Sana was wide awake in her bed, but refused to get up, knowing that Nayeon was still asleep. The memories of last night were slowly popping back from memory and the embarrassment was creeping in. Just when were things going to be okay between them? First it was Sana’s anger towards Nayeon, then it was Nayeon’s anger towards Sana and now it was going to be awkward because of what happened last night. 

On the topic of Sana being angry at Nayeon, she talked to Mina again about her feelings. The past is the past and it would be wise for Sana to leave it there – that’s what Mina had told her. And Sana was really trying. She tried to keep the ill feelings out of her heart. It worked momentarily and had given Sana the courage to apologise for her own mistakes and playful attitude. But the past was an itch that Sana couldn’t ignore. 

Actually, Sana wanted to talk to Nayeon about everything and get it all off her chest. But, with impending assignments, there were bigger things to focus on. It would only be a distraction to the assignments coming up and they two of them had to get them done on time.  

Groaning and kicking her legs around, Sana shoved her face deeper into her pillow, feeling so lost on what she should do. 

The sound of muffled laughter made Sana freeze, and she turned around to face her roommate, who was hovering by her bed. 

“W-what are you doing here?” Sana stuttered, pulling the blankets closer to her body. 

“That’s not a nice way to react when I saved you from staying out in the cold yesterday.” Nayeon clucked her tongue, moving away. 

“Y-yeah right. Why would you leave me outside?” Sana stammered. 

“Are you really asking me that?” Nayeon raised an eyebrow at Sana. 

The pranks weren’t that bad, okay? It was just that last one that made a mess of the whole situation. You can’t hate Sana for what she did. She even apologised and met their convenor. 

“I apologised.” Sana huffed, crossing her arms. 

“Really? I don’t remember. All you did was approach me and tell me to submit my work.” Nayeon smirked smugly. 

Sana pondered for a moment, recalling when she ran up to Nayeon after class. Had she really forgotten to apologise in the rush of things? 

Curse her short memory, she really couldn’t remember. 

“You say sorry first.” Sana shook her head. 

“I’m not the one who ruined a major assignment.” Nayeon accused. “That was all you.” 

After a few minutes of silence, Nayeon’s patience grew thin, buckling first and apologising. “Fine. I’m sorry.” 

Sana smiled, stretching and bolting to the bathroom. 

“Hey! You’re meant to apologise first you brat!” Nayeon shouted, unable to catch Sana in time. 

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry!” Sana giggled from the bathroom, making Nayeon shake her head. 

--- 

When Sana came out of the bathroom, Nayeon had left the dorm room and she automatically pouted at the disappearance. She couldn’t tease Nayeon any longer. She reached the kitchen and then noticed the note on the fridge, written in Nayeon’s scribbly and messy handwriting. So, she just went to give something to her friend? Maybe Sana could sort out breakfast before Nayeon came back. A peace offering of some sort? 

Half an hour later, Sana had organised the table with plenty of food... takeaway food. Sana can’t really cook on her life. And, if she did, she’d probably  burn down the kitchen along with the good. 

The door opened and Sana smiled as Nayeon walked in, cautiously heading towards the table. 

“What’s this?” Nayeon eyed everything with suspicion. 

“It’s just breakfast.” Sana answered, eyes shining brightly in excitement. 

“Do those burgers have something like expired cheese or something in them?” Nayeon asked, pulling on the bun. 

“It’s a normal burger.” Sana rolled her eyes. 

“And those baked beans are just regular uncooked beans with sauce?” Nayeon grimaced as she looked at the bowl. 

“Everything here is food!” Sana groaned as Nayeon continued to check on the food on the table. 

“You’re being talkative this morning. And let’s not forget that you gave me toothpaste filled Oreos and a caramelized onion which you changed, just to make it look like an apple. Forgive me for being careful.” Nayeon grumbled. 

Okay, that was a fair point to be cautious of what food you eat. 

“I promise everything here is food.” Sana indicated to the table. 

“Why the sudden gesture?” Nayeon questioned, suspicion still lingering.

“My official apology and also a thank you for last night. It means a lot.” Sana said with sincerity. 

“Okay, but you eat first.” Nayeon pushed. 

“Hey! I’m being truthful here!” Sana whined, earning a chuckle from Nayeon. 

“Come on. Eat a bite of the burger and a scoop of baked beans. I don’t want to die at an early age.” Nayeon waited for Sana to eat. 

“All of this is store bought anyway.” Sana reasoned as she began eating. 

“Oh, I’m not surprised that you can’t cook.” Nayeon savagely commented. 

Flustered with the constant pestering and teasing, Sana shut , shoving it with food instead. She’d show Nayeon that she could cook. She really would. And she’d show it soon. Screw that girl and her negativity. 

---

Too soon.

It was later in the day when the east side of the college was evacuated from classes, a fire alarm sounding out and the students being led out to the grass field. Smoke billowed out from one dorm rooms, the crowd murmuring about the incident. Amongst the crowd, two students sighed heavily, one filled with embarrassment. They both knew which room it was from, how could they not be able to spot their best friends' dorm room?

Mina and Momo looked at each other before shaking their heads in disappointment. What were their friends even doing? Did their pranks get out of hand? Momo had told Nayeon not to go so far with her plans and she'd warned her about it backfiring.

Or maybe Nayeon set fire to something of Sana's to take revenge for the assignment issue she had! Momo was a pure genius.

“At least the whole building didn’t burn down.” Momo shrugged. 

“I’m betting it’s Sana’s fault. She asked me for a recipe after lunch.” Mina groaned in shame.

Okay, erase the theory about revenge for the assignment. Momo was not a pure genius, but still a genius.

“It’s probably just a pot of burnt food. Nothing more.” Momo chuckled. 

“... Yeah, Sana just messaged me. She’s headed for a meeting with the secretary.” Mina showed the messages to Momo.

See? Genius Momo.

--- 

Sana hung her head in shame as she followed the secretary, a grouchy Nayeon by her side. She was called in when she was out for lunch, so it was understandable that she was cranky. 

“Why exactly are we going to have a talk with the secretary in her office?” Nayeon whispered to Sana. 

So, Nayeon might not know about the fact that Sana almost burnt down their entire room. It’s not like Sana was going to announce it to the world, really. She also knew that Nayeon would once she knew – Sana was waiting for the ball to drop. 

“Um.” Sana responded, unable to explain. 

“Please, have a seat.” The secretary smiled at the duo, scaring the crap out of Sana. “The chancellor will be here soon.” 

That was enough to give both of them the shock of their lives. Were they about to be kicked out of the dorms? 

“Sana? What did you do?” Nayeon gasped, turning to Sana. 

“Shut up.” Sana growled. 

Before Nayeon could say anything else, the chancellor walked in and both of them stood up out of respect. 

“Oh, please. There’s no need for that. And you don’t have to be scared either. You’re not getting kicked out of the dorms.” The chancellor comforted. “Regarding the incident that happened today, we’re just letting you know that it’s okay. Mistakes happen. Just be careful in the future. We got rid of the evidence of whatever you were trying to do, so cheer up. No harm done.” 

“Thank you.” Sana nodded frantically. 

“Did you kill someone and hide the body in the dorm?” Nayeon teased. 

“What if I said yes?” Sana retorted, silencing Nayeon. 

“What were you even trying to do, if I may ask, Miss Minatozaki?” The chancellor asked. 

“I was just trying to prove someone wrong.” Sana pouted. 

“Well, less self-proving in the future then. Stay away from the stove for now, okay?” The chancellor laughed, making Sana blush. 

Finally understanding what went on, Nayeon couldn’t help but laugh too. Sana was trying to prove herself to Nayeon and burnt the food in the process. How brilliant! 

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll smack you.” Sana whispered, threatening her roommate. 

Nayeon nodded, covering with her hand as Sana turned red from anger. 

“I hope to not hear any more incidents for at least the end of the semester, Miss Minatozaki. Please don’t hurt yourself.” The chancellor kindly pleaded, guiding the pair out of the room. 

As soon as they left, Nayeon erupted in laughter, failing to see the glare on Sana’s face. “Oh my god, you really got the chancellor involved.” 

Sana didn’t hesitate further, stepping on Nayeon’s foot with all her strength. Nayeon’s laughter turned into howls of pain as she hopped around. 

“Ouch, ouch, that bloody hurt!” Nayeon whined, holding onto her foot. 

“Good.” Sana growled, walking back to their dorm room. 

Nayeon sighed as Sana walked away, hobbling towards their room with her painful foot. Sana may look small but her strength should never be underestimated. It took her ten minutes to walk the distance when it would usually take only three. 

She opened the dorm door slowly, scared of Sana’s possible anger towards her. Okay, maybe her laughter was a little bit too much.

Instead of Sana jump scaring her or throwing something at her head, Nayeon’s roommate was sitting atop her bed, knees up to her chest. 

Nayeon felt her chest hurt upon the sight of Sana in that position – especially because she was the one to make her feel that way.

Stupid Nayeon.

She could only condemn herself for her own actions. Of course, Sana had tried her best to prove to Nayeon that she could cook; but Nayeon had only laughed at her and the outcome of her efforts. That was the most insensitive thing she could have ever done to someone who tried their best. 

“Sana. I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t consider your feelings.” Nayeon apologised. 

“Mhmm.” Sana hummed, not saying anything else. 

“Sana.” Nayeon called out, towering over the girl. 

No response. 

“Sana.” Nayeon tried again, this time crouching in front of her. 

Again, no response. 

“Hey.” Nayeon poked Sana’s shoulder. “Sanaaa.” She continued to call out Sana’s name as she poked and prodded, eventually earning a squeal out of her as Nayeon reached her ribs. 

“Oh my god, just stop!!” Sana whined as Nayeon moved to tickle her now. 

“You finally responded!” Nayeon gasped, Sana shoving her back and making her land on her . 

“What do you want?” Sana groaned. 

“I want to know something. Why did you even try cooking?” Nayeon asked. 

Despite being glared at by Sana, Nayeon pursued the answer to her question. "I'm curious. I'll tickle you again if you don't stop glaring."

“Okay, don't go there... It’s just because you said I couldn't do it. I wanted to prove you wrong; that I can do it.” Sana admitted, crossing her arms. 

Nayeon shook her head, biting back a smile at how much Sana wanted to do everything just so that she could rub it in her face. It was kind of cute, seeing Sana try to explain herself right now.

“I tease you about all these things, but you don’t have to take them seriously. ” Nayeon discouraged.  

“You challenged me, okay? Well, it sounded like a challenge to me.” Sana pursed her lips, redness spreading over her cheeks. 

Nayeon grumbled, unsure of what to say to change Sana’s mind. Her own words weren’t meant to push Sana to burn down the kitchen or to beat her in pranking. It was meant to be... more like playful banter? She was just looking for a reaction from Sana that didn't end up with them fighting or arguing.

She wanted to be more than enemies, for a start.

So, with that in mind, she chose her next words carefully and spoke them with true sincerity. 

“From now on, I want you to know that you don’t have to prove anything to me.”