"Guys, I'm gonna come out now! Tell me what you think and be honest!"
Carmela adjusted the thin straps of her floral white and blue dress. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the curtain of the dressing room aside, and stepped out in front of the boys.
"Wow! Carmela you look so pretty!" Jimin squealed, grinning widely.
Carmela twirled around, smiling.
"Yeah, it suits you. You look really nice." Yoon nodded, leaning on a shelf.
"Aw! Thanks guys!" She wrapped her arms around both their necks, giving them a quick hug.
When she stepped back, she saw Tae staring at her from behind Yoon and Jimin. Her smile froze, and her heart instantly thudded inside her. Jimin peered at Carmela's flustered expression and then glanced behind at Tae.
"Yo, Taehyung! What do you think of Carmela's dress?" Jimin asked.
"What are you asking him for? He doesn't know shit--" Yoon said, but Jimin punched him again.
"Shut up, Yoongi! Tae! Come here and have a look! We need to hurry and find the right clothes for you too!" Jimin laughed, winking his light brown eyes.
Tae straightened up in surprise, and Carmela frowned at Jimin. Wait... Tae was going on a date too? Ha. Well that was just great. Super happy for him... mhmm...
"Yeah. Let's hurry and find Tae here, a nice date outfit." Carmela grumbled, stomping back into the change room. She heard Tae behind the curtain.
"What are you guys talking about?" He said.
"What do you mean? Go and find an outfit for your fucking date!" She said, throwing her dress off.
"But that's what you're doing!"
"I know! But you have a date too! So go and get ready!" Carmela huffed in frustration.
"Who the hell said I have a date? Jimin here is just blabbering bullshit!"
"Ohhhh! So now Jimin here doesn't know what hes saying half the time he talks too, huh?" Carmela yelled behind the curtain.
"Wh-who told you--" Tae said quietly.
"JIMIN! HAND ME THE RED DRESS!"
She heard Jimin stutter an 'okay' and hated herself for yelling at him for literally no reason. When his hand popped into the change room, she took the dress and held his hand, bringing it to her lips.
"Sorry for yelling, Jimin." Carmela said. His voice came through behind the drape.
"It's okay, Carme--" Jimin began but Tae cut him off.
"Okay here's something I don't understand: why the fuck are you so nice to everyone BUT ME?!"
Carmela scoffed as she slipped on the dress.
"You should be asking yourself that, honey." She coolly replied.
"Why? You're literally a little ball of sunshine around--" Tae stopped talking as Carmela stepped out of the change room. His eyes fluttered as she stood in front of him, hands on her hips. The red dress felt sexy and Carmela knew it looked that way too. She loved seeing Tae this way. The way he was gawking at her with pink cheeks. His eyes... they were so... admiring.
She swerved around him twirling in front of Yoon and Jimin who were stunned frozen.
"Wow, Carmela! You look incredibly sexy with that one. I think you should go with it." Jimin said, crossing his muscular arms and grinning.
"W-woah." Yoon said in a robotic voice, but his eyes were wide.
"You think I should get it?" Carmela said, ignoring Tae as he came and stood next to her.
"Yeah, it's perfect for a date!" Jimin said. He winked at Tae again and Tae groaned. He grabbed the blonde boy by the arm and whispered something in his ear. Jimin's face fell, and he glanced at Carmela as Tae let him go.
"So... who ARE you going on a date with?" Jimin said, his voice sad.
"Um, well it's kinda--" Carmela said, but Tae interrupted.
"She's going with a random weirdass from the fucking Booster Juice place over there, who probably just agreed to go on this 'date' because he was too scared to say no!" Tae loudly laughed, throwing his head back.
They all just watched him laugh by himself, but he awkwardly stopped when Carmela glared at him.
"Jimin, let's go buy this dress."
She changed back into her black clothes and they walked over to the checkout place. They quickly payed for the red dress and hurried over to Jimin's car. It was almost 6, fuck.
As she sat in the back seat with Yoon, Carmela tried not to think too much about WHY exactly she was going with Jackson, because it didn't make any sense whatsoever. She just wanted to show Tae somehow that he didn't affect her at all. That she had... no feelings for him... at all. He was different than the men Carmela met before, but he still couldn't be trusted. She needed to keep herself under control.
She felt a weight land on her shoulder. Surprise surprise. Yoon had fallen asleep. He was leaning against her shoulder, lightly snoring. She realized Tae and Jimin were whispering at the front.
"What do you mean? He wouldn't man..." Carmela could hear Jimin's whisper a little.
"It's obvious bro. He's doin it. I know it." Tae replied, drumming his fingers on the middle box of the car.
"That's so wrong--"
Suddenly Carmela caught Tae's eyes in the driver's mirror. He looked surprised and then annoyed.
"Hold on--" Tae said.
He flicked his arm back and Carmela gasped as something hit Yoon in the face. He jerked up, looking confused.
"Tae! What was--"
"That's better. Anyways, let's deal with him later, Jimin." Tae resumed talking to the boy driving beside him.
Carmela pursed her lips. She glanced at Yoon, leaning on the window and sighed. Then she saw her house slide into view, and grabbed her things.
"Here you are Carmela! Today was lit! Let's hang out again, okay?" Jimin grinned, as she opened the door.
"Sure, Jimin. Bye!" She waved and slammed the door shut.
Shit, she forgot to say bye to the sleeping boy. Carmela turned around towards the car, but it started driving away.
But her jaw dropped and her breath tightened as the dark curly haired boy at the front gave her a small half-smile. He lifted his hand, signalling a wave, and the car rolled out of sight.
"What the fuck..." Carmela muttered, shaking her confused head.
She entered her cozy house and threw her shoes off. Voices were coming from the living room, so Carmela popped her head in. Aunt Kass and Heather were sitting and chatting on the couch.
"Hey Aunt Kass. Hey Heather!" Carmela smiled.
"Hi honey! How are you, Carmela? Feeling okay? I'm so sorry we couldn't come sooner!" Heather got up and hugged Carmela. Her green eyes were glossy.
"I'm really fine! Aunt Kass just likes to make everything into a big deal. Thanks Heather." She said, moving out of the living room. She stepped into the hall, as Heather and Aunt Kass continued talking. They were probably talking about Carmela again. About how pitiful she was, and how everything in her life was shit. At least they weren't wrong.
She opened the door to her room, and found Hosi and Jules sitting on her bed. The mood was very serious. Carmela wondered what was wrong. She knew she and Jules were weird right now, but what was wrong with Hosi, all frowning? He never ever frowned. Ever.
"Wow, thanks for asking..." She mumbled, walking in. She threw her bag and bomber jacket on the floor and sat between them on the bed. She looked at Jules who was gazing down at her hands, and then at Hosi who was frowning.
Carmela put her head on Jules' shoulder and held Hosi's hand.
"I missed you guys."
She pulled them back and they fell on the bed, staring at the ceiling.