Before the Dawn (jikook/ vminkook)

11. No angels

The next few weeks passed in startling succession. Taehyung found himself spending more time with beyond the scene, or bts, or whatever the fuck Mina called them. He still thought the name was stupid, but it didn't matter. There were a few more parties, and they even invited him to come watch their dance practices a few times.

Mina was usually there, too. She and Hobi were steadily wracking up the hours they spent together. Taehyung was enjoying the feeling of finding an actual circle of friends. He'd promised himself he would just put school first, and not worry too much about the attachments he made. They'd all be graduating in a year anyways.

But he liked his new friends. More than he'd anticipated. For fuck's sake, at this point he was eating lunch with them every day. He'd told himself he wouldn't do that. Eating lunch together always seemed to elevate your level of friendship, Taehyung thought. Eating together is kind of intimate, isn't it?

You have those friends you sit with in class, you'll chat casually with. But you wouldn't sit with them at lunch, would you? Sometimes it just doesn't feel right. You're not close enough for that. So when you do make the grand move, transition into sharing a lunch table every day... well that was commitment, if Taehyung had ever seen it.

He was trying not to freak out about it. After all, it was nice. To have this group, to have somewhere to belong. He just liked being around all of them.

Yoongi's sharp wit, Jin's endless supply of dad jokes, Hobi's reliable kindness, Namjoon's wise yet youthful energy. And of course, Jimin and Jungkook.

Taehyung wasn't really sure he had words for what he liked about them. Yes, they were kind to him, and funny, and everything you'd want a friend to be. But there was just something that pulled him to them that he couldn't explain.

But these extra weeks of knowing them allowed him to see a darker side as well.

No one had been surprised when Jimin had walked in with a scuffed cheek and black eye last week. Apparently, getting into fights was a casual hobby of his. Something to stave off the boredom.

"You've got to be kidding me," Taehyung's jaw had nearly dropped when Jungkook had told him.

"No. Honestly, I think this past month was the longest he's gone in a long time. I was waiting for this to happen,"

"Who does he even fight with?" Taehyung asked, bewildered. Sure, Jimin liked to dress in leather and cover himself in ink, but he didn't really seem like that much of a bad boy.

"Anyone who seems ready to swing a fist," Jungkook shrugged, seeming tired. There was concern in his eyes, but Taehyung could tell this was so common place that at this point Jungkook was just exhausted from it all.

"I didn't even know he had a temper," Taehyung just couldn't picture a violent outburst from him. It made no sense.

"He doesn't, really,' Jungkook explained. "But he's good at provoking it in other people who do. I've seen it, he does it on purpose. Usually, when he's with all of us, he behaves. But when he's alone, I think he goes looking for fights. He likes the rush, or the distraction, or something. I've known for a long time that there's nothing I can do,"

"Distraction from what?" Taehyung had asked, wondering if Jimin lived as charmed a life as most of the rich kids at their school. Maybe he didn't. But Jungkook wasn't going to tell him either way. Just said, "I can't really say," and that was that.

Taehyung had yet to see anything in Jimin's personality that would make it all make sense. But now and then he'd noticed another scar on him. If Taehyung asked what it was from, Jimin would usually just shrug and say he didn't know. It was probably partially true. Taehyung doubted he could keep track of which fight had earned him which mark.

The other boys weren't saints, either, it turned out.

Taehyung had found out that Namjoon was nearly top of their class, beat out by none other than San, actually. He'd always been near the top, never stepping out of line, never trying to be anything but his best.

But this past year it seemed he'd given rebellion a go. The purple hair was one of his harmless rebellions against his parent's desire for his image to be perfect and clean cut. The drug use wasn't as harmless, though.

He hid it well, but Taehyung began to notice the signs. Seriously, no one takes vitamins that many times per day. And vitamins don't look like that. Tiny, white, round. Vitamins don't put you through hell when you stop taking them.

Taehyung had seen Hobi taking them, too, but he seemed a little less reliant, at least. He wondered how the boys had gotten hooked on that stuff. He certainly wasn't going to ask. But it seemed the pressure of the school's environment had gotten the best of many students here.

The rigor was felt by all, and some just dealt with it any way they could.

Even Jungkook had his way of dealing. Sometimes he'd disappear for days at a time. The first time it happened, Taehyung had assumed he was sick. When Jungkook had finally returned, Taehyung asked casually if he was feeling better. He'd just looked confused.

The second time Jungkook disappeared, Taehyung had caught him and Jimin arguing in the parking lot. They stood close to one another, voices low.

"You can't just disappear like that every time you get in over your head," Jimin had reprimanded him. "Where do you even go? Can you at least tell me that? Where the fuck do you go?"

Jungkook didn't have an answer.

"Just let me help you, just lean on me. Don't worry me like that," Jimin pleaded.

Jungkook had said he was sorry, but that was just what he needed. He couldn't help it. He'd stepped closer, tried to put a gentle hand on Jimin's arm, but Jimin shook him off.

Eventually, Jimin had pulled his helmet over his head and sped off on his bike. Taehyung only stuck around long enough to see Jungkook swear under his breath as he watched Jimin speed off.

The shiny veneer was beginning to wear off, but Taehyung only found himself more drawn to the boys with every flaw he found. Sure, they all might've looked like angels, but they were anything but.

And let's face it: that was far more interesting.