We Are Not Friends (Part 1)

__________________________

Chapter 4

 

“Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying you’re friends is easy. Being friends is not.” - Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List (David Levithan)

 

///

 

@NewsFromDetention 23m

At least the President now has to do something other than the Council. If ya know what I mean. (wink)

 

@kmdhyun 12m

If it wasn’t for the First Amendment, I would’ve slaughtered you.

 

@NewsFromDetention 12m

You just can’t stop being a nerd, can you? You just got the quarterback! You were doing so well already! I was rooting for you!

 

@NoJamJeong 11m

HAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS WHY I HATE THE FACT THAT CHAEYOUNG DOESN’T HAVE ANY SNS ACCOUNTS!

 

@AtteridgeGossiper 11m

Who knows. Maybe it’s all just play. (wink)

 

@NewsFromDetention 10m

Who knows. Maybe you’re jealous. Now, go report on some pumpkin spice frappe shortage.

 

@ChewyChou 10m

My car is making a funny sound. I think something’s wrong. (worry)

 

@ImImNayeon 7m

In my extensive car knowledge, if it’s saying “You’re a bad driver.” over and over, it means it’s working fine. (smile)

 

@NoJam 6m

Wow.. Nayeon has an extensive knowledge on something? And I thought miracles don’t exist!

 

@ImImNayeon 6m

Do you have a crush on me, Yoo Jeongyeon? Because I’m telling you now. It’s a no.

 

@PenguinMyoui 4m

Have it fixed! This is dangerous!

 

@ChewyChou 3m

The car or Nayeon?

 

@PenguinMyoui 3m

Be realistic. Focus on the fixable! The car, of course!

 

@KingJB 2m

You can ride on me anytime, baby. (wink)

 

@ChewyChou 2m

MAJOR YIKES! (barf)

 

///

 

Dahyun and her dad found themselves sitting on both ends of the couch with this awkward space between them. Mr. Kim was leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees to prop himself up, while, Dahyun has her hands clasped over her legs, looking everywhere but her dad.

 

Dahyun had a lot of plans this evening, and none of those included having this conversation. And it would’ve been easy to just admit to her dad what the real score is, but she knew that he’s focused on an entirely different matter judging the way his face receded into this calm, thoughtful silence.

 

“When were you planning on telling me?” he finally breaks the claustrophobic silence.

 

“I.. uhh..” Dahyun takes a deep breath, settling to divert the topic. “About Sana?”

 

Her father just chuckles quietly on Dahyun’s attempt to play dumb, but raising her for years without her mom has made him a bit more perceptive, if not wiser.

 

“Dahyun.” he finally turns, but meets her daughter’s gaze with a raised brow. Dahyun takes the clue, looking down on her hands all of a sudden.

 

“I..” she looks at him once more, trying to gauge his reactions despite the dimly lit living room. “I haven’t really planned that far down. I didn’t even know that I’d have a girlfriend.” she says, hoping that her chuckle doesn’t sound so forced.

 

“With the amount of work you put in school, I honestly thought the same and yet, here we are.” her dad finally sits up and scoots a bit closer to Dahyun. “Were you scared?”

 

Dahyun looks up and nods at what seemed to be a rhetorical question. There was a brief moment of silence that told Dahyun it was a real question, so she lets out a sigh as she clasped her hands tighter.

 

“You know how my uncles and aunts are.” she says.

 

“Yeah.” her dad nods in agreement but hangs his head low in what Dahyun could only figure as shame. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Appa.” Dahyun puts her hand over her father’s lap. It was unfair that her dad feels this kind of embarrassment for something that he didn’t do. Mr. Kim has always been supportive of Dahyun, especially when her mom mentioned about her being gay.

 

“No, really.” he puts his hand over the one that was already settled on his lap. “Your mom.” he forces out a chuckle. “She’s better than me in this. In being parent. She knew you better than I did. The real you.”

 

“Appa, don’t say that.” Dahyun frowns, trying to fight the guilt. “You know that I’m always thankful for what you do for us.”

 

“It’s just that,” he made an audible sigh. “Maybe, I made it hard for you to tell me these kinds of things. Things that are important to you.” he explains. “If it’s your aunts and uncles, then let me worry about them.”

 

“This is why I haven’t thought of telling it to you.” Dahyun’s hands wrap around the hand that was resting on her father’s lap. She scoots in closer. Close enough for her to let go of her dad’s and pull him into a shoulder hug. “I don’t want you worrying about me.”

 

“Dahyun, honey. I’m a parent. What do you expect me to do?” Mr. Kim finally breaks out a smile. In his defense, worrying is exactly what parents are supposed to do. “Please. Let me be your dad.”

 

It felt unfair. Not to Dahyun, but to her dad. He shouldn’t feel guilty for something that he never did but he does so anyway, for Dahyun’s sake. He’s just one person, but he’ll make sure that in this small world that they both call home, Dahyun will feel safe.

 

“I’m sorry.” Dahyun pulls her dad closer to her side, then she rests her cheek on his shoulder.

 

“I’m sorry too, honey.” his dad says, and in reply, he rests his temple against Dahyun’s crown. The room finally descends into a comfortable silence where a father and a daughter were content on just having the luxury of this moment.

 

Dahyun doesn’t know what her dad is thinking right now but she has a good feeling that it’s somewhere along: Only if your mom was here.

 

But she isn’t, and they would just have to make things work just like how they always do ever since she had passed on. Tomorrow, they would both wake up to a new dynamic. A father to a gay daughter, and a daughter with a father who’s most probably new to this kind of parenting. But that would be a mission for tomorrow. For now, a father just wants to be a father.

 

“So,” he begins in between a sudden laughter. “The star quarterback huh?”

 

“Appa!” Dahyun pulls back and slaps her dad’s arm. There will be more explaining in the days to come, but for her plans to work out, it’s best that only Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon know about the real score.

 

“I’m just saying! You are an achiever but I never thought you’d be this kind of achiever!”

 

///

 

That night, Dahyun got into bed and crawls out towards her window. She looks out into the night and past the neighborhood boundaries, searching for the house downhill. The one that Sana pointed at this morning.

 

Dahyun smiles when she saw that the lights were still on in Sana’s room. It reminded her that she hasn’t replied to her message when she alerted her that she got home.

 

She dialed Sana’s number and sat down crossed legs on her bed, her eyes looking towards Sana’s window. It didn’t even take three rings when an annoyingly sprightly voice answered on the other line.

 

“Took you long enough.” Sana laughs.

 

“You miss me too much too quickly. Let me breathe, would you?” Dahyun banters back.

 

“What kind of did you get yourself into this time?”

 

Dahyun just smiles at the sound of her voice. She lets out a small chuckle on the irony of Sana’s words. It would’ve been a good moment for her to rant about her bad luck, and how it all started when she woke up half beside Sana but she settles for a softer voice and a heart that just took in whatever this moment could give.

 

“I’m looking at you.” she says in soft laughter. It was a bit funny when the curtains on Sana’s side were suddenly ripped open and now, Dahyun was looking towards a familiar silhouette. By the looks of it, Sana seemed to just stepped out from the shower.

 

Sana was still rubbing hard on her hair with a towel when she spoke, and Dahyun just knew that Sana was smiling.

 

“I’m looking at you, too.” she giggles. “Your dad’s back? I actually felt worried leaving you there alone.”

 

“Yeah,” Dahyun takes in a breath and smiles. “Just a few minutes after you left.”

 

“That’s good.” Sana nods, and Dahyun sees it. No matter how little it looked like from the distance between them. “Did he say anything about me?”

 

Dahyun raises a brow, wishing that she’s face to face with Sana just so she could see how she fished for compliments.

 

“Well..” Dahyun trails and drags, then she stayed silent. A beat passes, but not unnoticed. The silence that followed stuck out like a sore thumb and Dahyun chuckles when she heard Sana groan from the other line. She sees Sana dig her fingers into the crown of her head in frustration.

 

“Come on!” Sana screams in between laughters.

 

“It’s more of what he said to me than to you, actually.” Dahyun relents, much to Sana’s relief. “He said that I was an achiever for dating the star quarterback.”

 

“Yeah, you got that right.” Sana says smugly quite proud about the approval that she was not supposed to get. At least not yet. Then, it comes down like a cold shower. “Wait, what?”

 

Dahyun laughed when Sana caught up.

 

“And also, he said that you should be good to me. He knows where you live, just in case you’re thinking of something really stupid.” Dahyun warns, and with it, the unceremonious goodbye. She pulls her curtains together and drops into bed, pretending to not hear Sana’s screams and demands.

 

“How did he know! Dahyun! Dahyun why did you close your curtains!”

 

“See you Monday, baby.” Dahyun taunts, with Sana still demanding for answers.

 

“Dahyun! I swear to god if you hang up!”

 

“I luf you!” Dahyun giggles then the conversation ends with a beep. It was tempting to look out to Sana’s window and witness how she loses her mind, but with how things ended, Dahyun figures that it was time to call her friends.

 

As of the first Saturday of the academic year, 10:07 PM EST, Atteridge Football Captain Minatozaki Sana is now officially dating Atteridge Student Council President Kim Dahyun.

 

///

 

[Dubudahyun]:

Everyone up for a bedtime story?

 

[Chaechae]:

She liiiiiivesss!!

 

[Jeonggay]:

Is the story scary like your social life?

 

[Dubudahyun]:

I take that as a no then! :)

But I should say, my dad now knows about Sana and me.

Good night!

 

[Chaechae]:

WHAT THE ACTUAL ?!

 

[Jeonggay]:

YOU DON’T TELL SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND LEAVE!

 

[Dubudahyun]:

I was about to share but not with that attitude Jeongyeon :)

 

[Chaechae]:

OH COME ON!

JEONGYEON FIX THIS OR I’LL

TIE YOU LIKE ING PRETZEL!

 

[Jeonggay]:

I was just joking!

I want a bedtime story!

DAHYUN COME BACK HERE!

 

///

 

“Did you see her during the muster?” Nancy ponders, staring up at the ceiling while she laid down on her bed.

 

“No, not really.” Yeonwoo shrugs, trying her best to look like she’s not affected.

 

“She was looking at me before she announced she was dating Dahyun.”

 

“Jesus, babe. Let her go!” Yeonwoo almost screams. “Why are you so bothered by this? Do you still have feelings for her?”

 

“What did you say?” Nancy says in a sinister calm and it was more than enough for Yeonwoo to choke on her tone.

 

“Babe, I’m just saying,” her girlfriend tames down all of a sudden. “You shouldn’t care if she’s dating or not.”

 

“The thing is, I get to tell people who they are in this school. I didn’t break her heart just so she could date around again. Do you understand?” Nancy asks but the questions sounded more of a warning. “Now, find a way to get to one of her friends.”

 

“This is trouble.” Yeonwoo dismisses.

 

“But you love me, right?” Nancy rolls and crawls over Yeonwoo. “You promised you’d do everything I want.”

 

Then there goes the treacherous doe eyes and that soft charm, and the fingernail that grazed on Yeonwoo’s inner thigh. She shivered at the touch, feeling her body betray her resolve.

 

“Fine.” she surrenders, “Who do you want to get first?”

 

///

 

Chaeyoung has been scarce with words. In between looking down on their worksheets and asking questions, Chaeyoung had been awfully scarce with words for the past half hour.

 

Tzuyu would’ve been okay with this because it still gets the job done, but she can’t help but feel a bit dejected at the same time. There was an obvious wall between them, and even in its invisibility, it would seem that the only things that could pass through are problem set questions, single syllable affirmatives, and the colors red and blue.

 

“Tube 3?” Chaeyoung asks without even looking up at her lab partner.

 

There was a part of Tzuyu that told her to not give the answer right away if it meant forcing Chaeyoung to break the ice. But common knowledge taken from their first encounter would suggest that it might be a bad idea.

 

“Red.” Tzuyu surrenders and just watched Chaeyoung write down the answer on their worksheets.

 

In the short moment that her attention wandered off, Tzuyu kind of envied how the other people in their table seemed to get along just fine.

 

There’s Jeongyeon and Nayeon, where Tzuyu swore that the band girl was just out there to annoy the out of her cheerleader friend.

 

“Tube 4?” Nayeon asks.

 

“Blue.” Jeongyeon answers in confidence, but Nayeon only looks at her with mistrust as if Jeongyeon was -talking her answers for far too many times.

 

“What? It’s blue!” Jeongyeon repeats, sounding like she’s not gonna say more.

 

Nayeon rolls her eyes and proceeds to write their answers but stops midway when Jeongyeon tries hard to stifle her laughter.

 

“Blue is what I would’ve written if the paper wasn’t red.” Jeongyeon wiggles her eyebrows.

 

“Jeongyeon!” Nayeon grits her teeth. “Is it blue or is it red?!”

 

“Red!” Jeongyeon answers, trying her best to laugh as quietly as she can.

 

“I will kill you and your one brain cell. Tube 5?”

 

“I mean, red is what I would’ve said if — ow!” a pen bounces off the side of Jeongyeon’s head.

 

Meanwhile, Sana and Dahyun seemed to be almost done with the activity. Tzuyu noticed the quarterback doodle something on Dahyun’s notebook. The president was still busy with the litmus strips, but if the moment allows, she would encourage Sana’s antics. She’ll laugh a bit, shake her head, draw something in response, then it will be the both of them giggling.

 

“You’re stupid, you know that?” Dahyun chuckles as she rolls her eyes.

 

When their collaborative artwork turned out to be something dumb, Sana would give up the doodling and helps Dahyun with the experiment.

 

“Bet.” Sana makes a dome with her hands and covers the strips as soon as Dahyun smeared it with a substance. “Blue or red?”

 

“What do I get if I answer correctly?” Dahyun beams and leans on the table, obviously interested.

 

“You get one point.” Sana establishes the impromptu rules of the impromptu game. “Best of five. Winner gets a post-dated treat minimum of $10.”

 

“Are you crazy?” Dahyun protests, making Sana much more eager.

 

“If the prize is cheap, then what’s the point? $10 treat from me though.” Sana challenges. “Come on.”

 

“Hrmmm.” Dahyun snarls at the tempting offer. “Fine. Red.”

 

Sana pries her hands slowly, and Dahyun leans in to take a peek. She does a small dorky celebratory dance right after, which Sana takes as a defeat for round one.

 

“Red! Damn, okay. One point.” Sana sighs and readies her hands over the next litmus strip. “Smear the next. I get first guess.”

 

The game was silly, but still, Sana and Dahyun just showed that they can function as girlfriends and lab partners who can make stupid bets out of nothing. Meanwhile, Tzuyu wanted to jump out of the window because this activity is too boring and her partner is too ‘diplomatic’.

 

“Tube 4?” Chaeyoung asks.

 

Tzuyu doesn’t see Chaeyoung as much around school. But in the rare times that she does, Chaeyoung is with her council friends and would always be laughing to some joke or making fun of Dahyun for some reason. She’d always assumed that Chaeyoung is the fun type, so getting a total opposite treatment is throwing her a bit off balance. Especially that she has lived most of her high school life where people are nicer to her than normal.

 

“Tzuyu.” Chaeyoung calls out sternly. Tzuyu snaps herself back to reality and found herself a bit panicking. Did Chaeyoung say something? Has she been out of her head for a couple of minutes? .

 

She reeled herself in, looking around what tube number they’re in. And in the middle of searching, thinking, and remembering, she whips her hand out accidentally. There was a shriek, a panicked gasp, and some clattering. One of their setups toppled down on their worksheets, drenching them in different substances. Some of it got onto Chaeyoung’s clothes too, but instead of saving herself, Chaeyoung quickly takes both of Tzuyu’s hands and lifts them away from the damage, even if they’re both wearing lab gloves.

 

“We’re okay!” Chaeyoung calls out to the class to stop the event from escalating. She takes a deep breath, and looks at her partner. “You okay? You were out of action for a moment there.”

 

“Yeah.” Tzuyu bites her lip in a mix of frustration and embarrassment. “I’m so sorry!”

 

Chaeyoung finally lets go and it was only then that the cheerleader noticed that her lab partner was holding her hands. It was a break from their usual diplomacy, but only because the situation called for it. If anything, at least Tzuyu knows that being this cold isn’t really Chaeyoung’s default attitude.

 

“Jeong, they’re looking at us. Make a joke.” Chaeyoung mumbles to her seatmate as she scrambled to fix their stuff. Mr. White was walking towards them with some rags and maybe some scolding, but thankfully, it never came. Jeongyeon was quick with .

 

“If our worksheets are involved in some sort of accident, do we get everything as bonus points instead? Literally asking for a friend.” Jeongyeon asks Mr. White who was now standing by their lab table. The class laughs at her dumb (but somehow expected) question, and their teacher just shakes his head.

 

“Both of you alright?” he asks calmly, then looks at Chaeyoung. “Hydrogen dioxide. Dangerous stuff.”

 

Tzuyu tenses up and looks down on the sizeable smear on her lab partner’s thin shirt. It didn’t take long for Chaeyoung to notice Tzuyu’s reaction and she decides to put her out of her misery of worrying too much.

 

“It’s water.” Chaeyoung smiles, and Tzuyu was there to see it. “He literally said water.”

 

“Just be careful next time.” Mr. White warns cooly, mostly satisfied that Chaeyoung got the joke. “Refill your tubes then finish the activity. You can get new worksheets in front.”

 

Chaeyoung volunteered to do the rest of the activity this time, with Tzuyu replacing her in the task of answering the worksheets. And while the small ruckus broke them off from their established dynamics, they found themselves dancing to its mundane tune once more right after everything subsided.

 

In the end, they just swapped places. Swapped who asks the questions, and swapped who responds with the one word answers.

 

“Red.” Chaeyoung says, then they’re off to the next question.

 

The class ends, and the six of them were the last to leave the room. Nayeon was pretty much annoyed that she and Jeongyeon finished last, while Sana reiterated her rights for the post-dated treat. Dahyun just made faces as Sana kept on taunting her.

 

“Wait.” Tzuyu grabs Chaeyoung by the wrist and pulls her off to the side.

 

“Yeah?” Chaeyoung pulls her hand gently, and Tzuyu had no choice but to let go.

 

“I’m really sorry about a while ago.” Tzuyu winces. “I didn’t mean to zone out like that. I’m not messing up on purpose. It’s just that..”

 

“It’s fine.” Chaeyoung interrupts with a smile, or at least a convincing form of it. Tzuyu knew better, though. Tight lips curved up, steady eyes, and raised brows. It was forced. “Really. It’s fine. We finished, got good marks, and we’re still both alive. That’s all there is to it.”

 

“Yeah.” Tzuyu nods, returning the smile. And even if Chaeyoung was distracted on how her partner’s eyes turned into upside down U’s, and her dimples sinking cutely in her cheek (damn, that’s a pretty smile), Chaeyoung knew that Tzuyu just surrendered.

 

Tzuyu is not used to the feeling of being unliked. With her pretty face and cute laugh, the world has always been much more polite. But it was not Chaeyoung’s responsibility to make her feel liked either. Chaeyoung’s only task is to make sure they both pass the subject, and in that respect, she’s doing more than enough.

 

“Yeah.” Chaeyoung nods as well, tucking her hands inside her jacket pockets.

 

Tzuyu wanted to say more. Ask if she ever did something to Chaeyoung. Ask why she’s being treated differently, but alas, a voice calls out through the crowd.

 

“Chae! My child!” Jeongyeon calls out from down the hall. “Faster, you and Chewy. Would you please?”

 

They joined their friends at the end of the hall, only for the group to break up into their respective cliques. Chaeyoung and Tzuyu both stood awkwardly behind their friends, quite thankful that they have four people between them.

 

“She was rewriting our worksheets!” Jeongyeon laughs. “How was that my fault! You volunteered for that job!”

 

“If you gave the answers properly then our worksheets won’t end up like a kid’s refrigerator art in a horror movie!” Nayeon stabs Jeongyeon’s chest with her finger, then she turns to Dahyun. “With all due respect, Dahyun, I cannot begin to understand how you stand Jeongyeon.”

 

“I’m actually asking myself the same damn thing.” Dahyun sighs, then an arm wraps around her shoulder. She felt herself being pulled closer to a tight side hug, and when she looks up, Sana just gave her a look that says ‘What?’

 

Right. Coupley things in public. And yes, it was Sana’s perfume again.

 

“We finished! We just didn’t get there on time but we finished! Jeez! Live a little!” Jeongyeon chuckles and shakes her head. “This, my friends, is why she doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

 

“Yeah, because I have a girlfriend who loves me!” Nayeon spits out fast in her defense. Maybe too fast that it was too late to take back the sudden confession. Jeongyeon was taken aback too, but before she could even pounce and use this against her lab partner, Nayeon growled at her. “Ugh! I hate you! Come on, guys! I’d die first than be late because of Jeongyeon.”

 

Nayeon just tugs Tzuyu by the wrist, and starts to walk off. At the last moment, Tzuyu turns to Chaeyoung to give her a small wave. It was a shy goodbye, but it seemed fitting and polite. Chaeyoung settles to an awkward open palm goodbye, stretches her four fingers out in reply, with the thumb still folded over the strap of her bag. There was the forced smile once again, but Tzuyu takes it anyway.

 

Meanwhile, Sana leaves a kiss on Dahyun’s temple. Dahyun winces at the contact and pulls her head away, much to Sana’s amusement. Dahyun pretending not to like her girlfriend’s advances paints a funny picture, and maybe Sana is okay with that for the time being.

 

“See you later, babe.” Sana whispers as she brings Dahyun closer to her side. She lets her go after a good squeeze, then she follows the cheerleaders down the hallway. There was the smug smile again when they parted, and Dahyun wished that she doesn’t do that too often. Her heart hasn’t learned to cope with that yet.

 

“Keep her on a leash, Dahyun.” Nayeon turns to the president once more. “Before she bites someone and infect them with whatever she has.” Nayeon sneers, hoping for the last word.

 

“We tried. Nothing worked.” Dahyun only shrugged.

 

When the three athletes disappeared around the hallway, Dahyun and her friends started to make their way to their next class as well. The mood is familiar again with just the three of them walking together side by side.

 

“Why do you do that?” Chaeyoung turns to Jeongyeon.

 

“What?”

 

“Pulling Nayeon’s pigtails like that. It’s not entirely a good idea.” Chaeyoung asks.

 

“Relax. Their clique is fine.” Jeongyeon waves her hand over her lips. “Besides, it’s fun throwing her off like that. Not her usual human interaction. How about you?”

 

“What about me?” Chaeyoung pulls her bag strap up her shoulder.

 

“Why do you treat Chewy like that?” Jeongyeon glances at the smaller girl beside her.

 

“We’re lab partners. We got the job done. She shouldn’t expect more than that.”

 

“Because?”

 

“Because we are not friends.” Chaeyoung speaks with conviction.

 

“The aim, Chaeyoung.” Jeongyeon warns again but said nothing more after that. Instead, a small smirk forms on her lips and Chaeyoung didn’t take that all too well.

 

“Dahyun?” Chaeyoung leans forward and turns to the president.

 

“What?”

 

“Maybe Nayeon’s right.” Chaeyoung ponders for a quick moment. “Maybe we should get rid of Jeongyeon.”

 

///

 

A meeting was called after school, but it wasn’t the kind of meetings that Dahyun organize. With afternoon and Saturday practices looming over the horizon, the girls thought it was necessary to kickstart their diner tradition. Especially now that Sana’s dating Dahyun, and that Nayeon, apparently, has a girlfriend.

 

Sana walked up to the diner with her arms over Jihyo and Momo, only for their formation to break apart when the door was too small to fit three people coming in at the same time. Jihyo and Momo bumped their shoulders on either side of the door frame and it made Nayeon roll her eyes at how stupid they looked.

 

“I swear to god if Nayeon didn’t order for us!” Jihyo immediately called out as they approached their usual booth. The cheerleaders were already settled in. Tzuyu resting her chin on Mina’s shoulder, watching whatever her friend was playing on her phone. Meanwhile, Nayeon looked up from her compact mirror, seemingly annoyed that her attention to her brows needed to be stolen away.

 

“I do not take orders from plebeians.” Nayeon scoffed and made face.

 

“See, Sana?” Jihyo turned to the quarterback with her arms out. “This is exactly why I found it unbelievable when you said she has a girlfriend.”

 

“I said what I heard. Didn’t say it wasn’t bull.” Sana scooted inside the booth and took the spot across Nayeon who, in turn, just gave her a disapproving look. “So, you didn’t order yet?”

 

Nayeon just raised a brow and smirked.

 

“Oh, I ordered!” Tzuyu piped in, raising her hand and standing up from her spot to give way to Momo. “This is me telling everyone that I’m not as useless as Nayeon.”

 

“Oh, please.” Nayeon laughed. “For someone who’s useless around her lab partner, you’re making everyone proud!” she points at Tzuyu with gun fingers and a click of her tongue. Tzuyu bares her teeth and poised to lunge at Nayeon, but then again, this is Im Nayeon — the Vice Captain of the Cheer Team — so she just have to sit her down for now.

 

“Yeah, whatever happened to you and the AV girl? And what’s with you guys getting all bungled up with the council kids?” Momo plopped down beside Mina, and threw an arm over on Mina’s part of the backrest. Mina to shuffled in her seat for a moment and rested the side of her head on Momo’s shoulder. She’s still engrossed with the phone game while also glad that her position is finally comfortable.

 

“We’re okay. Okay?” Tzuyu rebutts, feeling the need to defend herself. She sits beside Jihyo and rests her chin on the other girl’s shoulder. She takes in a deep breath and sighs. “We’re civil. We get the job done.”

 

“Civil?” Momo said, the word becoming almost unintelligible through the laughter. “Nobody told me you already got divorced!”

 

But Momo’s laughter subsided into a soft giggle when Mina slapped her thigh and looked at Tzuyu’s direction. Mina just smiled and shook her head, telling Tzuyu to have it in her heart to forgive Momo’s stupidity.

 

It didn’t take long enough before they were interrupted when their orders came in. A plate of cheese fries for sharing, a round of yogurt shakes, tuna club sandwiches for Jihyo and Momo. A slice of pie for Tzuyu. Salad for Mina and Nayeon, and a waffle sundae for Sana, which reminded her of a particular ice cream run and maybe the scent of citrus.

 

“God, I’m so gonna miss this starting next week.” Sana held her plate up, admiring the two scoops of vanilla ice cream like they were a piece of art.

 

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Makes me lose my appetite.” Momo groans but still takes a big bite off of her sandwich, much to Mina’s amusement.

 

“Stop being so dramatic!” Jihyo whines and reaches into Momo’s plate.

 

“I will cut that hand off, Jihyo! Bold of you to even think you can steal from me!” Momo growls then goes back to chewing. It’s unfair that Momo could steal food and not share hers, but what’s more unfair is when Mina gets a bite off her sandwich and also gets to try the fries. Jihyo just raises her brows while she pointed at Mina with her eyes.

 

“She likes them plain, okay? Back off.” Momo reasoned out. “So, Nayeon. Who’s the girl?”

 

“There’s no girl.” Nayeon poked a lettuce with her fork.

 

“Oh, we know. We just want you to admit it to us.” Jihyo winked. “There is no possible way that you’d end up with someone.”

 

“Probably because she’s not good in bed. Have you even tried getting laid?” Momo raised her hand up for a high five and the slapping sound that followed might have annoyed Nayeon a bit too much. Of course Jihyo would oblige.

 

“Hey! She said I’m amazing, okay?!” Nayeon almost lunged at Momo, then winced when she realized she stepped right into the bait.

 

“So there is someone!” Momo exclaimed. The others were now reduced into a laughing and nudging mess.

 

“No! There’s no one!” Nayeon desperately defends, all panicky and flustered. “I.. I.. I was just joking! !”

 

“So who’s the she?” Sana perched her chin over her folded knuckles.

 

“You know what?” Nayeon gritted her teeth and stuffed her reckless mouth with some crispy salad vegetables. “You called it bull and you can’t even bring yourself to believe so I’m not gonna tell.”

 

“Well, we can always bet on it.” Momo said smugly, sinking back in her chair. “Let’s see how good you hide, Nayeon. I’ll be taking bets starting tomorrow, girls.”

 

“You’re dumb, you know that?” Nayeon frowned and turned to Mina who was snuggled against Momo’s rib. “Do you know she’s dumb?”

 

Mina nodded enthusiastically at Nayeon before pressing Momo’s cheeks together with her hand. Then she turned Momo’s head to look at her and crinkled her nose. Momo just stuck out her tongue in reply.

 

“Scratch that. You’re both dumb and you deserve each other.” Nayeon groaned, her words forcing the bestfriends to snap out from their bubble. And just like that, Momo and Mina went back to their own devices — Mina with Momo’s fries, and Momo with her sandwich.

 

“So, you won’t be meeting with Dahyun starting next week?” Jihyo chomped on her sandwich.

 

“We’ll figure somethin