Jennie's POV
Nervousness overtakes me as I walk through the smoky bar. Why did I think this was a good idea? Lisa is going to be furious with me, and Wendy may just think I'm insane.
When she sees me, a big smile fills Wendy's face and she practically shouts, "Jennie, what the hell are you doing here?" before pulling me into a hug.
"I . . . well, I was looking for you," I say.
"Is everything okay? Or did you just miss me?" She laughs. "I just missed you." I decide to go with that for now.
"I haven't seen you in ages, Jennie," Jackson teases and then hugs me. "Where has Lisa been hiding you?"
Bambam appears behind Wendy and wraps his arms around her waist. By the way she leans back against him, I know they have worked through the fight over Nancy.
She smiles. "Come sit with us—it's just us for now."
For now? I wonder if she means that Lisa will be here soon? I follow the three of them to a booth, dreading the answer to that question. A question I choose not to ask, and instead order a burger and fries. I haven't eaten all day and it's past three in the afternoon.
"And I'll make sure there is no ketchup," the waitress says with a knowing smile and walks back to the kitchen. Clearly she remembers the scene Lisa made the last time I was here.
I pick at my manicured fingers as I wait for the waitress to bring me my Coke.
"You missed one hell of a party last night, Jennie," Jackson says. He lifts his glass and gulps down the remainder of his beer.
"Yeah?" I smile. The most frustrating part of my relationship with Lisa is that I never know what I'm allowed to tell people. If I were in a normal relationship, I would respond with "Oh yeah, we had a great time last night at her father's wedding." But since my relationship is far from normal, I stay quiet.
"Yeah, it was wild. We went out to the docks instead of the frat house." He laughs. "We get away with more at the docks and we don't have to clean up after."
"Oh. Does Hanbin live at the docks?" I try to keep my tone neutral.
"What? No, the docks are boat docks. He works there during the day, though. He lives close by them."
"Oh . . ." I chew on my straw.
"It was freezing, and Bambam here was plastered and jumped into the cold-ass water." Wendy snorts, and Bambam flips her off playfully.
"It wasn't too bad; my body was numb the second I hit the water," he jokes.
My food arrives along with Bambam's wings and a round of beers for the three of them.
"You sure you don't want a beer? She won't card you," Jackson tells me. "Oh, no, I have to drive. Thanks, though."
"So how's your new dorm?" Wendy asks and steals a fry from my plate. "My what?"
"Your new dorm?" she repeats slowly.
"I don't have a new dorm." Did Lisa tell her I moved into another dorm?
"Uh, yeah, you do, because you don't live in mine anymore. All of your stuff was gone and Lisa said you changed dorms, that your mom flipped out on you or something." She takes a big swig from her beer.
I decide that I don't care how pissed Lisa gets at me—I'm not going to lie. I'm infuriated and embarrassed that she is still hiding our relationship. "Lisa and I moved into an apartment," I tell them.
"What?" Wendy, Bambam, and Jackson say at the same time.
"Yes, last week. We moved in together about twenty minutes from campus," I explain. All three of them are looking at me as if I have grown a second head.
"What?" I ask harshly.
"Nothing. It's just . . . wow . . . I don't know. That's just a really huge surprise," Wendy says.
"Why?" I snap. I know it isn't fair to direct my anger toward her when it's meant for Lisa, but I can't help it.
She frowns and looks like she's pondering something. "I don't know; I just can't picture Lisa living with someone, that's all. I didn't know you two were that serious. I wish you would have told me."
As I am about to ask her what she means by that, Jackson's and Bambam's eyes dart to the door, then back to me. When I turn around, I see Nancy, Lisa, and Hanbin standing in the doorway. Lisa shakes some snow from her hair and wipes her boots on the straw mat. I turn around quickly, my heart beating out of my chest. There are too many things going on at once: Nancy is with Lisa, which pisses me off beyond words. Hanbin is with Lisa, which confuses the hell out of me. And I just told everyone that we moved in together, which they seem unsettled by.
"Jennie." Lisa's voice is angry from behind me.
I look up at her, and her face is twisted in anger. She is trying to control it, I can tell, but it's about to boil over. "I need to talk to you," she says through clenched teeth.
"Right now?" I say, trying to sound casual but hard-edged.
"Yes. Now," she answers and reaches out to grab my arm. I quickly climb out of the booth and follow her to the corner of the small bar. "What the hell are you doing here?" she says quietly, her face inches from mine.
"I came to hang out with Wendy." Not exactly a lie, but not the truth, either.
She calls me out. "Bullshit." She is struggling to keep her voice down, but we've already drawn the attention of more than a few patrons. "You need to go," she tells me.
"Excuse me?" I retort, stealing one of her famous lines. "You need to go home."
"Home where? Back to my new dorm?" I challenge. The color drains from her face. "Yup, I told them. I told them that we live together—how could you not? Do you know how stupid that makes me look? I thought we were past you trying to keep me a secret."
"I wasn't . . ." she lies.
"I am sick of the secrets and deception, Lisa. Every time I think we are doing so great—"
"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to keep it a secret. I was just waiting." Lisa's thoughts seem jumbled. I can almost see the internal battle being waged behind her green eyes. Her eyes frantically scan the room, and her panic worries me.
"I can't keep doing this—you know that, don't you?" I tell her.
"Yeah, I know." She sighs and pulls her lip ring between her teeth and runs her hand through her damp hair. "Can we go home and talk about this?" she asks and I nod.
I follow her back to the booths where everyone is seated. "We are going to go," Lisa announces.
Hanbin gives a sinister grin. "So soon?"
Lisa's shoulders tense. "Yeah," she answers.
"Back to your apartment?" Wendy asks, and I shoot a glare at her. Not now, I silently scream at her.
"Your what?" Nancy cackles. I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing her again, really.
"Their apartment; they live together," Wendy says in a singsong voice. I know she is only trying to shove it down Nancy's throat, and usually I would applaud her for it, but I'm too angry at Lisa to focus on Nancy.
"Well, well, well." Nancy taps her long crimson nails on the table. "That's very interesting," she says, staring at Lisa.
"Nancy . . ." she warns. I swear I see panic flash across her face.
She raises an eyebrow. "You're really taking this whole thing a little far, aren't you?"
"Nancy, I swear to God, if you don't shut the fuck up—"
"What thing? What is she taking too far?" I can't help but ask. "Jennie, go outside," she commands, but I ignore her.
"No, what is she taking too far? Tell me!" I yell.
"Wait. You're in on it, aren't you?" She laughs and continues, "I knew it! I told Hanbin you knew, but he wouldn't believe me. Lisa, you owe Rosé some big bucks for this." She throws her head back and stands up.
Lisa's face is completely pale; all the blood seems to be drained from her entire body. My head is swimming and I'm so confused. I briefly glance at Jackson, Bambam, and Wendy, but they are all focused on Lisa.
"Knew what?" My voice is shaky. Lisa grabs my arm and tries to pull me away, but I jerk out of her grip and move over to stand in front of Nancy. "Don't play stupid with me, I know you know. What did she do? Split the money with you?" she asks.
Lisa reaches for my hand, and her fingers are ice cold. "Jennie . . ." I jerk away and stare at her, my eyes wide.
"Tell me! What is she talking about!" I yell to her. Tears threaten my eyes, and I struggle to keep down all the emotions storming through me.
Lisa astounds me by opening her mouth and then closing it again. "Oh my God, you really don't know? Oh, this is amazing. Everyone pull up a seat!" she mocks. "Nancy, don't," Wendy says.
"You sure you wanna know, princess?" Nancy continues, giving me a triumphant smile.
I can literally hear the blood pounding behind my ears, and for a second I wonder if everyone else can, too. "Tell me," I demand.
She tilts her head slightly . . . but then pauses. "No, I think Lisa should tell her." And she starts giggling, sliding her tongue ring between her teeth, making the most horrendous rattling, worse than nails on a chalkboard.