8:23 pm

She isn't going to come, is she? Xueer feels like such a fool for thinking that Xu Jiaqi, badass extraordinaire, would actually come over to her arch nemesis' house. Why did I care so much about her coming over or not anyway? Oh yeah, she remembers. She kind of made-out with her and she sort of enjoyed it. Or maybe she’s just pissed that she ordered one large pizza, and that it's going to go to total waste.

Sure, that must be it.

She’s about to plop herself on the couch and drown in self-pityness when she hears the doorbell ring. She makes her way towards the door, pondering if she had forgotten to tip the pizza guy. Unlocking the door, she comes across the one person she was looking forward to seeing.

"Jiaqi!" The redhead exclaims a little too loud and way too excited considering the look the short haired girl is giving her right now.

"Princess." She nods curtly and slightly annoyed already.

"I thought you weren't going to come." She mutters while fiddling with her hands. It baffles her just how nervous Jiaqi seems to make her whenever she's in close distance with her. A feeling that she’s far from used too.

"I thought you invited me over." Jiaqi responds with a smirk.

"Yeah, but you're kind of late…"

"Oh, come on. Never heard of the term 'fashionably late'? And here I thought you had royal blood." She feigns shock as she puts her hand over her trademark black tank top-covered chest.

Xueer rolls her eyes before glaring at her. She’s been giving a lot of those lately. They just don't seem to have the same intensity as they used too, though.

"So …" The cheerleader dares to say, trying to start a conversation.

"So… are you going to let me in or are we going to work on the doorsteps?" Jiaqi chortles, obviously amused at the other girl’s uneasiness.

"Oh, right! Sorry..." Xueer blushes as she steps aside to let her in.

"I thought we could work in my bedroom if that's okay with you?"

"Beats me." She shrugs while examining her surroundings.

"I hope you like pizza with pepperoni topping?" She says in a sing-song voice, feeling the need to make her guest feel as comfortable as she can.

"Hey, any free food is good food with me." The badass answers, while raising her eyebrows.

Xueer quietly laughs at her comment and leads her up the stairs and to her room. The amusement is written all over the taller’s face the moment she walks in.

"Okay, what's so hilarious again?" The redhead asks sighing heavily.

"I was just thinking; 'Gee, I wish I had a room just like yours'" She replies sarcastically.

"What? You jealous of my mega-cool room?" She grins.

"Oh of course. Gosh, pink really is, like, the new black right? So totally awesome!" She says in her best Valley girl-voice.

"Whatever you say… if you want to I can come and decorate yours." Xueer suggests with a little too much flirt lacing her voice than she had planned.

"Yeah." She mumbles with a more serious tone, dropping down her gaze to the ground. Way to spoil the mood again, Xueer.

"Uhm so, poetry!" She practically screeches in attempt to break the tension.

"Yeah, poetry!" Jiaqi replies with almost the same tone as the other.

"I think the bed's probably the most comfortable place we can sit on. You go ahead and sit down, I'm going to grab the pizza from downstairs and get some drinks." Xueer says while pointing towards the bed.

"Cool." She nods.

The redhead heads downstairs to the kitchen, grabs the pizza and drinks and quickly heads back up. When she enters her room, she finds Jiaqi huddled over a well filled box in a corner. She contemplates whether she should interrupt her or not.

Xueer has an urge to simply let her do whatever she wants, as long as she can watch. Just simply watch her being her. Study her assets, her movements, her expressions, everything that makes Jiaqi the girl she is. She quietly observes her for a few minutes while she ruffles through the box with a certain gentleness, as if she's afraid to damage the contents.

"So, I see you found my secret stash of vintage vinyl’s." Finally, Xueer decides to interrupt after some minutes, smiling shyly as she places the pizza and beverage on the bed.

"I'm sorry, I was just… watching …" The badass stutters, clearly startled by her sudden voice. Jiaqi apologizing and stuttering is definitely a first in Xueer’s book. Or anyone’s, for that matter.

"Hey, it's okay. I have no problem with it. Watch all you want. It might earn my room a couple of much needed cool points." She laughs.

"You got some classic records down here." Jiaqi states surprised.

"You act shocked."

"Yeah well, I thought you were more into Brit and ina." She chuckles as she looks the other girl straight in the eye.

"Well, there are a lot of things you don't know about me." Xueer chooses to say, mimicking Jiaqi’s tone from earlier that day.

She, in turn, flashes her a genuine smile, and hovers back over the box to continue looking through the LP's.

"Seriously though, The Beatles?" Jiaqi asks her in disbelief.

Xueer rolls her eyes again and makes her way towards the short haired girl. She sits cross-legged on the floor next to her and leaves a respectable margin between them. Trying as hard as she can to not ruin the lighthearted mood this time around.

"A few years ago, a friend dragged me to one of those flea markets and-"

"Wait, wait. You in a flea market? Please, tell me you took pictures?" She asks highly amused.

"I'm telling you, if you let this out to anyone, I'm going to hunt you down like a dog." The redhead warns in a low voice and with a threatening finger pointed to Jiaqi.

"I won't tell, I promise. Cross my heart." She grins.

"Good. Anyway, I was telling a story before I was rudely interrupted." She states while staring her down. The badass holds up her hands in apologetic manner and gestures for her to continue.

"So, I was shuffling through the market, beyond bored when suddenly I see the most amazing thing ever. And I mean like, ever ever. And to my own surprise it wasn't a Dolce Gabbana outfit or the latest Apple device, not that you find those things in flea markets anyway." She pauses while shrugging her shoulders, making the short haired girl flash her a large smile again that urges her to carry on. "Anyway, it was this small portable phonograph in a polished mahogany suitcase. I know, so not me. The thing is, I barely ever had seen one in my entire life and yet I was intrigued the moment I saw it. It's just, I can't explain it, but I was immediately drawn by it. I was head over heels, and I just had to have it. And the guy that sold it to me handed me two Beatles records on top of it. And I remember like the first weeks, I didn't even dare to touch it. I just put it on my drawer and just cherished by watching it or whatever. But one day my grandpa came to visit and he actually taught how to play the records properly. And that's when I fell in love for the second time."

"You fell in love with your Grandpa?" Jiaqi playfully asks her, slightly disgusted.

"No, moron. I fell in love with The Beatles. Which I guess is even worse since that kind of sums up my love life of the last few years." She says while rolling her eyes and it earns her a soft chuckle. "And ever since, I've been rummaging flea market after flea market, in the hopes to find some rare LP's. But again, that's my secret and nobody has to know about it." Xueer jokingly threatens her one more time.

Stillness fills the room again, as the cheerleader sees the badass’ eyes shift from the LP's to her own eyes, only to be averted back to the records.

"I'm sorry, I can babble people's heads off obviously. You probably loathe me even more now." Xueer explains while letting out a nervous laugh.

"No, it's cool. That was an interesting story to say the least." She responds sincerely.

Their eyes lock again. And this time neither of them shift their gazes. Honey orbs meet chestnut ones and together they mix into a story of their own.

Xueer feels Jiaqi’s soul slowly pouring into hers as she herself experiences the same sensations she felt that blissful night. Her breathing slowly quickens as she undergoes a fluttery feeling in her stomach.

She shifts her eyes from the short haired girl’s towards her full lips, and notices that they're slightly parted. The cheerleader could've sworn that she saw her tongue gently her lips, but maybe her mind could've simply been playing tricks on her. She sees Jiaqi’s lips move and she hears a faint voice in the background. Not registrating what is said, she simply keeps on observing her lips. Her delicious lips. She quickly shakes her head of all her thoughts, when reality finally hits her of how stupid and moronic she probably looks right now.

"I'm sorry, what?" She asks hoarsely.

"I said we should probably get to that poem."

"Oh, yeah, you're right." Xueer says nervously, quickly getting up. "The pizza's probably too cold to eat." She adds guiltily, wondering just how long they sat there in that dark forgotten corner of her room.

"It's okay, I wasn't that hungry in the first place." Jiaqi shrugs, while getting up herself too.

"Well, let's start then." She exclaims once she plops hersel