Jessica

“Five, six, seven, eight! Fight, fight tonight, fight blue, fight gold- fight, fight tonight!”

Pom-poms flew into the air as our harmonized chants echoed all throughout the gym. Taeyeon and I were leading and calling out signals and chants. Jea was sitting out on the bleachers because “her ankle felt sore”- like it had the past three hundred times before.

“Good job girls!” Taeyeon-unnie said. “We should be all set for the soccer game tomorrow. Let’s take a five-minute break!” The crowd of girls broke off into little clusters of cliques as they ambled off in search of their water bottles.

I observed carefully as Taeyeon pranced off towards where our things were. Taeyeon, by nature, is a cheerful girl, but never before have I ever seen her this happy.

“What’s up with you?” I asked casually, taking a sip from my water bottle.

Taeyeon looked at me curiously and said, “What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about you. You’re like, glowing- so much that I can barely see. You’re grinning like an idiot too.” Unnie’s face suddenly turned bright red and she stared down at the floor, unable to meet my eyes. I mused, “Hmm…so there is something- or someone I should say. Do I get to know who it is?”

Taeyeon leaned in close and whispered in my ear, “I’ll…I’ll tell you about it later. Not now.” I nodded and shrugged. Good enough for me. I then took the whistle and gave two sharp tweets. It was time for practice to resume.

We had just finished practicing for a cheer routine which we would be performing for the boys’ basketball games in the near future when we heard a cry. Everyone turned around and saw a familiar figure standing over Jea who was holding the side of her head in pain.

“Get the hell up you lazy excuse of a co-captain!” a voice barked. “I take off for two months and this is what the team’s been reduced to- Taeyeon and Jessica working their asses off while you sit there on your little watching? Oh please…”

Everyone stared in shock, unable to say anything. Then, Sekyung cried out, “Coach!!” and all of us swarmed around our coach and tackled her.

“Jesus Christ, girls, you’re going to knock me over!” Ms. Hyori said, laughing while she hugged us all.

“Yah, coach- you never told us when you’d be back!”

“How’s the baby, Ms. Hyori?”  

“Is he cuuuute?”

“When can we see him?”

“All right, all right, girls, one at a time! I decided to drop in and surprise you all. The baby’s fine and oh goodness he’s adorable. I might bring him in sometime to show you guys. All right, enough chit chat- back to practice! Victoria, Hyuna- go lead JV while Sunye, you go start Varsity off. I need to talk to the captains.”

The three girls nodded and gathered up the rest of the cheerleaders while our coach took Taeyeon and me aside to where Jea was. After giving her a complete rundown of everything that had happened in her absence, Ms. Hyori shot Jea a menacing glare.

“I figured so much. You’re going to start working your off from now on, Jea. And if you don’t cooperate, so help me I will get you kicked off this team- just watch. Go back to practice now, girls.” Ms. Hyori turned her heel and headed towards her small, cramped office.

“ing broad,” Jea muttered, displaying her middle finger towards our coach’s turned back. I sighed; at least now Jea wasn’t going to be running around doing what she pleased- for the most part.

I switched the music on and in a few minutes I had eased myself into concentrating on the routines and performing all the moves just right.

People can call cheerleading a “sport” for weak, lazy all they want- but they’ll never understand how it feels to fly free in the air, for that one fraction of a second, and feel like you’re on top of the world.

In the middle of the routine, I was right in the middle of doing basic jump steps when, out of the corner of my eye…I saw him. Saw him just standing there by the side of the gym entrance, watching us…watching me. Somehow, his eyes met with mine and his lips curled into a devious smile. I froze- even though he was about a hundred feet away, it was as if he had complete control, had his hands curled around my heart, squeezing…

…and the next thing I knew I was sprawled on the floor with Taeyeon right under me. “Holy shi- Unnie, are you all right?!” I exclaimed, getting off of her quickly. The music blared on but the rest of the team stopped and stared at me.

“Not so perfect now, huh, Ice ?” Jea muttered not too quietly behind me and Hyuna giggled.

“Sorry, everyone,” I said quickly, bowing. “Sorry, Taeyeon-unnie, I lost my focus for a second and…”

“It’s all right, Sica- accidents happen,” Taeyeon reassured me, getting up from the floor. “That’s it for today! Get on home, girls…” The girls dispersed, some of them still shooting me glances. Then, he walked into the gym, clapping his hands and saying, “Nice work, ladies!”

The girls suddenly started gathering around him, and by gathering, I mean swarming around him. Literally, I was shoved aside by Jea who rushed up and sidled up next to him. Rolling my eyes, I went to go get my things. When I tried to pass them by quickly, Jonghyun suddenly broke away from the crowd and grabbed my wrist.

“Ah- Jessica-ssi! Can you come with me for a few minutes? I’d like to talk to you,” he declared, right in front of the entire team. Just seeing his pleasant smile poorly masking his not-as-pleasant intentions which I could see in his eyes twisted my insides. Nonetheless, I felt everyone’s stares on me so I faked a smile and said, “Sure, Jonghyun-ssi.”

I followed him outside and said hurriedly, “All right, make it quick- what do you want?”

Jonghyun chuckled, “I was sure that I would catch your attention but man- I didn’t expect to get that kind of reaction from you. Guess I’m starting to get under your skin huh, Jessica?” The way he was laughing at me, mocking me, really started to irritate me.

“You know there’s a word for this? ‘Stalking’- you should know what it means, Four Eyes Jjong,” I spat at him. He then slammed into me, pinning me against the wall. I gasped at the sudden force he used to overpower me.

“I am a man easily provoked, Sica,” he hissed in my ear. “And I’m sure that, deep under your glacial front, you are a woman whom I can awaken very easily.” With that being said, he once again began his indecent conquest of my body.

I shuddered but did not make a sound. He glared at me and kept on, rubbing my s with much more rigor. A few days ago, I had decided that I was not simply going to give in and let this do as he wished. My reputation was at stake here. Why I hadn’t realized or considered it before, I wasn’t too sure of myself- but it was probably because he was distracting me so much. With all the willpower I could muster I kept my lips locked shut…

…but my brilliant plan failed when he quickly slipped his hands under my skirt and this time brushed his fingers by the silky fabric protecting my womanhood. This time, nothing I did could hold back the cry that left my lips. A satisfied, almost evil smile crossed his face and he nuzzled into my neck.

“Nuh-uh, Sica. That’s not part of plan,” he chided, biting as he pleased. “And the plan is…that you will want me, moan for me…whether you like it or not.” Despite how intense the pleasure was becoming, I still shot him a hard, icy glare. He smirked back at me, as if accepting my challenge. He then leaned in and kissed me, hard.

As coherent thoughts fizzled and died out, somewhere in the back of my head, I thought I heard something go click.

Finally, we parted and, gasping, I fell into his arms. He encircled them around my waist and murmured, “We’re almost there, baby girl. You want me, don’t you?” With renewed strength, I indignantly extracted myself out of his grip. Grabbing my things, I ran off without even bothering to look back.

Sooyoung

“…you’ll need to follow the recipe very carefully. One tiny alteration can have big consequences for your finished product. Make sure you cooperate well with your partners. These are aspects which will be part of your grades for the semester.” I sat still in my seat, half-listening to our home EC teacher.

I winced when she mentioned our partners. Glancing over at Changmin, who was dozing off, I sighed with dismay. I’m doomed.

“Get to work, everyone!”

 I punched Changmin, and then cried out in pain when his bony shoulder did more damage to my hand than my fist had to it. “Wake up, you !” I hissed, flicking his cheek. His double-lidded eyes slowly blinked open and his lips parted into one big yawn.

He looked at me and smiled that stupid impish grin. “G’morning, Sooyoungie.”

“Get UP you jerk we have to start our first in class project!” I said, dragging him up, grunting- the douche weighed a ton. He yelped and stumbled about.

After much bickering, we eventually got to work in our kitchen. With my hands washed and my hair tied back with a bandana, I began searching for all the utensils we would need to make flan- my favorite dessert.

I hummed to myself as I set out the bowls, measuring cups and spoons. I turned around quickly to search for the whisk when I very nearly collided with Changmin who was carrying the ingredients we needed.

“Yah- watch it! Jeez, you’re clumsy,” Changmin said. I glared at him, resisting the urge to punch him.

He measured the sugar, milk and cream and then combined them into a bowl with eggs and started to mix them together.

“Hey, let me mix some!” I said.

“Go get the vanilla extract first.”

“Don’t order me around, you jerk.”

He sighed, exasperated, and said, “Will you please just go and get the damn vanilla extract, Sooyoung? I’ll let you mix then.”

“No need to be so pissy about it,” I retorted, sticking my tongue out at him. I looked through all the drawers and eventually found it in one of the upper cabinets which were quite high above, even for someone with my height.

Standing on my tiptoes, I just managed to grasp the tiny bottle when Changmin bumped into me. I yelped and very nearly let the bottle of vanilla extract fall to the ground. I just managed to catch it with my left hand- but in doing so, my right elbow swung around and knocked over the canister of sugar. Extra granulated sugar poured right into the mixture.

I gasped. “Oh my god…oh my god…” I glanced at the clock. We only had twenty five minutes left- there was no way we would be able to restart a new batch and cook it in that little time. Changmin stared at the mess that was made.

“I…I’m sorry, Changmin…” Panic started to overtake me and I waited fearfully for him to start yelling at me and making fun of me. But instead of yelling, or teasing or even making a snarky comment, he gave me a sympathetic look and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Calm down, Sooyoung,” he said. “It’s okay…looks like we’ll just have to improvise.”

“But…but...” I stammered, feeling more and more upset.

“Focus, Sooyoung,” Changmin’s voice snapped, surprising me. “Anything can happen in the kitchen- that’s why a good chef has to keep a cool head at all times.”

“But…but the teacher said…that we have to follow the recipe exactly…”

“Well there’s a reason why she’s a just a high school Home EC teacher instead of a professional chef,” Changmin replied rudely, earning himself a slap on the arm from me. He ignored me and continued on. 

“…If there’s too much sugar the custard won’t harden…let’s see…” He took out a small bowl and a spoon and started scooping out as much of the sugar untouched by the mixture as possible.

“It’s not good to waste so put all this back,” Changmin directed me. As he whisked the mixture slightly, a thoughtful expression crossed his face. Then, Changmin hurriedly began to add what seemed like random amounts of milk.

“Yah, what are you doing?” I asked.

“Just let me handle this, Sooyoung. I’ve got to adjust part of the recipe to make it perfect.  I’ll need one more egg to make the balance of the ingredients perfect…and…there! Better!” He tapped me on the shoulder. “Here…wanna mix? Make it fast though- we’ve barely have twenty minutes left now.”

I thanked him sheepishly and mixed as fast as possible while Changmin began to set out the dishes needed to heat the flan and boiled some more sugar in order to caramelize it. Then we rushed to get all the sugar and the custard mixture poured into the heat-resistant bowls and stacked neatly inside the steamer.

The flan finished with five minutes left to spare. Changmin gingerly took them one out of the steamer and said, “Try it.” Remembering how he seemed to have thrown random amounts together, I hesitantly wedged a spoonful and noticed the perfect consistency of the flan. I put it in my mouth…and my eyes widened.

“Wha…Changmin…how did you…?” He raised his eyebrows and smirked at me.

“What? Is it amazing?”

“Um yeah. The flavors…the sugar and the custard…they blend together so perfectly…”

“Anything can work and anyone can cook. That’s what my grandfather taught me.” I stared at him with a newfound admiration….well, as much admiration as I could feel for a jerk who had just proved that he had some kind of worthy talent. He said out loud to the class, “Hey everyone- we still have leftovers! Would you like some?”

Most of the girls in the class came over and tried the flan. Everyone, even the teacher, believed that it was the best flan they had ever tasted. While I watched him bask in his glory like the conceited jerk he was, something weird happened; he turned and winked at me. Strange as it sounds, I felt my heart speed up. I looked away and went back to concentrating on consuming the delicious flan as fast as possible.

Yoona

I walked past neighborhood after neighborhood with my earphones in. The walk between my house and Baeyoung is a long one, but I really don’t mind- it’s nice to get some well-needed exercise in everyday.

However, I will admit that there was a time when these walks were much more pleasant. Back when my best friend used to accompany me on the way, since we were neighbors. We still are neighbors, but he has soccer practice for most of the year and even when he doesn’t, he still has other things to do that make him stay very late after school.

I sighed, humming along to some Se7en song. What if this feeling, this crush…what if it never reaches him? What should I do then? I wondered.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I whirled around, half in fear of a possible e…when I found myself face to face with my one and only best friend in the world.

“Surprise, Yoong!” he said, laughing and flicking my wide forehead.

After I got over my surprise, I grinned at him and asked, “Yah! Donghae-oppa! What on earth are you doing here?”

“Well…there’s no soccer practice today. I was going to stay after for extra study sessions but then I thought- why not go walk home with my best girl, Yoona?” I smiled but couldn’t help but feel a twinge in my heart. Very nearly, the question: “Isn’t Sunye your best girl?” left my tongue.

We walked together and I felt loose and free; I felt like I wasn’t afraid to be myself and laugh as loudly as I liked to Donghae’s humorous jokes. I didn’t feel the need to restrain myself from using my knowledge and extensive vocabulary

I always feel this way around him. But…selfish as it sounds, sometimes I can’t help but feel that it just isn’t enough.

“Say…Yoona…” he said.

“Yes, Donghae?”

“You ever wonder…if someone’s really destined for you?” I felt my heart drop- nonetheless, I turned to him and gave him a curious look.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I guess I’m wondering if, when you meet the one person that’s just for you, someone who was made to be with you…would you know it?” he clarified, gazing at me.

Feeling warmth spread my cheeks, I glanced at the ground and said, “Um…Donghae-oppa, I don’t really think I’m the best judge of love, since…I…I’ve never really had experience before…”

“That's okay, Yoona. Just tell me if you would feel something.”

“Well…I guess…if I were near the person I felt that I was destined for…I would feel…as if nothing else in the world mattered. If I were to see them, the only thing I could hear would be the palpitations in my heart. Just seeing them would make me feel so happy, make me smile foolishly. But when they’re gone…the world is dark and bleak. It feels as if there is no purpose in life if I don’t have that person  there with me.”

Donghae stared at me and I flushed with embarrassment. “But-but-but you know that’s j-just my guess..” I stammered. “I-I don’t actually know what I’m talking about…!”

“No…no, that’s so deep, what you just said, Yoona,” he remarked, his expression alight with admiration. “Wow…thanks a lot Yoona. You’re the best friend a guy could have.” We had arrived at our neighborhood; he bid me goodbye and headed off toward his house. My heart aching, I stared after him until he disappeared and then went home myself.

“…and so that’s what he said,” I concluded sadly, taking a sip of my bubble tea. Jessica-unnie propped her elbows up on the table and thought for a bit. She had invited me out to go to the city the day before and, surprised though I was, I agreed.

“Hm. Well…to be honest, I don’t really know what to make of this,” she admitted. “He still seems to be pretty dense about how he may feel towards you…but he’s also realized that he may not just love Sunye as he thought.”

“I...well, they look really happy together in school,” I pointed out.

“Pft. That’s just a façade. I’m on the same team as her- and I can tell you that she is not what you would call the most faithful girlfriend I’ve ever seen.” Jessica leaned forward, long blonde tresses cascading down. “You’ve got to get his attention first- show him that you can be a girl that he’s been looking for.”

“…how would I do that?” I asked hesitantly.

“Mm, good question. One I don't really know the answer to- but I know that a shopping spree always helps,” Jessica replied, winking at me. “Come on, let’s go.”  

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A/N: Hi everyone!!! yes i have updated- a lot sooner than i thought i would have too. this MAY mean that i'm starting to get the hang of this uber-complicated plot- but i'm making no guarantees. i always disappoint when i make guarantees v_v 

how has everyone been? you guys liking the story so far? ^^ don't worry there is more to come! hwaiting everyone~~

edit: 200 subscribers???????!!!!!!! holy moly i love everyone one of you guys. seriously. my love for all of you lovely readers/subscribers is boundless :')