Italicized words are flashbacks. Enjoy~

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"I love you, Jisoo-unnie!"

Jisoo pointed at her and smirked, waving her good bye as she walked away. It's a weird antic of hers to act cool and smug, but she loved it anyway. The act screams Jisoo.

Lisa watched her until she was out of sight, with a small smile on her lips.

"Does she know you actually mean it?"

A voice snapped her back to her senses and made her look at the girl that is now standing beside her, who is also looking at the girl walking away from them.

"Maybe..." She grimaced. "No. I don't think so."

She sighed, making the other girl look at her.

"How long will you keep this up?"

The question struck something in her heartstrings. It's the same question that she asks herself once in a while, and honestly, she wanted an answer too.

"I don't know, Chaeyoung. I haven't thought of it yet."

Chaeyoung didn't push further as she watched her friend getting deep in thought.

"Come on, let's go. You can think of it later since you'll be dealing with it for a long time anyway."

"Tell me about it." She groaned.

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"Here she comes..." Jennie whispered. Jisoo was about to ask but the voice calling her name already gave it away.

"Jisoo-ah!"

"Dropping the formalities, I see." She glared playfully at the younger girl, who only grinned wider at her.

"Let's go to class together." She stood in front of the two seniors a bit too close, towering over them.

"Wow. You really are a giant." Jisoo looked up at her with amused eyes and mouth agape, while Jennie stepped back.

"It's not my fault you're both short, my unnies."

"Jisoo, I'll get going before I hit a tall person. See you both later at lunch."

As soon as Jennie left, Lisa and Jisoo walked to class together, keeping the playful banter as usual.

They're taking advanced classes on literature and it's the only class they shared. Ever since Lisa went to the same university, they have been sharing at least one or two classes together every semester even though Jisoo is a year level higher than hers. Since then, they have been friends and shared common interests.

"I heard you're new here. I'm Kim Jisoo."

She looked at the outstretched hand of the person that she's been observing ever since she got in the room. It's hard not to notice her. Her looks stand out compared to the others, but this seems that the bright smile being flashed at her tells her that her personality is great too.

"You can call me Lisa."

She smiled warmly at her and accepted the handshake.

As Jisoo squeezed her hand, she knew then that she's already taken by her.

Lisa has taken a lot of interest in Jisoo ever since freshman year and if only her confidence could actually make her tell her crush, it wouldn't have dragged on for so long until now. Jisoo seems pretty oblivious about it, but she hoped that the girl would catch on and save her from the burden of confessing. But the thought also scared her;

What if her liking Jisoo makes everything change for the both of them in a bad way?

"You like her, don't you?"

The voice snapped her out of her trance and made her panic.

"Huh?" The absurd expression on her face could make up as one of the best memes out there. Chaeyoung tried hard not to laugh at it.

"You like Jisoo, the sophomore."

"What made you think that?" She tried acting cool even though she can feel beads of sweat trickle down her forehead. She's thankful for her bangs for hiding them.

Lisa isn't gay as far as she can remember. She hadn't came to terms about her preferences. She's still young and haven't really thought of liking anyone.

Well, until now.

"We've been hanging out here for half an hour now, watching her play basketball. You've had that big smile ever since, as if she actually did a three-point shot, when in fact all of her shots missed."

"I just think it's funny how she still tries. It's cute. She's cute. Look at her go! She's so small!"

She tried to divert  Chaeyoung's attention but she wasn't having it.

"She's cute, alright. But I still think you like her."

Lisa felt her heart beat quicken at every word her friend utters.

"I don't care about your uality, if that's what you're worried about." Chaeyoung looked on ahead at the students playing at the court. Lisa heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that her friend isn't judging her. Lisa doesn't mind if she is actually gay or not. They're only labels anyway. She could be a monkey or anything she wanted. She doesn't have to label herself right away, right?

"I'm just telling you what I see because I think you're not noticing it, and she doesn't either."

She stared at her friend as if she just revealed the most intriguing thing.

She'd been content with having to share a class together and hang out during lunch. That's how happy crushes work, right? Any possible interaction and spending time with Jisoo is enough to complete her day. Chaeyoung may have mentioned quite a few times that she's such a hopeless romantic, with the emphasis on the hopeless part, but she couldn't care less. Kim Jisoo is her happy pill.

"Lisa! Come join with us quick!"

Jisoo's voice could be heard across the canteen so it wasn't hard for her to search for the petite girl with the loud voice, and waving at her with great might to be noticed by the tall girl.

She made her way to them. Once she reached the spot, she bowed at the two girls and sat across them.

"Why are you alone? Where's your friend?"

" Chaeyoung had things to do."

"Aren't you lucky I found you? You get to eat lunch with the cool girl!" Jisoo wiggled her eyebrows at her, making her giggle. The other one beside her slapped her arm in embarrassment.

"Aish unnie, what are you talking about?"

Jisoo slung her arm around her seatmate's shoulder and tapped it.

"You're lucky too, Jennie. You get to be cool soon, like me! So stick with me all the time."

Jennie rolled her eyes and removed the arm. Jisoo snickered and drank from her juice box.

"Can I stick with you, unnie?? I wanna be cool too!" Lisa had her eyes with excitement at the thought of getting close with her. She always thought her unnie was cool and great at everything.

"Of course! I'll teach you the ways!" 

Jisoo winked and Lisa could only beam at her, as her stomach start to feel weird, but in a very good way.

Do crushes really last that long? Does it really make you want to tell them every single time that you miss them even at the moment you're just about to separate ways?

Lisa was on her way to the main hall where Jisoo's last period's room was. She thought she'd ask her to hangout for a bit after class since she wasn't busy and the weather is great.

As she turned around the corner, a person with petite body frame bumped into her, making her step back and hold on to the person's body. She held her ground to stop the fall and avoid any other casualties.

She looked at the person with the scrunched face and shut eyes. It was too cute and funny.

"Unnie, it's you!" Jisoo opened her eyes and looked up at the tall girl.

"Thank goodness, it's you Lisa. It would've been embarrassing if it were someone else I bumped into!"

"I got you. Why are you in a hurry?"

"I have to go run some emergency errands."

"Oh."  She felt disappointed but tried not to think too hard about it. It wasn't like Jisoo didn't want to hang out. She's just busy. 

"Well, I won't be holding you back any longer. Take care, unnie."

She hugged the older girl and waved her good bye.

It starts to feel different. It's complicated.

She feels unlucky and the feelings are not helping.

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Jisoo is beautiful. The word beautiful doesn't even give justice on how breathtaking her beauty is physically, or how wonderful her mind could be. Her perfect white teeth, and those heart-shaped lips, together with those dreamy eyes - everything about her seems so captivating and Lisa can't help wondering about it.

"You're drooling."

Her senses were still glued on to her muse. She slowly tried to take away her eyes from Jisoo to give attention to the person who disturbed her.

"Wipe off that drool off your chin. It's gross."

"What-" She did what she was told to only find out that there wasn't anything to wipe off, which made her glare at her.

"It's funny. You were blatantly staring at her like she was some kind of god that put the stars in the sky."

, she might be! She thought.

"As if! I wasn't staring at her." She stopped trying to explain herself before things get out of hand. "Why are you even here, Jennie?"

"I was supposed to meet Jisoo and the others. Why are you here? You could just go there and maybe talk to her?"

"I didn't want to bother them." She put on a tight-lipped smile that almost looked forced. Jennie glanced at Jisoo who has been talking to Jinyoung.

She knew what was up.

"My best friend could be so dense and oblivious, but I'm not her. So, whatever it is you got, you better step it up or you could just be stuck staring from a great distance."

Lisa was taken aback and she could might as well be swallowed alive by the ground. Jennie tapped her shoulder and went on to join her friends.

As if it was that easy. As if everyone already knew her deep admiration, which wasn't impossible since it's almost out there in the open and the only one who seems to not know about it is the one she offers all of her feelings for.

As if she'd like her back.

But she also wanted that too, even if it was buried deep down in her desires. She hopes, even if it was hopeless.

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"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

The girl smirked.

"Looking at me like I'm magic of some sort."

Her body stiffened. She tried to keep her composure.

"How would you know when you're not even looking at me? Did you grow another eye somewhere?"

"I don't have to see. I feel it. You've been doing it for a long time now."

Suddenly, she couldn't speak. Does that make her a creep? Does she make her uncomfortable? She felt a sudden tinge of pain in her chest.

Jisoo closed the book she was reading and turned to the younger girl that was now looking down wearily.

"Tell me."

Lisa looked at her with confusion. Jisoo could be straightforward and vague at the same time. She makes her think; she makes her blood rush; she makes her hold her breath without knowing.

"Everyone seems to know but I want to hear it from you. You know I don't like listening to hearsay or assumptions.

"What is it?"

Jisoo sighed and shook her head. Lisa just keeps on making things hard for herself.

"Do you like me?" Jisoo asked casually, as if it wasn't a difficult situation for Lisa. She carefully studied the younger one and spoke again. "You know what I mean. Whatever you answer me won't ruin anything, so you don't have to worry."

Jisoo can be assertive and aggressive, but can also make it feel like opening up could be easy and feel safe. She's open about everything, but her opinions are important, and that's what worries Lisa the most.

Lisa took a deep breath. "I can't escape this now, can I?" She smiled timidly, earning an encouraging smile from the other and a subtle shake of the head.

"I've been avoiding it, thinking it was just some happy crush that will last for a month, which turned to years. It's funny and frustrating at the same time." She laughed bitterly.

"I like you a lot. Really. And I don't know what to do about it so I stayed admiring you just how I do now. Everyone seemed to notice it, except you, apparently."

She felt defeated at her last statement. She heaved a sigh. 

The two of them stayed silent for a moment.

"I knew about it."

Jisoo pursed her lips. Knowing this shocked Lisa. She shouldn't be, considering almost everyone knew. But knowing Jisoo knew and treated her fairly the same is what amused her.

"I didn't want to think anything of it, but it went on for a long time and I did notice how you treat me compared to the others."

Lisa could only nod. It was still a lot to process. She should've known better, since Jisoo is an observant type. She underestimated the situation and here she is now caught up in her own negligence.

"At least it's out. I don't have to keep it a secret. If that was considered one."

"You tried. You were terrible at hiding it." Jisoo chuckled, and Lisa did too. She's thankful that Jisoo takes this maturely and lightly.

"Why didn't you confront me earlier if you knew it all along?"

"I figured you would tell me about it if you gathered the courage. But that didn't really come. You were too obvious and very vocal, but never straightforward. I had to do something now."

"Oh... Umm. Thanks for being open about it. I appreciate it."

"It's not a problem."

"I'll try to keep it in. Now that you know, I don't wanna embarrass you or make you uncomfortable... I hope we'll still be the same." Lisa fidgeted with her fingers, trying to avoid the older girl's gaze.

"I'm afraid it can't happen."

Lisa looked nervous. Jisoo had her serious expression and it could also mean the only thing that she fears most. The anxiety is consuming her. She felt her hands shake at the possibility of their friendship going to waste.

"W-What? I thought you said-"

"If you'll try to keep it in, then I wouldn't feel special anymore. You didn't even ask if I was uncomfortable about it." Jisoo pouted.

She felt dizzy. The situation is starting to confuse her but her anxiety is relieved a little. What does this mean?  It felt like she's under Jisoo's silly games.

"Are you?

"No."

Lisa stopped.

Breathe, stupid. She told herself. All the worries dissipated, but were replaced with a build of curiosity that triggered her heart to beat in slow but hard thuds. 

The two of them looked at each other, looking for some kind of explanation or maybe a sign of confirmation. Lisa started counting in her head to calm her nerves.

One.

She felt a bead of sweat slide down her neck. Jisoo her lips.

Two.

Lisa blinked her eyes to get back to her senses. 

Three.

Jisoo smiled softly and in an instant, Lisa felt at ease, not because she tried breathing properly.

She realized a smile from a certain person was enough to calm her;

But certain words from the same person could make her insides go wild.

"I loved getting the attention from you. Only from you."

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A/N: HALLELUJAH. This one shot has been sitting in my drafts since January! Thanks for my friends (I'm not sure if they have AFF accounts..) for proof reading and suggesting what to do. The help were very much appreciated!

I finally did a one shot for my ship. Where are my fellow Lisoo warriors at?

I have several AUs and writing ideas in mind but I can't promise when I'll be writing and publishing them. I'm still busy, I'm afraid. :/

I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!

- sel

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