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Jimin pov

While I was thinking, I put all three pills in my mouth, took a huge gulp of water, and swallowed them all down in one pass.

"Hey, son, are you-" My door swung open, and mom took a step in.

We both froze solid when she saw my throat work as I swallowed, saw the orange pill bottle grasped in my hand like a lifeline.

For a long moment we just stood there her looking at me and me looking at anything else.

"Jimine, honey-"

"Not yet," I snapped. Mom jerked back a little, stung by my tone.

I sighed and held my hands palm up, spread out and begging.

"Please, Mom. Not yet." Her chin quivered and she bit her lip.

I didn't know if she wanted to comfort me or condemn the pills.

Either way, she silently exited my room and shut the door behind her.

"Fuck." I threw myself back on my bed, making my sheets puff up and my pillows wheeze.

I started off the morning sick, hurt my mom's feelings, and now I had to go do group work with the bane of my existence.

"You were wrong, Ice Cube. Today is not a good day."

I got dressed and slathered myself in the less-effective lotion and hopped in my car looking like I'd been spit-shined.

"What even is my life?" I muttered.

I was still wincing when I dropped by Taehyung's place. He hopped in and slammed the door behind him.

"Dude-" he cut himself off when he saw my face.

"Not today, man," I groaned, rubbing at my temples.

Tae did that silent "I'm not saying anything but you know I'm scolding you" thing of his, and it worked like magic.

"I know it's stupid. I just can't go back to..." my voice caught.

"How things were before." Tae laid a hand on my shoulder, as he had so many times before.

"I got your back, man, but you have a decision to make and you gotta make it soon."

"I'll make it soon. Like, 2050 when we're all wrinkly and gray."

"First of all, speak for yourself. You've seen my parents, I'm not gonna get wrinkles. Second, 2050?"

"We're in a group with Jeon Jungkook for the foreseeable future. You wanna help me survive something, help with that."

Tae rolled his eyes. "The apocalypse may be upon us."

In class, Arlo droned in his flat, bored, nasal tone for only a few minutes before he was over it. I kept trying and failing not to look Jeon's way.

He was the epitome of the strong, silent type, with his intense green eyes and midnight black hair.

I hated that I was suddenly attracted to him again, and I blamed my omega brain.

Jeon was a player, and a jock, and all the things your omega parent warns you about.

So what if he was a star baseball player and built like one, all laden with thick muscle and the, you know, assets?

He was a big meanie, I sure didn't notice that he was an alpha and a half, I tell you that much.

"Alright, you've got your assignment or whatever. You'll get plenty of in-class time to work on it."

"Plenty. If you have any questions feel free to ask but, you know, try not to."

"Yo, where'd they find this dude?" Dre said, pointing a thumb toward the front of the room.

"Better him than me," jungkook said.

"That's for sure," I griped aloud.

"Anybody ask you, Park?"

I grinned. "Oh, you don't have to ask, Jeon, my correct opinion's always free."

"Here we go," Dre snickered, his face bright with amusement.

"Round one of fifteen. Ding ding."

"Acquaint yourselves to your fellow group members," Arlo's voice rang out over the classroom.

"It might also be an opportune time to set up study groups for the course as a whole." I growled in frustration.

"Oh, we are well-acquainted, dude," I grumbled. "Study groups, he says, as if this in-class torture wasn't enough."

Jeon gave me a blank stare. Even his blank stare looked like a smolder.

Damn him. The truth was, it could have been way worse.

Since Tristan wasn't there when Arlo assigned the groups, he'd been assigned to a different one and I didn't have to see his face every day and I thanked my lucky stars for that.

Still, what was I going to do about Jeon Jungkook?

"So. What's our subject?" I asked.

More blank stares.

Taehyung looked back and forth between me and the ALPHAs, clearly uncomfortable. "Let's come up with a few and then pick one."

"Sounds good to me," Tae said, like the good buddy he was.

"Uh, something having to do with media bias?"

"Great idea, man." I looked at the trespassers.

"Any ideas from you winners?" Dre sat back in his chair, saying nothing, and jeon kept at it with the empty-eyed look.

I crossed my arms and let my shoulders drop. "How are we supposed to get an entire project done?" I moaned.

"I have an idea," Jeon said, his doe eyes twinkling, one brow cocked.

Mesmerizing.

"Oh yeah? Lay it on me, Einstein."

Jeon rolled his beautiful jewel eyes and smirked. "Just go ask the TA to switch groups, Park."

I pointed at myself. "Me? Of course you want me do it. I'm not leaving the group. You leave the group."

He crossed his muscly arms. "I'm not leaving the group."

"I'll guess we'll be a couple of grumps together then, because I'm not going anywhere. You think you're so clever, don't you?"

Together. Us?

We shouldn't be doing anything together. I shouldn't want that.

Pain stabbed into my left eye again.

I rubbed at it, pissed at myself for not bringing painkillers as a backup. I was gonna get a bottle of aspirin to keep in my backpack at all times from now on.

I pretended it was frustration with the circus we called a class project.

I hated that the pills were making me sick but that I needed them so badly.

It gave me an idea, at least.







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