*Tzuyu's POV*

  I pull myself out of bed and follow everyone's voices, careful not to bump into anything. I fail after about 10 steps but manage to catch myself. I can barely keep my eyes open for any longer than 2 seconds. Then, when I think I've made it.

  I trip over my own feet and hit the floor with a thud. At Sana's feet.

  I don't move from where I am for a solid 10 seconds before I hear her voice. "Are you okay?"

  I feel like all the air in my lungs is knocked out of me by those 3 simple words. Her voice sounds groggy, dripping with sleepiness but the words are still clear. I can just imagine how sleepy she looks right now. No makeup, bedhead-

  I'm so whipped.

  I let out a small groan in response and begin to sit up. I'm finally able to open my eyes and the first thing I see her hand. I take it without any hesitation and she lifts me to my feet. 

  I look around at everyone, taking everything in. Then, "Oooh."

  My eyes drift to Nayeon and I can see the smirk on her face. I must look confused because then she says, "Your hand must be heavy."

  Jeongyeon elbows her but I still can't process her words. I glance at Sana and see the pink dusting her cheeks. She gives me an embarrassed, almost pleading look and squeezes my hand. 

  Squeezes my hand?

  My eyes go to my hand and I find that I'm still holding her hand. I drop her hand, letting mine fall to my side. I feel a blush creeping up my neck but still turn to Nayeon.

  "Is our maknae embarrassed?" she teases. 

  I don't respond, only stand there. Silence fills the room and the tension grows. I can feel everyone's eyes flitting from Nayeon then to me. Momo decides to take initiative.

  "I think that's enough," she says quietly, obviously directed at Nayeon.

  And just like that, Nayeon looks away from me and continues talking to Jeongyeon like nothing happened. My blush is long gone so I decide to just sit down and forget about it. As I walk to the other end of the sofa, Jeongyeon meets my eyes and sends me an apologetic look. I give a small nod in response.

  I sigh in relief as soon as I sit down and close my eyes. I only open them when I feel Sana's hand on my knee. My eyes shoot open and I look at her. She scans my face, observing my current mood.

  "Are you okay?" she asks for the second time in less than 10 minutes.

  I nod. "Of course," I respond. "Why wouldn't I be?"

  "I don't know, I thought maybe she had upset you," she says quietly.

  "I was flustered but not upset," I tell her. "I hadn't even realized..."

  "Neither had I," she says timidly.

  I sigh. "She knows how to get under people's skin, huh?" 

  "Yeah," she agrees.

  A moment of silence passes and then I remove her hand from my knee but keep it in mine. She looks at me and I look back. 

   "I-I really do like you," I manage to sputter out in a whisper.

  She smiles. "I like you too," she whispers back.

  I smile back and unlike a few minutes ago, I don't pull my hand away.

*~*~*

  I put down my plate in front of me and sit back, listening to the current conversation going on. I've already dismissed the little incident that happened in the morning and it seems like everyone has. That makes this conversation even more enjoyable.

  "I don't think it matters," Chaeyoung says.

  "Yeah, why should it?" Mina asks.

  Jeongyeon shrugs. "I mean, it depends, right?"

  Jihyo nods. "I agree, it could change everything based on the situation."

  "But, would it change it all that much even if it was based on the situation?" I ask.

  I see Dahyun and Momo nod in agreement. Sana whispers, "That's a good point."

  That ends the discussion and everyone finishes up whatever is left on their plate. Then, Nayeon claps and stands up. She looks around, stopping at every single one of us. 

  She looks back at me. "You're on cleaning duty," she says, a smile threatening to form on her face.

  I look at her. "What?"

  "I said that you're on cleaning duty," she repeats.

  "Why? I was on it only a few days ago," I tell her. 

  She shrugs. "Can't you just do it?" she asks and I can hear the annoyance in her voice.

  By now, my blood is boiling. "Why can't you?" I ask as calmly as I can but I can hear the irritation seeping in.

  Everyone is already standing up, ready to do walk away and do their own thing but they linger. I see Nayeon frown and she opens only to close it. I feel Sana stand up beside me and I glance at her.

  "Because I'm telling you to do it," Nayeon answers after a moment.

  I stand up. "I don't want to," I say, the anger evident in my voice.

  "Why can't you ask your girlfriend to help you?" she asks, gritting her teeth.

  I move away from the sofa. "What?" I ask icily.

  "Why. Don't. You. Ask. Your. Girlfriend. To. Help?" she repeats, emphasizing on every word.

  I almost laugh. "Who?"

  She stares at me, her eyes flashing. "We both know who," she says.

  I walk around to the other side of the room, to where she's standing. "Say it," I tell her. I dare you.

  She nods toward Sana. "Ask your girlfriend," she pauses, "Ask Sana."

  The spark of anger in me grows. "She's not my girlfriend," I clench my jaw.

  She smirks. She actually smirks. "You could've fooled me," she says.

  I glance around the room. I can Jeongyeon standing to my left, watching Nayeon and I's every move. Momo and Mina are standing by the doorway, holding hands. Chaeyoung and Dahyun are standing off to the right. I can see Dahyun holding onto her. Sana's a few feet away from Jeongyeon, watching me intently. Jihyo's standing beside MiMo, having what looks like an internal struggle with herself.  

  "Why the hell would it matter to you even if she was?" I ask. Why would it?

  She laughs. "Calm down, I never said it would," she says. "Don't get so defensive."

  "I wouldn't be if you weren't implying that my group member is my girlfriend," I tell her.

  "Why do you take everything so seriously?" she asks. "If I said that to anyone else, they would've brushed it off. It's not like any of us are dating each other."

  At that, everyone stiffens up. Dahyun and Chaeyoung pale. Momo and Mina let their hands drop to their sides. Jeongyeon frowns and Jihyo stares at Nayeon as if she can't believe what she's said. I see Sana fidget out of the corner of my eye.

  Nayeon glances around, now feeling all eyes on her. "What?" she asks.

  "Shut up," I say quietly, loud enough for her to hear. Still, she pretends she doesn't hear it.

  "It's true, it's not like any of us are actually da-" she starts to say.

  "Shut up!" I almost yell.

  Nayeon stares at me but her gaze hardens. "Why? All I was saying was-" she tries to continue.

  "And I said 'Shut up'" I repeat, anger dripping off every word.

  She takes a step closer. "Why are you so upset?" she asks. 

  "Because you're making everyone uncomfortable," my voice rises and I motion to everyone in the room. "It's one thing to assume my love life but don't you dare assume everyone else's."

  She glances around but everyone except Jeongyeon and Jihyo avoids her gaze. She turns back to me, anger still evident in her eyes. "Are you saying I don't know my friends?" 

  "No, but if you're not sure about something, keep your mouth shut."

  "Or else?" she challenges.

  "Your words have repercussions," I calmly tell her. 

  "So, what will you do?" she persists.

  I sigh. "Why are you so persistent in picking a fight with me?" I ask.

  "Because I know you won't do a thing," she answers without a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

  I can't help but laugh. "Are you sure about that?"

  "Yep," she says with a smirk. "And even if you do, your girlfriend will hold you back."

  I flare up with anger at that. "She's not my girlfriend," I say, my voice rising with every word.

  She just nods. I can feel the tension building in the room. I can feel everyone's concern and I can tell that they're waiting until it escalates and they have to break it up.

  I run a hand through my hair. "Why do you care so much about my love life?"

  "I don't," she answers. "I just thought you were 'normal' that's all."

  "'Normal'?" I ask and I have to restrain myself from doing anything dumb. "What the hell does that mean?"

  "You know what I mean," she says, avoiding my question. Say it.

  I clench my fist, digging my nail into the palm of my hand. "If you want to call me abnormal, so be it," I say, "but you aren't...how'd you just say it? 'Normal', wasn't it? Yeah, you're not 'normal' either."

  "What are you implying?" she asks.

  "You know what I mean," I say, using her words against her. "You're no saint either."

  She doesn't say anything and although I see some color drain from her face, I can see the daggers she's sending me. The room is silent and I can hear both of us breathing. Ragged, incomplete breathing.

  "I saw you and Momo that day," I say, bringing her back to the day I had to pull Momo away. "I saw everything, saw every move. Saw your every move."

  "And?"

  I can't help but smile. I can't tell if it's because I'm angry just thinking about it or if I find her 'innocence' funny. "You tried to make a move," I bluntly state.

  "What?" I can't tell if she's daring me to continue or if she's momentarily lost me.

  I take a deep breath. "You tried to kiss her," I state, loud and clear.

  She laughs but I catch the nervousness in it. "Yeah, okay," she says and glances at Momo and Mina. "Why would I do that? So Mina can kill me for kissing her wife?"

  I see Mina go red but I catch the twitch of a frown. Momo stands there, a blank expression on her face.

  "I see I hit a nerve," she says, not a hint of remorse in her voice.

  "Shut up," I tell her.

  "Or what?"

  I step closer to her. "I don't know," I say.

  She chuckles. "You like to play the hero, huh?" she asks, taking a step towards me.

  "Maybe," I answer.

  "You know, I just might be helping you with your girlfriend," she says.

  "She's not my—" I begin to shout, stepping closer to her.

  "Girlfriend? Yeah, okay," she says. She reaches out and places a hand on my shoulder but I slap it away. "I might be helping you."

  I take the bait. "Yeah, how so?" I ask.

  She takes another step until we're almost nose to nose. She leans in close and I feel her breath hit my ear. For a few seconds, she stays there and all I hear is her breathing and my own.

  Then, "Now, she just might go all the way with you," she whispers but it's clear enough for everyone else to hear. 

  At that, I shove her away from me. Her face hardens and all traces of a smile are gone. She shoves me back, hard. Just as I shove her back even harder, I hear Chaeyoung's voice.

  "Don't touch her like that," she says and shoves Nayeon roughly.

  Dahyun jumps forward and tries to pull her back but Chaeyoung fights it. Nayeon recovers and she lunges at me. She grabs onto my shirt and throws a punch. She hits me square in the mouth and I immediately taste copper. I throw a punch back and I feel it connect with her jaw.

  Then, we're on the ground and we're trying to land punches wherever we can. I feel one connect with my chin before I throw one at the side of her head. I can feel everyone trying to pry us off each other. Can hear everyone's urgent voices filled with concern.

  I feel Nayeon's fingers dig into my wrist and I wince. I grab at whatever I can and inflict a few scratches. Ones that'll sting when she washes off but not deep enough to leave noticeable scars. Not like the ones that she's inflicting on me.

  Then, I feel her fist connect with my stomach and I almost let out a groan of pain. I try to pry her off but she punches me again, hitting me square in the chest and knocking the wind out of me. I'm starting to tire but who else will help pry her off me?

  I grab her wrist, muster up some strength, and punch her in the stomach. Or at least, where I think her stomach is. I hear the wind get knocked out of her and then I feel her being pulled away. I feel a soft pair of arms and a strong pair of arms pull me away.

  Someone pulls me to my feet and I lean against them for support. I try to catch my breathe and ignore that everything hurts. I look up and see that Nayeon's still doubled over, trying to recover.

  I glance at who I'm leaning on and see Chaeyoung's angry but worried expression. To my other side, is Sana and I feel her wrap her arm around me. After I've caught my breath, they drag me to the kitchen and I watch Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Momo drag Nayeon to the bathroom.

  I only catch Nayeon's eye for a second and despite the anger, I saw the regret and remorse in her eyes. And I know she saw the same in mine. Not only that but I saw what I had done while we were wrestling on the floor.

  I saw the scratches on her face and neck, the already forming bruise on her jaw. The split skin above her eyebrow. I didn't catch the scratches on the rest of her but I imagine they weren't very pretty.

  They pull up a chair and I sit down while Dahyun runs to get the other first aid kit. When she's back, they assess my injuries. 

  "She split your lip," Chaeyoung says and I bring a hand up to my mouth. I can feel wet blood and when I pull my hand back, I see it on my fingers.

  "Bruised your chin," Dahyun says quietly.

  "Scratched your face pretty good," Chaeyoung says and glances at my arms. "Your arms too."

  They open it and start to apply alcohol to the scratches on my arms and face. I wince every time because it stings. Then Sana takes my hand and leads me to the sink. 

  "Wash off the blood here," she says, referring to my split lip. "Rinse it well so you get rid of any bacteria."

  I nod and do as I'm told. They hand me a towel and I dry my mouth. "It might bleed a little so if you taste blood, don't worry," Mina says. "It's going to hurt until it begins to heal so expect it to sting."

  Chaeyoung and Dahyun begin to bandage up the scratches on my arms and wrists. I notice the scratches on their arms. I notice the scratches on all of their arms. I lightly touch one on Chaeyoung's arm, a particularly nasty one and she winces.

  "We scratched you?" I ask her.

  "Yeah," she says and glances at me. "That was the least of our worries."

  Dahyun nods. "You guys were pounding on each other," she says.

  I chuckle but stop because it hurts. "I know," I say quietly. "Sorry about that."

  "It's okay," Sana says when they're done. 

  "I shouldn't have shoved her," I say.

  Silence passes over us. "She shouldn't have said what she said," Mina says and I barely hear her.

  "Yeah, but violence shouldn't have been the answer," I respond.

  They nod. "Lift up your shirt," Sana says.

  I do and they all wince at the same time. I look down and see the bruise that's already started to form. I see how dark it is, how bad it looks. I'm so distracted that when I feel Sana lightly touch it, I jump back in surprise.

  "That's pretty bad," Dahyun says.

  I nod. "I'll have to be cautious."

  I turn to Sana when I feel her grab my hand. Anything on my mind fades away and I almost forget about my wounds. Concern is etched across her face and I see the frown on her lips. I frown and mentally scold myself. How could I have worried her like this?

  "How do you feel?" she asks.

  "Sore."

  Her hand reaches up and she caresses my face. I see her scan my face, staring at every injury. Then, "You scared me."

  I reach my hand up, grabbing onto the one caressing my face. "I know, forgive me," I whisper.

  I lean forward and press a gentle kiss on her lips. I ignore the sting I feel due to my split lip. I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and caress her face softly. For a moment, we only stare at each other.

  "I'm sorry," I say.

  She frowns. "For what?"

  I only shoved Nayeon because...

  "I'm sorry for loving you so much," I whisper.

 

A/N

  I'm sorry this chapter isn't the happiest. I love Nayeon so I feel kind of guilty for making her the antagonist in this chapter. I know she comes as homophobic this chapter but she isn't. Please, don't hate her because of this chapter. She's a good person but she said what she knew would hurt/bother Tzuyu. I'm sorry for not delivering any DahyunxChaeyoung but I hope I can next chapter. This chapter was mostly Tzuyu if you even acknowledge the small SaTzu moments. I hope to deliver MiMo and Dubchaeng in the next or following chapters. Leave any comment, complaints, or suggestments if you have any. It'd be greatly appreciated. Until the next chapter.