CHAPTER 6 - WHOOPSIE

"What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck - you just jumped off the building."

"Tae, listen-"

"And you landed on your feet. What the fuck!?"

"Tae, please listen to me, we need to go meet with Raven and Jimin so I can explain all this," Jungkook said, being careful not to invade Taehyung's personal space. The man was already terrified enough. He didn't need more reason to be frightened by Jungkook.

"What the fuck are you?"

"Can we please find Jimin and Raven and talk about this? Let's go to my dorm room, okay? What the hell are you even doing out here?"

"It's my secret spot, I didn't think anyone knew about it. I come out here when I need time alone to think about my designs," Tae said, pointing to the corner where a makeshift chair was there, made up of large stones Tae slid together.

"Glad to hear that. Can you text Raven and Jimin and ask them to meet? Somewhere private, preferably."

"Two things. One, I don't have Raven's number, I only have Jimin's because despite your bullshit stereotyping, he actually does get bitches. Two, oh yeah, let me go somewhere private with someone who's rumored to be a psycho."

Jungkook tilted his head. "So... all I took out of that is that you're a bitch and you're stupid." Taehyung stiffened. "You said he gets bitches, meaning you're a bitch. And you do realize we're in private, right? You literally just said you didn't think anyone knew about this spot. If I wanted to hurt you, especially after seeing what I did, don't you think I would have already?"

"I don't know, you seem to like manipulating people into thinking you're being nice, then when they turn their back, you strike. I don't know what to think about you anymore. All I've heard is that you're an ass. And all I've seen is proof of that."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Listen Tae, all I'm asking is for you to text Jimin and tell him to tell Raven to meet you and me somewhere. Is that so hard?"

"You know, you could use some manners. It wouldn't kill you."

Despite how annoyed he was, Jungkook knew Tae was right. So, he swallowed his pride. "Tae, please text him. Please. I messed up, I'll be the first to admit it, okay? I really fucked up. Royally fucked up, in more than one way, too. Please text him. I need to clear the air. I just... I need to."

To Jungkook's surprise, Taehyung actually considered it. Then, he pulled out his phone. "If this isn't genuine, I'm never speaking to you again. And don't even think about asking for more favors. Might sound stupid, but I have a lot of connections, I could help you a lot," Tae said, tapping his keyboard.

"I appreciate it. Really, I do." Jungkook paused, leaning back on his heels. "Thank you." The words felt dry as he said them. They felt like a type of sour Jungkook despised. Not because he didn't want to say them, rather because he wasn't accustomed to acting like this. People did what he wanted, not expecting anything in return. It wasn't supposed to be the other way around.

"Thank me after this is over. Jimin said he'll meet us here with Raven in ten minutes. Want to tell me what's going on now?"

"I'd rather not have to explain it over and over again, so no, not really. Let's just wait for him to come." Jungkook gnawed on his lower lip. "So, the nerd is skipping astronomy?"

Taehyung stepped up to him, and from this close, Jungkook had to say he was intimidated. He wasn't sure why. After all, Jungkook was stronger and a better fighter without even factoring in his superpowers. But he still found Taehyung intimidating. Why?

"He has a name. It'd be wise if you used it," he whispered, tapping his index finger against Jungkook's chest. "Got it?"

"Park Jimin," Jungkook said, not in an ironic way either. He said it with full seriousness. "Jimin is skipping astronomy for this?"

"Honestly, I love Jimin to death, but the dude's a fucking simp. He's looking for any excuse to see Raven. Good news is, she's the same way. I haven't seen them separated from each other since... ever. She's as bad as him at this point. Always running around asking about Jimin and if anyone's seem him. I don't know why they don't just date."

"Because nerds are shy. And- hey, don't punch me, it's true." Taehyung lowered his hand and backed away, motioning for Jungkook to continue. "They're shy and don't want to admit that they're in love with each other."

"Right. Does Raven seem shy to you?"

"Well... she kissed my ex-girlfriend right in front of me." He almost choked on the words. Despite knowing he wouldn't marry Angelina, it still hurt nonetheless. Jungkook wasn't heartless: he didn't want Angelina to be in pain. Knowing that he caused that? It made him sick. "So I guess not."

Taehyung shrugged, the two falling into a natural silence. The older man sat on his stones, picking up his notepad and doodling in it. Jungkook assumed he was doing designs. What else would he be doing? Jungkook mentally laughed. If he wasn't doing designs, he'd probably be doing Jimin just to prove a point to Jungkook. He certainly seemed petty enough to do something like that.

"You know I'm still freaking out," Tae said, keeping his eyes on his doodle.

"About?"

"I just watched someone who's rumored to be crazy jump off a building, do a front flip, and land on his feet. How the hell am I supposed to react to that? How are you not going crazy?"

Jungkook strolled over, stopping when he was a few feet away from Tae. "If I'm being honest, I didn't really get a chance to process any of it. The jumping, the sticking, the... venom."

"Venom? There's rumors going around that Quinton was bit and poisoned. Was that you?"

He didn't know how to answer that, so he didn't. Not yet. "I'll tell you about it later. When the lovebirds get here." It seemed like the only acceptable answer. Any other and Tae would be on his ass. For now, he had to wait until Raven and Jimin got there. Explaining the story twice didn't appeal to him. After all, Jungkook didn't like to waste time.

A few minutes later, Jungkook got his desire. Raven and Jimin came bumbling into view, searching for the secret spot. Jungkook waved, Raven and Jimin hesitating upon seeing him. Taehyung sighed and hopped up, waving as well. That was what got them to come over.

Right away, Raven approached. "Jeon, how are you?"

The way she said it didn't sound forced. He wondered why she cared even a little about someone who was so shitty. "Pretty terrible if I'm being honest. Everything that I had just... it's all gone now. I don't know how to feel. Maybe it hasn't really hit me yet, but I know it will soon. I feel so fucking pathetic."

Jimin didn't spare him so much as a glance. He was looking between Raven and Tae, not bothering to peek at Jungkook. "You may be an ass, but for whatever it's worth, I'm sorry that happened to you," she said.

Jungkook nodded his thanks. "I appreciate you lying for me in there. You didn't have to do that."

"I'd feel bad if I didn't. You did a nice thing, apologizing and buying ice cream. Don't get me wrong, I don't like you by any means, but you were starting to come around. Getting you kicked out of school when you were trying to fix your mistakes? That's a shitty thing to do. I'm not stooping to that level."

There was a beat of quiet, and after, Jungkook let out a breath. "The only way I'm gonna fix anything is if I'm honest. So, I'm gonna start being honest. Can I tell you guys the truth?" They didn't disagree. Even Jimin agreed to it. "Raven, I'm so sorry, but I was mostly apologizing so I could get you to trust me. I just wanted to be petty since Tae kissed Jimin to prove a point, so I wanted to kiss you in front of Jimin to do that too."

"You wanted to do what?!" Jimin asked in a shout, stepping forward. Jungkook flinched, backing away from Jimin, but the man only came closer. "Did you just say what I fucking think you did?"

"I want to be honest. It's the only way I can prove I'm serious about this. About... making it right. So yeah, my apology wasn't 100% genuine, but I did mean some of it. So I'll say it now. I really am sorry. To all three of you. I've been nothing but a dick, and karma hit me. I deserved it, but now I need to get myself back on track before I lose even more. To start, I think it's only fair I tell you about what happened to me."

The other three approached, Taehyung shaking his head. "What exactly happened to you that made you like this? Able to jump off a damn building and be fine."

Jimin and Raven went to speak, but Jungkook cut them off. "I have superpowers." They stared at him, no expression on their faces. Then, they burst out laughing. "Okay, fine. Don't believe me?" Jungkook went over to the side of the building, sticking onto it and climbing up at a moderate pace. No one was around except them (thank God), so Jungkook traveled all the way up to the top and stood on the roof. He placed his hands on his hips and glared down at them. He didn't need to be down there to see the pure shock and horror written on their faces. To make matters worse, he decided to jump off again.

Gosh, he'd never get tired of that feeling. Of the wind touching his hair, the adrenaline hitting his veins. He did yet another flip and landed in the same crouching position as before. When he stood to glance at them, the other three had their jaws on the ground. 

"Wha... wha..." Raven bobbled her mouth up and down, words stumbling out. Jimin was the same way. Taehyung already saw the jump, but he was still astonished by the move. For once, Jungkook didn't like the attention. He felt rather shy to it, wishing to crumble into himself and never come out.

"I got bit by a spider, and ever since then, I've had these strange abilities. I'm a lot stronger than I used to be, faster too. My stamina is better and so are my eyes. Not to mention I can handle long falls and stick to surfaces." Jungkook pointed to his face. "That beating Quinton gave me disappeared in two days, that slap Jimin gave me disappeared in one. Not a single mark or bruise past the two day mark. I guess I have healing powers too, pretty much the powers of a spider."

Taehyung was the first to react. "So, do webs come out of your...?"

"No. Just... no, don't even go there. No."

"Okay, are we seriously acting like this is normal? Like we didn't just watch a dude climb up a wall then jump off a building?" Raven asked, holding her hand out as if that made her point clear. "How the fuck does a spider bite give you powers and where the fuck is that spider?"

"Dead. I think it was laced with chemicals or something, I really don't know how it happened. All I know is that these powers, as great as they are, aren't good for anything if I'm not doing something with them. Everything I've done so far has been to benefit myself. And that bite I gave Quinton? I didn't even know I could do that. A venom bite. I guess that must be it. So far I've only used my powers to benefit myself and hurt people. I just... I don't want that. I never did. You have no reason to trust me, I get it, but you three are the only ones who can help me. My other friends won't care. They won't believe me even if I showed them what I showed you. Please, I'm begging all of you, I need your help."

The three were quiet for a few moments. To Jungkook's surprise, Jimin spoke first. "I do believe you, if that means anything. I saw you in astronomy with no bruises after Quinton and I had a run at you. I thought it was makeup at first, but what you said makes a lot more sense. And that whole building stunt, that was... crazy. That venom bite too I..." Jimin shook his head. "But I don't get why you need our help. We don't understand your powers."

"You understand science and math. I don't." The three raised their brows. "I need a weapon. A thing that'll allow me to stop criminals. Think about it, I'm just a random guy. I got bit by a spider and gained powers. Wrong place wrong time, sure, but what if there's more people out there like me? The odds of that could be high, don't you think? What if more spiders like that are out there? I can't just sit by and wait to find out. I have to see if anyone else got this, and if they're using it in the right way or wrong way."

"Right or wrong way?" Taehyung asked.

"I know I'm an asshole. I know that. In this one year alone I've made so many mistakes, and I'm so fucking sorry that you guys suffered the most from it, but I hope you know that I genuinely don't want to see someone get severely hurt or worse... killed. That's the last thing I want. When Quinton went down and started having a seizure, I don't think I've ever felt so terrible in my life. For a moment, I wasn't sure who I was. I forgot my own name because of how horrible that was. I'm not perfect, I know I'll make more mistakes and be an ass in the future, I know. But... I hope that I can at least try to make up for it."

"A man who doesn't try to fix his mistakes isn't a man at all," Jimin said, letting his arms cross over his chest. "I'll help you."

Jungkook lit up like a child on Christmas, him bouncing and going over to Jimin. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you-"

"If you stop talking."

"Sure, shutting up now. Raven, you in?" Jungkook asked.

She hesitated, keeping her feet planted. "Come back to me."

He did, shifting his gaze to Taehyung. "What would I even do? How could I help, I'm not good at science or math. There's nothing I can do other than be moral support," Tae said.

"What? Are you kidding? You guys all have an equally important role. Tae, you do realize that I want to do this all anonymously, right?" Tae's eyes expanded. "So... I think I'll need your help designing a suit that'll cover my face, look stylish as fuck, and work well with my powers."

"Designing a superhero suit? Holy fuck, I don't care how much of an asshole you are, that's an opportunity of a lifetime. I'm in."

Jungkook let his gratitude show in his eyes, him swiveling his body to face Raven. She brushed a strand of her red locks behind her ear, meeting his gaze. "You're as stubborn as ever, Miss Goldenstein," Jimin said, Raven nudging him. Holy shit, could they just fuck already? If Jungkook had to deal with this definitely dating but somehow not dating duo every day, he'd lose his mind.

"Fine, but you still owe me ice cream. How can we help?"

He was quick to thank all of them, then, he cleared his throat. "I need webs. A web shooter I can activate with my fingers. It can go around my wrist, and when I place my fingers down." He demonstrated, using his middle and ring finger to create the pose he made in his room. "The web shoots. Is that possible?"

Raven and Jimin glanced at each other. "Maybe. We'd have to look into the physics of it all. What do you think, Rave?"

She stroked her chin with her fingers. "We can figure it out. You're right, physics will come into play most here."

"Oh shit," Jungkook mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"What?"

"Angelina's a physics major. God dammit, she just dumped me."

"Jeon Jungkook got dumped? Can I laugh?" Jimin asked. Jungkook shrugged, so Jimin took it as a yes and burst out laughing. Raven joined a second later, Tae doing the same, unable to resist.

"Alright alright, I get it, I'm an ass, let's move on. We need to figure out how to do this. Is it possible we can sneak into one of the labs and take equipment?"

"I have an idea, but it may sound stupid," Jimin said.

"Everything you say does," Tae replied. "So you might as well just say it."

Jimin whacked the boy's shoulder, rolling his eyes. "Jungkook, in astronomy we have microscopes and different chemicals. I'll need you to distract the astronomy teacher so I can take some. Not enough to be noticeable, but enough that we can experiment. After that, we'll have to buy from stores. Different flasks and materials."

"And from different stores. If we buy it all at once, they'll think we're doing drugs," Raven said. They all turned to stare at her, blinking slowly. "What? Breaking Bad taught me that. Buy it all in one place and suddenly they're suspicious of us."

"From different stores, yes," Taehyung agreed, moving the conversation away from Raven's references. "And as you're working on the web shooters, I'll help you with the design of them and we'll make it in relation to the suit. Jungkook, do you have any color preferences?"

"Red and black."

Taehyung wrote that down, humming. "Alright, and what about your eyes? Spiders have weird eyes, don't they?"

"Maybe."

"Thanks for the info. You're so helpful. I'll make sure that the eyes for the suit are comfortable and fashionable. Jimin, I might need your help there."

"With?" Jimin asked.

"Making goggles or eyes or something. It could need tech so it can run smoother. We might need to add some technical enhancements."

Jimin raised his index finger toward Raven. "That's more her. I'm electrical engineering, she's mechanical."

"Let's not push it, I'm a dual major, film and mechanical engineering. I don't know that much yet, but I'm taking an advanced class this semester to see if I really want to do engineering. So far I'm top of class, not to brag," Raven said.

"No one asked," Tae said. "But good to know I'll be working with you. Give me your number."

"Why?" Jimin said before Raven could move.

"Uh oh, what's wrong, Park? Scared Tae will steal your girl?" Jungkook asked.

"We're not dating," Jimin replied, rolling his eyes yet again. Seemed to be a common theme with him. "It's just instinct to ask, I guess."

"Well... Jimin... this may come as a surprise, but I need her number because we're friends, and her and I are working on his suit together. Can I have your girlfriend's number?"

"Tae! She's not my girlfriend!"

"I'm not his girlfriend!"

Jungkook and Taehyung shared a glance. The two of them were folding their clammy hands together, Raven's face as red as her hair while Jimin was averting his eyes from the whole situation. "Right, and Tae's not gay," Jungkook said.

"Actually, I'm bi-"

"Let's get to work on all this. You and Rave start forming theories about how you can make the web shooters come to life. Tae and I will discuss a suit and try to find a good location to do this all," Jungkook said.

"I hear there's an old abandoned high school not far from here. If anyone has a car, we can drive there every day," Raven said.

"I would, but someone slashed my tires, so mine's been in the shop all week."

"Still?"

"They're behind. Every kid and their grandmother's are getting their cars fixed. Midterm season, everyone's going crazy by partying and going out. I doubt mine's been looked at yet, but it's not a big deal, I told them it wasn't a priority since I live on-campus anyway."

Taehyung tilted his head. "They let you, a freshman, have a car on-campus?"

"Well, no, but I'm Jeon Jungkook. Jeon Jungkook has his ways."

"Did you push one of the sophomore's to the ground and take his spot?" Jimin asked.

Jungkook shot him a sour look, but Tae stepped up before anyone could say anymore. "Alright, I'm starting to wonder who's dating here. Jimin and Raven, Jimin and Jungkook, or me and Jungkook. Either way, I have a car. Jungkook and I will look for this mysterious high school and try getting inside. I, of course, have designer masks we can take to hide our faces, sound good, Kook?"

"One, sure. Two, never call me that again."

"Alright Kookoo, let's get moving."

Taehyung grabbed his arm, Jungkook huffing as he got pulled away. He peeked back at Jimin and Raven only to see them waving. Jungkook waved back. This whole day had been a nightmare. Chaotic. Actually, chaotic was an understatement, but at least he could say with confidence that he was rebuilding himself. Rebuilding himself around the right people. A stubborn redhead in love with a hot nerd, a shy nerd in love with a stubborn redhead, and a petty man who was more attractive than all the men at school combined. Jungkook let out a breath. The very idea of helping people made his heart race. Why did it take him so long to figure that out? Why did it feel like his life was only just now starting, and everything else wasn't really Jeon Jungkook?

Why did Jeon Jungkook finally start to feel complete?