This is, like, a terribly edited, really messy chapter, but I'm trying to hurry things up so I can bring Jimin in so :) enjoy this

"Come on Y/n, let's go. Your bus will leave soon." Cassandra picked your books up off of the desk and stuffed them into your backpack.

You laid your head down on your desk, forehead to the wood. "I don't want to go home," You said. Cassandra handed your backpack to Nathan, who was standing next to the door.

"I know you don't," she said. "But last time you came with me, you didn't tell your mom, and she called the police to find you. I'm not letting you stay at my house until you get at least a little better." She took your hand into hers and tugged on your arm. "Come on. Let's go."

"I'm not on good terms with mom."

"Doesn't matter. Regardless of what's going on with your mom, she loves you and wants you to be okay."

"Then can you please just give me a ride again? I don't want to go on the bus. The last time I did, everyone stared and asked questions."

"Just ignore them."

"Cassandra," you said, lifting your head off of the desk to fix her with a glare. "I don't think you realize how difficult that is. Asking me to ignore their questions is like asking me not to breathe. They will keep pushing until I give them answers."

Cassandra sighed and looked at the floor. "I would give you a ride- I would, really- but today I can't. Mom is expecting me home and Nathan has to go pick up his brother. Today you just have to go on the bus."

You had nothing left to say. You stood up reluctantly and, arm in arm between Cassandra and Nathan, left your history classroom and walked across the school the the bus.

That was a plan set in place by Cassandra and Nathan. They told you never to leave a class without them because if you did, Gavin would find you and pester you. He started to follow you again, and talk to you, and try to get touchy with you.

At one point, he made a fake account on all of his social media apps and friended you, only to fail a week later when you realized that it was him. He tried again a couple of times but you knew better than to let it work.

He sometimes caught up with you and Cassandra and Nathan, but they made it clear to him that he was not welcome among you. He ignored them and talked to mostly you, until your lack of response sent him away.

The things Gavin did... there was just something wrong with him. Something wasn't right in his head.

Little did you know.

"Alright, we're here," Cassandra said. "Here's your backpack-" Nathan handed you your backpack- "and remember to call me or Nathan or Mikey or Namjoon if things get too overwhelming on the bus. I'm sorry I can't give you a ride today- I really am."

You nodded numbly and took your backpack. "I'll see you tomorrow," you said. Nathan patted your back. "Have a good night," he said back. "Get some good sleep okay? And eat. You're still so thin."

You nodded. No promises though. You turned around and stepped onto your bus.

The moment you faced the aisle, it felt like every head in the rows of seats turned to face you. Maybe it wasn't actually like that, but that was how it felt. Dozens of hesitant and watchful eyes, glued to your every movement, as if the quietest word could set you off and you would begin to cry.

You would though. The bus made you feel nervous. School made you feel nervous. You were very uncomfortable around people. Tears were already pricking your eyes by the time you reached the back of the bus and sat by the window, all alone.

The only person who could look at you when you were in the back was whoever sat in the seat on the other side of the aisle.

No one sat there.

The bus ride home was quiet, luckily.

And when you got home, you dropped your backpack on the floor and hurried up the stairs to your room, ignoring everything your mother said in greeting.

You laid on your bed, in the darkness, all alone. Just how you liked it. That was your dormant state.

You would never get out of that dormant state unless he came back to you.

If he would ever come back to you.

•••

"Alright, folks, the plane will begin landing shortly."

Minutes pass after the pilot speaks, and you look out the window as the plane gets closer and closer to the ground. You watch outside with tired eyes. This is your second landing today.

Your first flight was to Vancouver, Canada (I know there is a second flight but idk where so I just said Canada). Then you had to switch to a different plane and wait at the gate for hours before you could board and take off again.

Now, it is dark outside once again. Night time. But you are finally in Korea. You would be a lot more jumpy and excited for this landing if you weren't just awake for the last 36 hours. You couldn't sleep.

When the plane lands, and you are finally able to take your bag and get off the plane, the first thing that meets you at the airport on the other side is confusion. This place is big. Of course, the other airports you went through were big too, but this time you're extremely tired. Everything is bright and blurry and so exhausting.

You pull out your phone and text Namjoon to tell him your plane landed. And then he calls you on FaceTime. You answer, glad that he will be there to help you.

A sudden rush of excitement courses through you, waking you up a little. You get to meet Namjoon for the first time. He was there when your depression hit its worst, and when you thought you would never see Jimin again, and now he's here. You get to meet him.

"Hi Joon," you say, when Namjoon's masked face appears on your phone. From the background around him, you can tell he's also at the airport- just somewhere you aren't.

"I just arrived like five minutes ago," Namjoon says. "So I'm not at the gate right now. Anyway, how was your flight?"

"It was nice. I couldn't sleep on the plane, so I'm really tired."

Namjoon nods and looks up from the phone to look at all the signs around him. "Can you find your way to the baggage claim?" He asks. You look up at one of the signs and find a symbol with a suitcase on it.

"Yeah."

"Then let's meet there. We don't have to hang up."

You nod. "Okay."

You talk to Namjoon while you walk around, following all the signs until you reach the baggage claim.

The moment you see him, a large rush of excitement rushes through you again and you gasp. "I see you!"

Namjoon takes his eyes off of the phone and looks around the area, searching for you.

He's so much taller than you thought. He's at least two heads taller than you. When he spots you, he smiles. His dimples are probably shining underneath his face mask. You can tell because his eyes crinkle up. You match his smile and hurry toward him.

"Namjoon!"

"Y/n!" Namjoon opens his arms for a hug, which you walk into gladly. The top of your head reaches his collarbones. Why do I have to be so short?

As if reading your mind, Namjoon bursts into a fit of giggles. "You're so tiny," he teases. You pout. "I know, you don't have to remind me."

Namjoon pokes your cheek. "It's just kinda funny. Anyway, let's get your suitcase and head back to my place. You look so tired."

"I am tired. I haven't slept since I left home. I'm gonna have a lot of sleep to catch up on."

You want to go see Jimin immediately, but you know you won't get to. You will see him tomorrow. Namjoon won't want to head all the way out to Busan so late at night tonight. That's why you'll get to tomorrow morning. Plus, if Jimin is okay right now, he is sleeping. Or he should be.

"I bet the jet lag will be insane for you," Namjoon says.

You hum in agreement. "Yes, but when I see Jimin again, it'll all be worth it. I gave up my job for this and all that therapy I had to go through to get over him is all about to go to waste."

Unless something bad happens and you lose him anyway.

Like another coma? Or he never wakes up? Or his fever is so bad that he won't recover?

No. Stop it. No way. Not now. Not ever. Don't even think about it.

The conveyor belt that your suitcase will be on begins to move. You and Namjoon step closer to it to watch for your luggage.

"The therapy wasn't wasteful, I think," Namjoon says. "Because it helped you get better at one point."

You nod, biting your lip. How will you tell Jimin about all of that? Hey yeah I just wanted to let you know that after you were put in a coma, I literally became so dysfunctional and couldn't take care of myself and it was disappointing. It's almost embarrassing, really. Sorry I'm such a screw-up.

Suitcases begin to slide onto the conveyor belt. You watch for countless minutes until finally, yours comes out and you pull it off.

"Alright," Namjoon says, offering to take your suitcase. "Let's go."

Namjoon leads you out of the airport and together, you walk through the parking lot to find his car.

"I can't drive," Namjoon says, "so my friend drove me here. He's gonna take us back to my apartment."

You nod. You can't drive either. You wonder who the friend is.

"He doesn't speak a whole lot of English- he doesn't speak much at all to new people- anyway, you can sleep on the way there if you want. It should take thirty to forty minutes depending on traffic right now, which shouldn't be a problem since it's eleven."

"Thanks," you say. "Who's the friend?"

"Jimin may or may not have told you about him," Namjoon says. "His name is Yoongi."

You bite your lip. That name does sound familiar.

"I think I've heard about him once or twice."

"Hm. Well anyway. He lives in Daegu, which is closer to Busan, where Jimin is. Yoongi came to visit this week and he's going back home soon. Oh! I forgot to mention we have a change in plans."

"Change in plans?"

"Yes. Taehyung will still be joining us tomorrow, since he wants to see Jimin too, but instead of driving us to the train station to get to Busan, Yoongi will be driving us all the way to Daegu, since he has to go there anyway. And then we'll take a train from there to Busan. Costs less money."

"How long will that take? Where's Daegu?"

Namjoon stops behind a car and opens the trunk. "Daegu, by car, is about three hours away from here. And then from Daegu to Busan is about an hour by train," he hauls your suitcase into the trunk and closes it. "Unless there are a bunch of stops. That would make it significantly longer."

You nod. "As long as we get there soon, sounds like a plan. What time do we go?"

"Whenever you're ready and well rested," Namjoon says, walking around the car to the passenger side.

"Then I'll sleep well tonight and we can go in the morning tomorrow, if you guys are up for that. I... I really don't care how much sleep I get. I just want to see Jimin."

Namjoon sighs. "Yeah me too. I'll talk to Yoongi and see if he's okay with leaving in the morning. Try to get some good sleep then," he says. He opens the back door for you. "And adjust as quickly as you can."

"I will," you say, and you climb into the back seat. Namjoon shuts the door behind you, then hops into the front seat.

Such a simple thing as that reminds you of how Jimin never let you sit in the back seat alone.

You look at the driver of the car. He turns around and faces you once Namjoon buckles in. "Hello," he says shyly. His accent is heavy. His voice is low and quiet and... soothing. His voice could put you to sleep. You give him a tiny wave.

"Hello," you say back. "I'm Y/n."

"I am Yoongi. Uh... how are you?"

You feel your face heat up for some reason. "I'm good," you reply. "And you?"

"Good." Yoongi turns to the front and shifts the car into reverse to back out of the parking space. Namjoon snickers at the awkward exchange between the two of you.

"You can go to sleep if you want," Namjoon says. "We'll wake you up when we get there."

"Thanks," you say, nodding. You don't think you'll be able to sleep, but you lean back into your seat anyway. You don't remember anything after that as you fall into a much needed slumber.

•••

March 18

My therapist says I'm getting a little bit better. That's because I'm not even talking to her about everything anymore. She doesn't know what has happened in the past couple of weeks.

Gabriel's been staying at our house for a while because of me. Mom's job is pushing her to do more at the moment and she's been working so hard and she's busy so she can't stay home and take care of me. Gabe has a job too but he comes over when he gets off of work to make sure I eat and sometimes he turns on the tv and we watch shows together until mom gets back, no words exchanged. I kind of like it like that.

On a more depressing note:

I'm sick of seeing myself. I hate mirrors. I'm ugly. And stupid. And useless. I put cardboard over my window weeks ago so I wouldn't have to see my reflection in it.

But yesterday, I shattered my closet mirror. There was blood everywhere. On my hands and my legs and anywhere there was a piece of glass. I don't think it really hurt at all. I felt like I was just in a dream.

Mom and Lily came running up the stairs and busted into my room. Lily took me out of there and treated my cuts. She had to pull glass out of my hand but said that thankfully, none of it was deep enough to have to be surgically removed. Mom and Gabe cleaned up the mess while I was with Lily.

They covered all the mirrors in the house after that.

Also Gavin has been harassing me again lately. He won't stop talking to me and when I ignore him, he gets mad. He says that since... he is gone, Gavin can take his place because there is no competition.

I'm so sick of this. Can someone please just... bring him back to me? I want the pain to go away.

•••

"Y/n?" Someone shakes your shoulder. "Y/n, we're here."

You lift your head up off of the cold car window and slowly blink open your eyes.

The car lights are on and shine down on Yoongi and Namjoon. Yoongi is quietly sitting in his seat while Namjoon is peering back at you, leaning over his seat to wake you up.

"We're here?" You ask. Namjoon nods. "Yoongi's staying with us tonight."

You nod and unbuckle your seatbelt. "Okay," you murmur sleepily. Yoongi opens his car door and gets out. "You still look pretty tired," Namjoon says. "Let's go inside so you can sleep more." You agree and get out of the car.

Namjoon pulls your suitcase out of the trunk and drags it along behind him on the way into his apartment building. You take an elevator to the fourth floor, where he lives in room 403. Yoongi walks ahead when Namjoon gives him the keys to unlock the door.

When you make it to the apartment and walk inside, you're actually surprised at how decent the place is. From the front door, you enter a large room that's part living room, part entryway, part kitchen. Namjoon slips his shoes off and opens a closet near the front door to put them in, then he hangs his coat up in there. Yoongi follows suit.

"This is my place," Namjoon says. "Here, I'll hang up your coat." You nod shyly and slip your coat off, then hand it to him. He hangs it up in the closet. "If you're hungry, you can help yourself to anything in the fridge," he says, pointing to the small kitchen to the right.

The kitchen is just a couple of counters, a fridge, stove, and sink. It looks nice though. Neat and clean. On the bar counter, there are three mini succulent plants in a line at the center on a cute placemat. There are pictures on the fridge held up by simple black magnets.

You take your shoes off and leave them in the closet as Namjoon walks into the living room. In there, there is a dark brown leather couch facing a wall-mounted TV and a pretty wooden coffee table. underneath the TV is a nice wooden cabinet covered in picture frames and stuff. There's a bonsai tree on one end of it and another on the coffee table. Around the room are a bunch of little things like figurines and more picture frames made of wood that add to the whole warm and homey feeling of the place.

To the right, near the TV, is a hallway with three doors. Namjoon walls down the hallway. You follow him, and Yoongi comes behind you.

"This is the bathroom," Namjoon says, tapping the first door on the right. "This is my room." He points to the next door, which is on the left. "And this is the guest room." Namjoon opens the last door, also on the right. He drags your suitcase inside.

The guest room is simple. Kind of like a hotel room. A bed, a nightstand with a lamp, a mirror on the wall, and a cedar chest at the foot of the bed. That's where Namjoon puts your suitcase.

"I'm sure you want to sleep now, after that long plane ride," Namjoon says, giving you a smile. His dimples appear and all your nervousness goes away. He's your friend. You don't need to feel shy- he's seen you at your worst. A low point that even Jimin hasn't seen.

"And plus," he says. "You'll want to sleep lots before tomorrow. If we get to busan early enough, we can visit Jimin before night."

Jimin. You're going to see him. Tomorrow. It doesn't feel real. None of this feels real. You're in a dream. This feels so... strange. This feels delicate. Maybe you're hallucinating.

Ten whole months of pain and suffering and now it's... useless.

Feels fake.

"I can't believe I'm going to get to see him again," you breathe. Your heartbeat quickens at the idea. "I'm... I feel so nervous about it."

"It'll get better," Namjoon says. "Once you see him, you won't be nervous anymore."

You purse your lips and nod. "Thank you so much for... all of this. Without you, I wouldn't have gotten here and I wouldn't know what's going on with Jimin and I'd be so lost."

"I'd do it for you anytime. You deserve this." Namjoon opens his arms for a hug. "C'mere."

You oblige and hug Namjoon. "I dunno if I've said this before but I'm so glad you and Jimin met," he says. "You make him so happy."

"I hope I do. He made me happy too."

"I'm not even saying that because he's just... happy," Namjoon says. He pulls out of the hug. "I'm saying this because there was something missing in him before he left for America. And after he met you, every time we talked, I noticed a difference. It's like he wasn't happy all the way through until you came along. So thank you."

Your eyes get blurry. Namjoon is right. Jimin wasn't happy. He almost killed himself, which is something you never would have thought about him doing until he told you.

You nod and Namjoon smiles again and heads out of the room saying, "Good night, I'll be in my room if you need anything."

"Good night!"

You can't imagine what it felt like for Jimin to wake up in a hospital on the other side of the world, only to go back home with his parents and get tortured the same way as before.

You almost don't want to go to sleep, but you know you should. If you don't sleep now, you'll be too tired on the way to busan tomorrow.

But you'll get to see Jimin.

You wonder if he's asleep too, or if he is awake.

You open your suitcase and pull out your old phone. Jimin hasn't called you ever since the day he called the police.

Apparently it took the police a while to find him because they weren't sure if it was a prank call or something. And then when Minji went and told them everything she knew, they just... took their sweet time in trying to find the right "Park family" and their address.

But they got him out alive. And he's back in the hospital. And you'll get to see him again.

Tomorrow you'll get to see Jimin again.

Eheh yeah sorry about that I know it was long.

Next chapter is the trip to Busan and you might get to see Jimin again!!

-L