Literally the last chapter but from Taehyung's perspective. It seems that both he and his best friend have the same problem of wanting what they shouldn't.

2 – V focus

Taehyung looked in the mirror and sighed. His hair was static and refusing to stay in place and his uniform was creased and ragged from being crammed to the back of his wardrobe for most of the summer. In six minutes, he would be on the bus, talking to Jimin, studying harder than ever as if there had never been a vacation at all.

He swiped his bag from the stairs and shut the front door behind him. As disappointed as he was to be back in this vicious cycle of study, he was excited to see Jimin again. They had sat next to each other in English in 1st grade and bonded over their lack of interest in the subject. They became fast friends and rarely spoke to anyone else, at least not on a regular basis. Of course, the rumours started that they were dating and Taehyung smiled at the memory of finding that out.

He would never date Jimin. Taehyung didn't have a type per se, but one of his basic criteria was that his partner could not be shorter than him. It just felt weird. Besides, his friend had his sights set higher. Well, in all honesty, about a centimetre higher, but that wasn't the point. Taehyung found himself speeding up, eager to learn how his friend was holding up.

The familiar janky bus pulled over to the side of the road and Taehyung clambered on along with a few others. Spying Jimin in his usual seat, he swung himself over to sit next to his best friend. Jimin beamed at the presence of a familiar face and greeted Taehyung warmly. Since neither of them was allowed to use their phones, this was the first contact they had had with each other in weeks. They caught up with the basic stuff fairly quickly and Taehyung asked what had been on his mind all summer.

"So…are you over him yet?" Jimin looked down and shook his head. Dammit. They had been counting on this working since Christmas. He looked so frustrated it was heart-breaking. Taehyung put his arm around his hyung's shoulder to comfort him. Jimin smiled.

"I thought I was this morning, you know. I was so ready to tell you that 'I'm cured! It's finally gone!' and then I get on the bus and…" he gestured subtly to the 3rd grader sitting a few rows in front of them. Taehyung tutted in sympathy and stroked Jimin's arm. "…he dyed his hair, Taehyung!"

Taehyung had noticed. Min Yoongi was a curious character. He kept to himself a lot of the time and didn't really care what other people thought of him, which is why his hair had stood out so much. He was on the basketball team and he mainly hung around his teammates. Jimin had first sighted Yoongi when he was practising on one of the outdoor courts late after school. After that, his crush spiralled and deepened until Taehyung found it hard to keep his attention when Yoongi was within 30 feet of them. Taehyung liked listening to Jimin talk about Yoongi. He was a good friend and kept up to date so that Jimin didn't feel that he was boring his classmate.

Taehyung had clocked Yoongi's hair as soon as he sat down. It had lightened from an ebony black to a more natural reddish-brown. Taehyung thought that this suited him better, and Jimin thought that he always looked stunning no matter what. He slightly insulted that Jimin thought that of Yoongi but only laughed at the sight of his new look. Although he supposed that was rather the point – to break the monotony of school. That was rather the point of Taehyung, in all honesty.

Shuddering to a halt, the bus jerked and wobbled as the overflow of children raced to the door. Taehyung found it difficult not to feel sorry for the 1st graders learning their first and most important rule: age takes precedence. The 3rd grade made up half of the school, since another one a few miles away burned down and every child was granted another year of high school. An executive decision made the place way too crowded. For the most part, they were loud and dominant and no one argued over the fact that they owned the school. Taehyung just thanked the stars that he wasn't the youngest anymore.

Both of them remembered what their first day was like. It was awkward and lonely. Jimin had it worse since he was smaller and used to get picked on a lot for his height, which never made much sense to Taehyung. Jimin couldn't control the growth of his bones, he didn't choose to be shorter; he just was. Nevertheless, the two made a pact to make the 1st graders' lives as easy as possible. No laughing at them, no shoving past them.

The pair departed from the hot metal container and stepped out into the throng of people. Their conversation drifted back to school life: homework, subjects, teachers so that by the time they reached the doors, they were already sufficiently bored. Deciding they were a little early, they started to walk randomly around the corridors, re-familiarising themselves with the layout. They had been walking in silence until Jimin asked,

"But what about you? Is your heart set on anyone?" Taehyung smiled. No. Absolutely not. There had been a girl in middle school he was really close to, but she confessed her 'undying love' and shut Taehyung out when he did not return the sentiment. Truthfully, no one had caught his eye in this place, despite the sheer volume of people.

"Really, Jimin? We've been through this. I don't get crushes and I just don't find anyone here that attractive. And I'm not like you; I can't just run into someone and immediately fall in love- "

Suddenly Taehyung was on the floor. He had fallen – no, he had been knocked onto his side and his arm had cushioned his landing. He felt dizzy and was just about aware of a hasty apology and Jimin laughing. Prick. Noticing a hand stretched out to help him, he took it and regained his balance. As he looked up at his attacker, he could think of one word and one word only.

Damn.

The kid was a 1st grader, but was the same height as Taehyung and could easily be mistaken for someone older. His downy hair was tinted faintly red and shone gorgeously in the harsh, fluorescent lights. He had a strong jawline, but soft brown eyes that reminded Taehyung of his dog – beautiful, adoring, endearing. The stiff uniform highlighted his figure, his strong arms, his slim torso. Taehyung's daydream was shattered by Jimin hitting him hard in the chest.

"Taehyung, what did we say about not killing any of the first graders?" Taehyung tore his gaze away from the boy to roll his eyes at his friend, who looked confused at his reaction. He smiled at the boy.

"I'm sorry, I did tell Jimin I wouldn't fuck up any of the first years," Taehyung felt strangely hot and looked back at Jimin as an invisible support system. He scratched the back of his head, suddenly regretting dying his hair, "but I guess that kind of failed, huh?" The boy laughed slightly and apologised again. Taehyung didn't bother focusing on the words, just his voice. It was smooth and naturally quiet. Taehyung smiled subconsciously and asked his burning question.

"What's your name?" The boy paused. Had Taehyung come on too strong? Was he scared of being reported? Taehyung was very afraid that he'd asked the wrong thing until the boy replied,

"Jeon Jungkook," and extended his arm. Taehyung shook his hand strongly, but lost confidence quickly and passed it to Jimin. He could feel Jimin's impatience, but he didn't care.

"I'm Kim Taehyung, this is Park Jimin. We're 2nd graders." Jungkook nodded at them both and Taehyung smiled back. Jimin looked at his watch and sighed.

"Yeah, which means we get into slightly less trouble than you for being late. Run now and you'll be on time, probably early, even." Taehyung wanted to throw Jimin's watch out of the window, but he couldn't. Instead, he ran his hand through his hair to calm his restless hands and added,

"See you around, Jungkook. Now go, go and try not to get detention on your first day," and followed Jimin down the stairs, hearing Jungkook skip off behind him. He was so distracted by the temptation to turn around that he forgot Jimin existed.

"Sorry, what?" he asked when he became aware that Jimin was talking. Jimin rolled his eyes and repeated himself.

"I said you were right: You can't run into someone and fall in love. It seems that they have to run into you." Taehyung snapped his head to the side to glare at him.

"What?" he asked and Jimin grinned, clearly trying to suppress laughter.

"You heard. You don't think I saw your little performance back there? I know that you don't swear unless you're stressed and you never blush."

"So?" Taehyung retaliated, offended that his friend was being so presumptuous, "I was embarrassed – I just got floored by a fifteen-year-old. Besides, that conversation lasted about four seconds," thanks to you, "even you couldn't fall in love that fast." Jimin gave him a dubious look but said nothing.

They walked in silence and Taehyung's mind flooded with thoughts about the brown-eyed boy. He was beautiful and kind and tall. But he was young and new and, more importantly in Taehyung's mind, he was a 'he'. And Taehyung was straight. Suddenly re-contemplating his entire existence, he very nearly walked into a door and wondered at the effect of Jeon Jungkook on his mind.