“Jessica-ssi!”

 

It was a reflex, something she didn’t even need to think to do, her head snapping to the direction of the call of her name. The voice wasn’t one that instantly pinged in her mind and she knitted her brows at the sight of a faintly familiar gangly body jogging up to her. She swore she met the guy before, the cogs in her mind slowly piecing together the information stored at the deepest recess of her mind.

 

The tall form, tanned skin, mess of hair, that cool boyish grin that seems to make her grit her teeth, and “Oh,” a name to the face. “It’s you.”

 

His smile faltered a little and there was that barely noticeable, split second grimace before he recomposed his smile. “Hey,” he took a glance behind him, looking as if he was regretting coming up to her. She would have scoffed, but she felt that was too rude so kept her straight face. “how are you?”

 

“Fine.” She checked on her silent phone, pretending to have received a text to hide the downward curve of her lips. Maybe it was the inner introversion but she couldn’t push down the strong urge to make an escape. She took a furtive side glance, her thoughts running a mile a second trying to come up with an excuse to get away.

 

“Right.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The tension between them was so palpable she was starting to feel it weigh upon her shoulders. This was exactly the reason she disliked meeting new people alone. It was just too awkward for her. But she knew she needed to change that. It was for the better in the long run. She couldn’t keep depending on other people after all.

 

She took a long calming breath. He was no threat, Jessica reminded herself. She looked him up and down, and though it may come across as very snotty her purpose was anything but that. Having to run around, ducking at the mere sight of the guy had left Jessica with a bias opinion of him and she wasn’t that mean not to change her thinking. It was all Yuri’s fault anyway and the problem seemed to have resolved itself in the most hilarious of ways.

 

He looked handsome enough. He certainly was tall and tanned- from playing under the sun, Jessica guessed. Being part of the varsity meant he was in shape, and Jessica doesn’t doubt that underneath the cotton shirt he wore was a wonderfully hard and sculpted body that was to die for. He was exactly her type. Except, her heart doesn’t react the way it does with him compared to a certain individual. He was just… a cute jock.

 

Jessica sighed. “Do you need anything, Taecyeon-ssi?”

 

“I uh..” he started eloquently. Her soft snorting snapped the dazed look off him and he straightened up, coughing into his fist to cover for his embarrassing slip. “Do you know where Yuri is?”

 

“And why are you looking for her?” she doesn’t mean for it to come so snippily. It was her jealousy rearing its ugly head. She pressed her lips together, calming down the irrational nagging for her to get away, or better yet, chase the guy away.

 

He was harmless, he liked someone else, she reminded herself. She’s quick to regain composure as she patiently waits for the silent jock to start explaining. Fortunately, the delivery of her question doesn’t seem to bother Taecyeon, or maybe he doesn’t even notice it as he looks far too detached looking down at his feet.

 

“I think, I got.. duped.” The last part came mostly as a mumble thanks to the hand covering up half of his face to hide his embarrassment. “She-uh, gave me a phone number and I think she set me up to look like a complete idiot.”

 

So that was why Yoona changed her number. Jessica smirked, crossing her arms over her chest to properly address Taecyeon. “You actually thought she’d give you a number, just like that?”

 

He lowered his head, chin to his chest. The tips of his ears were turning red and Jessica had to bite her tongue to stop the laughter welling up in her chest. “Well...” he croaked.

 

“Well, you’re right. You are a complete idiot.” Taecyeon raised his head, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as he stares at Jessica’s smug face. His surprise quickly softens to an amusement and he even lets loose a few chuckles

 

“Gee, thanks, Jessica-ssi.” He grinned. Somehow, it reminded Jessica a little of Yuri’s.  “Ah, your sassiness really is something. I still remember what you did that game day. I was really surprised.”

 

“Yeah, well, I get that a lot.” Jessica’s eyes flicked back to her phone, checking the time.

 

They were supposed to meet at the shed right outside of the school to catch the bus to town. The plan was to catch the 5:45 movie then eat dinner. She had over half an hour to spare before their bus arrives thanks to the sudden study time that she opted to skip out off.

 

“Ditching me already?”

 

“I’ve got places to be.”

 

“I’ll walk you there.”

 

“I don’t mean to be rude, but why?”

 

“Er..” he fumbled, his eyes darting from Jessica’s face to somewhere beyond the stretch of courtyard they were to walk to the gate. His shoulders quaked as he lets a few soft chuckles leave his lips. “You know, you are the only person I’ve come across who’s been aggressively shutting me down. You’re really different from other girls Jessica-ssi. Unique.”

 

“Is that you being nice and trying not to call me rude?” Jessica challenges. She tries to keep a straight face, but she could feel a smirk reaching for the surface. The surprise on Taecyeon’s face was making it a little hard to keep up her act.

 

“No! God, no. I didn’t-” His eyes crinkle as he lets out a louder set of laughs. “I meant to say you’re very refreshing.”

 

Jessica gives another soft snort, a smile hinting at her lips as she gives the grinning Taecyeon one last appraisal, her earlier apprehension easing. “You’re not bad, Taecyeon-ssi. Not bad at all.”

 

“I would say the same to you… but all you’ve done is be incredibly sassy.” He grins.

 

Jessica nods her head, slightly impressed at the cheeky comeback. “True.” She looks up, fixing a cheeky grin. “Start over?”

 

She reached out a hand “Jessica. Jung. Yuri’s best friend. Nice to meet you.”

 

Taecyeon mirrored her action, his hand firmly gripping onto Jessica’s, his signature boyish grin brightening up his features. “Ok Taecyeon. Yuri’s old friend. Likewise.”

 

He pulled his hand back and promptly stuffed it into his jean’s pocket. “So, Jessica-ssi, can I walk you to your destination? I promise I don’t mean anything by it.. except maybe to get to know my new friend a little bit more.”

 

“Well, if you put it that way.” Jessica flashed him a small smile, cocking her head to the direction of the gates.

 

Taecyeon might not be the brightest apple in the bunch but Jessica was beginning to believe that he was someone she just might not mind being friends with. She just hoped there were no crazy fan girls after her blood if they do become friendly with each other. With a body and face like his, she wouldn’t be surprised if she received one or two dirty looks.

 

 

 

 

 

Yuri couldn’t contain the giddiness of the thought of the afternoon movie date. Well, there was tweedle dee and tweedle dum, and she wondered if she should recommend watching two different movies, if that was all possible. She had not seen what her cousin and girlfriend were like now that they were officially together. Even as just best friends they were already touchy and toe-curling affectionate to each other. She shuddered at the thought of the two being a little too intimate and hoped they had at least the decency to limit any possible public displays of affection.

 

“Yuri-yah!” She slips her backpack over her shoulder, lifting her head she spotted her cousin standing outside the classroom door energetically waving her hand to catch her attention. She smirked inwardly at the childish act and coolly nodded her head. For someone who hated being called cute or childish, her actions beg to differ.

 

“Taengoo~ my favourite cousin.” Yuri greeted loudly once she was close enough to swing her arm around Taeyeon’s shoulder. She gave her a squeeze, followed by a hard noogie that had the smaller girl gritting her teeth in pain. Taeyeon immediately began to squirm, wedging her small body sideways and ducked under Yuri’s arm to get away. She clicked her tongue, fingers already combing back whatever Yuri had managed to disturb. One side of her lip hiked into a sneer as she muttered under her breath like an old woman berating unscrupulous teens.

 

“Ei, this brat, don’t know how to treat her elders. I should kick some manners and sense into her thick skull.”

 

Yuri chuckled, lightly pushing her cousin by the shoulder. “Stop muttering Taengoo, everyone will start thinking you’re crazy.”

 

“You’re one to talk.” Taeyeon frowned, narrowing her eyes at her smiling cousin. “You do this every time when you’re frustrated or nervous.”

 

“I know. But, unlike you, I’m hot, charming and totally popular enough that being crazy is just a bonus.”

 

Taeyeon scoffed and shook her head in disbelief. “Aish! You’re making me crazy.”

 

Yuri chuckled, affectionately patting her cousin’s shoulder. “That’s what families do cous.”

 

“Enough about me,” Yuri once again slid her arm around Taeyeon’s shoulder as she began leading them away from her room and into the emptying hallways to their next destination. She leaned closer to Taeyeon’s ear, making sure only her cousin could hear the next question “so, tell me about your date last night?” she playfully nudged Taeyeon by the hip. “Did she stay in your room again?”

 

Taeyeon chose to remain silent, hanging her head to let her hair curtain the redness of her cheeks. Unfortunately, Yuri could still see the tips of her ears turning red and it only spurred the younger girl on. “She did, didn’t she? And I bet you two cuddled on your tiny bed instead of using the empty one.”

 

“Why are you being so nosy? It’s private what happens between the two of us.”

 

“Yeah… but I just want to know so that I can be prepared later.” Yuri shrugged.

 

Taeyeon tilted her head, brows scrunching in question. Yuri grinned, eyes twinkling in mischievous delight as she finishes her explanation. “It’s a dark theatre with seats that you can lift the armrest up to cuddle with your significant other. I just don’t want to look your way and be treated to an unexpected rated show.”

 

Yuri chortled loudly as she was shoved off Taeyeon’s petite body. The following slaps to her arm was nothing compared to the priceless look of her cousin’s flushed face.

 

“Ow! Ouch! Taeyeon, I’m- Ahaha- I’m- I’m hahaha.. I’m sorry.” Yuri’s apologies mid-laughter was only fuelling her cousin’s embarrassment and irritation and she continued slapping and pinching anywhere she could reach with the taller continued her unrestrained laughter.

 

“Taeyeon! What are you doing?!” The surprised voice halted Taeyeon’s barrage of attacks and the two cousins looked to the source of the question. Standing just in front of the crowd they had garnered was none other than a concerned looking Tiffany.

 

“P-Ppany-ah!” Taeyeon’s face paled and, taking advantage of Taeyeon’s sudden freezing, Yuri made a dash to hide behind Tiffany, not forgetting to slap a hand over to prevent her laughter from escaping. Taeyeon saw her cousin make a break, but she was seconds too late to grab her and was left as the sole centre of attention. She began to sweat nervously, her whole face turning red at the number of eyes directed at her. Yuri snuck a glance over Tiffany’s shoulder, feeling the familiar pulling of guilt as her cousin’s face grew anxious at the amount of attention focused solely on her.

 

“P-Ppany-ah, I- It wasn’t- I- I..” She stuttered terribly, slowly stepping closer to Tiffany and, hopefully, away from the questioning gaze all around her.

 

Tiffany rolled her eyes, turning slightly to grab the silent Yuri hiding behind her by the ear and violently tugged and twisted the cartilage. Yuri yelped, her hand wrapping around Tiffany's hand and wrist, feet following Tiffany’s tugging until she was back in front of her nervous cousin. “Don’t think I didn’t know you had something to do with this Kwon, you troublemaker.”

 

“Ppany-ah, I’m sorry. Ow! Stop- stop twisting my ear. It’s burning! Ah!” Tiffany gave her ear one last turn before releasing the reddened cartilage. She rested her hands on her hip, looking at both cousins reprimanding. The glare she holds on both is enough a message that passes onto the two and they turn to each other, one wearing a disgruntled look while the other a sheepish grin.

 

“Sorry.” They say almost simultaneously. Yuri’s smile hikes up a tad wider and she reaches to gently sock her cousin’s arm. “No hard feelings.”

 

“You .” Taeyeon scoffs back at her, but she ends up smiling and gives Yuri’s shoulder a friendly push. Fortunately, by then, the few curious onlookers had lost interest and moved on, leaving only Tiffany to watch the exchange. Taeyeon heaves a sigh of relief, giving Yuri one hard shove before rushing to link her arms with Tiffany. She grins broadly at the beaming smile Tiffany gives her and sticks her tongue out at Yuri who was pretending to gag at their interaction.

 

“Alright kids, let’s get going. Jessie’s already gone ahead to the bus shed.” Yuri’s eyes sparkle at the mention of the girl that had her heart racing. She rounds on the two lovebirds, prying them apart and slipping in between them, wrapping her hands around the two unwilling pair and pulled the two towards the exit.

 

When they step out into the sunshine Yuri suddenly halts to take a deep inhale of the fresh air and savoured the sun beating on her skin. Behind her, Taeyeon rolls her eyes at the exaggeration her cousin was showing off while Tiffany chuckled silently at the girl. Just as quickly as she stopped Yuri was ready to go.

 

“Come on then! The bus is going to leave us, you slowpokes.” She throws in an energetic fist pump, missing the knowing smiles passed behind her.

 

“Chill out, Yuri. We’ll get there.” Tiffany says, teasingly hindering Yuri’s pace. Taeyeon, quick to catch on, wriggles her arm out of Yuri’s hold and stood back. She plasters on a bright, toothy smile on her child-like face, eliciting a squeal from Tiffany before she’s wrapped in a tight hug.

 

Yuri pretends gags at the two. “Can you two stop that? I don’t want to be late. So, get your butts moving.”

 

“Why are you so excited? Have you already picked what you want to watch?”

 

“Can’t I just be excited to watch the movies with you guys?” She rolls her eyes.

 

“Aw, Yuri that’s so touching,” Tiffany coos, her eyes turning upright and her smile lifting up to dangerous territories. She straightens up, intertwining her fingers with Taeyeon and passing her short girlfriend a soft look. “but I feel like you’re not being entirely honest with us.”

 

“What?” Yuri’s smile flatters. Her heart picks up speed at the identical smiles the two lovebirds were wearing and she starts feeling her palm sweat. She scoffs, turning her back to the gate as she looks her best friend in the eye. “I don’t know what you’re going on about.”

 

“Oh, don’t you? Well, since you’re just so excited to be with us, let’s just take our time going there.” Tiffany says teasingly.

 

Yuri keeps her smile, hiding her gritted teeth. She brushes her hand through her hair, a habit she’s done when frustrated, and her cousin immediately picks it up. Taeyeon’s eyes sparkle in mischief and she plops down the steps, pretending to need to fix her laces, deliberately taking her sweet time tugging at the strings to tighten her shoes.

 

“Taeyeon! What the hell are you doing now?!” Frustration slowly seeps into her tone Yuri watches on in exasperation at her cousin’s antics.

 

“I’m fixing my laces. They’re getting a bit too loose.” Taeyeon gives her a faux look of innocence.

 

Yuri throws a long look at the exit of the school. “We’ll miss the bus!”

 

“We can take the next one.” Taeyeon quickly retorts, moving onto the actual tying of her laces. She subtly loosens the knot of her other shoes when Yuri wasn’t looking.

 

“Oh, come on! The gate is just right there!” Yuri points out.

 

“If you’re so excited, why don’t you go on ahead and wait with Jessie?” Tiffany offers, inwardly crackling at Yuri’s sudden tensing.

 

Yuri scoffs, trying to play off Tiffany’s comment down. Tiffany’s smile only widens when she turns her back and she playfully shoos the flustered girl. She goes to a crouch, taking the strings of Taeyeon’s loose laces and began fixing the threads at a leisure pace. She exchanges grins with Taeyeon when she hears Yuri stomping off, muttering incomprehensible words under her breath.

 

 

 

“You did that?” Jessica laughed, bringing her hands together in a loud clap before using them as a shield to hide her open mouth. Taecyeon was chuckling softly to himself, cheeks tinged with a slight pink hue. One hand went to rub the back of his neck, casually running down to loosen the collar of his shirt.

 

The smile on his face fades as his eyes look beyond Jessica. His brows furrows and his hand comes up, index finger extended to point accusingly. A too wide smile pulls at his lips as he wags his finger like a strict teacher reprimanding their students.

 

“I have a bone to pick with you.” Jessica arches a brow at the unexpected tone coming from the guy. She briefly wonders if she’s done something, but quickly brushes it off as the jock had just been chuckling a second earlier. She looked over her shoulder and her heart does one of those skipped beat as the familiar sharp features she had been covertly admiring the night before filled her vision. A shy smile instantly curls her lips when she feels the familiar flutters raging in her stomach.

 

“Yul..” she calls softly in greeting.

 

Her smile falls a little when Yuri doesn’t respond. She doesn’t even spare her a glance. Then her brows rose when she realises that at the expressionless girl was staring past her.

 

“Well,” Yuri starts, a smile finally tugging at her face. Jessica arches a brow at how suspiciously fake it looked. “I’m surprised to see you here Taecyeon.” Her hands clasped behind her. She tilted her head to the side cutely, as if to ask for the reason why he was where he was.

 

The jock laughed, reaching to pat Jessica’s shoulder in a friendly manner. When Jessica turns her attention to him he gives her a cheeky grin as he comfortably slings his arm around her shoulder. “Well, I just came across Jessica here and I thought I’d accompany her for a while. Get to know her a little. Turns out we have a lot of things in common.” He says the last part in English, doing a little wink that would have gotten the other girl’s to swoon at their spot. Jessica scoffs, subtly elbowing his side to get him to release her. The guy grunts, but it only made him pull her towards him as he curled into himself. Too caught up in reorienting her balance she misses the narrowed eyes falling on her.

 

“Oh…” she starts, her tongue quickly swiping along her bottom lip as she scuffs the toe of her shoes on the pavement.  Her smile turns tight, upper and lower lip presses too tightly, the excitement in her eyes dulling. “well… You guys have a good afternoon then. I’ve got to.. got-got places I need to be.”

 

“What?” Jessica blurts. She pushes against Taecyeon’s torso, ducking under his arm to escape his clutches. Without her help for balance, Taecyeon stumbles to rest the side of his body against the wall of the waiting shed. The thudding instantly catches Jessica’s attention and she hoovers uncertainly beside the jock, concern written all over her face when the fool’s shoulders start shaking. When he chuckles audibly at his own misstep Jessica assumes he’s fine and straightens up. Brushing her messy hair back she throws her undivided attention to the girl blankly staring at them.

 

“But weren’t we going to the movies?” she asks uncertainly, scrunching her brows and pouting her bottom lip in disappointment.

 

“Ah.. yeah, sorry. I just remembered I promised the other girls that I’d see them today.” Yuri replies. She lowers her sights, refusing to meet Jessica’s probing gaze. She runs her hand through her hair, twice. Yuri doesn’t notice but her chin wrinkles, unconsciously showing her displeasure. “I gotta go. See you guys later.” Her lips pull in another tight-lipped smile, eyes darting everywhere except Jessica and Taecyeon.

 

“Ei, Yuri!” Taecyeon calls out to her, pushing off the wall to try and talk to the girl properly. “Hey, I want to talk to you.”

 

“Maybe next time.” Yuri replies as she lifts a hand up to stop him from speaking any further. Jessica finally catches her eyes and she’s taken aback by the seemingly sad look to them before Yuri’s gaze fixes on Taecyeon. Her smile becomes wider, showing the pearly whites, and she tilts her head up at him. “You take care of her. I’ll know who to hunt down if Jeshika comes to me crying.” She warns jokingly as she takes quick steps past them. She throws her hand up in one more exaggerated wave before taking off in a run down the sidewalk.

 

“What?! But I- and there she goes.” Taecyeon huffs, turning his gaze to the silent Jessica. Shaking his head he frustratingly rakes through his hair down to his neck then sighs. “Eish- I haven’t even said anything yet. That brat. I should’ve just prepared a prank.”

 

Jessica ignores Taecyeon’s rambles, her eyes fixed at the space Yuri disappeared to. Her feet were itching to go after her, but the slight twinge of disappointment in her chest glues her to her spot. She her head to the side, wondering about the sudden change in Yuri’s personality. She looked uncomfortable standing around them.. and upset?

 

“Okay, you two knuckleheads, let’s get the hell-” Tiffany stops short on her loud entrance. Her brows rose at the unexpected presence of their basketball team’s famous point guard. She takes a few seconds staring at the confused guy, long enough for Taeyeon to pop her head from behind her.

 

“Taecyeon-ssi?” Taeyeon questions.

 

The guy raises a hand in greeting, putting on a smile. “Er.. hello?”

 

“Hi!” Tiffany jumps right in. Her hand shoots up in reflex and nearly smacks Taeyeon in the face. Feeling the sudden rush of air hit her skin the shorter girl let out a short scream, jolting everyone out of their confused state. Tiffany automatically turns, apologies already flying out of as she grabs Taeyeon’s face giving her a once over while Taecyeon chuckles uncomfortably in his spot.

 

Before anyone else can say anything, much less do anything, Jessica was already making her way out of the shade of the bus shed. Her heart hammered in her chest as her legs started to gain momentum. She could hear Tiffany’s voice calling out to her, but thoughts of stopping were far from her mind. She needed to catch up with Yuri. She had a feeling when Yuri saw her with Taecyeon, laughing with him, she had gotten the wrong idea. If she really likes Jessica as much as Jessica like to thinks she does, then being welcomed to that kind of sight would definitely have upset her.

 

As satisfying as it was to see what could very well be Yuri’s jealousy surface, Jessica was getting sick and tired of the near-zero progression. She liked to think herself smart, but with her plans consistently going awry was giving a huge blow to her ego. It was time she made everything clear and straight to the point.

 

She takes the corner wide, pushing her legs to fly through the long straight street to the far end where a junction forked to two directions. She could feel her body generating heat that was trapped in the thick sweater she wore, every breath of cold air feeling like pins stabbing at her lungs. Her hands flew to her knees, helping prop her up while she took the time to regulate her breath and ease the pinpricks. She looked straight ahead where a couple of people were beginning to start crowding on the way to the arcade. On the other hand, the connecting road was narrower, leading to the quieter residential space and a small park further ahead.

 

“You stupid girl!” she growled, taking the connecting road and mentally prayed for lady luck on her side.

 

 

 

 

 

Yuri lazily pushed her feet, the rusted chain of the swing creaking loudly under the friction and her added weight. She sighed dejectedly as the interaction earlier replayed in her mind. Her heart ticked painfully, her lips curving downwards into a frown. She gritted her teeth when it felt like her eyes were burning, chastising herself for feeling the way she felt when she never actually put the effort to show her interest. She had no right to feel sorry for herself. And she especially had no right to feel this betrayed at seeing Jessica laugh so freely with another guy.

 

She pushed off, the swing lifting her a little in the air. Her feet fell back on the sandy ground, instantly halting her momentum. Just like her chances of getting the girl of her dreams.

 

She chuckled mirthlessly. Jessica had indeed been in her dreams recently. If she closed her eyes she could still see those gentle brown eyes gazing at her softly. Her fingers went to trace the intermittent jagged bumps marring her skin, leftover scabs from her accident. She recalled vividly the mesmerising features of Jessica’s face as she carefully tended to her wounds and a small, painful smile lifted her features.

 

The girl really was beautiful inside and out. Yuri counted herself lucky that fine day when the brunette came into the deserted arts room, apologising softly at the floor. She honestly wanted to poke fun at the lost little lamb but when she saw the blank look on her it resonated with her.

 

She didn’t know when the platonic relationship she had for Jessica began to turn into something more. She had always brushed the feeling of wanting to be close to her as something normal for best friends. Tiffany was like that with Taeyeon, openly showed it in fact. Look at them now.

 

Maybe it was her fault for using Tiffany and Taeyeon’s relationship as her reference, for not realising it sooner and acting quicker. Maybe if she did she would have snuffed her growing interest out earlier, and seeing Jessica giggling happily like that wouldn’t have affected her as much as it did.

 

She sighed, leaning back and letting the swing sweep her feet off the ground. She stared at the clear sky, idly wondered why it wasn’t as gloomy as she felt. The weather had never failed in making her bad days even worse. Always gloomy on the days following that fateful night.

 

She felt so overcome with negative emotions now. How come the sky was still looking so beautiful? Was it mocking her now?

 

She scoffed. Of course, it could. Nothing like rubbing salt on a wound.

 

She swung her feet a little, gaining momentum as she tilts her back further. The rush of cold air nipping at her skin numbs her somewhat. The ache in her chest was still present, and she didn’t really know whether she liked it or not. It was far better than that feeling that nothing was ever going to be right for a time. She hated those, took a while to chase away.

 

She blinks back the sting in her eyes, dragging her feet on the sandy bottom to halt her momentum. She presses the heels of her palm against her eyes, takes a deep breath and reclaims the full control of her emotions. It was no time to cry.

 

She sniffs loudly once, her hands falling to her lap as she rapidly blinks away the haziness of her vision.

 

“Is the great Kwon Yuri actually crying?” A familiar, airy voice teases.

 

Yuri nearly tips over the swing at how quickly her body turns to the source. Her hands fly to wrap around the chains to catch her balance. A gasp gets caught in at the teasing smirk on one winded Jessica, hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Her hair was a little windswept, cheek flushed with exertion.

 

“Sica?” her voice cracks and she bites her bottom lip and clears before trying again. “Sica, what are you doing here?” Her gaze shifts behind the panting Jessica, checking for either of their friends. Her heart soars when she doesn’t see one particular handsome boy waiting for her and she almost grins at that.

 

“Looking for you, what else, idiot.” Jessica huffs. She leans on the sturdy structure of the swings set, trying to regulate her breathing. “You promised me.. a movie.” She gasps, her lip at the end of her statement. Yuri can’t help her sights zoning onto the pink lips before she catches herself and forces her eyes back on the deep browns that were staring right back at her. She immediately drops her gaze, feeling the heat crawling up at her neck and her heart pumping twice as fast just from the intensity of the look.

 

“I.. I had… I thought -”

 

“You promised me a date.” Jessica interrupts in a huff.

 

Yuri pictures herself on an actual romantic date with the girl and it only fuels the burning heat of her body and she swears she’s as red as a tomato at that point. She takes a shaky breath in, calming her racing heart and pulling back her mind from cloud nine.

 

“Taecyeon was there. He could take you on that date.” She forces a smile. It somehow hurt her cheeks to do something as simple as that. “I can be a matchmaker too.”

 

Jessica makes a loud huffy noise from and Yuri feels really small at the look of frustration directed at her. “I-”

 

“But I was promised a movie date with you, not him.”

 

Yuri thinks this time her mind had flown way past cloud nine, past the moon and the stars, even past Pluto and going on through the nebula. Did she just hear right or was her mind just making the words coming out of Jessica’s pretty pink lips so, so sweet. Her heart gives a tight squeeze and warms her up before her thoughts crash back to her and she feels cold again.

 

She couldn’t have meant it romantically. She was just her best friend, right? Jessica was as straight as an arrow shot true by an expert marksman.

 

Yuri hops off the swing, mentally preparing her heart, before turning and offering Jessica her hand. The cool hand that clutches to her weighs so heavily in her chest. She wraps her hand around the daintier ones and she grins what she hopes was a passable impish grin.

 

“Come on, let me take you back-” and her sentence ends in a gasp as her hand is suddenly jerked so hard she’s forced forward, just managing to catch herself from smacking faces with Jessica. She swallows thickly when a warm breath hits her face and she’s pleasantly surprised at the minty scent. The grip on her hand loosens and it falls back limply at her side.

 

She’s faced to face with Jessica, the latter staring expectantly into her eyes while she’s too busy counting the beautifully curved lashes and the light brown flecks in her iris that jumps out when the light hits them. She could move closer, angle her head just right, take up all that was left of the space. Just so close.

 

She clears , pulling back. Both her heart and mind scream at her for completely opposite reasons. She can only listen to one.

 

She chuckles self-consciously, wrapping her suddenly cold hand around the back of her warm neck.

 

“That was close, nearly kissed you there.” She jokes.

 

Jessica’s frown deepens. “Why didn’t you?”

 

Yuri blinks. Now she’s sure something’s wrong with her hearing.

 

Because Jessica couldn’t possibly want her to kiss her, right?

 

Because they were really only best friend, right?

 

Because Jessica was, and will always be, an impossible dream.

 

Right?

 

 

A/N: Right? Er... yeah, went with the overthinking approach because.. why the hell not.

Extra note: I just realise that I've been reading one too many writing prompts from tumblr and the end part kinda reflected that shift of writing style... I hope you guy like it because I just might stick to that for a while.