The concert had just ended, and I was so excited to try black light bowling at a place really close to the stadium. Unfortunately, I was alone, so the manager told me to wait for another group to enter, and I could just join them, as they didn’t want to have just me in my own lane during their busiest time of the night. Within ten minutes a large group of guys entered, so the manager asked if I could join them, since I was a single player and had nobody else to bowl with. They agreed, not really looking too confident in my ability to bowl, but not hating me either, so I took that as a good sign.
I introduced myself and asked for their names, but they seemed hesitant to tell me, so I said never mind and went to search for the perfect bowling ball. While I was searching, one of them followed me and watched, then laughed when I chose a sparkly purple one, so I explained that I like how it turns into a starry night when it’s on the lane, because of the lights that reflect off the glitter inside and then he stepped closer to see, his eyes wide once he realized what I was talking about.
Apparently, that was all it took for him to adopt me as his new best friend and he linked his arm in mine, leading me back to our bowling area. He said something to the other guys, who then smiled and I felt like everything was going to be ok. The first one bowled, not terrible, but not great either, then another one bowled and literally threw his ball into the gutter. I stood silently watching, then he repeated the same movement and had the same result again. Poor guy was really mad but had no idea what to do!
A few more guys took their turns, then it was up to me- I could tell they were all watching and judging me as I stepped forward, approaching the lane very cautiously, then sent my glitter ball right down the middle- catching a very lucky strike on my first try. One of them ran over and literally picked me up to spin me around and after that, I cheered for every single one of them, clapping, high fiving, hugging, jumping, and spinning with everyone until it was time for the one who had gotten two gutter balls before. I took a deep breath and asked if I could show him how to keep his bowling ball in the lane, so even though he was gigantic compared to me, I made him hold the ball in his hand, then I twisted his body toward the opposite side he was aiming for, since his issue was that he twisted when he let go and he needed to compensate for the movement.
Once he was where I wanted him to be, I modeled how to then twist and release the ball, which would now go down the middle of the lane. He looked shocked, but said he would try anything at this point, so I stepped back and sure enough, when he let go this time, he actually kept the ball on the lane and knocked down all but three pins. We cheered and jumped- nobody could believe it!! When his ball returned, he was able to mimic the same movement as before and managed to knock the leftover pins down all by himself. He was so happy and cheerful that he ran over and picked me up, spinning me around like the others, then set me down, suddenly realizing what he had done. I was so excited I couldn’t be anything but happy in that moment!!
One of the other quieter ones motioned for me to come sit next to him, so I did, since it wasn’t my turn yet anyway. He thanked me for treating them like regular guys, not caring about who they were, just caring about the game, which confused me, because none of them had officially introduced themselves yet. He laughed and said he was sure I had figured out who they were by now, but he appreciated me pretending I didn’t recognize them. I grinned and winked at him, then made a ssshhhhh motion with my finger on my lips and ran away to have my turn.
When I got all the pins down in both my turns, everyone cheered and it became obvious that I didn’t care about who was winning or losing- I just wanted everyone to have fun!!
I hadn’t been looking around, but I randomly went to use the bathroom and when I returned, I noticed how none of the other lanes were occupied, even though the manager had said it was going to be super busy. I was frowning, thinking about this, when one of them caught up to me, having also just returned from the bathroom. He asked what was bothering me, since I looked so serious and I just said it was weird how we were the only ones in the building on a busy weekend night. He ran his fingers through his hair and then mentioned that when they go places, it often happens that they request others not be allowed to enter, so they can have privacy and just be themselves without being watched.
I looked up at him (they were all taller than me) and asked why I was allowed to stay then…
He just grinned and replied that they had agreed I looked harmless and was clearly alone, so one person wouldn’t be a problem for them- they just didn’t want large crowds nearby. I followed him back to our lanes and thought about what he had said, unsure if I should feel special about being allowed to stay, or annoyed because they thought I was harmless. I didn’t have long to ponder this before it was the bowler’s turn who could now keep his ball in the lane and when he hit more pins this time, I was so excited I accidentally cheered using his name, then covered my mouth and worried he’d be mad. Nope. He ran over and swung me around, laughing with everyone else at my sudden confession. I thought they’d be mad, but it was the opposite- they were relieved to be able to shout each other’s names loudly now, having no reason to hide anything from me anymore.
We were having so much fun we didn’t realize it was almost time for the bowling alley to close until the manager mentioned it was close to 2am and each person got to bowl one more turn. I was shocked, but then JK and Tae ran over to ask if I wanted to come eat with them, even though it was the middle of the night, which surprised me, and I looked at Yoongi and Jin to see if it was ok, both of them nodded, so I agreed, but of course I worried about them being seen with me, a strange girl. Jimin wasn’t worried at all, neither was Hobi, saying they would pretend I was a staff member, then Joon offered to help me disguise myself using their clothes/accessories and I just knew it was going to be a disaster. I was right.
I used Tae’s extra shirt tied around my waist so it looked like a skirt, Hobi’s sunglasses, and JK’s giant black hoodie, so you couldn’t even recognize me if you tried. I could not see because the hoodie fell over my eyes and blocked the sunglasses, so Tae and JK led me by holding my arms so I wouldn’t trip and fall. Well, they tried to anyway…
We made it to the sidewalk just outside the main door when I missed the curb and would have fallen straight down if Jimin hadn’t been watching and caught me before disaster struck. Thank goodness for his quick reflexes! After he made sure I was ok, JK and Tae simply picked me up by my armpits and hoisted me into the air, carrying me to a waiting giant SUV and not asking any questions. I was then lifted into one of the seats and buckled by someone- not sure who though, since there was a lot of commotion from most of them about something. I turned to see who ended up beside me, to see Jin and he did not look happy about something. I tilted my head really far back to see from under the giant hoodie, attempting to see his face, which I guess was pretty silly because when I finally saw him, he was grinning and shaking his head, unable to remain cranky anymore.
He sighed loudly, then helped me move the hoodie off so I could actually see. Since nobody had discussed anything with me, nor asked me any questions, I truly had no idea where I was going, or what we were going to eat- was I being kidnapped by BTS? Anyway, I decided not to worry at the moment, since I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t even live here! We didn’t drive far before the cars pulled into a large building, then went into an underground parking garage area and stopped by elevator doors. Jin unbuckled me, then told me to wait there, so of course I did, not wanting to get in trouble, and was surprised when JK appeared at my door and opened it, then lifted me out and set me on the ground, laughing at my ridiculous outfit.
I was too overwhelmed to laugh just yet, which he realized quickly and hugged me, telling me I was safe and shouldn’t worry- easy for him to say! Jin appeared just then, telling JK to guide me inside, while he made sure everyone else was going inside. JK happily linked his arm in mine, then pointed to the elevator, and marched right to it, joining Tae and Hobi along the way. Soon, I was inside the massive elevator with all seven of them, squished in between JK and Jin, feeling like a small ant. When we reached whatever floor we were going to, they began filing out, with Jin and JK waiting to link arms with me and guide me down the hall towards a gigantic dining area. It was so fancy all I could do was stare and look around with my wide eyes, which amused both of them and they ended up laughing.
There were several smaller tables that had been pushed together in the center of the room to make a larger one for us all to fit around, which is where they guided me, then made sure I was sitting before they joined me at the table, everyone else choosing spots around the perimeter as well. I was across from Joon and Yoongi, Tae on the other side of JK, Jimin on the other side of Jin, with Hobi being next to Joon. I still had no clue exactly what was happening but assumed someone would explain it to me at some point, so I sat quietly, waiting for directions. They began speaking loudly to each other, forgetting I was even there, until food appeared and JK put something on my plate in front of me, then watched as I attempted to use the fork, but my hands were both completely hidden by his long sleeves, causing him to burst into laughter, setting Jin off, then Hobi, and soon almost the entire table was laughing as my wardrobe malfunction. Jin solved the issue by rolling up the sleeves, then handing the fork back to me, telling me the food was chicken, so I could eat it by myself.
I was so embarrassed by their laughter I wanted to melt into the floor, which Yoongi and Joon saw, as I felt my cheeks burn and purposely used the hoodie part to hide my face as I bit my bottom lip. They whispered something, then raised their eyebrows, watching me attempt to hide. I learned that if I didn’t make any sounds, Jin and JK would always just randomly put food on my plate, no matter what it was, then watch for me to eat it and always replace the pieces. I got full faster than any of them, so when I was done, I set down the fork and tried my best to stay awake, but it was really late/early in the morning and Jin’s arm was just too tempting…
