Back home after her friends' little MIP ceremony, Niu Nai lay in bed looking up at the ceiling. She was a bit overwhelmed, but in a good way. She had such great friends. She loved living with them, and being in a band with them. She had a cool girlfriend that wasn't whiny, and didn't wear high heels. How could she be happier?

As she started to fall asleep, she clung to her beige bear with one arm, and her new leather hat with the other.

Brotherly love was ever-present in the days following the big concert. The girls now had some down time, and they completely intended to take advantage of it. With rehearsals on hiatus for a week, they slept in, played video games, shot hoops; out and out relaxed!

One afternoon, Qiao and Niu Nai were waiting on the basketball court for their friends to join them. The subject of Zi Lun arose. Qiao really suspected Niu Nai was in better spirits lately because something was going on between them. She knew Niu Nai was "dating" this Vic girl, but she had no idea how serious it was.

"Dude, really? Can you stop bugging me about Zi Lun already? There is nothing going on with us! I don't even think she remembers what happened. I don't even know if anything happened that night, or if it was in my head," Niu Nai insisted.

"So you haven't asked her? Aren't you curious?" Qiao pressed on.

"I am, but in the end, does it make much of a difference? Nothing's come of it, so I'll just let it lie. She acts no differently around me, so I've just moved past it," Niu Nai said.

"Okay then. And what about the rest of us?" Qiao asked.

"The rest of you what?" Niu Nai was puzzled.

"You said you had the hots for us all," Qiao raised her eyebrow.

"I didn't say that! I was girl crazy! I was crushing out on every girl. Well, no...not every girl, but you know what I mean. Since I don't know many tomboys, you all ended up being the only ones I could fantasize about," Niu Nai summarized.

"Ewwwwww," Qiao wrinkled her nose in mock disgust.

Just then, Zi Lun arrived. She asked Qiao, "What's up with you?"

Qiao was usually pretty quick on her feet, and not just on the b-ball court. She said, flagging the air with her hand, "Niu Nai laid a big fart."

"Oh shut up, you brat!" Niu Nai slapped the lid of her friend's baseball cap.

Zi Lun simply shook her head and sputtered, "Children."

An Na and Qiu Qiu got to the court next, and now that everyone was present, Niu Nai announced, "One more person is joining us."

"Oh?" An Na asked as she tightened the laces on her sneakers.

"Yep, you've already met her, but this time it's...different," Niu Nai's dialogue was interrupted as she glimpsed Vic walking towards the group, "Ah, and here she is, now."

Vic stood on tiptoes to place a kiss on Niu Nai's cheek. She wasn't a short girl, but still had to stretch slightly to meet Niu Nai's eye-level.

"Hey y," she said in a voice low enough to be intimate with her new girlfriend but just loud enough that the others made out her words too. They all stared. Niu Nai laughed at their expressions. Only An Na was smiling because she'd already figured things out.

"Guys, this is my girlfriend, Vic," Niu Nai announced. "I have yet to shoot hoops with her, but I hear that she can kick my . So watch out for your own asses too!"

Qiu Qiu and Qiao exchanged confused glances, but then it dawned on Qiao why Niu Nai wasn't so girl-crazy any more. As she'd suspected weeks ago, Girl-Crazy gets girlfriend, Girl only crazy over girlfriend.

Zi Lun was first to speak. She stood and gave Vic a little bow. She handed her the basketball and said, "Wow, a girlfriend who can actually play basketball with us, instead of whining on the sidelines?" she turned to Niu Nai. "I so approve of her!"

The girls all relaxed with that small icebreaker. Though it was odd that one of them was dating another tomboy, it couldn't be all bad if she liked b-ball.

An Na clapped Vic on the back and said, "Vickie-Vic, have you been treating my friend nicely?"

"An Na, do not call me that!" Vic protested.

"Whatever! So, have you been?" An Na bugged her.

Vic looked affectionately at Niu Nai, grinned, and said, "I sure have."

Niu Nai blushed and reminded herself how much she adored these girls.

Every single one of them.

~~END