Between the Lines - Jenlisa

Part 7

The air between them felt charged as they left the studio

Jennie wasn't sure if Lisa noticed-- if she felt the same tightness in her chest, the same electricity humming beneath her skin.

Bur the Lisa bumped her shoulder against Jennie's , playfully, like she always did."Where to? Ramen? KBBQ?"

Jennie glared at her. Lisa's voice was light, casual, but there was something else there, something Jennie had been noticing more and more lately.

Lisa was acting normal.

And yet... her fingers twitched at her side, like she wanted to reach out.

Jennie swallowed, shovinghr own hands into her pockets. "KBBQ." she decided. "But you'rev paying."

Lisa gasped. "Excuse me? You invited yourself, why an I paying?"

Jennie smirked. "Because you love me."

It was supposed to be a joke.

She had said it a thousand times before-- to Lisa, to Rosé, to Jisoo. It was nothing. Just words.

But this time. Lisa went quiet.

Jennie barely had time to process that reaction before Lisa smirked, recovering quickly. "Yeah, yeah, Whatever helps you sleep at night."

She said it with ease, Brushing it off. But there was something in the way she glanced at Jennie-- quick, uncertain, like she was thinking about it.

Jennie looked away first.

Her own words were playing in her head now. "Because you love me."

She should have laughed it off. She should have teased Lisa about it. But for some reason, it felt different.

It felt true.

_______________________

Diner was fine. Normal. Mostly.

Lisa stilled joked around, still made dumb faces whenever Jennie stuffed her mouth full of food, still tried (and failled) to win every game of rock-paper-scissors to get the meat out of the grill.

But there was something different in the quieter moment.

Like when Jennie reached for the side dishes at the same time as Lisa, and their fingers brushed.

Lisa hesitated-- just barely --beforenpulling away.

Or when Jennie leaned forward to grab a napkim, and Lisa's gaze flickered to her lips for a second too long.

Jennie's heart stuttered.

Did she imagine that?

She didn't have time to dwell on it because Lisa suddenly cleared her throat, breaking the moment. "You okay?"

Jennie blinked. "Huh?"

"You're quiet." Lisa tilted her head, studying her. "You asually bully me more than this."

Jennie rolled her eyes, grabbing a piece of meat from the grill and placing it on Lisa's plate. "Eat your food Lalisa."

Lisa grinned, like she had won something. "Yes Ma'am."

Jennie sighed, shaking her head. But she couldn't ignore the wramth creeping up her neck.

Lisa was too much.

Too close. Too soft. Too aware.

And Jennie was starting to realize that no matter how much distance she tried to keep between them...

Lisa was always going to skip through the cracks.

__________________________

Later, as they walked back to the dorm, the night air was cool, crisp. Lisa had her hands in her pockets, gaze flicking up toward the sky.

Jennie glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.

She wanted to say something.

Something real.

But before she could, Lisa suddenly spoke.

"You really don't want space?"

Jennie froze.

Lisa was still looking at the sky, like she hadn't just dropped a loaded question into the quiet.

Jennie swallowed. "No."

Lisa finally turned to face her. She wasn't smilling.

"Okay." She said softly.

It wasn't much, just one word.

But Jennie felt it settle in her chest like something real.

Like something was shifting.

Lika Lisa had decided something.

Jennie wasn't sure if that terrified her or thrilled her.

Maybe both.