Raise the Barre

Additional Scene: Halloween (Jimin's POV)

You were a terrible flip cup player.

It was all Jimin could think while watching you from across the room, one shoulder leaned against the white, stucco wall. You sat casually on the couch, laughing at something Brian had said – a dead giveaway of inebriation if Jimin had ever seen one. Humor wasn't among Brian's commonly listed attributes.

An unfamiliar tightness spread through his chest while Jimin watched until finally, he forced himself to look away.

There was nothing he needed to worry about with Brian, of course. Brian was hooking up with someone from Redfield and besides, if Jimin needed to worry about anyone, it'd be your boyfriend.

Finn, you'd said on the drive home from the club.

Just remembering that night made Jimin's head hurt. It'd been two weeks at this point, but he still could remember it as though it were yesterday. He remembered the tightness in your voice when he'd answered the phone, the panic Jimin had felt driving through the streets of the city, and the immediate relief he'd gotten upon arriving and seeing you in one piece.

And then you'd said the word to him – boyfriend.

Jimin remembered being stunned for a few, eternity-stretching seconds.

He still wasn't sure how he'd missed such a vital piece of information. For a month prior, his crush on you had been steadily building, which meant Jimin had been oddly attentive to what you were doing. He'd never once seen you duck out of class for a phone call. No one had ever picked you up from the studio, nor had he seen you out on dates around campus.

A few guys had even expressed interest in dating you at the start of the year, but you hadn't seemed interested, so talk of your relationship status had gradually petered out.

Exhaling gently, Jimin pushed himself from the wall and entered the kitchen. Filling his drink up again, he glanced up when Sabrina walked into the room. Tightly, Jimin smiled.

He and Sabrina had hooked up at the beginning of the semester, which had led to one of the most awkward run-ins of Jimin's existence. Sabrina had been leaving his room when you decided to arrive, and Jimin had spent the entire encounter wearing his boxers. Which was great. At the time, he'd merely shrugged it off as uncomfortable, but now the memory continued to grate on his conscience.

Sabrina had texted him a few weeks ago, inviting him over but Jimin had declined. He'd told her they were better off as friends, at which point she'd simply decided to ghost him. Jimin hadn't really cared at the time – it was around then he'd started having feelings for you.

Feelings which turned out to be pointless since you already had a boyfriend.

Gaze lowering, Jimin saw what Sabrina was wearing and couldn't help it – he laughed. "A ballerina?" he asked, unable to stop himself. "Really?"

Sabrina scowled and poured herself a drink. "A short-notice invitation means you get a short-notice costume. Okay?"

Jimin's brow furrowed. "Short notice?"

"Yeah." She paused. "I, uh... wasn't going to come until yesterday."

Jimin wisely chose not to comment, shrugging in response as they left the kitchen. In the corner of his eye, he thought he saw you looking at him, but when he glanced up, Jimin saw you stand from the couch. Noelle was calling you over, waving you into another game of flip cup.

Sighing, Jimin set down his newly filled cup. It wasn't as though you needed a white knight, or anything but someone at this party had to stay sober. It wouldn't be you if you kept pounding drinks the way you were and so, Jimin relinquished his own.