behind his chair, she grabbed onto the side and violently shook it.
Taehyung immediately tore off his headphones and frantically stood up, looking around. Charlie dropped to the ground and rolled onto her back, laughing after seeing the terrified look on his face with the white sucker stick poking out of his lips.
"You bitch!" Taehyung shouted at Charlie who was just starting to stand back up, dusting off the back of her pants as her laughter subsided. He turned his chair and sat back down, getting right back to work and ignoring her, feeling slightly upset at her for the surprise attack.
"Have you slept?" she asked as she ruffled his hair. He reached up to smack her hand away and continued to watch the screens, not answering her.
Charlie groaned and pulled his chair out from his desk, forcing him to look at her.
"Tae..." Charlie said as she looked at him. He rolled his eyes at her and let out a sigh. Taehyung knew that she was going to keep bugging him until he answered.
"I think I fell asleep for a couple hours," he admitted. Charlie crossed her arms and gave him the look she always did when she wasn't happy with how he was taking care of himself. "I need to find something Char. Ganghan is up to something and we need to know what," he said as he looked at her, almost pleading with her to understand. She let out a loud sigh and reached for the coffee mug.
"Here." She handed him her coffee and he accepted it with a smile. "Have you eaten anything?" He shook his head and gave her a nervous look. "Ok, I'm going to grab you something to eat and then I'm heading to Cliff Hangers with Jimin. When I get back, you are going to sleep," Tae opened his mouth to protest, but Charlie held up her hand. "I don't care if you have found something or not, and I will fight Yoongi as well if I have to." Taehyung laughed and the two friends smiled.
"Thanks Charlie." He took a sip of the coffee and closed his eyes in relief, eager for a caffeine fix. He hadn't eaten anything in so long and the warm liquid felt so good on his throat.
"Well, someone has to take care of you kid." Charlie ruffled his hair again as she started walking away.
"Hey! I'm older than you," he shouted as she left his cave, leaving the door open.
"Maybe physically, but not mentally!" Charlie hollered back as she left their room and started downstairs to grab him some food and a water bottle before leaving with Jimin.
~☾~
Jimin and Charlie walked into Cliff Hangers and it was just as expected, quiet and pretty empty. The club wasn't technically open to the public at this hour, but a lot of the girls had already started work at this hour. They used this time to practice their dancing, mend their costumes, and clean up their dressing rooms. Raven and Cherry were always here helping with the business side of the club.
Charlie saw Cherry and Raven sitting at the bar while Trixie was behind it, helping with inventory and cleaning things up a bit. What Charlie didn't expect to see was Jungkook sitting on one of the couches, smiling and talking with Gigi. He saw Charlie and Jimin walk in and gave them both a small smile and wave. Charlie waved back, but Jimin just glared at him. If all of the members were going to be sleeping with the girls at the club, he was going to need to set some ground rules. Jungkook quickly looked away, feeling guilty even though he hadn't done anything wrong.
Charlie couldn't fight the feeling that was bubbling inside of her as she felt her body heating up in frustration. She didn't fully understand what she was feeling or why, but seeing Jungkook talk with Gigi rather than her shook her up, causing her to constantly question herself, zoning out into her thoughts until Raven's voice broke her out of it.
"Jimin, Charlie," she greeted, arms open wide as if she hadn't seen them in months, when in reality, they had all seen each other just a week ago. She pulled away from Jimin and then hugged Charlie. Raven was always someone she could run to for advice or to help hide a body. She was fiercely loyal, but wasn't afraid to tell you to get your shit together. "I filled them in a bit on what's been going on," Raven said as she led everyone over to a couple couches so they could be a little more comfortable.
"I just want you all to keep an eye out, ok? Yoongi is a bit worried since the deal backfired," Jimin admitted as he looked at Raven, Cherry, and Trixie. "We don't know what Ganghan is planning, but it was a bold move to try to actually make a deal with us." Charlie could see how uneasy Jimin was about this whole ordeal, especially since it potentially put the girls in danger. Normally, he would keep a happy face around all the girls, but with Raven, he always let his guard down and never hid how he was truly feeling.
"You said he had a tattoo?" Trixie asked. Jimin nodded in response before her eyebrows furrowed. "What's the tattoo again?" she inquired.
"It's a line with a circle in the middle, on his neck," Jimin replied, noticing the way Trixie's eyes widened. Jimin's heart rate sped up as he noticed the anxious expression on her face as she glanced at Raven and Cherry before focusing back on him.
"Umm, there was a guy in here a few days ago, came to get a drink. I could see what looked like a tattoo peeking from his neck, thought it was interesting and asked him about it, but it was a touchy topic. I mean, it probably wasn't him, but it was weird," she admitted while Jimin felt like he was suffocating as the fear of a possible threat grasped his heart, causing him to stiffen in his seat.
"Let me know if he comes in again," he stated, trying to stay calm even though he was terrified. He turned towards Charlie, his voice hushed as he spoke to her. "We need to tell Yoongi," he muttered before walking away to make the call while Charlie stayed with the girls in order to try to figure out if there was anything else they wanted to share.
No one else seemed to have anything else to share, which caused Charlie to huff out in defeat before glancing back at Jungkook and Gigi, her eyes narrowing at the two of them. She watched as Gigi laughed at something her best friend said, causing him to grin at her as she rested her hand on his chest. Charlie bit the inside of her cheek as she felt her stomach clench at the sight. Why the hell do I feel like this? They've fucking slept together before, so what if he's flirting with her and being all playful?
It was hard to describe what she was feeling, but this was nothing like that time she caught Jade checking him out the first time the girls came over to prepare her for her first mission. Sure, she didn't like the way Jade had looked at him back then, but that didn't bother her as much as this interaction between him and Gigi.
Raven watched Charlie intently, noticing the shift in her mood. Her eyes followed where the young girl was looking and couldn't help but smile as she noticed what had her distracted. "How're you doing, dear?" she asked, causing Charlie to quickly turn towards her, the slight irritation still evident on her features.
How was she doing? Charlie didn't know the answer to that herself. What with the lack of action from her missions to her awkward interaction with Jungkook lately, she felt like she was all over the place, not to mention the fact that apparently one of the men from Ganghan had been in their club, according to the information they just got from Trixie. She just wanted to get this bastard and make sure that the girl Jungkook had told them about was okay, but so far, they still had no lead and Taehyung had been busting his ass to get as much information as he could. She wanted to help, but didn't know how.
"Honestly, I don't know," she admitted, letting out a heavy sigh as she slumped back in her bar stool.
Trixie couldn't help but notice her dejected expression and quickly walked over to the bar to fix up Charlie's regular drink, setting it down in front of the younger girl before sitting down next to her, gently rubbing her arm in comfort.
"How about a girls night out? It's been a while since you've gone out with any of us," Raven suggested.
"I don't know," Charlie mumbled, lifting up the glass in front of her as she swirled the drink before taking a sip. She couldn't get rid of the stupid, dejected feeling in the pit of her stomach and she couldn't seem to figure out the source of it. Well... she knew the source of it, she just felt like it was such a stupid thing to be upset over. She furrowed her eyebrows, staring at the liquid in front of her as she was trying to sort through all her thoughts and emotions. She felt like she was losing control and didn't like it at all.
"Maybe you need another distraction," Trixie chimed in, giving her a playful wink while Raven rolled her eyes, worriedly glancing over at Charlie as the younger woman seemed to take this into consideration.
"Hmm, maybe a distraction would be a good idea," she muttered as Raven let out a sigh, not pleased with the idea. Even though Charlie had spoken to both her and Cherry about everything regarding her past and how she learned to move on from it, the older woman couldn't help but be anxious at the idea of Charle hooking up with random guys.
"If you decide to go looking for a distraction, just make sure it's something you're sure of, okay? Let one of the girls know if you don't feel comfortable and don't let any guy-"
Charlie let out a light chuckle, interrupting Raven from her little rant. "I know Rae, thanks for always looking out for me," she replied, giving her a reassuring smile. "So when are we going?" Charlie asked, eager to shift the topic.
"I should stay at the club tonight. I'm assuming after what Trixie shared earlier, it would be best if I stay here to look after the girls, but I know Jade has the night off and she's been dying for a girls night. Cherry, you should go too," Raven turned to her friend, "You could use a night out. You're always so busy lately," Raven added.
"I think I will," Cherry said, smiling at Charlie. "I can pick you up at, let's say, nine?" Charlie nodded and Cherry pulled out her phone. "I'll let Jade know and text you if anything changes."
Charlie was actually starting to feel a little excited about going out tonight. She needed to get her mind off of everything that was going on. Jimin walked back over to the seating area and faced Charlie.
"We should head back Charlie, lot's of work to do." Jimin then turned to the other three women still seated on the couches. "Thank you, as always, for everything you do. Please let me know if anything seems off." His gaze became worried, but he gave them a small smile as they agreed.
~☾~
The day seemed to go by extremely slow. Charlie had barely seen Jungkook and she fought with herself multiple times about whether or not she should ask him why he was behaving odd lately. She tried to push all those thoughts aside as she kept reminding herself about the plans for the evening. She was thrilled when it was finally after dinner, rushing back to her room to take a shower and get ready for her night out with the girls.
She still was not comfortable with skirts and dresses, but she always managed to put together a sexy outfit, even with jeans. Jade had texted her earlier in the day saying that the club they were going to was a little more casual, which Charlie was thankful for. Sitting in her bathroom, Charlie finished up her makeup and straightened her hair when a thought came to her. Taehyung could really use a night out as well. She had promised to be his wingwoman awhile ago, and with the amount of work he had been doing, Charlie was bound to find him a girl to take home. Tightening her robe, Charlie set off to his room.
Once she knocked and opened the door, she saw Taehyung laying in his bed, on his phone.
"Hope you got enough sleep today," Charlie said. Taehyung sat up and looked at her furrowing his brows.
"Why?" He noticed that she had on more makeup than usual and her hair looked great. That only meant one thing: she was going out for the evening.
"Because we are going out tonight." Charlie crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway.
"We are?" Taehyung was confused, but he couldn't help to smile at the thought of getting out of the house for the night.
"Yes we are, along with Cherry and Jade. Be downstairs in 30 minutes." Charlie gave him a wink and watched him jump up from his bed and run past her to the bathroom down the hall in order to shower quickly. Charlie giggled and headed back to her room to put on her outfit for the night. She had placed her clothes on the bed and looked at it, hoping that Jade would approve. Once dressed, she headed downstairs and sat on the couch waiting for Taehyung.
Not but 5 minutes later, he skipped downstairs and jumped right in front of her. Charlie stood up and looked him up and down. His tight, black jeans paired perfectly with the navy, paisley print button up shirt he had tucked in. Before she could compliment his outfit, his eyes went wide when he saw what she was wearing.
"Damn Charlie, not leaving much for the imagination are ya?" he said with a smirk. "You look great though, as always."
Charlie smiled before looking down at her own choice for the night. She opted for her light blue jeans that had large holes in the knees, showing off her fishnet tights she wore underneath that rose past her belly button and above the hem of her jeans. Her sheer black, long sleeve top clung to her figure and showed off her black bralette underneath. She still hated heels, so chose her favorite pair of shoes: the combat boots Jimin had gifted her.
Charlie rolled her eyes at Taehyung before she heard a car roll up outside their house. Taehyung held out his arm for Charlie to take and they walked outside, excited to have a little fun.
~☾~
The next morning, Charlie had gotten a cab back to her place. This was the first time she actually spent the night somewhere else and she didn't exactly know how to feel. However, she was more nervous as to who was already awake and would see her still in her outfit from the previous night. As she got out of the cab and walked towards the front door, she saw a woman leaving, the same woman that she convinced Taehyung to buy a drink for. Charlie gave her a small smile and received one in return.
She was already pretty hungry this morning, so she decided to sneak into the kitchen to grab some breakfast. To her surprise, both Taeyung and Jungkook were sitting at the kitchen table eating. Taehyung met her eyes and gave her a playful smirk as she turned towards the fridge, pulling out a yogurt.
"So, how was your night? I take it you were able to find a guy to go home with," Taehyung stated, eyebrows playfully wiggling as Jungkook choked on his cereal.
Taehyung glanced at him worriedly, patting his back as Jungkook tried to compose himself, still coughing slightly as his eyes met Charlie's. She was quick to avoid his gaze, looking back at Taehyung as she gave him a small smile.
"It was alright, nothing special, as usual," she admitted while he nodded in agreement.
"I hope you're feeling better at least," he replied while she nodded, clearing her throat as she felt Jungkook's eyes on hers.
"I better go shower, I'll see you guys later," she mumbled as she finished up her yogurt and threw the container away, giving them a small wave before finally glancing over at Jungkook, noticing the small pout on his lips as she walked away.
Taehyung groaned as he stretched, standing up as his mind swirled with all the things he still needed to figure out. "I better get back to hacking into that fucker's system. He's got a strong firewall and all these encryptions that protect all his shit. I've been trying to break through the damn system since yesterday, hopefully I have better luck today," he muttered as Jungkook simply nodded, lost in his thoughts as his mind was still trying to process Taehyung's conversation with Charlie earlier. She slept with someone again?
He jumped slightly when Taehyung lightly slapped his shoulder, giving the younger man a small smile before heading upstairs, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Jungkook had never liked the idea of Charlie sleeping with guys as a distraction, but he already talked to her about that and decided to respect her decision. It still didn't help ease the slight tension he felt in his body, and he wasn't quite sure why it bothered him. Probably because she's your best friend... Yeah, that has to be it. He shook it off and decided to head down to their workout room, in need of a distraction himself.
~☾~
When Charlie had walked into her room, she noticed someone sleeping in her bed, no shirt on and face buried in her pillow. She quietly took off her shoes and tiptoed to the edge of the bed, peeking over to get a glimpse of his face. She mischievously smiled when she noticed it was Jimin. As quickly as she could, she jumped on the bed and placed a knee on either side of his hips, pinning his arms behind him.
"The fuck?" Jimin said as he slowly opened his eyes and tried to wiggle from Charlie's grasp. She couldn't help but to laugh a little and then lowered her face to his ear, whispering "Escape."
Jimin was not happy about this kind of wake up call, but if Charlie was trying to be a little shit this early in the morning, he was going to teach this brat a lesson. He used his body to push her off to the side and in the split second that her grip eased up on him, he was able to escape from her grasp and turned around, pinning her down.
"Dammit!" Charlie shouted and rolled her eyes. Jimin smirked at her and then finally looked down at her attire, eyes widening as he noticed what she was wearing.
"You went out in that last night?" he asked. Charlie couldn't tell if he was upset or proud, but she didn't say anything as she pushed him off her, crawling off the bed.
"Yeah I did, got a problem with it?" Charlie asked as she took off the sheer top, tossing it into her laundry hamper. Jimin could sense that she was still a little tense and put his hands in the air.
"I actually really like it," he complimented. Charlie turned to him and grinned, thankful that he didn't tease her about it. "Seems like he wasn't that good if you are still this cranky." Jimin started laughing at her irritated expression. Charlie picked up the nearest thing to her, her shoe, and threw it at him as he attempted to dodge it, the object narrowly missing his shoulder.
They both turned towards her door when they heard someone clear their throat. Hoseok was standing there with his arms crossed, glaring at the younger two.
"When you two are done with...whatever you are doing, we have a family meeting in an hour," Hoseok informed, but he continued to stand in the doorway.
Jimin's eyebrows furrowed as he curiously stared at Hoseok. A family meeting? "Did Tae finally find something?" he inquired.
Hoseok shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure, Yoongi didn't mention anything about it, but I'm assuming he did if he's calling a meeting."
Jimin nodded, quickly walking out of the room past Hoseok, heading towards the bathroom to take a shower. Charlie watched as Hoseok walked into her room a little bit, with arms crossed, gaze stilled fixed on her.
"Are you ok?" he asked, causing Charlie to furrow her brows. She was standing there in her bra, which might make any other girl nervous, but for Charlie she was so used to being in her sports bra around the guys and having to wear revealing clothing when she did her missions that she wasn't uncomfortable at all. Plus, all of the guys never looked at her in a sexual manner which she greatly appreciated.
"What do you mean, am I ok?" Charlie asked.
"I mean just that. You tend to... come home late when something is bothering you." Charlie scoffed at his reason, but she was almost disappointed in herself for not hiding it better.
"I could ask you the same thing," she fired back at him. Hoseok looked at her with a perplexed look. "I notice things too. Like how you have become more quiet, and how you tend to stick to your room when you can." Charlie looked at Hoseok, hoping to get some answers from him, but he looked away instead.
"Downstairs, one hour," he sternly stated before closing the door to her room.
~☾~
Taehyung was currently sitting at his desk, trying to hack into Blade's computer system in order to gain access to his schedule. Namjoon was there with him to offer assistance since Yoongi really wanted this information today. They didn't have any time to lose and needed to come up with a plan soon if they were going to stop Ganghan, so Yoongi sent his underboss to help Taehyung hack into Blade's system, even though both of them knew there wasn't much Namjoon could do to help.
He hoped that his presence would at least be able to offer some sort of comfort or encouragement for Taehyung as he noticed how frantically the younger man was working just to get into the system. Namjoon stood behind him, watching intently as their tech genius finally got into the server, immediately going to the calendar to notice that their rival had something scheduled at the Bleeding Rose, a personal meeting with someone. Taehyung's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the information.
"The Bleeding Rose? That's in neutral territory, right?" he muttered as Namjoon also found it strange that he wouldn't select something on his own territory.
"Hold up, can you pull up information about the ownership of the Bleeding Rose?" Namjoon requested while Taehyung nodded, booting up another monitor as he pulled up the information. "It looks like it belongs to some guy named Axel Clearwater. Why?"
"Pull up his information," Namjoon requested, watching intently as Taehyung entered another database and pulled up information on the man in question. When his picture popped up, along with his criminal record, Namjoon let out a curse as he recognized the man on the screen.
"Shit, that's Blade. Looks like the Bleeding Rose is no longer on neutral territory," he muttered.
It's finally here!! I apologize for the late update. School is pretty intense for Em right now and I got busy as well but here it is! Things are picking up and getting confusing for some people ;)
Thoughts? ------------>