"Gardenias, Hibiscus & Roses", a trilogy

latest — 31/07

❁pinterest board // main m.list // moodboards & worldbuilding // comment to be added to the TAGLIST❁

❀ ❛intro + tws + a/n❜

meet the cast and take a stroll through the spaces

❀ ❛prologue❜ - 1.57k

Rewriting the story of Daphne and Apollo ⇀ «A love that drives me crazy, a lovely crazy, a sexy crazy, an amazing crazy»

❀ 01 ❛love is all around❜ - 4.47k

On a chilly summer morning, a bouncy curly-haired sun rose up and shone above the flower

❀ 02 ❛ying yang❜ - 4.32k

Photosynthesis: the sun shines bright above the flower providing it with energy which will be transformed into nutrients

❀ 03 ❛the exploratory stage❜ - 5.56k

As the sun shines in its might, it brightens the way for a little flower to see over the horizon

❀ 04 ❛just like old times❜ - 6.72k

The bright rays of the sun show the way to the flower, introducing it to an innocent little bear, a ferret and a little wasp

❀ 05 ❛a monarch butterfly❜ - 4.16k

There, going back home, was an unusual combination of subjects: a cricket, a wing-man, a monarch butterfly, a little pika and a puppy

❀ 06 ❛venus❜ - 4.86k

Who could have ever thought that a flower could grow in space? Who? No one surely and yet... there it was, standing upright in its beauty

❀ 07 ❛a laurel❜ - 4.92k

He knew he wasn't meant to fly to space because he physically couldn't but this thought wouldn't stop him. Was he being pretentious? Trying to exceed his limits?

❀ 08 ❛fuck you!❜ - 6.10k

Normally, flowers are in people's gardens or on a bed of green grass so... what the hell is one singular one doing in the middle of the ocean. Does it know, does anyone know, that too much water will cause it harm... especially when the water is salty?

❀ 09 ❛en route❜ - 5.07k

With its six tiny feet into proper boots, a good protective shield over his wings and an astronaut helmet on, the monarch butterfly embarks on a life-threatening journey, one believed to be a one-way ticket travel

❀ 10 ❛who we are, what we do❜ - 6.01k

Flowers don't have eyes, yeah, and neither does a pika glow even during the day. The flower is used to seeing only the sun shine during the day. The little pika walking by is unusual.

❀ 11 ❛an overly ambitious hedonistic seductress❜ - 6.04k

Cleopatra is the modern definition of the term "femme fatale"; she's known for ruling in ancient Egypt but also for her relationship with Ceaser and Mark Antony

❀ 12 ❛the butterfly, the cricket and the wing-man❜ - 4.49k

A butterfly, a cricket and a wing-man all have wings somewhat. The first does fly, the second mostly leaps and the last doesn't fly unless the first two do.

❀ 13 ❛the Titanic❜ - 7.31k

Between the night of the 14th and the 15th, in 1912, one of the biggest ships of its time sank, going against the expectations but did it? At the time, there was a little competition between countries so when it sank it wasn't so surprising: something so big with very few resources would have never made it across the ocean.

❀ 14 ❛from five to ten❜ - 11.44k

Brighten the mood. Increase the energy. Make a downturned flower rise high and flunt its beautiful petals for others to see.

❀ 15 ❛bold, red and underlined❜ - 14.70k

“You know? That party I wanted to host at mine? You’re so invited. In fact, you’re the first one on my guest list and I’ll underline your name in red as in ‘in great and urgent need of pussy’—”

❀ 16 ❛«it's Daphne»❜ - 11.30k

A monarch butterfly sees a lot of flowers in its short span of life but never has this one, nor its ancestors, seen a flower as pretty as the one ahead. The flower was there, living beautifully in space.

❀ 17 ❛hesperiidae❜ - 6.41k

Right when the sun faded away and the dark clouds took over, the little butterfly's wings fluttered less as it lost hope until something caught his eye, a gleam slicing through the gloom and focusing on a flower.

❀ 18❛opposites attract❜ - 5.59k

Winter and the Wind of the West come to destroy but nothing can touch a flower when it's under a shelter, something that will prevent it from dying in the cold or losing its beautiful petals.

❀ 19 ❛peek-a-boo (boo boo)❜ - 5.66k

Things have been too unusual for this butterfly. Wasn't it trying to embark on an impossible journey? To space? How did it end up in a shiny sea? it's floating and his pupils are swelling. The beauty is indeed out of this world

❀ 20 ❛lifejacket❜ - 6.97k

The wings grew with each flutter. There was a glowing dot on the ocean and it was slowly fading out into the darkness so the butterfly cradled it and protected the leur

❀ 21 ❛monarch and blue morpho butterflies❜ - 4.13k

The weather was chilly and slightly windy. Despite the discomfort it caused everyone, the flower stood out like a thumb as it danced and waved with the soft patterns of the breeze. The butterfly couldn't do anything other than admire with widened orbs

❀ 22 ❛rosy cheeks❜ - 3.91k

Did it see it? Did the flower see the butterfly? Because the butterfly has already seen the flower. Had already memorised every curve, every line, and every dot that brought the flower to life.

❀ 23 ❛caramel macchiato❜ - 4.23k

There was no way he could ever get lost: one look at those eyes and he'd see all the constellations, the map leading him to Venus

❀ 24 ❛butterflies, flowers... and butterflies❜ - 6.03k

«I mean, it's also an evergreen plant like the Laurel but it doesn't sound as special. Lauri does though.»

❀ 25 ❛bittersweet❜ - 4.10k

There were seven lanes, each welcoming an athlete, for a total of seven athletes. Yet, as the contestants got ready for the lace, some chose to acknowledge the presence of only a few athletes, the ones they were marking. Their true competition.

❀ 26 ❛open stage❜ - 9.78k

Floating and hovering around his spaceship, the butterfly moved closer to the round window giving to the dark glittered expanse. There was Venus and standing proudly in its infinite beauty was the flower.

❀ 27 ❛approach, round out, flare❜ - 8.08k

Poor Cinderella. She cried and cried. Then a small woman appeared in a cloud. It was Cinderella’s fairy godmother. “Biddidi, bobbidi, noo!” sang the fairy godmother as she waved her magic wand, but she gasped, hand coming to cover her mouth in bewilderment. Cinderella had turned into a tomato!

❀ 28 ❛a lighthouse❜ - 6.47k

Water flowed through the clothes, the hair strands, and around the body as the flower held onto a wide piece of wood. The water was chilling, the night was silent, and the ambience was dark, but right through the blackness slid the rotating rays of a lighthouse. Blinking to adapt to the brightness, the flower called for help.

❀ 29 ❛sus or sos?❜ - 7.12k

The rotating and flashing lighthouse lights shone upon a cricket, which floated barely a foot away from the flower. Yet, as the butterfly came to rescue, it didn’t see it, leaving the cricket trying to swim for its life, screaming and choking on water.

❀ 30 ❛a coup d'état❜ - 5.95k

Standing on a tower, two neurons patrolled the area, binoculars to their eyes. Suddenly, they sighted something. They squinted their eyes despite the instrument in their hands and tried to make sense of what they saw. "Hey, send in the alarm. Prepare the defensive barrier. Do something. Hurry up!" As this one darted away, the other remained still, binoculars back to its eyes. Confusion bubbled in its head. What had happened for the heart to be heading towards the body's headquarters? And what was that army of hormones behind it?

❀ 31 ❛the sun on the horizon❜ - 10.75k

The butterfly had finally found the flower. After travelling across space, it landed on Venus, where a singular ethereal natural being stood erect in its almighty beauty. After the coup d’etat, the heart realised that the situation was bigger than expected. The heat rose up to every part of the body. Butterflies increased and with that the flutters of their wings, which fanned the fire, expanding instead of quenching it. Infatuation at its peak.

❀ 32 ❛the lily family❜ - 7.09k

A new member of the Liliaceae. “You like butterflies, and she’s named after a flower.”

❀ 33 ❛twinkle, twinkle little star!❜ - 12.75k

1905. Annus mirabilis. Three important elements: Einstein, the relativity of time, Planck, quantum mechanics, and Quantum entanglement.

❀ 34 ❛on the highway to Forever❜ - 11.76k

Livin' easy, lovin' free. No stop signs, speed limit. Hey, mumma, look at me. I'm on the way to the promised land.

❀ 35 ❛collywobbles❜ - 11.57k

Collywobbles: queasiness, intense nervousness… or butterflies in the stomach.

❀ 36 ❛the Daphne odora❜ - 7.65k

A pure white bed. Snow. Then a bundle of grace. Pink petals gathered into a flower. Green leaves held the masterpiece, all in a pure white bed of snow.

❀ 37 ❛«Uno, nessuno, centomila» Love❜ - 18k

Love has many faces, many identities. It depends on the situation, the receiver and the giver. It’s similar to Pirandello’s theory of masks. Eros, Storge, Philia, but no Philautia. Romantic and passionate love, familial love, goodwill and platonic love, but no self-love… yet.

❀ 38 ❛the casus belli❜ - 21.43k

Goddess, sing the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus, which brought countless woes to the Achaeans and sent the souls of many brave heroes to Hades, their bodies made into a feast for dogs and crows, all to carry out the unfathomable will of Zeus.

❀ 39 ❛panem❜ - 8.73k

The name "Panem" derives from the Latin phrase Panem et circenses, which translates into "bread and circuses". This phrase describes entertainment used to distract the public's attention from more important matters.

❀ 40 ❛et circenses❜ - 19.79k

The name "Panem" derives from the Latin phrase Panem et circenses, which translates into "bread and circuses". This phrase describes entertainment used to distract the public's attention from more important matters.

❀ 41 ❛the Lucia to his Renzo❜ - 16.26k

She was a humble girl whose simplicity was combined with a modest and reserved nature. He was a good-natured boy with strength of affection but a fiery temperament, prone to sudden outbursts and rebellions. She, on the other hand, carrying herself unobtrusively with a discreet yet calm beauty, had a cathartic effect on him, calming him and halting his vengeful thoughts.

❀ 42 ❛house of cards❜ - 16.73k

As time passes, it only breaks more. Right now, everything in front of my eyes except for you is pitch black, darkness for me. But as long as I’m with you in the end, I’m okay.

❀ 43 ❛like in 1989❜ - 19.9k

“I felt one ought not only hear about them but see them because you see the joy on people's faces and you see what freedom means to them; it makes you realise that you cannot stifle or suppress people's desire for liberty, and so I watched with the same joy as everyone else.” - Margaret Thatcher, 1989

❀ 44 ❛like in 1961❜ - 14.07k

"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe." - Winston Churchill, 1946

❀ 45 ❛like in 1939❜ - 15k

It was like a pact: don’t attack me, and I won’t attack you—no aggression. But it doesn’t mean I can’t attack someone else or that someone else can’t attack me. Are we clear? Or not?

❀ 46 ❛like in the 1920s❜ - 24.5k

It’s a very familiar feeling, the one that settles within you when a moment is feeling too good, the type that leaves a tingly feeling on your tongue, uncomfortable, irritating. It’s a reminder that everything will eventually come to an end. The same happens when you know that, to every good in the world, there is a bad counterpart.

❀ 47 ❛like in 1945❜ - 12.85k

At the fall of one system begins the rise of another, one that is yet to be deemed bad or good, just ‘better’ than the previous one, or so everyone believes. What matters is how long it’d take for anyone to tell if it is good, bad from the get-go or bad in the long run.

❀ 48 ❛a falling hyperbola❜ - 17.3k

When T is high, and V is low, P has to shoot up. As the volume increases, the pressure rises—claustrophobic energy even.

❀ 49 ❛sympathy❜ - 5.8k

A leotard, tights and a romantic tutu, fluttering with every movement, spreading as the leg rose high, blooming like a lotus flower. Another leotard, tights, and a ballet tank top, stretching to follow every ridge of the body, every flinch of the muscle. They both wore ballet shoes, ribbons tied around the ankles, shanks dirty from long wear, and vamps stained with blood from swaying to a deadly dance.

❀ 50 ❛I love you so❜ - 17.7k

Burn it to the point you burn your hands, crossing the unknown boundaries and spread it out to the end. It's quite beautiful on a free day. As long as it burns, I can't stop my desire

❀ 51 ❛Toothless & Toothpaste❜ - 16.3k

The flower did see the butterfly. The flower always saw the butterfly. It stood tall and idle in the field of grass, spending its day waving in the wind, so how could it not see the butterfly? He was looking right at her: the butterfly was looking at the flower.

❀ 52 ❛the bermuda triangle❜ - 8.17k

Those weren't stars. Looked like it, but it wasn't the case. The distance, the safety gap, makes everything deformed, void of shape and definition, almost safe in a way. It disguises the mistakes, hides, blurs, and keeps them in the back of your mind. You can't see through my skull, but certainly through my eyes. But the gap has to close, and I don't want that.

❀ 53 ❛preoccupations❜ - 12.5k

A flower's place isn't in the ocean; a flower's place is in a garden amidst bees and butterflies. A star's place is in the sky, where it can burn till the end of time but never fall.

❀ 54 ❛soft porn❜ - 8.9k

Three sets of brown eyes and a set of blue ones, brown like the ground and blue like the water. Three samples for the first, one for the second: a mountain, a plane, a hill, and the ocean. The first three are all extensions of the same thing; the second has its own nature.The browns and blues don't mingle. Water can swallow up ground but never digest it.

❀ 55 ❛swirls and polka dots❜ - 18.7k

Ever since my baby went away, it’s been the blackest day, it’s been the blackest day. All I hear is Billie Holiday. It’s all that I play, it’s all that I play.

❀ 56 ❛a piano tune❜ - 13.5k

When that old river runs past your eyes To wash off the dirt on the riverside Go to the water so every near The river will be your eyes and ears

❀ 57

❀ 58

❀ 59

❀ 60

... and there's more

SNIPPETS/TEASERS

chp. 43 | chp. 44 | chp. 46 | chp. 47 | chp. 48 | chp. 49 | chp. 50 | chp. 51 | chp. 52 | chp. 53 | 54 | 56

❀ | zy’s corner. The title is A Piano Tune. And why the piano specifically? Because I feel like the piano is the best musical representative of Amor Tam Pulcher as a whole. I have other works, such as Seven for a Secret, which I feel like would be best presented by a violin (in fact a whole freaking orchestra of the string instruments).

Anyway, I foreshadow this with the first two songs I picked for this chapter, both from Agnes Obel (a singer and pianist): "Riverside" and "Broken Sleep".

I feel like the piano is the best instrument to show crescendo. You go up the musical scale, and it's like the best way to show it because it's almost as if like going up the keys is like going up stairs. It's the best way to show excitement, hurry, and speed in my opinion. Even so, it depends on who plays the piano, but like generally speaking, it's the best to show that kind of like hurried state. You can hear it also in "Broken Sleep." There's the whole little solo piano part in the song that sounds both peaceful but is a good comparison for the chaotic nature of excitement.

And this is tied to how Daphne's feeling up until the the trip.

Then we also have a full-on mention of the piano in the chapter at the beginning when we were talking about Adrielle, Taehyung, and Jimin looking at each other. And why I said that they the glances look like a piano is simply because they're all thinking about the same person but it different ways (like playing the same note but in different keys).

The piano gets dragged out throughout the chapter: during the travel, the relaxing sound of a piano is kind of reflected in the first half of the journey. That peaceful travel energy when you fall asleep and just do nothing, that.

It continues as they get to the resort. And now the sound is a bit more chaotic. It's a bit all over the place because it's showing Daphne's excitement. And when she steps into the resort, this chaotic rhythm slows down. Because now she's taking a pause and observing her surroundings. Everything's still slow.

But now we also have the piano in the way Adrielle sees friend groups, and how she specifically sees Daphne, who, remember, has been compared to a soft piano tune before.

The people in the friend group are all saying the same thing, and like any note in musical scale played by the same instrument, they have the same sound, just different fucking keys. I don't know how to explain it (lol). They have this general same sound, it's the same instrument. It's just like me using my voice. This is the means. This is the instrument. The sound is going to be matching with the instrument. Every sound I emit, whether it's a scream, whether it's a growl, whether it's a hum, they're all going to match with the instrument. But they're different. And yet, they come from the same instrument, you know what I mean?

So, the way Daphne's placing herself in the groups, every group seems like a piano. Because they are all working together, connected, saying the same things, roaming around the same theme. But each person, so each key in the piano, is sounding different.

And you have it first, Daphne in in the bedroom, where she's like hanging out with those girls, and she's like clicking with them very easily. Then, after that, we have Daphne and Taehyung and that group. In the way they're talking about Adrielle, they're all the same instrument, the same sound, same topic, same track, different lanes, same general sound, different keys. That's it. Everybody is expressing the same thing in different ways.

That's what I mean by piano.

This metaphor will be dragged out for longer, watch out.

Enjoy.

xoxo, zy.

—Now playing: Broken Sleep by Agnes Obel ✫

There was something silently beautiful about not going to school during the week and learning how the day would evolve while you headed to class to live through the same series of events.

First of all, there was no immediate need to wake up early, and since the ski trip was on Tuesday, Daphne fought against her instincts and slept through her natural alarm to wake up around nine in the morning.

She'd woken up to an empty home, parents long gone to work and grandparents busy next door; in fact, she wasn't even sure they were home at all.

Her neighbourhood looked different on Monday mornings like this. Instead of overflowing with inhabitants like it usually happened at weekends or during holidays, there was a peaceful silence pouring through every nook and crevice like water filling cracks.

There was barely anyone or any car driving by, so dogs barked so much less, engines roared only in the distance, and hadn't it been for the soft breeze combing through empty tree branches, the entire country would be dead silent.

The sky wasn't deep blue anymore; the shade was lighter, brighter, more awake, like the world had yawned a long time ago and had finally come to terms with the new day.

Daphne had an almost impeccable attendance. The last time she'd been absent was when she got ill, and ever since, she hadn't missed a single class.

Scary for some students, impossible for others. To her, it was a habit, something incorporated since childhood, because her parents taught her that attending school was important. Moreover, Daphne always liked going to school and had never pulled pranks or fake plays by placing toothpaste above her lip for thirty seconds.

With her bag ready and propped in a corner of her bedroom, Monday came and went like the wind, barely long enough for her to linger on details, savour them like a chef tasting a meal.

On Tuesday, though, her natural alarm clock woke her up as usual, body fully replenished of its energies and ready to embark on the four-day-long experience.

Daphne reached for the string to her lamp and switched the light on, squinting a little as she grabbed her glasses and tried to ease the golden hue in her eyes without them burning or feeling dry.

With her glasses on, she slumped against the pillow again, looking up at the ceiling and feeling the excitement rise through her like goosebumps.

Four days, skiing, friends, Taehyung, no parents around... better than the Crabby Patty recipe.

As she got ready, to control her overly excited spirits, she played some music, travelled down memory lane in search of something that didn't sound like Cleo—or watching her walk to the bus stop for class all alone—or her parents' safe sex talk, and even cuddled with her dogs as time passed by.

The notes of Agnes Obel's song were tiny, dreamy, the kind that felt like climbing up stairs made of clouds, twirling in the sky. Or all this could also just be Daphne's excitement melting down her synapses into quick sparks—glitters, stars, tickles.

She'd already chosen what to wear, nothing extravagant, but for a moment, she felt like a six-year-old getting ready for their first day in elementary school.

As she got ready, one by one, her parents would knock on her door, poke their heads inside, and wave at her before leaving for work.

Her dad was the first to set off, and at the time, Daphne had just returned upstairs after making herself her mandatory morning latte.

Then came her mother, stopping to compliment her look. "Ooh, I told you that those jeans would look good on you."

"Yeah, mum." Daphne turned left and right in front of the mirror. "Thanks for buying them, though."

"My pleasure." She chirped, tapping her fingers on the doorframe. "Text me once you're on the bus and when you get there and—"

"Mum, yeah." Daphne sighed, stopping from buttoning her jeans. "I will. I always do."

The girl shrugged, still grinning, and after sharing more sighs and warm looks, her mum greeted one last time and hopped down the stairs to the front door.

"As always!—" Daphne heard her yell from the ground floor.

"Yeah, mum." She trashed around. "I know: take Loki and Luke to Granny. I know!"

As Daphne pulled her top over her head, her mum yelled back again, and the front door clicked closed, plunging the house into more quiet.

She pulled on the bottom of her long-sleeve, made of wool yet thin enough to feel the breeze through the stitching, and for that, Daphne's hand quickly reached for the white and red striped zip-up.

The hands in her bedside table clock were already past eight when she slung her travel bag over her shoulder and went downstairs.

"Okay, I carried everything, right?" She turned to look at her bedroom door like the image would speak for her and settle her doubts.

She made sure her headphones were fully charged, carried her earphones as usual, her phone battery percentage was just below a hundred, and she didn't need to carry pads because she wouldn't have her periods but another two weeks.

"Perfect, I guess." Because she could never be sure enough to be exhilarated.

Her travel bag was on the bench in the entrance, seemingly waiting like a child, like Loki and Luke, for her to tie her red scarf, put on her shoes, and wear her jacket.

"Come on," she softly spoke to her dogs, opening the door and waiting for them to come out. Diligently, they turned around and still waited for her to lock the house, and as she did so, Daphne wondered if her family were the only one locking their doors in the country.

"There you are, right on time as always!" Her grandfather chanted from the window.

Daphne smiled and waved, and without needing to ask, the front door was opened for her and the dogs, with Granny holding it.

"Hello, little one." She carolled, while her husband quickly reached for Daphne's bag. "Are you excited?"

"Yeah." She smiled, leg already restless. Her eyes briefly followed her grandfather as he left her bag in the backseat.

"Make sure you text your mother every step of the way, yeah?" Granny's voice made her turn back around, eyes quickly going wide to process the words. As soon as she did, they narrowed into slits, turning white as she groaned.

"Oh, my god, you too?" She threw her head back, backpack hanging from her hands.

"Oh, honey, don't hate the messenger." Granny wiggled her brows. "I'm just carrying out a mission—"

Daphne instantly looked down again, jaw going slack. "She told you too?"

"Yes, right before leaving to catch the bus."

The sound she emitted was midway between a groan and a sigh of exhaustion, shoulders slumping. "Gosh, I told her many times that I will. I'm going to be fine."

"Oh, I know that. She does, too," the old lady shrugged, pulling on her cardigan from the cold, "but it's never enough."

The truck growled awake, buzzing with the engine, and Daphne quickly turned to Granny.

"Okay, I'll leave you now," a quick step forward, and she hugged her grandmother, "see you on Friday."

"See you on Friday, dear." The old lady waved, watching her rush to the passenger's seat while her husband got in to drive.

"Have fun!" were the last words Daphne heard before shutting the car door and reaching for her seatbelt.

Despite the weather, she rolled the window enough to poke her head out and looked back, waving still.

"Bye, Granny!" The old lady's smile was unwavering, and she only closed the door once the car went down to exit the neighbourhood.

—Now playing: Riverside by Agnes Obel ✫

It was just past eight thirty when her grandfather slowed down to turn into the school district.

Given the hour, the terminal station was empty, and the only bus in the area was the small one the school had rented for the ski trip.

It had a single floor, average in size, and occupied multiple parking lots, given its diagonal position. Cars belonging to students, teachers, and parents were parked on the other side.

Daphne's grandfather stopped his car exactly in one of the few parking lots left, killing the engine before turning to his granddaughter with a smile.

"We're here," he carrolled, giggling as he got off the truck. Daphne couldn't help chuckling at the hilarious sound, letting the seatbelt roll back into position while she got out of the car.

As she shut the door, she adjusted the backpack on her shoulders before slipping her hands in her pockets at the pungent cold. Seconds later, her grandfather was locking the car, carrying her travel bag in his other hand, and leading the way to the bus.

Two quick steps, and Daphne got to him, matching his pace. "Need a hand—"

"Pff!" He dismissed her offer with a chuckle. Right on cue, the bus driver saw him and directed him to the open trunk.

"Ooh, right on time." Asher's voice made her pause, eyes busy finding her friend. He was standing by the bus entrance with his phone in hand, a beanie on his head, and boots sticking out of his baggy jeans. "Was about to text you."

"Why?" she chuckled, approaching him. "Got scared I'd be half a minute late?"

"Yep," he popped, hiding half his face behind the collar of his jacket. "That's alarming enough for me."

She rolled her eyes, stopping next to him with a sigh and white cloud forming in front of her lips. As if she'd suddenly started reading out a poem, he arched his eyebrow, scooting away.

"You nervous?" He inspected her, and she scoffed.

"Nervous?" She trashed a little on the spot, looking for a way to stop the cold from piercing through her jeans and into her skin. "No, why?"

He didn't speak, just copied her, adding weight to his steps and exaggeratedly sighing. "This."

"I'm just…" she pouted, breaking eye contact, "… excited—"

"That's how you're excited?" he coughed out a laugh, fixing his beanie around his earlobes.

"I'm…" she paused. "I'm trying to keep my emotions under control—"

"By showing a completely different one?—"

"Okay, Asher!" She groaned, rolling her eyes as he evilly cackled. "Gosh, it's like half past eight in the morning, let's not."

"Aren't you an early bird, though? I bet you woke up like three hours ago—"

Before she could roll her eyes again, the soft growl of a car driving into the district made her turn around. It was a white Fiat 500L coming up the hill and finding its home a few lots away from Daphne's grandfather's truck. The car wasn't exactly interesting in of itself, nor was the colour.

It was the driver and the passengers.

"Here we are!" Jimin bellowed, arms out in the air and teeth so bright they could put the snow to shame.

There was a very high chance he didn't even wait for the car to be fully parked before he opened the door and hopped off, because Adrielle, the driver, hadn't killed the engine yet, and there he was, acting like Jim Carrey.

Asher chuckled next to her, stepping closer to murmur, "Fuck, this is the reason I tell Nick, James, and Cleo to get good grades. We'd be having a blast by now."

Daphne softly laughed without turning to look at him, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes because if Cleo had joined them, the only thing having a blast would be her brains.

But one fleeting glance at Taehyung, and her eyes lit up. She was probably beaming like an idiot at him, because his first reaction was to chuckle, the kind that comes when you're a bit flustered.

"Okay, Daphne darling," her grandfather huffed, fixing his jacket, and her grin briefly disappeared. "I left your travel bag in the back. You wanna see it?"

She didn't wait to be told twice. "It's right there," he continued, pointing into the trunk. "You'll have to scavenge a little, or do you want me to bring it forward?"

"Oh, don't worry." She shrugged, moving to hug him instead. "Thanks."

"Well, okay then. Have enough money on you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Mum and dad covered that, plus I still have some left from my savings, so you have nothing to worry about—"

"Have this." He snuck her twenty euros, curling her fingers around the bill before she'd refuse it. "Have fun, be careful, and see you on Friday."

He quickly patted her back and rushed to the truck, leaving her in shock.

"But—" she stuttered, scoffing and pushing the money into her phone cover.

"Text your mother!" Her grandfather yelled from the truck, and she sighed again, head falling back.

"Yes," she whined, "in fact, I'm texting mum right now!"

She waved the phone for him to see, and he gave her a thumbs-up.

"I'm texting her the fuck now," she mumbled to herself with a sigh and launched onto WhatsApp.

"My mum's the same," Asher chuckled beside her, face still hidden behind the collar. "She looks cold 24/7, but there's no one as paranoid as her."

"Mine's just anxious as fuck." Daphne scoffed, fingers tapping on the screen.

He puffed. "Like mother, like daughter—"

She paused, turning to look him dead in the eyes. "Screw you, Ash—"

"Boo!" She gasped, spinning around to find Taehyung brushing past with his bag. He was quick, but not enough for her to miss the smile on his face.

"Thought you were slick?" she scoffed, approaching him as she slipped her phone into her pocket.

He didn't immediately reply, body fully in the trunk to leave his bag, but he did hear her. That was why he turned to her with a smirk, cold hands slipping underneath her jacket.

"Tae!" She hissed, slapping them away and pushing herself off him. "Fucking hell, didn't Adrielle give you a ride here? Why do they feel like you're a heartbeat away from hypothermia?"

"What can I say? The cold's cold." He shrugged, following her as she backed off with every step he took.

"The cold's cold?" She coughed a laugh, walking backwards. "Poetic, Tae."

"Thanks." He tilted his head to the side with his signature shit-eating grin across his lips. "I'm stealing your hobby."

"Hmm," she pouted, nodding, "very stealthy. I see it's working out just fine for you."

"Yeah? And here I was second-guessing my instincts—"

"Oh, yeah," she glanced around, making sure she wasn't back up against a car, "your instincts."

"Mh-hmm," he chuckled, making her scream the moment he darted toward her.

"Taehyung!" She laughed, feeling him catch her arm and stop her.

"I swear, if you put your cold hands on me—" She tried to pull away, hearing him giggle and barely struggle despite her attempts.

"Tae!—Taehyung!" She screamed again when he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Don't!"

—Now playing: Ojos Tristes by The Marìas, Selena Gomez ✫

As usual, despite how idyllic and peaceful the country could seem in winter, the weather was never as friendly, never as welcoming, never as comforting. The temperatures always hovered around zero, without hesitating to go negative and stay there for days on end.

The windows lining the walls of the school were all frosted, the heat inside seemingly blocking the cold outside the same way a fence keeps out intruders.

Since the door had been left open the entire time it was parked, when the students were finally allowed into the bus, the environment was a bit chilly and still smelled of upholstery.

Jimin was leading the way to the back, clearly the reason he'd chosen to stay first in line in front of the entrance. As soon as he settled on the seat by the window on the right end, the few students between him and his friends immediately knew that the other seats would be occupied by default.

At least, Jimin's stern and challenging look was clear enough.

Asher sat down next to Jimin, and Taehyung took the seat by the window on the other end, welcoming Daphne to lie on him whenever she wanted—and who was she to decline such an offer?

Her grandfather was long gone by now, but she still looked out the window out of habit because she'd always been used to having her parents standing outside, waiting for the bus to take off while they waved at each other.

But now she was so grown they were giving her safe sex talk. As soon as the memory resurfaced, Daphne blinked so hard as if her eyelids would shut like a box you never wished you opened.

"Not joining us, Elle?" Jimin's voice was the first thing she heard after voiding her mind of the unwelcome memory.

There was still an empty seat at the back, the one exactly between her and Asher, but Adrielle chose to sit in front of Jimin in the second row from the back.

Maybe she was petty, but Daphne instantly thought that it was because of her presence. Adrielle had never once sat next to her, even by accident, and it couldn't entirely be a coincidence, right?

Maybe if she were Cleo, she would've sat down. Maybe not, because at the end of the day, sitting at the back of the bus on their way to and from school was initiated by someone else and not Adrielle herself.

Perhaps.

"Malakai's joining us."

And the entire bus seemed to fall silent. Asher didn't know what that meant, and Daphne knew only to a certain degree. But from the glances Jimin and Taehyung shared, it was clear as day to anyone who saw them that Malakai wasn't that welcome.

"He's sitting next to me." Adrielle shrugged, knees on her seat to see her friends.

Daphne didn't see the exchange of looks, but she did hear Taehyung mumble something to himself—at least that was the intention, because she was leaning all up against him that not even his space was his anymore.

"Yeah, because he doesn't have a choice."

Aside from the choice of words, the tone made her confused. Wasn't Malakai the same nice guy that had joined them at the cabin, and the same one Adrielle was supposedly interested in?

As far as Daphne was concerned, Malakai had to stay in the picture and keep Adrielle's eyes off Taehyung. Besides, he seemed fine.

She didn't turn to look at Taehyung and ask him anything; she just continued going through her backpack to reach for her earphones.

On Sunday, Taehyung had randomly asked to create a travel playlist together, and just as they had decided, the genres covered a wide spectrum, especially time-wise.

Patting the pockets of his jacket, she reached for his phone, lifting it up to his eye level so he'd unlock it for her. No words needed, a well-rehearsed choreography: he got the message, and within seconds she was launching onto Spotify and connecting the earphones to his phone.

All this while, Adrielle, Jimin, and Taehyung were sharing amongst each other the kind of looks that sound like silence and chaos all in one breath.

Their eyes were veiled with annoyance, but like in a musical scale, they were all hitting different keys, sounding disconnected despite coming from the same instrument.

Adrielle didn't utter another word, sinking onto her seat and turning around. Jimin sighed, looking at Taehyung with worry that maybe they might have gone too far, whilst the latter just rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling that familiar irritation flowing in place of his blood at the mere mention of Malakai's name.

"Should I put it on shuffle?" He looked down at Daphne, her head propped against his chest and her feet finding their home on the empty seat beside her.

He hummed, reaching for her bag to place it down and make her feel more comfortable. And while he watched her scroll to pick a song to start with, he hoisted her up a little.

"What are you doing?" she chuckled, turning to check on him, only to find him busy pushing his right foot onto the seat so she could sit between his legs.

"Better?"

She shrugged and finally picked a song. His cheek melted against her head, taking in wisps of her shampoo and the scent of her perfume, whilst his arms held her in a hug.

"Don't get comfortable yet." She briefly sat up. "I'm surprised you haven't taken your jacket off."

"Oh, I forgot because it's still a bit chilly in here."

—Now playing: Cold Little Heart by Michael Kiwanuka ✫

It didn't take long before the bus was driving out of the school district, moving past the various buildings, the terminal station, and exiting into the square.

As soon as Daphne felt the engine groan and shake the vehicle, she finally settled with full comfort, pressing 'play', and letting the song accompany her like fuel to a car.

She'd chosen to take her shoes off, too bothered to have them on the seat like nothing mattered.

The song playing was her own addition, and the introduction felt like listening to Pink Floyd without actually listening to them.

The gradual build-up seemed to match the careful turns of the bus as it drove through town, heading steadily for isolated roads outside the square.

She'd lifted the hood of her zip-up, matching with Taehyung, both seemingly isolated yet together, earphones connected, and brains on standby, listening to the song playing into their ears.

She slipped his phone into his pocket, freeing herself so she could hold his hands and hug herself, and just as though she'd verbally asked him for the embrace, he nuzzled closer, leaving a peck against her temple.

In front of her, Asher had also taken his shoes off, keeping his feet on the seat and his legs close to his chest as a perfect lectern for his comic book.

Jimin, next to the window, wasn't exactly doing anything, resting his elbow on the small windowsill to look outside. His AirPods were plugged in, though.

From her position, all Daphne could see of Adrielle were glimpses of her blonde hair and nothing more, but knowing what she'd spend time doing on the bus—without considering Cleo—she was most likely reading or even studying, daring to do exactly what Taehyung swore he wouldn't do during the trip.

She felt Taehyung's chest inflate and deflate against her back, and by the time they were driving on the curvy roads of the mountains, the pattern evened out enough for Daphne to assume he'd fallen asleep.

Again, for maybe the fifth time that morning, she gave everyone a once-over, even looking between the seats in front of her to see who was there and how they were faring.

Asher used his index finger and pushed his glasses up his nose bridge, eyes scanning his comics. Jimin had brought his left leg onto the seat, using it as a makeshift desk to place his iPad. He was whispering with Adrielle in front of him, so Daphne assumed they were studying together—not even soldiers in war.

The final confirmation that Taehyung was sleeping came from his heavy hands, lying on her lower stomach, abandoned; his muscles had dozed off a long time ago.

To pass the time, she played a few daily challenges of Sudoku, glancing to her left whenever some other student suddenly screamed or made loud noise and hoping they didn't wake Taehyung up.

The weather had brightened up a little as they left their small town, heading for the next one. The roads were a bit plainer, with fewer curves, and lighter traffic.

The fields the tarmac cut through were the kind that would welcome tall corn plants in summer. Now, they were mostly desolate, washed out, and their bright colour dim under the moon-grey sky.

The playlist had gone through around ten to twelve of its songs when the bus drove into the next town, slowing down to slide through the narrow roads of the inhabited area.

Before reaching the square, the few houses littered along the way reminded her of her own small town, and the big buildings farther in the fields made her think about Jungkook's crazy mansion.

Besides that, when the bus finally drove into the square, the environment became a bit more familiar. It'd taken them maybe twenty minutes by train, now forty by bus, to get there for the winter prom; it took them thirty minutes by car with Taehyung driving them to his cabin for his birthday sleepover.

Tired of Sudoku, she turned her phone off, slipping it into the other pocket of her zip-up. She wished she could've fallen asleep, but her brain had clicked out of that approximately four hours ago, and now it was too late to try for anything.

She'd brought her camera, had even a smaller book with herself along with the usual read, but Taehyung was asleep, and she didn't want to wake him up, so she unconsciously started playing with his rings, using her index finger to make the silver bands roll around his fingers like it was an interesting slideshow.

She wanted to intertwine hands, but there was still a chance he'd wake up, so after playing with his rings, her index finger slowly ran under the band of his bracelets, finding her handmade one amongst his usual ones.

If he were awake, she'd tease him by softly pulling on the short hairs on his arm, but again, he wasn't, so the most she could do to kill time was slide her hand under the sleeve of his hoodie and draw random lines up and down his arm.

That would make him relax even more, no?

—Now playing: Sweet Spot by Ooklah The Moc ✫

Realistically, it was possible, but the moment was short-lived because somehow, when the bus came to a halt and other students boarded it, unsolicited chaos ensued, and Taehyung woke up.

It wasn't anything delicate, not a soft blink of the eyes, no. It was a full-body shock, like he'd been having a bad dream and woke up before the worst part.

He gasped away, startled from his slumber like a reanimated patient, and his head instantly started spinning around, trying to read the room despite his heavy-lidded eyes.

"Morning, sleepy head." She sat up to face him, giggling at his expressions.

He briefly glanced at her, still in a haze, and rubbed his face, sighing.

"Fuck," his voice was a bit raspy, and she blinked to snap out of it before the sound actually started clouding her mind. "For how long was I out?"

She shrugged, fixing his hoodie to prove something to herself. "Like forty minutes or something."

He huffed, pushing his back off the window to sit better and change position. Daphne pushed her feet off the free seat, slipping them into her shoes without fully putting them on.

"I think Nathan and Malakai are getting on now." As she informed him, she bent down between the seats, going through her backpack to bring out her time killers and place them on the foldable table on the seat facing her.

With the bus parked, moving was easier, so Taehyung didn't even ask Daphne to give him space; he just pushed himself off the seat a little and removed his leg from behind her to sit better.

"Did you sleep?" He sighed, slumping down again and ruffling his hair. She shook her head, pushing her bag down to lean against the backrest.

He scooted closer, growing curious at the things she placed on the foldable table, unaware that she was pushing down her curiosity and the urge to ask him about Malakai and why he was apparently a problem.

The last time they'd mentioned him, all Daphne understood was that the boys found him a bit stubborn, in the annoying, unrelenting lover kind of way, and Adrielle was giggling about it, talking about some 'he knows what he wants'.

But Taehyung's comment was tethering closer to pure dislike, not the kind of tone Daphne had ever heard from him before.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Nathan bellowed, stopping by the empty seat, arms propped on the seats by his side. Behind him, Malakai waved at everyone—at least those who were interested enough to fake a smile at him—and slipped onto the seat next to Adrielle.

Too distracted by Nathan's performance, which was eerily similar to Jungkook's on any random Tuesday, Daphne didn't see how Taehyung sneakily took back his phone to use it as an excuse to not look up and find Malakai.

"Thanks for saving me a seat, darlings." Nathan winked at his friends, slumping heavily onto the seat like a bag of potato dumped from a three-story building.

"We didn't really save it, though," Daphne snorted, sitting criss-cross, knees bumping with Taehyung's.

Nathan's eyelids suddenly became heavy with annoyance as he slowly panned to Daphne to make sure she saw him roll his eyes.

"You're so kind, I swear."

"Aww, thanks." She gave him a broad smile, all teeth and full cheeks. "I believe education is key."

He groaned, leaning into Asher's space to trash around a little. "Man, how do you stand her?" he first asked Asher, only to pop up, looking at Taehyung. "No, actually, how the fuck do you?"

"How do I what?" Taehyung finally looked up from his phone, turning it off to slip it into his pocket and leaning closer to hear him.

To Daphne, he was just stepping into her personal space, giving her a huge wisp of his cologne. Instinctively, she started turning her cuticles, looking at her fingers so she wouldn't look ahead and notice how close he was.

"Stand her?" Nathan pointed to her. With a clear excuse, she finally looked up, giggling and looking between the boys like a mischievous child.

"Oh, I love her," Taehyung groaned, wrapping his arms around Daphne's shoulders to pull her close, not giving her the physical and mental space to process the words he'd just casually thrown out like he was just stating his favourite meal.

Her hand reached for his arms, letting him pull her down into his space as he sank into his seat again.

"E-yuck!" Nathan feigned to puke, turning his back on them. "I actually hate this spot now."

But Daphne was giggling all the way through, growing warm the moment Taehyung started showering her with kisses and pecks on whichever patch of skin was even mildly exposed and within close range.

"Tae, stop." He kissed her cheek again and moved to the corner of her lips. The giggles were breaking her words into improper syllables. But he continued, soon finding her neck and stalling there.

She instantly gasped, the sound soft, contained, intimate, but almost shaking the fog out of her mind, she tried breaking free before they'd get too carried away.

"Taehyung!" She tried to keep her squeals under control, scooting away at the ticklish feeling of his breath fanning against her skin.

"Come on—" She pulled back, and he followed, welcoming himself into her breathing space.

"Come on, Taehyung!" She laughed, face rubbing against the seat as she tried to run away from him. The soft sounds of his chuckles were doing more damage than the kisses.

"Okay, no, man. Taehyung!" Nathan whined as soon as Daphne mistakenly elbowed him in the rib. "I'm very big on personal space—"

"Gosh," Taehyung looked up with a frown. "When the fuck did you become so whiny?"

His right arm was still around Daphne's shoulders while his left hand was under her chin, ready to make his way to her neck again.

"You did not—" Nathan scoffed, shaking his head as if he had misheard his friend. "You did not just—"

"You could be having the same if you stopped blueballing Avyanna." Somehow, Jimin heard Taehyung's words from the other side and cackled so loudly the chaos in the bus dimmed by a few degrees. Daphne was laughing too, finding the nasally evil sound too hilarious.

"Blueballing? Me? To Avyanna? Dude, you know she's constantly horny—"

Taehyung shook his head, smirking and clocking his tongue. "She's horny just for you, man—"

"Just me?" Nathan scoffed, tilting his head to the side with eyes that said more than his lips let out.

At the tone of his words, Daphne didn't notice her giggles slowly dying down, ears perked up like a rabbit's.

Taehyung didn't utter anything else, not even a chuckle or a scoff, but they were exchanging looks Daphne so dearly wanted to see for herself; Nathan was the only person in her clear line of sight, and he was constantly shaking his head in disbelief.

"Just don't fuck next to me, thank you," he finally said, and despite the suspicion that was blooming inside her, the implication behind his words made her instantly heat up.

Taehyung softly laughed, the sound breathy, almost like a scoff, and Daphne hated that it just made her feel even hotter.

"Erm," she cleared her throat, sitting up, "wanna continue?" gesturing to the earphones.

"I saw you bring out Uno cards. Let's play."

—Now playing: Another Day In Paradise by Phil Collins ✫

"Dude, she's got two reds and a green—"

"Nathan!" Daphne turned around, flicking the boy on the head. Taehyung, next to her, softly laughed, watching his friend vigorously rubbing his temple after the blow.

He'd propped his right knee under his elbows, back against the window again. Daphne had turned her body toward him, sitting on her heels.

"Mind your fucking business, yeah?" she rasped, rolling her eyes because he'd just ruined her game.

"It's called 'making an assist'. Saw my friend struggling, so I gave him a few hints—"

"Hints?!" Her eyes went wide, and Nathan reflexively ducked like they could shoot him arrows. "You call those hints!?"

"Fuck, Taehyung." His voice was a bit muffled as he hid his face. "Your girlfriend's about to kill me, and you're just watching in silence… after the very risky assist I just gave you—"

Taehyung raised his hands, now bringing the other foot on the seat to have both elbows on his knees. "Never asked for it in true honesty—"

"Is this how you pay your homeboy back?" Nathan sat up, pursing his lips and pretending to be extremely offended. "Okay, okay, I see. I'll keep this in mind as I make you bite the fucking snow later—"

"Me?" Taehyung scoffed, leaving the cards on the foldable table. "Me biting snow? It's like you've forgotten who the fuck I am—"

"Oh, I have because I just helped you—"

"No, you poked your nose in my business," Daphne intervened, poking his shoulder with her index finger, "and fucked up my game."

"Hey, everything's fair—"

"No, the fuck it's not," she rasped, slumping and turning back to Taehyung with an exaggerated flick of the hair. When she heard Nathan cuss behind her, she was certain her hair had hit him in the face.

"Anyway," she deeply inhaled before shrugging, "I was still winning anyway. Won three matches out of four."

"Oh, fuck man," Nathan rubbed his nose, laughing, "Taehyung, you fucking suck—"

"Oh, yeah, you gon' be eating the snow for lunch and dinner today," he threatened, pretending to attack him while Nathan blew him raspberries.

Daphne, between them, softly laughed and returned the cards to the pack.

Suddenly, Taehyung's eyes and voice went soft, catching her busy hands. "Oh, we not playing anymore?"

"We can do something else." She shrugged, leaving the pack on the table. "I was getting bored with beating you back to back anyway."

His jaw went slack, and she laughed, sitting on her butt to bring her legs against her chest.

"You did not just say that—"

"I did." She didn't back down, letting her head fall against the backrest and not breaking eye contact. Her unbothered look seemed to put even more buttons, and the way he clenched his jaw, nodding, reminded her of what had almost happened in her bedroom last week.

He hummed, rubbing the corner of his lips. "And you're even standing on it—"

"Sitting right now, but yeah," she giggled when his jaw went slack, "you can also say that—"

"Oh, shut the fuck up," he laughed, pushing his hair back, and she was about to join in, but just watching him look good while doing the most basic thing on planet earth made her brain short-circuit for a split second.

His left arm fell back on his knee, eyes finding hers again. He didn't even notice himself tilting his head to match her angle, and when she got it, a giggle escaped her.

"Come here," he rasped, pushing his legs down, tapping his thigh. And who was she to say no?

—Now playing: Those Eyes by New West ✫

She scooted closer until she was in his lap and her seat was now the empty spot for them to place their feet.

Unlike before, she didn't back-face him. He was resting against the window, the curtains pulled a little to the side, and she was between his legs, leaning against his chest with her side.

Helping her to get comfortable, his hands found her waist, but soon, in the same way, his right one found her butt, resting there—no squeeze, no scratch, no spank, just presence.

"We're getting close," he mumbled close to her ear, puckering his lips to kiss her neck. "I can't stand these seats; they hurt my ass."

On cue, as he was talking about his sore muscles, his hand moved, drawing small and slow circles on Daphne's butt. Was he aware or not that everything she was feeling wasn't travelling to her upper body any longer?

She wrapped her arms around his neck, seemingly unbothered, used to it, and rested her head against his chest.

He absentmindedly kissed her forehead, left hand grabbing his phone to doomscroll during the last minutes of the bus ride.

As he went through Instagram reels, one from a tattoo artist popped up, a clip showing the incredibly realistic and detailed inked drawing this person was capable of.

What caught Daphne's attention the most, though, was the placement.

"His fucking armpit!?" She grimaced, hissing in phantom pain.

"Yeah, what the fuck?" He frowned as they watched the clip go on. "I bet that shit hurt like a bitch."

"I can't even wax my armpits without being on the brink of death, let alone tattoo over it." Her words were a bit jumbled, cheek puffy against his chest. "Plus, if I were to get a tattoo, I'd never get this many and in such a spot."

"You'd get a tattoo?" He craned his neck to meet her eyes, now hooked on that and less on the video.

She shrugged, not taking her eyes off his phone, but her brain had mentally clicked off from that as well.

"Yeah, like tiny ones kind of scattered all over the place, not like Jungkook's tattoo sleeve, for example. How the fuck does he even have one already?"

"Uncle's a tattoo artist, that's how. It wasn't hard to make a little exception. Plus, Kook was so desperate to have something contrast with his baby face."

"Pff!" She giggled. "I'll show you my inspiration board later."

"You've got a board for everything, don't you?" he chuckled, looking down at her and playing with her hair.

"Yeah, I do." She scooted away to meet his gaze. "Have anything against people who have vision boards for everything?"

There was a small smirk across her lip, and his eyes instantly fell to her lips first as he shook his head, chuckling.

"No, I don't." He chuckled, his hand running along her hair to stop at the back of her neck.

She giggled, and reading his mind—which could've been hers as well at this point because she was thinking the same thing—she closed the distance for a kiss, which sadly didn't last long.

"E-yuck!" Nathan firmly said, face scrunched in disgust and disdain. "Not in front of my fucking salad."

"You don't even eat salads; what you talking about?"

—Now playing: Welcome to MY World by Aespa✫

With giggles, jabs, shoves, and laughter muffling the boiling engine, the bus made its way to its destination, turning on dangerous curves along the mountain, driving right beside deep ravines decorated with tall pines and naked trees.

The concrete wall lining the mountain on the left worked as a mega flowerbed, housing dead grass and tall trees whose branches seemed to tip over the road like willows.

Everything was covered with snow like powdered sugar on a cake, and the white borders on the sides of the road were covered by piles of now dirty snow.

At this point, Daphne had somewhat memorised the rhythm of the bus, hearing the engine groan louder whenever it approached curves, only to sigh in relief when the tarmac wasn't slithering around anymore.

She was sizing her hand up to Taehyung's when she caught a glimpse of the world outside from behind the curtain.

To him, choosing to intertwine fingers was just another demonstration of affection; to her, it still was, but originally born from distraction.

Replacing the once green fields she'd been driving through on her first day after the move were blinding white planes. The colourful aspects of nature were tamed, hidden underneath metres of snow, and hadn't it been for the work of snowploughs, salt-spreaders, and the tall yellow-and-black striped poles along the road, even the tarmac would've been invisible, easily well-blended with the rest of the sleepy space.

"Wow," she chuckled at her own amazement, leaning closer to the window to push the curtain to the side.

Finally, Taehyung noticed as well, a view he was already used to, and he turned around to look outside with her.

"Yeah, knew you'd like it—"

"Like it? That's an understatement— I have to take pictures." She hurriedly reached for her bag, leaving Taehyung resisting against her literal falling body.

"If the driver hits the brakes, you might get stuck between the seats," he softly laughed, wrapping his right hand around his wrist to lock her in his embrace.

Daphne finally sat up, quickly pushing her hair out of her view as she dug through her bag from a more comfortable position.

"Sorry," she chuckled, dumping the bag on her seat, which was basically empty for how deep into Taehyung's space she was. "My mum has to see this."

By the time the bus had parked and the students were led to the resort, Daphne had spotted up to ten places she had to take pictures in—or of. Her camera was in her backpack, travel bag hanging from her left shoulder, while her right hand was hidden within Taehyung's pocket, fingers intertwined.

Similarly to the school district back at home, the bus parked at the valley, and they had to walk up to the resort, seeing ahead a small gathering of different buildings meant to simulate a little, minuscule really, town.

They were all, at least, three-story buildings, roofs covered by snow like it was a sheepskin jacket. It was around eleven in the morning, but the lights coming from the windows were still a stark contrast to the natural glow of the day.

Behind this small town was a chain of mountains, all different in height but all covered in snow. Some were rocky, their tips chiselled by natural agents; others were hidden under half-naked pine trees, shielding the mountains from the cold the same way body hair works on humans.

Following Taehyung's advice, she'd worn boots, and now she could hear the snow crunch underneath the soles like she was stepping on brittle stones.

There were a couple of teachers leading the line and another couple closing it. All the students were dressed for the season, some with earmuffs, the majority with scarves, and everyone with thick jackets.

At the valley, the bus driver had already taken off to its next gig, while the passengers had made it to the top of the hill and the entrance of the small town.

The cold was more pungent than back at home, but the golds and the browns scattered around like honey and chocolate in a piece of cake made the temperatures rise to comfortable numbers.

Christmas lights connected neighbouring buildings like garlands, and there was music playing in the distance. Soon, Daphne realised it was coming from the winter market, a show of handmade trinkets and jewels, hot chocolate stands, cosy restaurants and cafès, and dessert trucks.

"Are we allowed to come here later?" She looked up at Taehyung, her hand still in his, in his pocket.

"Yeah," he leaned down a bit to her level, "after lunch, we're free to scavenge the town. Don't worry, I'll show you around."

She smiled, the excitement boiling into bubbles within her. "I've gotta take so many pictures, you don't get it."

"Oh, yeah, I absolutely get it, actually," he chuckled, hearing how her voice was a gasp away from squealing. "You just have to wait for lunch."

"Mh-hmm," she absentmindedly replied, eyes glittering as she admired the show of lights and decorations. Abruptly, as if her mind had suddenly turned on a bulb, she turned around, looking for her friend.

"Ash!" she called, "you seeing what I'm seeing? You said you went skiing with your parents during winter break, no?"

In three wide steps, Asher was now walking next to her, slowly nodding and softly laughing at her elation.

"We didn't really ski, in the end. Mostly went on a sleigh with huskies—"

"You what?" She gasped, hitting his arm—the sound was muffled by the thick layers—"And you never felt the need to tell me?"

The resort itself was closer to the top, more isolated, and just standing out like a black dot in the white planes of snow. Not too far from the main building were lifts slowly going up and down the mountain. Some were empty, and some were occupied, skis dangling in the air.

For Daphne, it was a win-win situation with more victories than the phrase implied: her eyes were thanking her for the view she was taking in, her butt and joints were sighing in relief after the journey on the bus, and she was mentally thanking Taehyung and Jimin for inviting her, and her parents for making everything possible.

"Okay," a teacher from the head of the line bellowed, their voice sounding like a sword cutting through snow, "we've arrived at the destination. Now, before we get inside, I wanted to set a few rules. Whether you're new to this or not, listen."

Daphne looked around herself again, feeling the excitement ready to throw her out of her boots like a spaceship taking off into space. Taehyung was looking at the teacher in front of him, so her eyes found his side profile, and maybe it was the excess happiness, but she suddenly felt an urge to just cup his face and pull him down for a kiss.

She knew it would throw him off; he'd start laughing and asking her what had come over her, but she'd giggle in between the kisses and maybe even jump into his arms because every cell in her body was excessively buzzing.

Instead, she just tightened her grip on his hand through his pocket, head softly landing against his shoulder.

She felt him move; he probably looked down to see if the clench was a silent way to call him, or maybe he just acknowledged her presence, glancing down just for the sake of looking at her.

"Once inside, the guide will lead you to your respective rooms. Now rule number one: no chaos, no damage, no jumping on mattresses or hanging from bunk beds like monkeys," and from the collective giggles, Daphne assumed the warnings came from shared personal experience.

"The mornings are for skiing, snowboarding, and all of the above. After lunch, you can stay in your rooms or head to the winter market— The winter market is the farthest you can go, and before leaving, make sure you communicate it to a teacher, just so we know where you're headed. You must be back for dinner—we'll have a roll call at each meal."

Now, the teacher was reading off a script on their phone. "Around ten pm, the other clients have pretty much retired to bed, so complete silence. Let's let others enjoy their stay as well. No crazy pranks inside your bedrooms, and most especially, as you're skiing, please… and?" they turned to their colleague, muttering something under their breath, "I think that's all for now. Please, let's all be smart and safe, yeah?"

The students collectively answered—some hummed, and others spoke—and finally, they left the front of the resort to get inside.

The outside was made mainly with bricks, leaving the wood only for railings, beams, and roof corners, whilst the inside looked exactly like a cabin: thick beams running down the ceiling to meet the wooden columns littered around the space.

The main area was huge, and from Daphne's position, she could only divide it into three spaces: lounge on the left, a corridor in between leading upstairs, and the restaurant on the right.

"Ooh, nice," she found herself saying as her eyes inspected her surroundings. Taehyung chuckled next to her, his voice hitting her harder when he leaned down.

"That's, like, the communal area. There are booths, pool tables, a small arcade, and couches scattered around. Here," he pointed to the right, "is the restaurant. We have all our meals here. You can find the daily menus, like, right by the entrance. From here," he nodded forward, "we get to the bedrooms upstairs— The building is, like, five stories tall, but our bedrooms are always on the first floor."

"Oh," she nodded, following his lead rather than the teachers'.

"You see that door there?" he pointed farther into the restaurant area, "that leads outside to a smaller cabin where all our gear stays. From there, a few steps away, we get on the lifts and go up."

"Welcome, everyone!" An unfamiliar voice exclaimed, hands clapping once while the students gathered around.

"I'm Serena, and I'll be your guide for this year's skiing experience. I know most of you guys know this place like the back of your hands by now, but we'll still run over the basics."

And they were essentially the exact same things the teacher had read out before they got inside, so Daphne quickly got distracted, now inspecting the lounge area and imagining what she could do there with her friends.

"Now, this is my friend and colleague Kordell—"

"Hi," a second voice stepped in, stopping next to Serena with a well-practised professional smile.

"Boys! Follow Kordell, and girls, follow me!"

"Okay then, see you later." Taehyung leaned down for a quick peck on her cheek, but she looked at him with surprise, clinging like a child on their first day at kindergarten.

"Where do we meet later?" she chuckled nervously.

He giggled at her bulging eyes and the tight grip on his hand. "Here, babe. We're staying in the lounge area. Lunch's at noon."

"Oh," she laughed again, letting go of his hand. "My bad. See you later then."

And she quickly hurried to join the other girls gathered around Serena. She'd moved her travel bag to her right shoulder now, sighing in relief, and tailed closely behind as they slowly went upstairs.

There weren't many girls from her school. All the faces were familiar, comprising junior and senior students, but Daphne only knew three: Vera and Chantel, her classmates, and the other one was Adrielle. Naturally, though, she stuck closer to her classmates. The other half were girls from Nathan's school.

—Now playing: Sad Eyes by Bruce Springsteen ✫

"Okay, girlies," Serena turned around with a bright smile, gathering her hands in a soft clap.

"These are your rooms. Sort yourselves out, choose your beds, please no fights, and have a nice stay—" She animated each word with hand gestures.

"I say this because it's mandatory, but I've seen many disregard it." She leaned closer, voice a little under wraps. "Please, stay away from the boys' room, yeah?"

She tilted her head, winking and giggling with the girls at the clear implication behind the words. But as she mentioned it, Daphne turned to her left, where the boys were shown to their own room.

Malakai and Jimin were in her direct line of sight. Taehyung was deeper in the bunch, dragged around by Nathan as he slung his arm around his shoulders to ruffle his hair.

She unconsciously smiled at them, snapping out of it when Serena finally opened the bedroom door.

"Well then." Serena pushed the doors to bedrooms 3 and 4 open. "Pick one and have a nice stay. You can call me if you need anything."

"Thank you," the girls replied in unison, and Serena took it as her cue to leave.

As soon as they were left alone, an awkward silence joined them in the form of invisible students. The girls glanced at each other, checking to see who'd speak first. And to all this, the soundtrack came from down the hall because the boys couldn't keep quiet.

"So." Vera nervously broke the ice first, looking between her classmates and the girls from the other school. "What do we—"

"Oh, it's nothing serious." The one with blue meshes in her hair spoke for her mates. "We'll go with number 4 if it's fine with you guys."

"Oh, absolutely." Daphne found herself replying in unison with some girls from her school.

"Perfect then." They nodded with a smile and turned to their bedroom. Adrielle led the way to room 3.

"Nice!" Chantel hissed, stepping further into the room. Daphne heard the door click closed behind her. "Now this is a real reward for studying our asses off."

She found herself giggling, head spinning to inspect the room with her mates.

There was a corridor in the centre covered with a striped white and grey carpet running from the window to the door. On the left were two connected wooden bunk beds, and on the right were two single beds separated by bedside tables.

The window was partly covered by white curtains, under it a short wooden bench covered with pillows and in front of it was a pair of armchairs. The ceiling and the walls were milk-white, reflecting the bright, snowy planes outside, whilst the furniture was soft brown, responding with warmth to the town's cold.

Right before the beds were doors, and she'd later discover that the left one led to a walk-in closet while the right one led to the bathroom.

"You see that you've been missing out?" Vera left her bag by the bunk beds before sinking into the armchair. "When I told you, you just thought I was acting snobby."

"I mean," Chantel placed her hand on her hip, "all the smart rich kids are here. Do you really blame me?"

Daphne found herself giggling with them once again when she turned to look at the other girls in the room: Adrielle and the other two students were already choosing their beds.

"It's my first time here too." She returned her gaze to her classmates, leaving her bag at the corner of the bunk beds and rubbing her knees. "My boyfriend invited me."

"Oh, yeah," Chantel's eyes went wide, taking a seat next to Daphne. "You're dating Taehyung."

Her eyes dropped to the carpet, voice broken in nervous chuckles, and her brain too clouded to come up with a reply. The most she could do was nod.

"Like," Vera inched closer to the edge of her seat, both girls oblivious to Daphne's flustered appearance, "do you know that you became the talk of the school for that?"

She shrugged, now feeling heat ride up from under her zip-up to her neck. Her chuckles were still breathy. "My followers count went up. That's all I have, pretty much."

"My compliments, really." Vera sat back, crossing her legs. "You guys look so cute together."

"Thanks." Daphne straightened her legs, smoothing out her jeans and inspecting the room a little more.

"Anyway, this place…" Chantel trailed off, scoffing like the view was insulting and appealing at the same time. "This place is it!"

"And there she was calling me spoiled." Vera rolled her eyes, shaking her foot and shrugging. She sat on the armchair as if it were a throne.

"I didn't—" Chantel tried to defend herself, sighing heavily, "I— Can you blame me? It's literally the only activity you need to pay an extra fee for."

Daphne tore her eyes off her shoes, wondering if she should've taken them off at the door. All the other girls were still wearing theirs, but the idea of having dirty soles stain the carpet was making her inch closer and closer to the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, I mean," she huffed, trying to distract herself, "I thought the same too when he told me to come. But looking at the place—"

"It's so fucking worth it!" Chantel squealed, dropping onto the mattress and moving her arms like she was making angels in the snow. "Like, fuck, even the beds are soft. What the fuck?! Fuck anyone that says money doesn't bring happiness."

The girls laughed together. On the other side of the room, Adrielle was taking a seat on the bed closest to the window, leaving the other two girls playing rock, paper, scissors for the single bed.

"You know what?" Chantel sat up and hit the mattress as if she were shopping for new ones. "This bed's mine!"

"I'll take the top then." Vera's voice strained a little as she sprang up to mark her territory with her backpack.

"I like the top too," Daphne muttered, leaving her own bag on the top bunk closest to the door. "My big sister always slept in the top bunk, and I always envied her for it."

"Pfft!" The girls started giggling together, and only after a few beats did they collectively come down from it, heaving a sigh in unison whilst their eyes moved around the room.

"I have a feeling we're gonna have a blast." Vera nodded to herself. "I know it."

"And let's fucking thank god Valerie didn't pick this activity. I would be self-harming right now."

"Oh, my god," Daphne laughed, covering her mouth out of habit. Vera, on the other hand, smacked Chantel's thigh.

"This is what happens when she gets too comfortable," she said to Daphne as if Chantel were an overly excited puppy that had scared a passerby. "She just starts shit-talking everyone."

"Where else would I do it, sorry?" She stuck her tongue out, rubbing the spot on her leg. "A little shit-talking never killed anyone."

Daphne pursed her lips, emitting a sound midway between a hum and a whistle. "I think I'd find a few true crime stories about how things went south quickly just because of shit-talking."

"Hey!" Chantel raised her index finger. "Telling me that is like telling a child Santa isn't real. I've got feelings—"

"And what about the people you like to shit-talk?" Vera poked her rib, gaining a loud squeal.

"Vera, you trynna die?" She growled, fingers curled into fangs. "Daph, heard of true crime stories that took place in cosy cabins?"

"Yeah," she chuckled, "but not born from tickle fights."

"Pfft, exactly." Vera poked her tongue out.

Adrielle, on the other side of the room, was settling onto the same bed she chose every year. She liked having her space, so the bunk beds were never an option, and given the traffic coming in and out of the room and to the bathroom, it was best to stay in the bed farther away from the door.

Before heading to the walk-in closet, she left a small pillow on the mattress. It didn't belong to the resort: it was a Christmas gift from Giséle.

Adrielle wasn't around Daphne enough to know her habits and behaviour, but there was something odd about seeing her socialise with someone who wasn't Taehyung or her close friends.

But it was odd in a positive manner, because it was essentially what Adrielle had been wishing for ever since Taehyung confessed he had a crush on Daphne, because from the day they started those physics lessons together, Daphne seemed to be everywhere around her and her friends, and it was suffocating.

Seeing her talk with those girls was just an unfamiliar sight, and it slightly eased the pressure she'd felt ever since it was official that Daphne would join them at the resort.

But at this rate, and the thought scared her, Daphne might even get invited to spend the summer with them at Jungkook's beach house. Even Chelsea liked her, and Taehyung loved her.

Adrielle opened the first wardrobe, pushing her bag into it without unpacking anything. Just when she was about to close it, a soft voice asked her to leave it open.

It wasn't Daphne, just the girl sleeping in the bed next to her.

Daphne was still in the bedroom with the other girls, and when Adrielle walked back inside, she found her talking with the other senior student as they chose their beds.

In the end, the other girl would stay under while Daphne took the top bunk.

"Nice to meet you, by the way," the girl shook hands with Daphne, "I'm Sheila."

"Daphne," she smiled. "Nice to meet you too."

"Hi!" Her classmates waved. "I'm Vera. She's Chantel."

Chantel poked her head out from the bottom bunk and smiled. Sheila reiterated her name before excusing herself to the closet.

"Oh, true." Chantel repeatedly smacked Vera's leg. "Where do we put our bags? Come on,Vivi. You're our guide. Don't let us embarrass ourselves."

"Pfft!" Vera threw her head back with a groan. "Embarrass yourselves? This is not some kind of test, Chantel— Come on, take your bags and follow me."

—Now playing: Bleed by Malcom Todd, Omar Apollo ✫

When Sheila later opened the bedroom door for everyone, the noise from outside spilt into their space like an insistent knock.

Down the hallway on their right, the boys were also just leaving their rooms, but unlike them, they were playing around a little too roughly. The protagonists were Nathan and Taehyung again.

While most of the girls proceeded downstairs, Daphne paused, crossing her arms and waiting to see just how far they'd go and when they'd stop.

Nathan was tickling Taehyung and trying to ruffle his hair at any given chance, whilst the latter was resisting, dragging his shirt back whenever Nathan pulled on the material.

That made Daphne notice he'd unsurprisingly discarded his hoodie, walking around in a graphic tee. And there she was this morning, adding layers upon layers because all she could see and hear about mountains was cold.

She slowly stepped forward, still keeping a safe distance from the overexcited balls of atoms in front of her, but as she did so, some faint rustling on her right made her glance away.

Adrielle had brushed past her, heading to the boys. Maybe it was the sound of her footsteps, or they'd finally had enough, but Taehyung looked up right at the moment, laughing when Nathan screamed the moment Adrielle reached over to poke his rib. It was funny, but also the perfect opportunity for him to run away.

"I won't survive this stay with him bugging me like this." Daphne heard him say through his ruffled state, hair messy and breathing pattern all over the place. Hadn't she witnessed the show, she would've guessed he'd run up and down the stairs a hundred times unprompted.

"He even took the bed next to mine," he whined, hiding behind her when he caught the sound of Nathan moving again. "Lauri, he'll suffocate me in my fucking sleep."

"Oh, my god— Ah!" Daphne tried not to scream too loudly, but Taehyung was spinning her around, hands on her shoulders to keep her as a shield.

"Taehyung," she giggled, holding his hands when she felt her balance go off. "Nathan, please stop—"

"Why put her in the middle man, you coward?" He clicked his tongue, shaking his head but leaving his eyes laser-focused on Taehyung. "Come on, this is between you and me—"

"What's between you and me? I didn't do shit to you. What the fuck's your deal this morning, man?"

When Nathan reached to grab Taehyung again, he ran away, jumping down the stairs to the ground floor with giggles and screams of pure horror.

Daphne scoffed to herself, watching them recklessly skip up to four steps in a single go and land as if they'd jumped over a high fence. Thank god no chaos was part of the rules.

"Such babies," Jimin rasped from Daphne's right, having her scoff once more. "Leave it to Nathan to take Jungkook's role when he's absent."

She giggled, following him as he led the way downstairs, but as she moved to take her first step, she caught someone else in the corner of her eye: blonde hair that didn't belong to Jimin.

Adrielle was talking with Malakai as they made their way to the stairs. Something about how she looked reminded Daphne of Taehyung's cabin.

She looked good, the happy kind of good. Not as elated as she was when she and Taehyung had finally made peace, but it was a close second.

She'd gathered her hair in a quick bun, and the loose strands that would look messy and all over the place on someone else just seemed like the final brush strokes of an artist to their most prized painting. The kind of final touches that seem useless, but somehow make a difference.

Looking at what she wore and what Adrielle wore, it was clear as day who knew the town and the resort better. While Daphne had jeans, boots, and hidden layers underneath her zip-up, Adrielle was wearing a dark navy-blue skirt, a white wool sweater dipping to the side and falling off her shoulder, sheer tights, and heeled cowboy boots—an outfit Daphne would wear only if the weather went up a dozen degrees at least.

She looked good, especially next to Malakai. They just seemed to click, like puzzle pieces. Aesthetically, he was just like her, dressed up like every single item of clothing was tailored to his body.

His jeans were so well ironed that they folded into sharp corners where his Timberlands began. The quarter zip-up he wore was navy blue, almost as dark as Adrielle's skirt.

Whatever could be going on between them looked promising, and Daphne couldn't help frowning when she turned her gaze ahead to watch her steps. Taehyung's comment on the bus clearly implied he didn't like Malakai.

The cold and dismissive tone was confusing her, and the options were two: she clearly didn't know enough about them, or she'd blinded herself from seeing what he was seeing because she desperately wanted to see chemistry happen without including Taehyung in the equation.

From a certain angle, everything had just begun for her, and hadn't Daphne and Taehyung been in a talking stage for months, their romantic relationship would objectively be older.

But Daphne was already fed up of constantly feeling in competition with Adrielle, tired of getting tipped off as soon as her name was pronounced, of her brain short-circuiting anytime she saw long blonde hair around, and incredibly tired of becoming disgustingly annoyed whenever she was the one at the door, freezing over the heat.

"Taehyung said we're staying in the lounge area until lunch," she mumbled, tone flat in a way that couldn't tip anyone off.

"Yeah." Jimin's voice bounced with his body movements. "On the first day, we don't ski because there's never enough time. But we do head to the winter market after lunch to see what new things they have each year, so be ready for that."

Their teachers were in the restaurant, probably having coffee. Their faces were mostly familiar to Daphne. She met some on the bus, others outside school before class, and others in the hallways. But none of them was her teachers.

When she turned right to the lounge area, her eyes found Nathan bodyslamming Taehyung into the sofa by the fireplace, and she didn't hold back from rolling the fuck out of them.

Jimin threw his head back, pausing at the entrance. "Silly me, I forgot to bring pacifiers and toys for these motherfuckers."

Daphne snorted, watching them laugh their lives away unharmed. Like a disappointed parent, Jimin stepped closer, clapping his hands.

"Wow, peak entertainment for the babies." He mocked them, bending over a little to slap Taehyung's leg out of the way. After throwing them a look of disgust and disappointment, he dropped onto the couch. Daphne remained on her feet next to him, arms still crossed.

"Man," Nathan slung his arm around Taehyung's shoulders, "I always tell you to join me in the gym. Need more muscle mass."

The pat he gave him on the shoulder seemed like a way to comfort him through the harsh truth.

"Yeah, waking up at the ass crack of dawn to sweat and pant to look like a balloon with veins? Thanks, but no." Taehyung pushed his legs out with a sigh, crossing his ankles. "I'm satisfied with the muscle mass I have right now."

"Pfft!" Jimin threw his head back. "The fuck? Balloon with veins."

"Dude!" How quickly Nathan scooted away from his friend would make an outsider believe he'd just been insulted and spat over. " Just a little more muscle, not like fucking bodybuilders. That takes years."

"Yeah, okay, but still no. Don't want to become hungry 24/7 with radioactive farts. Like absofuckinglutely not."

"Pfft!" Jimin cackled so loudly that Daphne barely recognised his voice. "Radioactive farts? Oh, wait, you just reminded me of Friday—"

"Oh, god." Taehyung closed his eyes and threw his head back, Adam's apple bobbing as he chuckled. "That absolutely wasn't my intention."

"Daph," Jimin angled his entire body toward her, "last Friday, Jungkook shamelessly ripped a fucking nasty one—"

Nathan burst into laughter, shoving Taehyung. "The whole fucking restaurant stank for hours. I had to check the fruits and vegetables because that stench could rot anything in its way."

Nathan laughed even louder, almost screamed, and Taehyung grimaced. "Man, you about to make me deaf."

Jimin found it amusing, shaking his head and pointing at his friend. "Oh, fuck sorry," he apologised when his foot caught Daphne's.

It wasn't his fault really, because during the chaos, Taehyung had reached for her hand, pulling her into his lap.

That single action seemed to shut Nathan up, who put on his poker face, eyes slowly narrowing into slits.

Daphne remained silent, lips thin to swallow down the amusement, while Taehyung poked his tongue out before nuzzling against his girlfriend.

"Okay then." Nathan scooted away, sitting on the armrest to stay away from them like they had the bubonic plague.

"More for me then!" Asher had finally come downstairs, diving right between Daphne and Nathan.

"Dude, you finally made it." Jimin moved to the edge of the couch to look over Daphne and Taehyung.

Asher was just about to do the same and reply, but Nathan cut him off. "Were you taking a shit?"

"Pfft!" Taehyung laughed, and Jimin rolled his eyes, moving back onto the sofa.

"Dude." Asher was flabbergasted. "I excused myself to the bathroom—"

"Ooh," Nathan shook his hands, getting up to move like Minnie. "How polite, poised, and formal. He went to ease himself—"

"Man," Taehyung laughed again, head tipping over against Daphne's back. "What's your deal today, for real?"

"Oh, I didn't forget." He inched closer, index finger in Taehyung's face. "You are my deal today—"

"Don't you dare put your ugly ass toe of a finger in my face."

Jimin was back to his signature evil wizard cackles, Asher was silently laughing, body jolting like the couch was a massage chair, and Daphne was biting her bottom lip to keep from smiling.

"Speaking of the devil, besides Jungkook's radioactive, polluting hole of an anus—" And this time Daphne couldn't hold back anymore, falling against Taehyung in defeat.

"Tae, you said you'd start hitting the gym this year. It was, like, part of your goals for the new year or something"

"Pfft! Goals?" Jimin scoffed. "Those are just general thoughts, words scribbled onto paper for the sake of seeming productive."

"Jeez," Asher mumbled to himself, shaking his head. Taehyung didn't even try to deny anything, laughing at himself.

"Nate, I do exercise and lift weights at home—"

"Yeah, but that shit is not consistent," he gestured around like he was Donald Trump, "and you don't follow the right diet."

"Fucking hell, man," Taehyung groaned, chuckling, and the sound of his voice so close to Daphne's ear pulled on something in her chest. "I paid for four days of fun and relaxation, not dietary consultation by a Donald Trump knock-off."

They laughed together, with Daphne rubbing her knees to overwhelm her senses and stop her brain from only replaying the sweet sound of Taehyung's chuckles.

"Knock-off? I'm a thousand times better than that old hag of a president."

"Where's Elle?" Jimin stretched forward, noticing that they weren't complete.

"Saw her with Malakai before." Daphne's answer came with a shrug, soon followed by a series of sighs and scoffs.

Nathan crossed his arms, keeping a wide-legged stance in front of his friends; Taehyung sighed behind Daphne, and Asher could only look around, confused just as she was.

"Look guys," Nathan began, dragging the coffee table closer to sit. He still wouldn't stop gesturing like Donald Trump. "I don't have anything against them, but why do I feel like she's kind of using him?"

Daphne suddenly started feeling a little awkward, the kind that comes when you walk into a situation you shouldn't be part of.

"I mean," Jimin hissed, copying Nathan and keeping his voice under wraps. "It did seem like that at the cabin."

"I'm not even going to comment on it, because that boy annoys me in a way I can't even fucking hide."

This came from Taehyung, and Nathan and Jimin started laughing like idiots, high-fiving each other as though they'd just been waiting for those exact words. On the other hand, Daphne glanced at Asher, and they both frowned.

"What did this boy do to you, man?" Nathan's question was stupid because he knew why.

"He's very pushy, I can't lie," Jimin answered first.

"And I bet a fucking hundred bucks that Elle's not fully into him—"

"See?" Nathan giggled, slapping Jimin's arm. "He's seething."

"You're acting real big brother about this," he continued, resting his elbows close to his knees, "Anna plays people every day, and you don't get this worked up."

Taehyung narrowed his eyes, a clear implication that Avyanna was completely different from Adrielle for obvious reasons. But Daphne didn't see this. She only knew a little because of Asher's reactions.

"It just doesn't make sense." Now Taehyung sat up straight, having Daphne hold his arms to brace herself. He genuinely was moving like they'd begun debating his favourite topic.

"She doesn't truly fuck with him. In class, he bombards her with text messages, and she always switches her phone off."

To give him a little space, Daphne had turned around, placing her arm around his shoulders and back-facing Asher. Clearly the position wasn't the best, so her friend scooted to the edge of the couch.

To outsiders, they probably looked like a group of conniving students.

"Pfft, no way." Nathan's eyes went wide in shock.

"I'm not lying, man. His energy is like a thousand per cent, and hers is barely fifty. Plus, other than being so pushy and blind to social cues, he's, like, very smug and kind of arrogant."

"Oh, yeah," Nathan giggled, hitting Jimin's arm again because he just couldn't laugh without ramming into someone like a reckless driver. "I remember that meeting in November…"

"Oh, fucking hell!" Jimin pinched the skin between his eyebrows, feeling the headache return just as it was during the meeting. "Don't remind me."

Nathan cackled, satisfied only now that the event was all but a memory, because Taehyung remembered the irritation drawn all over his face during the said meeting.

"He had it out for Anna and Kook."

"Yeah, because they were flying over a lot of things as they usually do. Yeah, can't deny that," Taehyung mumbled, "but, like, he focused on them like some annoying teacher. And whenever he cut me off, I wanted to throat-punch him."

They laughed together, and he rolled his eyes, feeling the same annoyance from that unwarranted Sunday FaceTime call at Adrielle's.

"So fucking annoying."

"Yeah," Nathan nodded, finally getting a little serious, "he does seem overwhelming in a sense—"

"And Elle's the complete opposite, but my thing is," Taehyung vehemently gestured around, ironically keeping his touch feather-light on Daphne's waist. "If you're not that into him, why even go through shit like that? Malakai can't take no for an answer. Why keep someone like that around just for funsies?"

Daphne craned her neck to Asher as sneakily as she could, finding him already looking at her with that familiar glint in his gaze. The gossip was fuelling him like a machine, and he couldn't help smirking at every little piece of information they spilt.

"Man, okay," Jimin pushed his head back, dropping against the couch, "let's stop shit-talking Elle's potential boyfriend—"

"Oh, we hope the fuck not." Nathan laughed with Taehyung, hands meeting each other in a high-five.

"No, like, seriously, if he starts lingering around like Daphne, I'll commit a crime—"

"Hey, are you trying to say I'm bothersome?" She snapped her neck to Nathan.

"No, he would never because I'd kill him." "No, I would never because he'd kill me."

Taehyung and Nathan spoke at the same time, and she bit her cheeks to stop herself from laughing.

"No, but jokes aside, you're cool. Malakai, on the other hand… he's a bit…" Nathan paused so abruptly one would think he'd stepped onto an open fuse.

"You know that when I told him I was at your cabin," he inched even closer, body restless and excited to talk, reveal more, "he asked me to tell him when he could, like, tag along because Adrielle hadn't replied to his messages yet."

"Pff!" Jimin started cackling loudly again, bending over to laugh.

Taehyung was puzzled, eyes wide and mouth ajar. "No way. And you're wondering why I act all big brother about this shit."

"It's all starting to make sense."

"But I mean," Jimin shrugged, back to seriousness, "we've never really seen Adrielle with a crush on a boy, so maybe it's just a rare sight, and we need to let things evolve first, no?"

"Wow, Min," Taehyung patted his knee, "I love your optimism."

Nathan started clapping and laughing, while Taehyung's hands both reached for Daphne's waist to make her stand up with him.

Only now could she see where the topic of their conversation was. Adrielle was sitting in a booth on the other side of the lounge with Malakai and some other students from his school.

"Let me show you the menu," he muttered close to her ear, fingers slipping under her belt loops.

"Buh-bye." He waved at them.

"Get us some French fries, will you?" Nathan bellowed from behind him.

"I said buh-bye."

"Screw you!"

And Taehyung turned around just to poke his tongue out, hands still on Daphne's waist.

"Damn, what was all that?" she giggled, turning around now that they were far enough.

He hissed and sighed, closing his eyes slowly as if he were truly sick of the topic.

She couldn't help the smile that rose on her face when he wrapped his arms around her frame, leaning closer to leave pecks on her cheek.

"You're all silent now," she chuckled, trying to take a look at him from the side.

"Nah," he clicked his tongue. "It's just that Malakai kind of reminds me of someone I used to know, and he just seems like bad news. Simply don't want that for Adrielle."

"Oh." Daphne's lips thinned again, head nodding to everything and nothing at the same time.

"Well, here's the menu," he continued, not bothering to maybe expand on that theory, and Daphne didn't question him.

⤎ previous page | ❃ | next page ⤏

❀ worldbuilding & characters || chapter moodboard || index || main m.list || community || Q & requests ||notion & guide||taglist❀

"Thanks for saving me a seat, darlings." Nathan winked at his friends, slumping heavily onto the seat like a bag of potato dumped from a three-story building.

"We didn't really save it, though," Daphne snorted, sitting criss-cross, knees bumping with Taehyung's.

Nathan's eyelids suddenly became heavy with annoyance as he slowly panned to Daphne to make sure she saw him roll his eyes.

"You're so kind, I swear."

"Aww, thanks." She gave him a broad smile, all teeth and full cheeks. "I believe education is key."

He groaned, leaning into Asher's space to trash around a little. "Man, how do you stand her?" he first asked Asher, only to pop up, looking at Taehyung. "No, actually, how the fuck do you?"

"How do I what?" Taehyung finally looked up from his phone, turning it off to slip it into his pocket and leaning closer to hear him.

To Daphne, he was just stepping into her personal space, giving her a huge wisp of his cologne. Instinctively, she started turning her cuticles, looking at her fingers so she wouldn't look ahead and notice how close he was.

"Stand her?" Nathan pointed to her. With a clear excuse, she finally looked up, giggling and looking between the boys like a mischievous child.

"Oh, I love her," Taehyung groaned, wrapping his arms around Daphne's shoulders to pull her close, not giving her the physical and mental space to process the words he'd just casually thrown out like he was just stating his favourite meal.

Her hand reached for his arms, letting him pull her down into his space as he sank into his seat again.

"E-yuck!" Nathan feigned to puke, turning his back on them. "I actually hate this spot now."

But Daphne was giggling all the way through, growing warm the moment Taehyung started showering her with kisses and pecks on whichever patch of skin was even mildly exposed and within close range.

"Tae, stop." He kissed her cheek again and moved to the corner of her lips. The giggles were breaking her words into improper syllables. But he continued, soon finding her neck and stalling there.

She instantly gasped, the sound soft, contained, intimate, but almost shaking the fog out of her mind, she tried breaking free before they'd get too carried away.

"Taehyung!" She tried to keep her squeals under control, scooting away at the ticklish feeling of his breath fanning against her skin.

"Come on—" She pulled back, and he followed, welcoming himself into her breathing space.

"Come on, Taehyung!" She laughed, face rubbing against the seat as she tried to run away from him. The soft sounds of his chuckles were doing more damage than the kisses.

"Okay, no, man. Taehyung!" Nathan whined as soon as Daphne mistakenly elbowed him in the rib. "I'm very big on personal space—"

"Gosh," Taehyung looked up with a frown. "When the fuck did you become so whiny?"

COMING SOON

❃ | previously

Want some more? All in my Notion page. Check it out!

(Notion page guide for better experience -> here!)

characters' portfolio -> here! general moodboard -> here! writing progress -> here! the setting -> here!

TAGS NAVIGATION (where all the moodboards are organised)

More works from me? You can find my inventory on my Notion page c:

(I publish my works on Wattpad, here and ao3 specifically)

PUBLISHED

Demouvoir - 528 Hz (kth) Arthemis (kth x oc x jjk) (Love) (jjk)

COMING SOON

nothing for now

STILL IN THE DRAFTS

Between paper cuts and blue ink (jjk) The albedo effect (jjk) Hecho para ti (kth) Permanentia (kth)

masterlist // pinterest board // wattpad // notion page // community // tags navigation // taglist // chapter 56 playlist // ko-fi // instagram // ao3 // inkitt

Like Wordsworth's daffodils: join the COMMUNITY and become a dainty little ro(zy) ⇨ JOIN NOW!

But if you're shy, you can join my TAGLIST so we always stay connected. I'm an introvert too, don't worry.

COMING SOON