Thursday, the day after her date with Taeyeon, Tiffany finds herself sitting at her lunch table in a daze. She had been thinking about Taeyeon all day. She worried that Taeyeon would forget about her and that yesterday was the last time they’d see each other. Sure, Tiffany had given Taeyeon her number, but it was written on such a small piece of paper. The constant thought of Taeyeon losing it nagged at Tiffany.

                “Fany, you’ve been really out of it all day. Is something up?”, Sooyoung who is sitting across from her asks.

                “Uh… well, nothing much.” Sooyoung stares at her curiously; willing her to continue. “I’m just thinking about Taeyeon. I ran into her yesterday.”

                “Yeah, you ditched me so you could hang out with her.”, Yuri, who is sitting beside Tiffany, says bitterly.

                Seohyun who is on the other side of Tiffany chimes in, “I’m not sure if I like her… She acted nice but something about her seemed off.”

                Tiffany sighs in frustration, “You guys just weren’t around her  long enough. She’s really sweet.”

                Hyoyeon, who is beside Sooyoung, rolls her eyes, “You gotta be ing kidding me. You’re falling for that weirdo?”

                Tiffany glares at her, “Stop it. She’s a really good girl, you guys just don’t know her well enough. I spent all yesterday with her, and you only talked to her for a few minutes. Just quit it with the insults, alright?”

                “Well… How was yesterday?”, Seohyun asks cautiously.

                That makes Tiffany smile, “I just kind of ran into her at that one café that’s close by my house. We drove around for a little bit, and then went to Lover’s Park, which is a lot nicer in the day time by the way. We got some food, saw a movie, and walked around some. She was really sweet and cute the whole time. Then when she dropped me off back home she kissed me and god it was amazing.”        

                Hyoyeon groans, “Great, so now this girl you barely know has your address.”

                “And since when do you go around kissing girls you barely know?”, Yuri says with anger apparent in her tone.

                Tiffany sighs, “Yuri, it was just a tiny peck on the lips, relax. And what the hell is with you guys? I like a girl, she likes me back, and things are going well between us. You should be happy for me.”

                The group drops into silence for about ten seconds before Sooyoung finally speaks, “We are being really rude… I guess we just got the wrong vibe from her. We’re all happy that you’re happy, but… we just aren’t so sure about this Taeyeon girl.”

                “Maybe Taeyeon could come with us to the mall Saturday? We might end up warming up to her.”, Seohyun suggests.

                Tiffany grins, “Yeah, I think that’d be really great. I just hope she texts me. I wrote my number on a piece of paper for her, cause her phone wasn’t with her, but I’m really afraid she’ll lose it.”

                “If she likes you as much as you seem to like her I’m sure she guarded that paper with her life until she was able to get you in her contacts.” Sooyoung says with a smile that seems forced.

                Tiffany gives a small smile back, “Yeah… I hope you’re right.”

                Soon the bell rings, signaling the students to go to their next class.

                Tiffany waits all day for a text from Taeyeon, but by the time it’s 8pm she’s lost hope. “Maybe yesterday wasn’t as good for her as it was for me… Maybe I left a horrible impression on her. But she did kiss me... I really hope she hasn’t lost my number. The chances of me just running into her again are so slim…”, Her thoughts race as she stares at her math homework. There’s no way she’s going to be able to finish it while she’s feeling this stressed.

                It’s when her pencil finally touches the paper that her phone vibrates. Her heart immediately speeds up at the possibility that it’s Taeyeon. Slowly, she reaches for her phone and feels a wide grin form on her lips when she sees that it’s from an unfamiliar number.

-Hey Tiffany, It’s Taeyeon :)

                Tiffany never imagined that such a short and simple message could make her stomach flutter so much. She knows she has to reply, but she has no clue what to say. After all, Taeyeon’s message didn’t exactly prompt any certain response.

-Tae! I was worried you might have lost my number. I really should have wrote it on a bigger piece of paper :/

                Tiffany thinks that seems like a good enough reponse. Something to subtly show that she is missing Taeyeon, but nothing too clingy sounding.

                While she waits for a reply, Tiffany tries to work on her homework, but once again can’t. She’s too excited for Taeyeon to reply. After all, she knows Seohyun will have done the homework, so tomorrow she’ll just copy it. Seohyun never approved of it, but Tiffany knew she won’t refuse when she asks.

                It’s about a minute before Taeyeon replies, but it feels like an eternity to Tiffany.

-Never! I didn’t let that paper out of my sight until I could get your number in my phone. Sorry I didn’t write you sooner though. I was just busy today

                Tiffany grins so widely that her cheeks ache. Knowing that Taeyeon had dreaded losing the paper just as much as Tiffany had makes her feel beyond good. Any hard feelings she had about Taeyeon taking so long to write her have vanished.

-It’s alright :) Even though you were busy, was your day alright?

                In less than a minute Taeyeon replies:

-It was! I thought about you a lot. Do you have any free time this weekend? Maybe we could go out again :)

                Tiffany let’s out an involuntary squeal of joy. All of her feelings for Taeyeon definitely seem to be reciprocated.

-Me and my friends are going to the mall Saturday. They actually asked me to invite you. So what do you say?

                The wait for a reply is agonizing. Five long minutes go by before Tiffany receives an answer.

-I’d love to tag along! But are they the same friends that were with you when we first met? They didn’t seem to like me much…

                Reading the message gives Tiffany mixed emotions. Of course she’s ecstatic that Taeyeon’s going, but it’s not a good feeling knowing your romantic interest knows your friends don’t like them. But, maybe Saturday can change that.

-I gave them hell about being rude to you. They apologized then asked me to invite you along so that they can get to know you better. And if they start acting like that again, me and you can just go off by ourselves and have some time alone.

                Only after sending the message does Tiffany realize that the last bit could be taken the wrong way. Thinking about it makes Tiffany grin. It’s not like she would mind things getting a little hot between them. She pictures Taeyeon, herself, and her friends in the theater Saturday. Then while all her friends are absorbed in the movie her and Taeyeon sneaking off to the restroom and-

                The sound of her phone vibrating interrupts Tiffany’s thought.

-Time alone? I like the sound of that ;) I wish we could talk more, but I have to get to bed. I’ll text you tomorrow to get all the details for Saturday. Sleep well tonight :)

                Tiffany grins at the message.  At least it isn’t just her own mind that’s in the gutter.

-Sweet dreams :)

                Tiffany doesn’t want to stop texting just yet, but she also doesn’t want Taeyeon to miss out on sleep. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow we can talk more. Then I’ll get to see her Saturday. It’s not too long of a wait.” Tiffany tells herself as she tries to focus on her homework once more. She knows Seohyun won’t give her nearly as much flack if she gets at least half of it done.

                Friday is another excruciatingly slow day for Tiffany; another day of waiting for Taeyeon to text her. Sure, she had Taeyeon’s number now, but she was worried about bothering her. After all, Taeyeon had said she was busy yesterday, what if she’s busy again today?

                Tiffany sighs in boredom as she sits in front of the TV. Not that she’s actually watching it. She’s just waiting for her phone to vibrate to tell her Taeyeon has written her. Her only comfort is that she knows Taeyeon is going to text her today. At least she said she would. And if she doesn’t, Tiffany promised herself she would text Taeyeon at 8. Right now it’s only 5, and Tiffany is getting restless.

                Fortunately, Tiffany’s phone vibrates, and the name on the screen is none other than Taeyeon’s. Tiffany grins as she reads the message.

-Hello there, beautiful :) I can barely wait for tomorrow!

-Tomorrow can’t get here soon enough! I never thought it was possible to miss someone so much after only two days

                “Is saying that too much?”, Tiffany questions herself. After a moment of thought she decides she doesn’t care. She’s been dying to see Taeyeon again and she wants her to know it.

-I feel the same way. Tomorrow can’t get here soon enough!

                Tiffany grins widely; knowing your feelings are returned is always an amazing feeling.

                Saturday’s here and Tiffany is anxiously waiting on the front porch of her house for Taeyeon to pick her up, and then go to the mall to meet up with everyone. Even though it’s noon, Tiffany’s finding it hard to stay awake. Her and Taeyeon had texted, then talked on the phone, until late last night. It seemed that neither of them wanted to end the conversation.

                When Tiffany sees a familiar old and beat up car turn onto her street her exhaustion is forgotten. She springs to her feet and walks to the edge of the sidewalk with a grin. As soon as the car comes to a stop in front of her, Tiffany jumps into the passenger side seat.

                Taeyeon greets her with a heart melting smile, “You look really gorgeous today.”

                Tiffany notices something off about how Taeyeon looks, but before she can pinpoint exactly what it is Taeyeon leans over and kisses her. Immediately Tiffany responds in kind. It’s a sweet kiss; soft, and lingering. But how cold Taeyeon’s lips are distracts Tiffany.

                When they part Taeyeon sits back and looks at Tiffany affectionately. Now that she can study Taeyeon’s face, Tiffany realizes what is off; Taeyeon’s unusually pale. Sure, she already had pale skin, but before it had been a healthy, glowy, pale. Right now the paleness seems sickly, and pasty. The pallor is accentuated by abnormally dark circles under Taeyeon’s eyes. Tiffany can tell she’s put on a light layer of makeup, but it’s not concealing much.

                Tiffany smiles but asks, “Do you feel alright, Tae?”

                Taeyeon chuckles, “Of course! Why do you ask?”

                “Uhm, you just look a little…”, Tiffany hesitates; not knowing how to tell Taeyeon that she looks sick without sounding rude.

                Luckily Taeyeon understands where she’s going, “I’m fine, really. I guess staying up late just took a toll on me, but I promise I feel fine. Just a bit sleepy”

Tiffany nods, “You still look amazing.” She says reassuringly before leaning in for another kiss. Of course is feels nice, but how cold Taeyeon’s lips are is still distracting.

Despite the odd coolness of Taeyeon’s lips, Tiffany still finds herself wanting to go in for a third kiss after Taeyeon pulls away.

                Taeyeon sighs happily before saying, “I think we should get going. Your friends are probably starting to wonder where we’re at.”

                With a smile on her lips, Tiffany nods. Regardless of how her friends act, Tiffany knows today is going to be great. How could it be anything but great? After two long days, she’s finally getting to spend some more time with Taeyeon.