If I Ask You to Stay (A BTS Jin Fanfiction)

Chapter 38: Making Plans

(Bella) 

It was two days before Halloween, and the campus was awash in announcements for parties and other events. It had been two days since I'd cleared things up with Jimin, but I had been too chicken to call or text Jin. I wanted to believe everything that my friends had told me, but I wondered why he hadn't reached out to me? Had I already been classified as one of those other girls? The ones he never called back?

I came home to find Cindy sitting at the table with Namjoon. They had magazines strewn out between them. Hoseok and Tae were on the couch drinking sodas and laughing at something on TV.

"Oh, hi!

"Hey, Bella!"

I plastered a smile on my face even though I knew it didn't reach my eyes. "Oh. Hi. What are you all doing?"

"It'll be Halloween in two days!" Tae exclaimed. "We were discussing our costumes. Wait until you see--" Hoseok elbowed him and gave him a stern look.

"Uh...ow," Tae mumbled and made a face at Hoseok.

Cindy started closing up the magazines, and Namjoon angled his body as if to block the table.

"You're coming to the dance at the student center, right?" he asked.

I had seen the flyers for the Halloween dance being held on campus. These types of events usually ended around midnight when everyone would leave to off-campus parties where they could get drunk and stupid.

"I don't know," I said. All of a sudden I felt exhausted. It was too much work to pretend. I coudn't keep spinning the wheel. "Hey, I'm sorry, guys. I'm feeling a little tired. I'll talk to you all later, okay?" I went into my room and threw myself on the bed. A couple of minutes later I heard a knock at my door. I turned my face to see Namjoon poke his head in.

"Uh, Bella. You look unhappy. Let me cheer you up. Wanna have sex?" I heard the yells from the living room as he dodged the pillows and papers that were thrown at him. He turned toward the living room. "Guys, I was joking!" He looked at me again. "Do you just want to talk instead?" I couldn't resist his dimpled smile.

I sat up on the bed and patted the space next to me.

He quickly closed the door behind him and sat down. "You haven't called him."

I grabbed a pillow and hugged it. "No. What if he doesn't want to talk to me? I mean, he hasn't called me either. He probably doesn't even think about me anymore. He might think I'm one of those girls. You don't know how he really feels."

Namjoon sighed. "No, but that's only because he doesn't talk to anyone anymore. He just goes back and forth between his classes and home. I saw him on the weekend, and he looked terrible. Well, no, actually, he still looked pretty damned handsome, but his eyes looked tired and sad. Kind of like yours. I don't think he's gotten over you no matter how much he pretends. You need to talk to him."

"I just can't."

"You two are the most stubborn people I've ever known. You would rather wallow in your private misery than take a small step toward each other." He sighed again. After a few minutes, he said, "Please come to the dance, Bella. Please."

I buried my face into the plushy pillow I was holding. "Even if I wanted to go, it's a couples' themed dance. I can't go alone like a loser. How will that cheer me up?"

"You can go with me," he said brightly.

"I don't have a costume," I whined, still being difficult.

Namjoon smiled. "Don't worry. I'll take care of that. Now you have to come or you'll stand me up, and that's not nice. I'll send your costume over that day. Be ready by nine." He stood up and pulled me to my feet. "Now go wash your face. Some cool water might help." He pushed me toward the bathroom.

As I was drying my face, I heard a noise from my room. It sounded like--what? I opened the bathroom door and saw Namjoon bouncing around on my bed making the springs squeak. He was smiling like a toddler. I stuck my tongue out at him. He fell sideways and hit his arm on the headboard. "Ahh! Bella!" he cried out.

There was banging at my bedroom door.

"What the hell?" I heard Hoseok say loudly. "Joon, stop!"

"Namjoon! You perverted psycho!" Cindy yelled. "I said to talk to her not rape her! I swear I'll kill you!"

Then Tae's deep voice: "Was this part of the plan?" Hoseok and Cindy kept yelling through the door.

"I'm opening the door!" Cindy screamed. She walked in holding a hand over half her face, as if expecting to see something horrible. I stared from the bathroom door. Namjoon was sitting up straight on the edge of the bed. He smiled and waved.

Cindy lost it. She rushed at Namjoon and punched his shoulder. "Oh, my God, you freaking weirdo! I thought--we thought you were taking advantage of Bella!"

I gasped. "You thought he was...that we were...?"

"Well, he asked if you wanted to have sex," she began, "and then we heard the bed squeaking and..." She was interrupted by my and Namjoon's laughing. After a few seconds, everyone was laughing.

After they headed back to the living room, Namjoon smiled at me. "Told you I could cheer you up. See you Saturday at nine!"

"Okay," I replied, still smiling. It felt good to laugh.