CHAPTER VII

Jennie couldn't stand the silence that followed her confession. It was simply insufferable how Lisa just stood there staring at her in a wide-eyed shock, saying nothing. And for a second or two, Jennie even considered running away and throwing herself off a cliff out of embarrassment. But that would be a tad bit too dramatic. Plus, she hadn't really said everything she wanted.

“I don't know when or how it happened,” she said with a bit of a tremble in her voice. “I guess I'm not the most observant person out there.”

Lisa snorted a chuckle. The reaction caught off guard Jennie but also brought a smile to her lips and gave her the much needed boost of courage.

“All I know is that I never really wanted to be with anyone else other than you. And I didn't want to admit that to myself because it's pretty terrifying. I mean, what if you don't want me?” Jennie muttered, lowering her gaze. “I would much rather have you as a friend than not have you at all.”

She wiped her wet cheek with her palm. And then she was yanked by her t-shirt and felt soft pressure against her lips. Jennie's eyes closed and arms found their way around Lisa's slim waist, pulling her closer and pouring years of unspoken affection into that one lip-brusing kiss.

Slowly pulling away, Lisa leaned her forehead against Jennie's. Somehow there was even more tears in her eyes, but the brilliant smile on her face told Jennie those were the good kind of tears.

“You're such a crybaby,” Jennie teased, earning a light smack on her shoulder that made her giggle.

“Shut up,” Lisa grumbled. “It's your fault.”

Feeling bashful out of a sudden, Jennie shoved hands to the pockets of her jeans and shrugged. “Sorry, I guess?”

“No!” Lisa shook her head, mortified. “Don't be. I'm just surprised and I feel a lot of...stuff.”

“But good stuff, right?” Jennie asked hesitantly.

Lips breaking into a grin, Lisa nodded. “Yeah, definitely good stuff.”

Jennie chuckled, feeling as the last bits of doubt and fear leave her mind.

“For me, it was love at first sight,” Lisa admitted out of a blue.

The confession caught Jennie off guard. And although she knew it wasn't Lisa's intention, her words actually made her feel awful. All those years Lisa loved her and she remained oblivious to that. How could she be so damn stupid?

“I've never told you because I didn't want to, you know, freak you out or something.”

Jennie winced. It hurt to hear those words but that was the truth, unfortunately. Her commitment-allergic self would probably shut Lisa out if the girl confessed to her.

“But Rosie once told me that you just needed time...” Lisa's eyes twinkled with mirth and her lips twitched in a teasing smirk.

“Of course, it had to be Rosé.” Jennie let out a breath of a laugh, shaking her head. “That damn redhead always have to be right, doesn't she?”

“I don't mind it this time, though,” Lisa murmured, biting on her bottom lip.

A pleasant, tingly sensation ran down Jennie's spine and brought heat to her cheeks. Once again Lisa managed to reduce her to a silly high-schooler with a crush. But honestly? She loved every second of that fuzzy, warm feeling that was filling her chest right now.

“Sooo,” Jennie drawled, trying not to grin like an idiot, which was harder than one might have imagined in her current giddy state. “Are we like girlfriends now?”

“Only if you want us to be.”

Jennie nodded no longer able to hold back her grin. “Yeah, I'd like that.”

“Good, 'cause I wouldn't accept any other answer, anyway,” Lisa quipped smugly as she stepped closer to Jennie.

Jennie's eyebrows shot up in amusement. To be honest, she was afraid that the beginnings would be awkward; that they wouldn't know how to progress from friends to lovers and that they would have to take things slow. But Lisa's dark, hungry eyes told a quite different story.

“U-hm, I guess we should get back to Rosé and Jisoo, huh?” Smirking, Jennie watched how Lisa's fingers fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt. The warmth she felt in her chest dribbled further down, pooling in the pit of her belly.

Lisa glanced over her shoulder at the forest behind them then back at Jennie, eyes sparkling with mischief. “I have a better idea,” she said as she tugged at Jennie's t-shirt, pulling her further into the woods.

* * *

As they were approaching their tent, one thing quickly became obvious – Jisoo was pissed. However, Jennie hardly cared and neither did Lisa, seeing how her grin didn't falter in the slightest.

“Where the hell have you been? You've disappeared for two hours without a word,” Jisoo ranted as she stood up from the grass, leaving Rosé's side, and came up to them.

“It was that long, huh?” Jennie mumbled under her breath as she sat down next to the redhead who stopped tuning the guitar and eyed her suspiciously.

“I'm sorry Chichu,” Lisa pouted, trying to placate Jisoo. “We kind of lost the track of time.”

Jisoo's shoulders slumped, but she kept frowning. “What were you doing anyway?”

“Making out,” Rosé stated offhandedly and returned her attention back to the guitar.

Jennie chuckled, seeing how Lisa's cheeks covered with pink hue.

“Wait, what?” Confused, Jisoo looked at Jennie then back at Lisa. “But like for real this time?”

The blonde gave a timid nod, gnawing on her bottom lip.

Jennie found it amusing how Lisa was acting all shy and innocent now, while just minutes ago she had her pinned against a tree, ravaging her lips with needy kisses. And not just her lips...

At the memory, Jennie's palm traveled to her neck massaging a sore spot below her ear. Apparently, Lisa was into biting. Jennie loved it.

She quickly retreated her hand once she realized Rosé was smirking at her.

“So you've finally talked,” the redhead said and plucked the strings of her guitar.

Nodding, Jennie laughed when Lisa waved her hand in front of Jisoo's eyes. The older girl seemed to experience some kind of mental breakdown after the blonde admitted that she indeed dated Jennie now. And here she thought it was impossible to immobilize Kim Jisoo, seems like she was wrong after all.

“Yeah, we've talked...”

“And did so much more, hm?” Rosé nudged her shoulder.

Jennie nudged her back, harder.

Meanwhile, Lisa gave up her efforts to bring Jisoo back from the dead and went to sit next to Jennie. Ironically, that was what triggered Jisoo's awakening and the girl joined them on the grass as well.

“Remember what you've promised me,” she said, glaring at Jennie.

“No worries, I remember,” Jennie replied, plucking a small leaf out of Lisa's hair.

“What have you promised?” The blonde narrowed her brows in confusion.

But neither Jennie nor Jisoo answered her as they exchanged knowing smiles.

“Guys, I think we should start packing,” Rosé said and stood up from the ground. “I don't want to drive at night.”

* * *

“You okay?” Jennie asked Lisa as they knelt on the ground and began folding their tent.

The blonde became awfully quiet once they began packing.

“Yeah, it's just a shame we have to leave already.” Lisa pouted sadly.

Jennie smirked. For the first time in weeks, she knew exactly what the girl had in mind.

“You know, you can stay at my place tonight, if you want. I'm sure my mom won't mind,” she suggested casually.

“Really?” Lisa beamed and threw her arms around Jennie's neck, tumbling with her to the ground.

Groaning in pain, Jennie smiled nonetheless. Her fears of them acting awkward around each other seemed now utterly ridiculous. Lisa got it all covered by simply remaining her bubbly, energetic self.

“Gee, get a room you two.”

Hearing the familiar blase voice, Jennie looked up and saw an upside-down image of Sooyoung.

“Oh, hey,” she greeted awkwardly and with Lisa's help, stood up from the ground.

Sneaking her arm around Jennie's waist, the blonde clung close to her side. Such display of possessiveness was a novelty to Jennie. But she would lie if she said she didn't enjoy it. It felt nice to know that someone cared. That for once, someone wanted her to stay.

“Relax Blondie, I'm not going to steal her from you,” Sooyoung said, smirking lightly. “I reckon the conversation went well for you two.”

“Yeah, it did. Better than expected actually...” Jennie trailed off, knowing that Sooyoung would figure out the details.

“Great,” the brunette stated, not at all impressed. “Now, I don't want to rain on your little love parade, but Seulgi asked me about you...”

“Ugh...” Lisa winced.

“See, I actually had a similar reaction.”

“You two know each other?”

“We have mutual friends,” Sooyoung answered, checking her perfectly manicured nails. “Anyhow, she asked me to tell you that she waits at the hostel in case you would like to talk.”

“You don't have to. You don't own her any explanation after what she'd done to you,” Jennie assured as she saw Lisa's face cloud with worry.

“I kind of do,” Lisa said with a weak smile.

Sooyoung rolled her eyes. “Whatever, my job is done here. See you at the campus,” she said and left towards her friends who already waited for her with their packed bags.

Jennie gave her a small wave and looked back at Lisa. “Are you sure you want to talk to her?”

The blonde nodded. “I don't want any misunderstandings between us.”

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to change her mind, Jennie let out a sigh. “I guess you're right,” she admitted. “Go and talk to her and I'll finish packing up.”

“Okay,” Lisa said and gave her a small peck on the cheek.

The sweet gesture got Jennie cringing but there was an obvious smile behind that grimace. And Lisa must have noticed it because she walked away snickering under her breath.

* * *

Excluding instances of sudden encounters with snakes and disappearing friends at the break of dawn, Jennie wasn't one to panic easily. Now, however, she was almost certain that it was indeed panic that turned her into a restless mess complete with cracking knuckles and a bouncing knee.

“It's almost an hour,” she muttered, sitting on a stump next to Rosé, who was lying on the ground, head resting against her backpack. Next to her, Jisoo was enjoying her lunch, munching on an apple.

Lisa was still at the hostel.

“Chill mate,” the redhead droned from under Jisoo's cap which served as her shield against the sun. “I'm sure she will be back soon.”

“Maybe I should go there.” Jennie jumped to her feet, but Rosé caught her by the ankle.

“Have some faith in her.”

After a moment of consideration, Jennie plopped back onto the stump. “I'm not jealous,” she mumbled.

“I know,” Rosé assured.

“It's just...” Jennie bit the inside of her cheek. “What if it all happened too fast?”

Rosé lifted the cap, looking at her in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? You've waited three years to confess. You call this fast?”

“Wait, so you've been in love with her for three years already?” Jisoo's expression was equally incredulous as she mumbled around the apple in .

Jennie groaned. It all sounded awfully pathetic. But what if Lisa had her doubts? Or worse, still had some feelings towards Seulgi?

“She never loved her in the first place,” Rosé said as if reading her mind and put the cap back onto her face. “She tried to but she couldn't because she loved you. And once she realized that no one and nothing would change that, it broke her harder than the sight of Seulgi cheating on her with Joohyun.”

“Man... that's sad...” Jisoo muttered, staring at the apple's core as if utterly devastated over its finished state.

“...” Jennie breathed, the guilt washing over her senses, making her feel sick.

“Don't feel bad, mate. You just weren't ready. But now that you are, don't hold back.”

Gazing at her girlfriend dreamily, Jisoo sighed. “You're so smart.”

Rosé chuckled. “I know hon, I know.”

“And humble...” Jennie intoned sarcastically, but with a smile nonetheless.

Because Rosé was right and there was no point in brooding over her past cluelessness and cowardice. Instead, she should focus on making up for those lost three years.

Her heart skipped a beat when she finally saw Lisa sauntering down the meadow to her. Their eyes met and the faint smirk on the blonde's full lips left Jennie a bit breathless. She was so damn eager to taste them again.

“Hey, Rosie,” she said and the redhead lifted the cap, glancing at her with curiosity.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks,” she curtly stated, looking at Lisa who stopped before her.

Rosé grinned. “You're welcome,” she said, standing up from the ground.

“What you've been talking about?” Lisa asked, brushing a stray lock behind Jennie's ear.

“Secret,” Jennie quipped and for once resisted Lisa's adorable pout. “How was the conversation?”

“It was...” Lisa lowered her pensive gaze, before meeting Jennie's expectant eyes with a smile. “Honest.”

Jennie nodded, not really getting what that meant.

Lisa let out a chuckle. “We've just found it ironic that we've both tried to force ourselves to love each other while knowing that it would never work. From the beginning, she knew I loved you. But she's happy for me and I wished her luck as well.”

“I really am the least observant person on this entire planet, huh?” Jennie grumbled in defeat.

“Would it make you feel better if I told you that I still love you?” Lisa asked, sporting a cheeky grin.

Rolling her eyes over the excessive cheesiness, Jennie mumbled quietly, “Maybe...”

“I love you Kim Jennie,” the blonde murmured against her lips and kissed her.

It was a painfully slow kiss that left Jennie with a very palpable craving for more. And when Lisa pulled away, Jennie still had her eyes closed, relishing the sweet feeling, until she heard her girlfriend whisper into her ear:

“The last one at the bottom is a dead fish.”

Jennie's eyes snapped open, only to be met by a sight of Lisa running away, the huge backpack bouncing up and down on her lithe shoulders.

“Hey, w-hat, wait!” Jennie shouted and picked up her own bag. “That's not fair!”

The self-proclaimed master of mountain treks once told her that the descent from the mountain could be sometimes much harder than the ascent. But when Jennie chased that master down the hill, knowing that she finally could call her her girlfriend, she had to beg to differ.

Also, finally, she understood that she was neither a sadist nor a masochist - she was simply in love...

THE END

A/N: So  this is it, the end of Of Camps and Broken Hearts. The last chapter was definitely the hardest part to write, but I'm satisfied with how it turned out in the end. Like I already mentioned before, I never planned this to be a long story, so I hope it doesn't feel too rushed ^^; If the ending confuses you a bit, I suggest rereading the beginning ;) 

I want to thank you guys so much for all the support you gave this story! Your comments really motivated me :)  And I'm already planning another JenLisa story. I'm not sure when I'll publish it but I definitely will ;) In the meantime, you can check out my one-shot with Oh My Girl's Jiho and Binnie that I've written for Think Out of the Box Contest . It's called Delilah and it's pretty dark so be warned (also don't check the comment box! spoilers!).

Once again, thank you and see you in the next story! :D