It made his heart stop. His hands tensed, mind desperately trying to cling to rationality and convince him this person couldn't be trusted, that this was no more than a stupid prank to make him seem vulnerable. But deep down, Taehyung's instincts urged him to believe. And that never happened. Perhaps it came from the overwhelming desire not to be alone, along with knowing that no one at his college had his number besides Jungkook, and he knew that Jungkook would never dare give his number to one of them.

At least, he believed this. He could interrogate the boy later if he had to.

Trust no one, his inner voice whispered to him.

But I don't wanna be alone, another voice whispered even louder.

###
if you want me to believe you, show me a picture of your face

###
i don't build trust that easy, "blue"

Unknown Number
Haha! Naturally! I understand completely.

Unknown Number
So I shall do just that!

Unknown Number
[Attachment: 1 image]

###
where on earth are you??

Unknown Number
Hey! Now if you won't tell me where you are, then why should I give you my location?

###
I suppose that's fair

Unknown Number
Indeed it is.

Unknown Number
So how are you doing, Kim Taehyung?

###
i'm tired

Unknown Number
I see. Well, then, I bid you good night. We shall have to talk again soon, Kim Taehyung.

###
yeah...we'll see...

Save this contact as "Blue"?
Yes No

Blue saved your contact as "Purple"

His heart still beating fast, Taehyung set his phone aside again and sprawled out on the couch. If he fell asleep here, so be it. He hardly slept in his bed these days.

Although, even with how tired he felt, Taehyung doubted he would be able to fall asleep for a while.

Blue.

He stared at the ceiling, his chest uneasy.

Could there actually be someone out there like that?

Desperately, his heart clung to what an ideal coincidence this would be. For there to be someone like him, someone who could understand him, someone he could relate to for the first time in his entire life.

It almost seemed too ideal. But maybe, just maybe this was his lucky break after all the hell he had been through.

"Blue..."

He contemplated whether or not he should tell Yoongi. Without a doubt, Yoongi would more than likely tell him not to trust them, and in most circumstances Taehyung would agree with him.

Yoongi was protective of him. Knowing this, the part of Taehyung wanting "Blue" to be a friend, perhaps someone who knew more about their conditions than he did, urged him to keep it a secret for now. At least from Yoongi. He would tell him at some point, of course, but not now.

Jungkook, on the other hand, was a different story. Taehyung still viewed him as suspicious.

Tomorrow they didn't have classes. It would be a perfect opportunity to interrogate him some more, just in case there was a chance this was Jungkook's doing after all.

Taehyung
jungkook

Jungkook
oh hi taehyung! this is unexpected

Taehyung
are you busy tomorrow?

Jungkook
omg

Jungkook
is this what i think it is

Taehyung
?

Taehyung
it's a yes or no question

Jungkook
i am not busy

Jungkook
we don't have classes right? or am i all mixed up again

Taehyung
no classes. unless you're taking another class i don't know about. but what about work?

Jungkook
i don't work till 4:30 pm

Taehyung
that's fine

Taehyung
come over for breakfast

Jungkook
WHAT REALLY???

Taehyung
why did you turn your caps lock on?

Taehyung
don't get excited this is partially for another interrogation

Jungkook
oh ;-; very well then

Jungkook
do i still get to eat breakfast with you?

Taehyung
yeah sure whatever

Jungkook
i'll bring pancake batter

Jungkook
i just picked up some after classes today

Taehyung
...okay?

Jungkook
what time can i come over??

Taehyung
no earlier than 8 please

Jungkook
absolutely! i can't wait :D

Jungkook
do you like fruit with your pancakes??

Taehyung
yeah sometimes

Jungkook
okay! i am going to the store for fruit as we speak!!

Taehyung
you don't need to do that

Jungkook
oh do you have fruit at your apartment?

Taehyung
i don't

Jungkook
to the store!!

Taehyung
jungkook i swear i'm gonna need to see a birth certificate from you i refuse to believe you're old enough to be in college

Jungkook
i cannot hear you i am walking to the store!!

Jungkook
bananas or strawberries or blueberries

Taehyung
wtf

Jungkook
does that stand for "where're the fruits"?? because if so the answer will be in the shopping cart!!

Taehyung
how am i more exhausted now tf you're magical

Jungkook
that's so sweet omg i'm going to shed a cry

Taehyung
...good night jungkook

Jungkook
good night!! i'll be at your apartment tomorrow morning with fruits and pancake mix!!

Taehyung
yup...

He breathed deeply for a moment, waited a few more minutes to see if Yoongi would text, then decided finally to just go to bed.

Maybe tomorrow, he thought hopefully.

***

Taehyung woke up to an alarm the next morning. An 8 o'clock alarm, which he had forgotten to mute the night before. It didn't matter, though, as Taehyung had a feeling Jungkook would be showing up at his door any minute now.

He took a moment to stretch out on the couch before standing and stretching again. Then he spun around in a dazed search for where he had literally just set his phone down after turning off the alarm.

On the end table, as usual. He took it in his hand and turned on the screen.

You have (6) new messages from Yoongles💕

It brought the slightest smile to his face. He opened the messages.

Yoongles💕
hey tiger i'm sorry for not replying to you before

Yoongles💕
to be honest with you i got caught up in some things

Yoongles💕
after work yesterday i decided to go on a walk and passed by this one house

Yoongles💕
and i don't even know, tae i just got the weirdest most uncomfortable feeling when i looked at it and it's seriously been bothering me but i didn't really know how to explain it so i figured it'd be better to just wait till i calmed down again

Yoongles💕
i'm sorry i don't mean to worry you, tiger. it's really weird even to me but please don't worry, everything's ok

Yoongles💕
more importantly, how have you been?

Taeger💛
i've been alright i guess

Taeger💛
but are you sure everything's ok yoongi? :(

Yoongles💕
of course tae i'm sure it was just something from a dream that resembled the house so it struck me as odd, you know how bizarre our minds can work

Taeger💛
yeah i guess so...

Taeger💛
still, i hope you're taking care of yourself

Yoongles💕
i am :) the same to you <3

Yoongles💕
anything interesting been going on lately?

Taehyung stopped. He pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth, thoughts bouncing back and forth between the exposure of his blood, sketchy Jungkook, and now Blue on top of it all. Yoongi knew none of it. And the last thing Taehyung wanted was for his best friend to stress about him more than he already was.

Taeger💛
not really

Yoongles💕
classes going well?

Taeger💛
for the most part

Yoongles💕
that's good to hear

Yoongles💕
well i gotta leave for work now so i'll talk to you later tiger, take care <3

Taeger💛
bye yoongi <3

He felt guilty for lying. But at the same time, he told himself that Yoongi had enough to deal with, he didn't need to be getting worked up over Taehyung who no longer lived in the neighborhood. At least that's how Tae felt about the situation.

Perhaps, when Yoongi finally got around to visiting him, Taehyung would tell him everything. But for now he deemed this for the best.

It was 8:23 a.m. when Taehyung heard a knock at the door. Already knowing who it would be, he called out, "it's unlocked" and surely enough not a moment later Jungkook came bursting into Tae's apartment with several large, filled plastic bags slung over his arms, and an even larger smile slapped across his face.

Taehyung made a face, hurrying over to take one of the bags from Jungkook before scoffing, "What did you do, buy the grocery store last night??"

"No," Jungkook chuckled. He wobbled over to the kitchen table to set down everything else. "Just the produce aisle. And some whipped topping 'cause I forgot to ask if you liked that with your pancakes. Oh, and I brought waffle batter, too. Do you have a waffle iron?"

"No??"

"That's okay. I brought mine."

"You did not."

"I did!" The boy proceeded to pull a small waffle iron out of one of the bags, holding it up triumphantly for Taehyung to see. "It's not one of those super cool, heavy-duty designs, but it works just as well."

He didn't even know whether or not he was surprised anymore. This Jungkook. Weird didn't begin to describe him.

"Fine, make your waffles and pancakes," Taehyung said, waving his hand dismissively as he headed for one of his cabinets. There, he grabbed one of the many tea boxes he kept on hand, then paused before asking reluctantly, "What kind of tea do you drink? Or do you not drink tea?"

"Green!" Jungkook chimed without missing a beat. "Or lavender. Lavender tea is good, too, I'll take either."

I hate lavender. "Green it is."

And so they both got to their own little tasks, Taehyung quietly and peacefully making two cups of tea as Jungkook began his furious making of both waffles and pancakes. And eggs, too, as he elected to treat this kitchen as though it was his own and help himself to the cooking pans and Taehyung's Grade A egg supply.

"I'll pay you back," the boy insisted, cracking two eggs into the pan simultaneously. "I just figured I'd break 'em on the way here if I brought my own, ya know?"

"How much food do you eat in the morning??"

"Lots." Jungkook beamed. "I work out enough to burn it off, but it makes me even hungrier. It's a never ending cycle."

"You work out?"

"Yeah, wanna feel my muscles?"

His smile widening even more, Jungkook stopped what he was doing to roll up his sleeve enough to show off his rather impressive bicep, which he flexed for the sole purpose of showing it off even more.

Taehyung hadn't expected the response, or the action that followed, for that matter, and regrettably the boy felt his cheeks grow warm as he sternly turned down the offer.

"Absolutely not," he scoffed, looking away in panic. "Honestly, what in the world is wrong with you..."

Jungkook stared. Forgetting entirely about the eggs he had cooking in the frying pan, he fixed his eyes on Taehyung's face, those cheeks and the tip of his nose tinted in a beautiful, light shade of purple. Like fairy dust.

Taehyung felt him staring. And that only deepened the blush which in turn made Jungkook's heart flutter even more.

"If you had freckles, your face would look like a galaxy..."

A somewhat absentmindedly spoken thought; however, Jungkook didn't appear to have any intention of covering it up, but rather continued to observe the color on Taehyung's cheeks like it was the eighth wonder of the world.

"Stop...staring..."

"...but it's so–"

"Weird, it's weird, I'm sure I'm completely purple now, aren't I?" He groaned and shielded his face, angry and flustered at the same time, but perhaps more so embarrassed by how openly entranced Jungkook appeared to be at the sight of it.

"No, Taehyung, it really is pretty, I mean it." A dreamy sigh. The color deepened, as if triggered by it. "Beautiful. Absolutely stunning."

"Pay...pay attention to the eggs you're cooking, you nitwit."

"Eggs?" He snapped back into focus. "Oh! Right, eggs. I can turn off the stove until your blush goes away."

"W-what?"

"I'm just teasing," Jungkook said, although he would have loved to stare at Taehyung for longer if he weren't afraid of creeping him out. "But really, though, you're...so pretty..."

He could have gone into more detail, would have, too, certainly, but again, he held back because of his fear of making Taehyung any more uncomfortable. So instead the boy went back to making breakfast, and Taehyung went back to making tea. The latter's task didn't take long at all, but then again neither did Jungkook's, as the boy seemed quite used to preparing these simple recipes.

In due time everything was prepared and set out on the table. Jungkook, for one, still couldn't believe Taehyung had been the one to invite him and that he was actually here, able to enjoy this small but happy occasion with him.

Well, mostly happy. He didn't quite forget the mentioning of an interrogation.

Halfway through his first pancake and Taehyung finally spoke up about it.

"You're Blue, aren't you, Jungkook?"

An accusation. Taehyung zeroed in on his eyes. Jungkook furrowed his brow.

"Blue? I wouldn't say I'm blue. In a good mood actually," he chirped. "Pancakes turned out great, I'm having breakfast with someone for a change, I-"

"You know what I mean, Jungkook."

He didn't. Taehyung could see that he didn't. Either that, or again, the boy was an incredibly good actor.

"Tell me, Jungkook, do you recognize this picture?"

He took out his phone and pulled up the picture that Blue had sent him. And before Jungkook even looked at it, Taehyung trained his gaze on the boy's eyes to detect even the slightest reaction. But there was nothing.

Jungkook squinted at the picture. "No," he said, glancing at Tae. "Should I? Is he in our music class?"

Taehyung didn't want to be fooled. But truly, he didn't sense any sort of involuntary reaction that should have been triggered by the sight of the familiar face.

On top of that, seconds after showing Jungkook the picture, Taehyung received a text.

From Blue.

So it's not Jungkook.

Blue
Good morning, Kim Taehyung! I hope you are doing well this morning.

"Is everything okay, Taehyung?"

Maybe Jungkook wasn't as sketchy as Tae believed. Maybe he was just a curious little weirdo.

Taehyung set his phone down on the kitchen table.

"Everything's fine..."

*
*
*

end of chapter seven