Chapter Five

~~~

In reality, Taeyeon wasn't asleep at all. She was awake the whole time because of the pounding rain. It was hard for her to fall asleep when the couch was right next to two windows. Sitting up, Taeyeon looked outside, seeing nothing but darkness and rain drops. At least she wasn't shivering anymore.

"You're awake?" Tiffany asked as she turned the apartment light on. Without turning or even looking at Tiffany, Taeyeon nodded once, continuing her stare into the raining night. The wind blew against the window and Taeyeon frowned, hating the noise it created. It was an eerie noise that made Taeyeon hate it the moment she heard it. Stupid wind, she thought.

Without notice, Taeyeon sneezed twice in a row before coughing once. Tiffany heard it, "Oh, you must be getting sick. I have medicine in the cabinets, I'll be right back," she said and walked off before Taeyeon could even deny that she wasn't sick. Turning, Taeyeon looked at Tiffany's retreating figure as the girl went to get the medicine.

"Here," Tiffany said, returning to Taeyeon with two tablets and a cup of water, "Take it," Taeyeon looked down at the pills as if they were aliens. "I'm not going to posion you or anything, it's just medicine for a cold," Hesitantly, Taeyeon took the pills and plopped it into before taking the water and drinking it. Clean water, Taeyeon thought as she drank all of it in one chug.

Tiffany took a seat next to Taeyeon as the older girl placed the cup on the table and stared out the window. "I like the rain," Tiffany commented, staring out the window as the distant lights of the city were blurred out due to the nonstop rain drops, "It calms me," Taeyeon mentally disagreed with Tiffany, Calms you? More like makes you go crazy.

"I guess no tteokbokki for us tonight," Tiffany let out a small smile and looked at Taeyeon. The girl looked over and saw the smile on Tiffany's face and simply shrugged, though her lips curved up at the smallest angle. Tiffany caught it. She caught the movement of Taeyeon's lips.

Taeyeon had smiled.

~~~

Eventually, Taeyeon did fall asleep, but not until the rain had stopped pouring down could she sleep. Tiffany was there the whole time, sitting on the couch while watching a movie that she understood nothing about. It was all about a love story, the girl runs away and the boy runs away with her. Tiffany shook her head at the stupid idea.

Why would you run away from your problems? It won't get rid of the problem because at one point in your life, you'll still encounter that problem. Tiffany would rather go right into the problem and get it done and over it rather than to run away. But, that was just Tiffany's opinion.

~~~

"You cried," Taeyeon stated as she woke up, seeing Tiffany watching a different movie, tears rolling down her face. Tiffany looked over in surprise and quickly wiped the tears, "Oh.. oh? It's just the movie is sad," she lied to Taeyeon and Taeyeon knew that the red head was lying, it was written all over her face.

The black haired girl looked at the TV, which was paused. She looked at Tiffany but decided not to say anything about the matter as she stood up, "I should leave soon," Taeyeon stated quietly. Tiffany stood as well, "I'll go get your clothes in the dryer," she said before walking off.

Returning, Tiffany had Taeyeon's clothes in her hand, dry, "Here," Tiffany said, handing it over to Taeyeon as she sniffed once, "You can change in the bathroom," she pointed to the door down the small hall way. The older girl nodded and went over, entering the background before stumbling back in surprise. Everything was pink.

Taeyeon blinked once before closing the door, which was pink, and locked it, just to be safe. She changed quickly and looked at herself in the mirror before pausing, staring into her own eyes. They were blank. Totally blank.

She bit the inside of her cheek as her bottom lip trembled. She used her hand to attempt to fix her hair but it was no use. Taeyeon shook her head once and exited the bathroom, handing the clothes over to Tiffany, who was in the kitchen.

"Do you want something to eat before you leave?" Tiffany asked. Taeyeon shook her head in response, "Are you sure?" Tiffany urged on. Taeyeon nodded once, "No thanks," she mumbled. Tiffany shrugged, "Okay, do you need a ride home?"

Taeyeon wanted to leave the apartment immediately. She didn't want anything from Tiffany, she wanted nothing. Nothing at all. She simply wanted to leave. "No, I'll walk," she answered as she began to walk to the front door. Tiffany frowned but nodded, "Fine, be careful," 

The black haired girl froze in her steps, immediately thinking of Mrs. Lee. She sighed and opened the door, slipping on her worn out shoes. Tiffany watched Taeyeon leave and felt a heavy heart.

~~~

"I thought you were going home," a voice called out, making Taeyeon jump, turning to the person who talked. "Tiffany," she said softly. The red head smiled, "That's my name, don't wear it out," Taeyeon was speechless at the sight of Tiffany's eye smile but she quickly averted her gaze and continued walking.

"You just wanted to walk at.. let's see.. five in the morning?" Tiffany asked, checking the time on her wrist watch. Taeyeon nodded once and continued to walk, her feet splashing in puddles every now and then. Taeyeon mentally groaned, she didn't have enough money to buy a new pair of shoes so if these get ruined, she'll have to go bare foot.

Taeyeon noticed that Tiffany was still following her, and it bothered her. But, Taeyeon continued walking in hopes that Tiffany would leave her alone. But, to Taeyeon's dismay, Tiffany kept walking behind her. So, Taeyeon made a beeline to the noodle shop and frowned when she saw it wasn't open.

"Want to eat breakfast with me?" Tiffany asked, tilting her head. Taeyeon looked back at Tiffany and shook her head, "No," Tiffany pouted, "Why not," Taeyeon didn't respond as she kept walking. The red head let out a groan, "I'm not going to stop following you," 

"Leave me alone," Taeyeon muttered under her breath. "Pardon?" Tiffany asked, not hearing what Taeyeon said. "Can you please leave me alone?" Taeyeon repeated over her shoulder, raising her tone a bit as she took deep breaths. Tiffany frowned, "I just want to eat breakfast with you, is it a crime?"

"I don't want breakfast," Taeyeon replied as her feet continued to move on the pavement. Tiffany jogged a little to walk besides Taeyeon, "So you're going to starve?" Tiffany asked, raising an eyebrow to the older girl who had her head down, at least Taeyeon was actually responding to her now.

"Just go away," Taeyeon mumbled. "One breakfast with me isn't going to hurt, Taeyeon. We eat tteokbokki together all the time,"

This was what Taeyeon was trying to avoid. Any more meetings with Tiffany and she'll surely become attached. No, this isn't good.

"I don't have any money on me," Taeyeon let out a lame excuse. "I'll pay," Tiffany replied. Taeyeon was slowly losing the wall she's built around her heart and she slowed her walking, "Fine,"

~~~

As the two walked back to Tiffany's apartment, Taeyeon noticed the rather large puddle at the side of the road. She also noticed the car driving down before coming to the realization that if they walked at the pace they were walking currently, they'll get splashed.

Taeyeon jogged a bit before turning and taking Tiffany's wrist, pulling her forward just in time to avoid the splash that wet the whole sidewalk behind them. Tiffany, who was surprise, looked at Taeyeon, "Thanks," The older girl let go of her wrist and nodded before looking at her feet as she continued to walk.

Why did I just do that? Taeyeon thought to herself as she stuck her hands into her jean pocket when she felt the crumbled pieces of paper. She felt it around and came to the realization that it was actually her pay from work, it had gotten destroyed when it was put in the washer.

~~~

"Here, eat up," The red head smiled as she placed the plate in front of Taeyeon. Taeyeon glanced at the scrambled eggs. Tiffany smiled, "Breakfast, American style," Taeyeon had not once ever eaten food like this. She picked the fork up and stabbed into the gooey eggs before plopping it into .

Tiffany watched as Taeyeon continued to eat the eggs, "Good?" she asked and Taeyeon nodded, not even bothering to look at Tiffany as she ate. The two ate in silence, as usual, but it seemed extra quiet that morning. More than usual, if that was possible.

Taeyeon figured that she shouldn't talk to Tiffany any more, just to prevent any hurt that comes in the future. "I'll drop you off home after this," Tiffany stated as she placed the plates in the sink. Taeyeon widened her eyes and watched as Tiffany began to wash the dishes, "I'm walking," the dark haired girl replied.

Tiffany angled her body to look at Taeyeon, "Are you sure?" Taeyeon nodded, "I'll leave now. Thank you," she said softly as she got up from the seat. The red head turned and glanced at Taeyeon, "No problem," As Taeyeon went to exit the apartment, Tiffany called out, "Taeyeon,"

The black haired girl paused and looked back. Tiffany dried her hands, "Can I have your phone number?" Taeyeon pressed her lips together before shaking her head, "I don't own a phone," she stated before leaving the apartment, quickly getting out of there, leaving a confused Tiffany. Who doesn't own a phone? She thought before shrugging the thought off.

~~~

"They planted more orchids," Tiffany said as she sat herself down next to Taeyeon on the bench, pointing to the newly placed plants at the side of the garden. Taeyeon glanced at the opposite side of the garden, "And petunias," 

"Huh?" Tiffany called out, confused. She then followed Taeyeon's gaze and saw the older girl looking at the newly planted rows of petunias as well, "Oh," she let out a breath. 

It was nearly Winter now, thankfully the garden was inside a small building. Tiffany and Taeyeon often spent their time sitting on the very bench where they are now, simply sitting. No words, no conversations, nothing. And Taeyeon wanted to keep it that way.

Tiffany felt the girl besides her let out a small shiver and looked over, seeing as Taeyeon only had a sweater on, "You should wear thicker clothes," she stated in a worried tone. Taeyeon shivered again, but for a different reason this time, Stop worrying, she thought to herself since she didn't want to say it out loud.

"You could get sick like that," Tiffany continued, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. Taeyeon shrugged and shook her head and Tiffany kept silent after that.

~~~

Taeyeon was wrapping her arms around herself when she felt a cloth of some sort fall onto her back. Looking up, she saw Tiffany wrapping a small blanket around her, "Didn't I tell you to wear thicker clothes?" she smiled, though the worry was evident on her face.

Tiffany plopped herself down next to Taeyeon and saw as Taeyeon tried to shrug the blanket off. Tiffany placed a hand on Taeyeon's shoulder, keeping the blanket in place, "Just keep it, you're cold," Taeyeon frowned and tried to push the blanket off, "I'm not cold," she denied, it was the first words she said to Tiffany in quite a while.

And it was just to make Tiffany stop worrying about her., but of course, it didn't work.

"I'm just worried," Tiffany said, wrapping the blanket tighter around Taeyeon's petite body. The three words made Taeyeon cringe. Don't be worried, I don't like it, Taeyeon thought to herself as she had no choice but to allow Tiffany to wrap her up in the blanket.

~~~

Taeyeon kept her head low as she continued to walk the streets in the middle of the night, making sure to be near the street lamps that lit up the dark night. She was shivering violently as her teeth chatter and her breath turned to frost whenever she exhaled. She coughed violently, the cold air attacking .

She couldn't help but think about her family. At times like these, her family would have kept her warm, given her medicine, and showered her with unconditional love. Where the hell were they now?

The girl collapsed on the sidewalk as she broke down in sobs. It's been a while since she's cried, about three years, perhaps. It felt good to let it all out, to just let the tears flow once every now and then.

Her shoulders shook violently, her hands covering her face that became soaked with wet tears as her chest constricted with unbearable pain. All of this while nearly starving, Taeyeon was a mess. She brought her knees to her chest and burrowed her face into the gap between her legs as she continued to cry.

A car pulled up, "Taeyeon?"

Let me know what you think <3