And The Games Begin

Chapter 40

" Jimin if you stare at yourself any longer in the mirror, your reflection is going to start talking back to you."

He rolls his eyes. " Well I'm the fairest of them all, and I would like the confirmation."

Lydia smiles. " You look hot, I promise."

" I don't want to look hot. I want to look like a decent and upstanding citizen Lyd." He makes a face. " I'm meeting Jungkook's family today."

" Are you nervous?"

" Nooo, I just felt like changing my outfit 37 times in the span of eight minutes."

" Okay, no need to be snippy, Jimin. I'm just asking."

He frowns. " What if they don't like me?"

" They're going to like you.

" What if they like Cam more?"

She shrugs. " They probably will. How style is effortless."

" Okay, you massively suck!"

Lydia laughs, squeezing his arm. " I'm teasing. Be yourself. But not too much."

He pats his hair down, flicking it out if his eyes. " You never fail to give me the best pep talks, you know that?"

" I try."

" But seriously. Families play such a significant factor in how you might end up feeling about someone. If Jungkook's family doesn't like me..."

" If Jungkook's family doesn't like you, he still will. He makes his own choices, and so far, every choice has led to you."

Jimin twists his fingers together. " Not just me."

" No, not just you," she agrees. " But you're still here because of how Jungkook feels, not because of his family."

" Fuck. I'm just scared. I feel like Jungkook and I are a little unsteady, and this point, and, like, should I seriously be this nervous at the very end of this whole thing? Shouldn't I be feeling more confident?"

" That's enough, Jimin. You shouldn't feel unsteady. Everything is going to go fabulously, just as long as you don't do anything horrible, you're going to be fine."

" So, I shouldn't, like, punch any of them in the face or anything?"

She pretends to think about it. " You can probably do that, as long as you change your shirt again. Not your best."

He laughs. " Okay, piss off."

She punches his cheek and he bats her hand away. " I'll see you down at the beach. Have fun today, okay? You only get to meet the family once, and I can tell how important this is to you."

" It is." he confirms.

" Enjoy it."

He nods. " I'll try."

It's hot, too hot for the outfit he wanted to wear, and he's all out of sorts because of it as he makes his way down the beach, shielding the sun with his hand, a bouquet of flowers for Jungkook's mum in the other.

He knows Cam met them the day before, and he has no idea how it went, but he can imagine it was nothing but lovely, seeing as Cam is hilarious and polite and beautiful, damnit, Cameron- and he wants to hate him for that, even a little bit.

He can't though, and that's even more annoying than the way his shirt is already sticking to his back and shoulders.

Dammit Cameron.

He pushes Cam out of his mind and instead, focuses on trying not to sweat through his dress shirt, and the sun is so bright, he nearly misses Jungkook coming up the walkway to meet him, waving and smiling.