Deep End - Ruelle

There's not a day that has passed that Jeongguk doesn't spend his time alone these days.

Like literally alone.

Jimin is usually out with Joshua - or so he says. Taehyung has been leaving at seven in the night and coming back by the time sunrises. Their once somewhat forming friendship isn't how it use to be anymore. If anything it feels as though they're just what they are; strangers that are forced together because they're under the same circumstance.

And it sucks.

Especially for Jeongguk.

He thought he was okay, he really did. With the whole kidnapping thing, he didn't think it affected him as one would assume. They just beat him up while he was blindfolded, left to starve and wasn't given a drop of water.

Jeongguk really thought he was okay.

But he's has...... Nightmares about it.

That those people are going to kill him as they said they would. Will slaughter Lalisa in front of him as they taunted about to him. Mocking how next it will be Jimin or Taehyung if he kept fucking screaming.

Waking up sucks because he gets this insufferable pain all over his body, feeling as though he's in a fucking inferno with this skin overheating and heart racing as though he might just vomit it out.

Jeongguk thought it was normal, you know, since he did get kidnapped. But after what happened with the whole Jimin thing and seeing how things are now between the three of them, he feels as though he's in this cage. Alone. With no one there to even tell him what the fuck is going on with him.

He would talk to Yeosang, but the kid has already a life complicated of shit on his shoulders to be hearing of Jeongguk's issues. Woosung is a no go for obvious reasons and Hoseok - He doesn't know shit about what's going on so that can't happen.

So, with this reality that he has no one to talk to, since Jimin and Taehyung are barely around, Jeongguk has decided to just keep it bottled up. Maybe it isn't as important as he feels it is and when it's over, he'll be okay.

It'll come to pass, eventually.

Whatever, it's not that important either way.

That's all Jeongguk tried to tell himself when he recently startled awake from another nightmare, facing his panic attack alone since it's midnight and no one is here - not like it would've been any different if someone was here. It was hard though, since he felt as though he was dying. But after sitting it out after a while, telling himself it isn't important, he pushed himself to get up and just shower then go to the kitchen to make himself some tea.

Lalisa use to make him tea whenever he had nightmares.

The tea he made wasn't like hers but well, it'll do at least.

It still wasn't easy to fall back asleep, especially after his nightmare. Still being here alone, Jeongguk began to unwillingly sink in deeper and deeper into his thoughts. He didn't want to, and he didn't understand why he began to remember those moments where he was alone and kidnapped.

Would it be because that's how he feels now? Alone.... And maybe is kidnapped?

No, this is nothing like how it was when he was kidnapped, yet he felt that same suffocation in his throat whenever he would take a sip of his tea as that trapped feeling overcame his senses and better conscious. His hand was shaking and his breathing began to mellow unevenly.

Why is this happening a lot now? Just why?

It's not like he wants to feel this way, he doesn't. But the more he hears this silence around him, the more it tormented with his sanity; twisting and molding to form this illusion of darkness hanging over his chest.

He's alone.

Taehyung and Jimin aren't here, not like they would care either way - They never did.

Woosung isn't here, to just be his friend and give him those hugs that he use to love burying himself into when they were teens.

And Lalisa isn't-

The thought couldn't process Jeongguk's head before his throat feverishly burned, a weak and unprovoked wheeze passing his lips with his eyes blurring more and more to the point he couldn't see the tea mug anymore.

No one is here.

No one is worried.

He's alone.

All..... Alone.

Just like how he was when he was taken.

Dammit.

Dammit!

Jeongguk didn't even feel or notice when he threw the mug against the wall, nor did he feel the scream he poured out of his chest or when he slid down against the cabinets with knees to his chest. It just happened, and he can't stop.

Crying.

Just crying.

And he didn't know why.

But he knew it hurt.

And it wouldn't stop hurting.

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Rocky - ATEEZ

"END HIM!"

"BEAT HIM TO PIECES!"

"FUCK HIM UP!"

"KARMA! KARMA! KARMA!"

"YES!"

Those words were all Taehyung heard surrounding him, fueling the sadistic smile on his bloody lips to send the final punch across the big goon's face to the ground, knocking him out cold with a face coated in bruises, blood and scars.

He had no chance.

He never did.

He was a goner before he even stepped in here.

No one is a match for Karma.

No one.

The bombarding howling and screeches exploded around him, raising Taehyung's ego while jumping around and hyping the crowd excitedly while they chant his name to the victory of another successful win. Regardless if his shirtless body was coated in blood, dirt, and sweat, people still pat him in joy and screamed in his winning streak; unbreakable.

The sound was deafening, exhilarating, and at that particular moment; he wasn't Taehyung anymore.

No, Taehyung has been long gone since his first fight sometime ago.

Now he's Karma, all over again.

The infamous street fighter, who beat up someone so bad that he went to jail for it.

And he was unstoppable.

Only stuck in that trance of blood, pain, and a shit ton of a lot of fights.

He fucking missed this.

The adrenaline, the pulse; everything.

And damn well believe he sure as hell got addicted to it.

Getting out of the way of the crowd now after his third fight of the night that he won, he went to the back room to clean off his body of evidence of the fight. Unfortunately for him he has a curfew, he gets here at around seven, watches a few fights, then fights all the way to five a.m. He doesn't even get tired, if anything he's fueled by energy whenever he steps into this pit.

Ever since his first day here, it hasn't changed. If he could fight all night and all day, he would.

Best believe he fucking would.

But of course, he has to keep a low profile.

So he enjoys these nights - oh so recklessly.

Not like he doesn't get anything out of it either way.

"Next time, play around a little. Ending these shows so fast will annoy the crowd," Karma slowly smirks to the voice, just as he was wiping the blood from his abdomen, "Annoy me more specifically."

Ah, his favorite person these days.

The irony of the world.

With a breathy chuckle, he cranes his head back to see the pointed look of the most powerful woman here in this place. Who knew she would've been someone interesting to him these days.

"What's the matter? I thought you enjoyed my shows?"

"Not when it ends too quickly," Mother remarks, icy and snipped, but despite her tone she still hands the bag of money out to him, to which he caught with a hand, "Tomorrow, same time."

Karma snickers with a wink, "Don't forget your end of the bargain."

Mother rolls her eyes and turns around, "I won't take your two lovely boys with me. Even though I should."

"Trust me, you don't," Karma giggles, "They are worse than me, don't let their appearance fool you. I'm sure you know of Jimin, since you grew up with him, but don't underestimate Jeongguk."

And with that he puts on his shirt, sending the woman a wink before moving past her, "See you tomorrow."

________________________________

Play Date - Melanie Martinez

"Again - Um, no, ugh, no no like this."

Jimin's back abruptly is met with the ground, forcing the breath out of his lungs to the cement fucking destroying his back.

For fuck sakes.

A soft giggle lingers the air and suddenly Joshua's face appears before Jimin's eyes, blocking the light behind him. A wide smile is on Joshua's face, almost manically, before he leans to Jimin's face with lips perked.

"Gimme a kiss for your hard work."

Jimin scowls distastefully at him, "Don't make me spit on your face."

Joshua laughs loudly, leaning back from the other male and twirling a little in his delight while Jimin gets to his feet. There's been times where Jimin has thought to himself why or how he's still associated with this man.

The answer is simple, Joshua doesn't treat him any differently than how he usually does.

He's the only one who doesn't look at him weirdly or strange since he's gotten here, not like some familiar Phoenix Children who do know who he is. Despite what's going on, Joshua is still his 'charming' usual self. The only difference now is that he's helping him to toughen up his self defense skills. Jimin already knew how to fight before, but since he's out of practice Joshua is here to push him a little more.

Not fun, or ideal, but it's been working.

Jimin feels himself growing stronger while being here, as a source of a nice distraction from the tension going on at home.

If Jimin was anything like the person he was before, he probably would've been over the moon being able to be around Joshua so often. Now, he's older and not a fucking idiot. Joshua is insane, attractive but not enough to sway him like how he once was by him.

And Joshua just seems to enjoy teasing him about it any chance he can get.

"Well, won't you look at that, Cinderella has to go," Joshua sighs dramatically when he checks the time on his phone, turning to grin at him, "So when are you going to let me kill your precious little friends?"

Jimin murderously glares at Joshua while he puts a shirt on, "Off limits."

"But they hurt my precious baby phoenix," Joshua whines back, snarling his teeth a bit in annoyance, "Just one punch."

"No."

"A small poke of my knife?"

"Joshua."

"Or I could just-"

Jimin throws his backpack at him, making the other male giggle, "I SAID OFF LIMITS!"

That has been another thing with Joshua that's been so damn intolerable; he's been having this itchy need to have some fun with Jeongguk and Taehyung. Yeah, not the type of fun one would think.

There's nothing he hates more than having a Phoenix child going through shit that has nothing to do with Phoenix or just have someone hurt them. Unlike Gikwang, that's like the guardian angel, Joshua is the one that deals with it when the guardian angel can't - using other methods of course.

It also doesn't help that this is happening to Jimin, with an outsider messing with him while knowing he's part of this family; sure maybe he never gave Jimin a chance back then for his crush phase, but he damn well hates when someone messes with him.

His dead ex boyfriend speaks for that.

Is that being a little possessive?

Maybe he just wants all the attention to himself, or he actually cares?

Who the fucks knows.

Anyways, he's been holding himself together because of Jimin. He can tell Jimin is going through a hard time with his emotions because of those two boys, so he's irritated by it even if he doesn't show it.

So he forces a wide smile, holding to Jimin's backpack, "Fine, protect your little babies. Whenever you need a distraction, you know who to call."

Jimin tries not to cringe to the blow kiss the man sends him and just snatches his backpack from his hands, "Whatever, I'm heading out."

And with that Jimin walks away, not noticing how Joshua's smile slightly dropped with a deep frown on his face.

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A/N:

Hey lovelies! It's been a while! How are you guys?

I'm sorry if I haven't updated in so long, I have been really busy with class starting again and getting ahead of them. Senior year, gotta love the stress :')

Anyways! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

I PUPRLE YOU! <3