■

"i um... i like jeongguk."

taehyung stood still for a moment, blinking and staring at chanyeol, confusion swirling his thoughts.

jeongguk overheard from the couch, eyes widening as he glanced at jimin and then at tae.

"what?" taehyung asked, unsure if he heard him right.

"i like jeongguk. a lot. and i've liked him for a long time and it's too hard to hide any longer." chanyeol said.

"why... why are you telling me this?" taehyung asked.

"because i have more to say." chanyeol replied, closing his eyes as a look of pain washed over his face.

"okay..." taehyung muttered, glancing over at jeongguk who was just watching with confused eyes.

"i wrote the note. the one in your locker. i'm sorry. i'm so so sorry. i was jealous and angry and i wasn't thinking and i thought hurting you would make it better. but i didn't mean what i said. i swear on my life. it was just nonsense i wrote down that reflected on my own thoughts about myself. i'm ashamed of how i feel but i can't help it, i can't help it that i'm gay even though i hate it." chanyeol said, eyes teary.

taehyung was just staring at him with wide eyes, a single tear running down his face.

"did you even consider how painful that was for me??" taehyung asked brokenly.

"no, i didn't. fuck, taehyung. i'm so sorry. my stupid crush clouded my mind." he said.

taehyung's bottom lip quivered as he quickly wiped away his tear.

"jeongguk's here right now, he's listening. why don't you tell this to him?" taehyung said, sniffling.

jeongguk got up and quickly walked over to taehyung, cupping his face and wiping his tears. "it's okay." he whispered, kissing taehyung's forehead.

"jeongguk..." chanyeol started but the quarterback glared at him.

"you're an asshole. do you know how much pain you caused for him?! he deals with enough bullying and shit from everyone else and you made it worse. all because you're jealous?! that's fucking low." jeongguk growled, pointing an accusing finger at chanyeol.

"do you think i don't know that? i do!! and i fucking screwed up. but i didn't mean any of the terrible things i said on that note. that's why i came here, to apologise. even if i don't get forgiveness, i don't care. i just want you both to know i'm sorry." chanyeol cried.

taehyung was lightly sniffling, staring at chanyeol. he thought for a long moment, glancing at an angry looking jeongguk.

taehyung walked up to chanyeol, the football player staring down at him with confused eyes.

taehyung did something surprising, that stunned everybody.

he gave chanyeol a hug.

chanyeol gasped, freezing for a moment before a broken sob escaped his lips, wrapping his shaking arms around taehyung and hugging him back. "i'm so sorry." he sobbed, voice muffled.

"i know. i forgive you." taehyung said, rubbing his back and comforting him. they hugged for a minute or two, before taehyung was pulling away and stepping back so he was next to jeongguk again.

"you forgive him??" jeongguk asked.

"yes. i forgive him. i can tell he's sincere, and he's dealing with a lot of pain, just like i am. nobody should have to go through that. pain and anger makes people act out." taehyung said.

"thank you, taehyung. i'll do anything to make it up to you." chanyeol said, wiping his eyes.

"how long have you liked me?" jeongguk asked curiously.

"since the eighth grade.." chanyeol muttered.

"oh. wow. i didn't even realise. i'm sorry, chanyeol... but i don't like you like that." jeongguk said.

"oh i know, trust me. i knew i was out of the picture as soon as you laid eyes on taehyung. i saw you two that day when you first bumped into each other in the hallway." chanyeol explained, laughing sheepishly.

taehyung and jeongguk both blushed, looking at each other with small smiles adorning their faces.

"so, are we all good now?" chanyeol asked hopefully.

"it's gonna take me a while to forgive you. but i don't have the urge to punch you so i think we're okay." jeongguk said.

"ggukie! knock it off." taehyung scolded, smacking his arm.

"what?? i'm telling the truth!" he said.

chanyeol laughed, biting his lip. "um, i guess i should go then. thank you for understanding." he whispered.

"do you want to come inside and hang out with us?" taehyung asked, smiling.

chanyeol debated the offer in his head for a while, before a small smile appeared and he nodded.

taehyung stepped out of the way to let him inside, closing the door behind him.

"hi chanyeol." jimin said from the couch.

"oh, hi jimin. how are you?" he asked, taking off his shoes and walking over to talk to jimin.

jeongguk turned to taehyung, pulling him aside.

"baby... you're so amazing." he said.

taehyung looked up at him, eyes wide as his cheeks turned pink. "what did i do?" he asked.

"you forgave him like that. a lot of people, like myself, are selfish and unforgiving. but you're always thinking about others before yourself, and you forgive and forget so easily. you're such a pure, beautiful person and it just amazes me." jeongguk explained.

"oh, it's no big deal... i'm just naturally really caring..." he blushed even more. "but thank you." he added, smiling at jeongguk.

"you're welcome, beautiful. now let's go spend some time with him and jimin."

❦

the next few weeks were hectic, semester finals were arriving and taehyung was always up late with jeongguk studying, sometimes they would take a quick break to cuddle or make out and then get right back to work.

dance practice was getting harsher and more nerve wracking due to their performance coming up soon, taehyung was trying to fit in times between all of this to spend time with chanyeol and jimin as well.

since jeongguk was a senior, he had a lot less work to do, and more free time, so whenever he'd call taehyung to ask if he could hang out, the answer would always be, "no, studying." or "i can't, i have dance."

jeongguk would help him study sometimes, but eventually stopped because he was a major distraction for taehyung.

it's been about a week and a half since jeongguk and taehyung had gotten to spend any quality time together, and it took a toll on both of them.

they were drifting apart, but still dearly missed each other. they both were a bit unhappy and irritable, tired, or sad.

luckily, taehyung had one more final and then he was done for the semester.

taehyung was at his locker, grabbing everything he would need for his math final. a calculator, extra pencils, and the cheat sheet they were allowed to use. he was incredibly nervous, math was his least favourite subject and he was terrible at it, but after hours of studying he finally understood.

he closed his locker, yelping when a figure stood right behind the door.

"jeongguk??" he asked, surprised. a wide smile grew on his face as he jumped into the older's arms.

jeongguk grinned, wrapping his strong arms around taehyung's waist, kissing his cheek. "hi baby. i'm here to wish you good luck." he whispered.

"oh, thank you." he giggled, pulling back a bit and smiling at jeongguk before leaning in and kissing him eagerly.

jeongguk chuckled and kissed him back, squeezing his waist. "i've missed you babe." he said, grabbing his hand and walking him to his math class.

"i've missed you too." tae pouted, squeezing his hand and pressing close to his side.

"how have your finals been?" jeongguk asked, looking over at him.

"stressful. but.... all that studying paid off." he said, smiling tiredly.

"i'm sorry babe, junior year is always the hardest." jeongguk sighed.

taehyung nodded, frowning. "it's already halfway done." he said.

jeongguk nodded, arriving at taehyung's class.

"good luck baby, text me when you're finished." he smiled, holding both of his hands and pressing soft kisses all over his face.

taehyung blushed and giggled, trying to keep his composure. "i will, now i've gotta go!" he said, kissing him quickly before running inside.

jimin greeted him, both of them sitting down in their spots and quickly reviewing the study guide together.

"alright class. clear your tables, phones in the bin. we will begin the test in two minutes." their teacher announced, standing at the front of the classroom with her hands clasped behind her back. her cold, glassy eyes observed the students as they quickly rushed to put everything away.

she was terrifying to say the least.

once everyone was seated, she passed out the test.

"good luck!" taehyung whispered to jimin.

"you too." he smiled.

"no talking! detention, for both of you." she said.

taehyung gasped, eyes widening as he looked at her. "w-we didn't even do anything." he said.

"don't talk back to me, young man. i have much more authority over you. i suggest you shut your mouth before i make that two detentions." she sneered.

taehyung's bottom lip trembled as he silently nodded, a tear dropping onto his paper. jimin looked at him worriedly, secretly grabbing his hand underneath the table and squeezing it comfortingly.

taehyung worked on his test, sniffling and hand shaking the whole time. he tried to get up to grab a kleenex but she yelled at him to sit down, so he had to wipe his nose with his sleeve.

jimin kept glancing at him, rubbing his thigh and holding his hand under the table during the whole test.

taehyung was grateful for the kind gestures, but he was still upset.

when he finished his test, he turned it in and sat back down, waiting for the bell to ring. jimin had then hugged him tightly once he finished his test, kissing his cheek and rubbing his back.

yet this caused another uproar from their math teacher.

"knock it off with the pda! it's disgusting and disrespectful. especially between two boys. there's something wrong with you both." she said.

taehyung was a sobbing mess by the time the bell rang, quickly running out.

jeongguk was waiting for him outside his classroom, furrowing his eyebrows when he saw taehyung run out with tears streaming down his face and a worried jimin holding him.

"baby! what's wrong??" he asked, quickly bending down to his height and cupping his face in his hands, wiping his tears.

taehyung whimpered and collapsed into jeongguk's arms, sobbing into his chest.

"let's go to namjoon." jimin stated.

■

ayeee, it's been like a month and a half, i'm so sorry lol. lately i just can't get the motivation to write. i've also been pretty busy with bowling and choir and even more things. just expect less updates from me in general, hopefully i'll get my gist back eventually :)

- nat <3

■