Chapter 1
“You’ve got her, right?” Chaeyoung frowns at her, her worry made obvious by the crease in her brow. Jennie has always been a little jealous of how effortlessly gorgeous Chaeyoung is, even with all those lines on her pretty face.
Jennie waves Chaeyoung off. “She’s eighteen, not eight.”
Chaeyoung shuffles her feet nervously, crunching the orange leaves on Jennie’s marble porch. “I know that. I just... worry. She’s my best friend.”
Jennie knows that. The whole school knows that. The story of Lisa and Chaeyoung is a story for the ages. Their entire class will be talking about the daring duo that is the foreign exchange student and her ever faithful best friend.
No one had thought anything special of the new kid from Thailand, with her wild bangs and playful attitude. They all liked her well enough, they like anyone that has a face like hers. Jennie had looked past her, nothing really catching her eye about her at first, but it didn’t take long for tongues to start wagging when Lisa and Chaeyoung started posting videos online and grabbed the attention of a famous company known for creating idol careers.
She doesn’t even know how the two of them met, she doesn’t think they share any classes, but the two stick to one another like glue nowadays. Someone would have to pull them apart with a crowbar if they really wanted to separate them.
Jennie has known Chaeyoung for a very long time. The two had gone to the same middle school and entered high school together as well. They weren’t close, not really, but Jennie could tell you every song that Chaeyoung has sung for their yearly talent shows and Chaeyoung could tell you how many steps it takes to get a drunken Jennie from Jisoo’s house to Chaeyoung’s.
Chaeyoung has taken care of her more times than she can count on one hand when she gets too far gone for her parents to see her. That’s why she figures she can return the favor for once, insisting that Chaeyoung go have fun while she babysits Lisa for the rest of the night.
It hadn’t taken a genius to realize that Chaeyoung had wanted to be anywhere but the party tonight, and Jennie had jumped on the chance to leave with her and Lisa when Chaeyoung revealed she was simply the designated driver and not there for fun. There had been one too many boys pawing at Jennie’s skirt that night for her to actually be able to enjoy herself. She probably should have tried to find Jackson at some point, he would never have let those boys stay had he known that they were borderline harassing her.
“Chaeyoung, I promise to watch out for her.” Jennie leans a shoulder into her door, nearly falling when it swings backward. Chaeyoung raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “I’m tipsy, not drunk. I can deal with one little Thai girl.”
Maybe she shouldn’t have used the word little. She’s older than Lisa, that she’s certain of, but the foreign girl is undoubtedly taller than her. Chaeyoung is too now that she’s thinking about it. It’s a little disrespectful of them.
Chaeyoung sighs. “Fine, but call me if she’s too much?”
Jennie can’t help the smile that takes over her face. She doesn’t like many people, and she surely doesn’t smile around the ones that she doesn’t like, but she’s fond of Chaeyoung. They may not be friends, that role is reserved for Jisoo only, but she and Chaeyoung have an understanding. They always have each other’s back, no matter what.
“Go.” Jennie shoves the girl off her porch. “Have fun. Be free. Use protection.”
Chaeyoung scoffs playfully, ears turning red. “I’m not going for that. Sooyoung promised to help me with some things.”
Jennie raises an eyebrow. She doesn't know Sooyoung, there are far too many students in their class for her to know all of them, but she knows the name. Some of her friends, like the one from Canada, call her Joy. “Is ‘some things’ code for-”
“Okay!” Chaeyoung laughs nervously. “You’ve got this. I’m going to go work on music. Nothing else.”
Jennie rolls her eyes, promptly shutting the door before Chaeyoung can change her mind once again. She peeks out the window until she knows Chaeyoung is in her car and won’t bust Jennie’s door down in a rescue attempt. Not that Lisa needs rescued, nor could Chaeyoung knock down her door with her noodle arms.
Lisa isn’t in the living room where they left her at, prompting a quick search and rescue mission. Jennie prays the girl is sober enough to know better than to use any of her mother’s expensive vases as footballs. Jennie has enough faith in her not to be like those surly jocks that come to her house for parties, anyone that’s friends with Park Chaeyoung has to have basic manners.
Something, a noise, catches her attention. It’s coming from somewhere above her. Lisa must have snuck away up the stairs while she was ushering Chaeyoung away to her date that she says isn’t a date.
“Lisa?” She trudges up the stairs, following the soft sound of music coming from the top floor.
She spies the vases in the hallways still intact, perfectly placed where her mother had put them after redecorating last week, which would be two more inches to the left than they were before, in an attempt to make the house look ‘more put together.’ Jennie doesn’t know what that means, but her father had smiled like it made perfect sense.
She pushes the door to her room open slowly, peeking in. Lisa is sitting on her entirely too large bed, feet kicking despite her heels catching on the floor. The curse of long legs, Jennie supposes.
Lisa’s eyes are closed, head pulled back as if to look at the ceiling. Music is playing from Lisa’s phone, and Jennie thinks she hears a little hum coming from the girl’s closed mouth if she isn’t mistaken.
“Hey there.” Jennie calls out, stepping into her room.
She expects Lisa to startle, but the younger girl merely lets out a laugh. “I was wondering how long it would take you to find me. I even played the music to help.”
Jennie tilts her head curiously. “I didn’t realize we were playing hide and seek.”
Lisa slowly lifts the lids of her eyes, lips tilting into a lazy smile. “You suck at seeking.”
Jennie blinks at her, eyeing the room pointedly. “You hid in my room.”
Lisa leans forward, and although she’s nowhere near Jennie, she feels like Lisa is far too close. “Reverse psychology.”
Jennie can’t tell if the girl is being serious or if she’s trying to be playful. She doesn’t know her well enough to tell if Lisa is being affected by the alcohol or if that’s just her normal self. She’s hoping it’s the latter and responds like so.
“I don’t think you know how reverse psychology works.” She brushes past the foot of her bed, ignoring Lisa’s pout.
Jennie rummages around her drawers, finding a pair of shorts and a sleep shirt that she thinks Lisa might like. She flings it at the girl, motioning for her to follow once she has her own clothes. Lisa does so, only stumbling into the wall once.
Jennie holds the girl steady when she turns the light of the bathroom on, guiding her to the counter. Lisa holds the edge of it tightly, mumbling a small thank you when Jennie pulls out an extra toothbrush for her.
They brush their teeth side by side, Lisa making a mess all over her chin. Jennie is much more careful, spitting into the sink when there’s the smallest sign of toothpaste leaking from her lips. Jennie should probably think it’s disgusting, but Lisa looks so much like a lost puppy that she refrains from making any ill comments.
When Jennie pulls her shirt off to change, Lisa gives a startled gasp. At first, she thinks Lisa’s fallen and hit herself or that she might find her holding her hand to her mouth in an attempt not to throw up, but Lisa is only looking at Jennie. At Jennie’s exposed stomach to be precise.
“Sorry.” Lisa closes her eyes shut, throwing a hand up as if to wave Jennie’s unclothed body away. Her cheeks are redder than Jennie thought was humanly possible. “I didn’t mean to look. I promise.”
Lisa had most definitely been staring in a less than friendly way. Nothing platonic about the hungry look in her eyes.
“Uh.” Jennie blinks slowly at her. “That’s okay.
She hadn’t realized that Lisa liked girls like that. Not that there’s anything wrong with Lisa looking at her like that, she doesn’t mind. Jennie is used to people looking at her. The amount of guys that stay to watch volleyball practice just to catch a glimpse of her body is actually a bit unsettling. At least Lisa has the decency to look away.
She changes quickly, realizing that Lisa isn’t going to open her eyes until Jennie is done. “You can open your eyes.”
Lisa does so slowly. It takes her eyes a moment to focus, but when they do, she meets Jennie’s gaze. Lisa’s cheeks heat up once again, but she doesn’t say anything else, pulling at her own clothes instead.
Jennie doesn’t know why, but her gaze wavers for a moment as Lisa pulls her shirt up. She catches a sliver of tanned skin before she forces herself to look away. She doesn’t know why she did that, but she knows that Lisa deserves the same privacy she’s given Jennie.
Jennie takes off her makeup easily, skilled in the art nowadays. She’s been on so many dates with boys that won’t ever appreciate how long it takes her to put on and remove that pretty mask. She thinks she should show her next boyfriend just how long it takes her to do both, then maybe he’ll appreciate how she goes out of her way to look pretty for him a little more.
Lisa needs a little help taking her makeup off, not that Jennie minds, but it brings her closer to the girl’s face than she’s ever been before. She suddenly understands why the boy from her chemistry class talks about how pretty Lalisa Manoban is.
“You’re very pretty.” Jennie tells her.
Lisa’s cheeks flush. Jennie is starting to wonder if that pink is a permanent part of her now. “Thank you.”
Jennie pulls her back to her bed afterwards, flopping onto her back. Music is still playing from Lisa’s phone, but this song is a little sadder than before. She’s never heard the song, but part of her is curious if it’s Lisa’s music or if she just put on the first playlist she could find in her drunken state.
“Jennie.” Lisa huffs. “I’m bored.”
Jennie smiles in amusement. Lisa sounds like a little kid. “You could go to sleep?”
“Noooo.” She whines. Jennie can’t see it because Lisa turns her head, but she imagines there’s a pout there. “Let’s play a game.”
“Well, you suck at hide and seek.”
Lisa flops back as well, turning to face Jennie. “I do not.”
“You do actually.”
Lisa rolls over, smashing her head into Jennie’s shoulder. “Let’s play truth or dare.”
Before Jennie can even retort, Lisa has her phone in her hand. Her music stops, leaving Jennie curious enough to let Lisa finish finding whatever she’s looking for. She’s a little sad though. She liked that song.
“Here, look.” Lisa turns her phone around, right into Jennie’s face. “I have an app.”
Jennie shakes her head. “If I play this, will you go to sleep afterwards?”
Lisa nods excitedly before stopping suddenly. “You know, some people say you’re kind of mean, but I think you’re really nice.”
Jennie feels her a sharp stab to her chest at the admittance. She knows what people say about her behind her back of course, but that doesn't make it hurt less to hear it out loud like that. Lisa’s genuine assurance does ease her pain a little. A lot, actually.
“Oh.” Lisa frowns at herself. “Sorry. That sounded nice in my head, but it was kind of mean.”
Jennie shrugs. “It’s okay.”
It really is okay. She has Jisoo and that’s enough. Jisoo knows the real her and Jisoo likes the real her. Jisoo is her best friend and that’s all that matters. The others that use her for her money or her popularity aren’t her friends. They’re not Jisoo.
Jennie pulls herself up before Lisa can spew any other apologies at her, tugging at the phone. “What do I do? Just tap it?” Jennie pokes the card that says truth first. The card turns around, reading Who was your first kiss? “ Oh, that’s easy. Jongin.”
Lisa narrows her eyes. “Who?”
Jennie tosses the phone back right onto her stomach. “You wouldn’t know him. He graduated.”
Lisa frowns, like she doesn’t quite believe Jennie. Thankfully, she lets it go. Jennie would rather not go down that memory lane. Her relationship with Jongin was short lived and quite awkward now that she’s looking back.
Lisa taps the screen. “Dare.”
Jennie waits for Lisa to keep going, but the girl merely shakes her head. “What?”
“It says to text my ex, but I don’t have her number anymore.”
Something tickles the back of Jennie’s mind once again at the reminder that Lisa likes girls. She doesn’t know why though and ignores it in favor of the question wants to ask Lisa. “You don’t have her number?”
Lisa shrugs. “I deleted it.”
Jennie marvels at the idea. She’s never deleted an ex’s number before, not even Jongin’s despite the fact that they haven’t talked in years.
Lisa tries to give the phone back, but Jennie shakes her head. “I don’t think so. Go again.”
Lisa groans, but clicks the screen. “Give someone else a makeover.”
Jennie snorts. “We just took our makeup off.”
Lisa perks up. “If you let me do it, I’ll take it back off too.”
Jennie doesn’t think she trusts Lisa to do either at the moment with her lack of coordination, but if it’ll get her to sleep sooner, Jennie is all for it. “Fine.”
Lisa shuffles over, grabbing her shoulders. “Are you serious?”
Jennie’s nod sets Lisa into a happy fit of laughter, bouncing on the bed as her knees dig into the perfectly made up covers. Jennie ignores her in favor of grabbing her makeup from the bathroom. Lisa is still giggling like a little kid when she returns, and although it’s endearing, it also leaves Jennie fearing for her face.
“Here. Please don’t waste anything. This is expensive.” Jennie sets it all on the bed. Her mascara nearly rolls away, but Lisa catches it when her foot. “Are you sure you can do this?”
Lisa nods emphatically. “Of course I can.”
Jennie sighs, relenting. “Okay, I’m trusting you. Maybe you can make me pretty enough to finally get someone decent to want me, Lisa.”
Lisa’s smile drops, and she’s suddenly looking at Jennie in a way that makes Jennie feel bare. She doesn’t like it. She doesn’t like feeling like Lisa can suddenly see through her when Jennie hadn’t even meant to say that. Why did Jennie say that? Is she drunker than she had thought? She must be, with such a lack of filter.
“Jennie-”
“Don’t frown too hard, Lisa. You’ll get wrinkles.” Jennie waves her concern off. “Just make me the prettiest girl in the world, okay?”
Lisa hesitates for a moment before nodding. “Okay, but you have to close your eyes.”
Jennie huffs out a playful sigh, but agrees. Lisa searches through her things for a while, long enough to make Jennie think that Lisa might not know what she’s doing, but she does eventually start peppering her skin with something wet.
She concedes that maybe Lisa does know what she’s doing when a brush scurries across her cheeks afterwards. Something about the procedure feels off, but Jennie can’t place what. Perhaps it’s just that Jennie isn’t used to others doing her makeup.
Lisa eventually stands up, turning Jennie’s body gently. Jennie’s breath catches slightly when she feels Lisa step between her legs, her own knees hitting Lisa’s occasionally on accident when Lisa sways.
She feels her face heat up when Lisa’s fingers graze her lips and eyelids, but Jennie thinks that must be normal, right? She doesn’t get flustered by Jisoo’s touch when she fixes her lipstick or eyeliner, but that’s because Jisoo is her best friend. Lisa is a stranger, a stranger that Jennie only vaguely knows from a sort of childhood friend. One that she’s letting touch her like she’s some sort of dress up doll.
Something about this feels much more exciting than any of the times a boy has looked at her during volleyball or even the kisses she shared with Jongin, and those thoughts alone should be enough to send Jennie into a panic, right? What in the world has her comparing this girl to the boys she’s interested in?
Unless she’s interested in Lisa like that? It would be strange, not because she’s a girl, Jennie isn’t closed minded, but this is the first time she’s had a conversation with Lisa. Why should she be feeling things for this girl she’s just met? Chaeyoung might just kick her ass if she knew what she was thinking.
“I’m done.” Lisa eventually calls out, her voice sounding smaller than she’s heard all night.
Jennie opens her eyes, eyeing Lisa with a playful scowl. “You didn’t mess me up too much, did you?”
Lisa gives a mock pout. “So little faith.”
Jennie rolls her eyes and picks Lisa’s phone up from the bed and opens up the camera. She really should find her own, but she doesn’t feel like searching for it at the moment. She figures she'll find it in the morning at some point. Maybe she’ll make Lisa help her find it.
“Lisa?” Jennie frowns at her reflection, poking at her skin. “You didn’t do anything.”
She’s confused. Jennie most definitely felt Lisa put something on her cheeks, she can feel it, but nothing is there. There’s no sign of anything, and Jennie is starting to wonder what kind of silly prank this is. Or maybe Lisa just didn’t feel like taking the makeup off.
“Well, you said to make you the prettiest girl in the world.” Lisa shrugs innocently, watching her with lidded eyes. “I already think you’re the prettiest girl in the world.”
Jennie’s heart, honest to God, skips a beat. It alarms her how much she has the sudden urge to kiss the girl in front of her. “Lisa?”
Jennie’s breathing slows as she makes a grab for Lisa’s sleeve. She leans forward, urging herself to throw away everything in her telling her to be careful with her heart and just kiss this strange girl that Chaeyoung has thrown into her home.
“Is that a cat?” Lisa tilts her head.
Jennie freezes, only halfway to Lisa’s lips. “What?”
Lisa steps away, and takes Jennie’s heart with her. “There’s a cat outside your window.”
Jennie’s brain restarts. “Oh. Yeah, he’s a stray.”
She feels terribly disappointed to be denied something that she hadn’t even known that she wanted twenty minutes ago. Lisa seems none the wiser of Jennie’s troubled emotions as she opens the window to let the stray cat into Jennie’s room.
“Do you have cat food?” Lisa asks with the cat in her arms, looking back at Jennie like she hadn’t just turned her entire world upside down just a few moments ago.
Jennie nods. “Yeah. I keep some in the pantry for him.”
Lisa wastes no time in stumbling out the door, the cat staring Jennie down over her shoulder, as if to mock her. Jennie thinks it’s a good thing Lisa has found something new to keep her preoccupied with. She’s not sure she could sleep next to the girl now with such troubling thoughts.
“What the hell just happened?” She asks herself.
There’s no one around to reply.