Yesterday afternoon…

Taeyeon reclined in her desk chair, headphones on, eyes closed, textbook long since forgotten.  She liked to listen to music when she studied, but when a good song came on (and it always did), she found she couldn't concentrate on anything else.  This time, her shuffle was being good to her.  Six of her favorite songs, all in a row.  Microbiology could wait.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, throwing her out of her reverie.  It was Tiffany.  "Going to Monarch later with SY and Sunny.  Coming with this time?"

Monarch was some club downtown that had no cover charge every Thursday.  And, like clockwork, those three could be found there every Thursday.  And, just as predictably, Taeyeon always had some excuse ready to not join them.  Despite that, Tiffany continued to ask her.

Tiffany.  They had just met last semester.  As an evolutionary biology major, Taeyeon did not cross paths with business majors like Tiffany very often.  It was only through their mutual friends, Sunny and Sooyoung, that they finally introduced themselves.  Taeyeon decided right away that she didn't like Tiffany.  Tiffany was loud, obnoxiously so, and excruciatingly girly, in sharp contrast to Taeyeon's reserved, tomboyish demeanor.  And, like an overzealous puppy, she was very determined to be friends with Taeyeon.

"You have to get out of your dorm and into the real world," she would say, literally dragging Taeyeon by the arm out the door.  "Stop pouting; social interaction is good for you."

Months followed, and Tiffany's seemingly insurmountable goal of coaxing Taeyeon out of her shell appeared to be working.  Taeyeon found that there were some qualities in Tiffany—her endless amounts of ambition, her giving nature—that she really admired, and that Tiffany wasn't nearly as vapid as initial reports suggested.

In fact, much to her dismay, Taeyeon discovered that she was actually becoming rather attracted to that girl with the heart-melting smile.  Tiffany wasn't remotely her type, and yet…

Taeyeon had an unfortunate habit of developing crushes on girls that were unattainable.  Straight girls were her weakness.  The more a girl talked about boys she liked, or was dating, the more Taeyeon wanted her.  And Tiffany talked about boys.  Lord, did she ever talk about boys.  She talked about boys so much that she didn't even notice that Taeyeon did not talk about them, ever.  Not that she talked about girls with Tiffany.  Straight girls always got weird when Taeyeon came out to them, so she figured it wasn't worth the trouble to reveal anything.  If Tiffany flat-out asked her, she would admit she was a flaming homo, but she hadn't, so Taeyeon kept shut, and she told Sunny and Sooyoung to keep their mouths shut, too.

Still, being around Tiffany was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.  Being around Tiffany in a dark, sweaty dance club, in the presence of alcohol, was a mortifying thought.

Bzzzzz.  A second text:  "And don't tell me you're studying because I know you're not."

Well, she had that right.  Taeyeon was certainly not studying.  She sighed and looked at the clock.  5 p.m.  She had time, if she wanted to, to dress up, throw on some makeup, look presentable.  Her textbook lay open in front of her, the chapter heading, "Human Diseases Caused by Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria," visible.  She must have read that first paragraph a hundred times.  Nothing was sinking in.  She closed the book with a huff, because it sure felt like it was accusing her.

She pulled her phone back out from her pocket and began to tap in a response.  "Okay, you win.  What time?"