[A/N]

 

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anyway hello my fellow non-believers here is the third chapter i hope u enjoy

 

me: omg my next chapters wont be as long

also me: *writes 7k words instead of 8k*

 

 

---

 

 

Early November meant falling leaves, sweater weather, an earlier nightfall. Early November meant the end of autumn, but the start of the holiday feel.

 

For students, however, November meant the period of hell between their midterms and their exams before Christmas break, where they felt the impact of putting off that book they had to read 2 months ago, or that essay that was due in 6 hours.

Their class was currently doing groupwork in the lab, each team having their own microscope to zoom into different cells. Nayeon and Mina, having finished the in-class assignment earlier than the rest, had been given an extra task by the teacher as a 'reward'. (The teacher needed Nayeon to be distracted.)

However, the task proved to be considerably harder. Nayeon found herself furiously tapping her pen unto the desk, trying to figure out the teacher's question.

"Ugghh, did we even learn this yet?" Nayeon whined, reaching out to grab someone else's textbook. Mina instinctively gave Nayeon her own textbook before she bothered others again.

Mina was looking through the microscope, also having trouble finding what the teacher had asked of them. He had asked to look for a particular yellow spot, but all the spots were yellow?

"Do you wanna switch?" Nayeon suggested, tired of reading through the pages.

"No, it's okay. I think I got it," Mina replied, refusing to give up. She was pretty sure she was going to see this colourful blob on the slide in her nightmares.

But Nayeon really was tired from reading, and judging from the looks of Mina turning the knobs for another 5 minutes, Mina wasn't getting anywhere either. Nayeon stood up from her stool and approached Mina as she asked to please switch for a bit.

 

"Lemme take a look, pleeaase," Nayeon pleaded. She saw Mina slightly shift her head, and she moved closer to finally have her turn.

"Just give me a few-" Mina lifted her head sideways in Nayeon's direction only to find herself face to face with her.

 

They both inhaled sharply once they realized how close their faces were. They were close enough to feel each other breathing (which, at the moment, they weren't). It was the closest they've ever been to each other, and Mina was thinking that it may have been too close. 

Nayeon should've backed off in reflex, she really should've, but something about this moment felt... enchanting. The non-existent space between them felt cramped, but Nayeon... liked it. She took the fact that Mina hasn't distanced herself either as a good sign as well.

"-minutes..."

Nayeon's gaze wandered to Mina's lips, and suddenly Nayeon wanted there to be no space between them at all.

 

The sound of glass breaking returned them to reality.

'I'm sorry!" Sana's high-pitched voice exclaimed from the back of the class. "I dropped the... The... what was it called again, Tzuyu?"

 

Nayeon and Mina both quickly turned away, embarrassed at how long they had just stood there staring at each other.

Nayeon let out a shaky sigh, scared of what she was about to do if they had stayed in that position for a bit longer. Mina slowly removed her hands from the knob, and gave Nayeon the appropriate space she needed to use the microscope (which was a bit further than she would have initially given her).

They awkwardly switched places without a word, and without sparing each other a glance.

If I was just a few centimeters closer, I would've accidentally... Mina thought. She gripped her pen, unable to concentrate on the paragraph she was trying to read. She tilted her head further so Nayeon couldn't see the redness on her cheeks.

Nayeon was staring right into the illuminator through the microscope, and she was probably going to end up blind. But her hands remained fixed on the knobs on the side, refusing to move. She stood still, trying to process what had just happened, and trying to decipher what her beating heart was feeling on this cold afternoon.

 

 

-

 

 

Sana had hit her multiple times, but why did it suddenly feel different when Mina did it?

 

When Mina had playfully hit her shoulder when she laughed too hard at the cafeteria one time, the students around them gasped.

 

But that wasn't what Nayeon was thinking about.

 

When the students continued staring, curious about how Im Nayeon was going to react, because Im Nayeon hadn't been hit by anyone else but Sana, Nayeon just froze.

 

Since that wasn't what Nayeon was thinking about.

 

When Mina's hand had lingered on her shoulder for a nanosecond too long, Nayeon found herself internally screaming.

 

Because Nayeon was thinking about how this felt different than when Sana did it. How it felt different because it was Mina.

 

 

-

 

 

"On to ionic and covalent bonds..." The teacher explained, moving on to the next slide.

 

Mina glanced sideways to see Nayeon taking a nap on Mina's schoolbag in the semi-darkness of the class.

 

Nayeon could be considered as a good friend to Mina now. She can now walk through the cafeteria without any worries. Sometimes Nayeon waited outside of her class for her (Mina doesn't know why Nayeon just doesn't just attend her classes if she was going to be at school anyway). Sometimes Nayeon even waited for her at the school gates to drop her home.

Mina felt included in the group. They were now a trio walking across the school paths.

She was grateful. Nayeon had made this year a little more bearable, and a little less dull. Mina had someone to look forward to seeing every day and she was content.

 

She leaned in to scribble a small heart on Nayeon's cheek.

 

(But changed it to a smiley face at the last minute.)

 

 

-

 

 

This wasn't in the steps.

 

 

-

 

 

"Why does she smile and laugh with her friends, but is so cold towards me?"

 

Nayeon and Sana were eating lunch without Mina today (she had her own club duties to attend to, but Nayeon always looked for her to make sure she had eaten). Nayeon was glad that Sana had stopped mourning over her dead relationship with Kai, but she wasn't sure if she liked her best friend whining over someone else instead.

They both discreetly turned their attention to Tzuyu's group of friends, who Sana found out were Chaeyoung and Dahyun (she had heard Tzuyu call out to them after class). They saw a somewhat livelier Tzuyu than they had seen in class.

 

"Are you sure you're her friend, Sana?"

"I'm trying to be! But she isn't laughing at any of my jokes or plays along with me," Sana sighed.

"Hmm, apple juice or orange juice today?" Nayeon said, looking at the juice boxes of the passing students who had bought their lunch at the cafeteria. She opted for a small can of Pepsi she saw on one of them. "I'll be healthier tomorrow."

"You're not paying attention!"

"I am, I am!" Nayeon replied, looking back at Sana. She opened the can, letting the hissing sound stop before she continued. "Look, I'll help-"

"Stay away from her," Sana interrupted.

"Uh, excuse me?" Nayeon tilted her head in mock-offense. "I didn't finish my sentence."

Sana sighed once more. She didn't know what was worse. Nayeon's advice giving skills or her attempts in helping out in these kind of situations. Nayeon had a knack in making things worse, even when it wasn't on purpose.

"You didn't need to finish your sentence for me to know what you were about to say," Sana said as she raised an eyebrow in warning.

"Fine. I won't do anything."

"Stay away from her," Sana repeated, doubting her best friend, because, well, she knew her best friend.

"Don't worry! I will, I will."

 

 

(But Nayeon wasn't.)

 

 

 

-

 

 

The following day, Tzuyu was calmly walking through the campus when she felt an odd presence swiftly approaching. She turned to see a wild Im Nayeon suspiciously close to her, as if they were walking together. 

Tzuyu then walked a bit faster, not wanting to get in her way and hoping that today wasn't the day Im Nayeon chose to pick on her. However, Nayeon sped up her pace as well and they both looked somewhat ridiculous speed walking across one of the school paths. Tzuyu gave in and halted. She decided she should just deal with whatever Im Nayeon was going to say or do to her.

 

"Oh, thank God," Nayeon panted, slightly bending forwards while holding her waist. "I thought we were going to walk around the whole school for a second."

 

We? Tzuyu thought.

 

"Hi. Im Nayeon," Nayeon greeted, lifting her hand out. "Get it? I said Im... instead of... I'm..."

 

Why is she talking to me? Tzuyu wondered, unresponsive to Nayeon's lame attempt of a pun.

This is going to be a tough one, Nayeon thought, awkwardly bringing back her hand to scratch the back of her head.

 

"You're Sana's friend, right?" Nayeon continued, commencing her operation 'Make Tzuyu Sana's Friend'.

"Um," Tzuyu finally decided to speak up. "She's my lab partner."

"But you want to be her friend, right?" Nayeon offered, suddenly feeling like she wasn't meant to be a wingwoman of friendship.

"Well, I m-mean... Not in particular."

 

Nayeon spotted Mina in the corner of her eye, waiting for her. They had promised to eat together today. Nayeon was torn between making Mina wait, and spending her time trying to talk to Tzuyu. She panicked and believed in her (bullying) skills to quickly convince Tzuyu of becoming Sana's friend. She wasn't about to leave Mina alone for any longer.

 

"Why not?" Nayeon pressed, slightly offended that the girl in front of her found no charm in her best friend. "Is there something wrong with her?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with Sana, I just-"

"Just what?" Nayeon interrupted, her forced smile was slowly turning into a threatening one. "Don't you think it would be polite to laugh at her jokes once in a while or at least to talk to her?"

 

Is Im Nayeon... IM NAYEON... scolding me for not being polite? Tzuyu thought, in disbelief. Tzuyu thought that she would be rather called insulting names than have her values and manners questioned by someone who showed off her superiority every time she could.

 

When Tzuyu saw Sana making her way to them, she finally understood what was going on.

"Nayeon, what are you doing?" Sana asked her friend, who suddenly looked like she was caught in the act.

"Nothing, nothing! I was just... talking to her." Nayeon's defense sounded more like a question than a statement.

 

"Oh, so you used her to get to me?" Tzuyu accused Sana, interrupting the conversation between the two friends.

 

Sana was perplexed. She looked back at Nayeon, who was avoiding her gaze, and she knew Nayeon tried to in after she had told her not to.

"Tzuyu, wait-" Sana started.

"No, I get it," Tzuyu retorted. "I knew she was bad, but I didn't know you were like this as well."

 

Tzuyu abruptly walked away, followed by a discouraged Sana.

 

 

Oops, Nayeon thought.

 

 

-

 

 

Meanwhile, Mina was sitting at Nayeon and Sana's designated tree, her back leaning against the trunk. And when she said 'designated', she really meant it. Nayeon and Sana's names were carved into it and Mina was pretty sure that was considered as some sort of vandalism. 

They had agreed to eat outside today, and Mina was surprised to not find Nayeon waiting for her.

And she was even more surprised when she saw her in the distance, talking with her old lab partner, Tzuyu. Mina couldn't help but observe a little longer than she should've. She never saw Nayeon hanging around other people before (unless it was Sana or herself), much less have a conversation with them. Nayeon had revealed that she didn't really have any other friends, so Mina was left to assume why she was suddenly talking to Tzuyu.

Unfortunately, it led her to assume all the wrong things and Mina felt a slight touch of jealousy. 

Did she initially want to be Tzuyu's lab partner instead and the teacher made a mistake? Mina wondered. Tzuyu seemed nice, and she was so pretty too...

She quickly opened her book to distract herself from her thoughts. She was just going to quietly read until Nayeon or Sana gets here and not think about what she just saw. Why would she be jealous? Nayeon could make friends with whoever she wanted to. It shouldn't be any of her business.

 

But she couldn't help but look up again.

 

However, when she looked again, she instead saw Sana talking to Tzuyu. Where did Nayeon disappear t-

 

"MINA!"

 

Nayeon's sudden loud screech in her ear made her jump and lose her balance, even if she was sitting down. She let go of her book and fell over sideways, clutching to her heart. She turned back to the crouching Nayeon with a look of disbelief, because honestly why the f-

 

"Are you gawking at other girls that aren't me?" Nayeon calmly pouted at Mina in disappointment, just as if she didn't scare the out of the poor girl.

"Why did you..." Mina said, still trying to catch her breath.

"Who was it, huh? Who's prettier than me?" Nayeon squinted as she scanned the area for girls that Mina was supposedly looking at. Mina scoffed at her response.

"Why would you care if I was looking at other people?" Mina asked, curious. And why would she care if I was looking at other girls, too?

There was a short moment of silence as Nayeon couldn't come up with a reply.

"Because... because..." Nayeon turned back to Mina, who was eagerly waiting for an answer. "... Pass."

"That's not how this works."

"That's totally how this works."

They stared at each other as if it were a competition to see who would give up first. It ended up being Mina, who did not want to deal with Nayeon's stubbornness. She took out her lunch in defeat, ready to start eating when Nayeon spoke up again.

"Oh, I see," Nayeon chuckled as if she had figured out a big secret.

"What?" 

"I know who's prettier than me now."

 

Did she see who I was staring at? Mina panicked.

 

"Who?" Mina nervously looked up at Nayeon. 

 

Nayeon smugly stared directly into the eyes of the long-haired girl sitting down in front of her.

 

"I'm looking at her right now."

 

 

And just like that, Mina forgot all about why she was jealous in the first place.

 

 

-

 

 

"Wait, Tzuyu!" Sana said as she caught up to her. "I know it looks like she was forcing you to be my friend, but she means well!"

"Im Nayeon? Meaning well? I find that hard to believe."

 

Sana had specifically told Nayeon not to interfere, because she knew that something like this exact situation would happen. She couldn't let Tzuyu go without sorting everything out. They did still have to work together after all.

 

"I didn't ask her to do anything. I'm sorry if it looked that way," Sana apologized. "I wanted to do everything on my own."

Tzuyu calmed down a bit. She didn't want to believe Sana was as much of a bully than her annoying friend either. But she still wasn't convinced.

"I was just scared you didn't like me... Is it because I'm a bad lab partner?"

"No! No, you're..." Tzuyu denied, remembering all of her old lab partners that brought her different levels of headaches. Sana was definitely one of the most decent ones she had. "You're a great lab partner."

"Is it because I hang around Nayeon?"

 

And there it was. Tzuyu wasn't going to lie, she didn't really have a thing for bullies, and she hoped no one else did. So when she heard that Im Nayeon's best friend was supposedly a sweet girl, she didn't believe it for one second. And when she heard rumours circulating that weren't only about Nayeon, but about her best friend using her charms to get by, she knew Minatozaki Sana couldn't be as sweet as people thought. 

 

"Well... is it true you've seduced all the teachers to give you an extra 10% for every exam?"

"What?! There was a rumour like that spreading about me?!"

Tzuyu raised an eyebrow, waiting for an actual answer.

"That was one time! And I didn't do anything dirty, the teacher was just really easily influencable," Sana pouted.

Aha, I won the bet. Chaeyoung and Dahyun, you guys owe me 5$ each, Tzuyu mentally noted.

 

The serious mood seemed to have dissipated. Sana looked genuinely apologetic, and Tzuyu felt somewhat guilty. Maybe Sana really didn't ask Nayeon to do anything. Maybe it wasn't right of her to immediately accuse her like that.

"I just want to be your friend, Tzuyu," Sana murmured. Sana's puppy dog eyes were there, and Tzuyu couldn't accept what she was feeling, but she was starting to slowly believe her. S