Hongbin was late for math class. 

She really wish she hadn't been, especially since it was the first day. The problem was that she slept in, which was very unlike her. This lead to her rushing her eyeliner which resulted in what looked too much like a black eye to go out of the house with. So she was late. Maybe not by most student's standards, but the bell was ringing as she entered and that was enough to make her feel ashamed. 

A navy blue skater skirt hit mid thigh and she wore a flowing floral top tucked into it, makeup neat and simple, so at least she looked cute. But she was still late. Hongbin glanced around the classroom. Everyone had chosen their seats and the only empty one was in the back, where the kids who are only in the class because they have to be sit. The teacher gave her a stern look and requested that she please take a seat, so she did. Hongbin placed her books on top of the available desk and slid into the seat, long red-brown hair visible to her as she bowed her head. 

"Looks like you're stuck with me."

Hongbin looked to the girl who was sitting in the chair to her right, and who's hands were lazily resting on the two person desk. The girl had black hair that went to her shoulder on one side and was shaven on the other, bangs sweeping over her forehead. She was wearing denim shorts that were a poor excuse for shorts, ending just as fast as they started and torn all over. Her long, lean legs were covered in black nylon and crossed, combat boots seeming chunky in comparison to her thinness. On top she had on a band t-shirt in a grey colour, the sleeves cut off. A ring looped around her nose and metal decorated her ears. 

"I'm Sanghyuk," the girl said, full lips curling into a smile that didn't quite make it up to her eyes. 

"Hongbin," she whispered. The teacher had already started with an introduction and she didn't want to be rude. 

"I like your outfit," Sanghyuk said, not caring to whisper. 

"Thanks." Hongbin sat up straight and tried to smile. She froze up when she felt a hand on her bare thigh, just where her skirt ended. Only her eyes moved to look at Sanghyuk, who remained looking forward. Her hand retracted quickly. "May I help you?"

"It was a test," Sanghyuk explained. She waggled her perfectly plucked brows. "This is going to be fun."

"Test? Fun? What is-"

"Lee Hongbin, is my teaching interrupting your talking?" 

Hongbin swallowed hard, eyes wide. She never got scolded, especially by teachers. A distaste for Sanghyuk was developing quickly. "I'm sorry Mr. Jung. It won't happen again."

➖➖➖➖➖➖

"What are you doing?" Hongbin gasped. She'd been plugging away at the assigned work that the teacher gave them for the remaining twenty minutes of class. That was when she saw a light in the corner of her vision paired with a little flicking noise. Upon looking to her side she found Sanghyuk, slouched in her seat and curiously playing with a lighter. 

"I'm bored. I'm not doing that right now." Sanghyuk never looked away from the flame. 

"We're in class." Hongbin shoved her chair back, putting distance between herself and the tiny fire. "That's dangerous."

"You're hot," Sanghyuk said, then chuckled. "Get it? Like fire?"

Hongbin blushed, much against her will, then scowled. "I want to get my work done."

"What do you do for fun?" Sanghyuk asked, resting her elbow on the table and turning to sit sideway on her chair. To Hongbin's relief she tucked the lighter away. 

"I like reading, going to the movies, shopping...I don't know, stuff like that." The only reason Hongbin provided an answer because, if the three weeks in class said anything about it, Sanghyuk was persistent. She was also a tad bizarre. She asked strange questions at strange times and demanded answers, even to seemingly unimportant inquiries. 

"Boring." Sanghyuk rolled her eyes. She leaned in a little closer to Hongbin and, for the first time, dropped her voice to a whisper. "You must do something bad. Illegal? Immoral? Do you worship Satan?"

"No, I don't worship the devil!" Hongbin shrieked. Several heads turned back to give her a look and she felt her face colour. 

"Easy," Sanghyuk said and chuckled. She lightly touched Hongbin's arm, up to the frills on her capped sleeve then back down to her elbow. Sanghyuk was touchy, she had been since day one. Hongbin shivered then, but typically didn't like to provide a reaction to what seemed to be a mindless act. Sanghyuk looked from her traveling hand to Hongbin's face. "Have you been drunk before?"

"We're underaged," Hongbin said, like that was an adequate answer. 

"Smoked?" Sanghyuk tried. 

"I care about my lungs." Hongbin tossed her hair over her shoulder, eyes down on her paper. 

"Wanna do something fun?" Sanghyuk asked, tilting her head to look for Hongbin's eyes. "Give me ten hours."

Much to her own dismay, Hongbin was intrigued. "Ten hours? For what?"

"For you to not care about school or being a goody two shoes. I want to show you a good time. Not just a good time where you come home and forget about it, but something that's going to make your heart pound at the slightest inkling of a memory." Sanghyuk was whispering fast in Hongbin's ear, hand rubbing up and down her jean-clad leg. 

Hongbin's chest was tight. This was wrong. She shouldn't be so infatuated with someone who needed to copy off of her work just to pass and spent most of the lessons playing with her lighter. Sanghyuk always smelt faintly of cigarettes, though she warned Hongbin never to start smoking, that it was a filthy expensive habit to get into. But there she was, pen frozen on her paper and caring more about Sanghyuk's words than quadratic functions. Ten hours. How much harm could be done in ten hours? Hongbin sighed. "Why?"

"Because you interest me," Sanghyuk answered simply. She paused a moment before adding, "Maybe I'm even attracted to you."

Hongbin smiled only with the side of her face Sanghyuk couldn't see. "You're bad news."

Sanghyuk smirked. "Aren't I?"

"But bad news is always the most interesting news, isn't it?" Hongbin thought out loud. She pursed her pink glossed lips and tried to refocus her eyes on her work. 

"Does that mean you'll do it?" There was an uncharacteristic hopefulness in Sanghyuk's tone. Hongbin then thought it was foolish for her to determine what was or was not characteristic for Sanghyuk. Then again they'd spend three school weeks, fifteen periods, or fifteen hours together in total. After the weekend that number would jump to twenty five. 

"When and where?"

➖➖➖➖➖➖➖

Hour 1

"Get in loser," Sanghyuk joked. She wore sunglasses that were a little too big for her face, sitting comfortably in the front seat of a shiny silver convertible. She wore her usual short shorts and sleeveless shirt, though a bold red decorated her lips. 

"Is this yours?" Hongbin asked, admiring the car. She too was in an outfit that was terribly typical for her, light purple high-waisted skinny jeans with a loose t-shirt tucked into it, hair pulled back into a ponytail. 

"My parents." Sanghyuk said, looking over her shoulder as she pulled out of the driveway before Hongbin had fastened her seatbelt. 

"Do they know you have it?" Hongbin raised an eyebrow. 

"Probably."

Hongbin just laughed nervously. If this was any indication as to how this night would go she was in for quite a bit of nervous laughter. 

It was early fall, or later summer, or some weird period in between that offered pleasant weather with minimal rain. The sun was setting, but it was still warm on Hongbin's cheeks as they drove down the highway, wind nipping at her skin in contrast. Sanghyuk lent her a pair of large sunglasses to block the brightness from her eyes. She wondered how many pairs Sanghyuk owned. They made her look older, and in Hongbin's opinion, kind of hot. Not that she let herself explore that thought. They didn't speak much because the wind was loud and the music Sanghyuk was blasting louder. Sanghyuk responded to Hongbin asking where they were going with a laugh. 

They grabbed ice coffees on the way, stopping to drink them in the parking lot outside of the chain coffee place. They sat on the hood of the car, laughing as they made up conversations they guessed people might be having inside. An old man telling his wife about how her s could trip an innocent person. Two people on a date, flirting shamelessly over their hot chocolates. It was fun. 

They pulled down a winding driveway after exited the highway into seemingly nowhere. It ended with a house not nearly as extraordinary as the thick forest scenery of the drive up. It was a small, brick house with vines growing up the side of it and flowers blooming plentifully in the front garden. Behind it stretched a wide field of overgrown grass. The driveway was vacant save for them, so Hongbin assumed nobody was home. "Is this your house?"

"Again, my parents, but yeah." Sanghyuk put the car in park and replaced the roof of it with the press of a button. She removed her glasses and hooked them on the mirror, chin jerking towards her door. "Come on, it's getting late. Our ride'll be here soon."

It was, to be fair, the sun almost completely gone from the sky. Hongbin hopped out of the car and slung her tiny bag (phone, wallet, gum, hair ties) over her shoulder. "Why can't you drive us? Where are we going?"

"You ask so many questions," Sanghyuk groaned. She leaned on the hood of the car, black nails tapping on it. "We're going to a bonfire. I can't drive because I'm going to be drunk. And so are you."

"No, no, no," Hongbin said quickly, chasing Sanghyuk up to the front door. "I'm not drinking."

"We'll see." Sanghyuk unlocked the door and pushed in, throwing a wink over her shoulder at Hongbin. 

Hour 2

Much to Hongbin's surprise, Sanghyuk was fairly easy to talk to outside of class. The conversation flowed effortlessly. They shared common interests like having separated parents, the fact that they were both some weird grey colour between gay and straight, and novels that they both read. Before Hongbin realized it she was laying on Sanghyuk's pink twin bed, head on her hand and comfortable as could be. The sky was black out the window, moon shining stark against it. 

Sanghyuk stopped trying to make conversation and began hunting through her closet. 

"What are you looking for?" Hongbin asked, curling a finger in her hair. She'd be lying if she said that she was deliberately trying to flirt with Sanghyuk. 
Sanghyuk responded by tossing four cans onto her bed. They sprung on the mattress before rolling down to touch where Hongbin's legs sunk down on the bed. They were cold against her skin and she didn't recognize the label. Sanghyuk sat on the edge of the bed and cracked one open, taking a sip and smiling deviously. "You can't even taste the alcohol. You can have one, if you want." 

Hongbin was laying on a girl's bed at night and that was the most daring thing she's done in months. She wanted to impress Sanghyuk, prove her assumptions wrong. So she grabbed a can. It tasted like a sparking flavoured water beverage, just with a thicker feeling as it went down . It was strawberry flavoured. Hongbin tried to match all of Sanghyuk's sips, not wanting to drink too fast or too slow. It felt risky, even though she knew that the alcohol content in the fruity drink probably couldn't even get her tipsy. Sanghyuk made her stand up and crush it when she was finished, high-fiving her. They both had a second, sitting closer than before and talking a little bit quieter, flirtier. 

"How are you doing?" Sanghyuk asked, dropping her newest empty on the floor with a clatter. 

Hongbin did likewise. Her cheeks were warm and she felt more relaxed than she had all day, but other than that she felt fairly normal. That and a bit like a badass for having consumed alcohol. And more attracted to Sanghyuk than before, or maybe the relaxation was just helping her admit it to herself. She smiled. "I'm good."

"Wanna try a shot?" Sanghyuk asked. 

I want to kiss you, Hongbin thought. Don't say that out loud, she thought. "I want to kiss you," Hongbin said. , she thought. 

Sanghyuk's hair swished off her shoulders when she threw her head back and laughed euphorically. She leaned down and kissed Hongbin's red hot cheek quickly and innocently, like how one might kiss a child. Mickey of vodka in hand, she smiled. "I don't kiss anyone whose had something to drink, as much as I'd love to."

"Maybe tomorrow?" Hongbin asked hopefully. She could have sworn she'd also told herself not to say that out loud either. 

Sanghyuk took a swig from the bottle, winced, then handed it to Hongbin. "Maybe tomorrow."

Hongbin swallowed a huge gulp, then screamed at the top of her lungs, kicking her legs around with her eyes squeezed shut that was polar opposite to the usual collected demeanor she tried to portray. "THERE IS NO GOD IN THAT BOTTLE. WHAT IS THAT. JESUS ."

"You'll get used to it," Sanghyuk assured, snagging it back before Hongbin spilt it all over her bed. She twisted the cap and tucked in into the brown faux leather bag she had hanging from her shoulder. 

Hongbin watched Sanghyuk dip a thin brush into a tiny glass jar and approach a mirror. The brush glided in an effortlessly smooth line, then a pointed wing. Hongbin noted that something was different about the girl when she picked her up, and it was the lack of bold precise liner that she sported everyday. It was like watching an artist at work seeing how fast she conjured up perfection. Hongbin, though she tried, could never master the dreaded winged liner. She stuck to mascara and lip gloss. "Sanghyuk?"

Sanghyuk cleaned up one of the wings with a black fingernail then looked at Hongbin in the mirror. "Want me to do you?"

Hongbin smirked. 

Sanghyuk rolled her eyes, smiling. "You know what I mean."

"Sure," Hongbin said, scooting to the edge of the bed and closing her eyes. Sanghyuk did her eyeliner. They got hungry, so they burned macaroni then had watermelon, spooning it straight from a half. 

Hour 3

Their ride came long after the sun was down. It was when Hongbin would normally come home from whatever she'd been doing that day, but Sanghyuk insisted that the night was still young.

The boy driving the pickup truck's name was Kim Wonsik. He looked like someone Sanghyuk might be friends with, brow pierced and rock music blasting as they both slid into the front seat, Sanghyuk in the middle. 

"I'm Wonsik, some call me Ravi," Wonsik greeted after he turned down the music and Hongbin closed them into the vehicle. He glanced around Sanghyuk to Hongbin, raising his pierced brown when he laid eyes on her. "Actually, you're really cute. You can call me whatever you want."

"Easy." Sanghyuk hit Wonsik's chest playfully. 

"Get it. Got it." Wonsik winked at Sanghyuk. Sanghyuk laced her fingers into Hongbin's, who blushed. 

Wonsik and Sanghyuk made small talk about life and mutual friends they had on the way there. Sanghyuk held Hongbin's hand the whole time, squeezing and rubbing her thumb over it to ensure that Hongbin knew she hadn't been forgotten. She was kind of glad they didn't give her room to speak because seemed not to fully want to cooperate with her brain in that moment. So she just listened, attention shifting from the music to the less than thrilling conversation about how Sally convinced Brad to try pot. 

Hongbin didn't know where they were going but she sure as hell knew when they arrived. A huge orange bonfire with flames the air around it and sticks in a hut burning to ashes in the center lit up an otherwise dark field. People hovered around it and far away from it all at once. 

Hongbin noticed a pattern to the people. The ones sitting closest to the fire, those on logs or stoking it or in the grass, were the calmest. They just talked, enjoyed the warmth. They also seemed to be the most sober. The next level were those close, but not quite in the light of the fire. These people had bottles in their hand, drinking the substance that assaulted Hongbin's mouth earlier like it was water. They danced to the music being played and socialized. It looked like a beehive of people just buzzing around for amusement. The last layer were the outermost people. They were linked off in pairs, or sometimes threes, and were mostly hidden by the night. Though she couldn't see perfectly, Hongbin had a pretty good idea as to what they were doing. 

"Ready?" Sanghyuk said and nudged Hongbin's shoulder with her own. 

Hongbin hadn't noticed that they'd pulled to the side of the rode and Wonsik had put the car into park, but apparently they had. She was excited and nervous all at once, mind racing with this new feeling of breaking the rules. With a nod, Hongbin stepped out of the car. She let Sanghyuk hold her hand again as they walked towards the beehive, Wonsik a few strides in front of them. 

Wonsik immediately greeted a few people with weird looking high fives and side hugs before joining the calm people next to the fire. It made Hongbin scared. He was the only one she knew here that he was sober and the idea of being drunk both thrilled and terrified her. Sanghyuk leaned in to whisper in her ear, relaxing her worries like she could hear them. "It's okay, we won't go far. Wonsik'll find us when he wants to go home. He's a reliable DD. Won't have a drop."

Sanghyuk and Hongbin joined the middle group. They kept mostly to themselves for a while, doing shots and laughing back and forth and testing each other's sobriety through a series of pokes and shoves. Hongbin felt like she was on a date, only there were people all around them that didn't feel like they existed and she was pretty sure that the ground wasn't this uneven when they arrived. 

Hour 4

"No more," Sanghyuk said, shoving the half empty bottle of vodka into her bag. She had on a lazy grin. "Don't wantcha to get hungover. I don't get hungover much anymore."

"Not gunna!" Hongbin shouted. She wasn't sure why she shouted. "Not drunk!"

"Baby, you are, though." Sanghyuk laughed. She threw her arms around Hongbin, hugging her and inhaling the scent of floral perfume and shampoo. They rocked back and forth in the hug, trying their best not to tumble over into the grass again. 

"Baby? Han Sanghyuk!" Hongbin slurred.

"I call everyone baby when I'm drunk." Sanghyuk said into Hongbin's hair. "God, you smell good."

"Am I interrupting?" A voice came from beside the two. 

Sanghyuk's shaven head was rough against Hongbin's cheek as she turned to see who was greeting them. Unintentionally, she nearly sent Sanghyuk flying into the grass when realized who it was. Hakyeon had been her closest friend all throughout middle school and a good portion of her freshman year of high school until he moved away. He was the next to be enveloped in a hug with a shriek of, "HAKYEONNIE!"

Hakyeon's eyes widened over red hair, falling onto Sanghyuk. "She is not drunk."

"She's a little drunk." Sanghyuk shrugged. 

"Are you drinking beer?" Hongbin gasped, seizing Hakyeon's wrist which was indeed attached to a hand with a beer in it. She shook her head disapprovingly. "Cha Hakyeon, you bad boy."

"I'm bad? You're drunk off your ." Hakyeon chuckled and hugged her again, backing off when he felt that Sanghyuk was going to hurt him, dark eyes squinted in a glare. He his lips and nodded understandingly. "Hey, do you guys want to come sit with us? We're putting off fireworks in a couple of minutes and Hongbin could definitely use a sandwich."

"I'm so hungry," Hongbin groaned. She latched onto Sanghyuk's shoulder and hopped up and down. "Can we?"

"We can." Sanghyuk took her arm and lead her to wherever Hakyeon was taken them. This ended up being a parking lot about ten minutes from the bonfire. Hakyeon was helping with the actual show itself, so he let them be. 

Turns out Hakyeon drove a pick up truck as well, and had blankets and pillows on hand for the occasion. Sanghyuk made a bed for them in the trunk of his vehicle, and Hongbin used the crook of Sanghyuk's neck as a pillow while the watched the colourful show. Both girls used each other for heat, legs overlapping and arms around one another. Sanghyuk frequently told Hongbin how beautiful she was during the show, not much of which Hongbin actually heard. The smell of cut grass and plastic filled the air around them, fireworks background noise to the sound of their beating hearts. 
As per Hakyeon's request, she polished off a ham and cheese sandwich and a bottle of water. 

Hour 5

After the show, the two girls returned to the party. Hongbin felt like the ground had evened itself out a little more. She was able to have conversations with both Sanghyuk and all of the people Sanghyuk seemed to know. It was fun to start fresh with people. Hongbin was known, at school, for her high grades and impressively good behavior. Manners. Respect. Skirts that never dared to be shorter than mid thigh. Here she was just another party goer, even with the rest. It was refreshing. 

"Sanghyuk!" A man with full, pouty lips approached the two girls. He eyed Hongbin. "And special lady friend!"

Sanghyuk chuckled at him and patted his shoulder. "Her name is Hongbin. Hongbin, Jaehwan."

Jaehwan shook her hand and gave a dramatic bow. "Pleasure to meet you."

Hongbin played along, smiling as she curtsied. "And I you, my good sir."

Jaehwan gave her a grin before he turned to Sanghyuk and went serious. He took the girl the the shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. "I'm gay."

"Really?" Sanghyuk seemed unphased. "And you're using a party to come out?"

"Yup." Jaehwan let go of her shoulders and turned to Hongbin. "Hey cutie, I'm gay."

"So I heard." Hongbin giggled. Jaehwan was pretty cute. 

Jaehwan gasped jokingly and covered his mouth. "From who?"

"A little birdie."

"Kiss me. Both of you," Jaehwan instructed out of the blue. His face didn't falter from it's seriousness. He wasn't kidding. 

"Don't kiss drunk people, babe, you know my rules," Sanghyuk said casually, like she was bored of saying it. 

"Kiss me." This time it was directed at Hongbin. 

Hongbin blinked at him. "But didn't you just say-"

"Exactly. Kiss me because I'm gay."

Sanghyuk pushed Hongbin forward a bit. "Makes sense to me."

Hongbin didn't know what she was doing, just that there was a face between her hands and suddenly soft lips on her own. She kissed Jaehwan hard and quickly, making a show out of it more than anything. The fact that she kissed a stranger felt better than the kiss itself. Jaehwan whooped, shouted another proclamation of his uality, and moved on to continue his journey out of the closet. 

"I'm extremely jealous," Sanghyuk said, low in Hongbin's ear with a hand hugging her close by the waist. 

"Don't be." Hongbin sighed, letting Sanghyuk's nose run up her neck. She felt hot breath against her skin, a hand on her hip and Sanghyuk's hair on her shoulder. Hongbin shivered. "You do more to me by holding my hand than he could have ever done with his mouth."

"We have to go socialize more, or I may just break my rule for you right here," Sanghyuk whispered. Her lips paused on Hongbin's jaw, hovering in an almost kiss before she planted another child's kiss on Hongbin's cheek. She straightened up when her eyes landed on something on the other side of the fire. Hongbin in tow, she began stalking across the lawn. "I'm going to teach you how to play beer pong."

Hour 6

"How are you feeling?" Sanghyuk asked. Again. 

"Great! Actually, I'm not that drunk anymore and I don't even feel sick," Hongbin said proudly. She doubled checked that she still had her phone in her pocket. "Yeah, all good."

"Glad to hear it." Sanghyuk pushed her hands around Hongbin's waist, skimming the skin under her shirt before slipping her hands in the girl's back pockets. "Are you having fun?"

"So much," Hongbin breathed. As her senses returned to her the night air nipped her skin a little. She was wearing a sweater that she was pretty sure started out on Sanghyuk. Their foreheads touches, black and red hair mixing in a curtain that hid their faces from the rest of the people around them. Hongbin just giggled at her, not that she was doing anything particularly funny. "People are staring."

"Let 'em." Sanghyuk hummed. Their hips and thighs touched, then their noses. Sanghyuk stepped back and coughed. "We should find Wonsik."

"He looks a little, uh, occupied." Hongbin jerked her chin over toward where two people appeared to be kissing, hands around one another. One of these people had the red hat and black clothing that identified him as Wonsik, and the other the blue jeans and plaid shirt Jaehwan was wearing. 

Sanghyuk cackled loudly. "Finally."

"What is it?" Hongbin asked, confused. 

"I've been predicting two things for a while," Sanghyuk began explaining, not tearing her eyes away from the who boys who had made their way to the outside of the beehive. "The first is the two of them admitting they're gay, and the second the two of them hooking up."

Hongbin understood that this meant to leave them be for the time being. Sanghyuk decided that she was pretty much done being social for the night, specifically stating that she would rather be alone with Hongbin, so they retreated to Wonsik's car. 

"Does he know you took his keys?" Hongbin asked, laughing as they both used the truck to stop their running. 

"I'll text him." Sanghyuk panted. 

Hongbin suppressed the urge to inform her that she wouldn't be so out of breath if she quit smoking, but a superior attitude isn't attractive on anyone so she didn't. Sanghyuk reached into the window to turn start the truck and put on a radio station that she blasted so loud they could hear it once they sat on the roof. Sanghyuk allowed her one more shot before she tossed the bottle into a bush. 

They sang poorly with their arms around each other until Wonsik returned. 

"Hey, lover boy," Sanghyuk cooed, sliding down from the roof. 

Wonsik's hair was messed up on his head and his lips were red and swollen. He just smiled and shook his head. "Shut up."

"I thought it was cute," Hongbin added. 

Wonsik gestured to Hongbin like she was a perfect example of a good friend. "There."

"Whatever, you big gay nerd," Sanghyuk rolled her eyes and got into the car. 

"Says the girl who has more on her mind than she'll ever get in the sheets!" Wonsik called through the closed window. "You little gay hooligan." 

Sanghyuk gave him the finger then they both started laughing. Hongbin was laughing so hard her cheeks and sides her, as well as her lungs from lack of breath. 

Hour 7

They were back at Sanghyuk's house, both still buzzing pleasantly. After thanking Wonsik for the ride, the two headed for Sanghyuk's backyard. Hongbin had picked up the habit of just following what the other girl did and not asking questions. 

Her backyard was gorgeous to say the least. A large oval shaped pool glistened under the porch light, water barely waving as though temping anyone who saw it to ripple it's stillness. There was a wooden deck outlined in mesh and with the push of a button tiny lights lit it up like fireflies. It was simple, but everything looked expensive down to the cutlery that was set out on the table. Sanghyuk was setting her phone up in an expensive looking radio system. She scanned through her playlist before selecting a pop song that was on the slow side of upbeat, the kind of song you only listen to because it has memories attached to it. 

"I dare you to jump in." Sanghyuk smirked. 

"I'm wearing some of your clothes," Hongbin said, standing on the other side of the pool. One didn't have to be a genius to guess what was coming next.

Sanghyuk gave some strange battle cry before she took off running beside the pool, hand flying to her nose and knees to chest as she jumped in with a splash. Hongbin seized the moment when only the sound of bubbles filled the air to jump in after her. The water was cold, and it was probably too cold outside to be swimming but that didn't matter. They came to the surface and laughed at each other immediately. Their makeup was bleeding black streaks down their faces. The clothing weighed them down so they swam over to the shallow end to kneel, laughter dying down as they got closer. 

"Let me get that," Sanghyuk said, thumbs massaging the drying colour off Hongbin's cheeks. There was something oddly romantic about whispering over the water, voice traveling over it smoothly, loud but soft. Hongbin swiped away Sanghyuk's makeup as well. 

"Wh-what are you doing?" Hongbin asked. 

Sanghyuk had dipped herself underwater and come up with her shirt in hand. She was wearing a black bra that was simple but absolutely breathtaking against her pale skin and slim frame. She spoke as she began stepping out of her shorts. "Skinny dipping."

"Sanghyuk, that's-"

Hongbin was interrupted by a clap, then all of the lights went out. It should have been nerve wracking, being in water in completely darkness save for the moon that shone against the water. But Sanghyuk's hand found her's under the water and the music was still playing so she was fine. Sanghyuk's voice was a tease over the water. "I'm in my bra and underwear."

Hongbin was nervous now that the alcohol had somewhat worn off, but Sanghyuk was too intriguing to say no to. She shed the borrowed sweater, then her shirt. The jeans were a little more tricky, but she managed. "As am I."

Sanghyuk pressed something into Hongbin's hands. Two things, actually. A bra and another small piece of fabric. Hongbin gulped, unhooked her bra, then slid out of her . It was liberating being in the pool, all of her body touched by the cool water. She could easily hide her body under the water because the glisten made it impossible to see through, but she was nonetheless. The next time Sanghyuk spoke it was farther away. "Polo."

"I can still see you," Hongbin said. She could vaguely see Sanghyuk's head and shoulders poking out of the water on the other side of the shallow end, her hair all slicked back. 

"Then close your eyes." 

Hongbin smiled and did as she was told, eyes turning the near darkness to complete. "Marco."

There was splashing a little to her left and a strangled, "Polo."

The deep end. Hongbin inched towards the voice, sliding across the shallow end until her toes hit the slope. "Marco."

"Polo." It was right behind her, low in her ear. 

Hongbin squeaked, feet sliding from beneath her and sending her underwater, down the slope to the deeper end. Her laughter surfaced in bubbles and Hongbin swam back up, eyes open as she found her footing where she was able to stand. Sanghyuk was a few feet away, blowing bubbles in the water. Hongbin splashed her. "You scared me."

"I know." Sanghyuk moved towards Hongbin, emerging from the water as she walked. By the time she was close enough to the other girl for them to see each other clearly, she was standing up, water to her belly button and s exposed. They were perfect, at least in Hongbin's eyes, round and perky without being so large they were intimidating. Hongbin had to force her eyes up to Sanghyuk's. Sanghyuk was so comfortable with her own that her confidence seemed to radiate from her. "Float."

"Float?" Hongbin's voice cracked. 

Sanghyuk let her body fall backwards, waves rippling around her body like a halo. Her body floated effortlessly on the surface of the water and she spoke loudly as the water covered her ears. "Float. It sounds corny, but when you're it's just you and the water. Try it."

Hongbin mirrored Sanghyuk's action, though she was a lot less graceful before she was able to grasp the concept of floating. Sanghyuk was right. It was soothing, only the moon and stars in her vision with the water holding her up, molding around her every curve as she bobbed a bit with each slow breath. Hongbin wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but in reality it didn't matter. The black sky showed no faulter. They had hours until morning. 

Hongbin took a deep breath before letting herself sink, swimming to where she saw legs in the shallow end. She smiled sleepily when she emerged. "You're right."

"I know." Sanghyuk held Hongbin's elbows, keeping her moving to standing when she originally had no intention of revealing more than her collarbones. 
She stood up obediently, following the silence request. Suddenly her mind was clear, though in that sense her chest was also tight. Sanghyuk wasn't looking in her eyes, though respectfully not any lower than her chin. Hongbin didn't believe it would happen until Sanghyuk actually kissed her, lips careful and body a safe distance away. Hongbin sighed in , mind swimming with a thousand thoughts that she wished she could just drown in the water so she could enjoy the kiss. Sanghyuk was kissing her. She'd just been drunk for the first time. Sanghyuk was kissing her. She'd been to her first party. Sanghyuk was kissing her. She was and Sanghyuk was kissing her. 

Bare s were the first to meet each other when Sanghyuk pulled Hongbin closer, wet hands slipping over the curve of her hips to draw her in by the small of her back. Hongbin made another small sound at this contact, then surrendered herself to Sanghyuk's touch completely. She melted against the other girl, kissing her deeper and being more encouraged than deterred by how much skin was touching. 

"You're shaking," Sanghyuk observed quietly. 

"I'm cold," Hongbin argued, surprised by her ability to form coherent words. 

"Let's go inside. I have some oversized sweaters and hot chocolate with our names on them." Sanghyuk's hand found Hongbin's and used it to guide the quivering girl to the stairs, out of the pool, and to a large beach towel that she wrapped around her cold body. 

Inside they went, to the sweaters that went down to their thighs and warm mediocre tasting hot chocolate. The two spent the better portion of the rest of this hour kissing and prolonging seemingly simple tasks like dressing and hair brushing by doing so. 

Hour 8

Much more kissing, though this time was on the couch in Sanghyuk's basement with a movie on on the background. Pillow talk was whispered until they were both blushing and sleepy giggles were emitted. 

Hours 9&10

They fell asleep, Hongbin's head in Sanghyuk's lap with her hair in a damp braid, Sanghyuk's hand frozen where it had been the other girl's hair before sleep pulled her under. 

Hongbin woke up to a tickle on her face and slight pound in her head. The events of the night before flooded back into her as she woke, a grin touching her lips as they did. The tickle stopped. 

"Good afternoon," Sanghyuk hummed. She's been tracing over Hongbin's face with her finger. 

"Afternoon?" Hongbin rubbed her eyes and forced herself to sit up. 

Sanghyuk stretched her legs out and slumped down on the couch. "It's one."

Hongbin looked at Sanghyuk then down at herself. She sighed. "I'm not wearing pants."

"And you're wearing my underwear and you have a hickey on your ," Sanghyuk said. She touched the side of Hongbin's face and kissed her slowly, then rubbed their noses together. " happens."

"I had fun," Hongbin crawled forward, driving Sanghyuk onto her back then kissing her in thanks. 

Sanghyuk put her hands on Hongbin's hips. This innocent girl, afraid to even ask for a sheet of paper when she needed one, was driving her crazier than any man or woman she'd met in her circle had ever. Hongbin had a new sparkle in her eye then, a devilish smirk that Sanghyuk often saw in the mirror. Hongbin kissed then like she meant it, more sure of herself than Sanghyuk had ever seen her in or out of class. 

"You're an interesting creature, Lee Hongbin." Sanghyuk pulled her down. 

Hongbin knelt, thigh between Sanghyuk's leg and eyes up on the other girl. "Do you have any restrictions on what we can do sober?"

Sanghyuk laughed. "Absolutely not."