Akron - Liskook

xi. Promise me not

The sight broke Lisa. Since when do the two keep secrets? Ever since they stepped into Akron. This town had such a way of changing everything.

"Please unnie, we can trust them" Lisa begged looking back at Jennie, who seemed to be considering as well. It pained her to keep secrets too, she was just much better at tolerating it. Experience, you could say. "fine" Jennie breathed out, almost sounding annoyed, but she was genuinely relived in her own way.

"Well let's start with where you went" Jisoo unnie said as she took a seat on her bed as Lisa and Rosé sat on Jennie unnie's bed all while watching her. Their 4 piercing sets of eyes were tempting to Jennie, but she couldn't do it.

"I can't tell you" She says blankly as she took a seat next to Jisoo moving her eyes to Lisa despite the burning gaze Jisoo was giving her. "I think it's best you should start" Jennie commented while sharing a look with Lisa.

To be honest, Lisa didn't know where to start. Gangs, secrets, strangers, it was all quite overwhelming to just put on the table. But they say the beginning is where it's best to start.

"Oppa, isn't who we think he is" Lisa said specifically to Rosé, who unlike the other 3 girls, was still in the dark. "What do you mean?" Rosé asks, curious and surprised. So it wasn't just a little fight?

A few moments of silence passed as Lisa tried to think about how she would tell Rosé. Should she be blunt—"He's a gang member" Jisoo unnie said flatly. Rosé's eyebrows furrowed alongside Lisa's.

"I already knew, that's why I wondered about you two, you both seemed to love him so much" She continued. It was indeed curious to Jisoo that first day when Bambam drove into the dorm parking lot with Lisa and Rosé. Both Jennie and Jisoo were hesitant to come closer but just as surprised to see Bambam act like a kind older brother. The polar opposite to what they've seen.

"A gang member? Here in Akron?" Rosé managed to ask. "One of many secrets Akron hides." Jennie says. It seems like a sort of catch phrase in this town. "That's not all" Lisa says pulling Rosé back to her.

Do you remember the man I bumped into on our first day here" Lisa asks and Rosé gave her a nod. "Jeon Jungkook" Lisa said and it wasn't long before the dots connected, "Wait a minute! He's the one our professor was scared of" Rosie said with a snap of her fingers. A habit she has when she figures something out.

"He gave me this" Lisa said, taking off the necklace she was wearing, the one with the ring strung on it.

Rosé took it in to her hand and looks at it deeply before giving it back. "I've been seeing him" Lisa whispers and she sees Rosie's eyes widen, "You promised to stop."

Jennie watched as Rosé and Lisa left the room hand in hand as she placed her diary back into her bag, hoping that this time it won't find itself in any hands, other than hers. "They might be ok with no explanation but I hope you realize I am not the same case" Jisoo said as she spread her blanket over her bed.

"Maybe tomorrow, it's nearly halfway through the night" Jennie said hoping that Jisoo would agree. Which was indeed a long shot. "I have all night, and you know I would have waited all night if it weren't for Jimin and . . . Taehyung" Jisoo stopped herself with hesitance. That name always found a way to hurt Jennie, even though he never truly did anything wrong, it was the other way around, or at least that's the way the story had been written so far.

"I'm sorry Unnie" was all Jennie could say before she felt her eyes water. She was breaking down, and she hated herself for that. "Are you crying!" Jisoo said as she quickly climbs out of her own bed into Jennie's just to wipe the stray tear running down Jennie's cheek.

"Unnie, he hates me so much." Jennie whispered, thinking of what happened just hours earlier. The night before had left Jennie a mess and for that reason she wanted to be alone. And what better to do alone than to hunt, hunt for secrets, lies, and the truth. This Taehyung knew and so he set out to stop her once Lisa had let loose that Jennie was missing. The certain truth she was digging for, she was forbidden to do it by Namjoon himself.

"You were doing it again" Jisoo said solemnly, thinking to herself. She knew Jennie almost as well as Taehyung did himself. "Jennie, I told you that you should stop, this isn't just some kind of murder mystery game, these are real people's lives your playing with" Jisoo reminded as she stroked Jennies back.

"I'm not playing unnie, I just want to know. Something tells me it's not what it seems" Jennie whispered through her tears, wishing so hard that Jisoo would believe her, that someone, anyone would believe her.

"Did you tell him that?" Jisoo asks. Upon hearing Jisoo's question, Jennie breaks eye contact with her and began to fiddle with her pillow case. "You have to tell him, you have to tell him everything" Jisoo said with frustration. "I tried unnie! I tried! Jennie said as the tears that she had gotten to stop rolled freely down her cheeks once again.

Footsteps, they were close by. I quickly stood up from the ground and walked away from the grave and continued walking straight through the back gate. "AGAIN!" Taehyung roars from about 5 feet away from me. "Do you enjoy hurting us? Do you enjoy hurting me? He says once again. I turn back at him. "No, I lov-", "Again with the same Bullshit Jennie" He says cutting me off. "Please, listen to me". "STAY AWAY FROM ALL OF US" He yells and that's all it takes for me to run away. He can't see me cry.

"You have to understand, from his perspective you broke his heart and trust and now it seems like you are trying to break Jungkook too." Jisoo said and Jennie couldn't help but to agree. "I'm trying to help unnie, I promise! What if there's a chance they weren't even at fault, then they don't have to hide or risk anything".

"I believe you Jennie, but do they?"

"no" Jennie helplessly mumbles under her breath.

"And now we've befriended Lisa. Even the slightest connection to EXT and all they have to show is hatred" Jisoo continued. Suddenly Jennie jerked her head towards her unnie, slightly startling her.

"Lisa." Jennie says as if this was her greatest euphoria. Though no true words were spoken, Jisoo understood everything Jennie meant. 

"Are you sure you want to put that on Lisa . . . include her in the darkest secret Akron holds?"

"What other choice do we have?"

"But we can't tell her that Bambam's the threat."