~One Week Later~

What the fuck is going on?!

One week of Jimin slowly getting better completely gets shattered away. Now he's gone, out partying again. If you had known you would have stopped him but he left before you got home. Instead of texting you he left a physical note. Probably since he knew you'd call him and beg him to stay home if he texted you. Fucking... ugh! Park Jimin!

You throw the note into the trash and wipe your tears away. No. You just got home from work, you're not accepting this. If he wants to be the asshole who doesn't text you saying he'll be out partying all night, you can do the same. Part of you wants to be the bigger person but you've been the bigger person for well over a month now, almost two. You've put up with all his issues and tried to get him to talk to you but he won't. That's not your fault anymore.

So, with a newfound motivation, you get changed into casual clothes and bring your phone to your ear. "Hello?" Jungkook's voice questions. "Are you with Tae?" "Yeah, why?" "Want to meet up at the nature preserve?" There's a pause as Jungkook asks Taehyung if he wants to go. There's a little bit of muffled back and forth until Jungkook finally hums. "We'll be there. Five minutes?" "Ten, I'm not that fast of a driver Kook." He chuckles before the two of you say your goodbyes and hang up.

You get into your car within the next minute, driving off into the sunset. Well, it's night actually. The library doesn't close until 11. Goes to show how late Jimin is if he isn't home before you. Whatever, not your problem right now. The only problem you have is that you aren't with your favorite ship right now.

Within the next eight minutes you're on campus, parked, and walking to the nature preserve. It isn't too far from where you parked (yes you're a genius and decided to park close) so you're not surprised to see Taehyung and Jungkook waiting for you outside it.

"How are my two favorite boys in the universe doing? Don't tell Jimin and Jin," you greet. They jump and turn around. "Oh... were you two having a moment? I can turn around-" "Nope! We're good!" Jungkook interrupts with a flustered face. Uh-huh. So good. That's why Tae is rapidly nodding in agreement? Suuuure. Looks like they're nervous for something. Question is what.

"Let's go!" Jungkook chimes. Together, the three of you head into the fray. "So... not to be that person but..." Tae starts, trailing off. "Jimin and I are fine. Strictly fine. Not horrible but... not good either. Not even okay just... fine." "Tae she may sound convincing but remember this is a woman saying the deadly phrase 'it's fine'," Jungkook mutters to his boyfriend.

Tae shrugs, "I'm not gonna press. Let's talk about different things, shall we?" "Maybe like the blooming relationship between you two that you seemingly don't want to talk about?" you inquire. Both Tae and Jungkook are at a loss for words. "Uh..." Jungkook starts, but you quickly interrupt him. "Wait Koo... what's on your face?" you ask.

It's been a hot minute since you've seen him, but you still recognize that a purple mark near his eye isn't natural. It looks like a fading bruise. "I ran into a wall," he explains. The crack in his voice tells you he's lying, so you decide to stop them. "Did you get jumped or something? Who did this?" you softly ask.

Tae averts his eyes while Jungkook struggles to speak. "Um..." "Please tell me." "She deserves to know Kook," Tae sadly mutters. "What? Was it someone I know?" Jungkook looks down shaking his head. "Please, please tell me." Jungkook lets out a long sigh, "it uh... it was Jimin."

What

"Excuse me?" you whisper, your voice strained. "He punched me by accident." "Accident?!" "He was drunk," Tae tries, but you're already too angry. "So it's okay because he was drunk? He punched his best friend and this is supposed to be written off as 'okay'?" "We were talking about you. I think he thought I still liked you and was trying to get with you. He wasn't in his right senses, Y/N please-" "I need to leave. I need to see him right now." "Is he even home?" Tae asks.

It's his question that makes you sigh. No, no he isn't. What's the point of going home when he isn't there? It would be a waste of time. "Let's keep walking for now... I'll tell you about it," Jungkook offers. You take his offer, walking silently down the dirt path.

"It was four days ago. It wasn't even that hard of a punch cause, you know, he was drunk. He kept saying 'stay away from her' over and over. I'm guessing that meant you cause I kept talking about you. I was trying to take him home." "But... he hasn't stayed out at all this week except for today. He hasn't come home drunk at all... what..." "His first class. He skipped it. I found him thanks to Minho, took him back to my place and nursed him back to health. Made sure he got back in time so he wouldn't be home after you. Answered any texts he had... including yours," Jungkook explains.

"Jungkook, I appreciate you taking care of him, but why didn't you tell me?" "When he sobered up he begged me not to tell anyone, including you. I couldn't betray his trust like that. He promised he wouldn't do it again." Jungkook snorts, "so much for promises." You look down. So your boyfriend punched Jungkook. Jesus fucking Christ what the fuck? What the hell's wrong with him? You keep your eyes on the ground as the night goes on. This isn't going to end well... now you're pissed...

~~~

Jimin feels more tears stroll down his cheeks as he tries to get himself to stop crying. He needs to pull himself together if he's going to survive. He's currently failing two of his five classes. Two others have D's while the other he managed to up to an A, but not like that matters when he's failing two. His coach has had a stern talk with him... if he doesn't get his grades up, he's off the team.

All he wants to do is cry and drink. Forget the world exists. Anything to get this bullshit off his mind. So his grades are far downhill, he made a huge mistake with Jungkook, and now he doesn't know where his girlfriend is at nearly one o'clock in the morning since she's not answering his countless texts. Life is going well, isn't it?

His stress makes him see red at this point. What's even the point? He grips the sheets and cries. That's all he's been doing for the past few days. Jimin knows he's depressed but he doesn't bother changing it. What's the point? In his anger and drunken state he punched his close friend. Jungkook forgave him almost instantly but it doesn't change how bad Jimin feels about it. He's never supposed to lay his hands on the ones he loves... ever.

Before he can process what's happening, the door to the bedroom slams open. "You fucking punched Jungkook?!" she yells. He winces. Yeah, he deserves that. Maybe some more. "I... I'm sorry... I d-didn't mean to," he mumbles, keeping his back to her. "You lied to me, you said you'd stop doing this bullshit but you haven't! When does it end? Are you ever going to stop? Ever? Be honest with me here since I need to know!"

He nods against the sheets, "I want to stop... I will..." He can feel the anger radiating off of her as she comes over to his side of the bed. "Jimin I've just about had it with your behav-" She goes still when she sees his pitiful form. Swollen eyes and lips, a huge hoodie covering most of his body, a pillow firmly grasped on his chest.

"Min?" she softly asks. "I-I'm sorry," he whispers, closing his eyes for more tears to fall. She kneels, placing one hand over one of his holding the pillow. It's quiet as he sobs. She listens to every whimper and says nothing, choosing to hold his hand instead of speak. He's grateful for anything right now.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." he repeats. She doesn't reply and he can't blame her. He wouldn't know how to react in this situation either. Why can't he stop this? It's like someone else is controlling his body anymore. Does the stress and pain ever end? Does it honestly? It feels like it hasn't in years even though it's been like what? A month?

"Is it Jungkook you're crying over or...?" "Jungkook," he lies. Well, it's not a total lie. It's part of the truth. He's mostly crying over his life. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he whimpers. "It's... not okay Min, I'm not going to lie to you. But Jungkook forgave you, so I can too."

He opens his wet eyes to look at her. "You can?" he asks with a sniffle. She nods, "I can forgive you for that... but what about all the other things? The lying, the skipping class, the drinking, the partying. I can't hear an 'I'm sorry, I won't do it again' and be fine with it anymore. I need proof. I need actions. I need you."

Jimin uses all his strength to sit up, pulling her onto the bed. She takes her shoes off and obliges, kneeling a foot away. The distance kills him... so he closes it. He hugs her as fast as he can. She's hesitant to return it, but she eventually relaxes into it. They hug in silence for a few minutes, Jimin trying not to cry any more than he already has.

"We can get through this... but only together. I feel like this is so one-sided Min. Please, help me. Help me help you. I can't read your mind. I wish I could see what's going on inside that beautiful brain of yours but I can't. I need to know what's going on." He holds her tighter, "I just miss you so much... I've been lashing out." "Then help me fix it. What can I do?" "I... I don't know." She shushes his soft cries, "stay home more. Going out with friends because you miss me does quite the opposite of help things Jimin. Please, I want to help you."

"I know... I know," he whimpers, "I just don't know how to help myself." "I can't help unless you tell me babe, please, tell me." He shakes his head, "I... I-I can't..." She sighs and decides to hold him close. For some reason confessing about his failures is the hardest thing he's ever done. He wants to scream and cry for hours. Out of respect for his girlfriend's eardrums, he doesn't scream. He merely breaks down while she holds him in silence... all night long...