Jennie's POV
Lisa leaves shortly after she and Mr. Vance finish bickering about a football game. I apologize for having a visitor, but he brushes it off, telling me that Lisa is like family and she is welcome to come by anytime. Visions of Lisa making love to me on the desk take over my imagination and Mr. Vance has to repeat what he said next about payroll three times before I come back to reality.
I go back to reading the manuscript and I am so into it that I don't realize it's after five when I look up again. I am an hour late to leave and have a missed call from Lisa. When I get to my car I call her back, but she doesn't answer. I drive back through moderate traffic, and when I get to my room, I'm surprised to see Wendy on her bed. I almost forget she lives here, too, sometimes.
"Long time no see," I joke and drop my purse and pull off my heels. "Yeah . . ." she says and sniffles.
"Are you okay? What happened?" I sit on her bed with her.
"I think Bambam and I broke up." She sobs. It is a strange sight to see Wendy crying—she's usually so strong and sassy.
"Why? What do you mean you think?" I ask and put my hand on her back to comfort her.
"Well, we got in a fight and I broke up with him, but I didn't mean it. I don't know why I did it—I was just pissed because he was sitting with her and I know how she is."
"Who?" I ask, even though I somehow already know.
"Nancy. You should have seen how she was flirting with him and hanging on his every word."
"But she knows you two are together; isn't she your friend?"
"She doesn't care about that. She'll do anything to get male attention." As I watch Wendy cry and wipe her eyes, my already strong dislike of Nancy grows even more.
"I don't think Bambam would go for her; I see the way he looks at you. He really cares about you. I think you should call him and talk it out," I suggest.
"What if he is with her?"
"He's not," I assure her. I really don't see Bambam running off with the pink-haired snake.
"How do you know? Sometimes you think you know people, but you don't," she says and looks into my eyes. "L—"
"Hey . . ." Lisa says as she bursts into the room and then takes in the sad scene before her. "Um . . . should I come back?" She shifts uncomfortably. Lisa isn't the type to comfort a crying girl, friend or not.
"No, I am going to go find Bambam and try to apologize." She stands. "Thank you, Jennie." She hugs me and looks at Lisa. They exchange awkward glances before she exits the room.
Lisa turns and gives me a kiss. "You hungry?"
"Yeah, actually I am," I tell her. I should do some homework, but I'm actually pretty far ahead. I really have no idea how or when Lisa actually works.
"I was thinking that after we get something to eat, you could call Karen or Jisoo and see what I should wear to the . . . you know. The wedding." The mention of Jisoo's name tugs at my heart. I haven't talked to her in a few days and I miss her. I want to tell her about my internship and maybe even about Lisa and me. I haven't decided that yet, but I still want to talk to her.
"Yeah, I'll call Jisoo. I'm excited for the wedding!" I tell her, then realize I need to get something to wear to the wedding as well.
"Yeah. Me, too. I am so thrilled. Could I be more excited?" She rolls her eyes and I laugh.
"Well, I'm glad you're at least going. It means a lot to your father and Karen."
She shakes her head, but she's come a long way in the short time that I've known her.
"Yeah . . . yeah. Let's go eat," she grumbles and grabs my jacket off the chair.
"Let me change first, geez," I groan. I feel her eyes on me as I undress and grab jeans and a WCU sweatshirt out of my dresser and put them on quickly.
"You look adorable. Sexy office woman by day and cute college girl by night," she teases. My stomach flutters at her words and I lean up on my toes to kiss her cheek.
WE DECIDE TO GO to the mall and eat so that we can go shopping afterward. I call Jisoo as we sit down and she tells me that she will ask her mother what Lisa should wear and call me right back.
"We can find your outfit first, I guess?" she suggests. "I don't know what to wear either." I laugh.
"Well, you have the luxury of looking beautiful regardless of what you wear."
"That is not true; you definitely pull off that 'I don't give a crap how I look but I look flawless' look."
She gives me a cocky smirk and leans back in her chair. "I do, don't I?" I roll my eyes and then notice my phone buzzing. "It's Jisoo."
"Hey," Jisoo says, "so she said it would be best if you wear white. I know it's not the norm, but that's what my mother wants. And at least try to get Lisa in dress pants and a tie. I don't think they are expecting much from her, to be honest." She laughs.
"Okay, well, I will do my best to get her in a tie." I look over at Lisa, who frowns comically.
"Good luck. How's your internship going?"
"It's good. Well, great, actually. It's a dream come true. I can't believe it. I have my own office and I basically get paid to read all day. It's perfect. How are classes? I miss Literature."
Lisa's face turns into a real frown, and I follow her eyes to the middle of the food court. Rosé, Ten, and a guy that I have never met before are walking toward us. Rosé gives me a friendly wave and I smile before thinking about it. Lisa glares at me and stands up.
"I'll be right back," she says and walks off in their direction. I try to continue my conversation with Jisoo and watch Lisa at the same time, but I'm not sure what to do.
"Yeah, it isn't the same without you, but I'm so happy for you. At least Lisa hasn't been in class so I don't have to deal with her," Jisoo says.
"What do you mean she hasn't been in class? Well, besides today. She was there yesterday. Right?"
"No, I figured she dropped again since you left and she obviously can't be more than ten feet away from you at all times," she teases and my heart warms despite my concern over her missing classes.
I look over at Lisa, who has her back to me, but I can tell from how stiff her shoulders are that she's tense. The guy who I don't recognize has a slick smile on his face and Rosé is shaking her head. Ten seems uninterested in them and focuses on checking out a group of girls walking by. Lisa takes a step toward the guy and I can't tell if they are messing around or not.
"I'm so sorry, Jisoo, but I will call you back," I say and hang up. Leaving our trays on the table, I go over to them, hoping in the back of my mind that no one messes with our food.
"Hey, Jennie, how are you?" Rosé asks and moves forward to hug me. I feel myself flush and politely hug her back. I know better than to look up at Lisa when our embrace ends. Rosé's hair is in a very hot, messy way, and she's wearing all black with this leather jacket that has patches all over the front and back.
"Lisa, aren't you going to introduce your friend?" the stranger says.
He smiles and it gives me chills. I can tell he is not a nice guy.
"Um, yeah." Lisa waves his hand between us. "This is my friend Jennie; Jennie, this is Hanbin."
Friend? I feel like I have just been kicked in the stomach. I try my best to hide my humiliation and smile.
"Do you go to WCU?" I ask. My voice is much more composed than I feel inside.
"Hell, no. I don't do the college thing." He chuckles coolly. "But if all the girls there looked like you, I would be happy to reconsider."
I gulp and wait for Lisa to say something. Oh, right, I am her friend.
Why would she? I stay silent and wish I had just stayed at the table.
"We are going to the docks tonight; you two should make an appearance," Rosé says.
"We can't. Maybe next time," Lisa says. I contemplate interrupting and saying I can, but I am too pissed-off to speak.
"Why not?" Hanbin asks.
"She has to work tomorrow. I suppose I can drop by later. Alone," she adds.
"That's too bad." Hanbin smiles at me. His sandy blond hair falls over his eyes and he shakes his head to move it.
Lisa clenches her jaw and looks at him. I feel like I'm missing something. Who is this guy, anyway?
"Yeah, I'll hit you up later when I'm on my way," Lisa says and I stalk away.
I hear Lisa's boots stomping behind me but I keep walking. She doesn't call my name, since I'm sure she doesn't want her friends to think anything, but she keeps following me. I walk faster and dip into Macy's and turn a sharp corner, hoping to lose her. No such luck; she grabs my elbow and turns me to face her.
"What is wrong?" Her annoyance is obvious.
"Oh, I don't know, Lisa!" I shout. An elderly woman looks at me and I give her an apologetic smile.
"Me either! You are the one who just hugged Rosé!" she yells. We are already attracting an audience, but I am fuming so I don't care at the moment.
"Are you embarrassed of me or something? I mean, I get it, I am not exactly the cool girl, but I thought . . ."
"What? No! Of course I'm not embarrassed of you. Are you crazy?" she huffs. I feel crazy at the moment.
"Why did you introduce me as your friend? You keep talking about living together and then you tell them we are friends? What are you going to do, hide me? I won't be anyone's secret. If I'm not good enough for your friends to know we're together, then I don't want to be." I turn on my heel and walk away to punctuate my little speech.
Jennie"! Damn it . . ." she says and follows me through the store. I reach the dressing rooms and glance at them.
"I will follow you," she says, reading my thoughts.
She will, too. So I turn and head toward the exit of the store. "Take me home. Now," I demand. I stay quiet and at least ten feet ahead of Lisa as we walk out of the mall and to her car. She moves to open the door for me but backs away when I glare at her. If I were her, I would keep my distance.
I stare out the window and think of all the terrible things I could say to her but I stay silent. I'm mostly just embarrassed that she feels like she can't tell people we are together. I know I'm not like her friends and they probably all think I am a loser or not cool enough, but that shouldn't matter to her. I find myself wondering if Rosé would hide our relationship from her friends, and I can't help but think that she wouldn't. Come to think of it, Lisa has never actually called me her girlfriend. I probably should have waited to sleep with her until she at least confirmed we were dating.
"Are you done throwing a fit?" she asks as we pull onto the highway. "A fit? You aren't serious!" My voice fills her small car.
"I don't know why it's such a big deal to you that I called you my friend; that's not what I meant. I was just caught off guard," she lies. I can tell she is lying by the way her eyes dart away from mine.
"If you are embarrassed of me, then I don't want to see you anymore," I say. I dig my nails into my leg to keep from crying.
"Don't say that to me." She runs her hand over her hair and takes a deep breath. "Jennie, why do you assume I am embarrassed of you? That is just fucking ridiculous," she growls.
"Have fun at your party tonight."
"Please, I'm not going, I just said that so Hanbin would lay off."
What I say next I know is a terrible idea, but I want to prove a point: "If you aren't embarrassed of me, then take me to the party."
"Absolutely fucking not," she says through her teeth. "Exactly," I snap.
"I am not taking you there because Hanbin is a dick, for one. Two, it's not the kind of place you should be."
"Why not? I can handle myself."
"Hanbin and his friends are way out of your league, Jennie. Hell, they're even out of my league. They are all stoners and scum."
"Then why are you friends with him?" I roll my eyes.
"There is a big difference between being friendly and being friends."
"Well, why would Rosé hang out with him, then?"
"I don't know. Hanbin isn't one of those guys that you say no to," she explains.
"So you're afraid of him. That's why you didn't say anything when he came on to me," I point out. Hanbin must be really bad if Lisa is afraid of him.
Lisa surprises me by laughing. "I'm not afraid of him. I just don't want to provoke him. He likes games, and if I provoked him with you he would turn you into a game." Her knuckles turn white from her grip on the steering wheel.
"Well, good thing we're just friends, then," I say and look out the window at the beautiful view of the city passing by. I'm not perfect; I know I'm acting childish but I can't help it. Knowing how big a creep Hanbin is, I get why Lisa did what she did, but that doesn't make it hurt less.