On Friday morning Jessica couldn’t remember much of what happened after Tiffany had tugged her blanket off her in an attempt to wake her up. She does remember being man-handled by Tiffany and her underling to the cafeteria and may have had a cup of hot chocolate before she let herself be pulled into the morning crowd. After that she had ended up in the right room, on time for the very first time, much to her teacher’s astonishment, but soon after she had tuned out everything. Just like that two periods had passed by in a blur.

 

When the third bell rang, and after the usual hustle and bustle of students pushing through walking stacks of books and bodies to get to their next destination the hallway had once again emptied out. Save for the one brunet idly making her way down the hall and into the middle school fraction.

 

Jessica stared up at the door with the familiar number tacked up at the top of the doorway. It was third period now, the dreaded History class with old lady Goo. She checked her watch, the long hand telling her that she was already five minutes late. She could imagine fire breathing out of the woman’s mouth the second her piercing, beady eyes settles on her as soon as she steps foot in her room. She shook away the thought and breathed in. Reaching for the doorknob she twisted it and gave it a little push as soon as it gave way. A head of long jet-black hair was the first thing that greeted her upon her entry, followed by a raised brow and an amused smirk.

 

“I think you’ve got the wrong room again.” Yuri pointed out. “But if you’d like to sit in I would have no problem with that. Just don’t expect me to grade you.” She finished teasingly, turning her back to her once again to finish whatever it was she was doing on the teachers table.

 

Jessica strode in, lightly closing the door behind her. She made a sweep of the room and for some reason thought that it didn’t look right. Not in the sense that there was anything wrong with the room per say, it was more like there was a change in it, something Jessica couldn’t quite point out. It was even laughable that Jessica would even notice it. Jessica barely noticed anything unless it was shoved right onto her face. She shook her head, burying the thought to the back of her mind as she shuffled her feet to one of the chairs and ungraciously slumped onto it.

 

“What’s on your mind?” Yuri asked, sending her a quick side-ways glance.

 

“That I’m going to fail History at this rate.” Jessica sighed. “I don’t even know why I’m taking it in the first place.”

 

“I think history is like math. I see nothing that could help me past it’s basics but I can’t graduate without taking algebra and calculus. Even if I find it ridiculous and a waste of time I’ve got to it up and take it.” Yuri turned to her, a lopsided grin in place. “Such is life, I guess.”

 

Jessica quirked a brow and scoffed. “Wow. That’s deep.”

 

Yuri shrugged. “I have my moments.”

 

This time Jessica chuckled mirthlessly. “Sure you do. You’re a regular Einstein.”

 

“Is that sarcasm I hear?” Yuri turned fully, leaning her lower half back onto the table, a playful smile in place. “Anyway, d’ya like what I did?”

 

“Hm?” Jessica’s brows scrunched in thought. She gave the girl a once over, trying to discern any changes in the girl. She was sure it wasn’t the clothes, they didn’t know each other that long to be asking those kinds of things anyway so perfume and the likes were out of the question. Did she had her hair cut?

 

Yuri chuckled. Pushing off the table she moved towards the back of the room, Jessica’s eyes not leaving her form for even a second. When she stopped at the back Jessica was still at a lost. Finally, the girl raised her hands doing this little jazz hands act.

 

And Jessica was right. Something did change in the room.

 

She couldn’t quite place a finger to what she was feeling at that time, like it was in between confusion, surprise and mortification. There it was, her painting from the other day, hanging proudly at the wall for everyone to see. She felt like she should puff out her chest in pride but at the same time crawl at the nearest ditch and hide there for the rest of the term.

 

“Oh my God..” the words unconsciously slipped past her lips in her mother tongue.

 

Yuri had her back to her, standing akimbo as she admired the painting. “I showed it to-” Yuri started but was cut off with Jessica’s demand.

 

“Take it down.”

 

Yuri whirled around, eyes wide. “What?”

 

Jessica gritted her teeth. She could feel the beginnings of a blush creeping up her face and she shook her head, fighting it back down. She stood up from her seat, quickly making her way to the back in quick, long strides. Her hands were already raised up to grab the canvas when tanned hands stopped her midway. A second later Yuri’s, confused and worried face came to view.

 

“Whoa there. What’s the matter?”

 

“What’s the matter?” Jessica roughly pulled her hands back. “That!” she jabbed her index in the direction of the painting. “Why did you hang that?! Oh my God! How long has it been there? How many people have seen this?!”

 

She tried to grab it again and again her advances were blocked.

 

With a wrist in each hand Yuri gently guided Jessica away from her “masterpiece”. “Easy there Pollock. I can explain. Just, take a seat and calm down.”

 

Jessica huffed but conceded with the request. She tugged at her arms free, sinking into a nearby chair and, with a straight face, motioned for Yuri to start her explanation.

 

“One of the art teachers, Mr. Song, he came in as I was clearing up. He asked if he could see the paintings and I showed it to him. He liked yours. When he asked I told him you made it. Then he asked if it would be alright if he could have it. I thought why not. ‘Pparently he wanted to hang it up, thinks it might inspire other people with its vibrancy.” She glanced back at the art work, one hand going up to run through her hair. “When I first saw it I thought you might like it, on display and all.. I’m sorry I didn’t ask.”

 

“I’ll ask Mr. Song if he could put it down. I’m really sorry, Jesshika-ssi.” Yuri finished, turning to look at Jessica with an apologetic face.

 

Jessica bit her bottom lip, turning her gaze away from Yuri’s face. There was something in the way Yuri looked back then that chipped away at her earlier agitation. It wasn’t like she hated the thought of having her “art work” on display. It was just embarrassing and to realize that it was up there on display for whomever to see, without her knowledge, and maybe for like a moment it had angered her a little bit. But the way she looked at her just then, there was a bit of familiarity that tugged at her mind.

 

She couldn’t look at her, she couldn’t fight against that look. And really, after Yuri’s explanation it made her feel honoured. She exhaled, running her fingers through her hair.

 

“It’s fine. I’m sorry. I over-reacted.” Her eyes fell to her hands in her lap, fingers fiddling with each other. She couldn’t trust herself to keep a straight face if she looked up. Belatedly she realized that this was the second time she apologized for her rash behaviour. She really needed to think her actions through before saying anything.

 

And now she just pulled them into an awkward atmosphere. Fantastic job, Jessica.

 

“O-kay.” She heard Yuri say. She glanced up to the brunet who was now sitting on the chair across from her.

 

“You know Jesshika-ssi, since we’re going to be around each other for the following weeks to come.. don’t you think that it’s not fair that Taengoo and Tippany-ssi are already well acquainted with each other? We’re at a disadvantage.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“I mean think about it, if they were to say something then suddenly the both of them starts laughing for absolutely no reason leaving the both of us to wonder what’s so funny-“

 

“Wait! Wait! Yuri-ssi, are you actually looking at this as if it’s a game?”

 

“No. I just think it’s not fair that they’re so close. I don’t know about you but even though Taengoo and I are related by blood we don’t always see each other. I just know that she could be a huge dork when she wants to and that she’s sensitive about her height.”

 

“uh-huh.” Jessica nodded. Well that was nice to know. The kid-faced girl apparently has a funny side.

 

“Oh!” Yuri clapped her hands together startling Jessica out of her reverie. “How bout this, we’ll take turns asking questions about each other and we have to answer honestly. It’ll be like playing twenty questions, except that the answers can’t be yes, no or maybe. By the end of the period we’ll know each other more personally and it won’t feel like we just wasted our third period doing nothing. Damn, Yuri, how do you think about these things?!” she said, the last part sounding more like she was talking to herself. Self-praising?

 

Jessica stared at the giddy girl for a couple of seconds. “As long as it’s not too personal.. I guess its fine.”

 

“Great! Don’t hold back on me Jesshika-ssi. I’ll start! What’s your favourite colour?”

 

Jessica scoffed.  “That’s the most over-used question ever.”

 

Yuri shrugged. “It’s a question. Come on Jesshika-ssi, it’s not that hard a question.”

 

“Fine. White. Me next. Hm… Favorite character?”

 

“Mickey Mouse. So…”

 

“Wait. Seriously?” Jessica interrupted, springing up from her chair with a doubtful look. “Of all the characters why Mickey?”

 

Yuri sent her an amused grin. “I thought it was my turn to ask a question.”

 

“Okay, fine. Shoot.”

 

“Alright, so um… what do you hate the most?”

 

“Cucumbers.” Jessica’s face scrunched in disgust at the thought. “Or any type of melons..”

 

A quirk of the brow. “Really?”

 

Jessica smirked. “I thought it was my turn to ask the questions.” She mimicked, smirking when the taller girl scrunched her nose and clucked her tongue.

 

“Touché, Jesshika-ssi.” She smirked, gesturing for Jessica to go on.

 

“Why Mickey Mouse?”

 

“Well..” Yuri drawled out, lowering her head onto the top of her chair. “It started with.. my brother…” Yuri’s voice softly trailed away. All of a sudden the girl’s happy aura seems to diminish by the second as her eyes fell to the ground, like she was remembering something painful. Jessica was about to retract her question when the girl sat up straighter, her grin back full force. “My brother used to watch it all the time when we were younger. There was just the two of us back then since Taengoo’s family lived a little farther off and we only saw each other once in a while, usually for family gatherings or birthdays, so my brother and I did everything together. And I guess since he’s older I just kinda mimicked him. I don’t even know why I followed him around, I mean that guy bullied me a lot back then.. but I grew up watching Mickey Mouse and my childhood consisted of Mickey Mouse so..”  she shrugged. “I never really liked any other character… He’s sentimental character for me.”

 

There was a wistful look on her face when she said the last statement. Jessica was fairly certain she had somehow unintentionally broached into a touchy subject, but she couldn’t quite connect how a character could fit into it. But when the side of Yuri’s lips curled up into a grin Jessica decided not to think too much of it and pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

 

“Next question. Winter, summer or spring?”

 

“How come fall isn’t part of the choices?”

 

Yuri cocked her head to the side. “Do you like fall?” Jessica shook her head. “Then I don’t see a problem with it. So?”

 

“Winter. What about you?”

 

“Well, since I’m a winter baby.. Spring!”

 

Jessica threw the girl a confused look. “How is that connected?”

 

“Because! After all the ice melts spring comes with all the colourful flowers blooming and cute animals waking up from their hibernation. It’s like magic! And it comes right after my birth season.” Yuri nodded her head beaming a wide, toothy smile, as if she had just figure out the secrets to making quantum physics easy. “And since I answered two questions” At this she childishly held out two fingers “I get to ask you two questions.”

 

“How old are you?” Jessica asked mockingly, rolling her eyes but nodded for her to go on as she slumped further into her seat. She let her head hand over the back of the chair, she figured it was going to be a long Q & A so might as well make herself comfortable.

 

“How long have you been in Korea?”

 

And there it was, the million dollar question. At this point in time Jessica didn’t know which question she had heard more of, the favourite colour or Yuri’s question. She saw it coming, every year she had expected that question, but it never made it a little less exasperating. So like every single time she robotically replied with the same four words that had worn out from overuse. “Since I was 9.”

 

“Then what’s your Korean name?” Yuri followed up.

 

Slowly, Jessica lifted her head up and blinked owlishly at Yuri’s grinning face. No one had ever asked her that before. Then again she had never used her Korean name, opting to use her English name since it was what she was used to. Even her parents rarely called her by her Korean name, if at all. Everyone else, she guessed, just assumed she didn’t have one or just didn’t care to wonder.

 

When both of Yuri’s brows shot up she realized had hung down a little and she forced it to clamp back up, clearing to mask her embarrassment.

 

“Well?” Yuri goaded, leaning a little closer in anticipation.

 

Unconsciously, Jessica moved back a little, her seat making a low screeching sound as it dragged across the floor. Her eyes roamed over to the clock at the middle front of the room and couldn’t believe that only 10 minutes had passed. She wondered why it is that time seems to drag on during the morning, particularly when stuck in a room with a teacher that taught with that boring tone that could put a lion to sleep.

 

Jessica blinked. Then she scowled and slapped the hand that was frantically waving in front of her face.

 

“You zone out a lot, don’t you?” Yuri waved her smarting hand chucking lightly, the deeper treble of her voice sounding melodic in its own right. “Violent too.” She quickly raised her hands up in surrender when one of Jessica’s hands rose in the air. “Kidding. Kidding.. So? Korean name?”

 

Jessica lowered her hand, her lower lip. Her eyes met Yuri’s inquisitive ones. It was interesting, she noted, that like Tiffany her eyes didn’t waver when she was speaking to her. Most people in school, herself included, tend to have their eyes wander around or would set their sights on a specific spot that wasn’t the eyes of the person they were speaking to. Like looking at another person’s eyes would give away the carefully built persona they had painstakingly built. Jessica felt a little uneasy when she stared a little too long, but when it came to something serious she liked to speak to the person while looking them dead in the eye. In a way it kind of felt like their conversation was a little bit more meaningful than just little chinwags.

 

Without breaking eye contact she soughed in, a small smile pulling at her lips. “Soo Yeon.”

 

“Soo Yeon.” Yuri repeated slowly, her own grin pulling at her lips. “Jung Soo Yeon, huh.. a very pretty name.”

 

For the first time Jessica felt embarrassed hearing her Korean name coming out of someone else’s lips. Her grandmother and grandfather called her by that name, refusing to even mention her English name, old people and their stubborn traditional ways. It had never affected her like the way it did then. She gulped down the knot in , trying to act cool even though she knew her cheeks have turned a light shade of pink.

 

“Cute.” Yuri said. Jessica didn’t know if she meant her name or her reaction, and frankly she guessed it didn’t really matter. Either way she wouldn’t be able to push down the raging blush on her cheeks.

 

She glanced back up to Yuri’s smiling face. And just then she wondered, had Yuri always had that eye-smile Tiffany prided herself on so much. During the few times they were together Yuri had always smiled, but Jessica couldn’t remember if she had those smiling eyes. Coupled with the big grin.. she looked cuter that way, definitely a lot less annoying as Jessica thought her out to be.

 

Oh God! Did she really just think Kwon Yuri was cute?

 

She felt her stomach lurch and she shook her head. She tried harder to fight her blush down but one look at the tanned girl and it was like she was being shoved in an oven.

 

“Are you okay? You look a little sick.” Yuri asked, her brows furrowing in concern as she rose from her seat.

 

“Y-yeah. I kinda feel.. a little out of sorts.”

 

“Seriously? Do you want to go to the clinic? I’ll take you there. It’s not far from here.” Yuri offered, rushing forward and taking Jessica’s hand in her own.

 

Jessica froze. Yuri’s hands, like before, felt so warm and soft and she was reminded of that first day they had together. Except this time there was no “Amazing Kwon Tour”, no crowded halls to get past or confusing corridors to try and memorize. Unlike before this time Jessica was conscious of the slight stirring in her chest and she didn’t know what to do with it. So she stared at Yuri’s concerned gaze, the natural light of the sun giving Yuri’s dark eyes a little warmer colour. Brown, like hot chocolate.

 

Then Yuri frown deepened and Jessica realized that she hasn’t answered her yet and was probably giving the girl unnecessary worry. Breaking eye contact Jessica hanged her head down, soughing deeply, and hoping at least that could lessen her blush. “It’s okay. I think I.. I just need a little air, that’s all.” She said, pulling her hand away from Yuri. She could still feel the warmth. She shook her head, gripping the edge of her blouse just to have something to hold onto. She wasn’t thinking of reaching out to hold Kwon Yuri’s hands. That was absurd. Even though it does feel nice to hold her ha- No! Jessica get a grip.

 

“I’ll get the windows.” Yuri said hurriedly, rushing to the windows and pushing them open one by one. When she was done she rushed back, once again taking Jessica’s hands, much to Jessica’s internal delight, not that she would admit it, to guide her to a chair near the windows.

 

Even after she had taken her seat, Yuri leaving her side to try and pry the window a little wider, Jessica continued to stare at the girl. Why was she so nice to her? She wasn’t particularly nice to her the first time they met. Or the second time. Hell today she raved at her for a stupid painting she didn’t even care about. The “Amazing Kwon Tour”, as tiring as it had been, had actually helped her in memorizing the school ground. And when Tiffany had made fun of her the other day Yuri somehow made it less embarrassing for her, even though she laughed at first. Even the painting, she looked genuinely happy for her where as others might’ve taken the glory for themselves, after all she didn’t sign it and left it in the room for anyone to take. She’s even making an effort to get to know her despite Jessica’s less than friendly attitude towards her. She wasn’t even popular. And now.. maybe she was just over thinking things. But how can a person be so kind?

 

“She looks so real.” She unconsciously blurted, her face instantly flushing the second the words left her lips.

 

“What?” Yuri asked.

 

“Nothing. Yuri-ssi.” Jessica hung her head, pretending to be checking her nails. This time around she managed to fight down the heat rising to her cheeks, mostly thanks to the cool air. Yuri stared at her for a few seconds, frowning a little, and then shrugged.

 

“You know, you can drop the honorifics. I mean, we are friends right?” Yuri asked.

 

Jessica raised her head, meeting the questioning yet hopeful gaze Yuri sent her. Again she broke their gaze, turning her sights down to the floor, small smile pulling at her lips and she nodded her head. “Only if you do the same.”

 

There was a pause in between their conversation. Jessica could hear the light scuffling of Yuri’s shoes as she moved about. Then she saw the foot of a chair at the corner of her vision followed by an old sneaker. Yuri had taken a seat beside her. A hand came into her vision, reaching for one of her hands on her lap, gripping it lightly. She looked up to Yuri. “You’re okay now right? Feeling better?”

 

Again she nodded her head. “Yes. Thank you.. Yuri.”

 

Yuri smiled, eye-smiles and teeth showing and all. And yes, Jessica reaffirmed, she was way cuter that way. “You’re very much welcome, Jesshika.”

 

~~~

 

A/N: I got a little fluffy Yulsic moment here, and mentions of Taeny.. Also a little something-something there during the Q & A  that will be hinted along in the following chapter or the next. Still working on it.

I know. I’m horrible. I had something playing around my head while I was writing this.. actually I still do. It’s taking over my mind and whenever I try to edit this I always end up going to that thing and the these two things argue over which should demand my full attention.. The other one almost always wins…

Anyway, thanks to the new subscribers. ‘Preciate the comments and the upvotes (still don't know what those are for). Y'all haven't gotten tired of me yet, have you?

 

 

On another note, what do you guys think about thrillers?

Scribbles out~