His Sweet Addiction (BTS ff JJK)

Chapter 8

Tae had been looking forward to lunch all day. He had really enjoyed sitting at Madison's table, the day before. He had even enjoyed talking with Minje and Dalrae and the other boys and girls that had joined them. He was starting to realize that he and his brothers may have done themselves a disservice by not making more friends.

When their mom had left, the final time, they all thought she would be returning at some point, just like she always did. But then their dad died, and devastation hit their family. Their dad was Tae's real dad as well as Namjoon's and Jin's. But he was as much of a dad to the others as he was to his real sons. Tae thought about the time following their Dad's death and he still felt a lot of hurt and pain. Tae didn't think any of them had really healed from it. It seemed as if none of them knew how to handle such loss. They bought the big house on the hill and secluded themselves off from others. 

Tae remembered having friends in elementary and middle school. But since their dad died, mostly they had really only trusted their brothers. Hoseok had done a better job of keeping friends than the rest, but they had all pulled away from society to some degree. Tae had been especially hurt when his girlfriend at the time had broken up with him. It was about six months after his father's death and she said he 'just wasn't fun any more.' Looking back on it, how could he expect a fifteen year old girl to be able to handle what he was going through? But she had been his lifeline at the time, and when it was cut, he had clung to his brothers to survive.

Eating with Maddy and her friends had brought back old memories of trusting more people. It made him think healing might be possible.

Tae entered the cafeteria and went over to say a quick hello to his brothers.

"Haven't had enough of her yet, huh?" Jungkook teased Tae.

Tae frowned, "Jungkookie, how can you not like her? Being with her is like sitting in the sunshine holding a kitten."

Jungkook laughed at that analogy, "Yeah, well, she's actually starting to endear herself to me a bit also."

"Endear herself?! You find her endearing?" Jimin spoke up now. "She treats me like shit! You guys are my brothers, how can you be nice to her?"

Tae and Jungkook both laughed, but Jungkook was the one that spoke up, "Just because she hasn't crawled into your bed, doesn't mean she treats you like shit. You just don't like that she has you figured out." Then turning to Tae, "Go enjoy your lunch, Hyung. Jimin Hyung will be fine." Tae was surprised to hear Jungkook stand up to Jimin. That didn't happen very often.

Tae walked over to Madison's table. As he approached, Madison caught his eye, "Taehyung! Come here, I saved a seat beside me for you!" She patted the coveted spot next to her on the bench.

As he sat down he heard some grumbling from the table. "Yeah, but she won't tomorrow."

Madison told them, "Oh, it is only for a day." Then she turned to explain to Tae. She rubbed his back a bit as she broke the news. "I had a friend ask to eat with me tomorrow, so I won't be able to sit with you all. But I bet your brothers miss eating with you. It might be a nice surprise for you to eat with them tomorrow."

Tae shook his head, "Jungkookie and Jiminie are fine without me. They don't miss me when I'm gone."

Madison gave him an appraising look, "I bet that isn't as true as you think it is. I can see how close the three of you are."

Tae got an idea, "Hey! My brother Jin said I could invite you to dinner. I want you to meet our other brothers too. What if you came over to Jungkookie's birthday next week. He is turning seventeen and we will all be there!"

Madison gave him a genuine smile, "I would love that Tae. But only if Jungkook is alright with it. He sometimes doesn't want me around and I would hate to ruin his birthday."