Jung Chaeyeon is super pretty up close, Pinky realizes. She had seen the older girl before, being on the same cheerleading squad as her, but they’ve never had to perform the same stunt in any routine and therefore hadn’t really interacted before. “S-sunbaenim,” Pinky greets with an absent minded bow. It’s a good thing that Chaeyeon’s face is so pretty, Pinky thinks, because otherwise, it’d be so much harder for Pinky to distract herself from the older girl’s flower print bra. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

    Chaeyeon tilts her head slightly to the side before gracing Pinky with a soft smile. “If you don’t mind,” comes her short reply, and before Pinky can ask her what it is, Chaeyeon closes the short distance between them and stands way too close for Pinky’s comfort. Chaeyeon smells nice, the heady scent of her shampoo dizzying, and her still-wet hair drips droplets of cold water onto Pinky’s skin. She’s too close, yet a part of Pinky thinks she’s not close enough. “Close your eyes for me?” Chaeyeon asks softly, but with a casual inflection that makes it sound like she’s talking about the weather. It’s a confusing request and Pinky wants to ask why, but her eyes flutter shut almost automatically. There’s a beat of silence, an uncomfortable stillness stretching in that short moment, but before Pinky can open her eyes again, soft lips brush over hers in a gentle kiss that leaves her frozen and breathless.

    Chaeyeon steps away from her, leaving behind only the faint scent of her and an echoing warmth on Pinky’s lips. Pinky’s eyes slowly open to see the older girl still standing in front of her, slightly blushing face looking down and hands clasped neatly behind her back. “Thank you,” she says quietly before leaving Pinky in her corner of the locker room. Pinky wonders if she should pinch herself.

.

    It happens again- Chaeyeon kissing her. It happens again and again and Pinky’s not exactly sure what’s going on because Chaeyeon had never explicitly said that she wants to date Pinky. She had never said that she even likes Pinky. Pinky doesn’t think that Chaeyeon has ever actually said anything at all to her since the first time they kissed. Chaeyeon just steps into Pinky’s space and the younger girl just automatically loses her breath at seeing Chaeyeon’s face so close to hers. It’s always brief- the kiss. Just a gentle press of Chaeyeon’s soft lips against hers and it’s over, like a short but sweet ending to Chaeyeon’s day. And if Pinky is honest with herself, it’s the perfect ending to her day as well.

    Pinky never says anything. Never asks what’s going on or why Chaeyeon is doing this for fear of overstepping her boundaries as Chaeyeon’s junior. But she does tell Siyeon everything, never being one to be able to keep completely shut. Siyeon isn’t very helpful, only giving Pinky judging looks until she finally shuts up and focuses back on their precalc homework.

    One day, Chaeyeon does something different, something that’s more than a gentle press of lips against Pinky’s. She hesitantly threads a hand through Pinky’s hair when they kiss and afterwards, when Chaeyeon pulls away, her teeth softly grazes against Pinky’s bottom lip and the younger girl's brain goes haywire. Pinky guesses that losing her mind ended up being helpful in the long run because it gave her the push she needed to finally gather enough courage to ask, “Wh-what exactly is this? What are we?”

    Chaeyeon blinks back at her, a furrow settling between her eyebrows. “Dating,” Chaeyeon says simply and Pinky just opens , not knowing what to say. “Aren’t we?” Chaeyeon continues, a bit unsure of herself now after seeing Pinky’s reaction.

    “I don’t think this is what dating is supposed to be like,” Pinky says as smartly as she can when the tip of Chaeyeon’s nose is touching hers, when she can still taste Chaeyeon’s lipgloss on her own lips.

    “Huh,” Chaeyeon says and that’s that. She turns and leaves, abandoning Pinky in the locker room to wonder what just happened.

.

    The next day, Pinky walks out of her last class of the day to find Chaeyeon waiting there with a bouquet of flowers in hand and a really proud smile on her face. “Heehyun told me that flowers are a really good way to ask a girl out,” Chaeyeon explains, obviously proud of herself for thinking to ask their cheer captain for love advice. “So,” Chaeyeon continues. “Do you want to go out for ice cream? I have a coupon.”

    Pinky says yes and doesn’t remind Chaeyeon that it’s the middle of December.

A/N: Please comment/upvote if you enjoyed the story. Thanks.