I hate taking this long with my chapters...

I didn't think Yuri would still be angry with me but she was. When I waved at her in the hallway she just looked at me solemnly before turning away. She had the right to be angry, but angry at me? I wasn't the faulty one.

I contemplated about calling her but then I remembered Tiffany's words. She just probably needed time.

But then I saw Jessica later that day and she gave me the same expression. I suddenly felt really alone. That's how I knew this was far more serious than I had thought. Neither of them would talk to me. And for what reason? It wasn't my fault. Tiffany had said that. Jessica had said that. So what was it about?

I rushed outside and I wanted to call Tiffany instead but I hesitated. She was at work and I didn’t want to disturb her for something like this. So calling anyone was out of option.

Getting something from the supermarket sounded like a better idea.

I ended up sitting outside on the curb while taking sips from a can of soda. Never in the years of my friendship with Yuri and Jessica had they made me feel the way I did right at that moment.

If they would have a small fight, they didn't ignore me. I was the neutral one and they both would seek advice from me individually. But not this time. They were clearly avoiding me on purpose.

I suppressed the urge to break down in tears, because this wasn't my battle to fight. They would have to figure things out on their own – with or without my advice.

I nodded to myself, straightening my back and feeling a bit more confident.

The following day, Sooyoung kept me company during lunch. I was thankful for that.

''Hey, do you happen to know what's wrong with Yuri?'' she asked.

''What do you mean?'' I decided to feign ignorance.

She shrugged. ''I mentioned Jessica and she glared at me like I had said something forbidden.''

I hung my head low and sighed.

''Sigh. They're sort of fighting right now. I've been getting the same treatment from both of them. Actually, they won't even talk to me.''

''Oh alright,’’ Sooyoung raised a brow. ‘’That’s a little odd.’’

I said nothing.

Then I remembered that Yuri said Jessica was seeing someone. I wondered if Sooyoung knew anything about that.

‘’Do you happen to know who Jessica is seeing at the moment?’’

She gave a small shrug. ‘’Haven’t talked to Jessica. I could even say she’s avoiding me too.’’

‘’It’s both of them.’’ I repeated.

‘’Hmm. Oh, wait there’s Yuri,’’ Sooyoung started waving her hand vigorously and I looked behind me. Yuri stared at us and walked over obviously very reluctantly.

‘’Hey,’’ she said quietly and took a seat. She still avoided my eyes and only paid attention to Sooyoung, who seemed to notice odd behaviour.

‘’How are you doing?’’

Yuri shrugged. ‘’Okay, I guess.’’

We fell under an awkward silence again and I chose to take off before I explode.

‘’I’ll get going,’’ I told Sooyoung, giving Yuri a short glance. ‘’See you later.’’

I walked away sighing and kissing my teeth until I reached the computer room. I sat down, typing in my login info into the computer. I stuck my memory stick in and started working on one of my urgent assignments. Some students came in and I heard someone pull a chair next to me. I looked and noticed Jessica sitting there with her hands in her hair as she leaned on her elbows against the table.

I waited for her to say something but she just stayed there. I picked off where I left with my assignment.

A loud clang echoed in the room and I lifted my head up only to see some student bowing at everyone before picking up her belongings.

‘’Are you going to talk to me?’’

‘’What do you want me to say?’’ I responded.

‘’Well, I...I wanted to apologize.’’

I finally looked at her and she smiled stiffly.

I adjusted in the chair and sighed. ‘’You shouldn’t have done what you did.’’

‘’I know. That’s why I’m apologizing.’’

‘’So why’d you do it then?’’

Jessica sighed. ‘’Because you’re hiding something from me. That day I came over to Yuri’s and you guys were being secretive and whispering in the kitchen. You barely spend any time with me anymore.’’

‘’We’re not hiding anything from you. If it’s about Tiffany, I don’t even tell Yuri. There’s some things I just can’t tell you guys because it’s between me and Tiffany. You know?’’ I said quietly. ''That's not a valid reason by the way.''

She looked down at the table, tracing random patterns on it with her finger. ‘’Something’s up with Yuri, though. Right?’’

I gave a small shrug.

‘’I hate when you do this.’’

‘’I have no say in this,’’ I pressed my lips tightly close, wishing she would stop putting me into a difficult position. I had no right to tell about Yuri’s feelings and I hated being in the crossfire.

‘’Fine,’’ she muttered. ‘’I just wanted to apologize. I talked to Tiff and she wasn’t really happy.’’

I furrowed my brows. ‘’You talked to her? When?’’

‘’We had lunch last week.’’

‘’Really?’’

She nodded. ‘’Yeah, she hit me up and I apologized to her too, just so you know.’’

‘’Tiffany never told me about this,’’ I mumbled. ‘’I didn’t even know you guys hung out.’’

Jessica shrugged. ‘’It was that one time.’’

Before her class, Jessica hugged me and told me sorry one more time, and this time for avoiding me. I felt much lighter and relieved that she confronted me about the matter. Unlike my other best friend.

''Are you dating anyone?'' I casually asked while walking in the hallway.

''I've been seeing someone.''

I nodded thoughtfully. At least she confirmed it to me.

''I don't know if I like him more than as a friend though. You know I'm still...you know, struggling.''

I understood what she meant. It was about her uality.

''Well you kissed me, didn't that confirm anything to you?'' I said quietly while leaning towards her.

She let out a laugh. ''I barely remember how it felt! I'm sorry, but it was just a spur of the moment. I swear I had no intention to kiss you just because I wanted to. I was just very upset.''

I wondered if she was just upset with Yuri. Obviously she had gotten a reaction that she was very curious about.

I smiled a little. ''I'll kick you if you ever try that again.''

''Deal.''

We both chuckled.

I woke up to a loud banging on my front door. I scurried over to look through the peephole. With a groan, I opened the door and glared at Tiffany who was smiling at me innocently.

‘’It’s 9 am! On a Saturday!’’ I stated, half shouting.

‘’I am aware!’’ she replied in the same tone. I let her in and she took off her shoes and coat.

‘’I had an exam yesterday which I studied for all week,’’ I yawned, dramatically falling down on my couch with a huff. ‘’I really wanted to sleep late today.’’

‘’And I just wanted to see you,’’ she leaned down to peck my lips before sitting down next to me. ‘’I have to go to another conference on Tuesday.’’

‘’So it’s not in our city?’’ I asked.

‘’Nope. But I’ll be back on Thursday.’’

I sighed. ‘’Okay. Thanks for telling me.’’

‘’I assume you’re still having problems with Yuri?’’

I nodded.

‘’And you didn’t tell me you hung out with Jessica.’’

‘’It was just one lunch,’’ she patted my leg. ‘’She apologized and told me that she didn’t mean to do any harm to our relationship.’’

I said nothing and closed my eyes.

‘’I’m so stressed...’’

She then began rubbing my leg gently. ‘’I’m sorry for waking you up so early. You can go back to sleep.’’

‘’Will you stay though?’’

She tilted her head at me. ‘’Do you want a nap buddy?’’

I began to smile and nodded. ‘’Let’s go. My bed’s probably still warm!’’

Tiffany giggled while following me.

‘’Take off your clothes though,’’ I said after hopping under the covers and froze af