Jungkook peeked at the girl standing next to him from the corner of his eyes. It was clear that she was mad at him. He didn't blame her. The whole 'acting like a jerk' was not something he had intended to do. But when she had brought up the topic, he hadn't been ready and he had chickened out. The atmosphere was tense and he felt suffocated by it.

To tell the truth, he was guilty. How was he supposed to know that a harmless prank would turn, well, harmful? On the night of the incident, he had hoped to get some peace, having spent an unpleasant evening with his mom. But each time he closed his eyes, he was haunted by the image of her drowning. He was grateful for having jumped at the right time but he couldn't help but imagine the consequences had he not taken any action. Within a single day, he would have turned into a murder. It would have been a cherry on top of his already meaningless life. Each time he thought of it, he reminded himself to breathe.

To top it all off, she'd covered for him in front of his mother. Considering his mother, it wasn't much of a difference. But he tried to put himself in her shoes. Had he gotten the chance to ruin someone's day who had almost just tried to kill him, he most likely would have taken it. He had always known her to be the quiet and kind type, one of the reasons why he gladly picked on her. Thinking back, it only made him more guilty. He was also angry. It would have been easier to face her if she hadn't done that.

He kept reminding himself that she was alright and well. As a proof, she stood right next to him. All he needed was a little bit of courage to look her in the eye and talk it out. He knew for a fact that he'd feel so much better if he did but he was desperately trying to find that ounce of confidence. As usual, he hadn't brought his text book but before he could ask her, she wordlessly pushed hers to the centre of the table. He sighed.

'Alright, Jungkook. You need to sort this out, today." He told himself.

***

Jia was surprised to see Jungkook sitting next to her. They were back in their class after lab and she wondered why he was in Mina's seat. It was hard enough, getting through a very awkward lab hour with him, she didn't think she could take more of it. It had been so suffocating that she had almost missed his pranks. Almost.

"Jia, we need to talk." He told her; his eyes trained on the desk.

About time, she thought. And she was glad that he addressed her by her actual name instead of the corny nickname. "Okay." She said calmly. "Talk."

"I'm uh kind of sorry." He said curtly.

Jia raised an eyebrow. "Kind of?"

Jungkook sighed and turned to face her. He looked at the wall behind her. "I'm sorry."

"Okay." She nodded.

He took a deep breath and looked at her. "I'm really sorry for pushing you into the pool, for nearly killing you, for being an ass the other day and for that." He said, pointing at her feet. "I didn't know how to face you, okay? And I was terrified. I keep thinking about it and... a lot of things could have gone worse that day..." He trailed off. Jia waited for him to speak again but he looked zoned out as though he imagined all the worst scenarios.

"Jungkook?" She tugged at his sleeve.

"Yeah?" He replied, jolting back to reality.

"You were saying something." She pointed out.

"Ah, yes." He nodded. "So, overall, I'm just sorry for everything. I know I annoyed you a lot and I won't bother you again. And thanks for covering me. As a sign of goodwill, I got you these." He picked up his bag, rummaged through it and took out a box. He handed it to her and bowed his head. "Goodbye, Yun Jia. Take care."

"Wait." Jia said, before he could get up.

He looked at her confused. She looked down at the box and gently tore open the gift warp. Inside, was a box of assorted chocolates. She looked at it for a while and chuckled to herself.

"You got these for me?" She asked as though to clarify.

He looked at it grimly. "Yes. I know you love chocolates. It's not much but I want everything to end on a good note between us. This will be the last you see of me."

"Thanks, but you sound as though I'm never going to see you again or something." She observed.

"I'll try my best." He trained his eyes on the ground. "It'll be hard considering we're in the same class and then there's the whole lab thingy-" He went on ranting.

"Whoa, dude. Why can't we be friends?" she asked, tilting her head to the right.

"Friends?" He looked at her as though she suggested something scandalous. "But... you hate me."

"You're not wrong. But ta-da! This is your golden chance to change that." Jia shrugged.

"Oh." He replied, looking away.

"Jungkook, I accept your apology." Jia said calmly.

He looked at her; his doe-eyes wide in anticipation.

"And I really appreciate this; I love it." She held up her box of chocolates. "And I'm totally on board with the 'not annoying' me part. But, let's be friends, yeah?" She said, holding out her hand.

He looked at her hand intently and then slowly nodded his head. He took her hand and shook it politely. She smiled warmly at him and he smiled back sincerely.

"Good. I'm glad we sorted things out. Otherwise, things would've gotten really weird especially considering..." She trailed off, pointing to his table.

Namjoon and Mina were deeply engrossed in a conversation. Mina looked like she was ranting aggressively while Namjoon looked like he disagreed to it equally aggressively.

Jungkook looked at them with narrowed eyes and then back at her. "I have a weird feeling we might be seeing a lot of each other because of them." He said intently.

Jia couldn't help but agree with him.

***

"You don't get it. There's a difference between the two words." Argued an exasperated Namjoon.

"How is that even possible?! It literally means the same thing. Jia, back me up here." Mina countered fiercely.

Jia looked at them with a blank face. She didn't even know what they were arguing about but apparently, it was so heated that they had argued all the way into lunch break. When Jungkook said that they'll probably see a lot of each other, she hadn't expected it to start so soon. Sitting next to her was a bored Jungkook, and across from her sat Mina and Namjoon.

"Are you guys going to Jiwoo's party this Saturday?" Jungkook asked, looking around the table. Jia suspected it to be an attempt at a change of topic and it thankfully worked.

"Oh yeah. I forgot that it was this Saturday." Mina said, finally taking a bite of her food.

Jungkook nodded. "His parties are insane. He's rich, has a huge house and even has access to..." He lowered his voice. "Alcohol."

"Wow." Mina replied.

"I know. He's so cool that even the senior folks agree to go." Jungkook said in awe.

"Isn't alcohol illegal?" Jia asked unimpressed.

"That's exactly why he's so cool." Mina replied excitedly.

"I'm definitely going. Will you?" Jungkook asked Mina expectantly.

"I want to. But this dummy here won't go even if her life depended on it." She said pointing to Jia. "And my mom won't let me go without her."

Jia narrowed her eyes. "Like that has ever stopped you from going before."

"You have a point but it'd be more fun if I had some company." Jia knew that was bullshit. Mina was a social butterfly who could get along well with anyone.

"First of all, my mom won't let me out that late. And, I don't know. I just personally find them a waste of time. It's meant for people who love socialising, dancing or drinking. And I am not fond of any of it." She asserted.

Namjoon raised his hand in solidarity from the other end and high-fived her. "I agree with her. It's also very loud and people take it as an excuse to do all kind of crap. I'd rather chill at home."

"Exactly!" Said Jia, relieved to finally find someone who thought like her.

"I get it. You guys are boring." Jungkook said.

Jia rolled her eyes.

"Mina, if you're going. I'll keep you company this time. Forget these nerds." Jungkook said solemnly.

"Yay! My hero!" Joked Mina, clapping her hands excitedly.

At that, Namjoon perked up. "I uh don't mind parties once in a while. It's fun, I guess. I'll join you just this once. For Jiwoo."

Jungkook smirked at him. "Oh really? That won't be necessary, sir. You said you'd be busy, right?" He teased.

While Jungkook roasted him, Mina turned her attention to Jia. "You should come. Just this once. We can have fun."

Jia looked at her friend's pleading face for a while and sighed. "I suppose I could go just this once. I'll be out with you- know- who till afternoon but I'll be free in the evening. Especially since I'll be staying over at your place..." Jia trailed off slyly.

"Yay!" She cheered and paused abruptly. Jia waited for the realisation to hit her friend. "You'll be what?!"

Jia nodded to confirm. A sleepover was something they'd been planning for a while but were too occupied to actually do so.

"Your mom finally let you?! I can't believe this! Why didn't you say so earlier?" Mina asked in disbelief.

"I was waiting to surprise you but..." Jia pointed at the two bickering guys sitting next to them.

"Sorry about that." Mina smiled sheepishly. "This is great then! We're going to have all the fun in the world on Saturday." She said, barely containing her excitement.

Jia nodded, equally excited. Her first date with Yoongi as a couple and a sleepover with Mina on the same day. Nothing could possibly go wrong, she thought to herself. Oh boy, was she wrong.