'Five more minutes to twelve.' He thought to himself. He was anxious and impatient; which was made evidently clear by the successive tapping of his foot against the cemented floor. He checked his watch every two seconds as though to scare the time into going faster. A stray purple streamer tickled his ear and he swatted it away, tearing it in half in the process. Those damned streamers were everywhere. The whole school looked as though a rainbow had thrown up on it. Aside from the annoying streamers that hung from walls and ceilings, numerous plain balloons, colored paper cups and random origami creations were also strewn around as decorations. With the loud noises and a pleasant gathering of crowd, he was altogether reminded of a misshapen discount carnival.

Their school held a fundraiser every year. Students were encouraged to put up stalls, exhibit art and creativity, stage various entertainment programs and even set up small competitions to raise as much money as possible. The collected money would later be donated to charity organizations in need of money. The school claimed it to be a way of teaching and inculcating the need for humanity in its students but Jungkook suspected it to be more of a popularity booster for the school. But he hardly had any complaints, for the event meant a day of leisure for him. It lit up the school with an air of festivity and celebrations; relieving them of its normal monochromatic feel. All classes for the day would be suspended and he'd normally roam about trying random snacks and sweets from the homemade stalls. Aside from running a few errands from time to time, he had nothing particular to do. But this year, it was different. He had volunteered to take up the responsibility of capturing pictures, which would in turn be put up on their school website. With his precious new camera hanging around his neck, he had been delighted to carry out the duty.

He involuntarily checked the camera yet again to see if the lens cap was still on. Ensuring that everything was in place, he read the time again. The hands pointed exactly at twelve and he was disappointed at the absence of the person he was anxious to meet. The night before, Jungkook had been completely absorbed in by an interesting text. 'Meet me by our usual spot at 12.' Of course, what made the text interesting was the person who sent it. Despite his intuitions, he had let his imaginations run wild at the possible motive behind the text. While most of them felt too good to be true, he still had hopes on what it could be.

He imagined her, Arden, walking towards him. She'd be a little flushed, perhaps from the exercise of climbing up the stairs, or perhaps from the excitement of what she had in mind to tell him. She'd look around cautiously to take note of any watchful eyes that might betray them. Finally, when she is assured of their privacy, she'd walk closer to him and hesitate a little. But slowly, little by little, she'd speak her mind and tell him how much she missed him. She'd admit that she'd made a terrible mistake and then tell him how dearly she still loved him. Her eyes would glimmer with hope and maybe even hint a little bit of worry, wondering how he'd react. He'd look all grave for a while and increase her anxiety. But just as she's about to turn away, he'd catch her off guard with a warm hug. He'd embrace her with all his might and assure her that everything was alright. He'd then take her face in his hands and whisper how much he loved her...

"Kookie! Hey!"

Jungkook snapped out of his fantasy and came face to face with her bright cheery smile. While her long caramel brown hair was hidden behind her in a plain ponytail, a few short hairs on the front fluttered in the gentle breeze.

"Hey." He couldn't help but smile back warmly.

"I see you've got your camera!" she said, eyeing the bulky device. "Can I see some pictures?

'Oh crap.' He was hoping that she wouldn't ask that. Amidst all the clicks he took of the event, he couldn't help but capture a few of her beautiful smiles. Panicking, he quickly replied "Some other day perhaps, it's out of battery." Considering how the event was to last for at least three more hours, he was afraid she wouldn't buy it.

Thankfully, she didn't seem to give it much thought. Shrugging, she moved onto commenting on the booming voice of their principal that reverberated through the intercoms.

"Arden, why did you ask me to meet you here?" He blurted out, unable to withstand the suspense.

"Oh that." She trailed off, smiling at him coyly. 'I have a surprise for you."

"What is it?" He asked, his heart hammering hard in his chest.

"Well, aren't you eager to know." She teased but seeing that his expectations were already rather high, she unshouldered her bag and rummaged through it.

At that, Jungkook was even more curious. What could it possibly be? He scrunched his eyebrows as she took out a neatly wrapped package and handed it to him. Skeptically, he tore open the wrapping paper and found a Blu-ray disk set for PS3. In big block silver-grey letters was the word BATMAN capsuled within the iconic bat symbol. Underneath it, in red were the words Arkham City.

"I really had no idea what to buy, but then my cousin suggested this one. He said it's the hottest stuff in the market right now." She went on enthusiastically. "Do you like it?"

"I... don't know." He found himself whispering. A game. That was the big surprise. The hours he'd spent dreaming away was all for this. Technically speaking, it was a marvelous gift. The game had been released only over a week ago and he had been itching to buy it. But his mind was still hazy. How could he compare the worth of a game to that of her companionship which he had so dreadfully yearned?

"Why, what happened? Don't you like it?" She asked anxiously at his odd reply.

Before he could lose himself in a spiral of self-pity and sorrow, he willed himself to look up at her. Managing to bring forth what he hoped was a smile, he shook his head slowly. "Like it? I love it!" He stuttered to say. He prayed that she took his odd expression to be one of disbelief than of disappointment.

"Really?" She asked, still a little unconvinced.

"Really." He affirmed. He forced himself to smile better and mustered up all the cheeriness he could summon. "It's brilliant."

She seemed to buy it and heaved a huge sigh of relief. "That's great! I really wanted to thank you for all that you've been doing for me and Seju. If it weren't for you, I would have had a hard time with you know..." She trailed off. "I just really appreciate your help."

If the disappointment hadn't hurt him enough, this one really sealed the deal. He would rather she push him off the railing than say that. It was true that he had been helping her out, and he had been helping her out a lot. While they were dating, Arden's mom had grown fond of him. She'd taken a good long look at his 'innocent eyes' as she called it and declared that she trusted him. Hanging out with Jungkook had henceforth been an easy task for Arden. His smile and simple greetings were all it took to work the charm on her mother. While he had been proud of the achievement, he had never dreamed of it turning into a weapon that would be used against him. Her mom liked him so much that Arden had never revealed the news of their break-up to her. She was sure that Seju would never receive the privilege that Jungkook had received and hence, had made a simple convenient arrangement. At least, her part in it was simple enough. Whenever she was out with Seju, she'd inform her mom that she's out with Jungkook. This involved him answering any calls that her mom would make and efficiently lying, in order to deceive her. This also meant that he had to escort Arden back home once in a while to 'prove' that they indeed had been together.

Jungkook still tried to find one good reason as to why he agreed to it. But when she had turned to him with those pleading eyes, there wasn't much he could do. Before he knew it, he had signed up for what was now a dreaded nightmare. The only bright side to it were the rare moments when he'd walk her back home and they'd walk hand-in-hand, and for those precious few minutes, it would all seem as though nothing had ever changed. Those prized moments were the sole reason as to why he continued to labor himself despite his distaste for the entire ordeal.

His silence thereupon was not further questioned and she left with a small peck on his cheek, leaving him to 'admire' his new gift. It took everything in him to not throw away the little box off the railing. He shoved it into his light backpack and hurriedly made his way towards the stage events so as to not fall victim to his own mean thoughts. He uncapped the lens and amused himself with the most trivial of scenes, capturing every little detail with his lens. He was left alone for the most part of the day without the company of his friends. Jia and Namjoon were busy doing their duties as the announcers for the stage events while Mina was in charge of a homemade craft stall. Jungkook was conflicted. On one hand, it was irksome to not rant it all out to someone; while on the other, he was relieved at not having to answer any intrusive questions. No matter how he put it, he was sure that his friends would frown upon his actions and he wasn't much in the mood for criticism.

***

By the time the event came to an end, Jungkook was worn out. Most of the crowd had cleared out, leaving just a handful of students who were busy clearing up the last of the stalls. He made his way back to the spot on the third floor where he had received the gift just a few hours ago. The path leading up the staircase was emptier than before and the eerie quietness provoked the suppressed thoughts inside him. Placing one elbow on the railing, he took in the gentle wind that passed by. The third floor was mostly filled with unoccupied classrooms and this particular corner between the unused washroom and staircase served as a good hiding spot. The place wasn't much of a secret among the high school students but it was usually free of teachers. For reasons unknown, he felt impulsive and peered around the corridor for signs of any wanderers. Seeing none, he quietly took out one of the three cigarettes that Namjoon had procured. Jungkook wasn't sure where his friend had smuggled it from, and he hadn't been bothered enough to question it either.

He took out the little white rolled up cylinder from one of the side pouches of his now camera-heavy bag. A bit of its edge was crumpled from being harshly stuffed into the bag and he gently smoothened it out. He fished out a small fluorescent green lighter from the same pouch and looked around once again. Satisfied, he balanced the cigarette awkwardly between his index and middle finger. He then carefully placed the tip between his lips and mimicked the countless scenes he's watched on movies. He clicked on the lighter but it took him a few tries to get the flames going as the breeze kept blowing it over. When it finally had a steady low flame, he cautiously touched the flames to the other end of the cigarette. Closing away the lighter, he watched as the white tip smoldered with a reddish orange glow. Hastily, he sucked it with all his might, afraid that the little flame would die out again.

The triumphant feeling of being a rebel, that dared to smoke inside the school, lasted barely for a maximum of two seconds. As soon as his body registered the first drag, it did everything to resist the smoke that had invaded it. He coughed violently and even gagged a little as the smoke infiltrated his hostile respiratory system. Transparent smoke escaped rapidly through his mouth and nose while his throat burned unbearably. There were tears in his eyes from the exertion of coughing, and he gripped the wall to hold steady. He peeped over the corridor once again to check if the commotion had attracted any teachers. But seeing none, he turned around and took another drag. This time, he was sensible enough to take a small one. Unlike the sleek villains and mafia gang leaders on screen, he still had difficulty coping with the foreign substance occupying his lungs. Nevertheless, he felt accomplished.

It took at least a couple more drags for the nicotine to finally hit him. And when it did, it was nothing like he had ever experienced before. The head rush was so intense that he felt as though he'd been hanging upside down for an hour straight. His vision blurred a little and everything around seemed unusually bright. He suddenly felt blissful, as though all his thoughts and worries had dissolved along with each puff. He took another drag and smiled stupidly as the smoke unfurled through his nostrils. The rush was wonderful. The gentle breeze felt wonderful. The annoying multicolored streamers looked wonderful. The sky seemed wonderful. Arden was wonderful. He was wonderful. Life was wonderful. Everything was wonderful.

"Jungkook? Are you here?" He heard a distant voice call out to him. By the time he could comprehend the possibility that it might be a teacher, the echoing footsteps had already gotten alarmingly close. He was instantly snapped out of the illusionary magical land provided by the nicotine, and his head spun from confusion.

"What the-" he heard the voice say and for a split second, he wondered if it was Arden. His weak attempts at trying to clear off the smoke had been in vain and the person coughed as they got closer. He felt tremendously relieved to see the approaching figure of Jia. She had one hand firmly clammed over her nose and the other flailed wildly overhead to clear the smell off her path. "Have you been smoking in here?" She asked in evident disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? What if someone catches you?" She seemed horror-struck at the mere thought.

"Shh! Stop yelling! Someone might hear you and that would get me into trouble!" He exclaimed in a hushed voice."

"Right." She said, narrowing her eyes. "I wonder what's more likely to get you into trouble." She held out both her palms to imitate the two hands of a weighing scale. "Me talking, or you puffing out smoke like a fricking chimney inside a school building. Hmm, let's see." She said, her every word dripping with sarcasm.

"Alright, fine." He said, scowling deep. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?" He hadn't meant to sound so mean but the stress of the circumstance had betrayed him.

Her icy stare assured him that question was not well-received. "Namjoon, Mina and I are going to Lily's and we thought maybe you'd like to tag along. But if you'd rather stay and get yourself suspended from school, be my guest." She replied coldly.

He hesitated for a while, still clutching the cigarette in his hand as though his life depended on it. The effect brought on by the nicotine had been short-lived but he desperately wanted to know if he could get the feeling back.

"Okay, you got to be kidding me." She said, judgmentally. "Give me that."

He barely got the chance to protest before she snatched it away from his hand and snubbed it against the cemented floor. She took out a tissue from her skirt pocket, placed the half-used cigarette inside it and crumpled the paper into a ball. Holding it firmly inside her balled fist, she beckoned him out into the wide corridor. Unable to say anything, he followed her quietly.

They made their way out of the school gates discreetly and it was only when they crossed the school's threshold that Jungkook thought back to how careless his actions had been. If he had been caught by someone, he could only imagine the chaos that would have ensued with his mother. Neither of them spoke a word as they walked their way to the little café. He was grateful to have avoided a possibly messy confrontation with the school authorities but he felt like it would hurt his pride to admit it. Somewhere along the way, he saw her toss the tissue away into a trashcan. The bell on top of the door jingled as they entered the café. They spotted their friends by a four-seater table and joined them after placing their orders.

"What took you guys so long?" Asked Mina, already sipping on her hot cappuccino.

Jia looked at him as though he just got back from murdering someone. "I had to climb up two floors to find this guy and he was..." She paused as if to give him the chance to confess his crime.

"I tried smoking." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Look out kids, bad boy rebel Jungkook coming through." Namjoon sniggered, initiating a fist bump. Mina on the other hand, shot him eager questions such as "Ooh how was it? Did you like it?" Jungkook was more than happy to oblige both of them.

"Are you guys for real?" Jia asked exasperated. "He smoked in school." She said, stressing every word as if to get her point through.

"So what? Big deal. Lots of people do it." Namjoon shrugged.

Disappointed at not having the reactions that she had hoped for, she got up and stormed away to get their orders. He couldn't help but grin widely as he explained in detail all that he had experienced to his enthusiastic listeners.

"You coughed a lot after the first drag, right?" Asked Namjoon.

"Yeah. It was terrible. My throat burned like hell too." Jungkook replied, taking his order of warm white coffee from Jia.

"That's what everyone says. But for some reason, I didn't cough at all when I first smoked." Said Namjoon, scowling.

"Aww sweetie, maybe you don't have lungs." Offered Mina playfully.

Namjoon turned to face her with a mischievous smile. "But you'd still love this lungless monster, wouldn't you?"

"Absolutely." Replied Mina cheekily. As expected, the couple shamelessly started sucking each other's faces right in the midst of the café.

Jungkook respectfully averted his eyes and caught Jia's who fake gagged dramatically. As he struggled to suppress his loud chuckles, his attention was soon caught by another couple who had entered the café. His smile faded instantly. After all the day's hassle, he just didn't have the energy to have another encounter with Arden.

"I uh got to go." He whispered, leaning over to Jia.

She shot him a worried 'please don't leave me alone with them' look. Though the couple sitting across them had broken apart from their spontaneous show of affection, it was impossible to say when they'd be back at it again. Not wanting to leave her to that horrible fate, he made a show of wanting help with some homework and hurried out of the shop with her tailing him closely behind.

"Thank god!" Jia exclaimed exasperatedly. "Remind me to never hangout with them outside of school ever again."

He chuckled weakly in reply but he was only half listening. His mind had drifted back to the disk that lie heavily in his bag. He wondered if fate was playing a cruel game against him. He always seemed to bump into her when he least wanted to. While on days where he longed to get even a glimpse of her, she'd be nowhere around. He wondered if it was all part of her plan. Arden's great plan to make her Kookie miserable.

"Did you two have an unpleasant conversation again?" He heard Jia say casually from beside him.

He had only narrowly missed from giving himself away at the strategically phrased question. Had he replied with a quick 'No.', it would have been quite evident that he knew who she was referring to; which in turn would invite more awkward questions. Instead, he settled for a bewildered "Who?"

From the corner of his eyes, he caught her frowning a little as though she was yet again disappointed at the turn of events. "Arden. I figured maybe you took off because you wanted to avoid her."

"Arden?" He asked innocently as though the name hadn't even crossed his mind. He considered saying 'I didn't even see her. Was she there?' but decided against it thinking that it would be an overkill. "Oh!" He feigned a laugh as though he had only now made the connection that she had deduced. "No, no." He shook his head. "I'm supposed to catch a movie later together with uh...dad." He concluded clumsily.

"Ooh! Which one?" She asked, suddenly interested.

Relieved that she was convinced, he dodged the question by answering that they had no particular film in mind. He kept her on with the movie conversation until she parted ways to her own home. As much as he valued her helpful suggestions and her patience to hear him out, he simply didn't have the energy for an open one-on-one conversation. Perhaps he'd tell her all about it one day, when he was ready to move on; when he was finally ready to get over his Arden. But for the time being, he preferred to drown in his sweet denial.

A/N: Hello lovely people! I'm back after god knows how long. And as mush as I want to promise that it'll all be smooth sailing from now on, things are still hectic, so no promises. But hopefully, I'll find time to write more. I'm so grateful to everyone who has shown much support for the book. I love you all! <3

P.S: In the meantime, consider this my way of celebrating 6th Week of Butter on Billboard #1!