Her eyebrows furrowed, her jaw tensed and her eyes continued to stare at the hand around the fret board of the guitar. It hurt, it hurt like hell but she was almost there. She was almost done. She noticed her hand started to tremble, but there were a few chords left, only a few and then she would be done.

Her fingers slowly strummed the last chord of the song and Taeyeon slowly unwrapped her hand from the fret board. The hand was trembling and when she brought it closer to her she could see she was bleeding.

A frown appeared on her lips and she let her gaze go up to the other occupant of the room. She noticed brown eyes looking at her, it made her shoot a questioning look the person’s way.

“How much have you been practicing?” Sunny asked and turned towards her laptop.

“Every day.” She answered. Her eyes remained on the short haired blonde after her reply. Sunny seemed to be busy with something and didn’t seem to have heard what she said.

“And how much every day?” Sunny spun around in her seat, her gaze locking with Taeyeon’s which made the girl a bit surprised.

“I…don’t know.” Taeyeon replied and let her gaze fall down to her hand. She heard Sunny stood up from her seat and when she looked up she noticed the other girl had approached her.

“Let me see something.” Sunny said and held out her hand with her palm up. Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows as she didn’t know what it was that Sunny wanted to see.

“What?”

“Just give me your hands.” Sunny said and before Taeyeon could snatch the hands away from the girl Sunny had grabbed them and held them firmly in her hands.

Taeyeon watched as Sunny examined her fingers. The short haired girl’s expression turned serious and the grip around Taeyeon’s wrists loosened.

“Taeyeon…I understand you want to perform but practicing this much is damaging your fingers. Take a break. You’ll need your fingers whole if you’re going to perform.” Sunny said and looked back at Taeyeon. A frown had formed on Taeyeon’s lips, and Sunny shook her head at the sight and took a seat next to the girl on the bed instead

“You can frown all you want but that’s the truth.” Sunny said and removed the guitar from Taeyeon’s lap.

Taeyeon sighed and looked down on her fingers. She grimaced by the sight and turned her head towards Sunny instead. A small smile was shown her way, her gaze fell to Sunny’s right hand that was randomly playing on the strings to the guitar.

“Sunny,”

“Hmm?”

“Would you…go on a date with someone you barely know?”

The room grew silent. Taeyeon slowly looked up at the other girl, seeing the surprised look on Sunny’s face she knew her question must have been shocking. She suddenly regretted asking and looked away from the girl.

“Never mind.” Taeyeon said and started playing with her fingers instead.

“Don’t you go on dates to get to know people though?” Sunny asked. Taeyeon blinked and looked up at the other girl. Sunny smiled and let her gaze fall to the guitar in her lap.

“The first dates could be used to get to know the person.” Sunny added.

Taeyeon blinked once again. Her head slowly nodded like she understood. The other girl slowly turned towards her as well, her head titling to the side and a small smile on her lips.

“Has someone asked you out on a date?” Sunny asked.

Taeyeon’s eyes widened, and she suddenly felt guilty. Her gaze lowered to her hands, her teeth bit down on her lower lip and she felt her eyebrows furrow.

“Yeah…” She answered and glanced carefully at Sunny. A warm smile was on Sunny’s lips and it made her turn away from the girl.

“So, someone you barely know asked you out on a date, and you don’t want to go because you feel it’s too soon, or…” Taeyeon looked up at the other girl, her gaze met with Sunny’s, the blonde didn’t go on with her sentence and observed Taeyeon for a few seconds instead. “It’s because you’re not sure if you’re ready.” Sunny said. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. A statement that couldn’t be more than right.

A sigh left Taeyeon’s lips when Sunny had been able to figure out her problems. The brunette lied down on her back on the bed and put one arm over her eyes. She felt Sunny shifting beside her and soon she felt the girl had lied down beside her.

“Does this person know anything?”

“I told you. We barely know each other.”

“Ah…will you tell the person?”

“I don’t know.”

“How do you feel?”

Taeyeon sighed slowly and thought about the question for a while. Her teeth bit down on her lower lip, she could feel marks on it from all the times she had been biting on it now. She released it when she started to feel the blood taste on her tongue and sighed once again.

“She asked me if I was in a relationship. I answered I’m single.” She finally replied. The girl beside her remained silent and it made her feel uneasy. Had she done something wrong? She shifted and removed her arm from her eyes to check on the other girl, Sunny looked like she was in deep thought, blankly staring at the ceiling above them.

“Well, you’re technically single. And honestly,” Sunny turned towards her, a warm smile on her lips as she met Taeyeon’s gaze. “I think she’d have wanted you to move on one day.” She said her warm smile turning a bit sad.

The sight made a knot form in Taeyeon’s throat and she turned away from the blonde girl. She slowly exhaled and closed her eyes, waiting a while for the knot to disappear before she opened her eyes again and stared up at the ceiling.

“I’ll give it a bit more thought.” Taeyeon said and glanced at Sunny. The short haired blonde smiled understandingly at her.

“Of course. Don’t do something you’re not feeling ready to do.” Sunny said. Taeyeon nodded her head and turned towards the ceiling.

A knock on the door made the two girls on the bed look towards it, without needing to say anything the person who had knocked entered the room, the girl stopping in her tracks when her eyes landed on Sunny and Taeyeon’s forms, her shoulder’s sagged and a frown appeared on her lips.

“Of course you’d be here if you’re not at home.” Tiffany said her statement directed towards Taeyeon who looked confused at her.

“I’ve been texting and calling you all day.” She added and closed the door behind her and made her way to Sunny’s bed and took a seat at the end of it, throwing her hand bag to the floor before she turned towards the two other girls.

“She’s been with me since morning.” Sunny said and looked at Taeyeon before she turned to Tiffany. “And her phone is over there. Dead.” Sunny said and pointed at the device lying on her desk.

“Taeyeon you need to charge your phone more often. Don’t let it just die, what if someone needs to get ahold of you?” Tiffany asked and turned to Taeyeon. The latter shrugged her shoulders and put her hands behind her head.

“You’re the only one that contacts me though.” Taeyeon said and lightly nudged Tiffany’s knee with her foot. The girl frowned and swatted her foot away, which made a small chuckle escape her lips. “What did you need from me?” She asked instead and turned to lie on her side and propped her head up on one of the pillows.

Tiffany sighed and let her gaze go to the hands clasped in her lap. “The math homework is due Monday. I was wondering if you can help me.” Tiffany said and glanced at Taeyeon.

“I haven’t done it either.” Taeyeon confessed.

“Why don’t the two of you do it together then?” Sunny suggested.

“I don’t have my math book here.” Taeyeon said. The sound of a zipper being undone made her look towards Tiffany again, her lips forming a frown when she saw an all too familiar math book being placed on her legs. “You need to stop using the spare key to my locker.” Taeyeon said with a frown. Tiffany just smiled innocently at her and nudged Taeyeon’s feet with her own math book.

“Let’s do the math homework so we get it done. I want to stop thinking about it.” Tiffany begged and looked at Taeyeon with a pout.

“Easy. Think of something else.” Taeyeon retorted and lied down on her back again. A book being smacked against her feet made her look back at Tiffany who frowned at her.

“Taeyeon, seriously, don’t you have enough things to do? Why don’t you just finish this and get it over with?”

“Because I don’t feel like doing math.”

“What do you want to do then?”

“Sleep.”

“You’re not going to get any homework done in your sleep!” Tiffany hit her feet again. Taeyeon paid the girl back by lightly kicking her legs with her, it made Tiffany hit her feet again and before Taeyeon got the chance to kick the girl again Tiffany had wrapped her arms around her legs to keep them still.

“I’m going to tickle you if you don’t do the homework.” Tiffany threatened. Taeyeon’s face hardened and she tried to snatch her captured legs away from Tiffany’s hold.

“I’m not even ticklish.” Taeyeon said. Tiffany’s gaze left her and Taeyeon noticed the girl looked at Sunny. Her eyes widened and she glanced at the girl who was sitting beside her on the bed.

“We’ve known you for too long to know that’s a lie.” Sunny said with a smile. She turned back to Tiffany who now had a victorious smirk on her lips.

“Math homework or torture?” Tiffany asked and tightened her arms around Taeyeon’s legs.

“Is there even a difference?” Taeyeon asked back.

“The difference is that when your math homework is done the torture ends, but the other torture could go on for hours.” Sunny pointed out. Taeyeon frowned and looked back at Tiffany. A sigh left her lips and she propped her body up on her elbows.

“Fine, let’s do that stupid math homework.” Taeyeon finally gave in. Tiffany smiled and released her legs. Taeyeon sighed once again and sat up on the bed instead and watched as Tiffany took out pencils and books from her bag and placed them on the bed.

She turned towards Sunny who smiled at them before she stood up from her seat on the bed and made her way to her desk, leaving the two younger girls to do their homework while she concentrated on her own things.

Taeyeon sighed and picked up her math book and a pencil Tiffany handed her. She moved to sit with her back leaning against the wall and the other girl took a seat next to her, and she slowly began doing her homework, and slowly taking her time to explain the problems Tiffany didn’t understand and wanted help with.


---


The buzzing sound interrupted the conversation about corn on pizzas and made the three girls look towards the device that was vibrating next to one of the brunette girls’ leg. She stared at the device for a few seconds before she picked it up to check the text message that had arrived, her eyebrows rose in surprise and her eyes left the device and went to the brunette who was sitting beside her.

Noticing the expression Tiffany had Taeyeon arched an eyebrow at the girl. The latter just returned her eyes to her phone and typed something. Still confused Taeyeon turned to Sunny who shrugged her shoulders and continued to munch on her pizza slice.

“Jessica asked if you’re okay and why your phone is turned off.” Tiffany said after she had put her phone down. Taeyeon stopped mid-air with her pizza slice, her eyes going back towards the girl who was now studying her. She lowered the pizza slice, remembering the other girl in the room she turned to Sunny who looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and Taeyeon knew that Sunny had figured out who Jessica must be.

“Well…I’m breathing…and you know why my phone is turned off.” Taeyeon said.

Tiffany didn’t respond as her attention was brought to her buzzing phone again. She glanced once more at Taeyeon before she picked it up, pressing a button and putting it against her ear.

“Yes?” She answered, her eyes not leaving Taeyeon’s form.

“Yeah, she’s here. Hold on.” Tiffany handed the phone to Taeyeon who looked confused at it. She frowned and hesitantly grabbed the device from the girl’s hand.

“Yes?” Taeyeon said.

“Are you avoiding me?”

The always straightforward Jessica didn’t beat around the bush. A sigh escaped Taeyeon’s lips and she sent a glare towards Tiffany.

“I mean…if you are…I’d like to know so I can stay away from you. But I’d also like to know why.” Jessica added on.

Taeyeon sighed once again and she pinched her nose bridge.

“No, I’m not avoiding you. My phone died because I forgot to charge it. Also…I’d like some space to think about your question.” Taeyeon said the last part almost coming out in a whisper. She noticed Sunny and Tiffany looking at her, their eyes showing curiosity and it made her frown.

“So…I don’t need you to act like a worried girlfriend.” Taeyeon finished and threw the phone back to Tiffany who barely caught it. Both Sunny and Tiffany gaped at her but she ignored it and tried to focus on eating her pizza.

Tiffany seemed to have noticed Taeyeon hadn’t hung up the phone and quickly put the device against her ear when she had composed some from her shock.

“Jessi?” Tiffany’s voice was laced with concern when she spoke. Taeyeon ignored it, she also ignored the glare Tiffany sent her later, and continued to focus on her food instead of what the girl next to her spoke about to the girl on the other line of the phone.

“Yeah, okay. Take care. And see you.” Tiffany ended her phone call with Jessica and put her phone to the side. Once the device was out of her hand she turned to Taeyeon and slapped the girl on her thigh.

“That hurt.” Taeyeon said and rubbed the stinging spot.

“Then you know how your harsh words feel like.” Tiffany said and turned away from her. 

Taeyeon rolled her eyes at the girl and turned to Sunny who had been observing them. Seeing the expression Sunny had on her face, she knew what the girl was thinking and she once again rolled her eyes.

“It is not what it seems like.” Taeyeon said before Sunny even had the chance to speak her mind.

Sunny smiled and let her eyes wander from Taeyeon to Tiffany who looked confused at her. She smiled at the other girl and let her eyes go back to the still frowning Taeyeon.

“Well, she seems more worried than some mere stranger. Are you sure you barely know each other?” Sunny asked and grabbed another slice of pizza from the cartoon that stood on the floor in the middle of them.

“Yes, we’ve barely talked.” Taeyeon said and furrowed her eyebrows.

“She seemed to know who to contact if she couldn’t get ahold of you. Not everyone knows that.”

Taeyeon just rolled her eyes at the girl. “That doesn’t mean we know each other.”

“But it should mean something when she goes out of her way to get ahold of you.” Sunny pointed out.

“Like an annoying girlfriend?” Taeyeon asked. She flinched when she felt a hand slap her on her thigh again and she turned with a glare towards Tiffany.

“Can you stop calling people who are concerned and worried about you annoying? You’re the one that’s most annoying.” Tiffany scolded.

“She barely knows me so why should she be worried about me?” Taeyeon argued.

“It’s because she likes you!” The words slipped out of Tiffany’s mouth before she could stop them. When she realized her slip she stared wide eyed at the equally shocked Taeyeon who had her eyes just as wide as hers.

The room grew silent. Taeyeon had to turn away from Tiffany and Sunny, focusing on her hands instead. Sunny, not too surprised, looked back and forth between the two younger girls. Tiffany’s face had paled, and she looked guiltier than anything. And Taeyeon seemed like she didn’t know what to do with herself.

“Can we pretend like I didn’t say anything…?” Tiffany asked in a whisper.

Taeyeon slowly looked up at the girl. Tiffany turned and met her gaze and they looked at each other for a few seconds before Taeyeon began to nod her head in reply.

“Yeah.” She said and let her gaze go back down to her hands. They could pretend that Tiffany never spilled Jessica’s secret, but she would probably not forget.


---


Her right hand switched off the stove while the left lifted off the frying pan and brought it to the counter, putting the fried rice on the plate that was there before she put the pan back on the stove. She brought her hand to the drawer, finding a pair of chopsticks she took the utensils with the plate and made her way to the living room.

Taeyeon looked up from the plate in her hand at the woman seated in the arm chair, she refrained from frowning by the sight of the wine bottle that stood on the table beside her. Instead she made her way to her mother and held out the plate to her.

“Here, I made some food.” Taeyeon said and watched as her mother slowly turned towards her.

“I’m not hungry.” Her mother replied. This time Taeyeon couldn’t keep the frown from forming on her lips. She sent a glare towards the wine bottle before she looked back at her mother.

“But you need to eat.” Taeyeon argued.

“But I’m not hungry.”

Taeyeon’s shoulders slumped and she looked down on the plate in her hand. A sigh escaped her lips and she turned to the table next to the arm chair.

“Fine.” Taeyeon said and moved some newspapers and placed them on the floor to be able to place the plate on their place instead. “I’m putting it here. You’re eventually going to get hungry.” Taeyeon said and pointed at the plate. She could see the disapproval on her mother’s face but she ignored it and turned to leave instead.

“I never asked you to make food for me.” She heard her mother say before she had left the living room.

She clenched her teeth by the statement and turned around and saw her mother holding a glass of wine in her hand, bringing it up to her lips and taking a few gulps of the content before she lowered it.

“No, you didn’t. But I did it anyway.” Taeyeon fired back and turned and left for her room.

She slammed the door after her when she hand entered. Her back hit it and she leaned her head back and closed her eyes while she slowly exhaled and inhaled, counting in her head to try to calm down.

When she felt she had calmed down a bit she sunk down to the floor and stretched her legs in front of her. Her head lolled down and she stared at her lap, looking at the protruding rectangle in her left pocket she remembered she still hadn’t charged her phone.

She sighed and fished out the phone from her pocket and stared at it for a while. Suddenly remembering what Tiffany had told her and she remembered her last words to Jessica. Her teeth bit down on her lower lip and her eyebrows furrowed.

She made a mental note to apologize to Jessica the next day. She brought her knees closer before she pushed herself up from her seat on the floor and made her way to the bed. She bent and picked up the charger on the floor, connecting her phone to it and turning on the device before she let her body fall face down to her bed.

A relieved sigh escaped her lips and she let her body relax. She extended her arms towards the pillow and brought it closer to her head and held it close to her, trying to not think much about the day’s events and just let sleep take her and bring her away from this world.