" I'll see you later?" Jimin asked while giving Taehyung puppy eyes.
Tae nodded, and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, " Yeah. Thanks for driving me to school."
" any time. Bye Tae."
Tae smiles weakly and stepped out from Jimin's car. He scanned the school with a sense of dread. He didn't want to see any one. He didn't want to talk to anyone.
He turned and watched as Jimin drove away from the school grounds.
When he turned back around, he saw Hobi and Yoongi walking into school together. He smiled to himself. Tae was glad that Hobi made another friend. Maybe some time they could all hang out together.
" Kim Taehyung." It was his voice.
The young boy turned on his heel suddenly as he heard the voice behind him. He adjusted his hood so it covered more of his face. He turned back around and continued towards the doors of the school.
" Tae!" Namjoon's hand grabbed the younger boys shoulder, " hey...why are you dressed like that?"
Tae nudged away Namjoon's hand. He was dressed differently. He didn't have on his signature pink jacket. No choker. Nothing of color.
Honestly, Tae was almost ready to apologize to Namjoon. But the events that unraveled when he got home made him question everything. He had never been hit before.
" Listen to me!" Namjoon stopped the boy while pulling down his hood, revealing the bruised jaw and busted lip.
Tae looked at his feet and sighed with a sense of shame.
Namjoon stared in disbelief. He wanted to hug him. He wanted to fix whatever happened and he wanted to hurt whoever hurt his Taehyung.
" Please tell me what happened.."
" I can't today, Namjoon."
" Don't say that. Don't push me away. If some thing is happening to you then I want to know. We can talk after school-"
Taehyung wanted to burst. He wanted to scream and yell and do everything he never thought of doing. " Stop! Im going home with Jimin after school."
" Are you..."
" I don't know okay? All I know is, Jimin wouldn't call me a faggot. Jimin wouldn't hit me. Jimin wants me and maybe I want him!" Taehyung screamed at his acquaintance. He stormed off as quickly as he could.
He didn't want to see his reaction. As much as he didn't want to be at school, he didn't want to go home either. Both of the options were equally as bad. How could he fix this? Every thing is crumbling around him and he's only been here for two months.
Taehyung couldn't seem to escape Namjoon. He was every where. Even in places that he wouldn't regularly see him- he was there.
He sat outside with Yoongi and Hobi, who would always glance at each other and smile like idiots. It was cute, and gave Tae some happiness.
There was something there. The way that Hoseok would lean on Yoongi's shoulder and play with the hem of his shirt. It was adorable.
" What happened to your lip TaeTae? I was wondering earlier but I didn't want to ask in front of everyone." Hoseok asks.
Tae scanned the area, making sure no one was around.
" I went home the other night, and got in a fight with my step dad. He hit me." Tae muttered while pulling down his hood.
Yoongi leans forward and furrows his brows, " Thats abuse...you need to tell someone.."
Tae's lip begins to quiver slightly, " He's the one putting the food on the table. I can't just- my mom doesn't make enough. I have to help pay the rent I can't do that to her."
" Taehyung I can't let you go home to that.."
Tae looks suddenly to see Namjoon nearing them. He quickly put all of his things back into his bag and adjusted his hoodie.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he stood up.
" Hey...where are you going?" Hoseok called after his friend.
With no answer, Tae walked past Namjoon without making eye contact. The tears were stinging his eyes. He hadn't cried in so long that it was physically hurting him.
Namjoon sat with Yoongi and Hoseok as they watched Tae run off into the school. This wasn't like him. None of it was. Namjoon popped up from his place and started running in the direction of the younger boy.
Most likely, he would have ran off into one of the bathrooms. And he was right.
When he entered one of the boy bathrooms, he heard the faint sobbing echo against the brick wall.
Namjoon leaned against the wall, and looked down to see Taehyung's black converse in one of the stalls. He smiled sadly.
" Taehyung. Listen to me."
There was a faint sob in response.
" I'm taking you out tonight. I don't care if you made plans. We're going to be together. I'll make it up to you...I promise. What I said to you that night was uncalled for. Especially since I'm in the same boat." Namjoon felt a sense of relief as he came out to his friend. It made him feel closer, and gave him hope that this would work.
Taehyung said nothing in response, but just came out from the stall. His cheeks were pink and his eyes were puffy. But he hugged onto Namjoon as hard as he could, and immediately started sobbing.
" Don't cry...come on Tae.." Namjoon cooed while rubbing circles on the boys back.
Taehyung sniffed, " Where are we gonna go?"
The older boy smirked, " Well, it wouldn't be right if we didn't vandalize some thing, right?"
Taehyung laughed and almost got that same feeling of hope. He pulled his hood down once again and stayed by his hyung's side as they walked from the bathroom.
They joined Yoongi and Hoseok outside, and enjoyed the soft breeze that would go past every few minutes. The sky seemed brighter, even though it was the middle of winter.
But the only problem was,
Now Taehyung was grey. Everything around him was green.
