Neverland

in a place so far away

"Hello, ma'am, nice to make your acquaintance." Lisa kissed the back of Dara's hand with a little bow. Jisoo frowned and looked at Jennie who could only shrug.

Dara looked a little taken aback, but there was an undeniable blush on her cheeks. "You just can't bring that sword in here, is all," she said, voice softening even as she crossed her arms in an approximation of her typical fierce sternness.

"I can't just leave Jen-"

"Rider!" Jennie interrupted. "The name of her sword is Jen Rider. Definitely not super weird and a totally normal name. For a sword. Which is normal for her to have because she's super into...LARPing."

Dara just blinked at Jennie before putting her hands up and shaking her head. "I don't understand half the shit I hear kids say anymore. Just keep that sword sheathed or don't bring it in here again."

"Yes, ma'am," Jisoo and Jennie said simultaneously.

Dara went to the other side of the bar and Jennie let out a long sigh. Lisa sat back on her barstool, smile trained back on Jennie.

"What's LARPing?" Lisa asked as Jennie poured Jisoo her whiskey and a soda for Lisa.

"Basically what we did in Neverland all day but way lamer," Jisoo said.

Jennie gathered their order from the kitchen and slid it in front of them just in time to catch Lisa coughing and gagging while Jisoo laughed and patted her back. "What did you give her?"

"Nothing," Jisoo said, pulling her whiskey glass from Lisa's hand.

"That's disgusting," Lisa coughed.

"No way it could be as disgusting as that shit that Tink made that one time. Do you remember that?" Jisoo elbowed Lisa's ribs. "It was like some kinda fairy pollen bullshit. And then she laughed her ass off because it was just a bunch of gross stuff she mixed together to play a trick on me."

Lisa snorted in laughter. "Remember that time you nearly fell out of the sky-"

"You pushed me out of the sky while we were flying. All because you got jealous that a mermaid winked at me."

"I was not jealous!"

"You were jealous. You can have the mermaids."

"The mermaids have almost as many issues as the pirates." Lisa looked at Jennie. "Anyhow, I don't want a silly mermaid."

Jennie blinked for a long moment, then glanced around the bar before leaning in close to Jisoo while ignoring Lisa's comment. "You know you can't talk like that here, Chu."

Jisoo's face fell and she shot back the rest of her whiskey.

"Can't talk like what?" Lisa asked.

Now that they were more eye to eye, Jennie's eyes lingered on the mole high on Lisa's left cheek. How could she suddenly so vividly remember staring at it in the moonlight and thinking how much she'd want to kiss it?

Jisoo slammed down her glass, the noise shocking Jennie back from her recovered memory. "Like I'm a nut job. Jendeuki thinks Lotsee is just one fairy mention away from having me thrown back in the looney bin."

"I'm just trying to help," Jennie felt themselves falling into the same argument they'd had for years. "I don't want people being cruel-"

"Yeah, well, little late for that," Jisoo mumbled, leaning over the top of the bar to reach for the whiskey. "Volts of electricity straight to the ol' noggin really erased any idea I had that people wouldn't be cruel." Jennie didn't stop her as she unscrewed the cap and poured herself more whiskey. Jisoo poured a healthy splash into Lisa's soda and Jennie rolled her eyes. "Here. You won't taste it in this."