Brace Face

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/14233872.

Rating: Not Rated

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: M/M
Fandom: 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Relationship: Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V
Character: Park Jimin (BTS)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - High School, jungkook is a jock, taehyung is in
band, jimin and tae are the nerdy dream team I've always wanted, Fluff,
tae has braces and glasses, Nerds vs Jocks, lets go I love stereotypes,
Battlestar Galactica References
Language: English
Collections: BTS Ships - School Development
Stats: Published: 2018-04-09 Completed: 2019-01-28 Words: 13,089 Chapters:
2/2
 Brace Face
by Sunflower2

Summary

Taehyung desperately wants to be popular and Jungkook just wants to see Taehyung smile.

Notes

for Neala, congrats on getting into columbia you corn dog

first, heres a picture I found on google images of what tae's braces might look like

here is the list of songs that r relevant to this story,

If I Ain’t Got You

Helium
No One
Fallin’
Criminal

also big ass shoutout to my baby twinky for teaching me that the saxophone was a woodwind
instrument, Emilie for being the wine mom we all need and Cam, a true angel, who helped
me so much I will forever be grateful to that beautiful soul.

See the end of the work for more notes

 Chapter 1

Taehyung first got his braces when he was twelve and he hated them immediately.

He hated the irritating lisp his braces caused, he hated how chewing gum turned into his arch
nemesis and he really really hated how, for no matter how many years he's had them, they’ve
always made him look like a kid.

Don't even get him started on getting his wires tightened, some kind of ninth layer of hell shit
right there.

In fact, he doesn't even think ‘hate’ is a strong enough word to describe how much he
despises the metal monstrosity that decorates his mouth.

In every school photo after sixth grade, Taehyung posed with a closed mouth, tight smile and
formed the ridiculous habit of covering his face when he laughed so no one could get the
slightest peak of his teeth.

His mom had asked him, “Don’t you want to have a pretty smile though?” after an especially
bad day of complaining but Taehyung had shaken his head no, that all he wanted was to be
able to eat pizza without getting cheese stuck in the crevices of his metal mouth.

Which is why he was absolutely elated when his mother had told him that yes, he was able to
get his braces off at the end of the summer before the start of high school.

He was so excited at the idea of finally being able to successfully eat a bagel, that when his
orthodontist said no, he can’t get them off just yet because he had never worn the required
rubber bands, Taehyung had promptly started crying, all hopes of a metal-free mouth gone.
He remembers how uncomfortable his orthodontist had seemed as he watched Taehyung’s
mother coo and shush her son like he was still an infant.

His mother bought him ice cream after they left but not even the mint chocolate chip cone in
his hands could dull the pain of knowing he had to have these on for another four years.

Something was really wrong with his bite or jaw or some other bullshit that his orthodontist
had used to sell his mother, trying to convince her on continuing to spend money on
Taehyung’s mouth.

Four years later, he's a senior in high school and nothing has really changed for Taehyung.
His mouth still wore his obnoxious braces (top and bottom teeth, mind you), Jimin was still
his only friend, and he still sports the same Legend of Zelda t-shirt (his mom bought it for
him from hot topic) to school every day.

When Taehyung first started high school, he wasn't really sure what he expected it to be like.

He was hoping the change of scenery and the addition of hundreds of other kids would allow
him to create a new image for himself, maybe finally become one of the cool kids.

Taehyung had never wanted anything more than to be popular, to be that person that turns
everyone’s head while he walks by, almost in slow motion, wind coming out of nowhere and
blowing his bangs off his forehead as he flashes an award winning (braceless) smile and
people would swoon at his very existence, gawking and staring at the sight of him.

He wanted to be like them - liked by them.

But unfortunately for Taehyung, none of that happened.

Because no one ever stopped and bothered to look at Taehyung walking down the hallway
with his curly, unkempt hair and his thick framed glasses that made his eyes look buggy,
similar to that of a fish. In fact, he thinks people averted their eyes away from Taehyung and
Jimin walking down the hall.

Taehyung was pretty weird, he’ll admit that.

But Jimin was way fucking weirder.

Jimin dressed like he was about to attend sunday morning church, in his sweater vest and
khakis, everything always overly starched.

And for some reason, Jimin was constantly sick, a wide range of illnesses that caused him to
be a sniffling, sneezy mess ninety percent of the time and when he got really nervous, Jimin
would spout off behind the scenes Star Wars fun facts.

Jimin was an odd character but Taehyung liked him anyway, a loyal friend to him since they
were seven.

He isn't quite sure if it’s his own braces or the mere accompaniment of Jimin that drove
people so far away from Taehyung.

(It could be due to the fact that the smelled like Fritos all the time but that's irrelevant)

Taehyung and Jimin were nerds, dweebs, losers - whatever you want to call them, the point
being they were nowhere near the top of the food chain.

Very close to bottom actually.

They went from the highly renowned presidents of gamer club all throughout middle school
to the minorly upgraded (not any less lame but slightly cleaner) title of band geeks.
Jimin played the French horn while Taehyung was a master at the saxophone.

It only put a slight bump in their friendship that Jimin was a brass (woodwind or die)
instrument but Taehyung got over it in about week, not like he had any other friends.

For the most part, high school sucks and Taehyung, every couple of days or so, contemplates
burning down the building so he never has to go back. Being in band makes it worth it, if
only a little.

Taehyung loves music; playing it, listening to it, learning it. Doesn't matter, Taehyung just
loves music, each and every bit of it.

Not just classical or instrumental like the type he learns in band, but he loves all variations of
music.

It doesn’t matter what era, what genre, Taehyung thinks all music was beautiful, and all he’s
ever wanted to do with his life was hopefully making it the subject of his studies at a
university, the end goal being that he becomes the composer of the century.

He thinks he might like singing it too, but due to his lack of ability to pronounce his S’s, he
shies away from it, way too embarrassed to try in front of anybody.

Yet another reason he hates his fucking braces.

In addition to the saxophone, Taehyung could also play the piano and he wasn't half bad on
the trumpet either.

Music is his saving grace, in a way.

Besides band, Taehyung thinks there might be something (someone) else who makes coming
to this hell hole worth it-
“Stop staring or he’s gonna see you.”

Jimin slaps Taehyung on the arm, pulling him from his thoughts and back to the reality that
was after school band practice.

Since they were in marching band, they had to practice their march formations on the football
field but it didn’t help the fact that football practice overlapped with band practice by fifteen
minutes.

That meant that the band had to stay on the track for fifteen whole minutes, watching and
waiting for the football players to finish their game time on the field.

The most precious fifteen minutes of the day, if you ask him.

“Who is he staring it?” Hoseok, the triangle player asks Jimin.

“Jungkook.” Jimin states and Taehyung can hear the eye roll in his voice.

And he was absolutely correct.

He was staring at who he always stares at, Jeon Jungkook™- senior, football team captain
and all around nice guy.

Loved by all, envied by many and rightfully so, in Taehyung’s mind because Jungkook was
gorgeous, talented, and the most popular boy in their entire school.

And of course, he was also the boy that nerdy, Frito smelling Taehyung had chosen to have a
crush on but he just couldn't help it.
Taehyung ignores them, opting to watch Jungkook take off his helmet as he walks toward the
bench on the sidelines to get a drink.

He looks extremely good like this, all sweaty and dirty from practice, tight football pants
accentuating his toned thighs and legs (not to mention his butt). Large biceps straining
against the fabric and padding of his jersey and Taehyung can't stop himself from watching
the way Jungkook’s exposed forearms flex as he reaches for his water bottle.

“Dude, you're drooling,” he hears Jimin say but he can't be bothered to respond or even close
his (drooling) mouth because someone had just said something that made Jungkook break out
into a smile, laughter erupting from his chest.

It was the most entrancing thing Taehyung had ever witnessed, Jungkook’s bright (braceless)
teeth were blinding under the sunlight, and the sound of his laughter was like (beautiful)
music to Taehyung’s ears.

Taehyung’s heartbeat starts to pick up in his chest and he taps Jimin on the arm,

“Inhaler please.” he says as his breathing begins to become erratic.

Oh yeah, did Taehyung forget to mention he also has asthma? Just another line item on the
reasons why Taehyung wasn’t cool list.

Jimin unzips his fanny pack, pulling out Taehyung’s inhaler and hands it to the wheezing boy.

He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and takes a big puff. He hears Jimin let out a
dramatic scoff,

“You’re so lame.”
This makes Taehyung finally turn his head away from Jungkook and toward his snotty (pun
intended) best friend,

“Coming from the guy wearing a fanny pack.” he manages to say between his irregular
breaths.

We’re not gonna talk about how Jungkook’s smile was so big and beautiful that it sent
Taehyung into a minor asthma attack, nope.

“Fuck you, Tae.” Jimin says right after he lets out a hefty sneeze.

Taehyung ignores the sensation of Jimin’s snot flying onto his exposed arm and turns back to
Jungkook who seems like he was looking in Taehyung’s direction.

Jungkook raises up his arm and oh god , was he waving at Taehyung?

That same bright smile was decorating his features just as before except this time it was
directed at Taehyung and Jungkook was waving at him.

Taehyung takes another hit off his inhaler and slowly starts to bring his hand up to wave back
when he feels someone roughly shove him to the side, causing him to stumble into Jimin. The
sudden impact makes Jimin fall to the ground, Taehyung following after him as they collide
with the track, Taehyung's shoulder digging into Jimin’s sternum.

“Ow, what the fuck?” Jimin grumbles as Taehyung looks up to see the cheerleading squad
walking above him. The head cheerleader, Sooyoung, waves at Jungkook and suddenly
Taehyung realizes that Sooyoung was the person Jungkook was waving to all along.

He can barely hear Hoseok's horse laugh through his own embarrassment as he takes another
puff off his inhaler, body still laying on top of Jimin’s.
“Sshut up,” he tries, but as always, his lisp prevents it from coming out as intimidating as he
wants it to be.

Jimin shoves Taehyung off of him, grumbling something about how his khakis were now all
wrinkled, but Taehyung’s attention is solely on Jungkook and how he slides his arm around
Sooyoung’s waist, the two sharing an intimate look.

Jungkook was popular and so was Sooyoung, it made sense that naturally, they would end up
together.

And naturally, Jungkook was never going to wave at Taehyung, they were worlds apart, and
they would always be.

The old, dusty piano in the band room is nothing like the grand Taehyung has at home, but
that doesn't stop him from spending his lunch period in there, stealing sheet music from the
teacher’s desk and practicing his playing while no one is around.

He does this for a couple reasons.

The first being that Jimin tutors during their lunch period so rather than eating alone in the
cafeteria, Taehyung chooses to eat alone where no one can see him in all his loneliness .

The second is that in the large, vacant music room Taehyung can peacefully eat his peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches (his mom packs one for him everyday), and sing without another
soul seeing or hearing him.

Not even Jimin has heard him sing before, that's how dedicated he was to hiding his voice.

Today, he decides on playing If I Ain't Got You by Alicia Keys. It was a piece that Taehyung
knew well, it being the first song he ever learned to play on the piano. A tune he often plays
because it’s so breathtaking, somehow equally as calming as it is powerful.

He always lets himself get carried away while playing, the soft sounds the piano makes as his
fingers glide across the keys, adding to his soulful singing that fills the room with warmth.

The smile that graces Taehyung’s face while singing his heart out was the picture of pure joy
personified, you could see it in the way his eyes were crinkled up behind his glasses, the way
every single one of his braces-covered teeth were on display.

When he finishes the song, he smiles to himself one last time as his fingers hover on top of
the keys.

He grabs his sandwich and takes a bite while he shuffles through more sheet music, trying to
find something else to play.

“Was that you just now?”

Taehyung jumps in fright, the voice coming from behind scaring him out of his wits. It
surprises him so much that he throws all his sheet music and his beloved sandwich up in the
air as he lets out a startled yelp.

He whips around to see none other than Jeon Jungkook in a sleeveless white tank top,
looking at him with a quirked brow.

Taehyung is frozen in place, half chewed peanut butter and jelly resting in the pocket of his
cheek, the sheet music falling unceremoniously all around him.

“Sorry I didn't mean to scare you.” Jungkook’s face seems to soften a little, “I could hear you
playing from the hallway and I was curious.”
Taehyung swallows the rest of his sandwich, not entirely ready to open his mouth in case
there's something stuck between his teeth.

“You’re really good.” Jungkook persists.

Taehyung gulps, “Thank you.”

Jungkook starts to walk toward him and Taehyung’s eyes widen in panic as Jungkook uses
his hands to lift himself onto the piano, sitting right above Taehyung and the keys.

“Do I know you?” Jungkook cocks his (gorgeous) head to the side.

Taehyung pushes his glasses up, hands fiddling in his lap,

“You’ve probably seen me at games,” Taehyung shrugs. “I'm in the marching band,” he adds
to aid as an explanation.

Jungkook hums, “How do you play piano in marching band? I mean, do you carry a mini one
out on the field?”

He sounds so genuinely confused and curious, it makes Taehyung let out an unexpected
chuckle at his (adorable) ignorance, hands, as always, flying to cover up his mouth as he
does.

Taehyung shakes his head, “No, I play the saxophone in band.”

“A multi- talented man we have here, I see.” Jungkook says with a playful glimmer in his
eyes, and Taehyung is sure he blushes at the compliment.
“How long have you been singing?”

“Oh, I don’t sing.”

Jungkook’s eyebrows shoot up only to furrow a few seconds later, “Then what would you call
what you were doing just now?”

Taehyung doesn't say anything, his brain unable to compute any good excuses to counter
what Jungkook called him out on.

His mind is a little preoccupied at the moment trying to process that The Jeon Jungkook™
was talking to him, in such close proximity at that, biceps on full display.

“That’s what I thought.” Jungkook says in response to Taehyung’s silence. “Play the song
again for me.”

It’s now Taehyung’s turn to shoot a confused look Jungkook’s way.

“Sing for me.” Jungkook urges again, softer this time after he sees the hesitant look on
Taehyung’s face.

Taehyung is too uncertain to do anything right now, he doesn't sing in front of anyone- ever.

So why would he do it for the boy he has a crush on?

He must be possessed or something (definitely not by the encouraging smile Jungkook has on
his face) because Taehyung slowly brings his hands back to the piano keys and gently begins
playing the notes for If I Ain't Got You again.
Taehyung gulps nervously before he starts singing,

Some people live for the fortune.

His voice cracks a little but Jungkook’s supportive smile never dimming on his lips, nodding
at Taehyung to continue.

Some people live just for the fame.

When Taehyung sings the next line, the last thing he expects is for Jungkook to join in and
sing it with him, laughing a little when Taehyung literally gasps, fucking up some of the
notes when he does.

Some people live for the power.

But he doesn't stop singing and Taehyung doesn’t stop playing. Something about Jungkook’s
voice relaxing him to the point where the two boys begin harmonizing in comfort.

Some people live just to play the game.

Jungkook’s voice is amazing and Taehyung can't say he’s surprised, everything about
Jungkook is perfect. It’s a few octaves higher than Taehyung’s but not any less commanding.

Their voices meld together like honey.

Some people think that the physical things define what's within

And I've been there before, and that life's a bore

So full of the superficial.

It was warm and sweet, the melody of it washing over Taehyung and wrapping him up like a
fuzzy blanket on a cold day.

Something about the lyrics resonates deep within him, because his physical appearance is all
anyone ever cares about, all anyone ever sees when they make fun of him.

Taehyung’s self consciousness about his braces, lisp, asthma, all of it slowly fades with each
line they sing.

When they make it to the chorus, that same joyous smile begins to take shape and spread on
Taehyung’s face, and when he looks up from the piano, he sees a similar one, gracing
Jungkook’s face as he lets out the words.

But everything means nothing

If I ain't got you.

And it continues like that for the rest of the song; Taehyung playing and singing while
Jungkook follows along, his voice blending with Taehyung's seamlessly.

When it’s over, Taehyung has to look down into his lap so Jungkook can’t see the grin
stretching on his face from ear to ear.

“You have to teach me.” Jungkook says, the words coming out a bit like a demand.

“What?”

“You have to teach me how to play the piano like that. It’s beautiful.”
Taehyung is rendered speechless, unsure of how to respond to both Jungkook’s praise and
request.

“I-I uh, okay?”

Jungkook smiles that smile at him. The same one he gave Sooyoung, the one so magnificent
Taehyung had to blink a few times to make sure it was real.

“I’m Jungkook by the way.”

“I know.”

It comes out before he can stop himself and Taehyung's cheeks heat up in embarrassment, but
Jungkook doesn't seem to notice, either that or he doesn't care.

“What’s your name?”

“Taehyung.” he mumbles, adjusting his glasses again.

“Taehyung...” Jungkook says like he's testing it out on his tongue.

He looks so cute sitting atop the piano, legs crossed over one another and swinging back and
forth, silver hoops jiggling in his ears everytime he moves his head.

“Well Taehyung, when are you free? I have football practice everyday, and I’m sure you have
band practice too.” Jungkook pokes at the inside of his cheek with his tongue, staring off into
the distance like he's thinking again.
It's really too much to handle and Taehyung is starting to get nervous, hating that Jimin and
his stupidly convenient fanny pack aren't there with him.

“Do you have anything going on around nine on weekdays?” Jungkook speaks up but doesn't
stop tonguing at his cheek.

“Uhm.” Of course Taehyung doesn't have anything going on at nine in the evening. Besides
band practice and video game marathons with Jimin, Taehyung didn't really do a whole lot.

“I don’t think so?”

“Cool.” Jungkook nods, “Do you think you could meet me here after football conditioning a
couple nights a week, and teach me some stuff?”

He sounds so hopeful that Taehyung can’t really bring himself to refuse the offer even though
the idea of spending time with Jeon Jungkook™ late at night gives Taehyung a lot of anxiety.

“Sure,” he says hesitantly, zero confidence behind his voice.

“Awesome.”

Jungkook jumps down from the piano and starts walking back toward the entrance of the
band room.

He’s wearing the tightest black skinny jeans that Taehyung has ever seen, so fitted that he can
make out the way Jungkook’s thighs flex under them with each step he takes.

Taehyung gulps again, this time for a completely different reason.

“It was nice meeting you, Taehyung. I hope to see you tomorrow night!” Jungkook calls out
as he gets closer to the exit.

“You too,” he says back weakly, still in a bit of awe over the entire interaction that had just
happened, coming to terms with the fact that no, this wasn't some bizarre day dream he was
having (it wouldn’t be the first time he had fantasized about Jungkook).

Right before leaving, Jungkook turns back around to face Taehyung with his back pressed up
against the door.

“Oh and Taehyung?”

“Yeah?”

“Cool shirt.” Jungkook slyly says with a wink before disappearing out the door.

Taehyung immediately scrambles to look down and glance at his outfit, trying to figure out
what clothing item earned him a compliment from Jungkook.

And to his (un)surprise, it was the same ratty green Zelda t-shirt he wore all the time, a bit of
jelly staining the bottom now from the accidental sandwich tossing.

This could only mean one of two things, either

1. Jungkook was a big ass nerd and liked Zelda or

2. Jungkook was just a really nice guy who complimented his shirt to be friendly.

Taehyung thinks, hopes, it might be C.

All of the above.

*
“You’re what? ” Jimin shouts, sunchip crumbs flying out of his mouth and onto the floor.
“Oh fuck you! You piece of dirty ass cheese.”

They were playing Mario Kart and Taehyung had just won, green shelling Jimin two seconds
from the finish line.

“I said I'm going to give Jeon Jungkook piano lessons,” Taehyung repeats as he sets down his
controller and looks at Jimin.

Jimin sneezes, this time into the crease of his elbow,

“Why the hell would you do that?” Jimin sounds disgusted, like Taehyung told him he was
going to get a face tattoo or something.

“Because he’s nice and he asked me to?” Taehyung says while reaching into the bowl of
sunchips, shoving a handful into his mouth and using his index finger to push his glasses up
the bridge of nose.

“Yeah but he’s like a jock? He’s a different species than us Taehyung.” Jimin grabs a handful
of the snack as well, “He's like a lion and we are the gazelles, his kind eats our kind for
breakfast.”

Taehyung gives Jimin an incredulous look, dubious confusion overtaking his features.

“What does that even mean?”

“It means he’s a popular asshole, Taehyung.” Jimin mumbles through a mouthful of food,
pieces of chip falling onto his precious khakis.
“He seems nice enough to me,” he shrugs, because it’s the truth. There were a lot of popular
douchebags at their school, many of them who mocked and teased both Taehyung and Jimin
on the regular. So he understands Jimin’s distaste of the popular crowd. But Jungkook had
seemed...different... somehow.

Really different from your typical pea-brained football player.

“You’re only saying that because you want him to eat your ass.” Jimin says with an eye roll.

“And you don’t?”

“Not on the same level you do.”

Jimin then promptly stands from the floor of Taehyung's small bedroom and hops onto his
bed.

He grabs one of Taehyung’s Star Trek pillows and hugs it tightly. As he begins jumping up
and down, Jimin looks ridiculous making a scene on the twin bed, pillow in his arms, fanny
pack flopping up and down.

“Oh Jungkook, I loooove you.” Jimin says dramatically before he begins kissing it, smearing
his lips all over the pillow.

“Oh, you’re such a good kisser Jungkook.” Jimin lowers his voice significantly, as if to sound
like Taehyung. He’s failing miserably to mimic his best friend’s deep voice but it still makes
Taehyung bust into a fit of giggles.

“Stop making out with my Captain Kirk pillow you psycho.” Taehyung laughs and throws a
sunchip at Jimin.

“Get back down here and let me whoop your ass in Mario Kart again.”
Jimin freezes, chucking the pillow at Taehyung’s head before jumping down.

“Oh you’re on, bitch.”

Taehyung’s first couple of lessons with Jungkook go about as smoothly as fucking sandpaper.

What Taehyung failed to realize when he accepted the task of teaching Jungkook how to play
the piano was that he would come directly from conditioning, glowing with sweat, typically
in a tank top that revealed too much (not enough) of his body.

He would then take his sweaty (sexy) body and sit right next to Taehyung on the bench, mere
centimeters apart while Taehyung tried to teach him what he knows.

At the very first lesson, the musky scent of post workout Jungkook, coupled with the fact that
Taehyung saw his nipple through the side of his shirt, sent Taehyung into a minor asthma fit.

Jungkook watched in horror as Taehyung desperately tried to take several, long drawn out
breaths while slapping his pockets looking for his inhaler, only to find that he didn’t have it.

This is why Jimin always carries one.

“Ar-are you okay?” Jungkook had sounded so panicked, “Do I need to call you an
ambulance?”

Taehyung vehemently shook his head. “Just allergies,” he lied, because how was he supposed
to tell Jungkook that this entire situation was caused due to the brief appearance of his
areola?
It took a few times but eventually, Taehyung became more and more comfortable around the
other boy. It definitely helped that Jungkook was never anything but kind and sweet to him,
treating Taehyung like they had been good friends for years.

They met every evening at nine, and Taehyung would try to teach Jungkook a song with
lyrics. That way he could sing the notes to help him remember what to play.

He struggled at first, as would anyone when picking up something they’ve never done before,
but Jungkook seemed to be getting the hang of it by their tenth lesson.

And it wasn’t just Jungkook who was learning something new. It seemed like Taehyung
discovered bits and pieces of Jungkook’s life through every lesson, the two beginning to get
to know each other without even realizing that it was happening.

At some point, those late nights in the band room started shifting from piano lessons to just
hanging out, talking about their days, and maybe the occasional impromptu duet.

Oddly enough, It feels a lot like he and Jungkook are becoming friends and Taehyung’s
infatuation with popular football star Jeon Jungkook™ is slowly morphing into fondness for
normal, everyday Jungkook that likes to sing Fiona Apple covers.

There was this one moment after about a month of the lessons when Jungkook had made
some terrible joke, Taehyung doesn't even remember what it was that made him laugh.

Jungkook had snickered too, and when their laughter died down, he looked Taehyung in the
eyes and asked,

“Why do you always cover your face when you laugh?”

Taehyung’s amused expression had been wiped off his face immediately and he frowned,
“Braces.” he grumbled and averted his eyes from Jungkook’s gaze.

“I think you have a beautiful smile, braces or not,” he said seriously, “You should let people
see it more often.”

This, of course, had triggered Taehyung’s asthma. Jungkook’s words were a little too nice, it
felt almost like flirting and Taehyung was neither physically or mentally prepared for flirting.

But it had been less of a disaster this time around because Jungkook quickly whipped out the
extra inhaler he now carried around in his pocket (he insisted Taehyung give a spare- just in
case) and handed it to Taehyung with a tiny, private smile on his lips.

It was such a tender gesture, that Jungkook cared enough to carry around an inhaler for him
like Jimin does, since Taehyung dangerously forgets his more than he should.

It had been that very same lesson that Taehyung knew, truly knew that he was really starting
to like Jungkook and it sucked.

Because it doesn't matter how nice Jungkook is to him under the dim lights in the band room,
it didn't change the fact that Taehyung was just some geeky kid with braces and Jungkook
was an attractive, popular guy with girls at his every beck and call.

It was undeniable that when the light of the school day comes around, Jungkook and
Taehyung don’t know each other, resuming their titles as The Jock and The Nerd in their own
separate worlds.

Like Jimin said, they were different species, their paths were never meant to cross and they
weren't supposed to be friends.

Stick to the status quo and all that.

Taehyung will take what he can get though, and right now his late night, intimate piano
lessons with Jungkook are enough for him.

“So, what are we doing today, teach?” Jungkook asks after entering the band room, dropping
his gym bag on the floor next to the piano.

They have been doing this for so long that at this point, Taehyung doesn't even remember
when it even started. Taehyung no longer jumps at Jungkook’s voice, instead, the sound now
makes a familiar grin spread on his face with excitement.

“I thought today we would go with something a little softer, yeah?”

Jungkook nods while Taehyung opens up the sheet music for “Helium” by Sia.

It’s a love ballad and for some reason, this is all Taehyung wants to sing with Jungkook right
now.

“I love this song.” Jungkook whispers, reaching out to let his fingers brush at the pages.

“Me too. Why don't we sing it first before I try and teach you?”

Taehyung lets his hands begin to play the keys, fingers moving effortlessly with muscle
memory.

He’s the first one to sing, Jungkook not jumping in like he normally does, instead opting to
silently watch Taehyung perform.

I'm giving my all and I know peace will come

I never wanted to need someone.

Taehyung’s voice today is quieter than usual, low and soft as the words roll off his tongue.

When he reaches the chorus, Jungkook is still not singing with him and Taehyung doesn't
understand why, but he doesn’t question it and keeps going anyway.

Your love lifts me up like helium

Your love lifts me up when I'm down, down, down, when I've hit the ground

You're all I need.

He thinks he might have subconsciously picked this specific song because some of the lyrics
are essentially his confessions he would like Jungkook to know, but doesn't have it in him to
tell Jungkook how he feels directly.

It’s because of Jungkook’s constant support and encouragement that has made Taehyung’s
self-confidence shoot through the roof, has made Taehyung feel so normal and not like the
weird kid that he’s been ingrained to think he was. He will forever be grateful for Jungkook
for giving him the confidence (love) he needed.

You lift me up and I am found.

It's the truth, Taehyung has gone and fallen for Jungkook like a big idiot, knowing full and
well that someone like Jungkook, even with his heart of gold, would never like someone like
Taehyung.

Jungkook is watching him play with such intensity, Taehyung feels like his gaze might burn a
hole into the side of his head.

He continues singing alone, voice starting to shake a little as he nears the end of the song.
Your love lifts me up like helium.

He sings the last line of the song, fingers slowly halting on the piano. Taehyung never
considered himself to be soft but he can't seem to come up with a word to better describe how
he feels right now.

“You ready to learn it? This one isn't too hard.”

“Taehyung.” Jungkook says, his tone laced with seriousness and something else Taehyung
doesn't recognize.

“Yeah?” it comes out like a squeak.

The air between them is so thick so you could cut it with a knife, clearly Jungkook picked up
on the fact that Taehyung wasn't just singing today as he always does, this time around it was
obvious that he was singing to Jungkook, about him, for him.

“Have you ever kissed anyone before?”

Taehyung’s breath hitches in his throat, why would Jungkook ask him that?

“Because I really want to kiss you right now.”

Taehyung’s brain short circuits, was this some kind of sick dream? A hallucination of sorts?

If it is, he is gonna try and sue his own mind on several charges for being a teasing asshole.

“Can I kiss you, Taehyung?”

Taehyung nods- maybe a little too eagerly, licking his lips while he watches Jungkook scoot
closer to him.

Jungkook reaches out and grabs ahold of Taehyung’s glasses, gently removing them and
placing them on top of the piano.

He tenderly places a hand on the side of Taehyung’s face, thumbing at his cheek slightly.

Taehyung watches as Jungkook starts to lean in, their faces progressively getting closer and
closer.

Jungkook stops right before their lips meet, “is this okay?” he whispers.

Taehyung thinks if he tried to talk right now, nothing that would come out of his mouth
would be intelligible, so he opts to stick to his silence and goes with another nod instead.

The Jeon Jungkook was about to kiss him, Jungkook wanted to kiss him.

This is a big deal, this meant something.

Taehyung feels like his entire body is thrumming, nerves and excitement wracking his body
having never kissed someone before, let alone it being sex god™ Jungkook.

Panic washes over him and he says the first thing that comes to his mind,

“I have to pee!”
Taehyung (accidentally) shouts in Jungkook’s face right as the other boy was about to lean all
the way in.

“O-okay?”

He doesn't even bother to grab his stuff, his book bag, any of his sheet music, his bag of baby
carrots - nothing.

His glasses.

He stands up and makes a mad dash for the exit of the band room, he doesn't stop running
when he gets to the hallway, doesn't stop when his legs carry him out of the school, and he
definitely doesn’t stop running through the streets, not until he sees Jimin’s house.

He runs as fast as his dirty converse clad feet will take him, all the way to Jimin’s house,
unsure of why this is where his legs decided to lead him.

In fact, he’s not even sure what he’s running from in the first place?

When he gets to Jimin’s, he pounds on the front door despite the fact that it’s almost ten at
night and Jimin was probably in his pajamas, getting ready for bed.

It’s the moment when Jimin pulls the door open that Taehyung realizes he has made a huge
mistake.

Because while he can kind of make out Jimin and his pajamas, for the most part, Jimin
resembles a blurry blob and so does everything around him. The more Taehyung tried to
focus his eyes, the blurrier everything turned.

Taehyung had left his glasses in the band room where Jungkook took them off- took them off
because he wanted to kiss Taehyung-
“Jungkooktriedtokissme!” he yells at the confused (blob) Jimin standing before him.

Taehyung internally cringes at the way ‘kiss’ sounds like ‘kish’.

“Why are you sweating?” Jimin’s says.

“Jimin.”

“Did you run here? You never run.”

“Jimin.” Taehyung tries again, “Did you hear me? I said Jungkook tried to kiss me!”

“And?” he can’t make out Jimin’s facial expression but he can tell by the tone of his friend’s
voice that Jimin probably has his brows furrowed, nose scrunched up in disinterest.

“Did you try and kiss him back?”

“No. I told him I had to pee and ran here to tell you what happened.” Taehyung says like it's
the most obvious thing, like Jimin should have already known the answer to his question.

Jimin lets out a dramatic sigh, “Leave it to you to sprint two miles away from your one
opportunity to get some ass.”

Had he really run two miles?

“Tae, where are your glasses? Can you even see?” blob Jimin looks like he might be
squinting at (blind) Taehyung.
“No, I left them with Jungkook-” Fuck, it hits Taehyung that he had just left him there.
Jungkook probably thinks he ran because he didn't want to kiss him, when that wasn't the
case at all. Taehyung wanted to kiss the hell out of Jungkook, he was just a socially inept
human who didn't know how to react to the proposition of getting kissed by a real-life
Adonis.

“-I gotta go.” Taehyung says in a rushed voice, turning and starting to sprint back towards
where he thinks their high school is located.

“Please don't hurt-” he hears his best friend try and call after him.

Taehyung is about to call back that he’ll be careful when he trips over the recycling bin at the
end of Jimin’s driveway, face abruptly making contact with the hard concrete.

“-yourself. ” Jimin sounds deflated.

He can feel his braces digging into the skin inside his mouth, surely his lip is busted.

But at this point and time he doesn’t care, he has a boy that needs kissing.

By the time Taehyung makes his way back to school and into the band room once again,
there is no sign of Jungkook or any of Taehyung’s belongings for that matter (to the best of
his blurry knowledge anyway).

The only things there was Taehyung's phone on top of the piano and a small note that he
thinks reads,

‘If u want ur glasses back, text me at xxx-xxx-xxxx ;) -Jk ‘

Taehyung sees what looks like a winky face drawn beside the phone number and he gulps at
the sight of it.

He rushes to grab his phone and send a text to the number Jungkook had provided him with.

hey i rlly need my glasses dude where can i meet u

He contemplates a little on what to write before sending another text,

actually can u just bring them to my house? I can't drive anywhere, kind of blind lol

And he sends one final text with his address. Since Taehyung only lived a block away from
the school, Jungkook could easily navigate his way there and manage to get Taehyung’s
glasses back safely to the rightful owner. Maybe when he got home, Taehyung could try to
wear his mother's dusty contacts - anything would be better than the world of fuzz he was
living in right now.

He walks instead of running back to his house (he ran enough for the entire year), feeling
what he thinks is a bit of blood is dribbling down his chin from his earlier squabble with the
pavement.

After getting a chance to let his mind catch up to his body, the realization is settling in on just
how much his busted lip actually hurts and he hopes he didn't fuck up any of his brackets or
else his mom would kill him.

Taehyung was so close to the day that he can finally get his braces off, only a couple months
away now (the goal being that he gets them off before senior prom) and he has been working
diligently on not screwing anything up so he can hit his target with a bullseye.
He prays to every God out there that nothing happened to his (stupid and incredibly fucking
annoying but also very precious) braces.

When he walks through the front door of his house, his mom is on him on seconds.

“Taehyung? Oh my god sweetie, you’re bleeding?” Taehyung ignores her fussing as he walks
straight into the kitchen, his mom in a visible state of fret, while he goes to fetch a bottle of
water.

“Did you get mugged? Where are your glasses?” his mother was drilling him with a million
questions,

“Oh my god, did the muggers steal your glasses?”

The absurdity of the last question makes Taehyung choke on his water from his sudden
giggles, causing his mother to reel back in confusion,

“Why are you laughing?”

“Mom, I left my glasses at school and I fell walking home, there were no muggers.” he takes
another drink, “And if there were, why would they steal only my glasses and not something
of actual value, like my phone?”

His mother is smiling at him now, hands on her hips as she shakes her head in disbelief.

“Because they are bad at what they do?” she offers before reaching for Taehyung’s face,

“Open your mouth, let me see the damage.”

Taehyung complies, letting his mom examine his busted lip and his (hopefully unharmed)
braces.
She exhales through her nose, hand gripping Taehyung's chin, “You did a real number on
your bottom lip but your braces seem to be fine.” she clicks her tongue and releases
Taehyung's face.

“I'm going to get some peroxide for the cut,” and with that she was walking away from him,
presumably to get some peroxide and Taehyung was already crying internally, thinking about
the sting and burn that’ll soon accompany his injury.

He feels his phone buzz from the pocket of his jeans and he pulls it out to see that Jungkook
had texted him,

Omw to ur house :)

That smiley face makes Taehyung choke on his water again, this time so badly that he has to
spit it out and into the sink he was leaning on.

Taehyung lets his mother clean off his lip before Jungkook gets there, the look of crusty dried
blood not being what he wants to show off.

His mother just finished putting a tiny band aid on the cut decorating Taehyung’s chin when
his phone buzzes again.

Here.

Taehyung scrambles to get away from his mom and toward the front door, shooting a ‘don't
watch from the window’ at her before stepping outside.

Jungkook was parked on the street as he leaned on his expensive looking Jeep, fiddling with
his phone between his hands.
Taehyung takes a deep breath and decides to throw caution to the wind before barreling up to
Jungkook. He launches himself at the other boy, wrapping his lanky arms around Jungkook’s
broad shoulders, enveloping him in a tight hug.

“Hey.” Taehyung starts.

“Hi-” Jungkook tries but Taehyung cuts him off.

“I’m sorry I ran, I don't know what came over me, I was just really nervous to kiss you and I
really want to kiss you because you look like an excellent kisser but now I can’t because I fell
when I was running because I can't see anything.” Taehyung is rambling, speaking nervously
in a rushed voice into Jungkook’s shoulder. ”I busted my lip which is now covered in
peroxide and I think if you kissed me you could taste it and I don't think humans are
supposed to ingest it because it can kill you-”

Jungkook cuts him off with a stern, “Taehyung.”

He detangles their bodies so that they can make eye contact and once they do, Jungkook
smiles at him.

Jungkook doesn't speak again right away, pulling Taehyung’s rigid glasses out his jacket
pocket, unfolding them and placing the frames back on its owner’s face, hand stopping to
brush at Taehyung's cheek again.

“Taehyung, its okay. I'm sorry if I overwhelmed you, we can take this as slow as you want,”
he whispers between them.

“And I'll settle for just a yes to a date with me, for now, since you can’t kiss me.” that playful
glint returns to Jungkook’s eyes and it makes Taehyung's heart race - in a good way.

“A date? With you?” he points at Jungkook.

“Preferably with me, yes.” Jungkook chuckles at Taehyung’s cuteness.

Taehyung thinks he nods in slow motion, mouth slightly agape.

Jungkook then reaches into his car and pulls out what looks to be Taehyung’s bag, handing it
to the starstruck boy in front of him.

Jungkook takes a step closer to him, giving Taehyung the bag before leaning down and
placing a chaste kiss to his cheek.

“Goodnight, Taehyung.” he whispers into Taehyung's ear, successfully sending shivers that
rake his entire body.

Then without another thought, Jungkook gets into his car and drives away, leaving behind
Taehyung who’s stiff frozen on his driveway.

When he (finally) gets back inside his house, Taehyung’s mother looks at knowingly, trying
to suppress a teasing smile.

“Stop it.” he says.

“He seems nice.”

He groans, “I told you not to watch!”

Taehyung picks up his pace to get to his bedroom as quickly as he can, knowing he couldn't
escape his mother fast enough.
“Cute too.” she says, following behind him.

“Stop.”

He throws himself onto his bed, hiding his now crimson face that was reddening even further
in embarrassment,

“Really cute. ”

“Mom!” he pleads for the last time before she throws her hands up the air, surrendering her
onslaught of comments.

Once left alone, Taehyung smiles to himself because his mom was right.

Jungkook was really cute.

For their first date, Jungkook had texted Taehyung, telling him to wear something nice, not
revealing any other details because apparently Jungkook was going to surprise him.

This presented itself as a major problem for Taehyung because he did not own anything that
would qualify above the title of “causal”, being that his wardrobe mainly consisted of t-shirts,
jeans and that one pair of grey sweatpants he stole from the locker room.

He ends up settling on his pee yellow XXL Battlestar Galactica t-shirt, it was the only item in
Taehyung's room that smelled like he had at least washed it in the past month, and he thinks
this might be favorite shirt, only second to the Zelda one.

Taehyung had texted Jimin in a frenzy, asking if he could borrow a pair of his khakis (khakis
are nice, right?) and Jimin had agreed, but only to offering Taehyung the ones with a melted
chocolate chip stain on the left pocket (go figure).

Taehyung had conceded that anything would be a much better choice against a pair of his
ratty old jeans, so he wore Jimin’s pants despite the fact that they were way too short, fitting
Taehyung like high waters.

He wasn't too sure if it was a good or bad thing that the short length of the pants revealed his
ankle socks with sharks on them.

Jungkook had picked him up from his home and he was in a suit, he even had a fucking tie.

And Taehyung would have felt supremely stupid in his outfit if the first words out of
Jungkook’s mouth weren’t,

“Nice khakis, cub scout,” followed by a chuckle.

Jungkook took them to a restaurant that was too fancy for Taehyung's liking, but the pasta
was good and his date’s company was even better.

Taehyung had never met anyone who makes him laugh as hard or smile as bright as
Jungkook does and Taehyung wonders if the football team had been blessed enough to hear
Jungkook’s (oddly impressive and spot on) Bilbo Baggins impression.

Taehyung found that he wasn’t even the slightest bit embarrassed when Jungkook told him he
had a bit of noodle stuck in his braces, instead laughing as he pulled out his phone to check
his teeth.

He missed the fond smile Jungkook was sporting while watching him.

Jungkook had held his hand throughout the entire evening; at the restaurant, in the car and
even when he walked Taehyung to his door after dinner (a true gentleman), kissing him
goodnight on the cheek, yet again.

Their second date was at the movies, a screening for the double feature of the first two
instalments in The Hobbit trilogy.

Taehyung was surprised but more so pleased in discovering that they were some of
Jungkook’s favorite films (nerd).

Taehyung wore Jimin’s khakis again, labeling them as his date pants.

That night, Jungkook had greeted him with a kiss on the forehead and Taehyung tried his best
to pretend he couldn’t hear his mother squealing and gushing at the affection from
somewhere inside his house.

Standing in the concessions line, Taehyung thought for a split second that Jungkook was
going to need a puff off Taehyung's inhaler judging by the way loud cackles left his mouth,
tears streaming down his face after Taehyung had told him,

No, the large popcorn he just purchased was all for himself and if Jungkook had also wanted
the buttery treats, he was going to have to buy a bucket of his own .

Jungkook let Taehyung rest his head on his shoulder for entirety of the two movies, all while
having his (large and calloused from years of football) hand rest right above Taehyung’s
knee.

The night had ended with what was becoming a sort of tradition at this point, a goodnight
kiss to Taehyung’s ever blushing cheek.

The third time they hang out was more relaxed, a simple evening together in Taehyung's
bedroom.
Taehyung pretended his heart didn't flutter at the way Jungkook hardcore geeked over the fact
that Taehyung still owned a gamecube. Asking (begging) Taehyung to play a game with him.

They settled on The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker because it was Jungkook’s (and
Taehyung’s) favorite video game of all time.

Taehyung thinks that their mutual love for Zelda might make them soulmates, but he wasn’t
completely sure if Jungkook would agree or not.

He would.

They stayed up for hours on end, the clock hitting four in the morning as they play together,
switching on and off, taking turns until Jungkook fell asleep with his head tucked cozily in
Taehyung’s lap (still a noob at the video game marathon thing).

Taehyung’s mom let Jungkook spend the night (obviously) and when he woke up the next
morning with his face mere inches away from a sleeping Jungkook, Taehyung had to use
every ounce of willpower to not scramble to find his inhaler.

Jungkook, as Taehyung has come to learn, is a pretty sleeper, his plush lips formed an
adorable pout and his hair fell over the side of his face revealing (some very sharp and not as
intimidating as you would think) brows.

He looked especially sweet curled up with Taehyung's Captain Kirk pillow, his football
hoodie making his usually large frame look small.

When Jungkook woke up, the first thing he thought to do was flick Taehyung on the forehead
and say, “Quit staring.”, which is exactly what he did.

It made them both laugh and Taehyung thinks he could get used to the idea of waking up to
Jungkook’s laughter every day.
They didn’t get out of bed immediately, choosing to lay facing each other, talking instead.

“Can I tell you something embarrassing?” Jungkook asked.

Taehyung doesn't think Jungkook was capable of doing anything embarrassing but nodded
anyway, curious as to what he had to tell him.

“That day I walked in on you during lunch...wasn’t the first time I heard you sing.” he said
and Taehyung’s eyebrows had immediately shot up in question.

“I used to sit outside the band room and listen to you play every day because I was too scared
to go in and see the face behind the beautiful voice that I fell in love with.”

Taehyung smacks him on the shoulder and tells him he is cheesy, Jungkook giggled while
swearing it was the truth.

Goofy smiles were plastered on their faces, completely and totally wrapped in each other in
that moment.

“You know this is the part where you tell me something embarrassing to make me feel
better.” Jungkook pointed out while he snuggled Taehyung's pillow.

Taehyung told him the story about how one time as kids, he and Jimin went to the carnival,
consumed too much cotton candy and then proceeded to throw it all up from their seat on the
Ferris wheel, which just so happened to be at the very top.

The story of how his vomit rained down on all the carnival goers that horrible summer day.

“You mean something like that?” he asked innocently.

Jungkook had laughed and nodded, confirming that Taehyung's story was close enough to
what he meant.

They had finally gotten out of bed when Taehyung’s mother called out to them, notifying
them that she was cooking up pancakes, and that information alone was enough to make the
two teenage boys spring up at lighting speed.

His mother decided she wanted Jungkook to marry her instead of Taehyung, when Jungkook
offered to do the dishes, both mother and son lovingly watching Jungkook delicately wash
their plates by hand after they had all finished breakfast.

Jungkook was seamlessly weaving his way into every aspect of Taehyung’s life and to be
completely honest, Taehyung has never felt happier, because dating Jungkook was a lot like
giving piano lessons to him.

Painless and easy, all while never failing to make Taehyung smile the widest he has in years.

They haven't talked about it yet, but Taehyung thinks Jungkook might be his boyfriend.
Going on dates with someone, holding their hand and the like, that means you’re a couple,
right?

Sometimes Jungkook walks Taehyung to class with their fingers intertwined, always giving
his hand a reassuring squeeze when people looked at them weirdly.

He hopes the idea will soon be solidified, and Taehyung smiles to himself at the thought of
calling Jungkook his boyfriend before taking a bite of his pb&j.

It was his lunch period again, meaning he was back in the band room with his packed meal,
flipping through some sheet music.
Taehyung wasn’t sure what he was in the mood to play today, thinking about it deeply when
he hears the door to the band room being opened.

It was odd, Jungkook doesn’t usually make an appearance this early into the lunch period.

So he’s already anxious and when he turns around to see who the intruder was, his anxiety
doubles over as it happened to be Sooyoung and her possy of cheerleaders.

“Hey Taehyung,” her voice sounds too sweet to match the devilish grin on her face.
“Whatcha doing in here?”

She’s starting to walk toward Taehyung, who’s quietly hunched over the piano bench but
stops when she finds Taehyung’s name on one of the band chairs, his saxophone sitting on
one side and his Pokémon sticker covered case on the other.

“First chair huh?” she nods down toward the piece of paper with his name and rank on it,
“That means you’re really good, right?”

He lets out a shaky breath, “I guess so, yeah.”

It was a lie, Taehyung was more than just really good, he was excellent, the best of the best.

She hums, the same mischievous look apparent on her face as she starts walking toward him
again.

Sooyoung doesn’t stop until she’s only inches away from Taehyung on the piano bench,
bending over to reach eye level with him. Taehyung is highly uncomfortable and he feels his
heart starting to speed up and it's a little concerning because he already knows his inhaler is
tucked away in the confines of his locker somewhere.
He misses one of Sooyoung’s lackeys, Joohyun, pick up his saxophone from its stand on the
floor.

“I don't know what you think you’re doing, but stay away from Jungkook.” she practically
seethes, “He's a nice guy Taehyung, but don't take advantage of it. He is still taking me to
prom.”

Taehyung gulps, “I don't know what you’re talking about Sooyoung-”

“I don't know what you’re talking about Sooyoung.” she cuts him off, mimicking his voice
with an over dramatic lisp, putting extra emphasis on the way he said her name with the s oh
so horribly mispronounced.

It stings more than he would like to admit.

“Jungkook loves me, okay? He doesn't give a shit about a weirdo like you, Taehyung. You
two can't be together.” she is yelling now, “He will always be out of your league no matter
how much you pretend he isn't.”

Taehyung doesn't know why but in that moment, he believes her.

“You know, it would be a shame if something were to happen to your precious little
saxophone, since you’re super good and all.” Sooyoung is standing up right again, that
familiar mock innocent look replacing the one of fury she had moments before.

His breathing is really starting to become erratic at the implications of her words, and the
realization that Joohyun has ahold of his saxophone dawns on him.

She brings both of her hands to her hips and smirks before saying,

“Do it, Joohyun,” she orders.

And Taehyung watches in horror as Joohyun raises his saxophone up in the air and slams it
on to the ground with a loud crash , beautiful gold pieces shattering on the ground, some of
the keys flying all the way to Taehyung’s feet.

Taehyung feels his airways dangerously closing in on him as his panic attack becomes more
serious. All of this was too much, the knowledge that his saxophone was broken beyond
repair and his family didn't have enough to pay for another one. The fact that without it, he
couldn't get a music scholarship because he couldn't play anymore, therefore wrecking his
dreams of going to college.

Add the fact that Taehyung knows he doesn't have his inhaler and it becomes too perfect of a
recipe for Taehyung in having the most intense asthma attack he’s had in years.

He falls off the piano bench, gasping for air, his level of fear increasing with each breath he
fails to take.

He hears Sooyoung and her possy laughing at him, cackling like a bunch of demented
hyenas.

She crouches down in front of him as he’s trying to desperately tell her to help him,
forgetting about what happened moments prior because Taehyung can't breathe and she needs
to call an ambulance immediately. But he can't seem to spit it out, the words getting stuck in
his throat every time he tries to get them out.

“What's wrong Taehyung? Cat got your tongue?” she sounds so snide it makes him sick to his
stomach.

She stands up, looking like she’s making her way to leave and Taehyung is contemplating
how fast he could run to his locker without being able to breathe.

With less than perfect timing, Jungkook comes rushing in the band room, almost slamming
into Sooyoung as he bolts toward a wheezing Taehyung, collapsed and weak on the floor.
 “Oh my god Taehyung, are you okay?” his tone is oozing with panic. “What the hell is
wrong with you guys, he’s having an asthma attack and you’re laughing?!” Jungkook shouts,
voice loud and booming through the room, his anger directed at the gaggle of cheerleaders
who suddenly don't think the situation is all that funny anymore.

Jungkook gets down on the ground and pulls the struggling Taehyung into his arms,
Taehyung sitting between his outstretched legs, back pressed against Jungkook’s firm chest.

He digs out the spare inhaler from his varsity jacket pocket and immediately gives it to
Taehyung, who can't take a puff of it fast enough.

There are silent tears falling from Taehyung’s eyes as Jungkook intertwined his fingers with
the ones Taehyung has on the inhaler in an attempt to help him stabilize the breaths he was
taking.

Jungkook uses his other hand to card his fingers through Taehyung’s (messy) hair, shushing
him gently.

“Shh, I got you baby, just breathe,” he whispers into Taehyung’s ear before kissing the crown
of his head.

Taehyung is mentally reserving the right to have another asthma attack about the ‘baby’ thing
at a later date.

Sooyoung looks terrified at the sight unfolding right before eyes, “I’m sorry Jungkook..we
didn't…” she scrambles for words, “...we didn’t know.”

“That's because you didn't care enough to know, or even care at all,” Jungkook snaps at her,
head turning to look up at her from the ground and sending a nasty glare at her direction, the
most hateful Taehyung thinks he’s ever seen on Jungkook.
“Jungkook...” she tries.

“Get out of here.” Jungkook fires back almost instantly, “That was a little cruel, even for you,
Sooyoung.”

She doesn’t speak, frowning at the two boys in front of her before turning to leave, her
lackeys following after her.

Taehyung’s breaths are starting to normalize a little bit, enough to where he can manage to
form a few words,

“My...” is the first one. “...Saxophone…” is the second.

Jungkook looks to where Taehyung is pointing and finally notices the broken instrument in
front of him.

He hears Jungkook let out a huff, “Those bitches.”

“Don't worry about that right now baby, just keep focusing on your breathing.” Jungkook
kisses the side of his head, “We’ll figure something out.”

Taehyung wishes he could believe him.

After that day, Taehyung avoids Jungkook like the plague. Something about Sooyoung's
words hitting too close to home with him.

His negative thoughts begin to resurface and he knows it’s because she was right, Jungkook
was always going to be the popular guy, and Taehyung was always going to be the not
popular guy.
They can’t be together (no matter how much his heart protests) because they aren’t supposed
to be together.

People like Jungkook need to be with people like Sooyoung or everything gets messy, prime
example being his broken saxophone.

Taehyung decides it would be better for all parties involved if he and Jungkook just stopped
the little thing they had going on, whatever it was.

Jungkook tries relentlessly to talk to Taehyung, texting him and even showing up to his
doorstep one night, asking if they could just talk.

Taehyung tells his mother to shoo Jungkook away and let him know that Taehyung wasn’t at
home, a blatant lie, because he was always home.

It hadn’t been easy for Taehyung, everything in his heart begging him to go back to Jungkook
yet everything in his mind knowing that this was for the best.

Taehyung is successful in his mission to ignore Jungkook, and it became a little easier over
time as things were slowly going back to how they used to be. Jungkook, however, was
adamant and didn't stop his attempts at trying to get Taehyung to just talk to him, he’d even
be happy if he were acknowledged at least. The situation proved to be futile, but Jungkook
didn’t stop just yet.

Several days after the whole ordeal, Taehyung is at his locker, exchanging his chemistry book
for his biology one, Jimin standing next to him and almost coughing up a lung.

“Taehyung,” he hears a familiar honey voice call his name from behind him. Taehyung’s
shoulders tense and he refuses to turn around to face Jungkook.
“Taehyung,” Jungkook tries again and he can tell by the sound of it that Jungkook is now
much closer than he was before, the proximity piling atop Taehyung’s discomfort. “Please
talk to me,” he sounds like he’s begging.

Jimin must notice how apparent it was that Taehyung didn't want to talk to Jungkook because
he steps in between them, preventing a possible interaction.

“Hey back off, he doesn't want to talk to you.” Taehyung is impressed with how serious Jimin
sounds.

“And who are you exactly?” But alas, Jungkook’s strong voice comes out almost like a growl
and his intimidating tone causes Jimin’s facade to crumble in seconds.

“Didyouknowthat -Yoda was originally supposed to be played by a monkey with a mask and
cane?” Jimin squeaks in response.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Jimin squeaks again, “You’re on your own, Tae.” he whispers into Taehyung’s ear
before turning away from the two males and running down the hallway, as far as his tiny legs
could take him.

“Coward!” Taehyung yells after his best friend.

With Jimin gone, Taehyung is forced to turn around and face Jungkook, closing his locker in
the process.

“What do you want Jungkook?”

“Why are you ignoring me? What’s wrong?”

Taehyung sighs, knowing this interaction was bound to happen eventually.

“We have stop seeing each other, whatever this is -” he makes a motion between Jungkook
and himself, “has to stop.”

Jungkook’s brows furrow (as they always do when he’s confused) “Why?”

“Because Jungkook,” Taehyung sounds tired, and he truly is, “We can't keep pretending,
okay? We were never going to work out, we’re too different.” too far apart.

What Taehyung choose to omit from saying is that they are too different socially. Their
personalities however, the two fit together perfectly, like pieces of a well-constructed puzzle.

“We can't even walk down the halls without people staring at me like I’m your charity case or
something, nobody else takes our relationship seriously so why should we?”

“Taehyung, none of that should matter? All that matters is how we feel. ” Jungkook removes
his hands from the same varsity jacket he wore all the time and places them gently on either
side of Taehyung’s face.

Taehyung doesn't shy away from the touch like he’s conditioned himself to. He stays pliant,
even though it kind of fucks up the way his glasses are resting on his face.

“Baby,” he whispers, and Taehyung didn't know when the whole ‘baby’ thing became a new
development for them but he doesn't exactly hate it. “Screw what everyone else thinks, it
only matters what we think.”

Jungkook takes a deep breath, almost like he’s debating to say the next part.
“And- and.. I think I might be in love with you, Taehyung.”

For a few moments, Taehyung is struck in awe and visibly shaken at Jungkook’s words, they
cause emotion to consume Taehyung, (not sure if happy or sad) tears welling up in his eyes
and threatening to spill over.

“Then prove it, Jungkook.” Taehyung states firmly, “Prove it to everyone, not just me.”

And with that, he wipes his nose with the sleeve of his sweatshirt and walks away, leaving a
crumpled Jungkook behind.

As Taehyung goes through the rest of his classes that day, Jungkook’s words ring loud and
clear in his ears.

Was he being stupid about this? Perhaps.

But Taehyung was having a hard time grasping the situation at hand, he hadn’t been liked by
anyone for so long, so to suddenly believe that the boy of his dreams confessed to loving
Taehyung?

He’s still waiting on the camera crew to come out and tell him this has all been some kind of
sick joke.

And of course, in true Taehyung (and his fucking braces) fashion, he just had to get in a fight
with Jungkook the very same day he was scheduled to get his metal demons off his teeth
forever.

Because Taehyung wasn't allowed to ever feel the slightest bit of happiness when it came to
his braces, even when he was in the car on the way to get them off.

He left early seventh period, meeting his mom and her blue mini-van outside the school.
“You okay sweetheart? I would have thought you’d be bouncing off the walls today from
being so excited.” she asks, concern laced in her voice.

“I'm fine, just a little tired.” he lies because he doesn't want a typical ‘mom lecture’ right
now.

Taehyung doesn't give her any more of a proper answer and to his surprise, she doesn't pry.
Driving in comfortable silence to his orthodontist’s office, the sound of his mom’s Cindy
Lauper CD plays quietly in the background.

When they get there, his orthodontist makes some lame joke about how ‘ready’ Taehyung
must be for this day, the day he’d finally be free of his brace face.

Taehyung thinks he would laugh at it his orthodontist's lame attempt of lightening the mood
any normal day, but today he’s in an especially pissy mood, so he glares at the doctor instead.

The procedure is standard and easy enough, something an orthodontist probably does on the
daily, which must be why it doesn't take an exorbitant amount of time to remove each bracket
from each tooth.

The relief Taehyung feels when the wires are cut is overwhelming, letting go of the metal
contraption he has had in his mouth for almost eight years is so great, he almost cries from
such happiness.

Soon enough, his orthodontist is finished, pulling that obnoxiously bright overhead light
away. He removes the (horrible medieval torture device) clamps holding Taehyung’s mouth
wide open.

“You’re going to be a little numb for a while but here -” he hands Taehyung a small, handheld
mirror, “- take a look at your new smile, Taehyung.”
Taehyung finds it annoying how smug his orthodontist sounds, like all the credit for
Taehyung’s new and improved smile should go to him. Taehyung had some good genetics,
okay?

The person smiling before Taehyung in the mirror, he almost doesn't recognize even though it
most certainly is Taehyung himself.

He was so used to looking at himself with the silver wires and brackets decorating his mouth,
that it was absolutely bizarre for them to not be there anymore.

It was weird, really weird, but it wasn't at all unwelcomed because Taehyung was so glad to
not have to deal with his braces anymore.

He spends the entire car ride home letting his tongue run over the expanse of his now (oddly)
smooth teeth, delightfully surprised every time his tongue didn't make contact with some sort
of metal that could potentially cut the pink muscle.

Something else he immediately wanted to test out was his lisp and if it was as prominent as it
had been before.

While not completely gone, Taehyung could confidently say “Soup” without the harsh ‘sh’
sound at the beginning.

He called Jimin as soon as the numbing wore off and made Jimin listen to him say,

“Sally sells seashells by the seashore,” Taehyung repeated for an hour, giggling hysterically
every time he said the words without his speech impediment getting in the way.

The few moments of joy Taehyung had felt after he got his braces off were short lived
because the sadness about Jungkook came washing over him when he all but curled up in bed
that night.
Taehyung tries his best to push the thoughts away, forget about all of it for a second and he
lets sleep consume his body.

He’ll try again tomorrow to deal with his feelings.

Taehyung doesn't understand why everyone is staring at him while he gets to school the next
morning.

Was it that obvious he got his braces off? Did he look he look that different?

The stares didn't stop even when he got inside the building, people's eyes following
Taehyung’s every move as he made his way to his locker.

Was there something on his face? He was extremely confused because no one ever looks at
Taehyung, no one bothering to acknowledge his existence which is why he’s weirded out by
this weird turn of events.

Maybe he woke up in another universe? Twilight zone, maybe?

When he gets to his locker, there is an envelope taped to the front with his name, written in
very familiar handwriting.

He opens it up and reads the small note inside

Baby,

Meet me by the football field, please. -Jk

Taehyung exhales through his nose and is about to crumple the note up in his hands when he
feels someone touch his shoulder.

He turns to see Sooyoung with her perfectly manicured nails resting on his shoulder.

“Follow me,” she says.

Taehyung definitely does not want to follow her but she insistently tugs at his wrist and
doesn't let up even when Taehyung protests, leading him away from his locker.

“Where are we going?”

“Shh, you’ll see.”

Sooyoung is dragging him through the halls and Taehyung recognizes the path they were
taking, it was the way to the football field.

She pulls him all the way to the door that leads outside and to a structured path, that when
followed, will take you all the way under the bleachers.

“Where are we going?” he tries again but she still shushes him in response, tugging so
harshly on his wrist that he’s scared it’s about to pop out of its socket.

Once they finally make it underneath the bleachers, Taehyung wonders if this is where
Sooyoung planned on murdering him or something.

He can hear what kind of sounds like music coming from the other side of the bleachers
(which would be where the football field is).

“Look, if this about Jungkook -” he tries for the last time but she still doesn’t let him finish
his sentence, handing him another envelope.
“What’s this?”

“A check,” she smiles, “For your saxophone.”

“I- uh, Thank you?” Taehyung is so utterly confused.

Sooyoung’s smile widens and she nods her head.

“Now,” she points toward the ramp that leads onto the bleachers, “Go get your man.”

Taehyung doesn't move at first but does so when Sooyoung slaps him on the ass, urging him
again to “Go!”

He timidly makes his way up the ramp, the sun slowly beginning to shine down into his eyes
and Taehyung has to cup his hands over his glasses or else the glare of the sun rays would
blind him, for sure.

The music he thought he heard is confirmed the moment he hears a very familiar song being
sung through a bullhorn, with an even more familiar voice behind it.

The Jeon Jungkook™ was standing below Taehyung on the football field, screeching the
lyrics to If I Ain't Got You while a small Bluetooth speaker was playing the tune at his feet.

Taehyung could make out Jungkook holding up a sign that said,

“Be my LINK to prom, Taehyung?” In curly cursive handwriting.

A large, hand drawn triforce was visible in the corner of the poster board. It’s equal amounts
stupid, cheesy and just nerdy enough for Taehyung to absolutely fucking love it.

When Jungkook notices him, he stops singing for a second to say,

“Oh Taehyung, nice of you to join us.”

Taehyung is confused by what Jungkook means when he says “us” but he soon realizes that
every seat in the bleachers was filled with his classmates, all to his left and right.

“So Taehyung, will you go to prom with me?” Jungkook says cheekily into the bullhorn,
“Actually more importantly, will you be my boyfriend?”

Everyone is staring at him again, watching in anticipation for Taehyung to answer the
question.

“Say yes, dumbass!” he hears what sounds like Jimin’s voice coming from somewhere off in
the bleachers but he doesn't care right now, focused solely on Jungkook standing there,
smiling up at him.

Taehyung doesn’t say anything and lets his legs take control as he starts running toward
Jungkook, barreling his way down the stairs of the bleachers and onto the football field,
allowing his feet to carry him as fast as they can toward Jungkook in the center of it all.

He doesn't even need to think before he does the thing he’s been itching to do since forever.
He crashes into Jungkook, throwing his arms around his neck and bringing their lips together.

Jungkook gasps a little in shock, dropping the poster and bullhorn in the process, hands
quickly making their way to grab a hold Taehyung.
Taehyung’s eyes flutter for a moment, processing the strong grip that is suddenly on his body,
large hands encircling his tiny waist. He sighs into the kiss as he feels Jungkook pressing
their chests flush against each other, bodies coming together and molding so well that it’s
difficult to tell where Jungkook starts and Taehyung ends.

Taehyung tilts his head to the side to get better access and Jungkook takes it as a hint to
deepen the kiss, parting his lips and meeting Taehyung’s tongue halfway. There’s no rush as
they kiss leisurely, as if they had all the time in the world, as if they didn’t have an entire
audience witnessing the entire scene.

And Taehyung, he didn’t seem to care. He was done with what people thought of him or what
they thought of his relationship with Jungkook for that matter. All he knew was that he and
Jungkook were the ones in control of his feelings, and in that moment, he felt ecstatic.

Too busy caught in the moment of their tongues sliding against each other, the two boys fail
to hear everyone erupt into cheers from the bleachers, screaming in delight as the (newly
affirmed) couple kiss each other breathless on the football field.

Taehyung is so lost in the feeling of Jungkook’s plush lips as they meld together, the kiss
dripping with adoration and something that feels an awful lot like love (it must be that,
right?).

When they finally separate, Taehyung’s glasses are all fogged up and Jungkook reaches his
thumbs out to windshield wipe the fog from his lenses.

“I love you.” Taehyung says as soon as he can see Jungkook clearly.

“I love you too.” Jungkook places another chaste kiss to his lips, and another, and a few after
that turning Taehyung into a giggling, squirming mess. “So is that a yes? Will you go to prom
with me and be my boyfriend?”

Taehyung smiles,
“It’s a hell yes.”

( “Did you see I got my braces off? Now I can smile all the time.”

“All I ever wanted was to see you smile, braces or not.”

“That’s so cheesy.”

“Not as cheesy as that one piece of pizza that got stuck in your brackets on our second
date.”)
 a note from the author

BAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH

how on planet earth does this small baby of mine have almost 2k kudos?? who on THIS
PLANET EARTH RIGHT NoW i can’t even beLIEVE

i wrote this story on a two day bender consuming two things of sabra guacamole and one (1)
(un) (ichi) pound of starburst

i’m so thankful for the love and support this story has received !!! like i can’t stress it enough
how full of the thanks i am!!

expect a PART TWO very soon pls comment things you would like to see i’ve already
included microwave nachos & cmon discussing dry hand jobs

with much love,

sunflower2
End Notes

my twitter

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