Party (XXO)
 

Prom was lively and everyone dressed to impress. They settled somewhere in the middle of the room. All of them excited to talk, dance and simply have fun on their last days as high school students.

Seohyun, Yonghwa and Leeteuk left after putting down their things. Mainly because maknae had to set up the ballots; Yonghwa had to check the sound system; and Leeteuk had to check the program since he'll be the MC for the night.

So it came down to Taeyeon, Tiffany and Siwon on the table. Busy flaunting pictures from his recent trip to Japan, Siwon leaned to Tiffany, closely. It’s not a big deal. They were a couple, so… So it’s normal. Taeyeon convinced herself.

Who am I kidding though?

She was irritated at Siwon's advances. He was new at the Academy and moved only during their last semester as seniors. There were even rumors that Siwon had been some sort of criminal back in Seoul! This worried Taeyeon so much when he started hanging out with Tiffany in between breaks.

Recess and lunch belonged to them.

She had even asked Leeteuk to befriend Siwon; but even he found nothing suspicious around the city boy. His antics usually involved him narrating on how he ate food he isn't supposed to. There weren’t any drunken driving without license escapades nor were there any girls on the side stories.

In fact, Leeteuk and Siwon grew so close that they hung out after school, similar to Taeyeon and Tiffany. Even Yonghwa was sensible enough to befriend the new guy because he felt he was ‘just misunderstood’.

Tiffany. There was no other girl that made her more excited just in seeing her smile. Nor was there anything she doesn't know about each other. Truly, bestfriends at core.

Until they kissed.

What exactly are two girls who, at the surface, do nothing but paint nails while watching teen flicks or reading the latest edition of GLAM magazine? Everyone knew their boyfriends and acted like normal girls would. Nobody would suspect that they were different behind walls. No one, not even their family.

Their secret place provided the perfect camouflage to their sweet little shows. Behind Tiffany's house was a sea of trees that no one had bothered to cut down for farm space yet. Under one of the trees near the stream, they would just spend time together. Listening to music or reading books or laughing. Sometimes, they would have their backs against the tree, sometimes to each other, but they usually sat beside each other to a cuddle, fingers in playing their palms as they talked about their family, how their childhood was or the dreams they had.

But they grew older, things grew more complicated. They became more and more comfortable with each other. So much that they became bold in asking questions about... A lot of things. And when asked about how kissing would feel like, they decided to try it together.

It was under that tree that Taeyeon had first laid her lips against Tiffany's, both of them were scared so much that they couldn't even move. It felt like they were crossing an invisible line that they can't return to. They had done it out of impulse more than love itself… Because we were kids, was how Taeyeon described it.

Although, it wasn't to say they didn't love each other. Their worry came from more of, is this is the right kind of love to express these types of kisses to? She recalled.

Tiffany, for one, took the kiss as a learning experience more than anything else. She thought of how actresses in the movies they’ve watched moved their lips and copied it. She was surprised that after a few attempts, Taeyeon started to do the same!

It was like walking in a dark corridor hand in hand, not knowing what lies at the end but highly anticipating the reward they'd get afterward.

Then innocent kisses grew to tongue tied lip locks, then to touching under their shirts. The first taste, then addiction! They explored each other almost every day after school.

It was a fun experience, for the both of them. But then again, Tiffany was never a girl to fall under a routine. They later tried it out during breaks at school, in dressing rooms while shopping or at home in their rooms. It was exciting... But then she grew tired of that too.

They later nestled into a state of being normal best friends again. Kisses like before stopped coming (although there were times, like what happened just moments ago.)  Altogether, they slowly welcomed male companionship more. It wasn't something they agreed upon. It was just something they understood; something that had to happen.

"Taeyeonssi?" Tiffany tapped her friend's hand. Her friend was still staring into space. "Kim Taeyeon?"

It took her several attempts to get Taeyeon out of thinking. She almost went as far as biting the smaller girl's arm.

"… Wae?" Taeyeon asked casually, almost as if Tiffany hadn’t called her name over twenty times in the last minute.

"What do you mean ‘wae’?" Tiffany repeated. "I was worried. You wouldn't even flinch while I was talking! What the heck are you thinking of this time?"

I was thinking of you, of us. Taeyeon thought, and hoped her eyes reflected every word she wanted to say. But in the end, she simply grinned and said, "What food do you think they'll be serving?"

Tiffany wanted to hold Taeyeon's hand. She knew something was up, but as soon as her hand reached out to her; Siwon had taken it absent mindedly, caressing it softly before playing with her fingers. Tiffany could feel the intensity on Taeyeon's eyes as it went up and down on Siwon's hands.

"Ice cream..." was all Taeyeon could say.

"I'm sorry?" Tiffany asked. Truthfully speaking, Taeyeon had always asked to drop by the local ice cream parlor. Everyone knew about Taeyeon’s obsession for the icy sweet dew. If she had asked for it after a hard day's work, Tiffany would definitely understand. But randomly? You’re so bad at lying, Taengoo. She thought, trying to meet Taeyeon's eyes so she can carry her message. Bad thing was, she wasn’t looking back. "Should I get you some?" Tiffany asked in the sweetest way she can voice.

And leave me here with this monster? Her eyes suddenly begged. "I don't think they have it here."

Then make up your mind, what the hell do you want? Tiffany turned to Siwon. "Hey, let's go get ice cream."

The boy, however, only shrugged at her request. "Where? If you want ice cream, wait until Prom is done and we'll head to the store."

But when Tiffany turned to ask if Taeyeon could wait, she wasn't there. All she saw was an empty chair.

"Taeyeonie?" she looked around.

Where is she?

Right at that moment, the lights dimmed and the stage lit up. Leeteuk welcomed everyone in the room and began breaking the ice to start the ceremony.

And Taeyeon was nowhere in sight.