About Time

My hero...and my shadow

A week had passed since the events with Jungkook. You had spoken to Tae and Lyra about that night, and they had both said that they had followed you to make sure you were okay and when Jungkook started to make his advances they had wanted to act, but had been distracted by another figure who was also watching. They said that the other person was the one who had kicked Jungkook, and had then ran off. Out of instinct they had run after the person, but they had disappeared and neither Tae or Lyra had been able to make them out. They had then rushed back to the lake, but you and Jungkook were both gone, so they came to the cabin.
The mystery person intrigued you as you had absolutely no idea who would protect you like that, but then not want you to know their identity. After that during camp you would sometimes steal looks at everyone, just to see if anyone was watching you. Usually it was only Jungkook. He had kept his distance since the incident but you would always catch him looking at you during the camp activities or in the evening. Sometimes he stared hungrily with lust, and that made you uncomfortable, but other times he would stare with anger or sadness. You always held his gaze for a second as to let him know you weren't afraid of him, but that night's events had really shaken you up, more than you were prepared to let anyone know. You and Tae had also kinda sorted out your feelings towards each other, but you weren't dating, and neither of you had really said much about your true feelings towards each other. When you were together though, you still pretended you were a couple, to spite Jungkook mainly...but you both quite obviously enjoyed it. You still weren't really sure where you stood with Tae, but it was obvious that you both really liked each other. You had told Tae that you loved him that night, and he the same, but neither of you had spoken about it so you weren't sure if Tae had actually meant it. You thought you did, but you were still sorting out your feelings.
All in all, camp had improved since the incident and you were loving every minute of it. Today you were rock climbing. It was something you enjoyed, but you weren't the best at it. Sometimes when you got too high, you would start to panic and sometimes even cry (which was very embarrassing), so you were extremely relieved to hear that Tae and Lyra were both in your group. When you got to the wall you looked at the rest of your group as usual. You recognised everyone apart from one person. He looked slightly shy and kept glancing up nervously. As the instructor went through the normal stuff on safety and technique you caught the shy boy watching you. He watched you the whole time. You smiled awkwardly at him and tried to ignore it but he kept staring at you. You sighed. When the instructor finally finished you went up to the boy to find out who he actually was, and why he seemed so interested in you. 'Hey there...my name is y/n, what's yours?' you asked sweetly. The boy looked at you with wide eyes, like he was shocked you were talking to him. 'Uh...what's your name?' you tried again. The boy stuttered. 'Uh-um, my name is...is Namjoon,' he got out. 'Okay well it's nice to meet you Namjoon! I haven't seen you before...when did you get here?' you ventured, trying to seem welcoming. 'Oh I've always been here. Just in your shadow- I mean in the shadows...' he shook his head. You raised your eyebrows. 'Okay then...well if you need a friend I'm here. Nice to meet you Namjoon,' you said and walked off, leaving Namjoon with his mouth hanging open. 'Seems like you've got quite an admirer there y/n,' Lyra commented with a laugh. You shook your head with a smile. 'He's just a bit shy that's all...although he did say something weird. He said he's been in my shadow all summer...actually come to think of it, it's kinda creepy,' you furrowed your brow. 'Oh, so it's a secret admirer that doubles as a stalker? Cool,' Lyra joked. 'I say stay away from him y/n,' Tae suddenly chipped in sternly. 'Honestly I'm sure it's fine he's just a bit shy...chill guys,' you said, brushing it off with a quick smile. The group was then halved and you all took it in turns to climb the wall. Namjoon was in your group and you could feel his eyes burning into the back of your head. Tae wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you close to his body. It was warm and you smiled with comfort. 'He's staring at you,' Tae whispered under his breath. 'Yep I can feel it,' you whispered back. Tae hugged you tighter. 'I don't like him y/n, I'm not having another Jungkook situation. He's just weird okay so stick with me baby,' he said with a strict tone. It was so cute when he got protective and you felt the colour rising in your cheeks as you smiled softly. You wrapped your arms around him. 'Awww Tae baby I know I'm safe if you're around,' you said quietly. He kissed your forehead then kissed your mouth and then smiled. 'I got you,' he whispered. 'OMG will you two shut up,' Lyra fake gagged. You all laughed. Rolling your eyes you stepped up to the wall as it was your turn. The second instructor hooked you on and held your rope. You started your climb and it was going well. You were focused and every second you were getting higher and higher. You were smiling and feeling proud of yourself. Then, you made the mistake of looking down. It was only to smile at Tae and Lyra, but suddenly a rush of fear swept through you and you felt your fingers slipping. You cried out as your hands detached from the wall and you started to fall. You weren't meant to be falling, but the second instructor had looked away at the worst moment. You screamed, falling nearer and nearer the ground. All of a sudden, you felt a tight jolt on your lower half. You had stopped, dangling a metre from the ground, now with a seriously painful wedgie. Your breathing was disjointed and you could barely speak from the shock. Tae came over and unhooked you, carrying you bridal style away from the other campers. He lay you down on the ground and helped you into a comfortable position before proceeding to shoving water down your throat. 'Ugh Tae...Tae stop,' you just about managed, gargling the water he was trying to make you drink. Anything you tried to say came out as a hoarse whisper as you tried to explain that you were fine. You clearly weren't, but you didn't want Tae or anyone fussing over you. You sat up but leant against your hands. 'Y/n y/n oh my gosh oh dear OMG y/n please tell me you're not too badly hurt??' Lyra ran over and took your hand. 'Just the shock,' you replied croakily. 'Okay well take some deep breaths. Oh my gosh I can't believe that stupid instructor got distracted like what? He should be sacked after this. You could've been seriously injured if Taehyung here hadn't pushed that idiot away and pulled your ropes taught. Oh wow I'm a bit shocked too...this is just...OMG okay. Do you need anything?' she rambled. You let out a quiet laugh. 'I just need,' you had to take a deep breath, 'I just need to sit down and breathe,' you replied. Lyra nodded and stood up. 'Okay then, I'll go and report this to Camp Leader...' she muttered, and walked off. Tae was still by your side, and had now taken to stroking your hair as you breathed in and out. He had a small smile on his face. 'What?' you asked, your voice slowly getting louder. 'Ah nothing. Just you gave me such a fright, I mean I was terrified. You were just falling and no one was stopping you. Just seeing you here safe is making me happy, even if you seem rather shaken up,' he answered, grinning. You nudged him playfully. 'If it weren't for you I could be in hospital now...with more than just wind,' you laughed. 'Ah y/n your voice is starting to come back! You think you can drink some water now?' Tae offered you your water bottle. You accepted it gratefully and started to take small sips. 'I'll go and get you a wheelchair or something because I doubt you will be doing much more climbing today,' Tae grinned and strolled off. You smiled to yourself. You looked over at the other campers enjoying the climbing. Your instructor had been replaced so the people in your group weren't too shaken up. You looked back forward in the direction of Tae and found yourself looking at Namjoon, sat still, staring at you. You flinched a little. 'Oh hey Namjoon...' you coughed. He gave you a small, shy smile and shuffled closer to you. Nervously you took a sip of your water. 'I've watched you drink water so many times, but never this close. It's mesmerising,' he mumbled. You nearly choked on your water. 'Uh, what?' you said, starting to blush. 'I have watched you blush too, mainly when you are with that guy Taehyung, but it's so different up close. So much pinker than usual,' he continued to mutter. As he continued to comment on things he had frequently watched you do, the same uncomfortable feeling you had felt with Jungkook was coming back. You needed to get away from this guy and quick. Only thing was, you couldn't quite stand up. 'Hey y/n. I just wanted to check if you were okay after that Jungkook episode. I'm sorry I kicked him so hard I just couldn't watch it anymore. I mean how dare he? I'm glad I was watching you,' Namjoon said randomly. 'Oh wow, you kicked Jungkook? Thanks...' you said awkwardly whilst you tried to push yourself up. You literally had no strength in your arms though, and your lower abdomen shrieked with pain when you tried to lift yourself. Sighing with defeat, you continued to ignore Namjoon's strange comments about you and how he had watched you. You were just secretly praying that Tae got back soon. 'Hey, Namjoon can you stop talking for a bit, I just want to rest for a while,' you waved him away with your hand. 'Of course,' he said, and placed his hand on your knee. Gently, you shook it off, but Namjoon didn't seem to care. He had started staring at his hand with wide eyes. 'I just touched you. I just touched y/n! Oh wow...oh wow I just touched y/n...' he slowly stood up and wandered off, still staring at his hand like it was some new life-changing discovery. You shook your head in disbelief and took a deep breath. It was seriously creepy that he had been watching you the entire summer, and even more disturbing that he was now obsessed with his hand which had touched your knee once. Was he some kind of stalker? The thought of this guy Namjoon watching you secretly since the start of camp was really unsettling, and it made you shiver. Thankfully, you saw Tae running back to you pushing a wheelchair in front of him. 'Thank goodness you're here...' you sighed as he just about picked you up and sat you in the wheelchair. 'Why? Is something wrong or were you just desperate to see me?' he said with a cheeky smile. You flashed a pained smile which made him frown. He looked cute when he frowned, because there was always a little confusion that you could see in his eyes, like he never really understood what was going on. 'What is it y/n?' He asked slowly. 'Ah don't worry about it I'm sure it's fine,' you brushed it off, but Tae shook his head. 'No what is it?' he pressed, wanting to make sure you were okay. 'Honestly...it's nothing. Just get down here and kiss me,' you said, pulling him down so your faces were level. Tae grinned and you giggled, before you kissed each other sweetly, arms wrapping round one another like usual to deepen the kiss. 'By the way,' you said between kisses, 'I think Namjoon is stalking me.'