Two years later...

Early morning light leaked into the room through the slits in the blinds. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to illuminate Jennie’s peaceful face. Rosé stared at the girl curled against her, admiring her features as she slept. She could have stayed there for hours, despite the fact that she couldn’t feel the arm Jennie was curled up against, but she knew that she couldn’t stay there forever. She glanced at the clock. Just past 8 o’clock. Time to get up.

“Jennie,” she cooed softly, tucking a strand of the girl’s dark hair behind her ear. The only effect this had was to make Jennie rub her cheek against Rosé’s shoulder like a cat, a sigh of content escaping her lips. It was undoubtedly one of the most adorable things Rosé had seen, and it made her resolve to wake the girl weaken. However, her concern for her best friend’s well being gave her the strength to gently shake the sleeping girl. “Jennie, it’s time to wake up.”

“Ugh,” Jennie groaned, half awake now. She pulled the covers over her head. “F’ve m’r’ min’s.”

“Okay, fine. Five minutes while I go start breakfast,” Rosé agreed, making a move to get up. Jennie, however, didn’t seem to like this idea and locked her arms around Rosé’s waist, making escape impossible.

“No, you have to say with me, Rosie,” Jennie whispered, much more coherent now.

“That wasn’t part of the deal,” Rosé argued, though she was quite happy in Jennie’s arms.

“It is now,” Jennie stated simply, her head finding its place on Rosé’s shoulder once more.

“Five minutes,” Rosé repeated, more to herself than to Jennie. There was a moment of comfortable silence between the two, both enjoying the other’s company. After a while, Jennie looked up, her eyes finally opening.

“When did I knock out?” she asked.

“Somewhere in the middle of Tokyo Drift,” Rosé answered, absentmindedly running a hand through Jennie’s dark locks.

“So much for a Fast and Furious marathon,” Jennie said. Rosé shrugged.

“At least you got sleep. You do have an early class today. Speaking of--” She glanced at the clock. “--time’s up.”

“There’s no way it’s been five minutes,” Jennie whined.

“You’re right, it’s been seven. C’mon, JenJen. You can’t be late the first week of school.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

“That’s not a valid response,” Jennie pouted.

“How’s this?” Rosé leaned down, taking Jennie’s jutting lower lip between her own in a slow kiss.

“That’s a little more convincing,” Jennie hummed when Rosé pulled away. “Maybe I’ll be a little more compliant if you do that again.”

“How about you go shower and get dressed while I make breakfast and we’ll go from there?”

“That’s not really a question, is it?”

“No, not really,” Rosé laughed. With a sigh, Jennie released the younger girl. Rosé watched as the dark-haired girl obediently grabbed a towel and slouched off to the bathroom. Once she heard the water start running, Rosé left the room and made her way to the kitchen of the small apartment they shared at the edge of their college campus. She wasted no time in turning on the radio and beginning to jam out as she went about making breakfast. Just as she was setting the plates of food down on the table, Jennie emerged from the room fully dressed, her hair damp.

“Mm, smells delicious,” she commented, sitting down at the table. Rosé sat down opposite her, placing a glass of orange juice in front of each of them.

“I thought you needed an energy boost for class, and what better way to do that than to fill you up with sugar and fat?” Rosé said, nibbling on a piece of bacon while watching Jennie drizzle syrup on her pancakes.

“You know, I don’t have to go to class,” Jennie stated.

“I think that’s kind of the point of attending college,” Rosé noted. “Besides, there’s nothing fun to do if you stay.”

“Oh, I’m sure we could think of something.” Jennie smiled devilishly, leaving the insinuation in the air.

“Is your mind always in the gutter?” Rosé chastised. Jennie shrugged.

“No, just a lot of the time,” she replied with a grin.

“Well, you can dismiss that thought for now. We have three years to do that, I’m not letting you miss class for it.”

“Only three years? I thought this was supposed to be a forever thing?”

“The friendship is forever, but I was hoping you’d start looking for a serious relationship after college. And then you won’t need me as a late night hotline anymore.”

“What if I marry you? Then it’s kind of implied that you’ll be my late night hotline… and my early morning hotline… and my afternoon hotline.” Rosé threw her napkin at Jennie, causing her to burst into laughter.

“You, my friend, have a dirty little mind. Besides, I don’t know if you’re ready for marriage.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Jennie demanded.

“Nothing. I just can’t imagine the Jennie Kim being tied down to one person for life,” Rosé teased. “Especially not little old me.”

“Ugh, you make me sound like such a player,” Jennie complained.

“Jennie, you are a player,” Rosé laughed.

“I’m not. I just like playing all the bases, keeping my options open.”

“Yeah, that’s why you play for both teams, too.”

“And you don’t?”

“Of course I do, but I specifically play for Team Jennie. You play for any team that will let you run to home base.”

“That was almost really sweet but then you ruined it. I was gonna tell you how I’d happily play exclusively for Team Rosé, but now I won’t.” Jennie crossed her arms and added, “And you can sleep in your own bed tonight.”

“Ha, joke’s on you. After the party tonight, you’ll forget you said that.” Rosé stuck her tongue out victoriously.

“Wait, we’re going?” Jennie asked.

“Duh, it’s the party of the year,” Rosé said as if that made it a necessity.

“Yeah, but it’s a frat party.”

“It’s only Delta Psi Omega. We survived just fine last year, and we were freshmen then.” Jennie still looked uncertain so Rosé stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. “C’mon, please? I promise it’ll be fun.”

“We don’t even have anything to wear,” Jennie whined.

“Speak for yourself. I went shopping with my cousin two weeks ago and she helped me pick out some party clothes.” Jennie’s eyes narrowed.

“Which cousin?”

“Lily.” At that, Jennie’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, this I’ve gotta see,” she said.

“And you will if you go to the party with me,” Rosé stated. Jennie got up, taking her empty plate to the sink. She seemed to be thinking about it.

“Okay, fine,” she finally gave in. “But only because I’m curious about what you’re gonna wear.”

“You’re a , you know that?”

“A you sleep with,” Jennie pointed out. She ducked out of the way as Rosé tossed a roll of paper towels at her head. Laughing, Jennie grabbed her backpack from the entryway floor.

“Love you. See you after class,” she called from the door.

“You’ll pay for that, Jennie Kim,” Rosé yelled back and was answered by the sound of the door closing. She got up, retrieved the paper towels, and started washing the dishes, shaking her head at her best friend’s antics. And, despite herself, she smiled.

***

“This is what you want me to wear to the party?” Jennie whined from her room. From where she was doing her makeup in the bathroom, Rosé rolled her eyes.

“What’s wrong with that outfit?” she called back.

“Oh, I don’t know. You couldn’t have chosen one that showed a little more skin?” Rosé laughed at the sarcasm in her friend’s voice.

“It was the only party clothes you had. Not my fault that you own it. You’re the one that’s all about the ‘urban look’.”

“Remind me again why I bought this shirt. It’s literally a cross between a corset and a fishing net,” Jennie continued.

“Yeah, that’s what makes it y,” Rosé replied around a smile. She finally stepped away from the sink and turned to examine herself in the full-length mirror on the door. She tugged down the hem of the emerald green knitted dress she was wearing and adjusted the thick leather belt around her waist. Once she was satisfied with how she looked, she exited the bathroom and made her way down to Jennie’s door. She rapped her knuckles on the door. “Jen, are you dressed yet?”

“Sadly, yes. Come in,” came the reply from inside. Rosé opened the door and strode into the room, twirling once and striking a pose once she reached the center. She looked at Jennie through her lashes, smirking at the girl’s dumbstruck expression.

“What do you think?” Rosé asked. Jennie gave Rosé a quick once-over before letting her eyes slowly roam over the younger girl’s features, spending extra time drifting up the length of her exposed legs. Seeing that Jennie was speechless, Rosé giggled. “Like what you see?”

“Uh huh,” was all Jennie could say for a moment. She allowed herself to oggle for another minute before attempting to finally regain her composure. “You… um, you look great. Can I make a suggestion though?”

“Go ahead,” Rosé said. Jennie stepped around her and walked to her closet, rummaging around before emerging with a leather jacket in hand. She held it up for Rosé to see, smiling triumphantly. Rosé smiled back. “You read my mind, Jennie.”

Jennie took that as her cue to walk over and help Rosé into the jacket. As she was setting it down on Rosé’s shoulders, she leaned in close.

“As good as that dress looks on you,” she whispered, her lips pressed against Rosé’s ear, “It would look a whole lot better off you.”

Rosé turned around, her arm lifted to playfully smack Jennie’s shoulder. Jennie, however, was quicker. She caught Rosé’s hand, using it to the pull the girl against her. Her arms locked around the younger girl’s waist.

“You know, I’m starting to rethink this party idea. I bet we’d have a lot more fun if we stayed home,” Jennie continued, her voice low. Rosé shivered as Jennie pressed a kiss to the base of her jaw.

“Jennie,” Rosé breathed, trying to keep her head straight. “Jen, I can’t stay.”

“Why not?” Jennie asked, her lips moving to the corner of Rosé’s mouth. Rosé pulled back slightly, trying to ignore the heat that flushed her skin wherever Jennie’s lips touched. She forced herself to concentrate and remember why exactly she had to go to the party in the first place.

“I, um… Did I not mention that the glee club and the dance troupe are doing a joint performance at the party tonight?” At that, Jennie leaned back.

“Really?” Rosé nodded. “Do you have a solo?”

“Perhaps.”

“Rosie, that’s amazing! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise. So much for that.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get you to that party!” Jennie turned to go, but Rosé grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

“Wait, one more thing before we go,” Rosé whispered. She pulled Jennie close, leaning down until their lips were just barely brushing against each other. And then she pulled away and bolted for the door, laughing mischievously and leaving Jennie alone and disappointed in the middle of her room. From down the hall, Jennie heard Rosé call, “You look really hot in those ripped jeans by the way!”

“Roseanne Park! Get back here!” Jennie yelled. She sprinted out of her room, chasing after her best friend’s laughter, reaching her just as she was reaching the car. Jennie flattened her palm against the driver side door before Rosé could open it, her other hand pressing against the car door on the other side of Rosé’s head. They were both breathing heavily now, but they couldn’t help smiling at each other.

“I told you I’d get you back,” Rosé huffed, quite proud of herself. Jennie shook her head, letting out a breathless chuckle.

“You’re such a goofball,” she said.

“Yeah, but I’m your goofball,” Rosé emphasized, running a finger along Jennie’s jawline.

“Definitely,” Jennie breathed. Unable to resist, she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to Rosé’s, letting herself linger a bit longer than necessary. When she finally pulled away, she was grinning widely. “Now, I believe we have a party to attend.”

Hello everyone! First of all, I want to thank all my readers and subscribers, especially maskool for honoring me with my very first upvote. Also, I apologize for any grammatical errors you find and also if I don't update regularly--I'm trying to get chapters up as fast as I can, I promise!

Anyway, I hope you guys like it so far and I hope that you like the way I've characterized the girls. And, for those of you that caught it: yes, their party outfits are the same as the ones from the "BOOMBAYAH" music video.

Sorry for the long message lol. Love you all!

~unsungpoet