Rosé rushed into the dance studio’s changing room, hoping her absence hadn’t been felt yet. She quickly started to change, pulling her oversized sweatshirt over her head. Correction: Jennie’s oversized sweatshirt. Rosé smiled to herself as she thought about her day with Jennie. She bit her lip as images of some of their not-so-innocent activities surfaced in her mind. Suddenly, a voice jolted her out of her thoughts.

“You’re late,” the person said. Rosé spun around, still from the waist up save for her bra.

“Oh, Lisa, it’s just you,” Rosé sighed, evidently relieved. “I’m sorry for my tardiness. I got caught up.”

Lisa smirked at the redhead. She was about to ask what had gotten her so caught up that she had hickeys across her collarbones, but Rosé’s next statement caught Lisa off guard.

“Jennie and I were doing some things and I guess we lost track of time,” Rosé admitted casually as she resumed getting changed. Lisa felt her heart drop for some reason, but she tried not to let it register on her face.

“Oh, you were with Jennie?” Lisa asked, feigning nonchalance.

“Well, duh,” Rosé giggled. “She is my roommate and my best friend.”

Yeah, your best friend with benefits, Lisa found herself thinking. She wasn’t sure how to respond so she just stayed quiet and watched as Rosé removed her jeans.

“So, have I missed much?” Rosé asked as she turned back to face Lisa, pulling on a pair of leggings. Lisa’s eyes immediately landed on a big, darkening bruise peaking out from beneath Rosé’s waistband.

“Not really, but I can tell you don’t mind anyway. Looks to me like you and Jennie had a lot of fun.” Lisa smirked, though her voice came out harsher than she intended. Rosé followed Lisa’s eyes and quickly yanked her shirt down.

“Damn it, Jennie,” Rosé hissed, rolling her eyes. She looked at Lisa pleadingly. “Please don’t say anything to anyone. I really don’t want to deal with all the teasing right now.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’d really rather not speculate about what you and Jennie were up to.” Lisa cringed at the thought, causing Rosé’s cheeks to flush a deep scarlet.

“We didn’t… I mean, we…” Rosé stammered but Lisa held up a hand to cut her off. A small smile played on the blonde’s lips, despite the uncomfortable churning in her stomach.

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Rosé. I know how your relationship with Jennie works, and I don’t judge. But, um, you might want to cover up a bit more.” At Rosé’s questioning glance, Lisa motioned to the visible trail of hickeys that could be seen above the V-neck collar of Rosé’s shirt. Rosé followed Lisa’s motions with her eyes, her face tinging pink once again. Lisa slid her thin hoodie off of her shoulders and held it out to Rosé who accepted it with a grateful smile.

“Awe, Rosie, why are you covering up so much? I put those marks there for a reason,” Jennie’s pouty voice reached the two girls in the locker room. If it was even possible, Rosé turned an even darker shade of red, the blush crawling down her neck and up to the tips of her ears. She glared at the dark-haired girl who now sauntered into view. As Jennie stepped out from behind a row of lockers, she finally realized that Rosé wasn’t alone. Her eyes widened when she saw the blonde transfer student standing there. “Oh, L-Lisa. I didn't, uh, realize you were in here.”

“Clearly,” Lisa said simply, smirking as she realized that Jennie was blushing. The older girl, however, regained her composure quickly.

“Actually, I'm glad you're here. I was hoping we could talk,” Jennie told Lisa, her tone getting a little more serious. Lisa shifted nervously, her playful smirk fading. The blond turned to Rosé.

“You should get inside. Everyone's waiting for you. Why don't you lead warm ups? I'll be out in a bit,” the younger girl said, though her tone left no room for discussion. Rosé nodded mutely, offering a small smile and wave to the two of them before rushing out of the suddenly awkward atmosphere. Lisa watched the redhead leave, waiting until she heard the door shut before taking a deep breath and turning to Jennie. She forced her lips into a smile, though her nerves made it feel, and probably look, fake. “So, um, what is it you want to talk about?”

“Last night,” Jennie said, somewhat hesitantly. “It can't happen again.”

“Oh.” That was all Lisa could manage for a moment, not even trying to hide the hurt that registered on her face. “I thought we had a good time. Guess I was wrong.”

“What? Oh no. Lisa, that isn't what I meant at all.” Jennie rushed forward, grabbing the blonde’s arm to stop her from turning away. The older girl's voice softened as she gave Lisa a genuine smile. “Last night was amazing. I haven't felt that comfortable with someone new… in a really, really long time. I'm glad we hung out last night.”

“I’m glad we hung out too.” Lisa’s expression brightened immediately, her smile wide and infectious, causing Jennie to mirror it without realizing.

“But,” Jennie continued, trying to suppress her smile, “I totally disregarded the time. Did you realize how late we got home?”

“Yeah.” Lisa grimaced. “Jisoo was just about ready to kill me. Any longer and I think she would have called campus security.”

“Rosé got really pissed too. I had to create a full-blown apology breakfast because I felt so bad for making her worry.”

“Really? That’s funny because I invited Jisoo to her favorite waffle house to buy her an apology breakfast.”

“Great minds think alike I suppose.” And there was that idiotic grin on Jennie’s face again as she looked at Lisa grinning back at her. “Anyway, moral of the story is that next time we hang out, we have to let Rosé and Jisoo know so they don’t go nuts.”

“So… there’ll be a ‘next time’?” Lisa asked hopeful.

“Yeah, duh. I still owe you a plate of my famous fried rice, remember?”

“I could never forget that. You’d better not go back on you promise, Kim.”

“I won’t, I won’t.” Jennie laughed.

“Um, hey, Jennie?” Lisa timidly asked after they had lapsed into silence for a moment.

“Yeah, Lisa?” Jennie replied, her smile easy and warm.

“Are you staying to watch practice?”

“I am. Why?”

“Because I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

“Sure. What is it?”

“The dance. I was hoping you could help me with the choreo.”

“Me? Why me? Why not one of the other dancers?”

“I need the impartial opinion of someone from the outside, someone who still knows something about dance.”

“If you’re sure you want my help then I’m happy to oblige, Lisa.”

“Yay! Thanks!” Lisa quickly wrapped her arms around Jennie in a momentary hug, her expression full of excitement. “Stay after practice and we’ll get started, okay?”

Jennie nodded in agreement and was about to say something else when the locker room door swung open. A beautiful and adorable girl with mahogany hair poked her head in.

“Lisa, Mrs. Parrish is asking-- Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you were talking to someone,” the girl apologized. She smiled in Jennie’s direction. “Hey, Jen.”

“Hi, Seulgi.” Jennie offered a small wave.

“It’s been a while. We should maybe catch up later?” Seulgi asked, her smile sweet.

“Yeah, maybe later,” Jennie replied, a light blush shading her cheeks. Seulgi’s smile widened at that and she nodded once before turning back to Lisa.

“Um, anyway, Mrs. Parrish is looking for you, Lisa. She wants you to start leading the lesson,” the brunette informed her.

“I’ll be right out, okay?” Lisa answered.

“Alright, just don’t take too long.” Seulgi turned to go, but not before offering Jennie a sly smirk. “Nice seeing you again, Jen. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I’ll be in touch,” Jennie couldn’t help but say as she watched Seulgi leave.

“Ahem,” Lisa cleared , forcing Jennie to tear her gaze from the door. The blonde arched an eyebrow. “What was that about?”

“What was what about?” Jennie mumbled, furrowing her eyebrows in genuine confusion.

“That thing that just happened between you and Seulgi. That… look she gave you. And oh my gosh you’re blushing! What is going on between you two?” Lisa chuckled at Jennie’s dazed expression while the brunette bit her lip nervously.

“There’s nothing going on between me and Seulgi. Not anymore anyway.”

“Anymore? So you two did have a thing! How long did you date?”

“Oh, we didn’t.” Jennie’s voice was nonchalant now as she seemingly regained her composure. Now it was Lisa’s turn to be confused.

“You didn’t date? But then what happened?” Lisa asked. Jennie shrugged, starting to make her way towards the door.

“Seulgi isn’t as innocent as she looks. Don’t let the smile fool you. She’s called the Heart Thief for a reason.”

“And why’s that?” Jennie looked back over her shoulder with a mischievous smirk.

“She’s great in bed.” With that, the brunette took her leave, an open-mouthed Lisa staring after her.

***

Dance practice seemed to drag on forever for Rosé. Something just felt off. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she left Jennie and Lisa alone in the locker room for a whole ten minutes and she had no idea what they talked about, and for some reason that made her nervous. Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that Seulgi was constantly glancing in Jennie’s direction, offering small smiles when their eyes met. Or perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Jennie’s eyes hardly left Lisa for the entirety of the practice. Usually, Jennie had a hard time keeping her eyes off of Rosé when she attended dance practice. But this time it was different. This time Lisa was the center of Jennie’s attention. And, for some reason, it really bothered Rosé.

After an agonizing hour and a half, practice was finally over. Rosé rushed over to Jennie, glad to finally have an opportunity to steal Jennie’s attention again. She was going to have Jennie all to herself once more. At least, that’s what she expected.

“So, how did I look out there?” Rosé asked as she came to a stop in front of Jennie.

“Great, as usual,” Jennie smiled. Rosé knew that Jennie said it out of habit, that she didn’t really know how anyone had looked except Lisa, but the redhead found herself grinning anyway.

“I’m gonna take a quick shower and change out of these clothes and then I’ll be right out so we can go, okay?”

“Um, actually, I promised Lisa that I’d stay with her for a while. That alright with you?” Rosé’s expression immediately saddened.

“What? Why? I thought we were gonna have a movie night.”

“And we will, when I get back. I promise that it won’t take more than an hour or two. I just need to help Lisa with something.” The younger girl jutted her lower lip out in a pout, causing Jennie to whine, “Oh no, don’t pout.”

“Then reschedule and come home with me,” Rosé demanded softly, still pouting childishly.

“Rosie, it’ll just be a little while. C’mon, Lisa needs my help.” After a moment of Rosé giving her puppy dog eyes, Jennie sighed. “What do I have to promise you in order for you to stop sulking?”

“Bring home Michelino's?”

“But babe, I don’t even like pizza.”

“It’s not for you, silly. It’s for me. I love pizza.”

“Okay, okay. Fine. Anything else?”

“Promise you’ll cuddle with me when you get home?” Instead of answering, Jennie leaned forward and captured Rosé’s jutting lower lip between her own. She kissed Rosé softly, lingering for a moment before pulling away.

“I promise,” the brunette whispered, smiling at the dazed look on Rosé’s face when her eyes fluttered open. The redhead’s lips pulled up into a smile, a light blush coloring her cheeks.

“Okay then,” she breathed. “Don’t make me wait too long.”

“I never make pretty girls wait.”

I've been gone so long, I'm so sorry! Which is why I'm updating another chapter in a bit to make up for my time away. Stay tuned loves <3

~unsungpoet