She leisurely breaks free from her white high top chucks and ambles to her room's opened door. Bag tossed on the floor against the bed, a soft sigh, and a small splashing sound greeting her from a medium sized tank against baby-pink walls next to her bedside table.

"You look great, Hwangie." She cooed, the orange fluff swimming up to feel her fingers as soon as she dips her hand in the water. The fish’s way of saying I’ve waited for you all day, I missed you.

“I missed you too.” She giggles, letting her fingers sway around, the fish following its rippled path closely. The chase play doesn’t last long as she whisks her head at the buzzing of her book bag.

Her right hand stays slack under the water as she stretches her free hand to unclasp her bag; stops midway when her line of sight catches along untouched clothing freely stacked on top of the pillow on the left side of the bed.  

You can keep my clothes.

Her mind whirls back to Jennie’s slender back, the girl giving her a side glance over the shoulder, voice solemn but otherwise sincere. And as if clear as day, Rosé was back again at the rooftop.

Jisoo smiling at her, beautifully.

Her, catching the smile in delay just after intently watching Jennie's retreating figure in the stairway.

Just what did Jisoo think of it all? Jennie would have already told her what had happened that night. Or worse, Jennie didn’t and surely enough, Jisoo might as well have thought the both of them were having some type of a fling.  

Rosé shakes away or at least tries to be rid of the growing mix of what if's in her head. Not to exclude still not moving on from having Jennie see her in her laced lingerie that night, despite the lights being turned off. The window still had a tiny slit of street-lamp lights, after all. 

“You’ve done it Roseanne. You're a paranoid wreck.” She blows an exasperated sigh, letting the small fatigue from the day’s events take its toll and her brain finally suggesting for a nap.  

She wakes up to the smell of lavender in the middle of the night, following the source encased under her arms. Jennie’s loose black and white baseball tee softly pressed against her chest.

IRENE BRINGS OUT her motherly side; her fingers combing through Rosé's hair, trying to unknot jumbled strands. Rosé slowly breathes out the remaining nervousness in her body, eyes focused on the clock nearing ten minutes before their turn for the half time performance. She turns behind her to thank Irene with a weary smile and the latter shakes her head, motioning for Rosé to loosen up.

She picks out a certain individual out of the cheerful swarm in the bleachers. Jet-black hair, gray knitted beanie that complimented her small face, and a stoic expression that's borderline cold yet still pleasing to the eyes.

She wonders how a real smile could look donned on Jennie's face. 

"-nowadays."

Rosé re-focuses and finds Joy to her left.

"I.. just missed what you said, didn't I?"

"I said you seem to be afloat nowadays– this have to do with a certain Kim?"

Rosé doesn't skip a beat.

"Which one?"

"Didn't know there could be another Kim other than Jisoo?”

"Uh, fact check? Korean last names comprise of 90% Kim and I do know a lot of Kim– what's that face for?"

Rosé refuses to blush, slowly realizing what Joy had meant now, the girl's face denoting nothing but playfulness.

"You have yet to tell me about that night, by the way.”

"Get your head out of the gutter, nothing like that happened."

"Who said I was implying anything ual?"

Joy's suggestive smile intensifies, Irene slowly turns leery, and Rosé wishes to just shrink in size and disappear.

JENNIE FALLS LIMP in her chair. Her eyes had remained on Jisoo, but the latter refuses to return her gaze. She counts the seconds in her head, almost making it to a minute now, and that's when Jisoo chortles behind her hand, the other coming up to jab at the perplexed girl's rib.

"I made you tense up just now. I may just consider acting at this rate."

Jennie unfortunately doesn't share the girl's uplifting aura. She slightly parts to let out the nagging questions scratching at ; almost thought better of it as the words start to hang at the edge of her lips but changes her mind. She'll have to think it through. It could wait.

"She is undeniably pretty. Roseanne."

Jennie nods attentively, trying not to dwell on the discomforting feeling bubbling up in her chest. 

"Though I don’t fancy her any more than just appreciating a pretty face. How about you?”

"It was my final answer."

"You look like you got something more on your mind." Jisoo uses this opportunity to slowly peel at the girl's layers of emotion.

Jennie turns her head to the field to gain time and composure, watching the cheer performers tread their way out of the field in lines. Her eyes automatically finds pink hair, the girl happily bouncing on her steps as she waves at the audience. The view giving her odd courage to be truthful. 

"I do. But we’ll talk about it later."

THEY CROWD OVER Irene at one of the dining tables by the food stands overlooking the soccer field, the girl holding up a thin iPad, its screen playing a recording of their performance earlier. The game was still in commence, but it was their break time. Nobody misses break time.

"Irene, your smile looks awkwardly wide here."

"Shouldn't you be monitoring yourself?"

"I'm tired of looking at my face. I see it way too many times every day in the mirror."

Irene lazily rolls her eyes. But Joy continues to ramble on, her eyes never breaking away from the screen, "Besides, I like watching pretty faces."– and misses the way Irene looks away to fix her hair, hiding her blush.

Rosé tactically tunes out the duo to her right. Their designated camera girl had recorded from behind where the players sat and she regards the familiar knitted beanie and Jisoo Kim's braided ponytail.

She secretly rejoices at Jisoo's focus on the field, watching the show for the most part. Sighs at Jennie doing the opposite.

"I'm heading to the restroom."

The two continue to bicker about each other's flaws throughout the video, deaf to her announcement, and so she chooses to move along.

Rosé takes the more secluded route, going behind the food stands and walking alongside metal fences, the school's parking lot located just on the other side of it. She unlocks her phone and delightedly clicks at her sister’s message.

Alice: Are you doing okay?

She smiles. Her sister never fails to make her feel better, even with her absence. Rosé briefly looks up to watch her path, the bathroom doors only a few more steps away and goes back to tapping at her screen.

Always. I miss you.

Rosé barely sends the message before colliding into something.

“Ah, jeez. Would it hurt to watch where you’re going?”

Or someone.

She hastily grabs her phone laying by her foot, her other hand rubbing on her left bum. Her apologizing remark falls short as soon as she looks up.

“S-sorry.”

The bathroom door closes behind Jennie, and her feet stays rooted to the ground as she belatedly recognizes Rosé beneath the shadows- her own brain howling at her to move otherwise. 

Help her up, .

Rosé rights herself up before Jennie could finally outstretch a hand. 

"You okay?" 

"Yeah..Where's... oh my god." Rosé starts to look around the ground. Not feeling a certain accessory's presence anywhere in her pockets. 

"What?" 

"My keychain. Dammit." The girl slightly ruffles her hair, eyes fretting all over the place like she had just lost an expensive jewelry. 

Jennie observes the scene before her and doesn't deny her growing suspicion. Her outstretched hand moves accordingly on behalf of her brain and gently grabs the girl's elbow. 

Her eyes soften at Rosé's questioning ones, and asks something she never thought she'd ever ask again for a long time. 

"Have you really forgotten about me?"

Authornim's Messageu: Hello my lovely readers! I have finally come out of the rock and had enough time to finish this chapter. I will say it's not impressively long enough to make up for the delay, but I do have some motivation now to keep going with the story :) hope this chapter was not a bust, as things will start to get whirly from then on :o Thanks for reading and I circle you all <3