Zhen lay on her back on top of her bed with her phone in one hand and Kirakira’s chew toy in the other. She’d been throwing the toy back and forth for the dog, but she’d now grown tired and was laying curled up beside Zhen, who had been texting Jungkook since she and Cho Hee had stopped having their awkward conversation.

That was embarrassing. She had sent first, telling him what had happened, and the two laughed about it, but Zhen still felt guilty. The look on his face when the elevator closed said it all. He was embarrassed and worried. She wasn’t sure why he was embarrassed, and it was bugging her.

Agreed. But at least you aren’t in trouble. She was just worried about you, so that’s a step in the right direction.

Zhen laughed at this, rolling onto her stomach. Having “the talk” with my foster mother is not a step in the right direction. She had texted Mallory an hour before, but she hadn’t answered. Zhen had figured she was getting ready for the band event.

True, but hey, it was the parent thing to do.

She sighed. He was right. But it was still awkward. Are you guys done with practice?

Yeah, but Suga and J-Hope went out for what J-Hope called a “timeout.” Zhen asked why, wondering what could have happened between the time they had seen each other up until this point. A lot, really, but Suga didn’t seem like the type to get upset easy.

To Zhen’s surprise, she didn’t get a text, she got a phone call. Before she could even say hello, Jungkook had already started to explain. “He went to drop off Kirby this afternoon, and even though he said he would only be gone a few minutes, he came back an hour or so later. He said he didn’t spend much time at Mallory’s, but was walking to clear his head.”

Zhen sighed. “So it has something to do with Mallory?”

“It seems like it. It seems like that a lot lately. But when he said he was trying to clear his head, J-Hope leapt up and dragged him to the door and said they would be back, because they needed to have a timeout, which I figure is like a talk. But I don’t know what could have happened, since Suga was only there to drop off the dog.”

Zhen bit the inside of her lip, wondering the same thing. “I’ll have to ask Mal for a recap on her day. Anyways, I won’t be at school tomorrow, even though you’re making an appearance.” He laughed at this. “I have a photo shoot scheduled, so I’m not going to classes.” It was a Friday, so it didn’t really matter anyways.

“Well lucky for you, I have some album stuff that needs to happen so I won’t be in either. I was thinking of how to tell you, seeing as how you got all emotional when I wasn’t there the other day-”

“I was not emotional!” Zhen hissed, and he laughed. “Well, have fun with your album stuff. I’ll see you Saturday.” At the mention of Saturday, Zhen got all kinds of nervous and fluttery. She hung up the phone and immediately texted Mallory. So what happened? 
 

Like she always did, Mallory sat in the far back of the club with her legs crossed, her arms crossed, and her lips pursed in annoyance. Caleb had dragged her out to a meet and greet, and then to another one of the bands’ ever so famous parties, one in which Caleb was bound to get trashed, and which made her wish she hadn’t tagged along.

The band had been in the club for three hours already, and Mallory was ready to leave. She’d spotted Caleb sitting on the other side of the club with a thin girl giving him what had to be a worth thousands. Mallory rolled her eyes, noting the cameras in the club, and the photographers nearby. This night was supposed to make it look like Mallory and Caleb were redeeming their relationship after his abuse. He clearly hadn’t gotten the memo.

Mallory stood and started towards him, stopping about twenty feet away from him, and as the petite black haired girl twirled around him, Caleb spotted Mallory. He stood and pushed the girl away from him, causing her to fall to the floor and scream at him in Korean, which he no doubt couldn’t understand. “Mal!” He said, smiling brightly. He was stumbling drunkenly towards her. “Baby, I’ve been looking for you all night.”

He threw his arms around her and kissed her. She didn’t push him away, but waited for him to finish. “Cale, I think we need to go home.” His eyes become surprisingly dark. “I’m not feeling all too well.” She said, holding her stomach and pouting. “Please?” Ugh, she felt like throwing up as she twirled in front of him while pictures were snapped all around the room.

Caleb sighed. “Alright, but we’re going back to your place,” He said, kissing her again. Mallory smiled up at him and then turned, taking his hand and leading him out of the club. Dominic slapped him on the back as they started out of the club, telling him to ‘get it’ which Mallory didn’t appreciate.

They strode outside and Mallory released his hand to hail a cab. “You know,” He started, pulling a bottle of tequila out of his pocket, which Mallory wasn’t at all surprised by. “You’re really killing my game.”

“You wanted a paid for girlfriend. And don’t complain about lack of benefits. I’m not a e.”

“I don’t know. You pimped yourself out for my pay pretty easily.” This immediately made Mallory feel like crap. It hadn’t been her decision, but she rea