16. Whispers

Tuesday, 17th. March. 2015.

Through the ripples of static, I see a familiar courtyard. A sterile smell wafts in the air. That boy with trestles of curly brown hair is there, yet again. His face is blurry, as though censored - out of reach. Whispers lingered, deep hums of a voice.

"A quiet night comes to me"

"I looked at the window emptily"

So close, yet, barely the tips of my fingers touch them. This reoccurring dream. Was it only a dream?

I was woken abruptly by the ding sound of my doorbell. I reached for my phone to check the time, head still cloudy from an odd dream I'd had. Wait, I still had two hours before class.

Curious as to who in the world was here at this time of the morning, I threw the sheets back and dragged myself out of bed to check.

"So you are awake" Tae greeted me a boxy smile before gently wheeling me back into my unit. That voice… I swear I'd just heard it. I refocused on Tae, barely able to remember what he'd said three seconds ago.

"I'm so confused, why are you here Tae?" I mumbled, slowly walking back towards my bed with him following beside me.

"Yoongi said you were in trouble. So I'm your escort to school this morning" Tae replied, watching as I sat on the edge of my bed.

"Ahh, I wanna sleep more though…" I grumbled before crawling back over the sheets and burying my face into the comfort of my pillow. I felt Tae sit on the end of my bed, a small silence passed before I felt him gently grab my ankle and lift it up and down, probably trying to get me up and out of bed.

Instead, I let him mess around with my leg a little before letting out a sigh and turning over to look at him.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?" I asked.

"Not yet, want me to make you something?" Tae grinned, quick to drop my leg and go over to the kitchen before I could yell out a yes, please.

I watched on as he moved around my kitchen, those brown curls and his height, the way he was cooking for me. It was all just so sweet.

Before he finished I went and got ready for the day and by the time I came back out breakfast was ready. I thanked him and we sat across from each other on the island bench as we ate.

We chattered about our favourite colours, foods and things to do in our spare time. All the while I felt entranced by him. Soon enough the time to leave for the class had come so we set off to school together. Tae walked me right up to the door and told me that Jimin would be the one to pick me up as soon as my class finished.

The hug he'd given me before he left was brief but the sensation of him lingered in my mind through class. As I came down off my morning high from Tae, the dream I'd had came back to me. The voice I'd heard sounded like his. And, the fact that I'd heard it so soon after waking up was what had solidified it. That dream was one I'd had continuously throughout my recovery. And, I'd thought it was merely just that.

A dream.

But, that voice...

It gave me the impression that it might be a memory. Of him? If that was the case then, perhaps he was the one that was my past boyfriend?

I could barely concentrate during class, the urge to organise my thoughts was much too strong. But, as the class came to an end I was forced to leave it for the time being.

Just as Tae had promised I saw Jimin waiting in the hallway for me with a light smile. His blonde hair was pushed back today and he wore a black choker that somehow drew attention to his collarbones that peaked out of his wide-collared baggy jumper.

"Hey cutie, happy to see me?" He asked cheekily, I was but at the same time, I felt bad at him for having to essentially babysit me…

"Yeah," I replied, but his manner shifted as though he'd caught on to my feelings.

"Hm? Something on your mind?" He asked.

"I just feel conflicted… I know you and the others must be busy, I don't want to bother you " I admitted. Jimin gently encircled his fingers around my wrist and tugged me into a walk down the hall with him.

"Jia, it's not a bother. In all honesty, the reason you were harassed by those girls is our fault. So, doesn't it make more sense for you to be mad at us?" He gazed at me with thoughtful eyes. I felt a slight lump in my throat.

"What? No way… You've all been so nice to me… There's no way I could be mad at you" I lowered my voice a little so only Jimin and I could hear our exchange of words. He opened the door and we both walked out into the afternoon before he went on.

"Well then, instead of worrying, please just trust us. And trust that we'll take responsibility for this mess, okay?" The softness of his voice was making me feel tender.

"Okay," I let go of my worries and placed them safely in Jimin's hands.

The two of us walked back to my place together which didn't take long seeing as it was only across the street. As we reached the stairs leading up to my front door I wavered at the thought of saying goodbye to him already.

"Do you have any plans..?" I asked as we arrived at the top of the stairs. He twinkled a smile back at me as he turned.

"Nope, why? You want me to stay with you?" He asked. Both of us stopped in front of my door. The angle of the afternoon glow against his skin was perfect. The blonde of his hair combined with the duality of soft eyes against a sturdy physique. Snap out of Jia.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to stay for dinner," I confessed to him. Unsure of what his answer would be. But, I was hoping he'd say yes.

"I'd love to ~ Oh, but I'm dieting at the moment…" he puffed out his cheeks slightly.

"That's okay, I can steam some chicken and vegetables." The truth was I preferred clean eating anyways. It made my body feel much better.

"Perfect~" He chimed. The two of us stepped into my apartment, both slipping off our shoes at the door. Jimin followed as I made my way over to the kitchen.

"Do you need some help?" He asked as I put my bag down on the chair and started rummaging the pantry.

"Oh no, it's okay. You can just relax" I smiled at him. It was a pretty straightforward meal to cook so there wasn't much preparation.

"Okay, I could use a nap. Wake me up when it's ready?" He outstretched his arms above his head.

"Sure, you can nap in my bed if you want." I nodded my head over towards the corner, "Oh! And there's a pair of track pants on the chair if you wanna change into something comfier" I added as it came to mind.

"Really? You're such an angel" He giggled before going over, making sure to turn around and walk back to where the pants were, beaming at me.

"Yeah, it's just comfier, that's all" I flushed. I mean, he was going to all the trouble to look out for me, it was the least I could do in return to make him feel at home.

He came back and pinched my cheek affectionately before heading to the bathroom to change. After making himself more comfortable he crawled into my bed and hugged my pillow. I could see him perfectly huddled up as I cooked from the kitchen.

Now that I was alone again my mind wandered back to my earlier thoughts about my dream, and, more specifically to Tae. The recent suspicions I had of him being my boyfriend. As crazy as that sounded, if there was any truth to it then perhaps Jimin would know. He was his best friend after all.

I may or may not have considered that when inviting Jimin to stay for dinner, and it wasn't like I was the type who harboured evil ulterior motives. But, a sure-fire way to find out if there was something between Tae and I was to either interrogate Jimin or, probably the faster way, to try and make a move on him to see if he reciprocates or not.

If I had a history with Tae there was no way he'd go for it, right? And, if it was Jimin that I had been dating then, nothing lost, right?

I felt hot flushes at the thought of how exactly I was going to make a move on him. It was flustering just imagining, let alone, actually doing it….

Gosh, am I, firstly, out of my mind? And second, going to regret this?

I didn't know, but I wasn't going to get any answers if I didn't do something to try and find out. That much I did know.

After dinner was ready I woke up Jimine and we sat on the couch together and ate whilst watching a movie on my laptop. The sun had set halfway through so I turned on the lanterns that hung over the curtain railing of the window. Jimin felt a little cold so he pulled one of the blankets over both of our legs and tucked us in snugly before we continued.

Being nestled this closely next to him laced with my thoughts of what I had planned was building a gradual fluster inside me. It wasn't like he had his arm around me or anything, we only had our sides pressed together but it was still enough to make me so attentive to his presence.

I take a shaky breath to try and soothe my nerves before slowly moving my hand that's under the blanket towards Jimin. I lightly brush the fabric of his pants, I can feel the muscle of his thigh beneath them. I stare right at the movie and try not to look at him, I'm so shy, did he notice? He hasn't said anything or moved…

This time I hold my breath as I reach further, closer to him, trying to find his hand and hold it but at the same time scared because I don't wanna accidentally touch his dick.

Suddenly, I feel him grab my hand and intertwine his fingers with mine before resting them on his thigh. I finally breathe out in relief, seeing him glance a delicate smile at me from the side of my vision. I want to bury my face from embarrassment. That was wild. Who knew holding someone's hand was so darn stressful.

"Your hands are so cold" Jimin murmured under his breath, biting his lip innocently as he peeked at me from the screen for a quick moment.

"Mmm. Yeah... But you're warm so.." I mumbled back. But the truth was all the heat was in my cheeks right now. \

Jimin gave a smooth giggle and gently rubbed my hand against his leg to warm it up. I flashed him a shy smile before staring back at the screen, it was all I could manage under the circumstances. The two of us stayed like that until the movie ended, afterwards, Jimin had to go home. He cuddled me before leaving and wished me sweet dreams.

I crawled into bed feeling a mixture of flustered and stunned. After all my big talk I'd only managed to hold his hand… darn it.. that wasn't enough to rule either him or Tae out as being my past boyfriend… friends still did that kind of thing, right? So it was still hard to know.

Guess that only meant one thing, my mission to figure this out had to continue.

___________________________

Memories - Tae's Piece:

Present Day

After hearing Yoongi Hyung share what happened to Jia with everyone last night before bed I had trouble sleeping. But, seeing as the others were busy today I got the first turn to watch over her. I left the house early seeing as I couldn't sleep anyway.

When I got there and she opened the door her hair was an absolute mess, it reminded me of those countless mornings we'd laid in bed together. But, I pushed those aside and nudged her back inside.

After making it clear she wasn't ready to get up yet she buried her head back in her pillow, laying face down entangled in her sheets, looking like the angel I knew she was.

My gaze followed up the smooth exposed skin of her legs to the white lace hem of her tiny shorts, which I can see up. From the end of the bed, I easily get a glimpse of the lining of her panties, if only her legs were opened a little wider.

I lift her leg by the ankle, giving me a better view of her cute pink panties, they're so small they barely cover anything. The little plump curve of her lower lips pokes out a teasingly, fuck. I feel myself harden at the sight.

I wonder if I could fuck her right now, would she let me? No, it was too soon. It was agonizing at times, not being able to touch her like I used to. Unknowingly flaunting her cuteness just out of my reach. I needed to stop. Besides, I shouldn't be thinking like this. I still had to focus on rebuilding what we had. That was more important, no matter how badly I wanted her naked and daintily bouncing on my dick right now.

My attention averts as she turns over and sighs, looking at me through her sleepiness. It's a mixture of cute and sexy, freshly woken Jia was something I'd missed seeing so much.

The more time I spent with her only made my longing for her to come back more. Then again, this was better than nothing… so much better. I'll just have to deal with my impatience for now and everything should be fine.