After school, Jessica took her time with changing her books and collecting all she needed for her homework. She was by her locker after bidding Raina, Nana and Lizzy goodbye. She felt a presence near her and froze. She slowly looked up and was shocked to find Ren by her side.

"Hey." He started.

"Hey." Her voice was almost silent.

"Your last test week went okay?"

"My grades dropped a but. But, they're still good enough to pass." Jessica sighed and closed her locker. "Yours?"

"Oh, mine are somewhat the same. Maybe dropped one or two points." It became silent between them.

"So," Ren started after a while. "I got the tickets you bought."

"I see." Jessica avoided eye contact.

"Considering you bought them, I expect you wanted to go too."

"It's fine. If she's ever giving another concert here, I'll go then."

"I insist. I know you won't let me pay you back with money, so the least I can do is let you go."

"I bought them for you, though."

"But, had we still been what we were, we would've gone together." Jessica looked at her feet. "I'm sure that the two of us can be civil enough to go to a concert together. If things get awkward, we can always talk about her music."

"You're really sure?"

"Yes. I'm absolutely sure. During the concert itself, we won't even be able to talk." He nodded.

"Alright." She whispered.

"Great. How about I pick you up on Saturday? After dinner?"

"Sure." He smiled at her and she awkwardly smiled back. He turned around and went to his car at the underground parking lot. He suddenly felt a rush of adrenaline go through him as he started thinking about Saturday.

 

Saturday, January 25th

On the day of the concert, Jessica changed her outfit a total sixteen times. She eventually settled for a simple white, denim skirt and a black t-shirt with a matching white denim jacket. She was waiting on the couch for Ren to show, and her mother noticed how restless her leg was.

"I thought you guys weren't going on a date." Her mother sat next to her on the couch.

"We're not. It's just a waste of tickets if we don't go."

"If it's not a date, why are you dressed up and wearing make up?"

"It's still going out, mom." Jessica whined. Her phone beeped and she checked. Ren had sent a message he was in front of the door, but didn't want to ring the bell because Jamie might already be in bed. Jessica got up and opened the door. She was taken aback for a moment by how good he looked. He wore jeans with a leather jacket and an old shirt of the artist they were going to see. His hair looked soft and she held back the urge to run her hand through it.

"Hey." He said, waking her up.

"Hi." She replied loudly. She cleared awkwardly as he grinned.

"You ready to go?"

"But, the doors don't open for like another hour. I'm surprised you're this early."

"I was just worried about traffic. And, standing in line."

"We have numbered seats. We don't have to stand in line." Ren glanced around him.

"Well, do you want to come in? We can have a drink before we leave. Maybe a snack?" Jessica stepped aside so he could pass.

"Uhm, i-is your mother home?" He started playing with his hands.

"Of course she is. She has to watch Jamie."

"We can get a drink at a place near the concert hall if you want?" He stepped back and pointed behind him.

"Are you scared of my mother?" She grinned.

"Maybe, a little." He muttered.

"As he should be!" They heard from the living room. Jessica chuckled when Ren froze.

"I don't think seeing your mother right now, is a good idea."

"My mother is not going to kill you. She knows this was... My fault." Jessica looked at her shoes.

"She gave birth to the girl who tried to shove an umbrella somewhere it's not supposed to be. I broke up with you. I'm not interested what doctor Frankenstein is capable- woah!" Ren felt the air get knocked out of his lung when a tiny girl jumped at him. Jamie had snuck out of her room when she heard Ren's voice and ran past Jessica to attack him. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and giggled.

"Big-Buttman is back!" She yelled. Ren gently crouched down and pulled her arms off after setting her down.

"Uhm, Jamie, I'm not really back. I'm just picking up your sister."

"But I want to play! I got new dolls." She smiled brightly at him. He gave her a sympathetic smile back.

"I can't, James. Not tonight."

"Then, tomorrow."

"I-I can't tomorrow either, sweetie."

"Then, when you coming back?" Jessica could see it was difficult for him.

"I'm not, sweetheart, I'm sorry."

"Never?" He saw tears well up in Jamie's eyes.

"No, I'm sorry." Jamie stared at him for a while as tears streamed down her cheeks, before turning around and throwing Ren's hands off of her.

"Jamie." Ren called.

"Hate you!" She shouted and closed the door of her room behind her with a bang. Ren noticed their mother rushing into her room and sighed.

 

"Are you okay?" Jessica asked after they arrived at the parking lot. They slowly walked up to the building after getting out.

"Honestly, I'm not. Besides you, Jamie was all I could think about with all this. It doesn't make sense for me to stick around just for her sake, but at the same time I just missed paying with her."

"She'll be alright. She'll get over it."

"Probably, but with how much resentment?" Jessica kept quiet. The two stood in line, waiting to get in. Her phone vibrated and showed that Aron had sent a message. A few seconds later so did Raina and Lizzy, basically asking the same thing: How is it going?

She send a message back that things are fine, but mostly awkwardly quiet.

"Jess." Ren called. She looked up and found him almost at the front of the row. She didn't notice it started moving again and people behind her grew annoyed. She mouthed an apology and rushed to Ren's side. They took their jackets to the cloakroom and passed the merchandise stand.

"You want anything?" Ren asked when he noticed her staring at a sweatshirt.

"Oh, no. I'm good." She smiled and the two went to their seats. They had to waist for at least forty-five minutes before the concert would start, so Ren decided to just stay on his phone. He stood up suddenly.

"I'm heading to the bathroom real quick." He left her by herself. She got a text from Jonghyun this time, asking if Ren is still angry about the kiss. She sent back that he hadn't mentioned it and went to the bathroom, and soon his photo appeared on her screen for a phone call.

"For someone who wants to avoid me at all costs, it's kind of dumb to call me when he can return at any moment."

"Oh please, it's always busy at Gaga concerts." Jessica rolled her eyes at him.

"What do you want?"

"He really hasn't said anything about that kiss?"

"Of course not. Why's that so hard to believe?"

"You didn't see the way he looked at me. He basically threatened my life with his eyes. He's extra scary because he's younger than me."

"By five months."

"The youngest ones are always the creepiest. I mean, have you seen The Good Son?" Jessica rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Jonghyun?"

"Okay. So, can you just ask him if he wants to kill me or when he will? You know, so I can be prepared?"

"Really? You want me to ask my ex-boyfriend if he's going to kill the guy he fears will be my new boyfriend over a petty, drunken kiss?"

"And when."

"Bye, Jonghyun." She hung up on him. He instead bombarded her with texts about all the things he wanted to ask Ren, including a completely random assignment for French. She turned her phone off and the lights dimmed. Ren arrived back just in time for the intro to start.

"You were gone a while." Jessica commented.

"Yeah, there was a line." He quickly replied.

"Since when is there a line at the men's restroom?" She frowned. He shrugged. The two didn't say much to each other and just enjoyed the concert. They even danced together for a number. When she played A Million Reasons Ren grabbed Jessica's hand as they sat. He squeezed hard as the song progressed and she looked at him. He was staring at her and started leaning in. She froze and he was soon only an inch away from her lips. He scanned her face for any signs of discomfort or disapproval, but she just held her breath and refused to look at him as she blushed. He closed the gap between them and held the back of her neck as they kissed. After they finished they got some rude comments from people around them, but the two were too shocked by what just happened to really respond. After the concert, they went to get their jackets at the cloakroom and Jessica had to go to the bathroom before they went to the car. The line at the woman's restroom was too long for her, so she de idee to sneak into the disabled one while Ren kept watch. The kiss earlier kept playing in her mind. She washed her hands and ended up staring at herself in the mirror for a while, contemplating. Ren waked her from her thoughts by knocking on the door.

"You done yet? I really don't want some keyboard warrior telling me how wrong this is."

"Y-Yeah." She stammered. She opened the door and Ren got shoved by some young teenagers passing by and knocked him and Jessica right back into the restroom. The door closed again and the two were standing in an awkward embrace, staring at each other in shock.

"W-We, uhm, we should probably head back. It's already late." He cleared his throat after a while. He turned around to open the