Chapter 3: STAGE III

...The door to Jimin’s dorm room swung open, pushed by a tired and flustered redhead. His day had been long, no thanks to the RA down the hall. With the unexpected early start, Jimin had lost about two and a half hours of precious sleep that he couldn’t get back – especially not after his visit to Jungkook and Hoseok’s room. It was only a little more than a week into the new year and Jimin was already stressed to the max. His eyes landed almost habitually on Taehyung’s bed as he stepped farther into the room. The taller male laid on his bed with his phone held over his face; the blue light shone over his facial features and created unnatural shadows. It was about nine at night; truth be told it was out of character for both boys to be getting settled in this early....

...Jimin kicked off his sneakers and threw his book bag next to his desk. His last drama class had just ended at eight thirty; he had taken his time walking back in the dark, enjoying the cooling autumn air. The window of their room was cracked ever so slightly, allowing for the same crisp air to flow into their surroundings. The night would have been perfect, if not for the noise going on in Jimin’s head....

...“Tae, you conscious enough to talk to me?” Jimin flopped down onto Taehyung’s bed, nearly missing the other’s legs. It was normal for them to convene on one bed together; it usually happened when one had to have a serious talk with the other. Taehyung grunted in affirmation and Jimin took that as his cue to continue. “I’m so fucking tired, holy shit. You know what time I woke up today? At like nine thirty or ten. And you wanna know why?– Tae, you listening?”...

...Taehyung’s nose was buried in his phone. He dropped it onto his stomach and blinked twice at the redhead. “Huh? Yeah, you woke up hella early; what else is up?” His voice was raspy from not having used it in a while, though his tone grew more sincere the more he talked....

...Jimin stared blankly at the other before leaning his head against the wall and continuing. “The RA from down the hall came into our room and physically shook me awake. Are RAs even allowed to do that? ...Whatever, doesn’t matter,” he looked over at Taehyung who was, thankfully, still paying attention. “You’re not allowed to get upset with me for what I’m gonna tell you next, okay?”...

...“Yeah, okay,” Taehyung rolled his eyes and smirked. “Lay it on me.”...

...“Yoongi-ssi said that you basically need to chill it with the smoking, at least for a little while.”...

...“What? Why would I do that? It’s not hurting anyone. Plus he like, literally can’t make me,” The smirk on Taehyung’s lips only widened, forming a teasing smile. The chuckle that emerged from his lips was deviant in every way possible. “And you like joining in sometimes, Jiminie. Aren’t you a little ticked off that he asked that of us?”...

...Jimin exhaled through his nose in order to gather his thoughts before replying, “First of all, he knew it was you. I told him that it wasn’t me last night and he believed me. Second of all, there were other guys in the hall that complained to him about the smell, so just try and chill for a while, okay? Yoongi-ssi said he’d get in trouble if it continued.” He spoke quickly and his wordes managed to slur together in his haste....

...“Oh, look at you defending him! You like him!”...

...Jimin reached over and shoved Taehyung in the side. All the other could do was laugh at Jimin’s feeble attempt at self defense. “Can everyone please stop thinking I have a crush on a guy I barely know? God ,” his fingers swept through his fringe in frustration. “If you don’t wanna stop smoking then go downstairs and do it with Hoseok hyung; he said you’ve been stingy with yours recently anyways.” A smirk manifested on Jimin’s lips as he looked down at Taehyung, who was back to hiding his face in his phone; he could see that the other was embarrassed from a mile away, but not because of what he did to Hoseok. “Oh, and Yoongi-ssi said that if I told him you were resisting that he would come and talk some sense into you himself, and I’m sure you don’t want that.”...

...Taehyung dropped his phone onto his stomach once again, this time his eyes were wide and his lips stretched into a flat line. “The Legend can’t die. Nope. Not today,” He brought his hands up to rub at his eyes. “I guess I’ll have to go pay Hoseok hyung and Jungkook a visit sometime soon, then.” Jimin could see the light dusting of pink on the brunet’s cheeks forming at the idea of visiting the two roommates....

...“Maybe Jungkook would join you; who knows what kinds of things that kid has or hasn’t experienced,” Jimin teased as he scrambled to get off of Taehyung’s bed, nearly missing the slap Taehyung aimed for his back. His feet reached solid ground and he stuck his tongue out at his lethargic roommate before hopping up onto his own bed....

...–––...

...Soft snores sounded from the lump of Taehyung that was curled into a ball on his bed. His phone was abandoned and had fallen on the floor within the time he had been tossing and turning. The blankets that had once covered his body were now tangled in a mess around his ankles. Jimin lay awake, though, his phone casting a soft light onto his face. He didn’t want to sleep, nor was he going to try. It was the time of night where one usually decided to crash or to say, “ **** it, I’ll just wait ‘till I see the sun and then sleep.” In this case, Jimin chose the latter....

...In all reality, Jimin couldn’t clear his mind enough to start thinking about sleeping. He was worried about whether his roommate would really follow through with his – Yoongi’s – request, and whether the RA would keep his cool manner with the two of them if Taehyung continued to make problems. It wasn’t exactly Jimin’s place to worry about these things, since they didn’t have anything to do directly with him. However, he was the worrying type and tended to look out for his worrisome friend. Something was jabbing him in his brain to go do something about it if it was bothering him so much; locking his phone, Jimin sighed and rolled out of his bed. The best he could do at this point, he thought, was deal with the person who’d decide his and Taehyung’s fate in the end....

...He made sure he had his phone with him (in case the sleeping Taehyung were to wake up and wonder where he went off to) before walking quietly out of the dorm room. The hallway was quiet this late at night, and Jimin felt a shiver run down his spine when he realised just how quiet it was. He shuffled down the hallway towards the RA’s room with his hands shoved into his hoodie’s front pocket. His heart was beating rather quickly, though he couldn’t exactly put a pin on why....

...As Jimin faced the door to Yoongi’s room, he found himself unable to knock on it. It was really late, and one part of him didn’t want to disturb the other if he happened to be sleeping. The other part of him, though, wanted to get this over with. His hand subconsciously found its way up to the wood of the door and Jimin knocked briskly on it – once, and then a second time. He stepped back from the door and played with the rings on his finger waiting for the RA to answer....

...At the sound of the door opening, Jimin jumped a little and forced his hands to stick by his sides. The blue-haired RA popped his head out of the door; his eyes squinted in the light of the hallway and his hair was tousled, though he didn’t exactly look like he had been asleep. Before the other could speak, Jimin found himself stammering a small introduction, “Uh, hi again. I’m Jimin from room 309, as I’m sure you remember. Or, maybe you don’t,” his voice wavered before he sucked in another breath and continued. “I wanted to talk to you about something, but if you were asleep it can wait, I think?” It came out as a question rather than a statement; Jimin mentally pinched himself for being so underconfident. It was a stark difference from the demeanor he had presented himself in the last time he and the RA had met, and Yoongi definitely took note of it....

...A small smile appeared on Yoongi’s lips and he opened the door wider. “It’s no problem. Come on in, Jimin,” Jimin nodded and shuffled past the other into his room. His palms were slightly clammy and he wondered why he was getting so worked up over a simple conversation....

...The room seemed much larger than it was; it was the same size as Jimin’s own room, though the want of a second bed made it look a lot bigger. There was a loveseat sofa in the corner where a second bed would have been, and the standard twin size bed in the other. Various posters and polaroids hung on the walls, and an area rug protected his feet from the otherwise cold linoleum floor. “You can take a seat anywhere,” Yoongi spoke softly as he closed the door once again. Jimin’s eyes instinctively landed on the bed and he chose to sit there. His hands lay restlessly in his lap; he played continuously with his rings and his fingers out of pure nervousness....

...Yoongi took a seat on the loveseat and peered over at the jittery redhead. “So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Jimin?” He tried his best to sound as much like a mentor as he could, though his voice came out a little more awkward than planned. He was new to all of this, having just become an RA this year. He had entertained the idea in his past years at the university, but always came to the conclusion that he was too socially inept to deal with a whole hallway of students....

...Jimin straightened his back almost immediately and piped up, “Oh! I just wanted to apologize on behalf of my roommate,” He forced his hands to find purchase on the mattress, gripping to it firmly. “He’s really a handful and I can usually keep him in line, but I guess I just wasn’t paying enough attention this time around.”...

...Yoongi lowered his head and chuckled softly. “ That’s what you wanted to talk to me about?” His tone came off as judgemental, though as he continued his intentions became clearer to Jimin. “Jimin, it’s no big deal. I’m your RA, and even if I’m new I would have had to deal with something like this in the future. Don’t think too much of it,” Yoongi clasped his hands together as if he had deemed the conversation over; Jimin panicked a bit and words began to tumble out of his mouth before he could even register it....

...“Well, I also kinda wanted to apologize in advance for any other shit he might pull,” At his words Yoongi’s gaze softened and he relaxed back into the loveseat, signaling for Jimin to continue. “So… I wanted to maybe invite you out for dinner? Just to, like, pay in advance for any headaches you might get in the future, courtesy of Kim Taehyung.”...

...“But Jimin, this isn’t even your fault. Why are you doing this?” Yoongi leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and cupped his chin in his hands. Jimin could feel the other’s gaze upon him, as if he were trying to decode some kind of cryptic message, and the redhead couldn’t help but lower his eyes....

...His voice was soft when he spoke, though it only showed an ounce of the nervousness he felt inside. “Just because I know how annoying it is to be bothered by Taehyung, and you shouldn’t have to deal with it as much as I do,” he looked up to see a smile grow on the other male’s face; at least Jimin’s intentions were being taken the right way....

...Yoongi stood up from the loveseat and paced a few steps over towards Jimin and held out his hand. “Okay, I believe you. Friday night in the dining hall sound good to you?” Jimin looked up at the RA with a puzzled look but nodded his head; he could feel his cheeks growing hotter and thanked the gods above for the dim lighting in Yoongi’s room. “Great. Give me your phone so I can add my number,” as the words left Yoongi’s mouth Jimin scrambled to locate his phone; all sense had left his brain and he reasoned that it was because of the late hour at which he was still up on a Tuesday night....

...Once the redhead found his phone, Yoongi punched in his number and sent himself a text message in order to have Jimin’s number as well. He handed the cold metal device back to Jimin and started towards the door. “I’ll see you around, Jimin. Have a good night,” a tired smile resurfaced on the RA’s mouth and Jimin took that as his cue to leave. He muttered a small goodnight to the other as he shuffled out of the single dorm room and into the barren hallway. The door shut behind him quietly and Jimin let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. I’m only like this because I’ve never talked to him like that before, he thought to himself as he walked back towards his own room. He breathed slowly through his nose in an attempt to get his heart rate to slow down again....

...When he entered his room again, the first thing he noticed was a now very awake Kim Taehyung sitting cross-legged in his bed with his nose buried in a game console. Great, one more obstacle before he could fall into bed and sleep for the next eternity. Taehyung poked his head up at the sound of the door opening and squinted at the other. “Where have you been?” It wasn’t accusatory or even laced with worry; it was merely a casual inquiry from a roommate that had been unexpectedly left alone while he was asleep. Jimin kicked off his shoes and peeled off his socks before answering....

...“I just needed some fresh air, is all,” Jimin shrugged and rolled into bed. He drew his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it; it opened immediately to the one-message text conversation between him and Yoongi. The constriction of his chest peaked again for a moment before he willed it to go down by heaving a tired sigh. He stared at the blue message bubble and grinned at the identifier Yoongi had chosen for him, “ kid .” The name would have otherwise been interpreted as offensive, but Jimin knew from the way Yoongi had reacted to his rambling that it was anything but offensive....

...Taehyung tossed his game console to the side and turned to face a concentrated Jimin. “Bullshit, you were with someone,” a corner of his mouth twitched upwards and the brunet swore he could see right through his roommate’s façade....

...“No, I wasn’t,” Jimin didn’t spare the other a second glance as he locked his phone – only after changing Yoongi’s contact name to “Yoongi-ssi ” – and turned quickly to shut off the single lamp that illuminated the room. “Now shut up and go to sleep, Lord knows you need it. Your sleep schedule is so fucked up these days.” A grumble emerged from Taehyung’s throat and Jimin scoffed affectionately in the dark. He placed his phone on the bedside table and burrowed into his sheets; he couldn’t repress the smile that played on his lips as he succumbed to sleep....

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