Skin + Bones

♪ You And I - PVRIS ♪

Cecilia didn't text him when she woke up.

And he didn't text her.

She got ready for school begrudgingly, wishing she could have stayed curled up in bed hidden under blankets away from the rest of the world. She just wanted to keep running from her problems. Especially now that it involved someone else with feelings tangled into it. Her walk to the bus stop was the same as always, minus the rain. She was wearing a black raincoat with the hood pulled up, hopefully not getting her hair wet. However, a black Volkswagen pulled up beside her, slowing down to a crawl. The window opened, revealing a boy with black hair and thick rimmed glasses.

“Hurry up and get in! It’s pouring!” Jimin yelled, waving Cecilia over. She glanced between the bus stop just ahead of her and Jimin's car, rain beginning to drip into his vehicle. She jogged over quickly, holding her hood up with both hands. Jimin rolled up the window as Cecilia sat down in the passenger seat, placing her bag on the floor between her feet.

Jimin started driving, not saying much as Cecilia buckled up her seatbelt. She stayed silent as well. The only sounds were the soft hum of music on the radio and the rain pattering against his vehicle. She rested her head against the window, watching the streets pass by. Every now and then, she’d glance over at Jimin. He looked tired, his eyes were more puffy than normal and his lips were turned down in an exhausted frown.

“Did you sleep?” Cecilia asked, fiddling with the zipper on her raincoat.

“A little bit, did you?”

“Yeah,” She responded.

“Good,”

“Yeah,”

It was awkward to say the least. Cecilia felt hurt, she knew she was to blame for the situation. If she hadn't run away, Jimin wouldn't have thought she hated him, and they wouldn't be in this situation. She sighed heavily as she berated herself for her actions, knowing that she had been absurd.

“Thank you for driving me,” She said softly as they pulled into the school parking lot. Jimin merely hummed in response. Her hands grasped her backpack straps as he pulled into a parking space.

“It's what friends do,” Jimin said, turning the car off and taking it out of the ignition. He stayed in his seat, not opening the door. The clock on his radio told them they still had fifteen minutes before class started. Neither of them moved, the gentle beat of rain against the car filling the silence still.

Cecilia opened her mouth a couple times, ready to speak up, but was too scared. She wanted to tell Jimin how she felt. She wanted to get her feelings in the open but she was still running away from them. How could she possibly face him after telling him such a thing if she couldn't even face herself? Instead, she kept her mouth shut.

“We should probably get going to class,” Jimin spoke up, sighing as he unbuckled his seatbelt and reaching behind Cecilia's chair to grab his backpack. He was leaned towards her, his chest touching her shoulder. As she breathed in she could smell his cologne. It was a semi-sweet smell, something cocoa or dark chocolate. It was comforting, so much so that Cecilia almost found herself leaning into it and closing her eyes. It was only a split second but it caused her to lose any train of thought, as feelings swirled around inside her head.

“Mhm, yeah probably,” Cecilia nodded quickly, reaching for her door handle.

“Wait, Cecilia,” Jimin interrupted, his hand landing on her forearm, “I wanna tell you something,”

A smile played on his lips, dark eyes scanning over her features. She swallowed hard. He wasn't going to say he liked her was he? Her heart was racing, she could hear it. She only hoped Jimin couldn't feel her pulse. She tried to look calm as she nodded, urging him to continue.

“I know we don't really talk about this kind of stuff but…” He trailed off, taking his hand off her arm as he fixed his glasses, averting his gaze, “I asked Hana out,”

Jimin laughed nervously. Cecilia felt her stomach drop to the floor.

Oh.

Her eyes shifted from his face to the windshield, gazing towards the school where students were jogging to get inside out of the rain.

“That's-,” She started but stopped, unsure of what to say.

Fake it. Don't let him know you like him, Cecilia told herself.

“What did she say?” She asked, trying to fake enthusiasm.

“I don't know yet, she said she'd think about it and would tell me today at lunch. I'm really nervous Cecilia,” Jimin admitted, slouching in the seat a bit. He looked a bit defeated, as if he thought that Hana might say no.

Cecilia thought that she was insane if she was going to say no Jimin, but Hana looked like the type that had boys asking to date her left and right. Cecilia took pity on Jimin though, not wanting to see him looking so upset.

“I'm sure she'll say yes, Jimin,” Cecilia forced a smile on her lips, shoving at Jimins shoulder playfully. He let out a breathy laugh before sighing.

“Maybe. I wanted to ask though, would you come with me at lunch? For moral support? I know you don't like going to the cafeteria but…” He asked, turning towards her and faking puppy dog eyes. His full lips quirked into a small pout as he blinked with sad eyes. Cecilia knew she couldn't say no.

So she found herself sitting beside Jimin during lunch, the cafeteria boomed with students shouting over one another to be heard. The sound of lunch trays hitting the tables, loud laughter, and yelling overwhelmed Cecilia. She sat close enough to Jimin to breathe in his cologne, finding the same comfort in it that she had in the car that morning. Her eyes began to close, envisioning she was anywhere else, drowning out the noise. She began to imagine what it was like to have Jimin as her boyfriend. She already knew she enjoyed his physical affection, the hand holding and cuddling, but she couldn't help but wonder how soft his lips might be under hers.

She was lost in her own world before Jimin nudged her lightly. She was leaning on him. She lifted her head from his shoulder as her eyes landed on Hana walking towards them.

“I'm so nervous,” Jimin whispered to Cecilia, who tried to contain her sigh. Once again, Hana looked flawless. Her hair looked like silk, shiny and soft, flowing down her back, and she looked better in her school uniform than anyone Cecilia had seen. Maybe she was only noticing these things because she was jealous. Things such as Hana's long eyelashes, and the way her eyes sparkled as she looked at Jimin. Maybe how small she looked as Jimin stood up to greet her in a hug, her dainty arms wrapping around his neck as Cecilia was left sitting on the bench of the lunch table.

Her perfectly manicured nails were a stark grey against the navy blue of Jimin's school sweater, as her hands wrapped around his bicep when he leaned back to look at her. Cecilia felt like she was invading a personal moment so she looked away. Not only that, but her stomach began to twist in the same way it did when she looked at herself in the mirror after she had run away from them bsfore. She let her head fall onto her arms which were crossed atop the table, trying to sort out her emotions before Jimin came back. It was another couple minutes before he had sat back down beside her.

“She said yes,”