Chapter 5.2

This is a continuation of Christmas Eve Eve :)

“The North Pole's got nothing on this place.” Jessica looked around the first floor of her home which was now covered in red and green decorations with little ceramic snowmen and Santa figurines adorning every windowsill and table in the house.

“It looks so much better in here Jessi, don't you think?” Her mom said as she straightened up the last miniature reindeer on the mantle. Jessica nodded in agreement and held up her hand for a high five, but was surprised when she was pulled in for a hug instead. “Thank you sweetie, I really appreciate your help,” she broke the hug and started for the kitchen, “Wanna take a break, then start on the tree? How does a hot chocolate sound?”

Absolutely heavenly

It'd been just over two hours since the duo started and Jessica was worn the out. She didn't exactly love decorating, but after the talk with her mom earlier, she decided that a little mother-daughter time couldn't hurt. Obviously it had meant a lot to her mom, and it made Jessica feel a little better too. In the midst of all the changes she was going through, it was nice to have some sort of stability, even if it was just her mom.

“Sounds good to me.” Sica plopped down on the couch, now draped with a white blanket over the top of it. Then as if by some twisted fate, at the exact moment her hit the sweet fluffy cushion, the doorbell rang.

“Honey, could you get that?”

Of course mom, anything for you

With a large puff of air and a pained groan, Jessica lifted herself off the couch and over to the front door (which, by the way, now had a wreath on it), and displaying one of her many annoyed faces, she gripped the handle and swung the door open using her last ounce of strength.

Now the question was, twisted fate or twist of fate.

Standing at her doorstep was none other than, you guessed it, Kim Hyoyeon. Her face had traces of apology, probably for the intrusion, and in her hands was a Nintendo64 Mario Kart cartridge that she bounced in a nervous manner.

“Um, Hey.” Smiled the shorter woman. Jessica was so caught off guard that all her strength suddenly returned and she almost slammed the door in the poor girls face. Immediately she readjusted her posture and rested her arm on the door, trying to look cool, and stuttered a “H-Hi” in return.

'H-H-H-Hi' wow nice one, my AP English teacher would be proud

“Is Krystal home?” inquired the blonde, forming the cutest little 'oh' Jessica had ever seen.

Krystal. Of course she wants Krystal. Why would she be here for me. We met like, twice.

It was three times and she knew it. But to stop herself from seeming too invested, Sica shifted her weight against the door frame and uttered a simple, “No, she's out with Sulli,” holding her breath to prevent herself from asking why.

Luckily the other girl held out the object and answered her unspoken question, “Oh, well she left this at my house the other day. I would've brought it back yesterday but I got a little tied up... moving in and stuff.”

Hyoyeon must have had the cutest half smile the older girl had ever seen. Jessica was still gazing at when a silence overtook the area. A gust of wind made both girls shudder.

“Coooould you give it back to her for me?” Her voice now low, and her eyebrow up.

Jessica snapped back to reality. “Oh, yea of course, sorry.” She hurriedly reached for the game and corrected her posture, hitting her head on the door in the process.

Owch. . And it was going so well.

The blonde girls face changed into a painful expression and she held her hands out in a comforting (but not touching) manner, slightly hissing an Owch as she asked if the other was Ok.

Everything but my pride

“Yea I'm fine, thanks. This happens a lot actually.”

“Hitting your head on the door?”

“Just, hitting it in general.”

Both girls chuckled at the awkward situation.

Great, now she thinks I'm a klutz
Correction: Now she knows I'm a klutz

And as if of cue, Jessica's mother came out of the woodwork and approached the two girls.

“What's going on? Who's at the door?” Pleasant as ever Ms. Jung smiled when she saw Hyoyeon and put a comforting arm around her daughter.

“Oh, is this a friend of yours? Hello, I'm Jessica's mom, Soojin.” She stuck her hand out for the girl outside to shake.

“Kim Hyoyeon.” the young girl said and gave her signature V smile which, to Jessica, made the looming air of awkwardness seem to dissipate.

“Mom, Hyoyeon is one of the new neighbors. She just moved into the Lee's house” she explained to her ever so intrusive mother.

“Is that right? Well don't make her stand in the cold all day! Come in, come in! I was just about to make some cocoa, would you like some?” offered Ms. Jung, a little too excited that her daughter had brought home a friend for once.

And just like that, the awkward air was back. Jessica was frozen, her expression a mix of fear and embarrassment. Of course it wasn't her moms fault, she was just trying to be friendly. She didn't know that this girl was the source of Jessica's impending doom.

But you can't be so careless inviting people in, mom. I mean, there's still no evidence to suggest that she's not a serial killer- is all Jessica could come up with as far as blaming her mother for this happening. Truthfully, she was a little relieved, this gave Jessica an opportunity to talk to the new girl without making the first move. But before she could get anywhere...

“I'd love to, but actually I was about to go apply for a job at the Tim Hortons down the street.”

Oh.

Not only was this girl extremely hot, but she was motivated; which is something that could not be said about little miss Jung. It made her more attractive honestly. I mean, who doesn't love a girl with drive?

“Oh another time then. Sweetie, It's so cold and its not that short a walk. I could drive you if you'd like?”

Hehe... drive

“That's alright Ms. Jung, I have a car.”

Oh. DRIVE.

This conversation was officially getting too sardonic to have in front of her mother. Jessica, being almost 18, still didn't have her license or a job. The looks her mother was giving her were all too implicit of this. She knew she should have done these things a while ago but what could she say? She was a lazy girl.

“You do? Isn't that nice, Jessi? I suppose no one needs to drive you to school or the mall then, yea?” Implicit was quickly become explicit as her mom shot daggers through Jessica's head.

“Actually my mom and I share it...”

HA! Take that you condescending--

“But she works from home, so, yea pretty much”

Of course she does

Decidedly defeated Jessica was about ready to say her goodbyes and head upstairs for a well deserved nap, when something incredible happened.

“Well since you're headed that way, why don't you girls get yourselves some hot chocolates on me.”

What.

Soojin pulled out a $20 bill and handed it to her daughter. “Jessica loves that Tim Hortons, she goes there almost everyday. She would be more than happy to show you around, wouldn't you Jess?”

I would?

“I would!” was forced out of her small, near shaking body, complete with panicked eyes and a smile that said 'kill me now.'

She glanced at Hyoyeon for reassurance. She felt bad that her mom was forcing this on her when she obviously had things to do, and gave her a subtle shrug in apology.

Then for the first time that day, Jessica looked into Hyoyeon's eyes.

They appeared to be just as surprised as her own but in a distinctly different way. It was almost... pleasant? Was she excited to spend time with her? I mean they did say they had a lot to learn about each other, but did she actually want to?

The mere idea of this made a genuine smile creep across Jessica's face, and like some sort of infectious disease, Hyoyeon's.

There was a tangible shift in the room's energy.

“That'd be great, Ms. Jung, thank you.” Hyoyeon's eyes boring holes into Jessica's.

“Don't mention it honey, welcome to the neighborhood.” The older woman smiled as she turned to leave, “And please, call me Soojin.”

“Alright, thank you, Soojin.”

Great, they're hitting it off. Guess I don't need to worry about mom's approval.

Wait.

What.

No.

As Jessica tried not to get ahead of herself, her mom left the room, and them, alone. Sica could barely form a sentence, so the idea of anything beyond a normal conversation with this Goddess was certainly off the table right now, but whenever they made eye contact, she noticed, the anxious feeling in her stomach seemed to vanish. It was something unexplainable, but as soon as she felt Kim Hyoyeon looking at her, looking through her, a warm wave of emotion rushed over her and she felt safe. It was like they'd known each other all their lives but were just getting to know one another.

To Jessica, it felt like all this and more, and she started to realize that there was really no need to worry. It was only when she was alone that she felt panicked. Sure, she was still nervous and definitely buzzing, but she sensed that with this person, she could be herself. It was going to take some time to work up to that, but one thing was apparent; This could be the friend she didn't know she'd been waiting for her entire life.

While Jessica was lost in thought, she barely noticed the blonde girl turn to leave.

“Hey, Princess. You coming?”

The older girl was almost taken aback by the forwardness of her words.

“Princess?” she asked accusingly

The other simply nodded.

“You said you liked Peach, right?”

Jessica rolled her tongue across her teeth and smiled as she followed the mischievous King out of the castle, setting the game cartridge on the table along the way.

Looks like Bowser's dragged the Princess on another adventure.

So last chapter was a little eh. I know I know, I was just trying to procrastinate doing a final project
But now lets do this .
the next chapter is the “date” (if you can call it that)
then after that is CHRISTMASSSSS!!!
and it'll be hyohyun centric (oh boy) so for all y'all who've been waiting for a little makne lurvin: thanks for waiting, your pokemon will be fully healed, hope to see you again :D