Momo pushed past Jihyo and Nayeon, head bent down staring at her shoes as she auto piloted her way to the front door of Nayeon’s house. It was stupid of her to come over, to join in on all the "fun" Jihyo advertised. The party was mostly drunk boys stumbling around "accidentally" groping girls and Nayeon and Jihyo forcing Momo to find someone to hook up with.

She wasn't interested, not in Jungyeon who spilt beer on her shoes, not in Mina who was awkward and infatuated and definitely not in Jae.

Leaving the party didn't lessen her headache or dry her shoes and the only solace offered was the light sound of wind rustling leaves as she made her way toward her own home. She hated that she got excited by Nayeon’s text.

Her heart raced when she spoke with Nayeon, she hid it well though, because Jihyo had spent 3 years with anxiety over the possibility that Nayeon might like her back. They were finally a thing and despite Momo's racing heart, she was happy for them.

There just wasn't someone out there for her like with Jihyo, she didn't have the luck.

Momo sighed, the night noise around her consuming the sound. Life was cruel sometimes.

Ahead of her, a body danced, laughed, skipped and twirled drunkenly. She couldn't make out who it was but they seemed in their own world. Ditzy, Momo thought to herself, she chuckled, whoever it was took her mind off the depressing thought of being lonely forever.

The feeling replaced with a slight concern over the stranger ahead. Would they be safe walking alone?

The party was dwindling down when she’d left, any minute now half-drunken teens would be speed racing up the hill toward their houses.

She was right when a few cars flew past her, blasting music. Momo watched as the figure in front stopped, wobbly veering off the sidewalk toward the street.

She sprinted. Her lungs burned as she tugged the stranger back. Her hand enclosed on the slim wrist of a girl taller than her.

She couldn’t hold back the anger that boiled in her "Are you insane?"

The girl blinked, registering the emotion, sobering up a little. She whined at Momo’s grip trying to peel the girl's fingers off in haste.

Momo calmed herself down, retracting her hand after a few lame attempts from the stranger at peeling her off.

"What's wrong with you.." Momo trailed off. The girl turned her back walking across the street with her hand held up high. She stood on the other side of the sidewalk, left hand balled up as she pointed with her right to a house behind her.

"I live here, what's wrong with you," the girl slurred before stomping up the steps.

Momo shoved her hands into her pockets, so much for being nice. It didn't matter, at least that girl wasn't splattered all over the asphalt.

Her house was only a block away from her run in with the ditzy girl. A block up a huge hill making her feet ache, it was the last time she walked down the hill to Nayeon’s house.

No lights were on, because no one was ever home. Not her parents, not even her dogs. They were away on a spa trip because Momo felt bad she had forgotten to feed them two days ago.

Her loved ones being absent only aided to the loneliness in her heart. She didn't want to think of the fact that it 'couldn't get worse’, but the thought slipped. She thought it, and then she could almost hear life laughing at her.

Nayeon’s drunk text about how she and Jihyo had finally hooked up and that she had been scared, but it ended well, made her heart sink.

She’d been meaning to get over her crush on Nayeon but she didn’t know it would so much.

She swallowed, deleting the message before tossing her phone to the floor.

"Please stop hating me," she begged to no one in particular, as warm tears slid down her cheeks falling off her chin.

Life was cruel she declared, and it would continue being cruel.

The girl who willingly wanted herself splattered all over the asphalt, her name was Sana and Momo couldn't stop noticing her everywhere in school.

She'd never noticed her before, not in calculus or home ec, not even at lunch. (she sat two tables to Momo’s left)

Momo stared off toward where Sana sat, losing focus she thought about that night, how cute Sana looked albeit wasted and sweaty but still adorable flustered.

Nayeon waved her hands back and forth in front of Momo's face, "are you listening?"

"To what?"

Jihyo giggled, "Nayeon thinks you should give Mina a shot"

Momo turned her head letting her eyes adjust like a camera lens. She scrunched her nose at the mention of Mina, it wasn't that she hated the girl or that Mina wasn't incredibly attractive.

She just happened to like extroverted girls more. Mina wasn't exactly the extrovert type, in fact she didn't think she'd see Mina at the party in the first place.

"Oh come on Momo," Nayeon teased, "you said yourself she had a nice body."

"Nice body no personality," Momo waved off, stealing a quick glance back to where Sana sat.

"Well damn, don't be too nice tell us how you really feel," Jihyo bit into a fry.

Nayeon studied Momo, pretending she knew exactly what Momo’s nuances and expressions meant. It was more Jihyo’s thing being analytical and able to read a situation.

She followed Momo’s not so quick glance. A table not too far from their own sat three girls Nayeon had never seen before or at least she didn't remember seeing.

She smirked, "who's that?"

Momo refused to look at the older girl, knowing Nayeon wore a proud smug mask, it’s how she operated.

Jihyo joined in oblivious, she was still interested in the fries in front of her but wouldn't miss out on something juicy.

"Some stupid girl I met yesterday."

Jihyo coughed, "a girl from the party?"

Momo shrugged, already bored with the conversation she felt like she had 100 times before.

"Well what's her name?" The couple asked in unison excited about the prospect of Momo finally getting some playing time out in the field.

"Sana."

Momo crushed her paper bag and left, she didn't much care to get interrogated any further.

She knew there was a trashcan behind her, knew because she'd been throwing the remnants of her food away for 3 years into the same bin but decided to go to the trashcan closest to the table Sana sat at.

If she'd thrown her trash away like she always did maybe she wouldn't have caught the wink Sana gave as she glanced in her direction for one last look.

Momo laid on the floor of Jihyo's room. The carpet digging into her back and the textbook on her stomach getting heavier by the minute.

"I can't take it."

"Take what," Jihyo asked from atop her bed.

They were studying for calculus Momo’s worst subject and a Jihyo’s equally worse subject. Nayeon was the genius but she had prior plans for the night so that left the two idiots to study together.

Jihyo wasn't really studying but busy texting Nayeon some pretend updates on her progress while Momo thought incessantly about her many encounters with Sana.

First it was the night of the party, then the wink at school, then Sana brushing past her in the hall, and Sana waving at her. Then Sana stole Jungyeon’s seat by her in home ec. She was everywhere.

"Sana," Momo sighed slamming the textbook closed before dumping it off her chest.

"You know if you like her you could ask her out," Jihyo threw the idea out there.

It was different with Jihyo than with Nayeon, because Jihyo was considerate and caring and somehow knew what Momo was thinking.

Nayeon was a tease and only cared about making Momo into a joke.

"I don't like her," she shook her head adamantly.

Jihyo only laughed, "sure that's why you always talk about her," her phone dinged, "Nayeon said you should ask her out."

Momo groaned of course her friends were on the same wavelength.

Sana waited outside her house on the sidewalk for Momo to pass by. She knew Momo would come because she’d watched the girl ride past on her cruiser for years.

Sana went to the party upon request from a friend. Her friends said that she’d love Nayeon’s parties and she did, there were a lot of really attractive girls there.

One had caught her eye when she got there, a brunette who stormed off too many times for her to count. The party was dying down and she should’ve asked to walk with someone because she barely got up the street on her own.

That night could’ve ended really badly had it not been for a girl. The girl who stormed off a lot.

Sana should've thanked Momo when she'd been yanked away from the grill of a Jeep Cherokee. But in the moment all she knew was that Momo was hurting her and yelling at her. She felt defensive and didn't register the situations severity.

Now she wanted to formally apologize and thank the girl.

Momo had one of the best internal clocks around, she could wake up a few seconds before her alarm went off almost every time. Except for when she spent the entire night crying and telling herself to get over Nayeon.

Momo slumped out of bed, her alarm hadn't gone off and she was about an hour late to school. There was no urgency to get there, she'd already missed first period and it wasn't like anyone was waiting for her.

Nayeon and Jihyo were too absorbed in each other to worry about where Momo was. Still, she sent a quick text to Jihyo about her alarm and then walked her bike out of the garage.

Momo lived on top of a hill, she lived just outside of the major neighborhood her house half hidden by trees. Her parents had insisted on living with privacy while also living relatively close to the city. It made Momo laugh because they were never home to enjoy their “privacy” in the first place.

The hill. It was the best part of Momo's ride to school because she flew down it. Her feet off the pedals, she felt like a bullet cutting through water.

Sana rested on the sidewalk outside her house, she’d missed first hour, maybe Momo was sick and not going to school. Momo wasn’t sick that often however, Sana knew the girl rode this way everyday. Unless she'd been taken by a car Sana refused to move.

Momo was gearing up to fly when she spotted Sana on the other side of the road yawning away sleep.

"What are you doing?"

Sana perked up, she was right she hadn't missed the girl.

"What took you so long?"

"What?"

Momo had crossed the street toward where Sana sat.

"I wanted to say thanks for that night," Sana smiled before brushing past Momo and beginning her walk to school."

"You're welcome," Momo responded confused, had Sana really waited all this time just to say thanks?

Getting to know Sana wasn’t easy. Hell it would’ve been easier to tell Nayeon about her crush than to track Sana down just for a quick conversation.

Despite being in a number of classes together Sana disappeared a lot. When Momo could find her and get enough courage to speak, Sana was whisked away by other people.

“Is she real,” Momo asked herself out loud glancing toward Sana’s table.

“I could ask,” Nayeon joked poking Momo’s cheek before sitting down next to Jihyo on the other side of their table.

Momo rested her head in her hand, “convinced she only stays in one place and it's at lunch.”

Jihyo laughed, “I heard Sana’s always busy, good luck getting her one on one.”

Momo played with the peas on her lunch tray and debated on whether it was worth it to pursue Sana.

“Forget Sana…” Nayeon stared Momo down, “Go for Mina, we can help.”

Momo and Jihyo turned to Nayeon who just shook her head and shoved a cheese sandwich in .

“Got a crush on Mina yourself,” Momo joked, receiving two simultaneous death glares.

“No Hirai, but I can tell Sana is bad news trust me.”

Jihyo shoved Nayeon’s shoulder, “You don’t know her, if Momo likes her then she likes her.”

“I’ll ask her out,” Momo stated smiling to herself.

“Are you sure,” Nayeon rubbed her temples, Momo was too stubborn sometimes.

“I would get her one on one then right Jihyo?”

Jihyo gulped down her milk before answering, looking between Nayeon and Momo you’d think they were the ones dating with the tension.

“It’s a good idea yeah.”

Momo had spent at least half an hour for 3 days straight practicing how she’d ask Sana out. Pacing her room, pretending her reflection was the bubbly girl. She coached her heart to not have a lot of hope so she wouldn’t be let down.

Upon Jihyo’s insistence, she decided to ask Sana after lunch when they were in calculus.

Sana sat ahead of Momo, which made it a lot easier to be overwhelmed by her. She constantly turned around to ask questions and her smile was really hard to fend off. Momo couldn’t help but reciprocate when Sana smiled or puffed out her cheeks. Sometimes the teacher would tell them to stop fooling around it embarrassed Momo but Sana acted unphased.

It was amusing to imitate Sana, because she’d get indignant and flustered which was cute to Momo. She felt like she had some effect on the girl, but was also well aware that Sana had a huge effect on her.

Momo nudged Sana’s elbow asking for her attention. When Sana turned however all the courage and rehearsed lines for how to ask the girl out faded from her memory. She just stared into Sana’s eyes, content with their intensity boring through her.

“How was lunch,” Momo stuttered out, squeezing her eyes shut and internally smacking herself.

“It was good,” Sana replied over her shoulder, her focus only briefly taken off the class assignment.

 A crumpled piece of paper that Momo had accidentally spilt water on was what held the question she'd been too nervous to ask out loud.  She’d scrawled the question in haste, afraid if she didn’t at least make an effort she’d never try again.

She passed the paper to Sana diverting her attention to the assigned worksheet.

Sana sent the paper back immediately with a boxed ‘No’.

No matter how well she coached her heart to not get her hopes up she really hoped Sana would’ve said yes. She stared at the back of Sana’s head as the girl laughed to herself.

"You gave her a piece of paper," Nayeon asked incredulous.

Jihyo had obviously convinced Nayeon to stop being so worried about Momo and to trust Sana for the time being because Momo for sure had thought Nayeon would laugh and again.

Momo begged her to quiet down, some kids turned toward their lunch table curious.

Jihyo sat in silence, staring between Nayeon and Momo she sighed to herself understanding the situation.

"She won't accept until you ask her out loud."

Nayeon nodded, throwing "I told you so" looks.

Momo groaned again for the 1000th time. Why was it all so difficult?

Sana was standing by Momo's bike. Waiting for Momo again, because she'd forgotten to say sorry about how she acted when she thanked the girl a couple of days ago.  

She also wanted to get time alone with the girl for more than 5 seconds. She wished Momo had more courage.

In fact Jihyo and Nayeon did too, as they guided Momo to her bike like parents because Momo refused to go over alone after seeing Sana.

"You're a baby," Jihyo poked Momo’s ribs.

"I'm nervous."

"Well get over it," Nayeon mumbled tugging Jiihyo’s arm back.