Maybe it is a force of habit, the way Dahyun would wait for everyone else to clear out before using the locker room shower. After all, it has barely been a month since she became a cheerleader. The year before that, she was merely the school mascot, but she was recruited into the cheer team when the coach saw how well she can do cartwheels and splits. Back then, she didn’t think it was right for her to use the locker room while the squad was still there, so she would wait until everyone else was gone before taking a shower and changing.

Sure, she is officially one of them now, and there is really no reason for her to wait around anymore, but she actually lives for tranquil moments like this—moments when she’s alone and all she can hear is the sound of water splashing against tiles and her own humming. It’s been about an hour since the night’s football match ended, with their school’s team winning by a thin margin, and Dahyun has the locker room all to herself. Her humming turns into full-on singing as she dries her hair, not bothering to keep her voice down since she knows there’s no one else there who will hear anyway. She figures that everyone else is at the after-party by now, and meanwhile, here she is, slipping into a loose sweater and jeans, ready to go straight home.

She doesn’t know if being a cheerleader automatically makes you part of the in-crowd, but she sure as hell doesn’t feel like it. Although she does have a bright aura and an ever-present smile making her approachable and amiable, Dahyun is more reserved than she is friendly. While she can probably get along with people if she needed to, she doesn’t feel the need to extend her circle of close friends from its current member count of two. Correspondingly, she never liked parties and the forced socialization that come with them. That is, if she were to choose between being stuck with drunk teenagers and being alone in her room, she will definitely pick the latter.

Tonight, she is very content with that consistent choice she makes, and it shows in the way she whistles as she walks closer to the locker room door. However, before she can make her exit—

“You know, your rapping was way better than your whistling.”

“Holy—“ Dahyun jumps at the unexpected voice, turning towards the intruder. When she sees who it is, she breathes a sigh of relief and places her right hand above her chest. “Oh, it’s just you.”

Normally, Dahyun wouldn’t exactly use the word “just” for the person she finds sitting on the bench at the corner of the room in a letterman jacket and a skirt. For her, Minatozaki Sana has always been more than just Sana. Although they were not exactly friends and the girl was merely Dahyun’s senior and co-cheerleader, the younger girl has always adored the older one. Come to think of it, the rest of the school might feel the same way about Sana. Her charming looks and bubbly disposition makes her well-known and well-liked, after all.

In other words, Sana is popular and has a lot of friends, most of whom are probably at the after-party, and so—

“Why are you still here?” Dahyun asks.

“Where else would I be?”

“Shouldn’t you be at the party?”

“I should?” Sana counters with a raised eyebrow, and why does she have to answer all of Dahyun’s questions with another question?

“Well, yeah,” Dahyun answers matter-of-factly. “I mean your boyfriend’s hosting it and everything.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” Sana corrects. “We broke up yesterday.”

Dahyun can’t help but cringe. Fully aware of how their school’s rumor mill works, she’ll bet that the entire school would know that by now. After all, if the football team’s quarterback and a cheerleader breaks up, who wouldn’t hear about it?

The answer is no one but Dahyun, apparently. She’s never really been one to gossip, and that usually does her good except in awkward cases like this which she could easily avoid if she would listen to the whispers in the corridors every once in a while. However, the damage is already done, so there’s nothing she could do now but say, “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know. For mentioning him, I guess.”

“It’s okay,” Sana assures, even though the look in her eyes makes Dahyun think otherwise. “This is not the first time, actually. We’ve broken up and gotten back together a few times before, but I…” She trails off, and lamely finishes with, “I don’t know.”

“Hmm, then maybe you’ll get back together again,” Dahyun says in an effort to cheer Sana up, but the girl just gives a humorless laugh.

“Nah, I think this time is for real,” Sana disagrees. “We’re gonna graduate this year, anyway, so I guess now’s as good a time as any to get over a childish romance.”

There’s something about the way that Sana says this, the way that Sana has been behaving since they started talking, that makes Dahyun want to hold her hand and hug her tight and ask her what she can do to make everything alright. It’s really unusual not to see the bright and bubbly Sana that she knows, not that Dahyun knows her that well, really. In fact, she doesn’t know Sana at all, she realizes, which is why she clenches her fist and stays in her place instead of physically comforting the girl.

Dahyun tries to think of anything good to say, but before she can do so, Sana speaks. “Anyway, I’m sorry for scaring you. I was quiet for too long, wasn’t I?”

“I-I wasn’t that scared,” Dahyun claims. “How long were you even sitting there?”

“I don’t know, since you started belting out Bang Bang Bang?” Sana says with a small, teasing smile.

“Oh my God,” Dahyun groans in shame. “I didn’t think there’d be anyone else here.”

“Aww, I think you did great, so don’t be embarrassed,” Sana says, although it only makes Dahyun even more uncomfortable. She adds, “Why are you still here anyway? Are you going to the party?”

Dahyun? Going to a party? She wants to laugh, but Dahyun just lets out a snort and replies, “Nah, I’m going home.”

“Oh, will you be fine?” Sana questions in concern. “It’s pretty late.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I live like five blocks away from here.”

“So you walk from here?” Sana further inquires, and Dahyun nods in response. “Is that safe, though?”

Dahyun shrugs. “I mean, I’m still alive.”

Seemingly, Dahyun’s not doing a good job of assuring Sana at all because the girl offers, “Do you want a lift? My car’s here, and I can just drop you off.”

“Oh, no, thanks. You don’t have to do that.” It was really sweet of Sana, and Dahyun should know better than to refuse a pretty girl’s company, but she also doesn’t like inconveniencing others, especially someone she’s not close with.

“I insist,” Sana presses. “Tell you what, you can come get ice cream with me, then I’ll drop you off afterwards. I’ll give you a ride home, and you’ll give me your company. Sounds fair? Please? I really need some ice cream to lift my spirits a little.”

Nothing sounds fair about it to Dahyun, really, but Sana is looking at her with her puppy dog eyes and cute pout and—

“Okay,” she relents, making Sana grin so widely, and okay, Dahyun could definitely get used to seeing this. It doesn’t even make sense, why Sana’s being the one so happy when Dahyun is the one who’s getting something out of agreeing. Still, Sana keeps smiling as she drags Dahyun from the locker room to the parking lot and even as she drives and pulls over to a convenience store. She tells Dahyun to wait before getting out of the car and rushing into the shop.

Dahyun can’t help but be amused at the events that has recently transpired and also at Sana herself. She didn’t know what to expect, and now she knows that Sana’s about to treat her with a cheap ice cream cone from a convenience store, but she’s not about to complain about it. Free food is free food, and besides, she’s getting a free ride home already, so Dahyun is just really, really thankful.

It suddenly dawns on Dahyun that she’s currently hanging out with one of the most popular girls in school. Maybe she only realizes it now because Sana is one of the few people whose company makes Dahyun feel at ease.

Before Dahyun can start thinking about the implications of that, a knock on the car window interrupts her thoughts, and she sees Sana gesturing towards the back of her car before walking away, and Dahyun takes that as a sign to follow her. She gets out of the car, trailing after Sana, and follows suit when Sana sits on the car trunk.

When Sana puts a plastic bag on her lap and brings out a whole pint of ice cream with a pack of plastic spoons, Dahyun tries to mask her surprise but apparently not well enough because she hears the older girl ask, “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just when you said ice cream, I thought you meant, like a scoop or something, but yeah, this works, too.”

“Ah, I thought about sharing an ice cream cone as well, but this is the first time we ever hung out and it didn’t seem appropriate,” Sana explains, making Dahyun furrow her eyebrows.

“Well, you could’ve just bought two separate cones instead.”

“Now, that…” Sana begins, then pauses for a few seconds to think before finishing with, “…actually makes sense. I don’t know why I didn’t come up with that, sorry.”

“You’re giving me free ice cream, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Dahyun says, reaching for the pack of plastic spoons in Sana’s hands and opening them with her teeth. She gets one for herself and hands another to Sana while the other girl removes the lid from the tub and places it beside her on the trunk.

For a while, they pass the tub to each other, too busy eating to speak, when Sana breaks the comfortable silence with, “Boys .”

Now, Dahyun has zero experience when it comes to boys. Technically, she wouldn’t really know anything about it, but Sana is giving her free ice cream so, “Yep. You’re absolutely right. Totally. No doubt about it.”

At that, Sana narrows her eyes, “How many exes do you have?”

“Hmm, let’s see,” Dahyun says, looking up to pretend like she’s thinking before meeting Sana’s gaze. “None,” she admits, making Sana chuckle.

“You seemed so sure of yourself.”

“Yeah well, sometimes you don’t have to taste a banana to know it’s rotten,” Dahyun replies without thinking, only realizing how it sounded when Sana starts laughing. “Oh, God, I’m sorry. It didn’t sound dirty at all in my head.”

Once Sana catches her breath, she says, “That’s the best metaphor I’ve ever heard. Why are you apologizing?”

“Hey, you’re the one who started apologizing for nothing!” Dahyun counters, referencing the part where Sana apologized for not getting ice cream cones, to steer the conversation away from her embarrassing statement.

“Yeah, well, I’m not done apologizing just yet,” Sana answers, making Dahyun confused because what else could Sana be sorry for? when, “I’m sorry you hate our squad so much.”

“What?” Dahyun exclaims, even more puzzled than before. “Who says I do?”

“Oh, please, you can’t even shower when we’re around. I think it’s safe to assume that you hate our guts.”

Although she can honestly understand how Sana got to that conclusion, Dahyun explains, “I really don’t. I’m just not that good at making friends.”

Dahyun watches Sana’s expression, looking for signs of belief and relief, but sadly, she doesn’t know Sana well enough to read her face that well yet. In the end, Sana just says, “Well, now you have me, so if you have any problems, promise me you’ll tell me, okay? Don’t quit cheerleading or anything. Besides, the uniform suits you.”

Huh.

All this time, Dahyun thought Sana was being sweet and friendly to her just because she’s like that as a person, but now she realizes that it’s also because of the squad too. The team won regionals and even placed in nationals last year, so their trainings now are more rigorous and demanding. A handful of new recruits even quit after their first week, so she understands why Sana is being so keen on ensuring that Dahyun stays.

Dahyun gets it, so she doesn’t know why her stomach is twisting like she was just betrayed when she knows that she’s not being used. Sana is befriending her because she’s part of the team, and the team is important. Dahyun really, truly gets it, so she swallows the lump in and jokingly says, “I wore that uniform even when I was still a mascot, though.”

“That’s true, but at least, you don't have to hide your pretty face under an eagle head anymore, right?” Sana counters, and Dahyun’s stomach twists again but in a good way this time. She doesn’t say anything and just chuckles in response, to which Sana just smiles and says, “What?”

“It’s not everyday that I get a compliment from—” Dahyun pauses with the words ‘the prettiest girl in school’ at the tip of her tongue and, “—you.”

“You better get used to it,” Sana advises. “We’re friends now, Kim Dahyun. I’m gonna compliment you everyday, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“I think I can live with that,” Dahyun decides before putting a spoonful of ice cream into and passing the tub back to Sana. “Here, we’ve almost finished all of it. That’s the last spoonful, I think.”

“Wow, we work really fast,” Sana says as she looks into the tub and scrapes the remaining ice cream. Instead of eating that, however, she stretches her arm to put the spoon near Dahyun’s mouth and waits for her to eat it, but Dahyun declines.

“You’re the one who needs comfort food, right?” Dahyun reminds Sana as she slightly moves her head away from the spoon.

“If you don’t let me feed you, I’m gonna assume that you actually hate me.”

While Dahyun can argue that what Sana said doesn’t make any sense, she simply relents at the sight of Sana pouting and eats the ice cream, making Sana’s frown turn into a wide grin. “You happy now?”

“I definitely feel better now, yes,” Sana confirms as she places the container back inside the plastic and pushes herself off of the trunk. She turns towards Dahyun before continuing, “all thanks to the ice cream and also thanks to you, of course.”

“If I just have to eat ice cream to make you feel better, then feel free to hit me up whenever you’re feeling sad.”

“Sounds perfect,” Sana agrees and pulls out her phone from her jacket’s pocket to hand it to Dahyun. “You have to give me your number for that to work though.”

“Oh, right,” Dahyun says as she reaches for the phone and types her digits in. When she’s done, she hands it back to Sana who then slides it back into her pocket.

“So... Shall we go? Aren’t your parents worried about you yet?”

“Nah, my dad is probably asleep by now, anyway,” Dahyun guesses, even though she gets off the trunk just the same, “but, yeah, let’s get going. It’s late, and I’m exhausted.”

“Oh, I’m sor—”

“Sana, I swear, if you apologize to me again, I’m quitting the squad,” Dahyun interrupts, and Sana complies, and instead of completing her sentence, she walks towards the front of the car and slides into the driver’s seat while Dahyun gets back into the passenger seat.

Before Sana turns the engine on, she hands Dahyun an auxiliary cord and asks Dahyun to “play her tunes,” so Dahyun’s music plays in Sana’s car during the entire car ride to her house. At some point, Bang Bang Bang comes on, and Sana teases, “oh, it’s your jam,” making Dahyun blush in embarrassment. Sana asks her to sing, but Dahyun refuses until Sana starts messily singing along to the whole freaking song, giving Dahyun no choice but to join in.

When they reach their destination, Dahyun tells Sana to text her when she gets home, and Sana gives her a salute with a playful “yes, ma’am” before waving goodbye and driving away.

Dahyun is proved wrong about her dad being asleep when she finally steps into her home and hears the television is still on from the living room. As she closes the door, her father sits up on the couch and calls out, “Back already?”

“Dad, it’s nearly midnight,” Dahyun says, fully aware of how her dad loses track of time whenever he watches his late-night sports replays.

“Oh, is it?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna go sleep,” Dahyun says as she removes her shoes before walking across the living room. “Good night,” she calls out when she’s near her bedroom door.

“Night,” she hears her dad reply before she closes her door.

Dahyun sits on her bed and tosses her backpack beside it. She thinks about what she can do to pass the time while she waits for Sana’s text when she suddenly remembers that she’s supposed to text her friend, Chaeyoung, the minute she gets back home every time she has to go home late (i.e. every after football match). She shoots her a quick text, figuring the other girl’s still up writing something or drawing something or playing something, and tosses her phone aside before going to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. When she comes back, she sees three text notifications from Chaeyoung, and she decides to skip reading them and just calls the girl.

“Sorry, I was getting ready for bed,” Dahyun says, skipping the greeting when Chaeyoung picks up. She can hear background sounds from the other end, and she concludes that the girl is definitely playing a game at the moment.

“Okay, but why did you forget to text me?” Chaeyoung asks, and Dahyun cringes at the chastising tone of her friend’s voice. “And why are you still up? Are you cramming something again?”

“Nope, I just got home, actually,” Dahyun says truthfully.

“Didn’t the game end hours ago? Where have you been, young lady?”

Dahyun can sense a long lecture ahead of her, so she plops down on her bed, releases a sigh, but smiles just the same.

“I took a little detour.”

I'll add the tags for the additional characters and ships as we go along. :)

Feel free to send me prompts and ruin my list of ships @ twitter.com/SoftSwerver or up-for-anything-really.tumblr.com.