I've been meaning to do this for a long time, but I want to dedicated this story to my good friend unprofessionalarmy . she's so sweet and I love how excited she gets every time I post - even after i take an eternity to update. Thanks for always being so supportive! ILY 🖤

𝔭𝔲𝔟𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔥𝔢𝔡 𝔡𝔞𝔱𝔢: 2/4/20
𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱: 4166

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍
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"Jungkook, is something the matter? You look like you've just seen a ghost." Mr. Choi says, standing up at the front of the class.

"Huh, what...oh, um...no, nothing's wrong." Jungkook says quietly, quickly shoving the piece of paper back into his pocket. He sits up properly.

"Are you sure? Because you can step out for a moment, if you would like."

"No, I'm fine." Jungkook says, his gaze falling back down onto his textbook that was laying opened to the wrong page on his desk.

"Ok, if you insist.." Mr. Choi says then turns back around to face the board. "Now, where was I....oh yes.."

As Mr. Choi continues his lecture, Jungkook's mind was elsewhere, replaying the words of the letter over and over again in his mind.
It's not that the content of the letter itself was particularly scary, but the fact that someone, someone he didn't know, was having dreams of him really creeped him out.

It could have been anyone, but he couldn't help but peek up at Mr. Choi every now and then with suspicious eyes....especially after the strange way he was acting this morning. And not only that, but it started to remind him of a particular someone - someone he had tried so hard to forget about over the past year and a half...it gave him the creeps, to put it lightly, and he didn't want to think about it any longer than he had to.

Did you dream about me last night? His ex, Taeyong's, words still etched into his brain.

Lunch rolls around and Jungkook's mind was still in the clouds. He stands up from his desk when the bell rings and he slowly closes his text book. He shakes his head, trying to declutter his mind; he knows he shouldn't obsess over something as this simple letter. For all he knew, it could have been prank. But something kept poking at him and poking at him - and a little voice in his head kept telling him that there was something was off. It was a very similar feeling that he felt when he had been around Taehyung.

"Looks like your color has come back." Jungkook hears, prompting him to turn around.

"Oh, y-yeah." Jungkook chuckles nervously as he touches his cheek.

"Are you sure you're feeling well, Jungkook? You seem jittery." Mr. Choi goes to reach up to touch Jungkook's forehead, but Jungkook raises his hand up to fix his bangs, purposely blocking Mr. Choi's oncoming hand.

"Yes..! I'm fine. Just fine." Jungkook says, his voice high in pitch due to his nervousness.

Getting the message, Mr. Choi pulls his hand away and he puts it into his pocket. "Well.." Mr. Choi clears his throat. "That's good. I'm glad to hear." His gaze falls down to Jungkook's pocket after seeing something that caught his eye. "What do you have there?" He asks.

Jungkook looks down to see what he was looking at, and he quickly shoves the piece of paper - that was sticking out - further into his pocket and he hastily zips it shut. "Oh, um, that's just a shopping list. I uh..." His eyes dart from left to right. "I'm hungry. Bye." He says abruptly, quickly side stepping out from in front of Mr. Choi and hurrying out the classroom door that was just a few feet away.

. . .

As he walks down the hallway, Jungkook lifts his hand up and touches his head. You're just being paranoid...relax. He thinks, trying to compose himself.

Jungkook isn't entirely sure why he was feeling so worked up over something as miniscule as this, but then again, he had good reason to be. Between Mr. Choi's strange behavior, the strange man who followed him into the haunted carnival, Taeyong, and not to mention his uncle and father - his paranoid behavior certainly had a logical excuse. Though he figured he was just a magnet for unstable people and had since accepted it, it still didn't make it any less easier for him to deal with.

Jungkook lets out a deep, stress-filled sigh as he walks down the flight of stairs, heading towards the vending machine that he had agreed to meet up with everyone at. He doesn't initially see Taehyung standing anywhere nearby, so he looks side to side - hoping to catch a glimpse of him among the huge crowd of students who were heading towards the cafeteria, but he doesn't. Even after all of his other friends arrived, he waited for a couple more minutes but still; no sign of him.

"Where are you always going off to?" He asks under his breath.

. . . . . .

"Soooo, sooo....show us the letter!" Minnie says, grabbing onto Jungkook's arms.

"What letter?" Bobby asks curiously, walking back over from the vending machine with a bottle of soda in his hand.

"Kookie got a love letter from a secret admirer!" Minnie says.

"Love letter?" The previously couldn't-be-bothered Yoongi says, his eyes shooting up from his phone.

"No I didn't." Jungkook says, pulling his arm away from the over-enthusiastic girl. "It wasn't a love letter."

"What is it then? Let us see." Minnie says, holding out her hand.

"You can't see it because there is nothing left for you to see. I tossed it out." Jungkook says, rubbing his arm.

"No you didn't. I can tell you're lying." Minnie says, putting her hand out even more. "Give it here."

"It's my business anyways, what does it matter to you?" Jungkook says.

"Don't be so defensive, kookie. We just wanna see."

Jungkook grumbles to himself and he reaches into his pocket, pulling the crumpled piece of paper out. Reluctantly, he hands it to her, knowing she would just keep asking - to which she snatches up in an instant and unfolds it. As she reads it, everyone else huddles around her to get a look at it. Especially Yoongi who seemed oddly interested.

. . . .

"Someone is having dreams about you?? That's so romantic! You know it's true love when they're subconsciously thinking of you!" She says and Jungkook snatches the paper out of her hand.

"Yeah, well...I wish I knew who that someone was." He says, giving a little sigh.

"Why? Sometimes not knowing can be fun! HEY - you should totally write one back to them!" Minnie suggests.

"What, no way." Jungkook says, shoving the paper back into his pocket, waving his other hand back and fourth. "I don't want to give them any reason to keep writing to me."

"Why not? Aren't you excited to know that there is someone out there crushing on you?"

"How do you know they're crushing on me?"

"They went out of their way to write you this letter, of course they do." Jinhwan chimes in.

"Well, they can tell me face to face if they want to. But for now, I'm not going to give them any more reason to write me back." Jungkook says.

"Aww, why are you such a party pooper? This could be soooo interesting." Minnie says.

"Yeah, well...sorry. I just don't feel comfortable doing that. And besides, how am I supposed to know that it wasn't one of you guys messing with me? This wouldn't be the first time you would have done something like this."

"How many times do I have to tell you, we're sorry we wrote you that fake valentine's day card. We just knew how lonely you were and we wanted to cheer you up." Bobby says.

"By getting my hopes up that I had any chance with one of the most popular guys in school? Wow, that really does pull on my heart strings." Jungkook says.

"Trust us, Jungkook. It wasn't us who wrote this, okay?" Minnie says.

Jungkook looks over the eyes of each and every one of them - coming to the conclusion that they all looked sincere. Though...there was something a little strange about Yoongi's oddly flustered demeanor that made him look twice.

"EW, GET OUT OF HERE, YOU PERVERT!!!" The group of friends hear, prompting them to look over in the direction of the girl's bathroom that was just several feet away.

"Taehyung?" Jungkook asks after seeing Taehyung being yanked out of the bathroom by two far more bulkier guys.

"You think you're being slick, punk?! Sneaking a peek at the girls?!" One of the guys say while clutching onto the collar of Taehyung's shirt. "We oughta beat the shit out of you!" The other adds who was huddled beside them, pulling his balled up fist back.

"Hey, hey, hey!!" Minnie and Jungkook both say, throwing their hands up. Catching the boy's attention, they both glance over at the two who were jogging up to them.

"What's going on??" Jungkook asks, looking to and from all three of them for answers.

"This weirdo here thought it was a good idea to sneak into the girl's bathroom with no consequences." One of the boys says, his face red with anger.

"W-w-what, n-n-n-no! I d-d-didn't mean i-it!" Taehyung says with a look of pure terror on his face, the boy grabbing him just mere inches away from him.

"Wait, let's just calm down here.." Jungkook says, holding his hands up, but the guy just pulls Taehyung farther away.

"Nuh-uh...he needs to learn that he can't just get away with this sick behavior!"

"Does that guy even go to this school? I've never even seen him before, for all we know, he could just be a creep who snuck in past security." An onlooker chimes in, to which the guy rips open Taehyung's coat to see if he was wearing the school blazer.

"HEY! BREAK IT UP!" A female teacher says, running over to the three boys.

After the guy reluctantly let go, Taehyung runs over to Jungkook, practically throwing himself into his arms. "What were you doing, Taehyung? Why would you go in there?" He asks in a soft tone, his eyes filled with worry.

"I really d-d-d-didn't mean it J-J-Jungk-k-kook..." He says, tears nearly forming in his eyes due to fear. "I-I d-don't even k-k-know how I g-g-got in th-there..! Th-they just st-t-t-tarted scream-m-ming and-d-d yelling at-t-t me.."

"It's okay, calm down.." Jungkook says, rubbing his back reassuringly. After the teacher had asked if she needed to call security, Jungkook shakes his head no. "It was an accident." He says out loud.

"He knew exactly what he was doing." One of the girls says, crossing her arms. And the other girl besides her agrees. "He kept asking me where I got my dress and wouldn't leave me alone about it!"

"Wait a second, you know that creep, Jungkook??" The guys asks.

"He's not a creep - his name is Kim Taehyung and he's new here." Jungkook says. "He probably just went in there by mistake. It happens."

"Any normal human being would immediately leave if they saw the opposite gender in the bathroom - it's no excuse."

"And why would he be all over my dress!"

Though inside he knows what they were saying was true and was very suspicious, he isn't about to stir up any more drama. "I'm sure there was a logical explanation." He says, giving Taehyung a chance to explain himself to hopefully calm down the situation, but the older just looks at him with a look of utter confusion on his face.

"I w-wasn't all ov-v-ver her d-d-dress.." He says, only fueling the fire further.

"Yeah you were! We saw you!" The guy says, taking another step towards Taehyung.

"So not only are you a creep, but you're a liar too!" The other guy adds.

Jungkook puts himself in front of the petrified one, using his own body as a shield of sorts. He holds his hands up in front of him in a defensive position. "I understand this doesn't look good, but I know Taehyung wouldn't do something like that for no reason."

"Oh yeah? And how long have you known him for?" The guy crosses his arms.

"Well...it's only been several days, but-"

"Several days?! You can't claim to know someone if you've just barely met them!"

"I know...I dunno how to explain it, but I just know Taehyung isn't like that." He says. "So, please...I ask that you let him be. I'll talk to him and I'll make sure he never does it again, okay?" He says.

"......fine." The guy says, draping his arm around one of the girls who had walked up beside him. "But if I catch him in there again, there will be hell to pay, got that?" He says, and Jungkook nods. Before turning around and heading off, he turns back around and points at Jungkook. "And you better watch your back with that one. He isn't normal."

After the two males and females walk off, the hallway falls quiet and the surrounding people - who had previously been crowded around them - start to go on their way, but not before giving Taehyung the stink eye and a few shakes of the head.

Jungkook turns around to face Taehyung. "Taehyung...you can't ever do that again. If I hadn't been here....your nose probably would have been broken right now, and maybe even worse." He says with sad eyes.

"B-b-b-but J-J-Jungk-k-kook...I t-t-told you...I d-d-don't k-know what I d-did..."

"You really don't understand what you did wrong, Taehyung...?" Jungkook asks, concerned.

"N-n-no...I m-m-mean...I k-k-know what hap-p-pened...but I d-d-don't k-know how it happ-pened...I was in b-b-bed and-d th-then I was in th-th-there........" Taehyung says with a shaky voice, covering his face. "I'm s-sorry...."

Jungkook looks over at his friends, who were all quietly standing there, shaking their heads at him. Even they had no clue what was going on, and was equally as concerned and confused as Jungkook was.

"It's alright, Taehyung. Calm down." He lifts his hand up and gently moves Taehyung's hand away from his face. He lightly runs his fingers through Taehyung's hair, feeling for any bumps that could have formed after his and Junha's altercation the day before. "Are you sure your head isn't hurting?" He asks and Taehyung shakes his head no.

"It's n-not.." Taehyung says in a whisper.

Jungkook looks over his shoulder towards his friends. "Guys, I'm gonna talk with Taehyung for a bit. I'll catch you guys later, okay?" He says and they all nod silently.

"Come on, Taehyung." Jungkook says, taking the older's hand in his. "Let's go sit outside for a little bit."

"Wait..." Yoongi calls out, to which Jungkook looks back over his shoulder.

"What Yoongi?" He asks.

"Be careful.." Yoongi says, looking over at Taehyung with suspicious eyes.

. . . . . . .

"That was freaking WEIRD." Bobby says, shoving his face with some potato chips.

"Why the hell would he think it was okay to be in a girl's bathroom?!" Jinhwan says, shaking his head back and fourth.

"I knew there was something off about him." Yoongi says, and Minnie nods her head in agreement.

"Jungkook told me I was being paranoid, but yeah, I immediately smelled something fishy when I first met him. One moment he's super quiet, and the next - he's even more confident than i am, and that says A LOT." Minnie says.

"I think that guys' got some serious issues, or something." Yeri says, taking a sip of her juice.

"How did Jungkook even meet him anyways? Are they even in the same class?" Bobby asks.

"As far as I'm aware, nope. I think Jungkook said that they met on his first day, or something." Minnie says. "Though I don't exactly know how."

~

"How does a guy like that even get into our school?!" One of the same guys from before said, sitting at a lunch table with his friend and the two girls from the bathroom.

"Right?! It's so strange. There's totally something wrong with him." His friend says.

"He kind of acted like a girl.." One of the girls says, shuttering. "It was so weird. Nothing that I ever expected coming from a guy like that."

"Was he trying to hit on you?"

"No. He just was obsessed over my outfit. Even when I told him to get out, it was like he didn't understand why I was telling him to. Like he just thought he was one of us or something."

"By one of us you mean a girl?"

"Totally. Even his voice sounded deeper when he ran over to Jungkook than it did when he was in the bathroom. It's so creepy."

"He's probably just some idiot that gets off to freaking people out. He probably came from one of those public schools, or something. I hear public schools are filled with crazies."

"Should we tell the principal?" The other girl asks.

"No, not yet. I told Jungkook i'd give him another chance, and I'm gonna keep to my word. But we definitely have to keep an eye out for him, and we gotta warn the others as well."

~

(short time skip)

"So...you said you've been having blackouts?" Jungkook asks - he and Taehyung sitting under a tree in the near-empty schoolyard. "How long has this been going on?"

"Um..." Taehyung says, fiddling nervously with his fingers until Jungkook gently grabs his hand.

"You can tell me, Taehyung." Jungkook says, squeezing his hand. "I know you're worried that I'll judge you and stop talking to you, but you don't have to be. I won't do that to you." He reassures him. "I consider you my friend, and I won't abandon my friends."

Taehyung stares down at the two of their hands and he slowly interlaces his fingers with Jungkook's. "D-d-do you p-p-promise?"

"I promise. Cross my heart, hope to die." Jungkook says, giving a small smile.

"W-what..?!" Taehyung says, his eyes wide. "You want-t-t-t to d-d-die?!"

"What, no silly!" Jungkook says, lifting his hand up to his mouth - holding back a laugh. "Of course not, it's just a saying. What it means is, I would never break our promise."

"Oh....th-th-thank G-G-God.." Taehyung says, letting out a sigh of relief.

"So, go on. Tell me." Jungkook says, turning to face him - letting the older know he was giving him his full attention.

"Well...I've b-b-b-been having th-th-these b-b-b-blackouts f-f-for as long as I c-c-can rememb-ber...at least I th-th-think th-they're b-blackouts...it's alm-m-most like I am m-m-missing p-parts of my d-day...like...one m-m-minute I'm at-t-t home reading, and-d-d the next-t-t, I'm outsid-d-de, not k-k-knowing where I am, or how I g-got there.."

"It sounds like you're experiencing amnesia.." Jungkook says frowning. "Have you ever been to a doctors for this before?"

"M-Ms. Hyerin g-g-gives me p-p-pills, b-but I d-don't know what it's f-f-for.."

"Have you ever asked her?"

"I t-t-try n-not to th-think about it...if s-s-something's wrong with-th m-m-me...I d-don't want-t-t to know it..."

"But Taehyung, you need to know. This isn't something you can just ignore your whole life."

"I'm s-scared to k-k-know...b-because what-t-t if it's s-s-something that will never g-g-go away?"

"I know that health problems can be scary, but you can't run away from them." Jungkook says, moving a piece of hair out of Taehyung's eyes. "Maybe if you knew what it was, you can better understand and learn what you can do to cope with it. I've noticed you have been acting a little different every now and then, and it was concerning me, though I don't know if your blackouts and it are connected...but maybe if you knew, we both can better understand it."

"I have ask-k-ked Ms. Hyerin once b-b-before, but she t-t-told me I was f-f-fine.."

"Maybe you could ask again?" Jungkook asks.

"If you really want-t-t me to, I can t-t-try......"

"I really think you should. And regardless of what's causing it, I'll still be your friend." Jungkook says, causing Taehyung's heart to flutter a bit. "But we definitely need to figure this out." He says.

"Why are you s-s-so n-nice to m-m-me..?"

"Why wouldn't I be? You're nice to me."

"I'm...n-not really used to p-p-people b-being nice to m-me...let alone t-t-talk to me th-the way you d-d-do.."

"Unfortunately the world can be cruel to people that's deemed different, but as long as you have a good heart, I'll always treat you with respect. And I really think you do, just from this short time of knowing you."

"I th-think your heart-t-t is b-b-better than m-mine.."

"It's not a competition." Jungkook chuckles, gently bumping shoulders with him. "And besides, I have my flaws, just like everyone else."

"I hav-v-ven't s-s-seen any yet.."

"I'm sure you will when we start getting to know each other more..."

"It-t-t's okay, J-J-Jungkook...I'll st-t-till be your f-friend, even if you have f-f-flaws. I p-p-promise, cross my heart-t-t, hop-pe to d-d-die.." Taehyung says, earning a soft smile from Jungkook.

"You really are so sweet, Taehyung. Thank you, it really means a lot to me.." He says with a tear forming in his eyes. "I'm really grateful to have met you. I've come across my fair share of not-so-nice people, but I'm really amazed how many great people I have in my life now. Even if it's just my small group of friends and Kyu, that's really all I could ever ask for."

"P-p-people were m-m-mean to you..?" Taehyung asks, look of pure concern coming over his face.

Jungkook sits there for a moment in silence, deep in thought. It takes him a few to respond, but Taehyung waits patiently. "Maybe we can save this topic for another time. For now, I just really want to enjoy this beautiful day and forget about all that craziness that happened." Jungkook says, looking out into the blue sky.

"You d-d-don't want t-to go in with your f-f-friends?"

"I'm sort of enjoying this quietness." Jungkook says, scooting back against the tree. "And it's oddly warmer today. It's nice." He looks back over at Taehyung. "But if you're hungry, we can go back inside."

"No...I'm n-n-not." Taehyung replies, he too, scooting back against the tree. "And t-t-to be honest...I j-j-just like b-being around you...and on-n-nly you...it's c-calming."

"Yeah, it would probably be best that we stay out here...I'm sure you will get a lot of unwelcoming eyes after what happened." He says. "I mean, I'm sure my friends will back you up, but as much as I love them, they are quite boisterous." Jungkook chuckles.

"D-d-do you love me t-t-too?"

"How can I not??" Jungkook says, giggling. "I love all my friends, and you're especially lovable."

"You're lovab-ble t-t-too...I'm really g-g-glad you're my f-friend."

"I'm glad you're my friend too." Jungkook says. "And since we're friends, do you wanna go indoor ice skating with me this Friday? The others will probably come along, and I'll have to bring Kyu because I don't want him to be alone with Junha, but I've been meaning to ask you."

"I really want-t-t t to, but I d-d-don't know how.."

"Neither does any of us." Jungkook says. "There's a kiddie area though that has stabilizers so we won't fall and break our butts."

"C-c-can I stay b-by you?"

"Of course. We can hold hands too if you want, maybe with both of our help we can stay on our feet better."

"I'd really lik-k-ke th-that.." Taehyung says.

"Great. I'm not sure exactly what time, but - oh wait...." Jungkook says. "We have that session to go to on Friday. We'll have to go ice skating before, then we can walk there together. We should finish up around that time, I would think.'

"Oh yeah...I-I f-f-forgot."

"I think we should still go though, it's good for us." Jungkook says.

"I'll happ-p-pily g-go anywhere with-th you."

"Sounds like our Friday is going to be a busy one." Jungkook says and Taehyung nods.

"Jungkook...?" Taehyung asks.

"Yes?"

"Th-thanks ag-gain for s-s-saving me...I was so s-s-scared you were g-gonna be m-m-mad.."

"I'll admit, I didn't really understand and I still don't, but something tells me you really didn't do that on purpose, regardless of what anyone thinks."

"Th-thank you f-f-for b-believing me.."

"You're welcome, Taehyung."

The two of them sit there quietly, enjoying the sunlight while they could before class starts. For the next 45 minutes, there wasn't much more conversation aside from the few comments on the shapes of the clouds and some small talk here and there, but the silence didn't bother them. In fact, it was quite the opposite. They both were enjoying being in each other's company so much that they didn't even notice the silence, or the fact that they were still holding onto each other's hands.

When the rest of the students started to come out to get a bit of sunshine after their meals, the boys did get a few strange stares and whispers here and there, but Jungkook doesn't let it bother him. To be honest, he knows the situation didn't look good for Taehyung, but even so, whether it was because he was naive or not, he truly believed that Taehyung didn't understand the severity of his actions - and this made Jungkook that more interested to learn about him.

a/n:

(quick lil shameless promotion to get out of the way first)

I have a newish side story that I'm gonna be writing an update for next if you wanna check it out. it does have different themes but it's also gonna be full of drama if you are interested.

hope you guys are enjoying -Sinister still 🤗 I'm actually so excited going fourth with this story now because I have so many ideas for it!! it's like I suddenly have so much motivation but I'm not gonna rush myself because I dont want to mess up the pace of this story, so I'm trying to hold back and gradually lead up to my ideas so it's not super jarring haha. I also am so happy, sinister is almost at 83.5k reads and 4.5k votes 🥺🖤 and I'm finally nearing 2k followers and I couldnt be more happy and grateful 🤧 I've had so much fun on wattpad being able to express myself, even if I am constantly hitting a writers block. but it's always so nice when I do get that rush of motivation again, and it's all thanks to you 🤗 I have other stories in mind too that I've secretly been writing on the side, so hopefully when this story is over, you guys will have something else of mine to read that I think you'll enjoy cause it is gonna be similar theme to -Sinister (somewhat darker, character development driven)! I know I'm getting ahead of myself but I dunno I just felt the need to let you guys know haha. thanks so much for taking the time to read my story, it's so fun to know there are other people getting enjoyment out of it as well. ♡

I also want to let you guys know that, I'm not sure if you remember when I wrote that author note about how I had that strange mark on my leg that they thought could be melanoma, but I have happy news to tell you that I just recently went to the doctor's and they will be removing it in about a week just to be safe ^u^ it didnt get any bigger so that's a good sign, but they did say it might be a good idea to get it removed while it is so small. so whatever it is will be off of me pretty soon and let's hope it doesnt come back. anyways, enough of my blabbering, have yourselves a damn good day/night and remember, STAY HEALTHY AND STAY POSITIVE!!!