Even though both you and Jimin were trying your hardest to avoid each other, it was harder than you thought it would be. The absence of his presence felt like a missing limb, and sometimes habits would overtake one of you before you could stop yourselves, such as Jimin following you into your house after school seconds before he realized what he did and made a hasty exit.

He also kept calling you Muffin on accident. You, in return, grabbed his hand twice and ruffled his hair before you remembered.

That he didn't want to be friends anymore.

The other six boys were torn between the two of you, you could see it in their eyes. They couldn't talk about you in front of Jimin without making him angry, and vice versa. Every conversation was carefully controlled so they wouldn't set either of you off.

On top of all of that, Sehun had begun to hang around you at school. He walked with you to the lunch room and in the halls, and inserted a chair beside you at the lunch table. Since no one knew about the dates between you and him being fake, you were forced to deal with his presence. Especially at this point, you didn't want Jimin to know that you had lied to him out of jealousy. All of the boys who had previously been friends with him began to draw back, uncomfortable with the way he was pestering you. Jimin flat out glared most of the time - since he'd decided to not be your friend, he was allowed to blatantly dislike Sehun all he wanted.

You were having a hard time being happy or positive about anything. There was a gaping, sucking vortex in your life that you couldn't ignore, and it was suspiciously Jimin-shaped.

You hadn't spoken in three days. Three long, miserable days.

You trudged home after school with heavy feet. There was a tense presence about twenty feet behind you, far enough away so you couldn't hear his footsteps but close enough to acknowledge his existence.

Moving quicker to escape him, you ran into your house and almost died when you tripped over a suitcase laying just inside the doorway.

You squealed loudly but somehow managed to catch the countertop and save yourself from a faceplant. The red plastic suitcase simply skidded away from you, unharmed.

"Yah!" you yelled into the house. "Who left their bag right in front of the door?!"

A quiet shuffling headed toward you from somewhere in the house and a figure appeared in the kitchen doorway.

You gasped. "Jae?!"

"Y/N!" Your favorite cousin screeched and flung herself into your open arms. You were laughing as you caught her and the two of you stood in a tight embrace for a long time.

What tore you apart was the back door bursting open and Jimin barreling through, wildly searching the kitchen with his gaze.

"Muffin?!" he shouted. "What? I heard screaming! What is it?"

"Oh my goodness, Park Jimin!"' Jae pulled him into a hug too, combining the three of you isn an awkward group hug where you were all squashed together. When your foreheads clashed together, you and Jimin both drew back, wincing. His eyes met yours for a moment before glancing away.

Jimin strained away from contact with you and you did the same.

Jae didn't notice, simply babbling excitedly. "I missed you guys so much! You'll never believe what happened, my parents won this prize at a mall or something, for like a three-month vacation around Europe. And I'm transferring here temporarily!"

You grinned happily at her and took her hands, smoothly maneuvering her in between you and your ex-best friend.

"That's amazing, Jae!" you screeched, jumping around with her.

Jimin started to escape and almost made it, but Jae latched onto the back of his hoodie before he could step out of the door.

"Jimin oppa," she said. "Don't leave yet, I just got here! Come hang out with us!"

That's how you found yourself on the couch beside Jae, with an unwilling Jimin squished on the other side of her.

She was speaking tot he both of you, asking questions about the progress of your lives and, unfortunately, your relationship.

"How are the other boys?" Jae asked. "Are they good? How's Yoongi oppa?"

Jae had always had a massive crush on Yoongi, ever since you were all little kids.

Well, he's been attacked and beaten up, and currently has a pair of tiger ears to match his grumpy and lazy attitude. You cleared your throat. "He's, um, he's...good."

"I can't wait to see them!" Jae paused in her constant flow of words, rotating on the couch to face you fully with her back to Jimin.

"So," she hedged quietly. "Have you started dating yet?"

Jimin coughed.

"No," you laughed awkwardly. "Not yet."

"Really?" Jae pouted and slumped down in the cushion, crossing her arms. Her glance bounced between you and Jimin. "You guys aren't dating?"

Speechless, you exchanged a shocked look with Jimin, who was clutching his beanie to his head in disbelief.

"W-We-" Jimin stuttered.

Jae cut him off.

"I honestly always shipped you two," Jae whined. "You'd be so cute together. You should date."

You swallowed hard, memories of the night of Jimin's heat twirling around your head. You were blushing and avoiding eye contact with said boy, who was staring you down with smoldering eyes.

"We don't see each other like that," you laughed nervously, trying to diffuse the awkward tension that Jae didn't notice.

"Plus, Jimin has a girlfriend."

Jae's face grew even more disappointed, frown deepening. "Really?"

"Right," Jimin confirmed. His phone vibrated and he looked down. "Speaking of my girlfriend..." He stood and moved toward the door. "I think I have to go."

"The witch beckons," you mumbled under your breath, rolling your eyes.

Jimin whipped around, intending to pierce you with a glower, but the both of you froze as his beanie tilted with the motion.

Breath stalled in your throat, you watched as if in slow motion as the hat floated to the ground and laid there in a heap of material.

Jimin's black ears were bare to the world, and to your cousin.

It took Jae a moment to register what she was seeing. The way that his ears were twitching and swiveling left no way to excuse them as a cosplay headband or costume.

Her eyes widened.

"Uh...J-Jimin oppa...I t-think..."

Shaking her head, she trailed off and rubbed her eyes with her hands. You and Jimin were glued in place, unable to move.

"Those are ears!" Jae's voice morphed from shaky confusion to excitement. She rushed up from the couch and bounced to Jimin, she immediately touching the fluffy things rising out of his blonde hair. "Look, they're so cute!"

You did your best to ignore the streak of jealousy that momentarily pierced your chest at watching someone else touch his ears like that.

Jae giggled and drew back, asking "Why do you have ears, though?"

"You aren't freaking out?" Jimin said.

"I like them," Jae replied. "Now tell me why you have them. Your girl friend's gonna have to wait."

The three of you settled on the couch again as you and Jimin hesitantly explained the situation to your cousin. You silently agreed to leave out the whole 'heat' situation.

"Wow," Jae laughed when you finished. "You guys have gotten yourself into a pickle, haven't you?"

"Sort of..." you trailed off. Unsure with how Jae would react to everything, you both watched her with cautious eyes.

Jae clasped her hands together and grinned.

"Y/N, I think we need to have a sleepover. I need to see all of this for myself."

👋🏻

❤️PB