“Hey guys,” Lisa greeted as she climbed into the backseat of Rosé’s car.

“Hi, Lisa,” Rosé replied, smiling at the blonde through the rearview mirror.

“‘Sup loser,” Jennie said playfully, turning around in the shotgun seat to smirk at Lisa. “Ready to show everyone what you’ve got?”

“I was born ready,” Lisa answered with a wink.

“Well someone’s uncharacteristically confident,” Jennie noted.

“Yeah, I have a super confident alter ego that comes out when I do anything related to dance,” Lisa confessed jokingly.

“Let’s just hope you’re not just all talk,” Jennie teased.

“You better be prepared to be blown away,” Lisa said confidently. From her place in the driver’s seat, Rosé rolled her eyes, smiling at the exchange between the two girls.

***

The dance studio was alive with chatter. Students were scattered about in small clusters, some deep in conversation, others warming up. Lisa suddenly felt a bit intimidated by the size of the group and she stopped in the doorway. Jennie noticed this and moved back towards the girl.

“What’s the matter, Blondie?” Jennie asked with a smirk. “You’re not nervous, are you?”

“N-no. Of course not,” Lisa stammered, trying to sound as confident as she had before but failing.

“Hey, stop worrying so much. You’ll be fine,” Jennie assured the younger girl with a genuine smile. Just then, Rosé made her way back to the pair.

“Lisa, Mrs. Parish wants to speak with you,” the redhead informed her. With a deep breath and a reassuring thumbs up from Jennie, Lisa made her way over to the dance teacher in question.

“She’s terrified,” Jennie said to Rosé as she watched Lisa walk away. Rosé nodded, moving away from the door in order to stretch.

“She’s a nervous wreck,” Rosé agreed. “But I’m sure she’ll feel better once she starts dancing. I always do.”

“As if you get nervous,” Jennie scoffed, taking a seat on the floor near Rosé.

“I’m only human, Jen.”

“I can’t believe this. The Rosé Park gets nervous? What a revelation.” Jennie smirked up at her best friend.

“Don’t make me wipe that smirk off of your face,” Rosé said in a warning tone.

“I dare you,” Jennie challenged. Rosé glared at the brunette, taking her water bottle from her bag wordlessly. She was about to make a snappy comeback when Mrs. Parish walked to the front of the room and asked for everyone’s attention.

“Everyone, listen up for a moment!” the young woman said. Everyone immediately fell silent. “First of all, welcome back to everyone.”

A cheer went up from the students, many of whom yelled out “We missed you, Mrs. P!”

“I hope you all enjoyed your summer,” Mrs. Parish continued. She smiled mischievously for a moment before adding, “And I hope you all had fun last night at the welcome back party.”

Everyone fell silent. That had been a completely student organized event which teachers weren’t really supposed to know about. More than that, though, was the fact that they had all performed without Mrs. Parish’s knowledge or help.

“Yeah, you’re not slick guys. But I heard that it was very successful and I am very proud of you all for organizing the performance on your own,” Mrs. Parish finally finished. The whole room seemed to heave a sigh of relief. “Now, moving on. I pleased to inform you that we have a new member of the team. Please give a warm welcome to Lisa Manoban who’s joining us all the way from Thailand. She is our newest choreographer.”

Rosé choked on the water she had taken a sip of. She started coughing, sliding down to sit on the floor as she tried to catch her breath. Jennie gently tapped her back, trying to help her.

“You alright?” the older girl whispered when Rosé’s cough died down.

“Fine,” Rosé croaked quietly. She fell silent just as Mrs. Parish was finishing her little speech.

“I’ll stop talking now and give Lisa the stage. She’s prepared a little something for all of you.” Mrs. Parish walked to the side of the room and Lisa took her place in the center of the room.

“Thank you, Mrs. Parish,” Lisa said quietly. The blonde shook out her hands, the nerves clear on her face. But then the music started and her demeanor changed entirely. A confident smirk lit up Lisa’s face as she started moving, her eyes blazing. Her movements were lithe and even the more complicated moves looked like they came easily to her. Her body rolled in time with the music, her presence effortlessly capturing everyone’s attention. Everyone caught their breath when she executed a freeze pose, and the entire room erupted in applause when the dance ended. And just like that, Lisa became the single most popular person in the dance troupe.

***

“Oh my gosh, Lisa,” Rosé exclaimed as she, Lisa, and Jennie piled back into the car after dance practice ended.

“What?” Lisa asked innocently, a note of self-consciousness in her tone.

“When you said you danced, I didn’t know you were that good,” Rosé gushed.

“Really? I was good?” Lisa inquired uncertainly.

“I mean, you weren’t bad,” Jennie shrugged. Rosé smacked the girl’s shoulder.

“Oh, shut up. You practically had to scrape your jaw off of the floor,” Rosé teased.

“Wow, I impressed Jennie? I didn’t think I was that good,” Lisa joked.

“Yeah, yeah. So maybe you’re a pretty good dancer,” Jennie admitted. “Don’t go getting a big head about it.”

“So, Lisa, why didn’t you tell us that you were the troupe’s new choreographer,” Rosé wanted to know.

“I dunno. I guess I didn’t want it to seem like was bragging. It’s not like I asked for it or anything. The school offered me a scholarship for attending the dance program and everything, but I have to work off part of the expenses. Mrs. Parish thought it would be a good idea to have me do some extra work with the dance troupe instead of wasting my time on some busy work around the school,” Lisa explained.

“Still, being a choreographer is a big deal around here,” Jennie informed her.

“Especially with Mrs. Parish. She doesn’t trust just anyone,” Rosé added.

“Well, then I guess I should feel honored,” Lisa laughed.

“Oh, yeah. Before I forget, I have an offer for you, Lisa,” Rosé said suddenly.

“Yeah? What’s that?” Lisa asked.

“The troupe is going out together tomorrow night to celebrate our performance last night and they wanted me to ask you if you wanted to come, too,” Rosé explained.

“Really? But I didn’t even perform with you guys,” Lisa pointed out.

“Neither did I, but I’m going,” Jennie stated.

“Think of it as a welcome for you,” Rosé shrugged. Seeing Lisa’s hesitation, she added, “You could even bring Jisoo along, if she wants to come.”

“Could I really?” Lisa asked, her face lighting up at the proposition.

“I doubt that the dance troupe would complain about having the opportunity to hang out with the most popular drama kid on campus,” Jennie reasoned.

“Alright then. I don’t see why not,” Lisa finally decided.

“Awesome. I’ll pick you guys up at seven tomorrow then,” Rosé smiled.

***

“Hey guys!” Lisa greeted the next night as she climbed into the back seat of the car. A girl with dyed red hair climbed in after her. “Guys, this is Jisoo. Jisoo, this is Rosé and Jennie.”

“I know. I have class with them,” Jisoo laughed. She turned to the girls in the front seats. “Nice to formally meet you guys. Lisa’s been talking about you a lot.”

“That’s not surprising. She never stops talking,” Jennie teased.

“Don’t mind Jennie. She’s not always that annoying,” Rosé commented as she started driving.

“Isn’t she though?” Lisa joked. Jennie made a face at her from the shotgun seat.

“Considering you just met, you seem really comfortable with each other,” Jisoo noted with amusement.

“You’d be surprised how comfortable you get with someone once you’ve slept in their bed,” Lisa said nonchalantly, smirking. Jennie turned around to look at her incredulously, noting the innuendo Lisa was making.

“You’re not as innocent as you look, are you?” Jennie asked, staring at the blonde. Lisa only laughed in response.

“Innocence is relative in regards to Lisa,” Jisoo answered on her behalf.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m an angel,” Lisa smiled.

“I think that time you spent with Jennie yesterday morning was bad for you. You’re starting to sound like her,” Rosé teased, successfully drawing a laugh from the girls in the back of the car and a glare from Jennie. Rosé then finally parked the car. “Alright, here we are.”

“Why are we at the beach at seven thirty PM?” Jisoo asked, uncertainly stepping out of the car.

“This is where all the cool people go to have fun,” Jennie said with a mischievous grin. “You of all people should know that.”

“You didn’t bring us out here to kill us, did you?” Lisa joked, trying to sound lighthearted.

“You both need to relax,” Rosé told them. “Haven’t you ever heard of having a bonfire at the beach?”

“Is that what we’re doing here?” Jisoo demanded as she and Lisa were led onto the sand. They weren’t walking for long before a light became visible not far off in the distance. As they drew closer, the sound of chatter and laughter could be heard, along with the strumming of a guitar. Brian was the first person to notice his arrival and he smiled at the group, making his way over to them.

“About time you two got here,” he said in exasperation to Rosé and Jennie. The he turned to the other two girls. “You must be Lisa. And Jisoo, of course. It’s nice to finally meet the two of you. I’m Brian.”

“Hi,” Jisoo and Lisa replied in unison, smiling at the boy.

“Do any of you girls what something to drink?” Brian offered.

“What’s the strongest liquor we have tonight? Whisky? Tequila? Rum?” Jennie asked, looking thoughtful. Jisoo and Lisa exchanged uncertain glances. Rosé caught the exchange and proceeded to smack Jennie on the arm.

“She’s kidding,” Rosé assured the other girls.

“Yeah, we’ve only got beer and soda,” Brian admitted.

“Ugh, that’s no fun,” Jennie sighed. “Whatever. Beer for all us then.”

“Alright, you guys get comfortable and join the party and I’ll be right back.” With that, Brian disappeared.

“So. ready to have some fun?” Rosé asked, looking at Lisa and Jisoo. Lisa was biting her lip uncertainly and Jisoo looked like she was regretting her decision to come. Rosé let out a groan. “Guys, come on. Lighten up.”

“You both need to learn to live a little,” Jennie said, taking Lisa and Jisoo by the hands and dragging them towards the group of people crowded around the flickering fire. Rosé shook her head, smiling to herself as she went after them

***

The night had been a success. Jennie had somehow managed to get Jisoo and Lisa to loosen up, and it turned out that they were both a lot of fun. The dance troupe loved them and the night was more fun because of them. There was a lot of laughter and even singing and dancing at one point. The night was drawing to a close, and many people had left already, but it wasn’t over yet.

“Alright, everyone,” Jennie announced, getting to her feet. Everyone fell silent to listen. “It’s that time again.”

“What’s going on?” Jisoo leaned over and whispered to Rosé.

“We kind of have this tradition. You’ll see,” Rosé whispered back.

“Brian?” Jennie turned to the boy. He stepped forward and handed Jennie a small box which she held up for everyone to see.

“Please tell me that’s not what I think it is,” Jisoo mumbled.

“It’s time for our traditional game of Pocky!” Jennie said and a cheer went up from everyone else.

“This is your tradition?” Jisoo demanded, looking at Rosé. The younger girl shrugged.

“I don’t really remember how it started, but every time we have little get-togethers like this we play Pocky. It’s all in good fun, especially because we’re all close and it’s just a game,” Rosé told her.

“So, who will my first victim be?” Jennie challenged.

“Now what’s she talking about?” Jisoo asked Rosé.

“Jennie is the reigning Pocky champ. No one’s been able to beat her, not even me. She plays to win, and most people are too intimidated by her to actually beat her anyway,” Rosé explained, chuckling a bit to herself.

“Come on? No one even wants to try?” Jennie was saying. All of a sudden, Lisa--who had been quietly listening for the past few minutes--jumped to her feet.

“I’ll play,” the blonde said.

“Challenge accepted,” Jennie smirked, motioning for Lisa to step forward. Applause went up from everyone but Jisoo, who was instead looking at Lisa in confusion.

“Why are you making that face?” Rosé asked Jisoo.

“Because, Lisa hates these types of games. Not to mention that she doesn’t play anything to win,” Jisoo responded.

“What do you mean?” Rosé demanded.

“Lisa is literally one of the unluckiest people I know. She never wins anything, really, unless it has to do with dance,” Jisoo explained. “Which is why I’m confused as to why she volunteered.”

“Taking one for the team I guess,” Rosé shrugged.

“Alright, you know the rules. First person to take their mouth off of the Pocky stick loses. If your lips touch, then the first person to break the kiss loses,” Brian said loudly, looking back and forth between Lisa and Jennie. “Got it?”

Both girls nodded wordlessly. Brian took a Pocky stick out of the box and held it up. Everyone watched as each girl placed one end of the stick in their mouths and the game began. It didn’t take long before the treat disappeared and the two girls’ lips came into contact. The group watched on with bated breath as the two girls in the middle locked lips. And the the craziest thing happened--Jennie pulled away, stumbling back a step and breaking the kiss. For a moment, there was shocked silence.

“Did… did Jennie just lose?” Rosé said incredulously.

“More importantly, did she just lose to Lisa?” Jisoo added. Suddenly, there was cheering from the rest of the people there. They started chanting Lisa’s name and going forward to congratulate her, leaving Jisoo, Rosé, and Jennie to watch in dumbfound confusion.

Hello beautiful readers! I know this took a long time... again... I am very sorry about that! Hopefully, though, it was worth the wait *laughs nervously*

Until next time!

~unsungpoet