Avast: a command to stop or cease

Taeyeon waited in the car as patiently as she could, her anxiety mounting whilst her courage was slowly leaching away. But after a few minutes of waiting, the kid leader became restless.

“Ugh, why is she taking so long?!” the eldest member wondered, twirling her thumbs around each other and shaking her leg nervously. “Kim Taeyeon, are you sure you want to tell her exactly how you feel? You aren’t even sure yourself. Aren’t you just being a little brash and emotional right now? What if it’s just an impulse? But then again… what else could this feeling be…?”

She couldn’t sit still any longer so Taeyeon decided to get out of the car and take a walk around. She needed to get rid of the nervous energy she had built up. She walked halfway around the block before she realized that she had just left without telling Jessica, so she pulled out her phone and sent the American a text.

“Sorry, Sica. I went for a short walk. I’m on my way back now…”

“Where are you, you jerk? I was just about to text you… You left without telling me?! I was so worried!” the ice princess texted back in fury. She was indeed worried when she had returned to her car but the kid leader wasn’t where she was supposed to be.

“I’m sorry. I just… forgot. I’m almost there. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Taeyeon texted in reply as she sprinted back to Jessica.

As the kid leader turned the corner, she could see the ice princess in the distance, leaning against the car, her arms folded and impatiently tapping her foot. She was about to call out to the other girl but she had no breath left, so instead, she just continued running until she stopped right in front of the American. Jessica’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden arrival of Taeyeon who tripped and stumbled into the ice princess’s arms.

“What on earth Taeyeon?! Where did you go? And why are you out of breath?” Jessica asked, trying to steady Taeyeon. Usually Jessica was the clumsy one but not this time.

Taeyeon gasped for air, taking deep breaths to fill her lungs that had been emptied from running. Once she steadied her breathing, she answered, “I, uhm… got bored so I decided to take a walk but I forgot to text you about it…”

“You… You got bored?! I thought you just left, you jerk!” Jessica huffed. Her mood took a complete u-turn from the delight of being reunited with Krystal.

“I-I’m sorry…?” Taeyeon apologize but she was confused as to why Jessica was so angry at her.

“You’re bored with me? Fine… You don’t have to be here…” The ice princess started to turn away but the kid leader reached her arms out and stopped the American.

“I never said that! Why are you putting words in my mouth again?” The kid leader’s voice raised in frustration yet again.

“You said you were bored…” Jessica mumbled under her breath as she averted her eyes.

“Stop it! You know that’s not what I said… If you want me to leave, just say so. Fine, to be honest, I was lying about being bored, okay?! I… I just needed to get rid of my nervous energy so I decided to take a walk…” Taeyeon confessed.

“W-What are you nervous about what?” the ice princess asked, still looking away from the kid leader and in a quiet voice. She felt a little embarrassed that she had gotten mad at nothing. But it was the affect that Taeyeon had on her. Jessica’s emotions were always amplified when it concerned Taeyeon.

“Well you know how I had something to tell you earlier…?”

“Uhm… yes… what is it…?”

The eldest member was just about to open to say something but then she remembered that there were people in the house waiting for them and they might come out at any moment. She had had enough of interruptions and she didn’t need any more of it. So she slid her hand into Jessica’s and started leading her away.

“W-What are you doing…?” the ice princess stuttered, not anticipating this move from the kid leader.

“I can’t deal with anymore distractions. Just… Just come with me…” Taeyeon explained hastily as she pulled Jessica into an alleyway nearby.

“W-Wait… T-They’ll be looking for us…” Jessica resisted slightly, hesitant and nervous about where all this was heading. She looked back towards the entrance to her house anticipating someone to come out and catch Taeyeon dragging her into the alley at any moment, but no one did.

“Don’t worry about it… I just need a few minutes,” Taeyeon reassured her unconvincingly.

“What on earth Taeyeon?! What the hell is wrong with you?!” Jessica yelled at the eldest member as she jerked her hand back to free herself from Taeyeon’s grasp.

Taeyeon’s immediate action was to clasp her hand over Jessica’s mouth to silence her.

“Shhh… I just need a few minutes without interruptions…” Taeyeon told Jessica, her hand still over the latter’s mouth and leaning in a little too close for Jessica’s comfort.

Feeling flustered, she pried Taeyeon’s hand away and took a step back. “F-Fine… W-What is it…?”

“Sica… what happened yesterday… It wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t an impulse, well it was an impulse but I meant it. It wasn’t something that was just on a whim or just a passing…” the kid leader confessed, her eyes looking straight into the ice princess’s.

“W-What?! W-What about yesterday? W-What did you mean?”

“Do I really have to say it?! You know what I’m talking about! What happened between us before I left…”

“Forget about it Taeyeon… I was just overly emotional… I already told you…”

“You’re lying. I know you Sica, despite you thinking that I don’t give a damn about you, I do. So very much. And I know you. I know what you’re like. Stop hiding. Stop pretending that it’s nothing. I have. I’m admitting it now.”

“Admitting what…? And I’m not hiding! I have nothing to hide from.”

“Then you’re in denial! You started this, you can’t take it back. And… and… you brought out all these feelings in me so don’t you dare deny yours now!”

“I… I…” the ice princess tried to think up an excuse, any excuse to refute the kid leader’s argument but she couldn’t come up with anything.

“Ugh…! Is that all you can say?! I’m telling you that I have feelings for you too and that’s all you can say?!” Taeyeon blurted out, the lid on her bottled up emotions finally buckling under the built up pressure. But the second she said it, she clasped her hands over horrified at her confession and terrified about how Jessica would react.

“You… You… What?!” Jessica blinked a few times, unable to believe what she had heard.

The American’s brain was busy “She what? Wait… did she just say…? No, it couldn’t have been. But… did she really? My ears are deceiving me aren’t they..? They must be… Wake up, Jessica! Wake the hell up! There’s no way she would feel that way about you!”

Seeing as to how Jessica just stood there completely frozen, the kid leader waved her hand in front of the ice princess’s face. “Did you hear what I said?! Sica, did you hear what I said?!” She waited for a response but Jessica was still petrified and stuck in her own mind, so Taeyeon, no longer able to contain her frustration, let the cap on her bottle of emotions fly.

Taeyeon grabbed Jessica’s face with both her hands and pressed her lips firmly against the other girl’s.

For a few heartbeats, Jessica couldn’t even react. Her eyes widened in shock but Taeyeon’s face was so close that she had to immediately clench them shut tightly. She tried pushing Taeyeon away but the warmth from the kid leader started to melt the ice princess. Jessica slowly surrendered and started kissing Taeyeon back.

Feeling Jessica’s reciprocation, Taeyeon intensified her kiss. Any doubt about how she felt slowly dissipated and she took it as a sign that Jessica had accepted and returned her feelings. The kid leader shifted her arms to the ice princess’s waist and pulled Jessica closer to her.

Jessica felt herself being drawn deeper and deeper into the kiss… until she suddenly broke it off. “T-Taeyeonie… S-Stop!”

“W-What? Why…?” Taeyeon asked, astonished at the abruptness of the ice princess’s retreat. The kid leader reached out again to take the other girl’s hand but Jessica stepped back and widened the gap between them. “B-But… I thought…”

“This… I just… I’m sorry. I… I can’t do this…” Jessica muttered, still a little flustered.

“Sica… W-What do you mean? We were just… But… You kissed me back!” Taeyeon exclaimed in frustration, her voice gradually getting louder.

“SHHH! People will hear you! Are you crazy?!” Jessica hushed the kid leader.

“Yes! I am! Because you’re driving me insane! I thought... I thought this was what you wanted… Is it not? D-Did I get this all wrong?!” Taeyeon buried her head into her hands in embarrassment.

“Taeyeon, listen… It’s not that I don’t-” Jessica started to explain but then there came a voice calling for the two of them.

“TAETAE! JESS! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!” Tiffany’s distinct voice cut Jessica off.

Taeyeon and Jessica found themselves in the familiar situation of being interrupted yet again.

Surprisingly, Taeyeon was the more annoyed one. Gritting her teeth as she let out a deep breath to calm herself down.

“Fany… Why is it always you…?!” Taeyeon thought to herself as she relaxed again.

Jessica, on the other hand, actually let out a sigh of relief. For once, it was a welcomed interruption. She really did not want to talk about what had just happened. But it was a mistake. Or at least that was what she was trying to convince herself.

“We should head back. They’ve been waiting for us long enough…” the ice princess told the kid leader.

Taeyeon didn’t bother responding. Instead she immediately headed back towards the house, her steps brisk. Jessica wanted to call after her but she knew she couldn’t and she shouldn’t. So all she could do was follow Taeyeon back.

“Hey! There you two are. What on earth?! We’ve been waiting for you two…” Tiffany said the moment she saw the two girls in the distance.

“It’s nothing. Let just start unloading… Otherwise we’ll be here all day,” Taeyeon told Tiffany.

“Uhm, okay…” Tiffany responded. Then she looked over at Jessica. “Jess, are you alright?” she asked, seeing Jessica’s grim expression.

“Huh? Yeah… I’m fine. Let’s start, otherwise you’ll be here all day,” Jessica replied absentmindedly.

Tiffany chuckled and then wrapped her arms around the other girls’ shoulders. “What are you two? Twins? You both said the same thing.”

The two girls took a quick glance at each other but only just for a second before turning away again. Taeyeon was now livid with Jessica for making her the fool whilst Jessica felt guilty that she had let herself give in when she thought it was wrong. And this time, neither of them can take it back.

“This is going to be a long day indeed…” both the girls thought.