~~~~~
The First Attack
~~~~~

"So let me get this straight: We weren't playing slide?" Jessica repeated, sitting on the edge of Tiffany's bed, swinging her feet and looking very perplexed.

"Right," Tiffany nodded, her hands folded in her lap.  She cringed as Sooyoung threw an extra-large suitcase onto the adjoining bed.

"How'd this all start?"

"The girls were drooling over Key and then—"

"Key?" Jessica repeated, shell-shocked, utter repulsion spreading on her face.  "Kim Ki-Bum?"  

"I know, right?" Sooyoung chimed, angrily tossing her clothes into her suitcase, some arms of shirts and legs of pants dangling over the side.

"Ewwww, I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole."

"Well, you danced 'Barbie Girl' with him," Tiffany reminded her, blushing.

Jessica frowned and waved it off.  "Worst day of my life.  Besides, that was for fan service.  Before then, I didn't even know he existed."

Sooyoung tossed a large clump of clothes into her suitcase and then dragged her feet back over to her half of the closet and began pulling more things from their hangers, all the while Tiffany dejectedly watched.

"Anyway," Sooyoung continued, flicking her load into the suitcase, which was now overflowing with clothes, "Yoona joked—er, half-joked—that she's going to be the next Mrs. Key—"

"She can have him."

"…and Taeyeon, God bless her soul, basically said she doesn't have a chance, puncturing a hole in Yoona's oversized, overinflated ego.  So then Yoona called her a shorty" (at this, Jessica's jaw dropped) "and then they got into it until Yoona said there's a good reason why Taeyeon's never been in love."  She nodded at Tiffany, who was distracting herself by picking at the folds of her linen sheets.  "Tiffany and I jumped in for her defense and then Yoona dragged Sunny into it.  Tinker Bell got called out by Taeyeon and, suddenly drugged with power, Sunny sided with Yoona and then…."  Sooyoung hesitated, her head bowed slightly, focusing on her overflowing suitcase.  "She, um…."  The girl trailed off as she became preoccupied with an apparent itch in her eye.

"What she means to say is, Sunny made some rather evil remarks about Taeyeon and myself by repeating what Sooyoung allegedly said about us once," Tiffany explained.  Jessica arched an eyebrow.  "I'm not sure how much of it was true or to the degree of accuracy it was presented," Tiffany added quickly, "but…it was harsh."  For the first time since the fight, Tiffany met Sooyoung's eye and nodded forgivingly.  Sooyoung reached out and Tiffany mouthed an "it's ok" as she patted her hand.

"And Seohyun?" Jessica asked, so far unmoved.  

"Fainted when Taeyeon banned Yoona."

"But she thought we were playing slide."

"Yuri lied so that Seohyun wouldn't faint again."

Jessica shook her head.  "Poor girl.  But Maknae's gonna find out sometime…"

A sigh escaped Tiffany's lips.  "Yuri and Hyoyeon took her out for ice cream to try to gently rebreak the news to her."

The brunette nodded in understanding before asking in her mousy squeak, "And Yoona?"

"Sunny went with her to the taping of the show.  Which is a good thing because it allows the rest of us to rearrange our rooms before they get back."

Both girls cast a sorrowful glance at Sooyoung.  "Hey, it's not like I'm leaving you forever.  It's just temporary.  I'll find a way to get back on Taengoo's good side sooner than later.  Besides," she added, standing, "I won't be able to last long with the Ego Twins.  Yo, know what I'm sayin'?"  That said, Soogangster  moved on to conquering her suitcase.  No matter how hard she pushed and pressed, it wouldn't snap closed.  She finally resorted to belly-flopping on it—to no avail.  She sat up, pressing all her weight on it, but it remained resilient.  "Why won't this damn thing close?" she snarled in frustration.

"Because you're a slob, darling."

Sooyoung couldn't help but smile at the quip Tiffany offered, knowing perfectly well she deserved it.  Brushing her hair behind her ear, she climbed off her luggage, getting out of the way so that Tiffany could properly fold and rearrange the clothes.

"Lessee…so I'm bunking with Fany," Jessica suddenly spoke aloud to no one in particular.  "Sunny, Yoona, and you," she looked at Sooyoung, "will be crammed into one room…fun; Taeyeon'll be rooming with Hyoyeon, and Seo and Yul have the same arrangements?"

"Yep."

At that moment there was a click as the locks on the suitcase snapped into place.

Sooyoung heaved it off the bed, muttering a soft “thanks” under her breath, and lowered it to the ground.

"How long do you bet this feud'll last?" Jessica asked, her eyes aglow.  

"We're not betting on this," Tiffany quickly answered, rather sternly, reading Jessica's mind.

Jessica narrowed her eyes and, when Tiffany wasn't looking, stuck her tongue out at her.

"But, knowing Yoona and Tae, probably months.  They're the most stubborn people I've ever met," Sooyoung mused with a small smile.

Tiffany was staring at the suitcase, something finally clicking.  "Why do you need that, anyway? You're just moving across the hall."