A/N: Hey guys sorry for the wait but here we go! Once again, long chapter to compensate for the wait. I really hope you enjoy this! Please comment and if possible (and if you like my fic!) please upvote!! Thanks again~

The entire audience erupted in applause upon recognition of the two school journalists on stage. The two were almost as famous as Taeyeon when it came to performing for the school’s end of the year talent show. They were also fairly famous around the school for their active participation with school events. Jessica was admired for her artwork and photography while Tiffany was admired for her writing and friendly attitude.

Tiffany cheered loudly, getting the crowd pumped up for their performance while Jessica swayed lightly in the background, smiling sweetly. She wasn’t really sure how to act while Tiffany did her thing, so she stayed silent until Tiffany cued her to talk.

“How is everyone enjoying the show tonight?” Tiffany’s voice boomed over the auditiorium and Jessica wondered if the girl even needed a microphone. “It’s been a great show so far, huh?”

The audience replied with a giant, enthusiastic, “Yeah!” and Tiffany giggled into the microphone respondingly. She loved it when the audience gave her energy like this.

“As always, it’s a great honour to perform on this stage along side all my fellow talented students. I’m sorry to say that it’s Jessi and my last year performing, so we promise to make it a great one!” she smiled brightly at the audience who boo’d over such a great loss before bowing and continuing her little speech. “And I don’t think I could ask for a better final duet partner than Jessica. Now come on girl, say a little something?”

Jessica rolled her eyes subtly; she was just waiting for the girl to finish. She quickly wore her smile and stepped up a little so the spotlight could shine on her just a little bit more brightly.

“Like Tif said, it’s our final year performing so we hope to make the best of it.”

Since it was finally Sica’s turn to talk, Yuri rose from her seats and chanted her name, her one voice sounding like a hundred man army. Only Hyoyeon and Yoona knew this but the girl practiced her chants back at home so she could be the loudest person during Jessica’s performance. Yoona was surprised she hadn’t lost her voice from all the practice.

“Shut up, you’re embarrassing me!” Jessica squealed into the microphone, pouting at her girlfriend. The audience laughed at the little display and enjoyed the flush that spread across the girl’s cheeks. It was practically fluorescent under the spotlight and her friends bathed in it. It was always lovely seeing her blush like that.

“Nope!” Yuri cheered back before going back to wooping and screaming. Jessica rolled her eyes again, not really surprised by her girlfriend’s response.

“Anyway, this song was written by Tiffany and I for our special someone, mine being that loud and obnoxious girl in the front. If you’ve attended any of our girls’ sports’ games, you would probably know her as the one with too much energy,” she pointed her hand towards her girlfriend as Yuri took in the cheers of everyone in the crowd. Of course everyone knew who she was. Yuri was always either the captain or star player of almost every sports’ team in the school somehow.

“And I dedicate it to a certain person, whose name I can’t exactly mention right now, but they know who they are,” she smiled slightly apologetically at Taeyeon for she couldn’t find the courage to use the right pronouns. But Taeyeon smiled back sweetly, completely understanding.

One day, Tiffany can say it loudly and proudly, until then she had to sit back silently and hope that it was sooner than later.

And that’s when Tiffany’s eyes wandered to find her father, sitting there and watching the performance like he promised. She met up with him right when the intermission started and he told her very clearly that he was listening. They didn’t speak for long for she had to run backstage but she made note of how serious he looked.

He must have taken Taeyeon’s performance to heart, right? She was sure that everyone in the audience could feel the absolute expression of love that radiated off Taeyeon during her performance.

“We call this, Baby Maybe,” Tiffany finished off before queing the AV crew to start the instrumental track that Jessica and her prepared a while back.

It was a pretty melody that the girls prided themselves in. They had always joked around about making music, but this was the first song they really got to sit down and complete. Jessica and Tiffany looked at each other, smiling as Jessica got ready to sing the first line.

“Baby baby baby
I hadn’t believed in love. I used to build a wall around.”

The second Tiffany’s line began, her hand gestured towards her group of friends near the front of the audience. Her eyes immediately made contact with Taeyeon’s and she graced the girl with her best eye smile.

“Baby baby baby
My heart used to think that it would be okay to be alone like a fool. But I met you.”

Tiffany continued with the melody as Jessica sang the harmony. They faced each other again and smiled as they tried their best to make sure that they sounded perfect. Per Tiffany’s request, they had practiced the song countless times to make sure that they were the best they could be. Jessica didn’t really care about winning or losing, so long as Yuri got to hear her song. Tiffany wanted both things. Heck, it was their last performance. Why not?

“My folks talk about myself who became awkward
Having butterflies in my stomach and palpitating, I’m at a loss for words.
Then my friends would ask
“Who is that girl? She’s so amazing to change you.”

The two girls knew that their lyrics were beyond cheesy, but that didn’t matter much. Tiffany was more responsible for the lyrics while Jessica focused more on the composition itself. It gave off a cute and refreshing feeling, like falling in love for the first time.

Yuri definitely wasn’t Jessica’s first, but she felt like a completely new and different experience. There was a time when Jessica was so certain that she’d never love anyone again, especially not the same way she loved Taeyeon, but Yuri changed that. It was an unexpected but more than perfect ending to her senior year.

“I fell in love with you
I got stuck deep in you
What should I do?
How can you appear just now? Where have you been?

Put your hands up if you feel like this
If you fell in love and got real feeling.
Put your hands up if you feel like this
If you found love and it’s for all your heart and soul.”

Tiffany and Jessica each got the crowd to start clapping and waving their arms up in the air along with the song respectively. Jessica got really excited when the crowd followed along with her and wore the biggest smile Yuri had ever seen on her. She felt dazzled, almost completely enthralled with the sight before her.  

God, was she a lucky girl. Probably the luckiest girl alive.

“Baby baby baby
I think of the place we’ve been together and your scent every time.
Maybe maybe maybe
I want to put on your perfume so that your scent can stay anytime.”

This time Tiffany sang the whole thing, her eyes fixated on Taeyeon. The shorter girl’s mouth refused to close and she couldn’t help but blush slightly at Tiffany’s corny lyrics. The song was so light hearted and adorable compared to the song she sang to Tiffany. It made their complicated love seem so simple and straightforward. Maybe it was a sign that it would be that way some day soon.

“I’ll only look at you, turning down the opportunity to watch romantic movies and the scenes which make my heart pound.
I laughed at the obvious lines.
I would say since I changed when I meet you
“I’ll focus on you. You’re my everything my boo my darling.””

Jessica almost squealed and projectile vomited at the use of the pet names. She turned to face Tiffany who was wearing the biggest smile on her face. Jessica wondered if her cheeks were hurting at all.

It was Tiffany’s idea to include it and they had gone over the lyrics over and over again but they never failed to make Jessica almost gag. It was a little too much for Jessica’s taste, but it all seemed worth it when she saw Taeyeon’s face turn completely red and the girls starting to cackle.

They repeated the chorus again, this time with Jessica’s slight giggle at the sight before her. Yuri was being laughed at by Hyoyeon and her girlfriend and Sunny was trying her best to prevent any stray insects from flying into Taeyeon’s mouth.

Although there was such a big audience before them, a lot clapping their hands or swaying to the music and some even with their cellphone lights out, Jessica and Tiffany could only focus on their group of friends at the front.

“I hesitated at first. I’m no longer alone.
I can see myself that glowed in your beautiful eyes
If you share this feeling with me and you feel like this hey.”

By now the entire audience had a feeling of how the song went and even sang along. The two girls basked in the lovely and awful singing voices of their fellow students, friends and family and ended the song strongly, finishing with a few more repeats of the chorus.

“Put your hands up if you feel like this
If you fell in love and got real feeling.
Put your hands up if you feel like this
If you found love and it’s for all your heart and soul.

Like this, Like this, Like this, Like this, Like this…”

Jessica’s beautiful voice echoed throughout the auditorium as the song ended. Tiffany felt her heart surge with pride as she looked at her best friend. The two absorbed the loud applause that filled the room and felt that they did a more than perfect job.

The curtain closed and Sooyoung and Taeyeon hurried off to go back to their MCing job. They probably should’ve left a bit earlier, but they were too captivated by their friends’ performance.

Sunny stood up too, for her performance with Taeyeon was only a few acts away. When Sooyoung felt the movement behind her she turned and looked down to see Sunny looking right back at her.

“Hey,” Sunny said awkwardly as they excused themselves through the pews.

“Hi,” Sooyoung breathed out before quickly turning around again to avoid the other girl’s gaze. She could feel her face heat up and she wasn’t exactly sure why.

“What’s going on with them?” Min asked in a hushed tone to Hyoyeon as the three girls ran off.

“It’s complicated,” Hyoyeon responded with a sigh, “I’ll tell you more when we’re back at my place okay?”

Min pouted before burying her face into Hyoyeon’s shoulder, “Fine! But you know how much I love gossip.”

“I’ll tell you now if you massage me when we get back,” Hyoyeon offered while wiggling her eye brows and batting her eyelashes. It was a strange combination that only made her girlfriend cackle. Min’s fingers felt like heaven but it was rare for her to actually give in to Hyoyeon’s grating aegyo.

“So who’s going to sing next again?”

Taeyeon was running almost at the speed of light as she wanted to be certain that she caught Tiffany. She wanted to run into her arms, pick her up and spin her and nuzzle her neck since she couldn’t kiss her with so many people around. Being serenaded by Tiffany was only a dream but tonight it became a reality.

She spotted her girlfriend first when she reached backstage. She was standing with Jessica and talking casually. When Tiffany spotted the smaller girl, she waved her hands enthusiastically.

“How was I?!” she asked as her girlfriend charged towards her. “Did you like th-“

She couldn’t finish her sentence for Taeyeon had already lifted her up, swung her around and proceeded to kiss her afterwards. Her eyes widened when she felt the impact of her lips. At first, her mind screamed to stop because people were around, people could see, but she soon found herself lost in the passion of Taeyeon’s kiss.

They didn’t stop until they heard a very manly cough. Taeyeon and Tiffany hoped that it was just Sooyoung trying to scare her, but when they stopped and turned around, they were face to face with Mr.Hwang.

“S-Sir,” Taeyeon stuttered, bowing before looking the man straight in the eyes. She hated herself for hesitating, but she had to stay strong for herself and for Tiffany.

“Taeyeon,” he replied with a shake of his head.

Tiffany grabbed Taeyeon’s hand and squeezed it to give her courage. It was time to prepare for the worst.

“I told you to stop calling me that,” he continued, a lopsided smile gracing his strong features. Taeyeon could already feel her shoulders releasing their tension. “If you’re going to marry my daughter one day, you should really go back to calling me Dad.”

“What?” Tiffany blurted out, almost not believing her eyes or her ears for the matter. Was this really her father in front of her? Did she fall off the stage in the middle of her performance and this is actually a dream? She didn’t even notice she was crying until Taeyeon started wiping her eyes.

“Thank you so much for this chance,” Taeyeon said out of gratitude, bowing over and over again. She could feel her heart swelling and her stomach was churning uncontrollably from excitement.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time,” Tiffany’s father continued, his smile not leaving his face as he patted his crying daughter on her head. “Since Taeyeon so bravely came to my door and talked to me about the two of you.”

“She did?” Tiffany sniffled, turning to her girlfriend who was sheepishly looking at the ground. “What do you mean?”

Her father laughed and looked at Taeyeon affectionately, “At first, I thought she was crazy, I thought she was just some teenage girl who has this crush on my daughter and was turning her away from me, from the lifestyle she was used to since she was smaller. As Miyoung has probably told you all, I’m not entirely fond of…of…”

“The gays?” Jessica answered with a little snark. She loved Tiffany’s dad, she really did. But it was about time he changed his traditional ways, if even just a little bit.

“Yeah,” he nodded and laughed a little. “I’m still not entirely comfortable with this to be honest, but what I’ve come to realize is that you two love each other. I can see it, hear it and somehow I can even feel it. It’s strange, but I think I’ll believe in your love and do my best to…get over my prejudices. It’s hard, accepting you two as something serious is something I still can’t wrap my mind entirely around. But I decided that I can’t come in between you two, especially if it makes my daughter so happy.”

Tiffany didn’t stop crying as she escaped Taeyeon’s grasp and ran to her father, embracing him tightly.

“She makes me so, so happy,” Tiffany sobbed into her dad’s chest, “Thank you so much for accepting us.”

Jessica smiled at the scene before her and elbowed Taeyeon, who was smiling like an idiot at the scene before her. “So that’s where you ran off to the other day? Who would’ve thought?”

“Are you making fun of me?” Taeyeon laughed as she watched the father and daughter reconcile in the corner. “Anyway, you guys should really get going, you’re not allowed here anymore, especially Fany’s dad.”

Jessica nodded, “I get it. Have fun with the rest of your MCing.”

As she turned away from Taeyeon who ran on stage to introduce the next number, she noticed Sunny and Sooyoung awkwardly standing near the same corner as Tiffany and her dad. Sunny was watching Sooyoung carefully as the taller girl couldn’t keep her eyes off the scene in front of her.

Jessica walked towards them and placed a hand on Sunny’s shoulder.

“I’m rooting for you,” she whispered into her ear before pulling Tiffany and her father away.

Taeyeon noticed that Sooyoung seemed to be frozen on a certain spot so she introduced the next number on her own. When she got back from escorting the next group on stage, she saw that Sooyoung was talking to one of the next groups and that Sunny was leaning against the wall, her fingers clutching onto Taeyeon’s guitar tightly.

“You ready?” Taeyeon asked quietly, taking her place next to Sunny and wrapping an arm around her waist.

“I have to be,” Sunny chuckled with a shake of her head, “There’s no turning back. Thanks again for supporting me throughout all this craziness. And hey, congrats about Fany.”

Taeyeon embraced her friend before patting her on the cheek, “No need to thank me, Soonkyu. I’d do it again and again if I had to, that’s what friends are for, right? I’ll be by your side, forever.”

Sunny took in a deep breath before whispering a thank you to her best friend.

“I love you,” she continued, a grateful smile on her features. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

The next three acts flew by in the blink of an eye and before she knew it, Sunny had to do her special stage with Taeyeon. She knew Sooyoung was avoiding eye contact, but it didn’t stop her from looking at the tall girl anyway.

Sooyoung introduced the two and when she finished her little speech, she ran backstage, almost right past the two girls. But Sunny grabbed her arm.

“Listen carefully, okay?”

Sooyoung didn’t get a chance to respond, for the audience was clapping and already happily expecting the appearance of the popular duo.

Sungmin had only transferred a few months ago, but his name managed to reach far and wide. That’s what happens when you have bright blonde hair, apparently.

Taeyeon waved enthusiastically at the crowd before settling herself in front of the keyboard. Sunny sat on a stool next to her, guitar resting in her lap.

She closed her eyes and drowned out all of the sounds in order to help clear her mind.

It was now or never.

“Hey guys,” Sunny started, as in Sunny and not Sungmin. Her male voice had vanished and the entire audience looked at her with intrigue. “There’s a lot for me to say and I really hope you all can bear with it for a second.”

She turned to Taeyeon who just nodded and smiled at her before turning back to the crowd before her. Even her friends were curious as to see what was coming next.

“This voice might be shocking to you, but let me tell you something a little more shocking,” she chuckled before scratching the back of her head, “This is my real voice and I’m not really a boy.”

A collective gasp spread throughout the crowd, even from their group of friends near the front. They knew of the truth, but not of how it would be revealed.

“I knew there was something up with that short one!” Min exclaimed, her fist colliding with her palm. “This is getting really interesting Hyo.”

“The truth is, my name is Lee Soonkyu. A number of you might know me from high school,” she smiled a little as she saw a few people nodding. It was a relief they never caught on.

“I only played the role of Sungmin to mess with my friends a little. I had this great idea, where I would be friends with them and get to know them again as this outsider, since I’ve been away from them for so long. When graduation rolled along, I’d surprise them and reveal my identity. It was going to be hilarious, or so I thought.”

The audience watched Sunny in awe as she explained her story, no one blinking an eye.

“Things became complicated and messy, very messy. You see, there’s this girl who I was dating while I was being Sungmin. At first, I did it because I wanted to see what it was like to date her. I’ve…I’ve sort of had this huge crush on her ever since we were kids. I thought it’d be innocent, considering we just met and we were going to graduate soon. But what happened was that I rebirthed these feelings I had for her since forever, true feelings. I realized, after spending all that time with her that I was in love with her, this whole time.”

She laughed nervously again, pausing to take a deep breath and try to regain her strength. Hold it together, she reminded herself. She thought she was going to break any second if she wasn’t careful.

“In the end, I hurt her. She found out who I was by accident and things turned downwards. I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean to hurt her at all but it happened, and I just want you to know that I’m sorry.” She turned to the side to see Sooyoung leaning against the wall just behind the curtains. She was watching, intently, listening, just like Sunny asked her to.

“And I know things are hard and confusing and I know you probably hate me for everything I’ve done. But I want you to know that no matter what, my feelings haven’t changed, and they probably never will change. Please, listen to my song and hear me out and once again, I’m sorry.”

She immediately started strumming her guitar, wasting no time and getting straight to the point. Her stomach was churning something awful and she had to get rid of it by singing, by finally getting everything out at once.

[Tongue Tied Playlist – Goodbye Summer by f(x) ft. D.O]

“I remember when we were yelled at for talking in the halls
I don’t know why it was so fun even when we were being punished.”

Sunny prided herself in her closeness with all of her friends. She never held back anything, her love, her affection, her criticisms, her cruel jokes, nothing.

And that’s what she missed the most about being in Korea. These friends, these girls who she’s known since forever were her girls, her best friends and things just weren’t the same when she went to America.

She had to channel the feelings she’s always had buried, that she’s always kept close in her heart from the beginning.

“After that day we always
Stuck together like the Astro twins, you were me and I was you.”

Taeyeon closed her eyes as she sang, doing her best to channel her own feelings. Although things were better for her now, much better, she knew exactly how Sunny feels. She had to show her honest feelings to make the song and message as clear as possible.

Their friends were watching with bright, shiny eyes. Not only were they captivated by the pretty melody and the way Sunny and Taeyeon sounded together, but they were admiring Sunny’s bravery too.

“You cried so much on the day before graduation
You held it in firmly you tried so hard not to cry
Just like that hot summer when we couldn’t say what we wanted, goodbye.”

As the chorus rolled in, Sunny wanted to laugh at herself because she could already feel herself crying. God, why was she so awful at holding her tears in?

She felt Taeyeon’s encouraging stare though and did her best to keep up. She wanted so badly to turn to the side and see Sooyoung’s face but she knew that if she even so much glanced at her now, she could break down.

“The friend label is a label that I got to hate
The feelings I’ve hidden still remain as a painful secret memory
The photos that can’t define our relationship is a heartbreaking story
I’m sorry, summer, now goodbye, yeah.”

Sooyoung’s fists were tight, very tight. She began feeling overwhelmed again, her heart threatening to spring forth from her chest. From the beginning of Sunny speech, deep into the depths of these lyrics, she was feeling touched and she wanted it to stop.

She placed a hand on her chest as she could feel her knees getting weak too. And soon enough, she was crying along with Sunny.

“What do I say, we didn’t have to play no games
I should’ve took that chance, I should’ve asked for you to stay
And it gets me down the unsaid words that still remain
The story ended without even starting.”

Sunny’s eyes wandered over to her friends once the crying had toned down a bit. Her heart felt a bit lighter upon seeing their varied looks of awe, smiling faces and almost laughed when she saw Jessica crying. Not that she loved seeing her friend cry, but boy was she an ugly crier.

It seemed like her song was a success so far as she watched the audience sway lightly to the melody. She found herself turning to Taeyeon and the two exchanged small smiles. Taeyeon wanted more than nothing but to grab Sunny and let her cry everything out.

“Your song on the last day of the school festival, the flickering summer sea
Our feelings that were precious because we were together
Like the deepening night sky, goodbye.”

Sunny always liked to think that maybe, just maybe Sooyoung kind of had feelings for her too. The two were close, really close. She still remembers clearly the night before she had to leave for America and the way the taller girl acted. Did she have any special place in her heart? Or was she really, after all, just a friend?

“The friend label is a label that I got to hate
The feelings I’ve hid still remain as a painful secret memory
The photos that can’t define our relationship is a heartbreaking story
I’m sorry, now it’s goodbye, yeah.”

Sunny would try to keep it to herself, but she was so certain that there had to be something more between her and Sooyoung that went beyond friendship. That was proven over and over again with Sungmin, right? She wanted to ask Sooyoung over and over again, really, what was the difference between her and that boy that she so claimed to love?

The thin line between friendship and love was fragile and often brought confusion. Sunny doesn’t know where Sooyoung is anymore, especially right now, but she knew where she was, where she always would be.

“Baby oh no oh oh
I’m sorry that this is a monologue
Oh, actually, I love you, yeah.

If only our long-time hidden secrets were revealed
I would hold you in my arms.”

Taeyeon and Sunny’s voices rang throughout the auditorium, echoing through the open space. Her voice had gotten so much louder and she was too caught up in the song to even keep track if she was singing it right. But she went with her gut and prayed that the thousand times she’d practice this song and the feelings that were put into each lyric was good enough.

With the last choruses, they looked at each other as the song began to fade. It was over, Sunny’s second last plan had played out and it was over with.

“Now it’s time to say goodbye, yeah

La la la la la, la la la la la, la la la la la, la la la la la laa.”

Once again, the audience didn’t even hesitate before erupting into applause. Sunny was surprised to see some people giving them a standing ovation. Her eyes met with her parents and she smiled at them, nodding with a silent thank you for their own support. And then she looked over at her friends who were once again being the loudest and laughed at their screaming and teary faces.

After bowing towards the crowd, Sunny turned to start walking off stage with Taeyeon, only to see that Sooyoung wasn’t there anymore. She sighed, wondering where the girl could be or what she could possibly be thinking now.

In fact, the girl hadn’t wandered off too far. She was just outside the door, taking a deep breath as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She shook her head.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“You could stop being a and just get back together with Sunny unnie,” a voice popped out of no where, suddenly startling Sooyoung. Yoona smiled at the older girl before pulling her in for a hug. “I mean, it seems pretty simple and straightforward to me. You heard her right? Everything?”

“Of course,” Sooyoung responded weakly, her arms wrapping around Yoona’s thin waist. She was glad she was there, she really needed someone to lean on before her knees gave up below her.

“She loves you,” Yoona continued, her fingers walking all over Sooyoung’s back. She was smiling, knowing that Sunny’s feelings were really reaching out to their stubborn friend through her song. She was smart and really brave to do everything now. Yes, it would have to be in front of hundreds of people, but this forced Sooyoung to take her seriously and truly witness how much she wanted this to work out.

There was no escape from her feelings, Sooyoung would have to experience them first hand.

It took a while, but Sooyoung finally let out a weak answer, “I know.”

“How about you?” Yoona asked quietly. She could feel Sooyoung’s grip tighten on her shirt and nodded her head when Sooyoung shook her own instead of answering.

“She has one more song, right?” Yoona broke their hug and used her fingers to wipe the stray tears from the taller girl’s eyes. “Are you willing to listen to her last stand?”

Sooyoung could only chuckle before nodding weakly. “I will.”