Лёша Свик – Девчонка

«Девчонка что с тобою, почему не видишь?
Мы с тобою больше, чем две половины.»

„Why don’t you see it? We are more than just two halves.”

The day actually started well for Jennie despite her fearing all throughout the night that some gruesome creature would appear in the night and haunt her.

The gentle sunrays of the early morning sun illuminated her room and plunged it into a warm yellow, almost covering up the fact that there was a thick blanket of snow outside waiting with low temperatures.

Additionally to the peaceful morning, she’d found some great music which blasted through her earphones on her way to school.

She was in good spirits even though it was Monday, but the stares she received ever since she’d stepped out of the bus started to bother her and dampen her mood. It seemed as if the people were gossiping about her even though there was no maliciousness detectable in their eyes.

“Jendeuki!” Jisoo shouted her embarrassing nickname from afar. She engulfed her in a short hug and said, “Did you have a wild weekend?”

Jennie greeted her back with a warm smile and linked her arms with Jisoo’s.

“It happened a lot after you shot me down on Saturday,” Jennie threw her a half-hearted glare while walking with slow steps towards the entrance. Their steps were followed by not so stealthily looks.

“You know how it is; when he calls I can’t say no,” Jisoo looked apologetically at her. Her expression, however, quickly turned into a curious one right after, “Is your weekend maybe the reason why all the people are staring at you like that?” She looked from left to right and saw yet again faces being directed in their direction.

Jennie furrowed her brows a bit, “I really don’t know,” and then recapped the whole weekend for her friend in the matter of some minutes. She’d told her about the party, about meeting Lisa and getting drunk together. She told her about how she’d helped her and that they even watched a movie together.

At the mention of Lisa’s name, Jisoo couldn’t help but get cautious, “So you and Lisa, huh?”

The younger Kim caught up on her tone and only rolled her eyes in response. She knew that Jisoo wasn’t a fan of her – or of what she embodied.

“I really think you should stay away from her,” Jisoo added at last after they entered the main hall. She saw in all these uniformed people machines only, not beings which are capable of compassion and empathy.

“She’s alright, Jichu. Trust me, you should give her a chance,” she said after trying to get through the crowd of students, feeling even more pairs of eyes on herself.

After they were halfway through the masses, someone shouted Jennie’s name and approached her with big steps.

The two girls didn’t register at first what was happening when suddenly a girl came onto the brunette.

“You ! Who do you think you are?!” A girl in the same year as Jisoo appeared with two other girls in tow who tried to hold her back from attacking the brunette physically.

Jennie was startled and scared by the crazed glimmer in her eyes which she could see clearly out of the short distance.

“What did I do?!” Her expression was strained and the good mood of the morning disappeared with her initial calmness.

The girl, however, didn’t respond and only repeated her slurs while her head grew redder with each passing moment. A circle of bystanders had already formed, curious and anticipating of how this drama would unfold.

“He has a girlfriend, you ing !” at that the angry and slightly shocked Jennie faltered already but had at least enough strength to stood still and ask, “Who?”

“Daniel, from the party this weekend! You don’t even remember?” She asked with wide eyes and repeated incredulously to the crowd, “She doesn’t even remember him!”

She turned back to the girl and continued to insult her, “You’ve got that many, huh?”

Jennie’s body froze at the mention of that guy’s name, remembering him vaguely. She didn’t even try to keep her posture intact or try to fend off the crazy, advancing girl who freed herself out of the grip of both her friends.

She pushed Jennie hard and there was nothing her body was able to do except for shutting her eyes close and anticipating the cold, hard floor.

Jisoo was too shocked to intervene on time.

Instead of falling unto the floor, she fell into someone who quickly grabbed her and stabilized her.

The stupor of the crowd continued as the attacking girl watched cautiously the person clad in combat uniform, holding the brunette firmly by the waist. Her expression was neutral but her eyes emitted deadly vibes.

Lisa felt the motionlessness of the brunette beneath her palms and shot a questioning glance to Jisoo who only stared at her in disbelief.

The trashing girl was briefly stopped by her appearance but recommenced with her slurs not long after, “You ing !”

The anger which arose within the soldier skyrocketed in the matter of mere seconds causing her to leave her current position behind Jennie and gesturing for her friend to support her while she was gone.

With slow, heavy steps she walked right into her face without flinching.

“What’s your problem with her?” Lisa’s voice seemed calm but it was internally trembling with rage and the overwhelming urge to teach her a lasting lesson.

The girl, whose two friends had distanced themselves from her and the soldier, was intimidated but her anger veiled her fear.

“ you! She seduced my boyfriend! Ima kick her !” she hurled right into Lisa’s expressionless face and wanted to pass her but was stopped abruptly when she was grabbed harshly by the collar and was brought back to the soldier’s face with force.

Everyone was quiet and stunned, anticipating what would happen next.

“Listen closely you little ,” she began to speak through her clenched teeth – her  voice was so quiet only the now frightened girl could hear her.

“If I ever see you how you lay one dirty finger on her again or direct another word at her, I’ll be the one to make your life a living hell. This,” she strengthened her hold on the collar so hard that the girl felt a significant pressure on , making it hard to breath, “is just the beginning,”

The physical assault washed away her irritation, but it was the cold and dead look in that soldier’s eyes which replaced her anger with trembling muscles in her legs threatening to give in.

“When I let you go, you’ll get lost immediately, understood?”

As if a cat got her tongue she only nodded wide eyed and instantly fled the scene after she was released. She threw one last cautious glance at Jennie and was gone with her friends who had apologized for their friend’s behavior.

When Lisa turned around she saw how tears strolled down Jennie’s face and how Jisoo tried to console her in front of the gawking crowd.

With big steps she returned to the both and pulled her out of Jisoo’s half embrace.

“I’ll take care of her,” Lisa said with an indifferent tone as she brought the smaller brunette close to her body and led her away from the crowd before Jisoo could object.

On the way to a remote bathroom there were many passing students who threw curious glances into their direction, but Lisa did a good job in shielding, refraining any outsiders to see her cry.

All the while she was taken to the bathroom, she was almost like a robot who seemed like a human only when some soft sobs escaped her lungs.

When they’d arrived at the bathroom Lisa let Jennie out of her protective grip and gave her some room to breathe. The soldier offered her some tissues but the brunette stood unresponsive with her head hung low and her hair falling into her face and veiling it in the process.

“Jennie, it’s fine now,” the soldier stepped into her personal space again and gently brought her palm around her jaw, lifting her face with utmost caution.

Her face had been freed from her shielding hair and revealed red, bloodshot eyes and an expression that broke Lisa’s heart a little.

“She won’t hurt you again,” she spoke so softly as if she feared the brunette in front of her would fall completely apart by a higher volume.

With one hand she held her face and with the other she began to eliminate the tears on her face with the tissue.

Jennie didn’t respond and only watched her with her big eyes and then averted her gaze and remained still, letting Lisa do her job.

When the soldier was done she retreated her caring hands but stood close still, waiting for any kind of response.

The brunette immediately missed the warmth the palm of Lisa’s hands emitted and let her head fall on Lisa’s chest.

“I didn’t know that he had a girlfriend, If I’d known..,” Jennie spoke for the first time with her words being muffled. Tears which had threatened to spill over again were immediately caught by the fabric of her uniform.

The soldier felt a bit uneasy albeit she enjoyed her closeness. She just didn’t know how to console people – not that she ever had the desire to. Except for now.

She timidly laid both her hands around Jennie’s petite body and unto her shoulder blades as well as lowering her head so that both their heads were touching with its temples. Without wanting to, the scent of Jennie’s shampoo spread a warmness through Lisa’s body as well as the feel of her silky hair.

 
“Tell me, what happened?” The soldier said with a low voice and kept her firmly in place. She needed to assess the situation otherwise she wouldn’t know what really to say or what to think about it all.

The arms of the brunette who hung freely in the air before now clawed into her back as she heightened the pressure and turned the hug into a tight embrace.

With some breathers to calm down, Jennie finally said, “The guy with whom I’ve danced on this party you were, too, has a girlfriend, it was her,”

“She was so mad because you two just danced?” Lisa asked despite remembering how she’d felt when she saw the both of them. It wouldn’t have been just dancing if the night would’ve continued on without Lisa interfering and taking the brunette home with her.

“To be honest, I don’t think I would’ve woken up in my own home if it weren’t for you,” Jennie admitted quietly into Lisa’s chest, glad that she didn’t have to look into her eyes.

The soldier was momentarily overwhelmed with a pang of jealously after her assumption proved to be right.

“Do you often wake up in someone else’s home?” Lisa asked hesitantly after a prolonged moment where she had to get her thoughts straight.

“Sometimes,” her voice was quiet and strained, almost inaudible due to Jennie talking right into her chest. But Lisa could hear it clearly and there were suddenly so many emotions cursing through her veins.

The brunette’s grip on her back weakened and eventually left their place and went to her sides. The stirring caused the soldier to loosen the embrace as well and detach their bodies from each other.

“Jennie,” Lisa said now more firmly, causing her to lift her head to meet the soldier’s gaze, “It’s not your fault, it’s his fault for not telling you and leading you on,”

“And it’s that fault to date such an ,” she added and uttered the sentence with much resentment. She hated how they had hurt her but she hated even more so to be as affected as she was.

Today a side of the brunette was revealed that she could’ve never guessed even though she was a master in reading people and classifying their personalities.

She was surprised albeit she wasn’t.

She thought back to how the brunette was at the party and more importantly how she was when Lisa watched a movie with her yesterday.

She had been different and although the soldier hadn’t found a category for her behavior, it was now clear. Jennie’s duality impressed her greatly regardless of the whirlwind of emotions it caused her.

“But,” The brunette said as she aggressively rubbed her eyes to wipe away the last tears.

“No buts,” Lisa interrupted her firmly, “It’s not your fault, you’re a great person and you didn’t do anything wrong,” Jennie nodded weakly and was partly convinced by the firmness of her voice and her affirmative glance, enabling a small smile to crack open her sad face.

Slowly the brunette regained her posture and began to break through her own accusations and realized fully that it was Lisa being so close and holding her caringly at her waist. And seeing her probably smudged, tear streaked face.

Quickly she turned around and went to the sink. She turned the faucet on and splashed her face weakly with cold water and drying it afterwards, erasing all the places the make-up went astray.

The soldier used the minute Jennie used to fix her appearance to watch her closely.

She was wearing tight black leggings with white elements circling around her calves, emphasizing on her thin but well-shaped legs. She paired it with black, short boots, a black long top and a cream brown coat.

Lisa had zero clue about fashion but knew by instinct that Jennie had about every clue regarding fashion.

Simple but elegant – effortlessly beautiful.

“I’m sorry,” Lisa hadn’t noticed in her admiration that the girl already turned off the faucet and watched her through the mirror. Did Jennie see how Lisa checked her out?

“For what?” Lisa cleared and stood straighter when she saw that Jennie’s eyes had shed the previous dullness and grew sharper again.

“I feel like you always have to take care of me,” a mirthless chuckle escaped her lips as she turned around and faced Lisa, propping herself against the sink with both her hands resting firmly at the edges.

“Your adorableness makes up for it,” No two seconds passed after these words had been said that Jennie’s face lit up in positive surprise as her brows rose significantly and she looked incredulously at the soldier.

She really hadn’t expected anything like that.

The soldier mimicked her expression weakly as she, too, was surprised that these words had slipped . She felt as her cheeks began to get hot and she was sure that a weak red started to taint them.

Jennie started to laugh and held automatically a hand in front of , covering her gummy smile. She pointed with her other finger to the soldier who grew infinitely embarrassed.

“Forget I said that, you’re a noisy brat,” She said but both knew there was no real annoyance that could be found in her voice and was merely a weak reaction to being teased.

“A noisy, adorable brat?” Her laughter quieted down and turned into chuckles as she looked at her with puppy eyes and came closer to her.

Lisa mustered her with a seemingly annoyed but affectionate glance and answered lastly with a simple no to the expectant girl.

They both laughed and shortly after the soldier lit one cigarette to calm her nerves, exasperating the smaller one.

“Lisa, you can’t just smoke here!” she exclaimed but nonetheless accepted with barely any hesitation the cigarette Lisa had offered her. She never before had smoked in the school and it thrilled her, lifting her spirits altogether.

The faint fear of getting caught was outnumbered by the tingling feelings going through her veins even though hardly anyone came here right after the bell had rung.

The characteristic smell of cigarette smoke quickly stretched throughout the whole bathroom and Jennie enjoyed the familiar feel when the smoke hit her lungs. The thrill subsided slightly and serenity slowly soothed the brunette, enabling her to have reasonable thoughts again after all the drama.

“What are you actually doing here? You’re never here on Mondays,” Jennie asked and mustered her combat uniform again, making it the second time she’d seen her in it while being on schoolgrounds.

“I’m here to pick up our new schedule. Many have complained after the events of Friday, so now they want to us fully integrate into this school,” Lisa huffed, visibly displeased by spending more time with boring classes instead of doing drills or shooting.

“Oh, so you’ll be here all week long now?” These news made Jennie happy but the way she’d expressed it didn’t convey this sentiment.

“Contain your happiness, will you?” The soldier with a crooked smile and bumped their shoulder together.

“I’m really happy, I swear! We could all hangout together. You and Rosie and me and Jisoo!” Jennie grew more excited by the second, “Do you know which classes you’ll get in addition?”

Lisa couldn’t help the genuine smile as she saw her excitement. It actually made her looking forward to it more than she did before.

“I don’t know anything yet but I’ll be sure to tell you first,”

“Thank you,” Lisa loved the way Jennie’s eyes were always sparkling with such genuineness and hated the thought about people doing her wrong. How could this precious girl ever do something with malicious intent?   

“What do you want to do next?” Lisa asked after a short, comfortable silence.

Jennie sighed and leaned her head against Lisa’s hard shoulder, linking her right arm with Lisa’s left one, “I don’t know, I really don’t want to go to any classes,”

The soldier didn’t have to suppress the smile her action caused because Jennie couldn’t see her face for she was focused on the smoke peacefully rising into the air.

“Come with me then, I’m free today,” Lisa suggested and Jennie’s gaze immediately shifted from the cigarette to her face.

“Are you sure? I really just wanna hide from the world today,”

Lisa finished the cigarette and gently brushed Jennie off to throw her cigarette away.

“Here,” She pressed the key to her expensive car into her palm, “You can go ahead, I’ll just pick up the new schedule,”

Jennie raised her brows at that sudden display of trust but didn’t forget to nod in response.

She timidly took it and drew her finger over the symbol of the brand.

Lisa was ready to go but before she could do so, Jennie stepped in front of her and brought both her hands to each of her shoulders and leaned in. The soldier, within the short time of realizing what she was about to do, thought that she would hug her but instead Jennie brought her soft lips to her cheek and kissed it tenderly.

It was short but it was a sensation to remember – coupled with her intoxicating scent it was branded into her memory now for a long time. A certain hotness spread from the place Jennie had just kissed down her body, making her knees almost buckle.

 
Jennie knew she caught her off guard and delivered a last, fatal strike to Lisa’s sanity, “You know how to make women happy, don’t you?”

The brunette smirked at her and squeezed her shoulders affirmatively before she went ahead, leaving a paralyzed soldier behind.  

Before Lisa could proceed to go to the director, she needed to splash her face several times with cold, cold water to disperse the pressing hotness inside quickly.

When she was done she scrutinized herself in the mirror with a worried expression.

She knew that this wasn’t normal.

She knew that Jennie was a girl but damn – she’s just so attractive.