"And then you too will be set free."

-Hotel Books

Yoongi

After school, I went straight to the front gates. I knew he wouldn't be there yet because he had his dance thing, but I was nervous as hell, and I didn't want to end up missing him.

I put in headphones and pulled the hood of my sweatshirt up to block my pale face from the sun. Leaning against the side of the gate, I watched all the other students heading home. I barely recognized any of them. Some were texting or talking on the phone while others were laughing and joking with their respective groups of friends.

At one point I saw the blue haired kid, who was always hanging around Jimin, walking with a younger dark-haired boy. He always seemed like a good friend of Jimin's. I was glad he had a friend like that. Looking around, it seemed like everyone had a place they fit in. Everyone but me. I just stood here knowing I looked completely emo, alone, and depressing.

Whatever. I'm perfectly fine by myself.

I often lied to myself like that.

Before I could get too wrapped up in negative thoughts, I spotted him coming out of the building. I could already feel my heartbeat pick up as he waved at me from the walkway. He waved at me. It felt like my body was frozen. Why couldn't I just smile and wave back?

It wasn't until he was right in front of my face that I realized he was talking to me.

"Oh, shit!" I quickly pulled my hood down and took out my headphones. "Sorry, what?"

He just giggled. The sound was waay better than any music I had been listening to. "I asked if you were ready to go. We're gonna walk this way." He headed off away from the school.

I pushed off the wall and pulled my hood back up, following him. "I thought you said it was too far to walk."

He looked at me and blushed slightly. "Uh, the car is down the block. I don't want people to see my mom pick me up from high school." He whispered the part about his mom as if we were co-conspirators in some grand scheme.

I gave a nod of respect. "Smart."

He stopped walking. "Really? You think so? You're not gonna make fun of me for still having my mom pick me up from school?"

I looked over at him. "Why would I make fun of you?"

He shrugged," Because you're..you know...Min Yoongi. You-you really aren't at all what I thought you would be."

"Is anyone?"

He tilted his head to the side staring at me and his soft brown hair brushed across his warm chocolate colored eyes making my breath catch as I looked at him. "Fair enough." was all he said and then he continued walking.

A blue minivan came into view and he came to a sudden stop. "Um, my siblings might be in the car. I just want to say that they are a little brats and anything they say about me is a lie."

He looked at me intently, so I did a small nod to show I understood.

As we walked up to the van, the front door opened and a woman stepped out. She was small. Well, short. Shorter than me by a good five or six inches. A bit on the pudgier side, she looked like the kind of person who would give great hugs. She had rich chocolate hair pulled into a kind of messy bun and eyes that were just like Jimin's when he smiled. There was an aura around her that felt exactly like what I imagined a mom should feel like. I immediately knew that I was going to like her.

Jimin groaned, whining slightly. "Moooommm, you don't have to get out of the car."

"Of course I do. I need to meet your new friend. Now hush." She walked over to me and looked me up and down. I shuffled a bit uncomfortable knowing that I looked like most parents' worst nightmare for their kid to bring home. She just smiled that eye smile that was just like Jimin's and held out her hand.

"I'm Jimin's mom, Park Jieun, it's very nice to meet."

"Min Yoongi." I mumbled, grabbing her hand and almost instantly releasing it. I pulled the ends of my hoodie sleeves back over my hands. She opened the back door as she talked and pointed to an open seat right behind the driver.

"See Jimin, that wasn't so terrible was it? I wasn't too embarrassing, was I?"

"Mom, you're doing it right now." He said with a sigh as he climbed into the passenger seat. She just stuck her tongue out at him and I stifled a laugh getting into my seat and buckling up. A small dark-haired girl sat in a booster seat on the spot behind Jimin kicking her feet back and forth.

"Are you a vampire?" She asked as she looked at me with wide eyes.

"No."

"That's exactly what a vampire would say," came a voice from the back seat. I turned to see a boy who was probably about 12 sitting in the very back row. He had fluffy black hair and a face that looked exactly like Jimin only even more round. I couldn't believe it. I was actually surrounded by Jimin clones.

"I was just out in the sunlight." I reasoned.

"With your hood covering your face! That doesn't prove anything." The boy retorted.

"Then I guess you'll never know for sure." I said flatly. He gave me a suspicious look and scooted away.

"So, Yoongi." Mrs. Park spoke up looking at me through the rearview mirror as she started driving, "Jimin says you are in his Biology class? Are you also a Junior?"

"Yes Ma'am." Jimin looked back at me with raised eyebrows. Probably because I was speaking so formally. I didn't really know how to address parents.

"So, you're sixteen too then?" I started to feel my chest tighten. She was already asking questions I didn't like. It made me uncomfortable talking about myself. I don't like to lie, but there are a lot of questions I really don't want to answer.

"Uh, No Ma'am. I'm seventeen." I responded, fiddling with my fingers in my lap and staring out the window.

"Ugh! Mom stop with the twenty questions! We've already been at school all day and my brain hurts!" Jimin groaned again as he leaned forward and turned on the radio. I released a quiet grateful sigh for Jimin's interference in what I could tell was about to become a full-scale interrogation.

The rest of the ride went by quickly. Watching the family interact made it hard for me to hold on to my usual scowl because they were all so...normal. Jimin's little sister, whose name I learned was Minji, continuously kicked the back of Jimin's seat while Jimin swatted at her. Jikyeong, his little brother, kept poking Minji and blaming it on ghosts when she would turn around. Mrs. Park finally had to intervene when Minji started to cry.

Jikyeong leaned forward to mess with his baby sister once again, but I shot him a glare and he quickly sat back in his seat trying to pretend he hadn't done anything. After the most chaotic but entertaining ten minutes I had spent in some time, we pulled into the driveway of a small but cute house in the most suburban neighborhood I had ever seen.

"Yoongi, dear, would you reach over and unclip Minji for me? She can't quite get the button done herself."

I nodded hesitantly and looked at the little girl. She looked terrified as I moved closer to her.

"Don't worry," I muttered, "I don't bite. Can I unclip this for you?" Why was I nervous about talking to a five year old?

She stared at me for a second before she nodded. I unbuckled her booster seat and then turned to open my door but a small whine had me turning back around.

She held her arms out to me as if she wanted me to pick her up. "Uh, sorry kid. I um-" Her door opening interrupted me.

"Don't worry Yoongi. I got her." Jimin said with a smile as he lifted his sister on to his hip and headed for the door. I hesitated on the doorstep and Jikyeong gave me a suspicious look. I waited until Mrs. Park invited me inside and I looked over at the boy with a smirk and winked as I stepped over the threshold. He quietly yelped and ran off to another room.

Trailing behind the family, I found myself in a colorful, well decorated home. It was a bit cluttered and disorganized but everything about it screamed comfortable and cozy. It was the kind of home I thought only existed on television. I looked around in awe. There were shoes scattered near the door, and an array of coats hung on a coat rack. The living room that was visible from the entryway was painted a light blue and a grey couch was covered in multicolored throw pillows. Family photos littered the walls and most surfaces. It looked as though the Park family loved taking photos together.

"Alright boys," Mrs. Park started, "Why don't you work upstairs in Jiminie's room and I'll bring some snacks up in a little bit." I looked over at Jimin, whose face was bright red and held an expression as if he wanted to sink into the floor.

"Gah! Mom we aren't ten!" He complained.

"Oh, so you don't want snacks?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she placed her hands on her hips.

He lowered his head. "Yes, we do want snacks. Just don't act like we are babies. It's embarrassing." He shuffled around clearly uncomfortable.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you men like some extremely manly appetizers during your serious work?" I couldn't suppress a smile at her attitude.

"Whatever!" Jimin huffed. "We'll be upstairs." With that, he ran up the stairs most likely to avoid any further teasing.

Before I could follow him, Mrs. Park stopped me. "Will you be staying for dinner tonight? We usually eat at about six. Will your parents be okay with you being here that long?"

" ," I looked down, "I don't need to stay for dinner."

"It's no problem. As long as your parents aren't expecting you."

"My dad doesn't usually get home until pretty late. No one is expecting me anywhere."

She smiled sweetly and I tried not to look at the slight pity in her eyes. I hated that look. "I'll set a place for you and I'll take you home after you eat. How's that sound?"

Shrugging, I gestured up the stairs. "I'm gonna go help Jimin now."

"Go on! Have fun and I'll call you when dinner is ready."

Is this what it feels like to have someone care about you? Shaking my head I continued up the stairs looking for Jimin's bedroom.