"Are your folks really okay with this? I mean, 7 people is quite a handful." Namjoon mentioned to Yoongi as he threw his duffel bag against the back of the couch where everyone else's luggage was piling up. Yoongi had arranged for all of them to share Christmas with his family, and though everyone was excited to be going on such a trip, it was probably going to be a little crazy.
"We're not staying at his house hyung. We're going to be at an air bnb near his place-we're just joining them for Christmas day." Taehyung answered before Yoongi could say anything. "By the way, who's driving first?" Taehyung's mother had rented an 8-passenger van with enough trunk space for their luggage, just so they could experience a true roadtrip. It was now 7am, so they needed to leave soon if they wanted to get some good drive time in before the day was through.

"I'll drive the first three hours. You can go next and then-" Yoongi was cut off by Jungkook's interjection.

"I'll drive after Taehyung!" Jungkook's backpack nearly hit Jin in the face due to his lack of judgement in that moment. He didn't even look when he tossed his bag towards the pile!

While Jin attempted to duck in time to miss the incoming projectile, Namjoon's hand was the real reason he didn't get hit. "Yah! Jungkook-ah! Watch where you're throwing your stuff before you knock us all down, will ya?" Namjoon shouted to get his attention, since Jungkook was already on his way back to his bedroom.

"Yeah, what are you trying to do? Kill me?!" Jin shook his head as he began muttering under his breath, "아이구...그게 정말 무서웠어…" he sighed heavily as he shot a glare at the maknae once they locked eyes.

Jungkook's eyes glanced from Namjoon to Jin, as though he was completely innocent in the matter. Of course, he knew he wasn't-he just wanted to mess with them, "It's not my fault your head is such a big target, hyung." he shrugged.

"OHHHH!" Several of the boys piped up at Jungkook's joking remark, laughing at his sudden daring attitude.

"He's right, you know, hyung. 'Look at this face; there's nothing more handsome!'" Jimin pretended to use the TV as a mirror to imitate Jin. "You've got the biggest head of us all." he grinned at the eldest once he finished teasing him.

"You think that's a reason for me to get hit?" Jin chuckled as he came up to Jungkook and gently smacked him against the back of his head, "Since when did you become so daring, huh? I swear just yesterday you were cowering with fear any time we raised our voices at you." he laughed.

"He still does sometimes. You guys can be pretty scary." Hoseok responded as he dragged his carry-on-sized suitcase to the end of the hallway where Jungkook stood. "You guys don't want to be messing with Jungkook anymore though. He's getting meaner every day."

Jungkook quickly slapped Hoseok's right arm as he passed, jogging back to his room to avoid any revenge that may be taken against him as Hoseok shouted at him and rubbed his arm in response.

"Yah! You see what I mean? Seriously, he has no sense of respect anymore." Hoseok complained as he placed his suitcase near the others' belongings.

"Is it just me, or did Jungkook suggest that he drive?" Yoongi questioned, furrowing his eyebrows as he thought about it to himself, "He's not old enough to drive a rental; plus he's only got a permit, so… I don't think we should put our lives in that kid's hands. He doesn't take blame for anything. He'll hit a cow that crosses the street and say 'I wouldn't have hit you if you had only looked both ways.'"

Those who were in the room stared at Yoongi, perplexed and amused by his odd statement, "Yoongi… Jungkook loves animals more than us, remember? I mean… maybe he'd be meaner to the older cows..."

"... And in which state do cows cross the street?" Taehyung scratched the back of his head.

"... Taehyung-ah… you are the one who is most versed in movies in this household. You're the one who lives IN THE SOUTH. Haven't you seen cows cross the street?" Yoongi asked, completely surprised that his poor friend seemed to be completely ignorant of his surroundings.

"Hey, I'm not dumb. I've seen it in the movies, sure. But really, all the cows I've seen remain within the boundaries of their fences! I think you're just unlucky enough to have experienced it yourself." Taehyung stated in a matter of fact manner.

Yoongi blinked, cleared his throat, and reached out to pat Taehyung's back, "Sorry, but I was just surprised you'd never seen it. My dad-" he paused as he realized he was about to spat about some of his past and decided to just leave it at that, "Uh, my dad took me South once. Anyway, where's your mom? She's supposed to be here to watch Sagwa and Keopi, and we can't leave until she's here."

"Yeah, the fur kids need supervision." Jimin commented jokingly. Though, he was kind of serious too… "Wait… Tae, is your mom going to stay here while we're gone or is she just picking them up?"

"She's definitely not staying here. That would be a little awkward…" Taehyung laughed a bit, imagining all the things she would say about how messy his room is and how amazingly tidy the kitchen is (all thanks to Jin's scolding really). She'd be both disappointed and impressed with him!

"Roo Rooo~" Keopi's high pitched, unique howl-bark of sorts called out to the housemates as he sat at the door.

"Meoooow" Sagwa joined in, copying Keopi even though her little meow could barely be heard over his when he interrupted her.

"A-oooooooo~" "Meoooooooow" "~oooooo~" The two were being quite noisy together.

"Welp, mom's here." Taehyung chuckled as he hurried over to the door and exited the home to meet up with her.

"... That's so weird. Don't most dogs just bark when someone's at the door?" Namjoon laughed, finding them to be quite amusing.

"Don't most cats hide when dogs are this noisy?" Jimin grinned, walking over to their pets and picking up each animal in either arm, "I guess I'll take them out to her. You guys want to grab their toys?"

"Yeah, I'll get them." Jin agreed as he helped gather everything they needed.

As soon as everything was packed for the animals in Taehyung's mother's car, the boys said their brief goodbyes and headed back inside to grab their own luggage for the trip. After only 10 minutes, the boys had everything packed, checked needed items off the list, and jumped into the van with such eagerness for their roadtrip to begin.

"Roadtrip!" Taehyung shouted as he climbed into the van, practically crushing Hoseok as he closed the door behind him with his foot.

"Taehyung-ah, this is a rental you know." Jin laughed from behind him in the back seat.

"... On second thought, maybe we shouldn't do this. Tae's already causing trouble and-" Yoongi was interrupted by the groaning and begging of everyone in the car.

"We'll be good, we promise!"
"Yeah come on, we're just excited!"

"We won't cause any trouble!... Maybe."

"Come on, let's go!"

"Alright, alright hold on. Rule #1: No telling the driver what to do." Yoongi remarked as he turned the keys in the ignition to start the van. He shifted the gear into reverse and backed out of the driveway, marking the start of their adventure.

"I've never left Kentucky before-there's no turning back now!" Taehyung exclaimed as he tapped Namjoon, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to Yoongi, on the shoulder, "By the way, if we need it, the paper map is in the glove compartment. Oh, and Yoongi hyung, did you put the air bnb's address into the GPS?"

"Yeah, but I didn't start it yet because I didn't want to hear the GPS voice until I absolutely had to." Yoongi replied, hoping that they wouldn't have to use the paper map at all. He could only imagine how much difficulty they would have trying to navigate, especially once the sun set.

"Oh, before I forget… Does anyone get carsick on long car rides?" Jin asked as he pulled out a bottle of Dramamine from his rucksack under the seat.

"Uh… Just in case I might take one of those. I get sick on mountain roads, but I might be fine on the interstate. It's been a while, so I don't really remember…" Hoseok replied, gratefully receiving a pill from Jin and taking the medicine with a water bottle he brought from the house.

"As long as we don't have someone puking inside the van, we're good. We don't exactly need it to smell like vomit during the entire 32 hour car ride." Namjoon chuckled as he pulled out his cell phone. He used his fingerprint to access the phone and swiped up, pressing the icon that allowed him to use the camera, which was reversed so he could see himself.

"Hyung, wait!" Taehyung exclaimed, positioning himself behind his shoulder so he could get in on the picture with him.

"Hey, we should do a group picture! Do you think we can fit everyone in?" Jin asked, disappointed that they hadn't thought of the idea before leaving the house.

"It will with a selfie stick!" Jimin exclaimed as he reached into his backpack and pulled out the device extendor, handing it over to Namjoon.

"Oh I forgot we bought that! Wow, this trip is going to be great." Taehyung mused, "Wait… do you know how to attach the phone?"

"Uh… I'll figure it out." Namjoon replied; he was pretty confident that he was intelligent enough to figure it out.

"Give it to one of them, just in case…" Hoseok was concerned that he would accidentally break the device, so he was just watching out for him!

With a roll of his eyes, Namjoon handed the selfie stick and his phone back to Taehyung, who assembled the two together and returned it to his hyung for the picture. "Alright, squish together so you can all fit in! Jungkook-ah…. Jungkook-ah!" He tried to grab the attention of the youngest member.

Jin, who sat between Jungkook and Hoseok, reached over and pulled out one of Jungkook's earbuds. "Hey, we're trying to take a picture; how are you already listening to music like this?" he laughed a bit as he pulled him closer and pointed towards the camera.

Namjoon took the picture, realized some of them weren't even ready, and took a couple more just in case, "I don't know if I got one that's good or not; Jungkook looked so wide-eyed in the first one that I retook it." He chuckled, scrolling back three photos to see the first picture.

"Wait, let us see!" Jimin exclaimed, taking the selfie stick from Namjoon and removing the phone from it to get a closer look, "He's right, you look like a deer in the headlights, Jungkook." he laughed as he handed it to Taehyung and pointed at Hoseok as well, "He's not even looking at the picture."

"He looks like he's glaring at Jungkook." Taehyung grinned, passing the phone back to Jin so the three of them could see it for themselves.

"I was just distracted by Jungkook is all." Hoseok responded, disappointed by the first picture. "At least the other ones came out pretty good."

"Are you kidding? They all came out good! It's the funny ones that remind us of things." Taehyung replied as he gestured for them to hand him back the phone so he could give it back to Namjoon.

"Yeah, but my cheeks look so chubby." Jimin commented, upset that even after working out so much for the Korean project, his cheeks were still a little chubbier than he'd like. It was like he never lost his baby fat!

Jimin's statement was met with a flood of disagreement and compliments from his fellow housemates, leaving his cheeks a rosy red as he tried to hide his face with his hands. He was always so embarrassed when people complimented him!

"Jiminnie, you're anything but chubby!"

"You may still have baby cheeks, but you're not even close to being chubby!"

"Anyway, girls like baby cheeks, It makes you more adorable~!" Hoseok leaned over to pinch Jimin's cheeks from behind since he was seated in front of him.

"Hyung!" Jimin complained as he hit his hands away, letting out an embarrassed laughed as he did so. He was always very self conscious about his looks, and it bothered him that he still had such chubby cheeks at his age. He always thought that if he just lost enough weight, he could lose the fat in his cheeks... however, the other members always disapproved of him even entertaining the idea of dieting to the extent he sometimes did. They would just say that starving yourself isn't the answer.

—-

An hour and a half into the drive, Taehyung already needed to use the bathroom. He had completed one and a half bottles of Dr. pepper in an attempt to get enough caffeine into his body for his turn to drive after Yoongi... "Hyung... can we stop somewhere to use the bathroom?"
Yoongi grinned in response, "I told you drinking that much was a bad idea. Since you were warned... I don't think I'll stop. Maybe in another 30 minutes." He teased.
"... Really?" Taehyung sat back in his seat, his legs bobbing up and down as he bit his lip and looked out the window. He really had to go!
"Come on, you can pull over. It's not healthy to hold it in, you know." Namjoon spoke up for Taehyung, not knowing that Yoongi had no plans of making him sit in the car for too much longer. Yoongi was just toying with him.
"Yeah uh... I have to use the bathroom as well. And so does Jungkook." Jin added in. He didn't really have to, and Jungkook probably didn't either. He just knew it would help force Yoongi to make the right decision.
"What? No I don't. Taehyung may have the bladder capacity of a child, but I'm a tank. I can go for hours." Jungkook defended himself.

Jin quickly nudged Jungkook's side with his elbow and cleared his throat, signaling for him to say something to contradict what he just said so that he would help Taehyung out.

"... If I do what you want me to do, will you buy me a snack when we stop?" Jungkook whispered to the eldest with a smirk.

"Hey, what-" Jin was taken aback by Jungkook's response, and his eyes immediately glared at the defiant maknae as he thought it over, "... Fine, but nothing over three dollars." He had to limit the amount or else he knew Jungkook would abuse his wallet!

Jungkook raised his eyebrows, surprised that he would put such restriction on his snack choice, and with a shrug, he defiantly crossed his arms and placed his earbuds back in his ears only to block him out.

"Hey-" Jin whispered in annoyance, jerking his left earbud out, "Fine, five dollars, just say you have to use the restroom!" he insisted, bargaining as best he could.

Jungkook grinned, "Okay, deal. Give me a few minutes." He said as he pulled his water bottle out of his backpack and began chugging the liquid down. As soon as he finished the bottle, he exhaled with relief, feeling quite refreshed afterwards. "Yoongi hyung! I've got to go now. I changed my mind!"

Yoongi scowled at Jungkook briefly from the rear view mirror, having heard him finish off the bottle, "We're not going to get anywhere if you guys conspire together to make another roadstop. This isn't a bus, you know. You get off when I say you get off, and I say that you just made that half an hour into an hour." he declared with such authority that anyone would say that he had gone mad with power.

"What! That's not fair, hyung! Come on, pull over! Do you want use to relieve ourselves in here? I swear if you make this difficult, all of us will fight back! This is a democracy!" Taehyung exclaimed, finding himself more and more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Is it? As far as I know, when you elected me to be the driver, this became a dictatorship." Yoongi smirked in Taehyung's direction before turning towards their next exit on the interstate.

"... Evan I swear if you don't pull over and allow all of us to use the restroom, you are going to get what's coming to you ten fold." Jin threatened him in a calm yet serious tone. He was quite scary when he spoke without raising his voice and used their real names.

Actually, all of them had become quite adjusted to their Korean these days, and it was rare for them to be called by any other. Nowadays, they didn't even like their real names the way they used to, so being addressed in such a way caused a look of disgust to appear on Yoongi's face, "Alright, alright, I'm getting off. Didn't you even notice that I'm already getting off the interstate…" Yoongi mumbled the last part as the van came to a stop at a red light. He wasn't actually upset, but he was concerned that Jin was. He didn't have the energy to be in any kind of argument, and he was really just trying to make sure they arrived in a timely manner. But there he was, sitting miserably at the light as he sunk into feeling of guilt-that is until he saw a knowing smile come across Jin's lips as he looked into the mirror. Yoongi breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that Jin had only used this tactic to get his way and not because he was angry.

The van had entered into silence for a moment after Jin had spoke, but as soon as Yoongi had announced they were pulling off, Taehyung was so excited that he broke the silence, "Phew, I really thought I was going to have to use one of these bottles... "

"We're throwing both of those bottles out as soon as we park so you can't do that; I don't want to be next to you doing that!" Jimin laughed as he gently nudged Taehyung's shoulder, embarrassed for him.

"What if something happened and we were trapped in this van without any way of getting out? What if the doors got jammed? We should keep these bottles for emergencies like that." Taehyung responded matter-of-factly.

"There's seven of us and three empty bottles Taehyung. Being stuck in a car with each of us needing to use the bathroom would require more than that, you know. Your logic has a bit of a problem." Namjoon spoke up with a chuckle as the car finally pulled into a parking spot in front of the gas station.

"... It'd help a little." Taehyung shrugged and waited eagerly for the van to completely stop. Immediately he slid the back door open and quickly ran into the store to relieve himself while the others merely took their top getting out of the vehicle. "Cold, cold, cold, cold…!" he exclaimed as he hurried inside the gas station. It was currently 23 degrees outside, and he didn't take the time to throw his winter coat on before entering the building.

"Taehyung-ah! You're going to catch a cold!" Jin shouted after Taehyung as he zipped up his own jacket and gestured for the others to do the same, "Geez he should be careful.. You guys should put your coats on, too."

"We're barely going to be outside, don't make such a fuss, hyung. We'd just have to take them back off in the car anyway." Namjoon said as he jumped out of the car and walked inside the store after Taehyung.

"Man, now I really do have to go. Thanks, hyung…" Jungkook muttered as he stretched outside of the van and then wrapped his sweater as tightly around himself as he could. He had never removed his sweater to begin with, so he could handle being outside for a short while.

"And here I thought you were a tank." Hoseok used Jungkook's own words to get back at him, patting his back as he did so.

"Hyung made me drink a whole bottle down, okay? I drank to the max." Jungkook pouted. He then realized Jin was about to leave his side, and his right hand grabbed his hyung's wrist to get his attention while his other hand gestured for Jin to pay up.

"Seriously, which one taught you to be so rude these days..?" Jin shook his head and reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet and hand the five dollar bill to the youngest. Once the bill was placed in his hand, Jin then turned to look for Yoongi, who was leaning against the driver's door as he waited for everyone to finish their business. "Yoongi." He spoke up as he came around the other side of the van. He offered an apologetic smile and gently patted his right shoulder, "Sorry I was so serious back there. I know you mean well, but I was worried Taehyung wouldn't be able to hold it in any longer. Don't worry, I hid the Dr. Peppers in the back so he can't drink anymore on the drive over."

Yoongi's eyes avoided Jin's as he spoke, feeling slightly uncomfortable with confrontations that were meant for making up and feel-good stuff. He never knew how to respond to apologies appropriately. With a shrug, he decided to change the topic as soon as he could, "Yeah, no big deal, I understand. By the way, Jungkook learned it from me." he smirked slightly before leaving Jin to head into the store as well. His hoodie wasn't keeping him warm enough, and he might as well use the restroom, too, since they were already here.

Jin blinked a few times, almost confused by what Yoongi was talking about, but then he realized he was referring to Jungkook! With a roll of his eyes, he jogged a bit to catch up to him and walk beside him into the store, "You shouldn't teach him those things; you know he's easily influenced."

"You can't be serious; you teach him puns exhaustively." Yoongi argued.

"Those are harmless."

"Not to us. We're subjected to painfully bad jokes at least once a day; teaching Jungkook makes that twice a day."

"If we're comparing frequency, he can be disrespectful multiple times a day."

"I said nothing about disrespect. I merely taught him how to challenge others; that's a life skill."

"Well… you know what, I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing."

"Okay."

"... So what about the disrespect?"

"You're wasting my energy."

"Huh?"

"I'm tired." Yoongi ended the conversation by skipping Jin in the line to slip into the one-person bathroom so he could avoid any more discussion of the matter. He had to reserve his energy for the drive!

Jin was appalled by Yoongi's disrespect, but then as he thought about it, this was exactly the behavior he was talking about! Jungkook practically copied Yoongi's ways, but the two of them executed their actions very differently. It was then that Jin overheard Jimin calling out to Jungkook from the snack section as soon as Jungkook came into view from the drink area, "Jungkookie, come here! You want a snack? We could share a few if you want."

"Which ones? Are you getting crisps?" Jungkook asked as he hurried to his side.

"Hold up Jimin, don't be giving this one any of your goods; he's already got himself five dollars from Jin hyung." Hoseok ratted him out only to throw an arm around Jimin's neck, "I'll share some snacks with you instead."

Jimin feigned a punch in Jungkook's direction, acting serious for only a matter of seconds before laughing a bit and gently pushing him out of the way, "Go get your own food and quit taking your hyungs' money! We're broke, too, you know! You're not the only one who gets paid $4.65 an hour! Come on, hyung, let's get our snacks." he gestured for Hoseok to turn around and look at the snacks with him.

After the boys finished at the gas station, it was time for them to return to the road. As the hours went by, the boys would take turns driving, sitting in different seats, and playing different music. They faced muscle stiffness, sleep deprivation, vomiting on the sides of the road, bickering, boredom, excitement, and all of the bonding in the world during their 27 hour drive to their next stop in Tucson, Arizona. They had gotten a little sleep here and there as they slept in the van, but because they wanted to keep on schedule and have more time to spend at the beach, the boys decided not to make any long stops even to sleep at a hotel. Every four hours or so, the boys would each take turns driving, with the exception of Namjoon and Jungkook who were not yet licensed in America.

It was again Taehyung's turn to drive now that Yoongi had finally finished his second round of 4 hours, and looking at his gas gauge before he left, he knew he wouldn't need to stop for gas for quite a while since he was at a little less than a half a tank. It was about 5:30pm, so all of them had gotten something for themselves at a Subway connected to the gas station just before they left. Taehyung had already eaten half of his sandwich before departure so he wouldn't have to be hungry while everyone else was eating in the car.

"I swear I never want to step foot in a car again after this trip." RM complained, obviously quite uncomfortable since his long legs weren't able to stretch out very far for most of the ride. Since they all rotated seats, there were times that he would sit next to Jimin or Taehyung and occasionally they would let him stretch his legs out on their laps, but the others were rather particular about that sort of thing unless they were in a certain mood. Thankfully, he was currently in the front passenger seat with a little bit of leg room!

Not even 15 minutes after the stop, Yoongi was out like a light after his exhausting drive, his head rested against the window sill of the far right back seat. Hoseok sat beside him and tried not to bother him since he knew Yoongi of all people was not someone to mess with when he's tired. Yoongi's phone started randomly buzzing and slid off of his lap and onto the floor of the van, so Hoseok nearly nudged him to get him to pick it up since it kept ringing. However, he decided it was best to leave him be, so he reached for the phone himself, read 'ABS' as the caller ID and quickly slid the green button across the screen to answer in case it was an emergency, "...Hello?"

"Hello? Hello? Who's this?" A girl's voice answered, obviously as to why Yoongi was not the one answering the phone.

"Is this uh… ABS?" Hoseok questioned uncertainly; he was nervous since he had no idea who he was talking to. Of course, looking back, he probably should have explained what was going on first, but it's just not how it worked out.

"... Huh? Are you asking me if I have abs?" The girl asked, surprised that some stranger would ask such a thing while using someone else's phone.

"Uh… no, sorry! I didn't mean anything like that! In this phone, that's your name: A. B. S." Hoseok replied, trying to clarify things and make it less awkward. By now everyone who wasn't driving had their eyes on him, wondering who in the world he was speaking to; it was such a strange conversation!

"... Did he really- well. Maybe that's just him admitting I've got a great physique. He knows he can't defeat me! Wait- who the hell /are/ you? Did you steal this phone? Because I will definitely hunt you down if you did. I've got connections."

Hoseok froze in shock, his jaw dropping as he muted the phone for a moment, "Guys… does Yoongi have a /girlfriend/?"

"WHAT! What's she saying? Put her on speaker phone, quick!" Several of them urged him to let them overhear the conversation. He raised a finger to his lips before pointing at Yoongi, gesturing for them to be quiet before he did as asked and turned off the mute button and his speaker phone.

"Hey, thief, I'm waiting for an answer! Who are you and why do you have this phone? I know this is the right number, so don't pull that crud with me." she insisted seriously.

"I'm not a thief, I swear! Yoongi hyung is right here; he just finished driving and is sleeping right now."

"Yoong…. What? Who's that? Wait, wait, wait you guys got Korean names, didn't you? I forgot what he said his was… So you're one of his friends? How do I know you didn't just kidnap him? Can you prove it?"

"Huh? How can I prove something like that without waking him up?" He exchanged glances with the others who were obviously trying to keep from laughing because they were so baffled by the conversation.

"You can't. So wake him up."

"Well… I don't know if you've ever had to wake him up before, but he's kind of-"

"Okay, of course if you show that you're afraid of him, he'll be a little less than pleasant when you wake him up. You just gotta show him who's boss, so toughen up and wake him for me. Don't worry, you just have to take a leap of courage." she joked a little.

At this point, many of them were trying not to laugh, choking a little into their pillows or blankets as they tried not to be heard over the phone. Was this really Yoongi's girlfriend? She seemed to have experience with him waking up… Did he have some sort of intimate relationship?! It was so unexpected!

Hoseok tried to hide his laughter as he continued to speak, but he could hardly keep it in, "But before I wake him, I want to ask. How long-" Hoseok froze when he noticed Yoongi's eyes were glaring at him, piercing through to his very soul. He cleared his throat and laughed nervously, "Uh, h-here he is." He quickly handed the phone to him and fumbled over his words to explain why he was using his phone "i-it fell, and you were sleeping, so I sort of… yeah."

Yoongi simply took the phone and turned it off speaker before raising the phone to his ear, not saying a word because he was grumpy and tired.

"Hey, just wanted to let you know, you may hit some traffic delays about 20 miles from Tucson. The news says that there was an accident there not too long ago, so the traffic may be a bit backed up. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news."

Yoongi simply grunted in response, far too annoyed to give an answer that took energy at the moment. He then hung the phone up, shoved the phone into his pocket and immediately returned to his sleeping position as if nothing had happened.

All of them stared at Yoongi with intense curiosity, waiting for him to explain something while simultaneously wondering why in the world he didn't have anything to say to her. Did he just… hang up on this girl? This girl literally just got through saying how it was possible to show Yoongi who's boss, but then he just hung up-it was as if he was proving that he was the one who would win this fight. Were they in some ongoing fight for dominance or something? Amusing as it sounded, they really didn't feel convinced that Yoongi was in a relationship. They had had a conversation like this before about Renee, but that was so different from this case because he was obviously avoiding her. But this girl was different. She really knew Yoongi.

While Yoongi was drifting back to sleep, Hoseok leaned in to whisper to the others to try and figure out who in the world ABS was.

"You should have just asked." Jimin whispered, looking towards Yoongi just in case his eyelids opened to destroy them.

"I was going to!"

"It really should have been the first thing you asked though. I mean, after she was assured you weren't a thief." Jin snickered.

"Not to throw any shade whatsoever at Yoongi hyung, but her nickname in his phone really doesn't make sense if it literally means 'abs.' I mean, he's just not the type of guy to make that a nickname, at least not for a girl. That's something he would use as a sarcastic nickname for one of us." Namjoon commented.

"You mean you?" Jungkook asked blankly, to which all of the others nearly cracked up laughing while Namjoon just scowled at him.

"How did you end up like this, really… Anyway, Namjoon has a point. Maybe it's an acronym or her initials." Hoseok agreed.

"Who do we know that has those initials though? I don't think I know anyone… The closest person I can think of is Mr. Sieger and obviously that wasn't him." Jimin remarked.

"Wait, wait, wait… doesn't Yoongi have a sister?" Namjoon's face lit up like a light bulb as he finally realized that was probably who it was!

"Ohhhhh, you know what that would make a lot more sense. Dang… I was really worried for a second." Hoseok laughed a little, "Now that I think about it… I wonder what she looks like." he commented as they all turned to look at Yoongi, as if to imagine him as a girl.

"Talk about my sister's looks, and I will destroy you." Yoongi stated seriously, his eyes still closed as he still wanted to return to sleep.

"... Let's eat our sandwiches."

"Good idea"

"Yep. Jimin-ssi, you want half of mine?" Jungkook asked sneakily.

"Nah, I'm okay, thanks for-" Jimin paused when he realized Jungkook addressed him so formally. He nudged him with an embarrassed grin before opening the container of his chicken salad so could finally begin eating. They had all been so preoccupied with Yoongi's situation that they had completely put off eating! At least they knew now that that was his sister… Which was kind of scary since she really seemed like an intimidating person!

Namjoon set out his foot long sandwich, checking to make sure everything looked right before eating it. He ordered a sandwich with ham, turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and onion, so he was more than excited to be eating a lot of meat for the road!

Jin and Jungkook ended up getting the same sandwich, mainly because Jungkook was indecisive and just wanted to get whatever he was getting. So together they unwrapped their massive foot long, roast beef sandwiches with all of the vegetables possible stacked on top of the meat. The bread could barely even close!

Hoseok had gotten foot long beef and cheddar brisket with BBQ sauce and mayo packets on the side, just in case Yoongi would want half of his sandwich later since he was skipping his meal to sleep.

Jimin stared at Jungkook's sandwich, honestly worried that it was a little too big for him to even take a bite out of, "Jin taught you this, didn't he? Can you really eat that?"

"I guess I'll find out." Jungkook responded. And sure enough, he was actually able to eat it! He even offered several bites to Jimin- offered meaning that he practically forced him to eat it- so that he actually had some protein to eat. All of them really worried about Jimin's diet, so sometimes force feeding him was necessary!

The drive continued for another 40 min until, sure enough, Taehyung finally found the traffic jam that Yoongi's sister had spoken about! Except… Yoongi never did mention it to anyone, so it definitely took the rest of them by surprise! An hour and a half into traffic, it was now nearing 8:15 pm, and finally it seemed as though they would be free of the slow moving lanes, and- suddenly everything fell silent for the exception of the dinging of an alert indicating that the gas tank was empty.

"Ohhhhhh….. Well…. Didn't see that coming." Taehyung commented as he quickly turned on his blinker to signal that he needed to get into the right lane. However, traffic wasn't allowing for him to move very easily, and now he had to admit… they would be the ones holding up traffic! "Hey guys… how do you feel about evening workouts?"

"Why what's going on? Is it a flat tire, what is it?" Jin asked worriedly as he sat up and tried to see the drivers' dashboard to find what was wrong.

"Actually." Taehyung hit the hazards button to indicate to other cars that they were having difficulties, "We're out of gas. I think we'll have to push the car."

"Whaaaaaat? Why didn't you stop for gas? How could this happen?" Hoseok questioned, rather concerned by what might happen if they step out of their cars when they had to cross traffic.

"Questions later, we have to get this moving." Namjoon said authoritatively as he glanced over his right shoulder to see whether or not there was a spot where they could turn. Several horns were honking at them in hopes that they would move, but they really couldn't! "Alright guys, we've got to get out quick and get this thing moving before the traffic around us speeds up!"

With small groans of exhaustion leaving several of their mouths, six of them jumped out of the van carefully, being mindful of the traffic around them as they all took position around the van and began pushing once Taehyung had shifted the gear into neutral. Namjoon actually made sure that the traffic in the right lane was stopped and even spoke with the driver and offered an apology before they began moving the van. Thankfully, with six people, it really wasn't as difficult as it could have been, and they were able to push the van to the other side of the guard rail into safety on the side of the road before having a group chat about what to do next.

"We did it! Good job guys!" Taehyung exclaimed outside the window once he turned off the engine.

"Whoo!"

"Yay evening workout~"

"I'm too full for this~"

"You ate like 2 hours ago, I told you not to eat like Jin hyung"

"I still ate it, didn't I?"

"Anywaaaaay we did it!"

"Yeeeeeah, so who wants to go get the gas?"

*chirp chirp* *chirp chirp* All of them went silent.

"Okay, rock, paper, scissors decides then. Everyone bring it in." RM gestured for everyone including Taehyung to join in.

"Wait, let's just be logical about this. We want to be out of this as soon as possible, right? Shouldn't we just send our best runners?" Yoongi didn't want to have the chance of getting picked because he was feeling so lethargic after his nap that he woke up from… an hour ago.

"... We can't just decide that for them. If they want to volunteer they can, but otherwise, we'll do it this way." Namjoon responded, wanting to hurry up and get a head start so they could leave sooner.

"We'll go." Jimin volunteered, pulling Jungkook beside him since they were so used to working out together. Jungkook really was their best runner!

Jungkook gingerly placed a hand on his own stomach, wondering how much he could handle running right now. He wasn't so full that he could explode anymore, but… he was full. "... Okay, we'll do it. Let's get going before it gets too late." he agreed, though he was honestly nervous about jogging in the dark along the highway. He definitely had never done this before!

"Wait, let's make sure there is a gas station close enough. Also make sure you both put on a white hoodie or something to make you stand out; otherwise it's very dangerous." Jin insisted, pulling off his own hoodie and handing it over to Jimin. Jungkook was given a hoodie from Hoseok as Yoongi pulled up the GPS in his phone. After a minute or so, he was able to pull up their destination and the nearest gas station, "Okay, it looks like it's about 1.1 miles away from here, so it shouldn't be so bad. That really is our luck isn't it… stopping just a mile away." He scoffed in disgust, "You guys okay with that?"

"Wait, what's a mile in meters?" Jungkook asked uncertainly.

"... Follow Jimin, kid." Yoongi responded, "Oh, and make sure you have good battery life in your phones; we need you guys to keep in contact."

The two of them pulled out their phones, and while Jungkook had enough battery life, Jimin's was running a little low.

"Here, take my phone just in case." Taehyung handed over his phone that he had left on the charger while he was driving. "Be safe and make sure you message us as soon as you have any problems, concerns, anything at all. Let us know when you get there. The way back will be a little more difficult because you'll be carrying a couple of gallons of gas…"

"If it makes you guys feel any better, we get to sit here and wait while who-knows-what can just jump out of the trees behind us and slaughter us all." Yoongi commented without any readable expression on his face.

"... You know what, maybe three of us should go." Hoseok piped up, clinging to Jimin's side as if he had made up his mind.

"I think it's best if only two people go… We need two people who can keep pace with one another so no one falls behind. It's more efficient that way." Namjoon responded with a chuckle, "Don't worry, there's five of us. But hey guys, seriously be safe and let us know if anything is off."

Jimin and Jungkook nodded before waving goodbye and beginning their jog to the nearest gas station. Of course both of them had their concerns about the trip, as did the others, but hopefully everything would go smoothly…

Thankfully after 20 minutes, Jungkook and Jimin arrived at the gas station at last, though Jungkook was having some regrets… As soon as the two of them stopped at the station, Jungkook left Jimin's side to vomit in the nearby bushes because he couldn't wait long enough to make it to the station's bathroom. He really had eaten too much for this! Jimin was lucky enough to have eaten a salad, but that didn't mean that he didn't worry about his housemate at all…

"Hey, it's okay, just get it all out…" He gently patted the maknae's back in an attempt to comfort him a little. "I'll… be over here if you need me." Jimin was aware that Jungkook liked his privacy at times like these so he turned around and took a couple steps away before texting Jin to let him know what was going on. After a few minutes passed, Jungkook finished and walked inside the station with Jimin to wash his face and rinse out his mouth and then purchase two 1-gallon jugs for the gas they needed. Jimin also purchased a package of saltines just in case since he knew Jungkook's mouth probably felt really disgusting… Good thing they had toothpaste and two brushes at the van!

Meanwhile, back at the van, the others waited patiently for the two of them to arrive safely. Hoseok in particular was creeped out just thinking about where they were and anything that could happen at any moment! That was obviously Yoongi's fault, but he tried to make up for it by placing an arm around Hoseok's shoulders as he looked away towards the traffic.

"You know… this has been the best trip I have ever taken in my life." Taehyung commented with a small smile as he sat on Hoseok's other side just outside the van away from the traffic.

Namjoon scoffed a little, "Yeah tell that to Jungkook, now that he's upchucked all of his dinner."

"... I mean it's had it's downs, but in all honesty… I've never felt closer to anyone. I think this trip has really been one of the best things I've ever taken part of." Taehyung commented quietly.

"You say that like the trip is over, Taehyung. But you're right. This will be the best trip yet." Jin agreed, his eyes stuck on the trees in the distance, hoping to see Jimin and Jungkook returning any minute now. Of course, it would be another 30 minutes before they could return.

".. Isn't it crazy we just met only 4 months ago?" Hoseok smiled, amazed by how close they had become in such a short amount of time.

"We've gotten pretty far in 4 months… Imagine what we can do in the future." Namjoon stated optimistically, standing just behind Hoseok and Yoongi, "We should find a fireplace while we're in San Diego; it'd be nice to hang out around a bonfire when it's not freezing cold."

"You know, I thought you were about to get real poetic for a second there and then you blew it." Hoseok joked.

"Ha ha very funny. It just came to mind, so deal with it." Namjoon let out a big sigh as he began to get a little impatient waiting for the others. He was just worried about their well-being more than anything.

"... If we dance along the side of the road, do you think people would help stranded people like us?" Hoseok laughed a bit, amused by the idea itself.

"You know… I'd be reeeeeaaaaally careful about doing that sort of thing out at night. Some people might get the wrong idea." Taehyung commented. There was a brief silence among them until finally they all just burst out laughing together.

"Don't worry, our heroes will return to save us poor damsels in distress! We don't need anyone else!" Taehyung exclaimed theatrically.

Yoongi grimaced in Taehyung's direction and promptly moved away from him and Hoseok, "By all means call yourselves damsels, just make sure I'm not listed as one. I could sleep right here if I really wanted to."

"Wow… what a cool guy." Hoseok snickered teasingly.

Twenty minutes later, Jungkook and Jimin finally arrived at the van, whooping and hollering as soon as they all made contact with one another. A couple of them even hurried to meet them and help carry the gallons of gas the rest of the way! All of them celebrated, took pictures, and of course filled up the gas tank with the two gallons Jimin and Jungkook had brought for them, excitedly exclaiming as it was poured in as if it was a liquid miracle!

As quickly as they could, the seven of them jumped back into the van, merged into the interstate lane, and arrived at the gas station to fill the gas tank to its maximum capacity. Jungkook even took a moment to climb over everyone in the back to get to his bag so that he could finally grab his toothpaste and toothbrush and clean the acidic taste that still remained in his mouth. He merely stood outside and leaned against the van beside Taehyung, brushing his teeth as he watched him insert the fuel nozzle into the tank.

"... So how did we run out of gas?" the maknae asked as clearly as he possibly could without spilling out any toothpaste.

Taehyung breathed a heavy sigh and shrugged as he watched the numbers on the fuel gauge increase, "I didn't plan to be stuck in traffic. I'm not used to driving a van that eats up fuel like this either. Sorry to put you through that… Do you want to change clothes while you're here? We can wait long enough." he remarked, taking a mental note of how sweaty his clothes were. He was sure Jimin felt the same way…

Jungkook's eyes widened a bit, "Really? Is that o-" toothpaste suddenly fell from his mouth and dribbled to the ground, nearly hitting Taehyung's shoes!

Taehyung quickly jumped away before the toothpaste could hit his shoe, laughing as he scolded him, "Yah! Keep that foam to yourself; I don't want to become rabid like you!" he joked.

Jungkook practically began to choke as he laughed at Taehyung's response, bending over as he tried not to inhale the toothpaste.

Taehyung quickly began to slap Jungkook's back, laughing as he did so, "Breathe, golden one, breathe! For someone who's good at everything, you sure aren't good at something that is essential to live."

"Ow!" Jungkook laughed, his back seizing up with every slap Taehyung gave him, "Hyung, you're not helping!" he coughed a little.

"What's going on out here, you guys okay?" Jimin asked as he slid the side door open and peeked outside. He was worried Jungkook was vomiting again, but he realized that the two of them were laughing for some unknown reason.

"You good?" Taehyung finally asked Jungkook with a grin as he noticed he was calming down, "Go take your rabid self to the bathroom. You stink and you look like a complete mess." he kicked his housemate in the butt as Jungkook made his way to the van's trunk to get a change of clothes. He then turned to Jimin to address him as well, "Hey, get changed with Jungkook so we can get this show on the road. We don't want the van smelling like stinky feet for the next 6 hours."

Jimin froze for a moment, slightly embarrassed by the fact Taehyung was probably right about him and Jungkook stinking up the van. He jumped out of the vehicle and followed Jungkook to the back of the van. As soon as the two of them cleaned up in the bathroom and the gas was filled, they were finally back on the road for the last leg of their trip.

At three in the morning, the van pulled into the driveway of the house they would be staying at for the next week, and Jin turned off the engine and quietly spoke to Hoseok, who had moved to the passenger seat after getting car sick several hours earlier. He had slept for a few hours after he had gotten sick, so he was still awake enough to make conversation, "Do you think I should have driven them to get food first? It's been a while since they ate..."

Hoseok yawned and shook his head, "I think after the trip, everyone is probably exhausted enough to sleep a few hours more before breakfast." he responded in a whisper before glancing back at his sleeping housemates. Jungkook was asleep with his face plastered against the window because his pillow had fallen onto the floor. Jimin slept next to him in the middle row of seats, completely slouched with his head on his pillow that remained on the arm rest beside him. In the back row of seats, Taehyung and Namjoon leaned against each other with blankets pulled over them, though Taehyung's eyes remained sluggishly open now that he had woken up only ten minutes ago. Yoongi had decided to sleep on the floor of the van at Taehyung and Namjoon's feet with his head in the space between the van's side door and the middle seats. Jin had been firmly against him sleeping on the ground without a seat belt, but his words had fallen on deaf ears.

Hoseok briefly took a picture of the group in their sleeping positions before Jin turned on the interior lights in the van to awaken the group quietly. "Guys… it's time to wake up; we're here." Jin said in a hushed voice so as not to aggravate them as they leave their sleep.

Taehyung winced at the sudden brightness of the car and groaned as he rubbed his eyes and waited for them to adjust. It was then that he realized he felt something wet on his left shoulder where Namjoon rested his head, and as soon as he recognized the drool that had fallen from his housemate's mouth, he pushed Namjoon's head away from him with a disgusted look on his face.

Namjoon blinked a few times once his head was removed from Taehyung's shoulder, and he squinted in his direction, obviously confused by what was going on, "... Did we make it?"

"Yeah... Geez, you drooled all over my shoulder, hyung…" Taehyung muttered, finding himself uncomfortable with the dampness of his shoulder.

"Jungkook-ah… Wake up…" Jimin said quietly, not even bothering to open his eyes as he didn't want to get up.

"I swear I'm wearing the deepest pants…" Jungkook responded groggily, obviously not quite awake enough to be holding a conversation.

"... what?" Jimin finally opened his eyes and looked over at the youngest with a small grin on his face, "What are you even talking about?"

Jungkook didn't respond to Jimin's question since he was actually still asleep at the moment.

Hoseok cackled at Jungkook's odd comment, causing Yoongi to grumble as he finally began to sit up. However, just as he was picking himself up off the floor, Taehyung was simultaneously reaching to open the side door, having forgotten that Yoongi was on the floor beneath him. He had accidentally stepped on his back before he realized he was there and quickly pulled his foot back, "Hyung, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to step on you, I swear!"

Yoongi groaned and cursed into his pillow as he finally sat up and glared at him in a silent form of response.

"Come on, everyone, let's go. The faster you get up, the sooner you can get in bed and sleep more." Jin opened the side door before Taehyung tried reaching for it again. He gestured for Jimin to try waking Jungkook again before continuing, "It's a little chilly out, so keep your blankets wrapped around you as you get out." In San Diego, it was 45 degrees, which was refreshing for a night time temperature compared to the cold weather they just left in the South.

Jimin shook Jungkook's shoulder gently at first, but then became a little more aggressive the second time around since he was such a deep sleeper, "Jungkook, wake up. It's time to sleep in a bed~" he pulled Jungkook's head away from the window and realized just how cold his cheek was from resting on the window for so long.

Jungkook struggled to open his eyes as Jimin scolded him for sleeping against the window and possibly getting sick soon because of it, but he didn't want to hear it and tried to bat Jimin's face away so he could sleep more.

"... I'm tired, let's leave him behind." Yoongi muttered as he slowly crawled his way out of the car, unconcerned about the messy hair that he woke up with. Taehyung and Namjoon followed him out just as Hoseok was getting out of the front passenger seat to join them.

"We can't just leave him alone outside in some random city." Jimin disagreed as he reached over to a nearly empty bag of chips and pulled out a small piece of chip that was left. He raised the BBQ chip just over Jungkook's nose, and as soon as the maknae got a good whiff, he licked his lips and opened his eyes drowsily only to witness Jimin eat the chip instead. "Come on, there's a bed waiting for you inside~" he teased as he left his side to join the others.

Jungkook pouted and sleepily crawled out of the van with his blanket wrapped around his body, allowing Jin to lock the doors and lead the way to the front door where they all waited for Yoongi to enter the password into the security keypad on the door.

The seven of them staggered into the house slowly, their unkempt hair and ragged looks revealing just how sleep deprived they were. There was hardly even a discussion as to where any of them would sleep; three beds meant that each of them would just separate into the same groups they usually shared rooms with, at least for tonight. Jin ensured that the door was locked, and without any second thoughts, all of them collapsed onto their beds hoping for a long and satisfying sleep to feel rejuvenated the next day.