~~~

     Nayeon's gotten 3 songs in and is a little buzzed. They went light on the alcohol, so they could enjoy their time without incident. Well, she did. 
     On the fifth rotation, she takes Sana with her to the bathroom. She finishes washing her hands and tells Nayeon she's going to put more time on the room and leaves Nayeon in front of the mirror, retouching her makeup. 
     Nayeon opens the bathroom door and collides with the person on the other side. 
     "Oh, hey. My bad." She says, holding on to keep them both up.
     Her eyes are on the ground when a lock of blue hair sweeps across her vision. Nayeon's spine locks and she sends up a quick prayer. She releases her hold, but refuses to straighten as a sweet voice asks, "Are you okay?"
     Now Nayeon's choices are limited, and her heart already feels like it's exploding. But she's had a couple of drinks already and for the most part, she's been able to not think about… well, her. And her confidence is up, and not just from the liquid courage. She could probably hold a… Well, maybe not a whole conversation. But she could definitely do single-word replies or hum. And that's just if she wants to speak. 
     She could choose to ignore… her, per tonight's arrangement… While that might be an option, somewhere in her alcohol-addled brain, says that that's probably, most likely, debatably a bad idea. 
     Besides, most of them are drunk (lightweights). And Mo-- She doesn't know Nayeon's drinking habits. So if worse comes to worst, she can pretend to be totally hosed and blame whatever trainwreck she gets into, on that.
     Nayeon straightens and looks Momo dead in the eye. And gives her her most addictive smile. Bunny teeth out, gums exposed, everything. It's the smile she uses when she's schmoozing or ridiculously excited. The smile even an annoyed Jeongyeon can't help but react to. 
     And the effect is instantaneous. Some of the tension Nayeon had been trying not to notice all night drains from Momo's body and she gives a tentative, shy smile in return. Nayeon's cheeks stretch wider at what feels like a huge accomplishment, before answering Momo's question. 
     Her voice is playful, teasing almost as she nods in her cute bunny way, humming. Something that continues to aggravate Jihyo to no end, but has the opposite effect on Momo. 
     "Sorry for almost running you down there. Are you okay?" Nayeon could hug herself for getting through a complete sentence. 
Momo nods this time, and Nayeon returns the motion, satisfied with the interaction. This definitely counts as progress. She turns to leave and makes it a single step when Momo's hand tugs on her shoulder. 
     "Wait, I… "
     Nayeon is a full advocate for pushing your luck, but she doesn't want to jinx it if this was a fluke. She'd rather retreat now before something bad happens. But Momo seems determined to say something to her, perhaps something about… Nayeon shakes off the thought before it can fully manifest and turns back slowly to face Momo. She gives Momo a nervous smile and braces herself for the worst. But Momo is not looking at her. She's staring at the ground, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. When she does finally look up, she runs her tongue over the top row of her teeth. Nayeon's focus is sharp as her eyes follow the motion. Heat pricks the back of her neck and she fights to keep from fidgeting. Momo lowers her hand and starts twisting the ring on her finger. 
     "I… um, I…" Momo starts. Her eyes shift from Nayeon to the ground then back again. 
     Nayeon feels bad, because this whole mess is her fault, and she wants to ease Momo's discomfort, but she feels like if she goes first she'll be taking something away from Momo. 
     On the other hand, when you do wrong, you should take the initiative to fix it. Besides, Nayeon always makes the first move. And has the last word. And is quick on the return, but those last two aren't helpful in this situation. 
     "I'm sorry, " she says, hoping Momo can feel her sincerity. "I promise I'm not usually…" She shakes her head. It is not about her. What she's usually like doesn't have anything to do with how she made Momo feel.
     "I've been making you uncomfortable and I… really that wasn't my intent. But I… I'm really sorry for scaring you. I promise I was going to stop showing up at your job. And I didn't know you were gonna be here. I only came, because Sana-- you know Sana, right-- she forced me. I didn't even know you knew Sana. Or that you guys are close. Well, I didn't know that before tonight." Nayeon's rambling now but she can't seem to stop. Momo looks at her with mild surprise. Her lips are just barely parted and her eyebrows are raised. If she still had anything to say, it looks like she's forgotten as she listens to Nayeon rant.
     "I guess we go to the same school too. But I've never seen you there. Sana said something about the people from the art department being here. Did she mean you or a… your friend from the store? What's her name, Chae… Chaeng… Chaeyoung? Um, you guys seem close. You even work together." Nayeon interrupts herself with nervous laughter, but it isn't enough to stop the slough of word vomit. "I think she kind of hates me though. I mean I can't really blame her, if she's being protective of you and if you guys are, like, really close or something. I don't mean like you're da-dating. But if you were, that would be cool too. I mean you are probably with someone or… I mean seeing…'' Nayeon feels a rush of heat on her forehead that systematically sweeps downward. Dusting her cheeks to her neck, it even crawls down her back. Slow and consuming. Her eyes shoot to the floor, no longer able to keep Momo's stare.
     "Sorry, I don't know why I just said that. I must be drunk, " she whispers. 
     Momo's cute giggle eases some of Nayeon's fears that she's freaked Momo out again, but it is undeniable that she's making a fool of herself. 
     "Nayeon, right? " Momo asks. 
     Nayeon watches as she walks closer. She nods, still staring down. 
     "Chaeng is in the art department, but we are not together like that. "
     Nayeon just nods again. 
     Momo pauses before going on softer this time like she's trying to coax Nayeon into looking at her. 
     "Thank you. I… you didn't scare me. I just wasn't sure what you wanted, but I could tell you wanted to say something to me. I was just a little nervous."
     Nayeon nods again, looking up at Momo from below her lashes.
     There's another pause, then Momo says, "Did you want to say something to me? "
     Nayeon her lips and looks back at the ground. Only Momo could make her feel like this. Only Momo has made her feel like this. 
     She nods again but remains silent. 
     "Okay." Momo prods, taking another step closer, peeking beneath Nayeon's defenses to catch her eye. "What is it? "
     Nayeon mouths the word, but it's too quick for Momo to catch it. She waits patiently for Nayeon to repeat herself. 
     "Hi," she says in a small voice. "I wanted to tell you, hi."
     "Oh," Momo says, straightening.
     Nayeon nods again, squeezing her eyes shut. 
     This feels worse than the ranting. But when Momo asked her what she wanted to say, it was the only thing that came to mind, because it was the absolute truth. For the past two weeks, Nayeon would have killed just to say a single word to this woman. She would have done anything for the opportunity to introduce herself. Anything for that courage. 
     So, yes. Hi, that is exactly what she wanted to say to Momo and she feels like a complete moron because of that.
     "Hi, I'm Momo."
     Nayeon opens her eyes to see a hand outstretched in front of her. She follows the limb to find that it truly is attached to the most beautiful person she's ever seen. Suddenly, they're back in that store, standing across from each other with a cash register between them, and Nayeon is feeling things she didn't think she was capable of.
     Again, Momo is waiting patiently for Nayeon, but this time there is no one to interrupt them. Momo's smile this time is more sure, and again Nayeon gets that feeling of Momo's cool collectedness.
     Nayeon gingerly reaches to take Momo's hand. Right before their skin makes contact Nayeon hesitates, giving Momo the opportunity to retract, but the offer stands. Nayeon revels in the soft warmth of Momo's palm. It is a reprieved contrast to the scorching she experienced before. A second too late she wonders if her hand is sweaty, but Momo doesn't seem to mind so she refocuses her attention to Momo's eyes.
     What were they doing again? Oh yeah, introductions.
     "Hi Momo, I'm Nayeon. Hi, Momo." The name echoes throughout her entire being. She has to bite her lip to keep it from spilling out.
     Momo
     Momo
     Momo
     Momo
     Momo
     Maybe Nayeon is a little obsessed. Maybe more than a little. Maybe more than maybe. 
     Momo
     Momo
     Nayeon is definitely obsessed. But not in a creepy way. Hopefully. 

     She pulls her hand away as if she's been burned, wiping it unceremoniously on her blouse. Momo gives her a strange look.
     "No… I … sorry. Sorry." Nayeon stutters. "I thought it was sweaty. That's all. I swear. Not that I didn't want to hold your hand. I'd love to hold your hand… again. Or… Ah." Nayeon sighs. She runs her fingers through her hair, frustrated. 
      "You really should have let me leave instead of making an of myself." She whines.
      Momo chuckles. "It wasn't that bad."
      "You're only saying that, 'cause you're not the one who can't get through a normal sentence like a regular human being."
      "It's cute. I think it's cute."
      "No," Nayeon says, putting her face in her palms and shaking her head. "It isn't."
      "You are."
      Nayeon freezes then lower her hands slowly to look up at Momo. She has an expectant grin on her face, that Nayeon has no ability to decipher. But she hopes it's a good thing. It feels like a good thing. 
      'Thanks, I think you're cute too. Wanna hang out sometime,' Is what Nayeon should say. In fact, she does. In her head. Out loud what is verbalized is, "That's not right!"
      Again, Momo gives her a weird look and she backtracks.
     "I mean, how is that possible? I haven't done anything remotely cute since we met two weeks ago. Honestly, how can you stand being near me right now?" Nayeon asks openly. She expected Momo to not want anything to do with her after finding out why Nayeon's been hounding her, but instead, here she is trying to hold a conversation with Nayeon. It's kind of nice, but mostly confusing because Nayeon is the bad guy in this situation and usually after the victim gets their closure, they shun their perpetrator. 
      At first, Nayeon thought Momo was just being nice, but now she might be… flirting? Which is still nice, but again confusing because Nayeon was still determined to avoid her. Maybe not for the rest of the night. At least not the way she has been for the majority of the evening. But she needed to give Momo space, mainly so she could get over her, but also because how she has been behaving is not healthy. 
     Momo her lower lip between her teeth and looks at Nayeon mildly perturbed. "I wasn't that bothered. "
     Nayeon shakes her head denying the other woman's own feelings. "Sana said you were going to call the police."
     "She was being dramatic. I told you I wasn't scared." Momo insists. 
     Nayeon shakes her head again. "I was being weird and menacing. Just admit that you hated it."
     "You were being weird, and I wished you'd said something sooner, but I didn't get any bad vibes from you." Momo exasperates, extending her arms to Nayeon, palms up. "If anything, it was all bad timing and your evasiveness was adding to the stress I was already feeling. But you couldn't have known that, so I don't blame you. And you shouldn't either. "
     Nayeon chews the inside of her cheek to keep herself from interjecting. 
     "Sorry if I came off as unapproachable," Momo says gently. 
     "No… no, it wasn't… you were fine. Really, I was being weird. I don't even know what came over me." Nayeon releases a long sigh then takes a deep breath. "Look, can we just start over."
     Momo giggles. "I thought that's what we were  doing."
     "Yeah but I messed that one up. Re-retry?"
     "There's no need. Like I said you're fine. Don't worry about it."
     Nayeon nods once, pursing her lips. She gestures to the bathroom door. "You were going to use it, right? 
     Momo's features morph to realization as she turns to go into the restroom. "I'll see you back in there," she calls out before the door shuts.
     Nayeon leans her full weight on the wall, exhausted by this interaction. She managed to talk to Momo, but she isn't sure where their conversation puts her. The possibility for normal conversation looms near, but she still feels guilty. No matter what Momo says, Nayeon knows when someone is uncomfortable. She's especially good at telling when she's the cause of said discomfort. But if Momo is going out of her way to assure Nayeon, does that mean… Does Momo want to get to know her, too? Or is she reading into things? 
     No closer to finding the answer and already feeling the weight of the situation dragging her down, Nayeon trudges back to the room, hoping to find solace in Sana's embrace. 
     When she gets there, however, the only thing she finds is a heated munchkin trying to rouse the other attendees against her. 
     When Nayeon enters the room everyone's attention beams to her.
     Chaeyoung points to her and says, "Well you can ask her yourself."
     The timing , as she's still confused about the Momo situation, but Chaeyoung's attitude has been bugging her all night. Whatever she was saying about Nayeon before she entered the room couldn't have been good and judging by the way the others were looking at her, it's probably not something she can deny. Not that she wants to at this point. She has just about lost the capacity to give any more s and this is a problem she was promised she wouldn't have to think about for the night at least. 
     "Ask me what?" Nayeon says, shutting the door pointedly and looking at Chaeyoung. 
     "Look, guys, we came to have fun, right? Let's not let this ruin the night." Sana jumps in, standing in front of Nayeon.
     Chaeyoung just scoffs, directing her anger towards Sana, "You were literally talking about how you'd destroy whoever was harassing Momo, and now you just wanna drop it now that person's right in front of you. 
     "I'm just saying we only had one side of the story and right now isn't the time to get into all of that." Sana refutes.
     "Wait, so is it true?" Irene butts in. She's looking at Nayeon like she's never seen her before, it really is all just bad timing. 
     Nayeon isn't the type to entertain this much drama, not usually, anyway. While Jeongyeon's method of problem-solving is to look at the issue from all sides and ask questions, and Jihyo's is to face it down directly, Nayeon is generally fond of the avoidance tactic. While yes, that sometimes means ignoring the problem itself and waiting for it to go away, there is also another caveat to this method that works wonders. It's a little performance. A small white lie in that what she says and does, doesn't necessarily match the truth of her feelings, but once carried out, people get the message. Whatever she wants them to get, that is.
     "If this is about me stalking Momo, then I guess it's true, well kinda," Nayeon says retaking her seat. She reaches for a fry and dips it in ketchup before reclining into the sofa. The epitome of unbothered grace.
     She looks at Chaeyoung and rolls her eyes before shifting her gaze to Irene.
     "I admit, I took it too far, but I just wanted her attention."
     Wendy scoffs, "I don't remember you stalking Irene before the two of you started dating."
     "Yeah, well, it wasn't intentional, trust. But I got flustered, and well…" Nayeon shrugs, motioning to the monitor flashing song titles. "Who's next?"
     "You don't really expect us to let this go, do you?"
     "I don't know what you want me to say. I had a crush. I'm getting over it. No big deal." Nayeon just about convinces herself.
     Just then the sound of the door closing brings the group's attention that way. It's Momo, returning from the restroom to catch Nayeon's last comment. 
     For the brief second they make eye contact, Nayeon feels her mask slip, but before she can completely break character, Chaeyoung speaks up.
     "You expect us to believe you did all that, 'cause you like Momo? I do--"
     "Correction," Nayeon interrupts, back in control of her narrative. "Liked, as in past tense. Or did you miss the part where I said I'm getting over her? Like you said, Tiny, it was ed." Chaeyoung bristles at the nickname but doesn't interrupt. "And I certainly wasn't having any fun. Besides, not that it's any of your business, but I already told Momo I was gonna stay away from her. So it's done."
     Nayeon catches Momo's look of shock and disappointment through her periphery but ignores it. 
     In fact, she ignores Momo for the rest of the night. After Wendy and Joy have their fun mocking Nayeon, everything else settles and they get back to singing. Irene is more subdued for the rest of the night though. She even leaves early. 
     Nayeon carries on in her act, outwardly unbothered and having fun, but inwardly dying and miserable. Each time she pretends not to see Momo trying to get her attention, another stone is added to the weight on her chest.

     "Did you have fun?" Sana says, sliding over to Nayeon. They're the last ones there, well them and Tzuyu, but she rode with Sana, so she's just waiting, tapping away on her phone.
     Nod.
     "You know for a second there, I thought you'd fixed it yourself, but somehow this seems worse." Sana continues when Nayeon doesn't say anything. Sana had also noticed the tension between the group after the stunt Chaeyoung pulled. Tension from Chaeyoung, directed towards Nayeon, of course. And tension from Irene is also directed towards Nayeon. But the strangest of all was Momo. 
     She couldn't keep her eyes off Nayeon either. And every time she tried to get Nayeon's attention, her efforts went ignored. The disappointed look on Momo's face almost made Sana yell at Nayeon four times, but she held herself back. 
     Though Nayeon seemed fine, Sana knew her near breakdown earlier wasn't faked, and if this was what she needed to keep it together for at least one night, then Sana would leave her be. But only for tonight. First thing tomorrow she planned on knocking down her door and setting her straight. 
     Nayeon simply nods again to her question, and Sana sighs.
     "Well, if nothing else, at least she isn't so afraid of you anymore."
     Again, a placid nod.
     "Nayeon, are you really not gonna say anything?"
     "There's nothing to say. Like I told them; like I told her-- I'm over it."
     "You were seconds away from bawling your eyes out like four hours ago, do you really expect me to believe you got over her that quickly? "
     "It's like you said, she's just a person, and after talking to her I realized how crazy I've been acting, and I just wanted to stop. That's all."
     "Fine, then why'd you still have to ignore her?"
     "We're strangers, Sana. We had nothing to talk about. Again like you said, she had her friends and I had mine." 
     "You know what, whatever. It's late and I need to get Tzuyu back home."
     "I'm fine unnie," Tzuyu looks up from her phone waving Sana off.
     "Regardless, you want a ride?" Sana asks Nayeon. 
     Another nod. 
     And so the night ends.