vớ vẩn 2

chap 14 - Buoy Oh Buoy

Namjoon pushed the room door open and when he stepped inside he saw that Yoongi was nowhere in sight. Presumably he had went into the other room shortly after Jimin had brought Hoseok back, and it seemed that he was counting himself out on this one. He couldn't blame him but that left the situation in his and Seokjin's hands and he was just hoping that they would be able to do something, that they wouldn't be awkward and bumbling and just make everything worse. They really needed to talk, needed to get the boy to open up to them, and that meant that they had to play this right. The plastic store bag in his hand wasn't heavy at all, just containing a bottle of water and a small bag of candy. He had grabbed them on instinct, the fruit flavoured chews, because he thought that Hoseok's blood sugars might be low, a reason for his collapse or maybe just partly the reason. If the boy didn't want them he could always give them to the other kids but the sugar would at least help him feel a little less woozy.

He closed the door behind him without looking, hearing it click loudly as he let go of the handle and looked over the room. Hoseok was on one of the beds with Seokjin, just like they had both been when he had left a few minutes ago, except he was now sitting up rather than lying down. His legs were stretched out in front of him, under the wrinkled covers, and he was hunched forward slightly, one hand on his lap and the other up so that he could rub at his eyes, his forehead, and temples in turn. His hair was a messy tangle and he wasn't even trying to flatten it, making it even more matted with his fingers. At the end, seated so that his legs were over the side, was Seokjin. His friend looked tired but he knew that the expression would change in a moment, back to a soft and comforting smile to make the boy feel at ease.

"Hey," Namjoon said as he stood by the door. "Everything OK?"

"Yes yes," Seokjin replied, that same expected smile appearing on his lips as he nodded. At his voice Hoseok opened his eyes and glanced over at him, slowly lowering his arm and placing his hand on top of the other. "Yoongi went to stay with the kids, to not crowd the room too much."

"Not kids," the boy said with a lazy smile. "Remember?" He wasn't speaking in a slurred voice but he was talking slowly, as if he was still a little foggy. But the sight of a smile on his face, even if it wasn't the most brightest, was a damn sight better than a pained grimace.

"And you remember what I said, right?" Seokjin retorted as he turned his head to look at him.

"Yes, I do." Hoseok nodded before stopping himself with a groan, the movement enough to make a stab of pain flare through his head most likely. "But I still disagree..." Namjoon crossed the room to get to the bed and he lifted the bag up to slip the bottle free, handing it over to the boy. Hoseok accepted it and tried to unscrew the cap but after a few seconds he couldn't seem to do so, his fingers not able to grip it properly. Seokjin held a hand out to offer the help and he passed it to him, the eldest managing to get it off with a simple twist of his wrist. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," he said softly as Hoseok accepted the bottle back and took a sip of water. "How is your head?"

"How's Jimin?" the boy asked suddenly. Though it seemed like he might just be changing subjects to avoid talking about himself Namjoon could see that he genuinely wanted to know. His expression looked both concerned and also like he felt bad for what had happened, a kind of guiltiness because he had collapsed on the boy and scared him that way. "Is he OK?"

"I think so," Namjoon said after a moment of thought.

"He was a little shook up of course," Seokjin added. "But that's to be expected. As soon as he saw that you were OK he calmed down."

"I feel really bad," Hoseok said quietly. "For scaring him like that. I shouldn't have left the hostel room, it was stupid for me to do so." He eyed the bottle of water and went silent for a few seconds. "I felt a little...uncomfortable, so I thought some fresh air would help but it didn't. Instead I just collapsed and scared him."