yoongi was the first to the rooftop, namjoon saying he wanted to buy a snack before joining him.

he laid down, looking up at the cloudy sky above him. the clouds looked so close, and yoongi reached out to touch them, slim fingers unfolding from his fist in a swift, slow motion. how he wished he could touch the sky. he'd feel so powerful, so strong; being on the ground only made him feel weak and small, and he hated it.

he could vaguely remember the day he left his parents, sick and tired of their verbal abuse and the emotional scars that never seemed to
leave his heart. he had stood from the dinner table, muttering a soft, "i'm leaving," before he promptly gathered up any necessary belongings and left. it had happened so quickly that yoongi wasn't even sure if he had ever considered doing it until he did.

he turned his palm towards his face, sleeve slipping ever so slightly down his wrist, just enough to expose the horizontal marks; the marks that he had made by his own accord.

he smiled, bringing his other arm up so he could run his finger over the bumps and ridges. how he felt so serene, so at peace with the marks that looked anything but.

"you filming a music video?"

yoongi couldn't hold back his gasp when taehyung's face appeared above his.

"holy fuck, you scared me."

he sat up, taehyung standing beside him.

"that was kind of my intention."

taehyung sat down, dropping his backpack in front of his feet.

"you were really stupid in class today," yoongi said. "lee is going to have a fucking vendetta on you for the rest of the year."

"he'll stop caring after a month or so. they always do."

namjoon and hoseok came tumbling in then, snacks and lunches in their hands. they briefly looked startled at taehyung's presence, though they were mostly unfazed by him after a few days of spending time together in the storage room.

"you joining us for lunch today?" yoongi asked.

"i guess so."

yoongi scoffed and took his lunch out of his backpack. as they all began to eat, taehyung lit a cigarette instead, having the courtesy to blow the smoke away from their faces for once. hoseok was the first to comment.

"are you not gonna eat?"

taehyung shook his head. "don't have anything to eat. i usually just eat at home."

"you want a snack? i bought a few," namjoon said, pushing his handful of snacks towards taehyung. "we have to stay after school, too. you can't go that long without eating anything."

"it's really not a big deal," taehyung replied, taking off his blazer and laying down. he put down his cigarette then, snuffing it out on the ground. "wake me up when you guys are about to leave." he covered his face with his blazer, indicating an end to the conversation.

yoongi rolled his eyes.

"fucking idiot."

* * *

"i'm fucking tired of this shit," jungkook muttered.

"well thank god it's the last day we have to do it," taehyung replied.

the cleaning had become mundane and familiar after a while, desks and chairs slowly beginning to clear out the space, dusty windows growing clearer and less foggy. sunlight streamed in more easily now, making the room look less dead and more alive.

over time, the seven boys had slowly warmed up to each other, with one exception.

taehyung and yoongi were still at each others' throats everytime they exchanged words, one always insulting the other until another boy managed to break them up.

they were the worst combination of people, taehyung being a free-spirited rebel without a care in the world, and yoongi being a tired student just trying to graduate without any significant incidents added to his record. yoongi seemed to have taken a particular distaste to taehyung's ways of thinking, and taehyung just didn't seem to find it intimidating, rather responding angrily whenever yoongi expressed his disapproval.

as everyone left, taehyung and yoongi were still picking up their things.

"you still mad at me?"

yoongi glared at taehyung who sat at a desk grinning brightly back at him. his grin was cold, sarcasm eating away at the corners of his lips. yoongi could see right through it.

"yeah. cause you're a fucking spoiled brat."

taehyung laughed sarcastically, running his tongue over his teeth, his grin melting away into a scowl. "say that again."

"i said you're a spoiled brat."

yoongi continued putting his things into his backpack nonchalantly, as taehyung responded.

"me? the fuck makes you say that?"

"you didn't lift a finger until i told you to start cleaning," yoongi muttered. "all you want to do is rebel and be angry at the world. but guess what? this world doesn't give a shit about you." he zipped up his backpack and stood straight, glancing down at his hands and balling them into tight fists. "the world doesn't give a shit about anyone, and you need to learn how to get your shit together before it eats you up alive."

"so getting my shit together is supposed to save me? please," taehyung laughed again, standing up. "following the rules doesn't get anyone anywhere. following the rules is what lands you six feet under after decades of trying to give something to the world."

he walked towards yoongi as he spoke, eyes holding something dangerous and fiery. "you following the rules and working as you should is nothing significant, you know? so maybe you should just fuck off. mind your own business and let yourself become the fucking slave people want you to be."

yoongi kicked the desk in front of him, watching it fall over and send a cloud of dust into the air.

taehyung was just asking for it now.