fingerprints on my skin || jenlisa

I Can Explain

"I see you haven't lost your touch for flattery," Jennie said, righting her jacket, slipping her phone into her pocket. "Any reason why you were looking for me at this fine hour? How about you start with how the hell you know where my place is."

"Oof, bad day?" Chaeyoung replied as the beginning of a smile tugged at her lips. "I've asked around. Some girls on campus are surprisingly informative."

Jennie sighed because of course, one of the girls she went out with must have told Chaeyoung. It wasn't a secret where she lived, and in the end, it didn't really matter how Chaeyoung knew. She hadn't meant to sound as snappy as she did.

"You look like you could use a drink," Chaeyoung noted, and she wasn't wrong.

"Some of us aren't twenty-one, you know," Jennie pointed out, reminding Chaeyoung she didn't even turn twenty yet. She could get away with buying alcohol, depending on how strict a place was, but it wasn't a good idea right now.

Chaeyoung's smile changed into something sly. "I didn't peg you for someone who follows the rules. Maybe you're not a rebel after all."

Jennie smiled back because dammit Chaeyoung was such a devil. "Encouraging young people to drink," she commented dryly. "Way to be a role model."

"We could grab some smoothies, it's too late for coffee," Chaeyoung suggested as they walked through the hall together. "You still drink those icky kale smoothies, right?"

Jennie blinked once. "You remember," she replied, clearing her throat because this wasn't about semantics. She automatically assumed Chaeyoung long forgot such seemingly insignificant details. "They're not icky, they're healthy."

"Something being healthy doesn't make it taste good," Chaeyoung said, scrunching up her nose. It was a fair point, tastes differed for each individual. "Anyway, how have you been?"

"Same old, mostly. There isn't much to say," Jennie answered, although she realized it had been a couple of years, and some things did change, such as her reputation. Back in high school, she easily stayed under the radar, but her summer before college made her the most talked about.

"Does the rumor bother you?"

"No," Jennie said on instinct, though perhaps it did somewhat. She liked to believe she could brush it off and let it be. "It is what it is," she sighed, following Chaeyoung to cross the street, toward the place that was always open late for the night owls among the students, and the insomniacs. "How have you been?"

"Deflecting so soon?" Chaeyoung replied with the hint of a smile, and yes; perhaps Jennie did that, but the rumors weren't worth discussing.

The little bell above the door jingled as Chaeyoung and Jennie entered the diner together. The lights inside were dimmed. It was close to empty, aside from three people occupying a table near the bar. Their conversation was hushed, and one of them had a book.

A bartender stood behind the bar with a towel swung over her right shoulder. She had brown hair that fell a little past her shoulders, hazel eyes which sparkled beneath the dim light which hung above her, and the button up shirt she had on pinged Jennie's gaydar as the youthful woman shot her a smile. That, and the rainbow bracelet around her wrist.

Jennie stalked over toward a small table near the window, sitting down across from Chaeyoung. Her eyes flit briefly toward the street light illuminating the road. She soaked in the calmness of this late hour, how there was no traffic passing by.

"I'll have a pineapple mango smoothie," Chaeyoung spoke up, bringing Jennie's attention back to the diner.

Jennie's eyes traveled up, catching a glimpse of the bartender's smile before their gazes met. "Are you new here?" she inquired, toying with a strand of her hair. She never saw this woman before, and as a reasonably frequent customer, she would have noticed her.