“I’m stuffed!” Sooyoung exclaimed, patting her stomach with both hands.

“Wow, I didn’t know that was even possible,” Yoona said with a slight smirk.

“Shut it, Yoong!  I would have been okay if it wasn’t for the second helping of pasta Seohyun forced me to eat.”

Not wanting to be blamed for something she didn’t do, Seohyun added, “Unnie, if I remember correctly, you reached over and helped yourself to my leftovers.  You did ask me if I was finished, but that was in-between mouthfuls of pasta.”

Seohyun’s accurate account caused the others to break out into laughter while a fuming Sooyoung shot her a death glare.

“Okay, okay, I’m getting side pain from all this laughing,” Sunny said, wiping away a tear.  “What do you guys feel like doing now?”

“How about a movie?” Taeyeon suggested.  “There’s a theater on the second floor.  I can’t remember the last time we saw a movie together.”

“Let’s do it!” everyone shouted as they raced each other upstairs.

Standing in front of the box office, the girls stared at the overwhelming number of movies playing.  With wide eyes, the members began to yell out the type of movie they wanted to see.

“Horror!” Sooyoung, Hyoyeon, and Seohyun shouted as they huddled together.

“Romantic comedy!” Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Sunny shouted as they formed hearts with their hands.

“Action!” Yoona, Yuri, and Jessica shouted as they flexed their muscles.

After much dispute, it was decided that a fair game of Rock, Paper, Scissors would determine the winning movie.  Eight rounds later, Yuri emerged as the victor and happily selected an action movie.

As they paid for their tickets and made their way inside, some of the members headed toward the food concession. 

“I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like some bon bons and nachos,” Sooyoung said with a growing hunger in her eyes. 

“I thought you were full,” Hyoyeon stated, not really expecting an answer.

“Well, I was, but that game of Rock, Paper, Scissors made me work up an appetite,” Sooyoung said with a serious look on her face. 

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Yoona said, scanning the candy section.  “Gummy bears sound good; if I don’t have something to do, I might fall asleep.”

“You getting anything, Tiffany?” Taeyeon asked.  

“I’m still full from dinner, but never too full for popcorn.  I love movie popcorn.  Oh, and maybe an icee too; even if it’s expensive, I always get one,” Tiffany said, excited to be able to indulge in some theater junk food.

Suddenly, Tiffany felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped a little at the unexpected contact. 

“Oh, didn’t mean to scare you,” Yuri said softly.  “I just wanted to ask if you’d be interested in sharing an icee with me.  Maybe we can get a large and split it; I’m too full to finish a small by myself.” 

Surprised by Yuri’s offer, Tiffany didn’t know what to say.  She looked down at the ground, cheeks with a slight tinge of pink.   

Does she know?  Well, it has been over a year since I started liking her.  Maybe I didn’t do such a great job of hiding my feelings after all and….omg, that means we’d be drinking out of the same cup!  Wait, why am I still talking to myself?  Better hurry and say something before she changes her mind.

Before Tiffany could open to respond, Hyoyeon threw her arms over Yuri’s shoulders, interrupting their conversation.

“Oh, me, me!  I was thinking of buying my own, but I’ll take you up on that offer.” 

Just then, Jessica came by and pulled Hyoyeon off of Yuri.

“Yah, I thought we were going to share!  Anyway, Yuri already asked Tiffany and by the look on her face, she was about to accept before you decided to in.” 

For a second, Tiffany wondered whether Jessica knew something, but quickly pushed the thought out of her head.  Feeling beyond embarrassed, she couldn’t bring herself to look up.

Yuri walked over and placed Tiffany’s hand in hers.  “Let’s share one,” she said with a smile that nearly melted Tiffany to the core. 

Let’s share a kiss instead.      

“Okay!  I mean…sounds good,” Tiffany said, trying but failing to hide her enthusiasm. 

With snacks in hand, the members filed into the theater to find seats.  When Tiffany realized sharing a drink meant she would be sitting next to Yuri, butterflies began to dance around in her stomach.  In the end, the seating order was as follows:  Sooyoung, Yoona, Seohyun, Hyoyeon, Sunny, Taeyeon, Jessica, Tiffany, and Yuri.

Although Tiffany made sure she asked for two straws, she couldn’t help but stare at both of them as they stuck out of the same cup. 

As the movie started, Yuri seemed to have no issues with the two straws, one cup situation as she sipped away.  Tiffany on the other hand could only munch on her popcorn, staring nervously at the shared beverage.  With the movie half over and desperate for a drink, she gave in and decided to do it. 

Right at that moment, Yuri was also leaning in for another sip, her eyes fixated on the screen. 

Neither aware of the impending doom, both let out a tiny scream as they bumped heads.

“Oww!” Yuri and Tiffany exclaimed in unison.

The rest of the members instantly shot them dirty looks followed by an angry shoosh.  Yuri and Tiffany looked at each other and laughed quietly as they rubbed the tender spot where their heads collided. 

“I’m sorry I’m such a klutz,” Tiffany whispered apologetically. 

Yuri placed a hand on Tiffany’s head.  “No need to worry.  I’m sorry for having such a big head,” Yuri joked.

Instead of laughing, Tiffany quickly pulled away and turned to face forward.  Without making eye contact, she mumbled, “We should watch the rest of the movie.” 

“Oh right, yeah, we should,” Yuri said, a little confused at the sudden mood change.

As uneasy as Tiffany felt, she managed to get through the rest of the movie without another incident. 

As the members exited the theater, Yuri couldn’t help but think back to what happened with Tiffany, especially toward the end of the movie.

At one point, she felt Tiffany’s hand rest against hers, but thought nothing of it as the other girl made no attempt to move her hand away.  What really stood out in her mind was when Tiffany slowly intertwined her fingers with hers.  It didn’t seem weird; they held hands with each other and the other members all the time.  Only this time, something was different; it was as if what they shared was meant for the two of them and no one else.  Yuri had to admit, it felt nice.  Like how it should always be. 

As they walked out, Yuri stole a glance at Tiffany and shook her head, trying to convince herself it was probably her overactive imagination.  Yuri wasn’t ready to admit it then, but deep down, she had hoped that maybe, just maybe it wasn’t her imagination.

As she snapped back to reality, Yuri heard the girls talking about going out for drinks the next night. 

All of the members were smiling except for Tiffany.  Yuri took notice and decided to say something, not wanting her to feel left out.               

“Please say you’ll come, Tiffany.  I know drinking isn’t your thing, but it’d be nice to have an ally who doesn’t get all weird or angry when they drink,” Yuri said as she eyed some of the members.

“Sure, I’d be happy to go.”  Sensing her opportunity to spend some quality time with Yuri, Tiffany suddenly perked up.  As if feeling re-energized, she added, “And don’t worry about the other members.  I’ll protect you and be your personal bodyguard.”

Tiffany wanted nothing more than to face palm herself at that moment, but Yuri just smiled in return. 

I can’t believe I just said that!  That’s it.  Tomorrow night I’m going to tell her how I feel.  …..but not without a drink first.