A/N: 

....I really don't have any excuse for not updating other than I'm trash. School started recently as well...

my bad.

ANYWAYS
Here's a summary of the play the scene is from.

Sara and Callie are walking through New York City’s West Village very late at night, when they share their first kiss. This leads to a vicious attack by an angry bystander, in which Sara is horribly injured. She falls into a coma, which becomes one of the major subjects of the play. George, Callie’s good friend tries to help her with the situation but there is little he can do. Peter, Sara’s ex-boyfriend from St. Louis, comes to help nurse her back to health. The story is told out of chronological order: alternating scenes take place respectively before and after the assault, which is not shown on stage.

At this point in the play, the two characters are still getting to know each other but also becoming more aware of their attraction towards each other. Their characters met initially through a friend who had given Sara Callie’s name as she was looking for someone to take her cat since her apartment didn’t allow animals. They have just come back from dinner and are playing cards in Callie’s apartment talking about their respective jobs. Callie offers Sara her spare bed when they realize how late it’s gotten and Sara accepts because maybe the cat will sleep with her. Under the guise of luring the cat to the bed, Sara asks Callie to lay in bed with her, saying maybe that will get Caesar to come and lay down. Sara fakes falling asleep but then sees Callie has actually fallen asleep and pulls the covers to tuck her in.

So enjoy and I'll try really really hard to update again soon

---------------

Momo really knew how to charm the girls. 

Momo: so on a scale of 1 to white-trash, where would using red solo cups for our wine glasses land?

She had volunteered to be in charge of gathering the props they would need for their scene which had turned out to be a lot more work than she had anticipated. She didn’t have any trouble scrounging up a wine bottle (thank god for Jungyeon's wine habit) but they didn’t own wine glasses and since Mina lived in the dorms, she assumed she didn’t either and Momo was not about to drop 20 bucks on two wine glasses when she could get a 24 pack of red solo cups for 3 bucks. She just had to make sure Mina didn’t care and if she did…she better be prepared to chip in.

Momo stood in front of the paper goods in the 7/11 near her apartment awaiting a response, debating whether she should just buy it and be done with it. Thankfully, her phone buzzed in her hand and she tapped the button to unlock it.

Mina: You don’t own wine glasses?

Momo: i’m a college student who washes dishes for a living…what do you think?

Momo shook her head and just grabbed the 24 pack. If they ended up not using it, more for Jungyeon and her.

She walked up to the front to pay for the cups and after thanking the cashier, headed out and started strolling back towards her apartment. She shivered and pulled her coat tighter around her. Thankfully, it was only about a five-minute walk and before she knew, she had arrived back home. Pulling the door shut behind her, she shed her outer layers and set the bag on the counter. Her phone vibrated on the counter and she picked it up to see that Mina had responded.

Mina: Well, we ARE 20-somethings living in New York…I think we could get away with it.

Momo: okay good because i already bought them lol

Mina: Aren’t you efficient? :P

Momo: always :) we still on for rehearsing tomorrow?

Mina: Yes. I’ll see you at 11.

Momo: sounds like a plan :)

Momo tossed her phone on the bed and landed besides it, staring up at the ceiling. She inhaled deeply, attempting to calm the ball of nerves that had seemed to settle in her stomach. They were scheduled to show their scene for the first time tomorrow and Mina suggested rehearsing beforehand so they would be warmed up and ready to go. Momo felt more than confident about the work they had put into it but that didn’t stop her nerves from being on end every time they did it.

The blonde didn’t know how Mina felt but to her it was like she could literally feel the air crackling with electricity every time they made contact; the adrenaline rush it brought Momo was unlike anything she had experienced before. Mina hadn’t been kidding when she talked about the amount of subtext in their scene. If she had thought it was difficult before, it didn’t even come close to measuring up when they put their scripts down and actually focused on connecting with each other. You could read between the lines in practically every sentence, from Momo asking Mina to play one more round of their card game because she doesn’t want to leave yet to accepting Mina’s offer to stay the night since it would be ~so~ dangerous to leave so late, and the best one, when Momo asks Mina to lay with her in the spare bed under the guise of seeing if they can get the cat to come out.

It obviously wasn’t hard on Momo’s part to act attracted to Mina. If she was honest with herself, it wasn’t even acting at this point. Momo felt more like she was playing herself rather than the character. Not only that, but either Mina was very good at acting or she was also very aware of the tension between them. It was driving Momo up the wall, not knowing exactly where they stood. They quickly had become comfortable with one another, if only because the scene demanded that but as Momo had found out, despite her cold outward appearance, Mina was actually very fond of skinship. It had become commonplace that Mina would lay her head on Momo's lap or for Momo to rest her head on the other girl's shoulders or even slinging an arm around her as they walked from class together. 

The blonde let out a huff as she rolled over on her bed and sent a plea to whatever deity was up there that she could get through tomorrow.

---------------

Momo could not, for the life of her, concentrate on the scene before theirs. It wasn't that Sana and Jackson weren't doing well; they were actually killing it, hitting all the jokes, ramping up the absurdness of their characters to the point where Momo thought Tzuyu was going to pass out from laughing so hard. The nerves had balled up into her stomach again and all she could do was count down the minutes until they began.

At long last, Sana and Jackson finished and took their bows to whooping and hollering of the rest of their class. Momo weakly cheered along before glancing at Mina and offering a small smile. The red haired girl returned it, showing off that gummy smile Momo had grown to adore.

"Well done you two. I'll give you your notes at the end of class." Professor Bae scanned her list. "Now I believe we have....Mina and Momo up next. Are you girls ready?"

Mina answered for the both of them with a confident "Yes." which Momo was thankful for because she doubted her voice would have been as strong.

They set up their stage, placing all the props and making sure everything was in its rightful place. After they were done, they turned to face their class to introduce their piece. Just as they had practiced, Momo began. "Hello, my name is Hirai Momo and this is my partner Myoui Mina. Today we'll be doing a scene from Stop Kiss from Diana Son."

Mina took over the second part and continued with, "I will be playing the role of Callie and Momo will be playing the role of Sara."

The class clapped politely and a silence fell over the room as both girls got in their respective places. Momo made brief eye contact with Mina who was entering from stage left and nodded slightly to indicate she was ready. Mina nodded back and they began.

--------------- 

Momo didn’t think their scene could have been going any better. She knew they had their class’ full attention and it had probably been their best run to date. They were nearing the end of the scene, coming up on the part where Momo asks Mina to lay down with her to get Caesar to come. Mina crawled in the makeshift bed with Momo and they both laid there, waiting the appropriate amount of time before Momo said her next line.

“Do you see him?”

Mina’s head turned in Momo’s direction as she responded, “Who?”

Momo couldn’t stop her lip from quirking upwards. “Caesar.”

The red-haired girl propped herself up on her elbow to look around. “Not yet.” she said as she laid back down.

They both continued laying there and after a moment, Mina turned over to face Momo only to be met with Momo’s open mouth and (fake) snoring. “Huh?” She said, sounding genuinely surprised. “Are you asleep?” There was a beat before she continued, “You’re not asleep already are you?”

Momo stayed still, anticipating the other girl turning to face away from her to go to “sleep” herself. After counting to ten, Momo mimicked Mina’s position from earlier, propping herself up on her elbow to gaze down at the latter. She knew Mina wasn’t really asleep but if anyone were to look, they’d be hard-pressed to think otherwise. Her face held no tension and an aura of calmness radiated from her. As her eyes traced the outline of Mina’s face, Momo felt an impulse to kiss the other girl’s cheek, something they hadn’t rehearsed. She hesitated but her teacher’s voice echoed in the back of her mind, lecturing on the importance of learning to follow your impulses. She made the spur of the moment decision and followed it, dry lips landing on an incredibly soft cheek. To her credit, Mina barely even flinched when Momo’s lips made contact but the blonde could tell she was startled. Momo felt her face heat up at what she had just done and the reaction it garnered from their class, a collective, “Awwww.”

She quickly laid back down, facing away from the other girl, her mind racing. Why had she done that? Yes, Professor Bae had been getting on Momo’s case about holding herself back and stifling her impulses but she was pretty sure not stifling this one might have just ruined any of the progress she had made with Mina. Yes, they were comfortable with each other but there had seemed to be an unspoken physical boundary when it came to anything more than hugging or cuddling. Momo had made a big jump over that line just now and the worst part was that she didn’t know if she could play if off as her character’s impulse as opposed to her own.

“And scene.” Mina spoke as she gracefully rose from their makeshift bed while Momo tried not to land on her face as she rolled off the opposite side. They stood together in front and took their bow while everyone whooped and hollered. Even Professor Bae allowed a tiny smile escape before her expression reverted to neutral.

Momo was unable to look the other girl in the face as they cleaned up their set and helped get the stage prepared for the next duo. She quickly sat back down next Jihyo who gave her a questioning look since it was unusual for Momo to not sit next to Mina as she had done the last couple of weeks. Momo waved her off and focused ahead, trying to ignore the pair of eyes she knew were on her.

----------

Momo straight up booked it out of the classroom after Professor Bae dismissed them and had holed herself up in the library. She needed to talk to someone. She pulled out her phone, went to her favorites, and tapped on Dahyun’s name. It rang a couple times before she was greeted with a cheery, “Heeeeeeey Momo!”

“Dubu, I think I ed up.”

“Woah wait what?” The confusion was evident in Dahyun’s voice and Momo heard rustling in the background. “It’s literally only Monday. How could you have ed up already?”

“We had to go for our scene.”

Dahyun sounded sympathetic as she cooed, “Oh. Did you choke? It’s okay, stage fright gets even the best actors.” Momo let out a huff of frustration and shot back, “No I did not choke, you jerk!” She lowered her voice and looked around the library before whispering, “I kissed Mina.” There was only silence until Momo’s eardrum was almost shattered by the volume of the younger girl’s squeal.

“OH MY GOSH YOU KISSED HER?!" Momo yanked the phone away from her ear and clutched it in pain as she hissed into the receiver. “Say it a little louder why don’t you?? And wasn’t like a kiss kiss, it was just on the cheek!”

Dahyun scoffed. “I’m in my room so I can be as loud as I want but oh my god I can’t believe you kissed her. Who knew you had it in you?”

“I didn’t ‘have’ it in me or whatever. I don’t know what happened, we were almost at the end of our scene and she was laying there pretending to be asleep and it just….happened. I hope Professor Bae is happy bc the one time I didn’t stifle my impulses probably just ruined my friendship with her." Momo groaned and flopped onto the couch, covering her face with her arm.

“What did she say?” Dahyun prodded. Momo huffed again. “I don’t know, I hauled out of there.”  Disbelief colored the younger girl's voice as she spluttered. “Wait what?? So you just left her there with no explanation?”

“Okay when you say it like that…”

Momo could actually hear the girl facepalm and winced. She knew it wasn't the best thing to do but hey, fight or flight you know, and she had chosen flight. “You could have at least explained yourself, dude. She’s probably just as confused as you are.”

“Except we’re probably confused about different things. She’s probably wondering why the hell I kissed her when we’ve never done that before and I’m wondering how much she hates me right now.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t hate you. How about, instead of assuming the worst like you always do, you actually talk to her? At the very least you can explain yourself and apologize if you need to.”

Momo rubbed her face. “Give me a few more minutes to freak out before you get all logical on me.”  

“If you wanted someone not rational, you should have called Jungyeon.”

Momo was indignant as she vigorously shook her head as she stood up from the couch. “C'mon. You know Jungyeon. She’d be making kissy noises at me and singing that stupid nursery rhyme about kissing in the tree.”

"Okay well when you’re done freaking out, talk to her. The longer you leave it alone, the worse it will be. I gotta head to class. Let me know what happens!”

---------------

Per her tendency, Momo was still avoiding the other girl and was actively trying to ignore the fact that the other girl hadn't texted her at all. She was thankful that she was meeting up with her classmates for dinner, hoping that would help keep her mind off of the situation.

Jo Kwon, Jihyo, Jackson, and Hwasa were all seated around the table when Momo finally arrived, grabbing a chair and pulling it up beside the table, out of breath. “Hey guys sorry I’m late, parking was a to find.”

“Ah, the star of the day! And fashionably late of course.” Jo Kwon greeted her as Momo sat down. She cocked her head in confusion. “Star of the day? What are you on about?”

“Yew guysh killed yer schene tuday.” Jackson had taken a (unfortunately) large bite of pizza right before he spoke, causing Jo Kwon to side-eye the boy’s table manners. He finally swallowed and shot Momo a big grin. “Seriously, the chemistry between you two is like POW!” He smacked the table for emphasis and Momo just looked at him, amused. “Our chemistry?”

“The tension was so thick, you could’ve sliced it with a knife.” Hwasa chimed in. “That was probably the best work I’ve ever seen you do.” Momo felt her face heat up; she wasn’t used to such high praise, especially from Hwasa, about her work.  She sheepishly scratched the back of her head. “Thanks guys. That means a lot.”

Jo Kwon inspected his nails. “You really lucked out with Mina. Who knew she’d be so good at acting?” Jihyo clutched her chest in response, as if she had just been shot. “On behalf of the other management people in our class, I am offended at your lack of faith in our abilities.” Hwasa raised a manicured eyebrow. “Can you blame us? You guys are only there because you have to be.” Jo Kwon nodded in agreement. “But to your credit, you and Mina do actually try which is nice considering some of the other stories I’ve heard.”

Jackson waved his hand dismissively. “Can we get back on topic? Like I honestly cannot get over it. Two smokin’ hot girls, the was straight up ridiculous," he paused a moment and then smirked. "Well, not straight." Jihyo rolled her eyes and smacked the blonde haired boy upside the head, knocking his snapback off in the process. “.”

She turned back to Momo. “But he does have a point. I’m obviously not an actor as someone,” she side-eyed Jo Kwon who just put up his hands in defense. “But I know good work when I see it. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the tension was real except I know you’re probably still hung up on Tiffany.”

Tiffany. In all honesty, Momo hadn’t even given the other girl a second thought since the school year began. She had caught glimpses of the lighting designer from time to time but she no longer felt the same tug in her heart that she did before. Of course Momo knew the reason why but she wasn't about to divulge that. As much as she loved her classmates, she also knew they thrived on gossip and anything she told them, the whole department would know within a matter of days. 

Momo smiled slightly and took a drink. "Nah, I'm done with her. I've had enough of chasing after straight girls."

"You and Mina would make a really cute couple." Hwasa mused. The blonde choked on her water and Jihyo thumped her on the back a couple of times. Wiping her eyes away, she coughed out a, "Yeah right. There's no way she could be gay."

"Has anyone actually asked her?" Jackson looked around at the table to see everyone shaking their heads. "There you go. Never say never. I mean, who wouldn't want to get with her?"

"Ah man, don't even go there." Momo laughed nervously. "I told you guys, I'm done with straight girls."

Jo Kwon's lip quirked up as he quipped, "And you've said that how many times before?"

Momo just threw an olive at him. 

----------------

Momo had now been successfully avoiding Mina for three days; a feat considering they shared almost all of their classes together. Despite Dahyun’s advice to “stop freaking out and talk to her”, Momo hadn’t quite gotten past the freaking out stage. True to form, everytime she thought about it, the only thoughts that came to mind were about how she was sure Mina had to be grossed out about what Momo did. She didn’t want the younger girl to think she was coming on to her. Except she doubted she would have the same impulse had she been doing the scene with another of her classmates. At this point, Momo had admitted to herself there was no way she could excuse her thoughts for being that of her character’s. It was all her and going off her classmate's observations, it was pretty ing obvious. She didn’t how much longer she’d be able to hide that from Mina.

She had been in the basement for about an hour now, assured that she wouldn’t run into Mina as she knew the other girl had class in a different building this time of day. She’d greet the various people that would come and go, some she knew well, others just by face. Regardless, she was deeply absorbed in reading a script Professor Bae had assigned them until she saw someone slide into the seat across from her out of her peripherals. She took a cursory glance to see who it was, and then a double take when it registered who was sitting across from her. She immediately sat up straight, stammering, “H-h-hey. I thought you had class now?"

"Well," she thought "three days was a good streak.”

“It got canceled. Our professor was sick.” She saw the script in Momo’s hand and scoffed. “Don’t tell me you forgot about the quiz.” Momo grinned sheepishly. “Okay. I didn’t forget about the quiz.” Mina rolled her eyes at the blonde’s reply. “It’s amazing you even remember to eat.”

She just chuckled nervously and observed the other girl. Mina sat on the other side of the table, an indecipherable expression on her face. She was studying Momo carefully and it made her wish the earth would swallow her up. Was she not going to mention it? Momo could go along with that. After a few moments with a more somber note in her voice, she said, “You’ve been avoiding me.”

It was a statement, not a question. Momo’s first instinct was to completely deny it but she found she couldn’t even form a sentence and instead nodded her head.

“Why?”

The blonde’s stomach twisted into knots at the look of hurt on Mina’s face. She wanted nothing more than to make it go away but she couldn’t lie to the girl. Also she knew Dahyun and Jungyeon would give her hell if they found out she and Mina had talked but didn’t talk.

“Was it about our scene? I’m sorry, I know I messed up in a couple places but I thought we got a good response. We even got a smile out of Professor Bae.”

“No, no, not at all. I thought you were incredible! Like seriously that was the most fun I’ve ever had performing and it’s because of you.

“So then..why haven’t you been talking to me?”

“It’s dumb.”

“Tell me, Momo.”

"I freaked out because I kissed you on the cheek alright? And I’m really really sorry for that because I know we never practiced it but when I was looking at you laying there I just got this really strong impulse to kiss you and you know how Professor Bae’s been getting on me about stifling my impulses and stuff…it happened and I felt bad because I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable and freak you out.” 

Mina looked at her for a few minutes before she broke out in exasperated laughter. “That’s it?” Momo nodded stupidly. “And here I thought you hated me because I messed up the scene.”

Mina reached out across the table and placed her hand on top of Momo’s as she spoke. “Momo. PLEASE stop treating me like I’m some powder keg that’s going to blow up any second. I feel like you still don’t really trust me and I thought we had moved past that awhile ago.”

The blonde tried to ignore how soft Mina's hand was and focus on actually forming coherent sentences. "It’s an involuntary thing. Sometimes I feel like I have to police myself because I don’t want to overstep boundaries, especially physical ones with girls, and have them think I’m being creepy."

"The last word I would associate with you is creepy." Mina shook her head and then leveled her gaze at Momo. "I was so worried I had done something wrong. You're my best friend here and I don't want to lose you."

The two dreaded words. Best Friend. Momo's stomach dropped when she heard the younger girl say that but tried to keep her composure. After all, wasn't this what she had been expecting all along? Momo had lost count a long time ago of the number of times this exact sentence had been said to her. Still, she smiled apologetically at Mina. "I'm really sorry. It was just a knee jerk reaction. You're my..." she took a deep breath and forced the rest of the sentence out. "best friend here too."

"I forgive you on one condition," Mina's face turned serious. "Next time, just talk to me." Momo's smile turned crooked. "I'll do my best." Mina squeezed her hand before removing it and Momo had to fight the urge to grab it again. Picking up the script Momo had abandoned, Mina asked, "Need any help?"

"Actually, that would be wonderful. Shakespeare is the devil incarnate I swear to god."

Mina giggled and Momo wished she could say she actually paid attention to what the red-head was saying but it was fruitless.

"Maybe one day," she thought "I'll get over you."