Sterling

Chapter Eight

"Are you okay?" Jungkook asked with concern laced within his voice, eyes filling to the brim as well as he slowly made his way to Taehyung, who took a step back, anxiety at its best and taking over his body. Jungkook seen him take a slow step back, causing him to immediately stop in his tracks, hands outstretched as a form that he wasn't going to hurt him. "I'm Jungkook, and I just want to make sure you're okay."

Taehyung nodded slowly, unable to find his voice, that and he didn't know what to truly say. He was a little confused as to why a jock of all people was actually standing up for him, especially the Jeon Jungkook. The most popular jock in the whole school, with Jin being in second and Namjoon falling in third, and Bogum as fourth, so he found it a little weird that a jock would be here, standing up to another jock, just to stand up for a kid that the school would barely recognize if it weren't for Bogum's constant bullying.

All he could do was look at him warily, not knowing what to say, that and his anxiety was definitely getting the best of him as he tried not to shake in Jimin's and Hoseok's grasps. But he couldn't help it, sudden flashbacks of the fight between him and his father began to replay in his head, his eyes prickling with tears as they began to pool, his hands shaky, heart beating rapidly against his ribcage, his knees feeling weak, his arms feeling heavy, and his mind spinning.

He bottom lip wandered between his teeth as he tried to keep it from quivering noticeably, not wanting to have a full on anxiety attack in front of his friends and Jungkook. He tried calming himself but his hands were starting to shake violently, biting down on his bottom lip rather harshly as he tried looking away from Jungkook, who was watching him slowly break down piece by piece, because he couldn't face him and have a complete breakdown in front of him after he just helped him.

He felt his breathing become rapid and uneven, and he felt his blood running through his veins at a faster pace, his mind feeling like it was running a thousand miles per hour as he tried focusing on something else. He could hear the faint calls of his name coming from his friends, and occasionally making out Jungkook's voice as well, but he couldn't focus on anything as the images wouldn't stop replaying in his head, feeling like he had traveled back in time and was back in that situation.

He felt someone tugging on his arm, causing him to slowly look over at meet Hoseok's eyes, and to everyone else, Taehyung seemed dazed and disoriented the most, and it caused them to become confused, even Jungkook, who was being respectful and keeping his distance, but he couldn't help but feel more than concerned for the male, watching him warily. Taehyung looked around as if he didn't recognize where he was, but the tears in his eyes were threatening to fall down his porcelain cheeks.

He felt as if he was going to hyperventilate at any minute, and it only caused his heart to beat faster, the images of last night becoming more and more clearer, scaring him to the point he flinched when he saw his father's fist coming at him. Even though it wasn't happening in reality, it felt real to him, and it made him cower as he began to see the front door to his house, the staircase that led to his bedroom upstairs.

He felt the tugging on his arms become a little more harsh and the faint calls of his name only going through one ear and out the other. It wasn't like he was intentionally doing it, it was just something he couldn't control. He couldn't focus on anything else happening around him that was actually reality, he was stuck back in time with his father right in front of him, and his mother off to the side, watching from a distance with a look of disgust on her face, and he didn't know if it were directed to him or to the situation.

Either way, it all felt too real-like it was literally happening right at his school, but he was in his house, hearing his father's yells and screams, his crude comments and hateful remarks, piercing his heart even though he's felt that same pain a million times over, it was still something he couldn't get use to. He felt scared because he also felt trapped in another dimension-he couldn't get out no matter how hard he tried to snap out of it, he just felt like he was reliving it all over again.