Guess who's back?! LOL After my long vacation (I was in and out of the city so I didn't have time to write), but I finally got inspired to write! :D 

*celebrates*

After writing this, I just did a quick read and did some editing here and there. I can't afford to be editing a lot since it is FINALS!! T_T Let's all cry together. ><

Anyway... here it is!

Chapter Twenty

It was the afternoon when Tiffany would be arriving; however, the blonde was still busy adding some decorations in the former’s new bedroom. The blonde skimmed the room as she held a big digital tablet in her hand. She eyed the gray walls and followed the silver swirls that accentuated its design; it was perfect, she thought. Even though she wasn’t that picky with wall designs or colors, she would just take anything but pink. She was well-aware that Tiffany liked the color, and that was the very reason why most of her things still had pink on them; she just wouldn’t settle for a toddler’s room. Not even if it was the girl’s color. That was too tacky for a twenty-one-year-old woman to have that design; in addition, it was Jessica’s condominium. Her friends and family wouldn’t let her live it down. Ever. It wasn’t like she really cared what they thought, it was just so that they wouldn’t have anything on her to bug her. Taeyang would have a party if he saw the pink room in Jessica’s home; Heechul would tell her that it would get her V-card stamped in a sarcastic manner; Sunny would just stay there forever; her father would just look at her and tell her it was fine as long as Jessica liked it; her mother would have a heart attack; Hyomin would call her whipped; her grandparents would be surprised and would say they never knew the blonde liked pink. So no. Everything was fine. Anything was fine. Just no to pink.

Pressing a button on the tablet, the black-out curtains began to slowly shut, darkening the room. She then pressed another button as she looked at her ceiling. She frowned, not believing the situation. The stars that she was looking forward to - she wanted to see the smile Tiffany would flash to her when she would see this - was not working. How the hell was that even possible when the crew that worked on this tested this just when she arrived from New York? Was it possible that she pressed the wrong button? She looked at the monitor and it was just as they instructed, but it was still off; she then turned it on and off again and again as though it would magically work; well, to some extent, it did. Some of the lights , but it still wasn’t enough. There might be some problem with the circuit or the program itself so she couldn’t just try to fix it herself. And even if it was something, she wouldn’t even know what to do with it since it wasn’t her forte.

Disappointed, the blonde looked at her watch - Tiffany’s plane already landed - there just wasn’t any way for her to have someone fix it in time. The blonde closed her eyes as she sighed; there wasn’t anything she could do so she would just get in touch with the crew so they could work on it. But that didn’t stop her from feeling frustrated. She also looked forward to showing it to Tiffany.

The blonde hurried, gathering her things; she looked back once to see if the room was perfect, and it was, minus the stars on the ceiling. Maybe she should hide the remote from Tiffany so she wouldn’t know about the surprise when it got fixed. She then skimmed the room once again as she grabbed the tablet. The bed was made: check. Lights on: check. Pink and yellow flowers: check. She then opened Tiffany’s walk-in-closet and  saw the organized new clothes she got for the girl. Ever since the argument in New York, Tiffany agreed she would be fine with Jessica’s presents for as long as they weren’t expensive like the shops they went into in the Big Apple. The blonde didn’t not follow Tiffany’s rule since most of the things there were still under a hundred dollars each; that was more than half the prices of the other shirts they were looking at. And Jessica knew Yoona had some contribution to Tiffany’s change of heart, which she reminded herself that she owed the girl a huge favor.

“Incoming call. Please say ‘Answer’ or ‘Ignore’,” her bluetooth said.

“Answer,” she said as she started to jog towards her door. It must be Tiffany since she  already landed not long ago. “Hello?”

“What are you up to?”

“Hyomin?” the blonde said in a surprised tone.

“What? I can’t call you? I just called to tell you that Grandpa’s fine with you, me, Sunny, and Tiffany going to the villa,” Hyomin said. Since she couldn’t invite everyone in their peer, she simply made it so that it would be her cousin and her girlfriend with them; at least she could say they were both invited and only one person each could accompany them. That would just make things more bearable since she still wasn’t in contact with Taeyeon despite daily text messages from the girl, apologizing for her actions. However, that still didn’t make Jessica feel any better; at least not to a point where she forgave the girl. Maybe eventually, she would be able to face Taeyeon and not feel bitterness in her heart. But right now, at this very moment, she just still couldn’t fathom the fact that Taeyeon knew about her feelings and still played with her. “We’re going next weekend, right?”

She was really late. She should’ve just gotten ready earlier. She cursed the stars in her head for malfunctioning. “Yeah. I didn’t talk to Tiffany about it yet, but I’m sure she’ll be thrilled,” she said as she headed to her car, jogging.

“Why are you panting?”

The blonde opened her car so she could head to the airport. “I’m rushing since I’m late.”

“Huh? You don’t have work today. It’s Saturday. What are you late for?”

“Tiffany,” she answered plainly.

“Oh, right. Your girlfriend is arriving today,” Hyomin ended with a hum, and Jessica could actually see the smile on her cousin just based on her voice.

Rolling her eyes, the blonde said, “She’s not my girlfriend, and she actually arrived not long ago.”

“No wonder you’re in a hurry. I’m actually surprised you’re running because of someone.”

“What made you think I’m running?”

“Your panting?”

“Whatever,” Jessica said as she got in the car.

“But Jessica, don’t you think you should just date Tiffany? You’re already doing so much for the girl, and you’re even going to live together. I just find it hard to believe that you haven’t even realized that you like the girl.”

Here they went again; they already discussed this several times before. Just when Tiffany seemed to be ignoring her, Hyomin said this; just when she flew to New York, she discussed this with the blonde; when they were at the bar, finding out Tiffany would live with her, she expressed her approval. Shouldn’t there a limit to her persistence? “ off! Like I told you before, I just can’t love her more than I care for her now. I do care and like her a lot, but nothing more than a close friend.” She acknowledged that there was something about Tiffany that wasn’t hard to fall in love with; it wasn’t like the girl was a horrible person, she actually was almost perfect. However, that was the very reason she didn’t want to even think or dare loving the girl more than as a friend. She did that with Taeyeon, and look where it got her. She wasn’t brave enough to wager on her friendship with Tiffany as she was never ready with Taeyeon.

“But Jessica don’t you think it might just work? Tiffany’s not the type to discriminate just because of gender so I’m sure she’ll actually give you a chance.”

“Why are you pushing me to dating Tiffany?” Jessica asked as she started to drive towards the exit of her garage. She really just wouldn’t understand why her cousin and best friend in New York would be pushing for her to date Tiffany. Didn’t they consider Jessica’s feelings? She didn’t want to try anything more with the people she cared about the most now. It would’ve just been better to go out on dates in hopes to finding someone suitable to be her lover. That was how things should go. Not where she would pick from her group of friends and risk everything because of a relationship. “What’s it to you anyway?”

Hyomin sighed. “I’m just concerned. I want you to be happy, duh? You invest so much on the girl, and you’re not even aware you’re falling for the chick. I mean, co---”

“Falling? For Tiffany? Are you on crack?” Jessica raised her brow as though her cousin could see her.

“No. Are you on crack? Or just simply playing pretend?”

“Let’s drop this topic. Even if I do like Tiffany like that, even just a little, I won’t try to do anything with it,” the blonde said this with utmost sincerity. She wasn’t just the type who would try to taint something because she was convinced whatever she loved seemed to just turn on her and hurt her. There was just no way she would let her new friend be the person she would hate in the future because of a failed love. And it could even go vice versa since she was more afraid that Tiffany would one day hate her. Wasn’t that enough reason to not make a move on Tiffany?

“Why? Because you’re scared she’ll turn out to be like Taeyeon?” Hyomin sighed once again, while Jessica remained silent. She couldn’t say much since that was the truth. She was scared to love since this thing people hailed about just seem to not like her, so why bother ruining something as beautiful as Tiffany by experimenting on something that was already perfect? Whatever they were - this beautiful friendship - was just enough to her. “Jessica, aren’t you scared that someone like Taecyeon would snatch Tiffany away from you? You’ll just watch that happen then wipe her tears later on? I mean, I also want you to be with someone who complelely cares about you. Did you realize that ever since you met Tiffany, you haven’t been bugging anyone about setting you up on dates? Isn’t that a hint enough that you’re happy now?”

She hadn’t really thought of that before. She really used to bug her friends with dates since she was soul searching, trying her best to figure out if she was straight, confused, biual, aual, or lesbian. Now, it seemed that little by little, she was finding pieces of her soul. The blonde sighed as she said, “Let’s not talk about this.” There was just no way she would even imagine this. It was just too much to gamble. “I love her as a friend, and if I catch myself falling for her, I’d end up hanging myself upside down a tree and I’ll give you permission to slap me a couple of times.” Hyomin laughed despite knowing that Jessica was serious. “No joke! I’ll let you do that!”

“You know, the sad part is,” Hyomin paused for some air. “This just gives me another reason to want you two to end up together.”

“Shut up. I actually need to go. I’ll see you whenever I feel like, okay?”

“Wow. Now that Tiffany’s back, you’re going to just ignore me? What a cousin you are.”

The blonde laughed and said, “Shut up. I really need to go. I’m almost at the airport. Bye.”

“Say hi to your girlf---” she pressed the button on her bluetooth as she continued to maneuver her car, not wanting to hear any more from her cousin. The blonde sighed, thinking about Yoona’s words before she left New York: “Why don’t you just give it a try?” It wasn’t like it was easy for Jessica. Sure, she wasn’t really thinking of Taeyeon much lately or at all for that matter because Tiffany was there to be next to her, but that didn’t mean she should take advantage of the girl’s kindness; she was more human than what people made her out to be. Yoona pointed out that this new T was wonderful, but didn’t they think that it was the very reason she just wouldn’t let herself fall for someone so amazing? Maybe had they met before things on Jessica’s part were chaotic and her views on love weren’t so messed up, maybe there was a chance for the blonde to actually consider loving someone so precious to her. Because she would have that confidence and courage that she and the girl could be together for a long time. Now? That was just questionable.

Pulling up at the arrival area at the airport, Jessica saw Tiffany standing by the curb so she pulled up in front of the girl. She opened her window and smiled at the girl. “Your boyfriend didn’t pick you up?” she asked with this cheeky grin on her face.

Tiffany sighed as she frowned. “I’ve been waiting for my wife, actually. She’s supposed to pick me up with a bouquet of roses ten minutes ago.”

“Married?” Jessica asked as she raised her brow. “She must be really nice since she’ll pick you up with roses.”

“She’s nice, but sometimes she gets cranky,” Tiffany said and then sighed, continuing, “I just hope she wouldn’t let me wait this long next time.”

“I’m sure she’s just busy with something.” The blonde laughed as she got out of her car and opened her trunk. “I’ll just take you home.”

“Woah, you shouldn’t be saying that to a married woman, Miss.” Tiffany laughed as she placed her luggage into the trunk, while Jessica carried the other.

“You shouldn’t be saying that, Missus, while you’re putting your things in a stranger’s car.” The blonde laughed as she helped Tiffany with the load.

“I’m Samantha, by the way,” Tiffany reached out to shake Jessica’s hand.

“My name’s Tiffany,” the blonde joked as she shook her friend’s hand. “Now, we’re no longer strangers. I can take you home, right?”

Tiffany laughed. “Such a lovely name you thought of, Jessi.”

Playing along, Jessica looked at her friend. “Jessi? Is that your wife’s name? It's not right to mistaken me for your wife, you know?”

“I'm sorry, I just miss her a lot so I can't help but call her name. And I’m the only one who gets to call her that, actually.” Tiffany said as she shut the door. “But maybe when you meet her, she’ll let you call her that.”

Jessica rolled her eyes. “You shouldn’t introduce your lover and your wife, that’s pretty bad.”

“Lover? So, you’re my lover now? You didn’t even buy me dinner yet. What made you think you’re my lover?” Tiffany asked as she walked towards the passenger’s seat, while Jessica did the same to the driver’s seat.

“So dinner it is then! Where do you want to go eat, Fany-ah?” The blonde began to drive.

Tiffany raised her brow at Jessica. “Fany-ah? Is that your girlfriend’s name? Shouldn’t you be cautious and call your new lover’s name by her actual name?”

While at a stop, waiting to exit the airport. Jessica looked over to Tiffany and let the words sunk in her head. Fany-ah as her girlfriend, huh? Even if this was just pretend, Jessica’s feelings were stirred and she wouldn’t allow anything more. There was this nice lingering feeling accompanied by this fear. The thought of Tiffany being her girlfriend was nice, but it also scared her. The what-if’s came rushing in, but she stopped her mind right away, setting her mind on the girl beside her. She looked at her then pushed the girl’s shoulder and said, “You’re an idiot, Fany-ah.” She then flashed a smile and let the words subconsciously escape, “I missed you,” as she pulled the girl in for a quick hug.

Tiffany smiled as she laid her chin on the blonde’s shoulder., “I missed you too. Even though I saw you a couple of days ago.” She said as she pushed Jessica back so she could get back to driving. “Let’s go eat some Korean barbeque.”

Korean food? Sure, it was okay, but wouldn’t it be too heavy for the afternoon? She was thinking maybe getting some pizza or something. “They have a lot of those in Los Angeles, don’t they?”

“But it’s still different here. Come on, you told me we’ll go eat dinner.” Tiffany flashed a smile at Jessica, leaving the blonde with no other option but comply.

****

After stuffing themselves with food, the two of them headed home to get Tiffany settled in her new home. The blonde was stopped in front of her door as she punched in her code. “I’ll give you the code later,” she said as she opened the door, hauling one of her friend’s pieces of luggage.

“Was your maid here? Your place is awfully spotless for some reason,” Tiffany commented as she skimmed the living room and the dining room. She looked at the kitchen sink and noticed there wasn’t even a used bowl there.

“What made you think that?” Jessica asked, raising her brow at her friend. “Can’t it be that I cleaned for a change?” Tiffany laughed, causing the blonde to glare her way. “Okay, that’s an exaggeration, Fany-ah. You’ll see, one day, I’ll clean and you’ll be blown away!”

“I just might have a heart attack if you do,” Tiffany said while laughing. “It’s just that I’m sure you’re not the one who cleaned today.”

“Whatever,” the blonde murmured. Sure, it wasn’t she who cleaned and tidied up; it wasn’t even her who designed the room; however, she helped in her own little way, right? That was what truly mattered, right? She was the one who called the cleaning service; she planned the room with the designer, so even if it wasn’t her who did everything, she contributed.

“It’s okay, Jessi,” Tiffany said as she jumped to Jessica’s side and linked her arm with the latter’s. “Even if you don’t clean, I’ll clean for you.” She leaned forward, bowing a little as she peeped over to Jessica’s face, which was hung low. “I’ll do your house chores like a good wife that I am.” The wife that she was? The blonde didn’t know what to say so she simply rolled her eyes like she usually did when she was left speechless. The talks about dating Tiffany with Yoona and Hyomin weren’t healthy at all since it was getting in her head.

The blonde opened her friend’s new room. “Anyway, this is your n---”

“Oh my god, Jessi! What is this?! Pink! You’re kidding me, right?!” She was shaking the blonde’s arm in ecstasy. “This is my room?!”

Laughing, the blonde then nodded as she pulled the luggage in, setting it on one corner. At least Tiffany liked the room like she hoped the girl would. “Welcome home, Fany-ah.” The blonde smiled at her new housemate. Tiffany hugged Jessica tightly as she repeatedly confessed to how much she loved the room. “I’m glad you love it.” It relieved her knowing that her efforts and other people’s efforts were much appreciated.

“Of course I love it! It’s pink! And you’re here! What else is not to love about this?!”

“Okay, okay,” the blonde said as she pushed Tiffany a little. Wouldn’t it be hard to not fall for someone like Tiffany? Because, honestly, the blonde was already feeling her heart beat faster as the girl smiled at her and hugged her so tight. “No need to be clingy,” she finished as she stepped away from the girl, not wanting anything odd to be felt. Or maybe her face blushing; she wouldn’t want that. The blonde then started to walk towards the closet so she could show the girl her things but she heard the girl squeal. “What?” She looked over her shoulder.

“You got me roses? You actually kept your promise?!”

She did promise to greet Tiffany with roses today. When they were in New York, the blonde had to make it up with the girl since she laughed at her friend so much. The blonde recalled the bird sh!t incident. She was at Central Park with Tiffany and Yoona before she left since the latter wanted to see it. Jessica thought she should at least take her there. She recalled, as they were walking, Tiffany squealed when she saw the bird crap on her white shirt. Being the always-ready-kinda-girl that Tiffany was, she actually had a stain remover pen in her bag. Of course, being Jessica, she and Yoona laughed at Tiffany for a good amount of time as the girl sat on a bench, removing the crap on her shirt as she murmured in disgust. Jessica even had a couple of pictures of Tiffany as she did this, and she even had the audacity to sit next to the girl and took a picture of herself smiling and Tiffany looking down, still working on the stain. Even though the blonde acted so immaturely on this, she actually grabbed the stain remover pen, knelt in front of Tiffany and started to work on it as well; at least she helped, she defended herself.  But for a good ten minutes, Tiffany was upset with her and Yoona with how they both acted so she demanded flowers from the blonde, which the blonde complied. And that was why she had some delivered to her house this morning - it was a good way to apologize. “It was more like a demand from you than a promise from me.”

“But I’m happy you still got it. I mean, even though you really didn’t need to.” She flashed a soft smile as she looked at the flowers that were on her new desk. Even though that wasn’t Tiffany’s normal smile, she actually liked the feeling of causing this. She liked it a lot and hoped she could bring this kind of smile more often from the girl. She shrugged the thoughts out of her mind, not liking these unveiling feelings.

“I’m glad,” the blonde said. Plain and simple. Sometimes, she wondered why her friend was just too adorable to a point of admitting it herself.

****

After Jessica showed the girl her new closet, which they still had an argument about the clothes that were already there, they were both just in Tiffany’s room, lying on the bed as they looked at their photos from New York. Since they had two days of touring around with Yoona, they were actually able to show the girl around her favorite destinations like MOMA, National Museum, Central Park, and Broadway. The blonde actually took Tiffany to see Wicked, which was one of her favorite musicals of all time.

She remembered Yoona saying, “Isn’t it weird you’re going out of your way to take her to your favorite places?” At first, she thought it was only natural for her to do so since Tiffany was the tourist, while she lived the for a couple of years and still go to visit. But she actually didn’t mind sharing pieces of her to the girl, she was fine with the fact that she was introducing the girl to the real Jessica. And also, she figured, had she gone to California, Tiffany would had done the same.

“I love this picture, Jessi!” She heard Tiffany say, which she just nodded in response. Things about this morning just couldn’t leave her mind especially Hyomin’s words. Was it possible that she fell much deeper than she thought? Subconsciously, she was already at the pit of no return? Or maybe, she was just overthinking things. Like, maybe she wasn’t really liking Tiffany just yet. Maybe she was just like a parent, taking care of the a child.

Maybe...

The blonde looked to her side, where Tiffany laid, she was talking about how much fun it was and how much she liked Yoona, the blonde was actually listening and nodding at her friend’s words, but then, at the back of her head she didn’t know how she wouldn’t be able to fall in love with such a nice girl. Was it possible to just see her as a friend? Because it seemed to Jessica that there was a big part of her in the blonde’s black heart - it may even be changing colors just because of the girl. But she shouldn’t fall in love with someone that she might end up hurting or someone who she didn’t want to hurt her. Although, at the same time, what if Hyomin’s words came true and someone would actually take Tiffany away from her? Days like this wouldn’t exist anymore if that ever happened. Days they could just hang out whenever they want, days they could just stay in bed and watch a movie, days they ate together. If Tiffany found somebody else, just the thought of it already scared Jessica. Was this her feelings for the girl or was this because of the fear to being alone again?

The blonde had so many questions clouding her mind, so she decided to just concentrate on the pictures in front of them and not worry about a thing. She was looking at their pictures and they were happy, smiling, an arm wrapped around a shoulder, making goofy faces, and the random stuff they saw. It was a lovely weekend despite how upset she was on her second day there. Why was she upset again? Was it because she didn’t like the fact that Tiffany didn’t let her buy things? The blonde recalled that day, but there wasn’t really anything peculiar about it. Whatever, she thought. All that mattered was that they were both happy and she wouldn’t want to be living with someone else other than Tiffany. With this predicament, she was slowly opening her eyes to the fact that she might really be falling for the girl. But then, would she be willing to risk this beautiful friendship she had with the girl? Because honestly, at this point, she should go hang herself upside down and let Hyomin slap her a couple of times like she promised. Maybe she was better off tied to a tree away from Tiffany.

The blonde sighed as she looked back at the television, seeing Tiffany with a scowl on her face while Yoona was beside her, laughing along with the blonde. They had pictures of herself laughing at Tiffany, which Yoona took. She even saw the picture of herself, trying to help Tiffany when guilt crept in. Would she want to ruin her this beautiful thing by trying to date the girl? And what if she confessed and the girl wouldn’t accept her? Wouldn’t things in their new established home be more complicated?

But there was a realization that shouldn’t have been unveiled from the beginning. She finally realized everybody was right: She was in love with Tiffany. At least to some extent, she utterly was.