Jennie

I exhale in relief when Lisa walks out of the kitchen and place my hand over my chest, as though that will calm my racing heart. My heart still skips a beat when she's close to me. I inhale deeply and shake my head. I'm losing it.

I grab my bag to fish out the packet of googly eye stickers I bought on the way over. It's a tame prank for Lisa and me, but it'll be funny. I glance behind me and smile. I can't wait to see her reaction when she finally discovers them. She's been trying to revive our feud, and until now I haven't given in. That'll change today, though. Pranks are our way of communicating, and I've missed the bond we had thanks to that. Besides, I've let her get away with sticking weird things on my back whenever we ran into each other and that gross salty coffee. Payback was inevitable.

I work as quickly as I can and put googly eyes on as many things in Lisa's fridge as possible, including every single one of her eggs. It looks weird and hilarious as hell. I hear the bathroom door open behind me and try my best to stick just a couple more on the jars in her cupboards before she makes it back to the kitchen. As soon as I hear her footsteps approach, I put the stickers in my t-shirt. I should've thought to wear something with pockets. Rookie mistake.

Lisa pauses in front of me and looks at me suspiciously before leaning back against the counter. Her eyes roam over my body and she cocks a brow. "What did you do, Minx?" she asks. She peers into the oven and then back at me. "You're eating that too, right?" she asks, her voice tense.

I giggle. I can't help it. It's been years since I've messed with her like this. I forgot how much fun it is. "Yeah, Lisa," I reply. "I'm eating it too."

She looks at me with raised brows. "So you didn't mess with the food?"

I shake my head, barely able to suppress my smile. I can't believe she saw through me with a single look. I thought I looked innocent, so how does she know that I've done something? Looks like my poker face needs work.

Lisa continues to look around and eventually opens the fridge. She freezes and stares at it in horror. "What the fuck is this?" she whispers, pointing at the eggs with the googly eyes on. "This is fucking horrifying, Jennie. What the fuck are those?"

Her eyes are wide, and she genuinely looks shocked. Her reaction is even better than I expected, and I burst out laughing. Lisa's lips tip up at the edges and she smiles at me. "They look like little demons, Minx." She steps away and points at the fridge. "Oh my god, their eyes are following me," she whisper-shouts. She closes the fridge door and turns around to face me. I know she's exaggerating to indulge me, but it's still funny as hell.

"I've thrown fake insects in your bed before yet this freaks you out?" I ask. Lisa shudders and shakes her head as she walks toward me. I take a step back and my hips bang against the kitchen counter. My heart starts to race and I swallow hard.

Lisa places her arms on either side of me and cages me in. She leans into me and nods. "Yeah. It's the eyes, man. So creepy."

She's standing far too close to me, and I'm so tempted to slide my arms over her chest and around her neck. Her body looks broader and stronger, and I want to find out if it feels that way too.

I can't help but wonder if she still feels something for me. Am I crazy for hoping that she does? I know it's better for both of us if we don't go there, but my heart is foolish. Lisa takes a step closer until our clothes brush against each other. All I'd need to do to feel her against me is lean in just a little… How would she respond if I press my body against her?

Lisa's eyes drop to my lips and my heart beats harder. She closes the distance between us and I almost sigh in relief when my body presses flush against her. I bite down on my lip, and her eyes follow my every move.

The front door slams closed and we both jump apart as Rosé's giggles fill the house. Jaehyun and Rosé walk in and freeze when they see us standing in the kitchen.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" Rosé asks. I'm suddenly flustered, even though I know I have a perfectly good reason to be here.

Lisa straightens and looks at Rosé sternly. "What are you doing here?" she asks. "Why are you coming in with Jaehyun?"

Rosé freezes. The way she and Jaehyun look at each other is far too obvious for Lisa to miss, yet she doesn't say anything.

"Oh, I was coming to see you," Rosé tells her, blatantly lying. "I ran into Jaehyun at the front door," she says. I look away and cringe. Rosé isn't a good liar, and Lisa is remarkably observant, so I don't understand why they both keep dancing around the obvious. Is Lisa waiting for Rosé to tell her herself? Or maybe Lisa's waiting for Jaehyun to tell her… Either way, it's obvious that she knows about them. Rosé seems nervous as she walks into the kitchen.

"You cooked?" she asks, her brows furrowed. I nod and smile tightly. I know I haven't done anything wrong, but I feel like I've wronged her somehow.

"Yeah. It's your mom's recipe for stuffed mushrooms and chicken," I say awkwardly, an immense feeling of guilt sweeping over me. Nothing is happening between Lisa and me at all, but I'm on edge around Rosé. She grabs my hands and pulls me toward the living room.

"So how come you're here?" she asks, her tone clipped.

I inhale deeply and try to smile at her. "I was falling behind on both stats and calculus, so Lisa offered to tutor me in return for me cooking for her every once in a while," I explain. I tip my head toward the books on the table and Rosé nods, her shoulders relaxing. I guess she still isn't comfortable with the idea of Lisa and me. Part of me kind of hoped that would've changed by now, especially considering her relationship with Jaehyun. I've never really considered Rosé to be hypocritical, but I'm starting to. I'm starting to blame her for losing out on what I could've had, even though I made that choice all by myself.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she says, sounding worried.

I shake my head and shrug. Rosé and I don't share any classes. She chose to do the easiest ones first, while I just wanted to get the most difficult ones out of the way. "You've been kind of busy. I haven't actually spoken to you much at all since we got here. Our class schedules mostly clash and when we're both free, you tend to hang out with Jaehyun or those girls from your art class. I totally get it, but you know… I just haven't really had a chance to speak to you."

Rosé sighs and wraps her arm around me. She drops her head to mine and I'm instantly placated.

"How about we go to a party tomorrow?" she says. "There's one I'm dying to go to, and you haven't done much other than studying. We should both live it up just a little. Besides, we'll have a chance to catch up."

I nod and smile, relieved. I've missed her. Ever since we started college, we've barely spent any time together. We don't share any classes, and she's mostly been concerned with enjoying the college experience. I don't blame her for it, but I have felt pretty lonely. She's been staying out late recently, so I'm usually asleep by the time she gets in, and in the mornings we're both in too much of a rush. I'm looking forward to spending some time with her and finally catching up.