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The universe had a way of knowing things. The weather seemed to match the mood.
Ever since ChaCha had stormed out of practice and Madison had followed, Seoul had been on the receiving end of a harsh rain storm.
It would pour, then it would drizzle, then it would mist, then it would pour again. And repeat.
The sun hadn't shown itself in what felt like days.
After covering for ChaCha and Madison, claiming they'd suddenly felt ill during practice, Seungcheol didn't know what the hell to do. It wasn't uncommon for the girls to get annoyed and argue with each other and the other members, but this was brand new territory. They'd never fought like this before.
He figured he would give them the night to sleep on their feelings, and hope they'd arrive in better spirits.
Boy, was he wrong.
Bella and ChaCha wouldn't look in each other's directions, Madison wouldn't make eye contact with anyone, and Gigi had her fists balled in frustration the entire time.
Joshua eyed everyone after leading the pre-practice group stretches. "So...are we gonna talk about things, or what?"
When no one answered, Seungcheol tried. He put on his leader voice. "Hello? Josh asked a question."
Bella smiled, reaching to pat his shoulder. "There's nothing to talk about, Coups."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, we're all good." ChaCha also sent him a smile as she walked to the opposite side of the room to turn on the music. "Can we practice please? I wasn't on my A game yesterday and I need to nail it this time."
Seungcheol looked back and forth between the two of them. "Are you sure?"
At that moment, four of their staff members walked in. "Positive."
"...Okay." He didn't believe them, but there was hardly anything he could do at the moment.
-
Things stayed tense and awkward for the next few days, with Vernon and Seokmin trying their hardest to force communication between the girls. Things came to yet another tipping point in a van ride to a schedule at a radio station.
By now, their staff members had caught on and to say they were irritated was a massive understatement.
"I'd like to hear everyone's side of the story," the male manager who was driving said. "Why are you not over this yet?"
"Because she realized she was wrong but her ego is too massive to apologize," ChaCha answered, arms crossed over her chest.
"My ego? Seriously?!" Bella countered, turning from her spot in the passenger seat to look at Cha. "That's real rich coming from you."
"You're literally mad that Madison and I went on a trip without you, Bella. It sounds like your ego is the problem to me!"
"That's not—oh my god—that's not why I'm mad!"
"Hey!" the manager shouts over both of them. "Cut the yelling out, you're adults!"
ChaCha lowers her voice, slumping into her seat. "I'm not yelling."
"To be honest, I think everyone was a bit out of line," Jeonghan piped in. "Bella got angry and made a few mean comments, and then ChaCha got—"
"I don't think his opinion should count, he's a bit biased, don't you think?" Bella asked their manager, who waves her off with his hand.
"What you said to Madison made her really upset, you know?" Jihoon asked from the seat directly behind Bella. "Her and Gigi argued about the lights in their room and haven't slept in there together since that night. Someone needs to put their pride aside and apologize first."
"Why would I apologize when I haven't done anything wrong?" ChaCha asked the packed van. "She's the one being an asshole."
"Hey," Joshua snapped at the younger girl. "You may be disagreeing, but she's still older than you. You should be more respectful."
"There's a way to have a civil conversation without cursing at each other, what the hell is wrong with you two? When has it ever gone this far?" the manager snapped. "If I hear you guys talking to each other like that again, I'll go to the CEO. Understand?"
Everyone is dead silent.
"I said do you understand?"
"I understand," both girls mutter.
The fansite photos of the girls looking (very obviously) annoyed and in bad moods spread on online communities like a wildfire. There was even an allkpop article written about it, speculating what the hell happened in that van ride to make everyone so mad.
The radio interview went no better. Every time they got asked a question about the other, they gave half-assed answers or deflected so that they didn't have to answer the question. Fans were quick to put the pieces together, and the rumors of why they were fighting began spreading. Solo stans were eating this up.
They got the scolding of their lives that night.
-
Madison and Gigi were in a bit of a predicament. They wanted desperately to talk to each other but were unsure of how to approach each other, especially when their older two members were still avoiding each other.
Gigi spoke up for the first time in quite a while. "I peeled a tangerine if you want it," she said, criss-crossed on her bed.
Madison glanced over, smoothing down a charcoal face mask over her cheeks. "Sure...thanks."
A beat of silence goes by again.
"Do you hate me?"
Madison's heart sank into her stomach. All of her pent up emotions over the past week suddenly spill in the form of tears, and she started to cry. "No," she whines. "I don't hate you."
"Oh God, please don't cry," Gigi stifled a laugh as Madison nearly tackles her onto her bed. "I'm sorry...you know, for everything."
"Me, too."
The two girls sat up and faced each other, criss-crossed on Gigi's bed. "I was kind of a jerk."
Madison's mouth was full of tangerine when she answered, "We all were." The sight made Gigi burst into giggles. "Everyone was just mad for stupid reasons and we took it out on each other and it was dumb." She feeds a piece of tangerine to Gigi with a fond smile.
"Can we please light some candles, watch Clueless and cuddle?" Gigi asked, falling into Madison's lap. "I've missed you."
"Ugh, that sounds perfect. Let me grab my elephant pillow and go make some popcorn, you light the candles."
Gigi clapped excitedly as Madison crawled out of her bed. It had been about a week since these two self-proclaimed soulmates had spoken a word to each other. This felt so refreshing. It felt like they needed to catch up.
"Hey," Madison stopped in the doorway. "I love you."
Gigi faked a gagging noise. "Gross. I want popcorn, not a sappy love fest." Madison laughs to herself, disappearing down the dark hallway. As soon as she's sure she's out of earshot, Gigi mumbles under her breath, "But I love you, too."
