On Call | JENLISA

Chapter 3

"And here we were thinking you had a hot date," Jennie sighed, pulling on her scrub top.

"Nope. Just two hours of 'Oh, dear, but we loved Paul!'," she grumbled, pulling on her scrubs and tugging her curls into a high, loose bun.

"Ew," Jisoo said, wrinkling her nose and making a face.

"How can Mama Jane say that? She's amazing in every other aspect of your life," Crystal asked, slipping into the sneakers she wore in the hospital.

"The fact that his mom is my mom's best friend really doesn't help matters," Jennie replied. She dropped down onto the bench and laid down, covering her face with her arms.

"Have you actually told her how much he sucked?" Jisoo asked. "Have you told her that he put you in danger?"

"Whoa, danger? I never heard about that," Crystal scoffed, tapping Jennie's legs so she'd lift them up. Crystal dropped onto the bench and let Jennie put her legs onto her lap.

"He raced a car down the 5 even after I repeatedly asked him to stop. And that happened more than once. He's a bit of a hothead," Jennie sighed, hating the memory of spending time with Paul, of giving him parts of herself she wished she hadn't, of trusting him and being burned by that trust.

"A bit?" Jisoo scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Paul had always been quick to anger, not caring about anyone who got hurt in the process. And Jisoo would never forget the nights that Jennie came over, worried about his safety or her own.

The breakup was what had led both of them to accept jobs in Anchorage in the first place. Jennie had needed a blank slate, and Jisoo needed her best friend.

"He was an asshole," the older added.

"It all makes sense now," Crystal hummed.

Jennie removed her arms from her face and narrowed her eyes at Crystal. "What does?"

"You and the firefighter. Lisa. You're scared of the danger. You're scared to fall for another Paul," Crystal said softly.

"You're not wrong," Jisoo whispered, watching Jennie digest Crystal's words.

"You two need to- just not," she grumbled, putting her arms over her face again. "I am perfectly happy with my nights in, with a book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. I'm happy," she repeated, almost as if by saying the word she would actually feel it.

"Tell that to the puppy dog eyes I see every time the E.R. doors open and it isn't her or every time Rosé comes over after work," Jisoo said.

"You maybe... never mind," Crystal shook her head, deciding to mind her own business.

"Just say it, Crys," Jennie sighed, knowing her new but true friend would just sit on these words and eventually bring them up.

"I mean... just- Do you ever feel like maybe you're punishing her for the job she's chosen? For the wrongs Paul did and not the ones she's done?" Crystal asked, wincing as she finished the question.

Jennie was saved from answering when all three of their pagers went off simultaneously, signaling the start of a busy day at Anchorage General.

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Lisa had expected a slow morning. It had been quiet the past couple of weeks. She might even go so far as to say the past couple of weeks had been boring. Rosé had taken to jogging on the treadmill in the station's gym to keep herself busy, and a few of the other firefighters had worked on cleaning and maintaining gear.