The Girl Next Door - Jenlisa

Chapter 22

Rosé's foot tapping was becoming more and more aggressive by the minute.

Lisa wanted to scowl, to tell them off, and say they don't have any claim to what she wanted to keep private. She could feel her anxiety clawing at her neck like a madman.

"So??" Rosé prompted her for an answer.

Lisa whispered to herself, almost like a mantra: They mean well. They're not here to hurt you. You can calm down. She shook her leg nervously. Ditching her usual deadpans, Lisa finally decided to let them in a little bit. It shouldn't be that bad, right?

"...yes."

It was quite possibly the most meek-sounding response Lisa heard come out of her mouth. Rosé looked astonished, with Soo Young quietly mirroring her reaction.

" 'Yes' what? What do you mean by that?"

Lisa grimaced, wondering how to go about telling Rosé everything without telling her anything.

"Yes, I have had someone visiting me lately," Lisa approached tentatively.

"And?"

Lisa gauged her two friends who were waiting for her response impatiently. She knows they were excited: this was the first time she's seen someone constantly enough to bring home. But it was for the same exact reason that she couldn't get herself to talk, why she was just riddled with anxiety all over.

Because this WAS the first time Lisa's seen someone constantly enough to bring home. And she's never had the time to fully contemplate what that meant for her.

And in as much as she thinks it should be easy to admit these new developments to herself–like having a young school girl crush Rosé and Soo Young are currently making her out to be–she's scared that she doesn't know shit about where she's drowning.

I mean, it's not like she's in love, was she?

Her eyes widened, petrified at the possibility.

"Look, it's–I mean–the thing is–" Lisa hated her stutter. She took a deep breath and realigned. 

"It's complicated. We're not really seeing each other. We're just..."

"Fuck buddies?" Supplied Soo Young.

"...you can call it that."

Rosé remains unconvinced. "What do YOU call it?"

Lisa shrugged. "...tentative?"

"Tentative," Rosé repeated dully. "What the fuck does that even mean."