"Only love lets us see normal things in an extraordinary way"
- Alejandro de Solminihac

The darkened clouds were pale and thin, hung as high as it could manage and stretched across the blackening sky like cobwebs on a ceiling’s corner. The rain against the train's windows blurred the scenery outside into one massive greenish-grey blob while bright flashes of light erupted ever so often with the permanence of Christmas Eve. The rolling booms of thunder echoed in Tiffany's ears as she leaned against the glass window. Wrapped in a thin cotton blanket that Taeyeon immediately provided for her the second she got out of the lavatory with a new set of clothes, Tiffany nuzzled deeper in its warm embrace while eyeing the rain drops that merged, parted, and trailed off whimsically to the edges of the window pane. She then began to wonder how long the water could fight the pull of gravity before falling down from the pregnant clouds. Indeed, she thought, that the raindrops were fearless to even bother fighting a battle already lost.

“Wanna play a game with me? Wanna? Wanna?” an ecstatic voice radiated from the seat in front of her.

Tiffany heard Taeyeon chuckle and she herself started to giggle. She stared at the child with raven hair that cascaded down her face and ended abruptly beneath her shoulders. Yuri, that was her name. She and her parents alongside another girl who was her age were heading off to Yeonsan for the weekend to partake in a festival that apparently happens only once a year. Tiffany made a quick mental note to herself to ask her best friend if they could join in on the festivities; even for just a short while.

“Stop bothering them!” Jessica responded to Yuri's beleaguering pleas. If it wasn't for the cold tone to her voice, Tiffany could have sworn it was an angel talking.

“No, no, it's fine,” Taeyeon assured with a grin, “I'd love to play ANOTHER game with you. It'd make time go much faster anyways”

Games. Endless amounts of games. It had been like this for half an hour now, as she and Taeyeon never had any moments of peace without Yuri proposing activities left and right.



Tiffany and Taeyeon stepped inside the warm shelter of the train's inner halls, arms firmly clutching their own bodies and rubbing it frantically to provide some form of heat.

“Fany, you can change fi-”

Her best friend was cut off by a vibrant girl with a wide grin that seemed to be permanent. She swerved around and clutched Taeyeon like one would a shield before peaking her head out towards the opposite end of the hall. Tiffany looked at the raven haired girl before looking back at Taeyeon. The two both wore a look of amusement mixed with slight confusion.

“Yuri, I said get back here!!!” a voice shrieked, coupled with thunderous footsteps that kept getting louder every second.

Tiffany turned her head to where a figure was storming towards them. It was a girl with auburn hair, and from the looks of it, was the same age as this Yuri who was still clutching onto Taeyeon like it was her life float.

“Sica-baby~” she purred in an innocent voice, “it was just the cheek! Stop being so sensitive!”

“Whoa, whoa” Taeyeon soon responded when the auburn haired came face to face with her, which technically wasn't face to face, more like... stomach to face, since the girl only stood up to be half her best friend's size. Even with the lack of height, she stood tall and proud, almost like a sergeant.

“Out of my way,” she ordered before circling around Taeyeon who stood there with jaw's slacked, completely reduced by the little girl's enormous presence. Tiffany didn't blame her best friend though, the child was indeed frightening.

“Sica-baby, just let me explain-”

“Yuri, how many times have I told you to not call me that!”

“But-”

“I WILL KILL YOU NOW! N.O.W! KILL! K.I.L.L! YOU! Y.O.U!”

Enough was enough, Tiffany rushed over to where the auburn girl had the so-called Yuri on a tight lock hold and pried the two away before saying in a booming voice “Stop! Both of you! What is going on?!?”

“Just a love-quarrel” the raven haired nonchalantly voiced, “It's typical between married couples, you know”

“Eek!,” the other protested, “I'll say this for the millionth time today: WE ARE NOT MARRIED!!!!”

Tiffany arched an eyebrow before asking, “How old are you guys anyways?”

“Eleven” the two casually replied.

“Well, she's-” Tiffany paused and looked at the auburn haired girl, “what's your name?”

“Jessica”

“Well, Jessica is right. Yuri... you're Yuri, right?”

“Uh huh” the raven haired affirmed.

“Yuri, you are too young to be married.” Tiffany finished saying with a smug look. She turned to look at Taeyeon who stood there giving her a thumbs up. Just by glancing at her best friend, she concluded that the shorter girl was too afraid of Jessica to help her out, and thus, causing her to cheer from the sidelines. 

“See~” Jessica squealed in delight before sticking out her tongue at a disappointed and flabbergasted Yuri.

“But,” Tiffany continued with a disciplining hand, “Jessica, you have no right to kill another human being.”

“But she kissed me!”

“Just on the cheek,” the raven haired girl defended.

“Ugh,” Jessica groaned as she stomped her feet on the floor, “I shouldn't have come with you and your parents. I should've just told my mom and dad flat out that I would rather die than spend a weekend with you”

“But Sica-baby, this is our honeymoon”

“No! It isn't! The only reason I agreed was so I could stop making my parent's worry about me not having any friend's at school!”

“Because your Kwon-Seobang is with you, right? You've got a friend in me – Oh, Toy Story... I love that movie!”

“Ahhh!” Jessica screamed, “Lord, kill me now!”

Tiffany had enough of their endless bickering. Geez, they really were like an old married couple. “Alright, break it up you two!” she ordered and they both immediately shut their traps.

With a grunt, the auburn haired girl crossed her arms before marching back down the hall.

“Phew,” Yuri voiced with a tone that soaked relief, “Thanks...ermm...?”

“Tiffany,” she replied with a bright smile before pointing to her best friend, “and she's Taeyeon”

“Nice to meet you Tiffany-unnie, Taeyeon-unnie. Don't mind Jessica, she's just grumpy because she didn't get enough beauty sleep.”

Tiffany was about to respond until a sneeze made its way out of her lips. Taeyeon closed in before she even had the time to inhale air back into her lungs. Wrapping her arms around the shorter girl's waist, Tiffany then realized that they were still soaking wet.

“Come on, go get changed in the lavatory” her best friend voiced as she motioned for Tiffany to head off into the train's restroom. Wrapped in Taeyeon's arms, the two started to make their way to the lavatory. Little did they know that Yuri was following them as well, and it took the two a few seconds to notice the extra footsteps that didn't belong to them. Turning around, Tiffany and Taeyeon found the girl sporting a wide grin that ran from ear to ear.

“So umm, do you mind if I hang out with you guys for a while? You know, until Sica cools down to her normal absolute-zero temperature. We can play some games, I've got tons in mind!”



“Awesome!” Yuri cheered as she clasped her hands together, “let's go play hide-and-seek!” 

Tiffany nodded, “Sounds good” 

“Sica-baby” the raven haired added, turning her head to the girl sitting beside her, “wanna play?”

“Whatever,” was all she said in an indifferent manner.

“Great!” Yuri cheered yet again, “Oh, but I guess you'll have to be it since you were the last person to join.”

Again, Jessica replied with the same detached answer, “Whatever”


 

♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦

Tiffany and Taeyeon split up in their quest to find the perfect hiding spot. And though there weren't many choices to choose from, Tiffany and Yuri found themselves huddled together in between three large suitcases of luggage. Knees tucked in and their head lowered, the two giggled when they saw Taeyeon rush by.

“Hey, let me in” her best friend pleaded, “I can't find another hiding spot”

Tiffany immediately shook her head to that. “Nu uh TaeTae, there's no more room for you here. Go find your own hiding spot” she said before sticking her tongue out playfully.

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