(Mod L is going to sit in shame and silence for being horrible at working AFF and not realizing that this chapter was of draft mode until now. OTL)

Welcome to Week Nine! I'm excited to see how this goes. Good luck to you all~

ONE

Title: Slipping Past Our Fingertips
Fandom: Red Velvet
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Word Count: 445

Seulgi hears Joohyun long before she sees her. She's memorized the sound of Joohyun's feet hitting the ground, the tone of Joohyun's voice when she laughs.

"It's nice out here, isn't it?" Joohyun says, sitting down next to Seulgi.

It's a comment phrased as a question, an open invitation to start a conversation, but Seulgi doesn't respond. She swings her legs out, stretching them over the blue waters of the lake below. It's quiet up here, and the noises from the party below are like the soft hum of a faraway mosquito.

"I can't believe the year's already over." Joohyun draws her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. "It seems like tryouts were just yesterday, and I was watching you spike the ball over the net. You're an amazing player, you know?"

Joohyun isn't one to give compliments, but Seulgi just laughs as she leans back on her hands. "I hated you back then," she confesses, staring up at the sky. Joohyun was the transfer who became captain of the volleyball team, winning the MVP title that had been Seulgi's. It's petty, something that Seulgi wants to forget, but the atmosphere makes it easier for her to talk about the past before they leave it behind.

It's the first time that Seulgi's seen Joohyun's smile visibly falter, and it almost makes her want to take back her words. "Do you still hate me?" Joohyun asks. Right now, she looks so small, so vulnerable, a far cry from her larger-than-life presence on the court.

"No," Seulgi says slowly. "Not anymore." She used to, though. She’d wanted to make Joohyun feel her disappointment, her despair when she'd missed a point she could have easily scored.

But it's hard to resent Joohyun when Seulgi sees her working so hard, staying late every afternoon to practice. It's hard to resist Joohyun's charms, to miss her contagiously bright smiles.

"I think," Seulgi starts, and she chokes before she can say the next words. I think I like you. "I don't want you to leave."

It's a fruitless wish because in a few weeks, Joohyun will be gone, pursuing bigger, brighter dreams in the city. Seulgi will be left in this little town, captain of the volleyball team, bereft of some of her closest friends.

"Find me when you graduate," Joohyun says, reaching out to hold Seulgi's hand. She grins, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Let's jump."

They're still holding hands when they jump over the edge, their shouts echoing in the clear summer skies. Seulgi leaves her confession in the spaces between their palms and holds her breath so she can capture this moment forever. 

TWO

Title: Control
Fandom: Miss A
Rating: pg
Warnings: None
Word Count: 445

Suzy had her jaw shut, gritting her teeth so harshly that it was starting to hurt. She looked at the ground as she heard her boyfriend endlessly complain. She didn’t even know what was wrong this time, as when he started complaining, she got so mad she tuned him out.

There she sat on the couch, body completely tense, her fists clenched hard, as her fingernails dug into the skin of her palm. And he moved around, in rash movements, kicking things, smashing the walls, screaming at the top of his lungs.

She was done with those situations, she didn’t need that. She didn’t need him. Ever since the relationship started, he had only caused pain to her. All he did was restrain her, command her. She didn’t have control of her own life anymore; he was the one making all her decisions.

And if she made a single mistake, he exploded.

She couldn’t take it silently anymore; it was destroying her on the inside. Her blood had started to boil, turning her face red with anger. She was moving, she was taking control of deciding what she would do. And it would start with him.

“Shut up.”

She started in a controlled voice, but he didn’t even hear her over his own screams. He was too wrapped up in himself to even notice her protest.

“SHUT UP!”

She rose from her seat like an erupting volcano, her loud and powerful voice spitting out like a powerful gush of lava. She would get rid of him once and for all.

“Get the hell out of my house!!”

She screamed once more.

He was silent, for what seemed to be the first time in years. He always had something nasty to say back to every word she dared to speak before, but now he recoiled. It was like he was frightened, like a puppy with his tail between his legs, backing away from a bigger, scarier dog.

She was expecting the worse, after hearing so many threats leaving his lips over the course of their relationship. But she finally realized, she was able to scare him. He didn’t look like he was able to do any of the bad things he had said he’d do. Dogs that bark don’t bite after all.

“Out.”

She once more said in the sternest tone she ever used with him.

Her mind was finally clear, she knew now. She controlled her own life, and there was not a person in the world that could take that away from her. Be them larger, stronger or smarter, it didn’t matter. No one could force her to do something she didn’t want to.

THREE

Title: The Words in His Silence
Fandom: Lee Chaerin (2NE1)
Rating: G
Warnings: N/A
Word Count: 445

For ten long years the thing sat at the base of and begged to be let out. It whispered of relief and freedom at last. Ten years it had waited, jittery with impatience, and Chaerin had to bear with it. But now, the built up pressure was too much. Either she let it out or risk insanity.

With shaky breaths and clammy hands, she sat her dad down on the sofa. Her heart thumped in her ears, like a man in heavy boots stomping on wooden floor. 

Her dad, sensing the tension, shifted so that his body faced her. He didn't say word, merely folded his fingers and waited. 

Chaerin waited too. For what, she didn't know, but she waited until the refrigerator's low humming a couple meters away grew loud. She took everything in. Her dad's graying hair, their frayed beige couch, his round, black spectacles, the kitchen lights, those deep lines on his face... 

"Dad," she managed. He raised an eyebrow, leaned in closer, and beckoned her to continue. 

Chaerin felt the thing that had been at the back of crawl up. Slowly, ever so slowly, it slid up her tongue. She felt its unmasked glee. Finally, it seemed to say as it moved to perch on the tip of her tongue. 

Finally. 

With an impossibly deep breath, Chaerin opened to let it out once and for all. "L–Lesbian." Her voice cracked. "I'm a lesbian, Dad." 

And just like that, the pressure disappeared. The burden flew from her shoulders and Chaerin felt like she could breathe again. All these years she had unknowingly held her breath and now... the air tasted sweet. 

It soured when she looked up to meet her father's eyes.

They were not loving. 

They were disappointed. Ashamed even, Chaerin thought, bitter but unsurprised. He was ashamed of her uality. 

Heavy air consolidated back on her shoulders. This time, it spread further. Down to her stomach and feet.

In the kitchen, the refrigerator continued to hum the only note it knew. It grew louder and louder every second to Chaerin. After a minute, the din crescendoed like the of a classical song but there was one thing that thundered even louder: her father's hollow silence. It was so deafening, she could hear every single unspoken syllable. She could hear it in the way he looked at her as if she were a complete stranger. 

Chaerin clenched her fists as regret and guilt flooded her.

If only she had been strong enough to keep the thing at bay. If only she had not allowed it to seduce her with its sweet idealism. 

If only.

You can go ahead and vote for your favorite and least favorite. As brought up a couple of days ago, here's our NaNoWriMo Network thread! If you have any questions, go ahead and ask.