For a while, things continued in this fashion.

Rosé remained at the hotel, refusing to return to the apartment she shared with Jennie. After a week, she decided this was going to be too permanent for her to keep paying for a hotel so she moved in with Wendy, much to Jisoo's dislike.

(“She's your ex, the only person I know of that you dated during your time in college so far,” Jisoo pointed out, crossing her arms and pouting as she watched Rosé pack her things.

“Exactly. She's my ex. We dated, past tense,” Rosé responded. “We're friends. There are no romantic feelings between us, on either end.”

“Still, I wish you could stay with me instead.” Jisoo frowned, her lower lip jutting out. Rosé chuckled softly, leaning in to press a soft kiss to the older girl's lips.

“You're cute when you're jealous.”)

Jennie, on the other hand, rarely seemed to leave her apartment anymore. She stopped attending parties, stopped going out with others, and didn't socialize unless it was necessary. She hardly spoke to anyone and refused to let people visit her, save for exceptions such as Brian, Seulgi, and--once they made up--Lisa.

(“W-What are you doing here?” Jennie said in shock as she opened her door to reveal Lisa, merely three days after their fight.

“I came to keep you company,” Lisa replied as if it should have been obvious. “Are you going to let me in or what?”

“Oh. Right.” Jennie stepped aside, still confused as she watched Lisa brush past her and head to the kitchen table, beginning to unpack a plastic bag filled with comfort items--DVDs, pints of ice cream, and a box of mac and cheese. “Um…”

“Look,” Lisa quickly cut in before Jennie could speak. “I haven't forgotten about the other day. I'm still really upset with you. But I know you're hurting and confused and you need someone to be there for you. However, I also know I'm not your bed buddy, Jennie. As much as I like you, I'm not going to let you use me.”

“I know and I'm really sorry about the way I acted. I shouldn't have tried to force myself on you like that. It was wrong on so many levels.”

“Yeah, it was.” Lisa’s expression softened as she caught sight of the shame and anguish on Jennie’s face. “But hey, I didn't come here to berate you. I can do that when you're feeling better. How about I cook us up some macaroni and we can watch one of these movies?”

“That sounds pretty nice.” Jennie sniffled, tears beginning to pool in her eyes. Without hesitating, Lisa stepped forward, pulling the older girl into a tight embrace and letting her cry.

“Shh. It'll be okay,” the blonde cooed quietly.

“Thank you,” Jennie hiccupped. “Thank you so much.”)

Jisoo and Lisa traded information frequently, both concerned about the separation and how it was affecting both Jennie and Rosé. Although the negative effects were more prominent and noticeable in Jennie, there were days where Rosé sank into an irritable or depressed mood, seemingly without reason. She suffered constantly from bad dreams and restless sleep, though she brushed it off as stress from school.

(“As much as I hate to say it, I think you should talk to Jennie,” Jisoo worked up the courage to say one day, watching as Rosé struggled with the buttons of her shirt. She hadn’t been sleeping well and her lack of sleep, coupled with her already anxious state, made her jumpy and jittery, making even small tasks difficult.

“Why would you even suggest that? You know I don’t want to talk to her,” Rosé huffed. After fumbling with her shirt buttons for the umpteenth time, her hands trembling too much to be useful, she let out an agitated sigh and threw her hands up in frustration. Jisoo calmly walked over, assisting the younger girl.

“You do want to talk to her though,” the older girl pointed out, her eyes focused on her hands. “You’re just too afraid and upset to swallow your pride and reach out to her.”

“I shouldn’t be the one reaching out. She’s the one that hurt me,” Rosé countered, her voice beginning to rise.

“I know, but you’re the one that shut her out, Rosie.” Jisoo stepped back, her eyes soft as she finally looked up to meet Rosé’s gaze. “I can tell you miss her. It’s evident in your expression all the time. And you’re worried about her too. You hardly get any sleep, even if I’m by your side the whole night.”

“I’m just stressed, okay? It has nothing to do with Jennie so just drop it.”)

Rosé and Lisa saw each other frequently at dance practice, but their relationship was professional for the most part. It was upsetting for Rosé to pull away from Lisa since they’d gotten along so well, but the blonde was too close to Jennie for Rosé to feel comfortable with her, even after things went south between Lisa and Jennie.

(“Hey, Rosé! Got a minute?” Lisa called out one day after practice. Rosé hesitated but eventually decided it would be too rude to decline. She slowly turned as Lisa made her way over.

“Hey,” the redhead greeted curtly, making it clear that she didn’t intend to stay long. “What’s up?”

“I just… I know that things have been kind of off between you and I since your falling out with Jennie, but I’m still worried about you and wanna make sure you’re okay,” Lisa explained, somewhat awkwardly.

“Thanks for the concern, but I’m fine. Besides, shouldn’t you be worrying about Jennie and not me? She’s the one you care about.” It wasn’t meant to come out as harsh as it did, but Rosé’s voice took on a sharp edge that caused Lisa to flinch.

“You’re both my friends, Rosé. I care about both of you.” The blonde rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. “Things have been a bit tense between Jennie and I since we broke things off anyway.”

“You and Jennie… broke things off?”

“Uh… yeah, we did. Not long after your fight with her actually. It’s… complicated.”

“Oh.”)

Brian was stuck in the middle more than anyone. Though he had been the one who had most encouraged Rosé to stop letting Jennie use her, he never expected the fallout to be so severe. Seeing the devastated state that Jennie was in prompted Brian to shift his worry to her, more concerned about the dark-haired girl than he was about Rosé.

(“You can’t ignore her forever, you know,” Brian stated. He was seated on the couch in the small apartment that Rosé now shared with Wendy. The redhead glared at him from where she sat on the opposite end of the couch.

“I thought you wanted things between Jennie and me to change. Why do you suddenly want me to go back to her?” Rosé demanded.

“I wanted you to stop letting her drag you along. I didn’t want you getting hurt all the time and being so sad when her attention wasn’t yours. But honestly I’m starting to think this is worse. Jennie is a mess and you’re miserable.”

“I’m not miserable. I’m perfectly happy with Jisoo and without Jennie in my life.”

“Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?”)

***

Time flew by surprisingly fast and it wasn’t long before the holidays were approaching. Still, Rosé and Jennie had hardly seen each other in the passing months, much less spoken to each other. Rosé had occasionally headed back to the apartment to pick up some of her belongings, but she would always give Jennie a heads up and the brunette would either leave before Rosé arrived or she’d lock herself away in her room to avoid bothering the younger girl. Their friends were still doing everything they could to get the pair to move past their issues but to no avail. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the tension between the two girls was becoming too much to bear, taking a toll on them as well as their friends.

“Okay, that’s it,” Wendy said one day as she entered her home to find Rosé sulking for what seemed to be the millionth time that week. The younger girl looked up briefly before returning her attention to her pint of ice cream and the drama she was watching. Wendy rolled her eyes, shutting off the TV and snatching the ice cream out of Rosé’s hands.

“Hey! What the hell, Wen?” the redhead protested childishly.

“I’m done with you sulking around the apartment all the time. You need to talk to Jennie. Today.”

“Why does everyone want me to talk to Jennie all the time? Don’t you understand that I don’t want to see her?”

“Don’t you understand that you’re being ridiculous? You miss her, and don’t even try saying you don’t because you know you do. I know you’re feeling it now more than ever since the holidays are coming up. Have you even told her you’re leaving?” Rosé didn’t answer, her gaze shifting to the side. “Look, I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to. But Jennie does still care about you and she still is your best friend, whether or not you act like it. You should talk to her before you go. Don’t let this become something you can’t fix.”

Without waiting for any response, Wendy got up and walked away, taking the ice cream with her. Rosé no longer had much of an appetite anyway, emotions gnawing at her stomach. After a long moment of hesitation, she pulled out her phone.

“Jisoo? I need some advice.”

***

“Ugh, whoever it is knocking on the door better have brought me some food,” Jennie yelled crankily as she trudged toward the door, incessant knocking ringing throughout the apartment. Jennie yanked the door open, ready to make a snappy comment until she saw who it was. Her stomach automatically started doing somersaults. “R-Rosé?”

“Hey, Jen,” the younger girl greeted quietly. Her expression was soft but the nerves were clear in the almost imperceptible fiddling of her hands. She could just barely force her eyes up to meet Jennie’s. “Can I come in?”

“Uh… sure, I’ll just, um… I’ll g-go to my room,” Jennie mumbled, immediately averting her gaze and turning to leave. Rosé stepped forward, into the apartment, and gently grabbed Jennie’s arm.

“Wait,” Rosé said. For a moment, she couldn’t think of what else to say, both girls clearly surprised by the sudden contact. After an awkward pause, the redhead retreated her hand, her cheeks pink as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Can we… um, do you mind if we talk for a minute?”

***

The silence was stifling. The pair had been sitting on the couch in the living room for almost a quarter of an hour now without saying more than a few words to each other. Their mugs of hot chocolate remained untouched on the coffee table and neither seemed to want to say or do anything.

“So… what did you want to talk about exactly?” Jennie finally asked, breaking the silence. Rosé tugged nervously on the sleeve of her shirt.

“I’m not really sure to be honest,” she admitted softly without looking up. “Everyone told me that I should talk to you, and I missed you so I came, but now that I’m here… I’m not sure what to say.”

“You… you missed me?” the brunette repeated incredulously. Rosé chuckled quietly, peeking up through her lashes.

“Of course, you idiot. You are my best friend after all.”

“Even after everything, you still consider me your best friend?”

“Sadly, yeah, I do.”

“Sadly?” Jennie suddenly looked crestfallen, but Rosé looked unapologetic.

“Yes, sadly. It’s incredibly sad for me to be in love with my best friend.” For a few moments, silence reigned once more. It took several seconds for Rosé to realize that she had just blurted that out, and for Jennie to understand what she meant. Both of their eyes flew wide at the same time.

“Wait, what?” Jennie demanded.

“I should go!” Rosé said at the same time, jumping to her feet. She bustled about in a flustered state, grabbing her sweater and her bag before Jennie came to her senses. The older girl lurched to her feet, her hand closing around Rosé’s arm.

“Are you really in love with me?” Jennie’s voice was quiet, but it pierced the tense atmosphere of the room like a gunshot. Rosé flinched.

“I don’t… I don’t know anymore,” she confessed, her voice wavering. “I was for a long time but…”

“But I hurt you far too much,” Jennie finished. She sounded choked, like the realization physically pained her. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“I thought I was making it clear enough.” Rosé let out a sigh, finally turning to face Jennie. “I thought you just weren’t interested in that way. I didn’t want to say something and make things weird between us. I thought I would be okay with the way we were as long as we were still friends, but… I guess I reached my limit…”

"Rosé, I… I don't know what to say," Jennie said sadly. Her heart was aching and she wanted to apologize, but no words formed in her mind. Rosé stepped closer, looking into the other girl's eyes. Jennie could feel guilt welling up inside of her the longer their eyes remained lock, but she didn’t dare look away. Rosé wordlessly stared at Jennie for a while, her heart racing furiously.

"Don't say anything," she whispered at last. "Just hold me. Please."

Jennie obliged willingly, albeit cautiously, pulling the younger girl against her. Rosé buried her face in the crook of Jennie's neck and finally let the tears come. Under other, simpler circumstances, it would have been reassuring and safe. But this time, things were far from simple and there was nothing comforting about the situation. The only bright side was that now they were so broken that things couldn’t get any worse for either of them…

At least, that’s what they hoped for.

I know I was gone for far too long and this chapter was hardly enough to make up for it, but this fic is coming to a close and the last few chapters are the hardest for me to write. Plus, I've been getting ready for school and that's been taking up a lot of my time, and the way I wrote this chapter was a nw and challenging experience for me. Hopefully, I won't leave you waiting for so long with the next chapter though. Thank you all for your patience!

~unsungpoet <3