FAUX REAL

16

(note: still Lisa's pov)

"Dude, I can't believe I missed that shit," Rosé laughs, almost rolling off her bed. How is she not hungover? How am I not hungover? Do you even get a hangover from weed? Is that a thing? "Next time you do edibles, you're not leaving my side. Imma have my phone recording the whole time. I could've posted that shit on TikTok! We could've gone viral!"

"I don't want to go viral!" I huff, swinging my legs over her king-sized bed and strutting towards the vanity table. It's almost noon and I haven't even brushed my hair. Unacceptable. "I'm glad that jennie was the only person who saw me in such an embarrassing state."

I was kind of hoping I'd wake up this morning with no recollection of last night but nope, I remember it all, every humiliating detail. I really hope no one but Jennie saw me bobbing for damn popcorn.

I don't even like popcorn! Why was I so determined? Nothing makes sense. I hate weed. I hate it!

"Speaking of her" she sings. "Wendy texted me this morning saying that she saw you guys getting all cozy by the pool. What happened there? I thought this was all for show?"

"We weren't getting cozy, we were just- you know, talking." I roll my eyes, straining my hand to pull the brush through all the knots in my hair that have formed overnight. "No big deal or anything."

Did I have a moderately good time hanging out with her? Yes. Is she kind of funny and sort of cute? Yeah.

But I was high, I can't trust such impaired judgment. I could've hung out with a pineapple all night and had a good time for all I know.

"You need to learn how to lie better" she scoffs, grabbing another slice of pizza out of the box on her bed and popping it into her mouth. "Just admit it, you have the hots for the new kid."

My mouth hangs open at her absurd and woefully incorrect observation. "I do not have the hots for her." How do I explain this in a way she'd understand? "She and I, we're like business partners, we need to maintain friendly relations in order to reach a mutual goal. That's all."

She blinks. "And your goal is...?"

"Uh-" I bite my lip, inwardly wincing. Everything's gotten so muddled in the last few days. "Well, there's two goals really. The first is to get Hilton Hears to retract their last blast about me and the second goal is to, you know, get taeyong back?"

She nods slowly, not buying a word I'm saying. "Okay, that's nice and all, but why do you want to get back together with him so bad? He sucks. He dumped you and then hooked up with seul like three weeks later. Do you seriously want to date a guy like that? Don't you think you deserve better?"

I like to think of myself as a fairly rational person but my feelings for him? Not rational. In an ideal world, I'd be able to let him go. Move on. Admit defeat. But I feel like our story's not over yet, that there are unread chapters, possible spin-offs, the potential for a happily ever after.

He must feel it too; otherwise, why would he text me? Why would he go out of this way to check up on me, especially knowing how Seulgi feels about us interacting. It's like neither of us is ready to cut the cord. Sure, dating someone else usually signifies that a person's moved on, but in his case, I don't buy it.

"Lisa?" she asks. "Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, I am. I-I don't know," I murmur with a labored sigh. Do I deserve better? He was perfect. We never fought. Barely bickered. He was sweet. Attentive. But he hurt me. A lot. "I guess I do but-" My shoulder slump as an overwhelming sense of gloom washes over me. "He was my first love, I loved him, and now, I just- I don't know."