Sterling

Chapter Four

"Need a ride home?" Jimin asked Taehyung as he laced his fingers with Yoongi, walking out of the school building after the bell rang, signaling everyone to go home. Taehyung looked up at the sky, seeing it was covered with dark clouds, more than positive it was going to rain in the ext thirty minutes or so. He shook his head, not really wanting to be home earlier than what he wanted to be.

Hoseok walked on the other side of the small brunette boy, his hands clutching the strap of his bag as they walked through the parking lot. He saw the male shake his head in response, causing him to furrow his eyebrows and shoot the couple a confused look, to which they shrugged to, not seeming really faze by it.

In fact, it was normal for Taehyung to walk to and from school, but they worried about him since he lived three miles away from the school. They were worried he would get kidnapped or mugged or anything within that matter. But walking home alone is what brought him peace with everything. It gave him time to mentally prepare himself for what his parents had in store, and he enjoyed the quiet and scanning nature around him.

He liked being outside, because he felt free and like there were no limits to anything. The sky is what brought him so much peace, especially at night when he would watch the stars from his bedroom window. The stars amazed him, always been interested in astronomy, something he would definitely pursue a career in-in the future of course.

Feeling at peace with himself was something he always looked forward to, and walks to and from school were those things he really came to enjoy. It was quiet and nobody actually bugged him, he wasn't bullied and no one besides his friends knew where he lived, and it just gave him time to himself with everything.

He was able to think and wonder, enjoy nature and scan his surroundings, hear the birds chirping as they flew above him in the sky, landing on nearby branches, or on the ground pecking the dirt. Sometimes he would see stray cats and try to get them to come over to him so he could pet them, and majority of the time, they always did, and it always made him happy.

So it wasn't unusual for Taehyung to decline an offer for a ride home, because he didn't mind the long walk. He didn't mind the exercise, something he actually quite enjoyed, and his friends didn't understand why he always walked home. They thought it was because he felt bad for getting a ride from one of them because they were wasting gas on him, when in reality, he was just trying to avoid his parents for as long as possible-avoid going home.

So he declined like has been ever since Jimin got his driver's license, and a car. In reality, Jimin, Yoongi, and Hoseok didn't mind giving him a ride home, it just reassured them that he was, in fact, at home and not lost, mugged, killed, raped, or kidnapped. All that really mattered to them was that he had gotten home safe and sound, and that's what reassured them, even though they didn't know what was happening as soon as those doors closed behind that small brunette boy.

They hated it when he always declined their offers, however, but it didn't piss them off. It just made them worry as they waited for a text from him, letting them all know he had gotten home safely and was okay, and that he would see them the next day at school. After that, they would text all the time, or majority of the time Taehyung would tell them he had to go because of chores or whatever his excuse was for a few hours, when he was really about o get his daily beatings from his parents.

They always believed him and never questioned what was really going on. He didn't think it was because they were so oblivious to the whole thing, but because they had lives of their own they had to attend to. He definitely didn't expect them to know everything going on either, especially since he hasn't told them about anything.

"You sure, Tae?" Hoseok questioned, a little concerned as he looked up at the sky, feeling how the air around them was cold, wet, and damp, a clear sign it was about to rain. And by the looks of the clouds, they were almost black, meaning a storm was definitely on its way. "It looks like it's about to storm pretty badly. I think you should get a ride home today instead of walking. I don't want you caught up in this kind of weather."