“Ooh, Lisa. You didn’t tell me your new toy was so pretty. How long do we get to keep her this time?”

Jennie heard the unfamiliar voice is if through a layer of water. She wanted to open her eyes and see who it was, but she couldn’t will her body to move even a centimeter.

“Jennie isn’t a pet, Taeyeon. We aren’t keeping her. She has to decide to stay on her own. And she isn’t a toy for you to play with.”

That was definitely Lisa’s voice. But who was she talking to, and why were they talking about Jennie like that?

“Lisa, sweetie, when are you going to learn? The world is my playground. Every object is my toy, every person is my plaything. That’s why I get what I want, because I take it.”

Who was this person? She sounded dangerous and crazy.

“When are you going to learn, Taeyeon? I put up with you because I have to, but I do not in any way agree with your behavior. You will not lay a hand on Jennie without my permission. You can tend to her if she’s sick or injured and protect her if she’s in danger. If she asks for help then you may provide it, but you will otherwise leave her to me. Understood?”

There was a snicker and Jennie could feel her body flushing with heat. She wasn’t sure if she was offended or flattered by the way Lisa spoke of her.

“For someone who claimed she isn’t a pet, you sure are oddly possessive all of a sudden.”

“She’s my responsibility and I will not allow you to interfere with your foolish games.”

“Whatever you say, Lisa dearest.”

Jennie really wanted to open her eyes and sit up to demand that the two explain what the hell they were talking about. But her head was beginning to pound painfully and the voices were starting to fade as she slipped back into darkness.

***

When Jennie finally came to again, she was aware of a presence beside her. With some effort, Jennie was able to open her eyes a crack, squinting against the late afternoon sun trickling past the blinds on the windows. Wait, late afternoon? How long had she been asleep? She felt panic rise in her chest as bits and pieces of information came back to her and she bolted into a sitting position, immediately regretting it when the room began to spin. She felt herself falling, but then there were arms gently holding her up.

“Whoa, there,” a familiar voice whispered close to Jennie’s ear, sending a shiver down her spine. “You don’t have to be scared or worried, Jennie. You’re safe here.”

“L-Lisa?” Jennie stammered, blinking in confusion at the blonde girl beside her. Then Jennie looked around, taking in the foreign bedroom that she found herself in. “Where are we?”

“Somewhere that the authorities don’t know about. They won’t come for us here.”

“But what happened? I don’t… I can’t remember anything after you pushed me into the car.”

“You out. I think partially from having more drinks than you should have, and partially from the overwhelming situation.”

“Right. I drank a lot while waiting for you to get back, ‘cause you took so long. That explains the headache.” Jennie put her hand to her temple, aware of the dull throbbing slowly driving her crazy. She met Lisa’s gaze. “But why does the rest of my body hurt so much? It feels like I got used as a punching bag.”

“That would be my fault. I sort of… crashed the car. You got thrown around a little bit. You’re actually lucky that the injuries aren’t more severe.” Lisa sounded calm as she said this, almost as if she didn’t care. But the slight bite of her lip afterwards suggests otherwise. It was only then that Jennie noticed the butterfly bandages on Lisa’s forehead, hidden beneath her bangs. Jennie reached out as if to touch the spot, but hesitated and pulled back at the last second. Instead, she settled on meeting Lisa’s gaze.

“You’re hurt,” Jennie whispered. She felt stupid for the way it came out, but the small smile on Lisa’s face made her feel better.

“I’m fine,” Lisa assured. “You, on the other hand, have been unconscious for several hours and need care.”

“But you haven’t told me what happened!” Jennie protested.

“All in due time. I know you have questions, but we have to take care of your health first. Then I’ll tell you what you want to know. Deal?”

“Alright, fine,” Jennie finally agreed with a huff and a roll of her eyes. “What does ‘taking care of my health’ entail?”

“Take your shirt off,” Lisa ordered. The brunette stared at her blankly for a moment.

“W-What?”

“Shirt. Off. Now.”

“Why the hell do you want me to remove my shirt?”

“I need to check your wounds.” Despite how reasonable this sounded, Jennie didn’t budge. She sat there, frozen, staring at Lisa. With an exasperated sigh, the blonde leaned forward and grasped the hem of Jennie’s shirt. Only then did Jennie realize that this oversized t-shirt wasn’t hers at all and that she’d never seen it before. At the same time, she became aware of the fact that she was lacking both a bra and pants. She felt heat rush to her cheeks for some reason she couldn’t explain. She usually wasn’t this shy and it was odd.

“Did you… did you take off my clothes before? While I was asleep?” Jennie asked in a whisper. Lisa paused, only having pulled the shirt up halfway. She nodded.

“You were injured. I had to clean the blood and tend to the wounds. Your dress was in the way so I removed it.” Lisa tilted her head as if considering something. “I didn’t touch you inappropriately if that’s your concern. I simply did what I had to do to ensure you were okay, nothing more.”

“I’m not worried about that. It’s just unfair that you got to see me practically and I don’t have the same honor in regards to you.” Jennie forced herself to smirk, her voice holding a tone of teasing she didn’t mean. She was actually more worried about that Taeyeon chick from before and whether she had been present or involved when Jennie was stripped, but she refused to bring that up right now. The brunette did not have much time to contemplate however as she watched in confusion and then shock as Lisa stood and nonchalantly removed all of her layers until she was left only in her . Jennie’s jaw dropped practically to the floor as Lisa sat down, acting as if being almost completely was normal.

“There, happy? Will you take your shirt off now?” Lisa asked, looking at Jennie with wide, innocent eyes.

“Y-You just… why did you…?” Jennie stammered, unable to complete her sentence. Lisa let out an annoyed huff and reached forward again, pulling the shirt over Jennie’s head before she could protest. “Lisa! What are you doing?”

“Stop squirming! You’re going to hurt yourself!” But Jennie didn’t listen, moving away each time Lisa tried to touch her now-bare torso. The annoyance was clear in Lisa’s expression and, before she knew what was happening, Jennie found herself lying faceup on the mattress. Her hands were being held in place over her head and Lisa was on top of her, straddling her hips. Oh God, Lisa was on top of her, wearing nothing but underwear. This didn’t seem to bother the blonde however, and she calmly let her eyes roam Jennie’s body. But Jennie didn’t know where to look or what to think. She could not deny that Lisa was astoundingly gorgeous, and although there was no real attraction between the two, Jennie had to admit to herself that having a mostly- Lisa pin her to the bed had warmth pooling between her legs.

“L-Lisa?” Jennie forced the name out of with some difficulty. The blonde’s eyes darted up, concern swimming in the dark orbs.

“I’m sorry, am I hurting you?” Lisa asked, immediately releasing Jennie’s wrists.

“No!” Jennie mentally slapped herself. “I mean, uh, no. No, you’re not hurting me. It’s just that, um…”

“You’re not or something, are you?” Lisa smirked, having finally noticed Jennie’s flustered state. Jennie’s eyes went wide, her face heating up more.

“N-No! Of course not! I just… um, I just wanted to know if I’m okay. Yeah, I was going to ask about my injuries.” It was a lame excuse, but it wasn’t a complete lie. Looking down, she saw that there were a few cuts scattered over her torso, some covered by gauze or held closed by butterfly bandages, and she had as many, if not more, bruises. She hadn’t been aware of it before, but her arms hurt too and she looked to see a similar array of cuts and bruises on them.

“You’re not bleeding anymore, which is good, and there doesn’t seem to be any internal bleeding either. Your bruises are darkening but none of them look too serious.” Jennie almost stopped breathing as Lisa ghosted her hands over her abdomen. The blonde’s eyes focused intently on the barely-there touches before she finally allowed her eyes to meet Jennie’s again. “Does it hurt a lot?”

“Not too much. Mostly I feel sore. Especially my shoulder,” Jennie answered, unsure how she kept her voice even. Lisa moved one hand up Jennie’s body, letting it rest against a spot on one of her shoulders.

“Where? Here?” Lisa asked, adding the lightest of pressure in order for Jennie to know where she was touching. The brunette couldn’t seem to form words so she simply nodded instead. Lisa’s eyebrows furrowed, her lips turning down at the corners. “That must’ve been the spot you landed on when you were thrown forward in the crash. It’s not swollen but it’s bruised. It’s going to hurt for a few days.”

“It’s not serious, is it?” Jennie finally managed to say.

“No, I don’t think so. All of your injuries look fairly minor. With a few days of rest, you should be okay.” Lisa’s eyes locked with Jennie’s once more in an intense stare. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

Jennie wanted to say that it was okay, accidents happen. She wanted to ask what had caused the crash. She wanted to thank Lisa for taking care of her. But she didn’t get the chance to say anything.

“I’m offended that I wasn’t invited to this party,” a voice teased from the doorway. Jennie recognized the voice to belong to the woman from earlier, the one Lisa had called Taeyeon, but she couldn’t force herself to look up yet, despite her curiosity. She was frozen in place, staring with wide eyes up at Lisa, who now wore an unreadable expression. Their current position looked very incriminating, for sure, and Jennie was suddenly very aware of how much of her bare skin was in contact with Lisa’s.

“Don’t be such a , Taeyeon. I was just checking her injuries,” Lisa said coolly, calmly rolling off of Jennie.

“Yeah, sure. That’s definitely what it looked like,” Taeyeon jested. As Lisa stood from the bed and started getting dressed, Jennie finally pulled herself together enough to look up, getting a good look at Taeyeon for the first time—and good God was she gorgeous. She was clearly several years older than Lisa and Jennie, but she radiated youth and beauty. Her hair was pitch black and undulated down her shoulders in voluminous waves that gave Jennie the urge to run her hands through it. Her eyes were bright with intelligence and icy with mischief, made more intimidating by the pale gray-blue contacts she was wearing. And those eyes were now locked on Jennie, raking her exposed body with a predatory hunger. Almost immediately, Lisa was standing between the two, blocking Taeyeon’s view of Jennie.

“Put your shirt back on,” Lisa ordered without looking at Jennie. The sudden roughness in Lisa’s voice made Jennie pause for a moment, unable to carry out the task she’d been ordered to do. After one second too many, Lisa cast a hard glare at Jennie over her shoulder. “Put. Your. Shirt. Back. On.”

“Oh, uh, r-right,” Jennie stammered, scrambling to pull the shirt over her head and wincing at the amount of movement this required. What was wrong with her? Since when did she stutter so much? And why was she so flustered all of a sudden? It was definitely out of character.

“My, my, Lisa. You have turned into quite the guard dog this time, haven’t you?” Taeyeon said around a smirk, snapping Jennie out of her thoughts.

“I’m taking care of her and protecting her from your ertedness. There’s nothing odd about that,” Lisa replied tersely.

“Sure there isn’t.” Jennie didn’t have to look up to know that there was a smirk on Taeyeon’s lips. However, she looked up anyway and saw Taeyeon’s slow approach. From her spot on the bed, Jennie could see the tension in Lisa’s shoulders as she engaged in an intimidating staring contest with Taeyeon. Although the dark-haired woman was several inches shorter, she somehow managed to tower over Lisa with her presence and, without a word being spoken, the blonde took a step to the side. Her stance remained stiff and her glare was icy, but she created enough room for Taeyeon to stand in front of Jennie and hold out a hand, a deceptively sweet smile tugging up the corners of her perfect lips. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of properly introducing myself. I’m Taeyeon Kim. I hope you enjoy your stay in my home.”

“Oh, uh, my name is Jennie, Jennie Kim. Thank you for allowing me to stay here,” Jennie responded, cautiously shaking Taeyeon’s hand.

“Mmm, you can stay as long as you’d like, beautiful,” Taeyeon purred, her hand lingering on Jennie’s.

“Alright that’s enough,” Lisa cut in. She carefully pushed Taeyeon away, resuming her position between the older woman and Jennie. “I have to finish taking care of her. I need you to leave.”

“Of course, Lisa dear. You do whatever you have to. Make sure to take very good care of our guest.” Taeyeon offered Jennie one last smile before turning and making her way out of the room. Even after the door closed, Lisa remained in place, the tension not leaving her posture. Jennie bit her lip, unsure whether she should try speaking to the girl or just let her have her moment. In the end, she couldn’t hold herself back.

“Lisa, are you okay?” Jennie asked in a whisper. The blonde finally seemed to relax at the sound of Jennie’s voice, and she turned.

“I’m fine. Taeyeon just knows how to get on my nerves,” Lisa explained with a shake of her head.

“Who is she anyway? What’s her deal?”

“It’s a long story, a story for another day.” Lisa let out a sigh and then offered Jennie a weak smile. “For now, I have you to worry about. Come here.”

Lisa gently helped Jennie climb out of bed and then guided her to an adjoining room, which turned out to be the bathroom. The blonde motioned for Jennie to go in.

“Go ahead. Use the bathroom, brush your teeth, wash your face. Do what you gotta do,” Lisa told her. “There’s a new toothbrush for you, and there’s plenty of clean towels. You’re free to use anything in the cabinets. All I ask is that you don’t shower. You have too many injuries to risk it right now so I’ll help you clean up later.”

“You’re gonna help me shower?” Jennie questioned, her eyes wide. Lisa shook her head and let out a soft chuckle.

“Just hurry up and do your thing. I’ll be out here waiting.” And Lisa shut the door before Jennie could protest. Jennie turned around slowly, facing the mirror as thoughts buzzed in her mind. She could see that she looked like a mess, that there was a light bruise on her temple and that she looked disheveled and tired, but she couldn’t worry about that at the moment. She was too busy listing off questions in her head.

What had happened? How had she ended up here and why? Who was Taeyeon and why did she and Lisa get along so poorly? And most of all, what the heck was up with Lisa? That girl made absolutely no sense. Jennie had no way of predicting her next move and she didn’t know what else to expect from the enigmatic blonde. For some reason, mixed in with all of the confusion, Jennie could feel excitement and anticipation thrumming in her veins. Something was brewing, and she was becoming a part of it.

Okay so a few things:

1) I know it's been a while since I updated and I wanted to wait until I had a more cohesive, explantory chapter. But that would have been really long, I think, and I like how this chapter went. I did what I wanted to do most, which was to establish yet another aspect to the Jenlisa relationship and to introduce Taeyeon (I don't know why but I just really wanted to make her a love-hate kind of character lol)

2) I am shamelessly going to promote my little sister's first story here on AFF, partially out of love for her but also because I made the cover for her and I want to be appreciate too XD So if you're an ARMY or are just curious, please check out I Hate That I Don't Hate You

3) Lastly, this is extremely late but I want to express my condolences to all of Jonghyun's fans, and to his family and friends. I don't know anything about him nor am I a part of the SHINee fandom, but I know his passing has extended far beyond the reach of his own fanbase and has touched every corner of the kpop industry. I've heard a lot of people are struggling with this, which is completely understandable, and I wanted to extend an invitation to anyone and everyone to send me a message if you just want someone to talk to. I'm very happy to be part of such a tight-knit community and I want to contribute if I can

Anyway, I'm sorry for the essay but it was important stuff I had to say. Also, Merry (belated) Christmas and happy holidays to all!

~unsungpoet <3