The drive back to campus was silent. Not one of the four girls spoke the entire ride--none of them knew what to say. When Rosé pulled to a stop in front of Lisa and Jisoo’s dorm building, there was an awkward moment where no one moved. And then Lisa was out of the car and walking towards the building, nothing more than a curt “goodbye” being tossed over her shoulder. She didn’t even glance back to see if Jisoo was behind her.

“Well, um… thanks for inviting me out, I guess. Have a good night,” Jisoo said awkwardly as she rushed after the young blonde. By the time she caught up with Lisa, she was already unlocking the door to their dorm room. “Uh, what was that all about?”

“What was what all about?” Lisa replied nonchalantly, not even looking up as she pushed the door open. She made her way into the room, plopping down onto her bed and beginning to take off her shoes.

“How about everything?” Jisoo demanded. “The game, the kiss, the awkward atmosphere in the car, leaving so abruptly. Just everything.”

“I dunno what you want me to say,” Lisa shrugged, tossing her shoes aside. “It was just a game.”

“Yeah, but it’s not your type of game and yet you won,” Jisoo reminded her. Again, Lisa shrugged.

“I guess I just caught Jennie off guard. Or maybe I just got lucky for once. Why does it matter?”

“It doesn’t. It was just weird is all.”

“It’s kind of hard to make a kissing game not weird,” Lisa deadpanned as she started to change into her pyjamas.

“What I meant was that it was unexpected from you,” Jisoo elaborated.

“Yeah, well, I guess I like being unpredictable sometimes,” Lisa said. “Now, if you don’t mind, can we change the topic? I’d rather not talk about this anymore.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. I’ll drop it,” Jisoo acquiesced, silently adding, For now.

***

“Okay, so are you going to explain what happened back there?” Rosé demanded as she and Jennie entered their apartment. Jennie shrugged.

“What are you talking about?” she replied calmly.

“You lost Pocky,” Rosé stated as if that was of some fundamental value. Again, Jennie shrugged.

“It’s a game. I can’t always win. It was about time someone beat me.”

“But you didn’t just lose to someone. You lost to Lisa.”

“Why is that different?”

“It isn’t. I mean…  don’t know, it just is.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, Rosé.”

“Just help me understand here. Why did you pull away in the first place?”

“Why does it matter?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“And you didn’t answer mine.”

“I asked first.”

“What, are we five now?”

“Jen, I’m just trying to figure you out,” Rosé sighed, trying to prevent this from escalating further.

“There’s nothing to figure out. It was just a game of Pocky. It doesn’t mean anything,” Jennie reiterated.

“But--” Rosé started, only to be cut off.

“Look, Rosé, I’m tired. Can we just leave this alone?” Jennie pleaded, running a hand through her hair.

“Yeah, sure,” Rosé unwillingly relented. “Goodnight, I guess.”

“G’night.” With that, Jennie walked off to her room. Without bothering to change, Jennie fell back onto her bed with a groan. The truth was that she didn’t have an explanation for what had gone on during the Pocky game. Honestly, she could barely even remember what had happened. She wanted to blame the night’s events on the alcohol she’d consumed, but she knew that wasn’t the case. She’d been completely about her wits when the Pocky game had begun, and she’d been intent on maintaining her Pocky champ title. But then something had happened. She wasn’t sure if it had something to do with the flicker of mischief in Lisa’s eyes during the few moments before their lips touched. Or maybe it was the gentle innocence of their lips meeting for the first time. More likely, though, it had everything to do with the flush of heat that surged through Jennie’s body when she and Lisa kissed. The only thing Jennie was certain of, however, was that for some reason she couldn’t yet explain, her lips had been tingling ever since she’d lost the game.

***

“Jisoo? What do you know about Rosé and Jennie?” Lisa asked as Jisoo emerged from their shared bathroom. The blonde was sitting cross-legged on her bed, hugging her pillow to her chest.

“I thought you didn’t want to talk about this anymore,” Jisoo said cautiously.

“I don’t want to talk about Pocky. But I’m curious about Rosé and Jennie. I really don’t know that much about them after all,” Lisa replied innocently, her expression thoughtful. Jisoo sat at the foot of the girl’s bed and contemplated for a moment.

“Well, as far as I know, they’ve been friends practically forever and they’re basically inseparable. They’re like a package deal--you can’t get one without the other,” Jisoo finally told the younger girl.

“What about when they’re in relationships though? I know they’re sort of together, but do they ever date other people?”

“I haven’t really heard of Rosé having relationships outside of the… thing she has with Jennie, whatever that is. I’m only aware of her having dated one other person since she started college.”

“And Jennie?” At that, Jisoo let out a sharp laugh. Lisa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “What’s so funny?”

“What’s funny is that Jennie Kim doesn’t do relationships. She does flings and one night stands,” Jisoo explained.

“What do you mean?” Lisa questioned, her voice lilting strangely. Jisoo narrowed her eyes.

“Why are you asking me all of this?” Jisoo demanded.

“I’m just curious…” Lisa answered, dropping her gaze.

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“I’m not lying!”

“Sure you’re not.” Jisoo rolled her eyes. She stood up and made her way over to her own bed, pulling her covers aside and crawling under them. “I’m not sure what you’re thinking right now, but I’m warning you. Jennie is a dangerous person to want as anything more than as a friend.”

With that, Jisoo turned off the desk lamp, plunging the room into darkness and effectively putting an end to their conversation. Lisa frowned in Jisoo’s direction for a moment before furrowing beneath her covers. She tossed and turned for a few minutes before turning onto her back and staring up at the ceiling in the darkness. Despite the fact that it was almost one in the morning, Lisa wasn’t tired. Her mind was buzzing with too many thoughts, thoughts that she didn’t dare vocalize--not yet anyway. The truth was that something had happened when she and Jennie kissed during the Pocky game. She still wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, or how she felt about it, but she knew there was something there. Just reliving the moment in her mind made her heart lurch. Lisa ran her thumb lightly over her bottom lip, an involuntary smile making her lips twitch as she recalled the feeling of Jennie’s lips against hers. After a moment, she shook her head.

What am I thinking? It was just a game, it didn’t mean anything, Lisa scolded herself mentally. The truth, however, was that she wasn’t sure if she believed herself any more.

***

“Why are you so nervous? You were totally confident when you left,” Rosé’s voice came through the phone. Jennie ran a hand through her hair, her eyes on the floor as she paced back and forth.

“I don’t know, I just am,” she sighed.

“Just take a deep breath, Jen. You already know she likes you. All you have to do is knock on her door and show her you like her back,” Rosé said.

“How can you be so sure she likes me?” Jennie demanded.

“Oh, trust me. She likes you,” Rosé reiterated, the smirk evident in her voice. “Now stop stalling and get your girl.”

Before Jennie could protest, Rosé hung up. Jennie frowned at the phone for a minute before tucking it into the back pocket of her jeans. Then she turned around and faced the door she’d been pacing in front of. After taking a deep breath, she rapped her knuckles on the door. She heard shuffling from inside and a muffled “Coming!” before the door swung open to reveal Lisa.

“Oh, hey, Jennie! What’s up?” Lisa greeted, a warm smile lighting up her face. For a second, Jennie’s mind went blank. Her heart sped up and her palms started sweating, her nerves rushing back. Lisa tilted her head like a confused puppy, her wide eyes trained on Jennie. “Is everything okay?”

“Can I come in?” Jennie suddenly blurted.

“Oh, yeah, of course!” Lisa smiled sheepishly, stepping aside so that Jennie could walk past her and into the dorm room. To Jennie’s relief, Jisoo wasn’t there--Jennie and Lisa were alone. Lisa closed the door to the room and turned to face Jennie. “So, what are you doing here?”

“I needed to tell you something,” Jennie started uncertainly. Lisa looked at Jennie with a reassuring smile.

“What is it?” Lisa asked, her voice innocent and sweet. Jennie couldn’t answer, her eyes trained on the floor. Lisa stepped forward and gently took Jennie’s hand, drawing the dark-haired girl’s attention. “Hey, whatever it is, you can tell me. You don’t have to be scared, no matter what it is.”

The younger girl started to pull away, but Jennie held onto her hand and tugged on it lightly. Lisa stumbled forward and into Jennie’s waiting arms. Their faces were inches apart now and Jennie’s nerves dissipated. Without hesitating, she tilted her head up and captured Lisa’s lips with her own. The kiss was soft and innocent but it got Jennie’s head spinning. Although she had initiated the kiss, Jennie was the first to pull away. She noticed with a start that they were no longer in the dorm room but at the beach. Lisa was looking at the older girl with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes, a smile tugging on her lips.

“I didn’t know you felt that way, Jennie,” the blonde said shyly, looking at Jennie through her lashes. The younger girl took a tentative step closer, cupping Jennie’s cheek and kissing her again.

***

Jennie’s eyes snapped open, her chest heaving and her body flushed with heat. She stared up at the ceiling in the darkness, trying to rationalize the dream she’d just woken up from.

It was just a dream, it doesn’t mean anything, Jennie thought to herself, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and ignore the tingling feeling of her lips. She risked a glance at the clock and groaned--it wasn’t even five yet. Somehow, though, she didn’t think she’d be sleeping any more that day.

Hello there, lovely readers! I hope you enjoyed this little update as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know it seems like a filler chapter and it sort of is, but I wanted to give you a little insight into Lisa and Jennie's minds since I haven't really show you that yet. Hopefully, you guys liked that! Anyway, until next time! ^-^

~unsungpoet