Trials and Tribulations [Chaelisa]

Chapter 61 [M]

Lisa and Chaeyoung walked through the mall slowly, their arms linked together and their hands entwined, Lisa casting quick, interested looks through some of the store windows as they passed.

“Do you want to have a look around?” Chaeyoung asked noticing Lisa’s glances. “We don’t have to go straight to the movies if you’d rather shop.” Lisa looked up to meet Chaeyoung’s eyes and squeezed her hand lightly in her own.

“No, that’s alright.” Lisa answered. “I don’t really need anything.” Chaeyoung took a moment to contemplate Lisa’s tattered and torn, blue converse trainers, a disbelieving look on her face.

“You don’t need anything?” she asked, her lips curving up in to a smile as she lifted her eyes to take in Lisa’s features again. “Not one, single, thing?” Lisa shook her head and Chaeyoung laughed as she made a mental note to buy her girlfriend some new shoes when she got her next allowance.

“I was just trying to figure out where the music store is in here but I can’t seem to remember.” Lisa said, twisting her body on the spot to look first in one direction and then the other, seemingly puzzled. Lisa screwed up her face, her nose and forehead creasing thoughtfully as she continued to scan the mall around her.

“It’s up the other end by Barnes and Noble,” Chaeyoung informed her helpfully, a similarly mystified expression appearing on her own face. “Why?”

“What up here?” Lisa asked pointing in completely the wrong direction.

“No the other end of the mall,” Chaeyoung corrected, turning around and pointing the right way. “Down here opposite Forever 21.”

“Really?” Lisa asked, her eyes following Chaeyoung’s hand. She seemed surprised by the information and Chaeyoung couldn’t help but find her confusion adorable.

“Yeah babe,” Chaeyoung laughed. “When was the last time that you came here?”

“It was at the weekend,” Lisa told her a little irritated. “My parents bought me here to buy my new guitar.”

“I can’t believe that you broke your other one,” Chaeyoung chuckled remembering Lisa’s video from earlier. “You’re such a dork.” Lisa grinned brightly at the sound of the word and Chaeyoung nudged her playfully in response, her own smile matching that of her girlfriend’s.

“It was your fault,” Lisa moaned spiritedly, remembering Chaeyoung’s fractured ribs just in time to stop herself from bumping the other girl back. “If you hadn’t left your Fall Out Boy album at my house I wouldn’t have done.”

“I wish you’d recorded your impromptu rock concert,” Chaeyoung chuckled heartily. “I can only imagine what you and Jisoo were getting up to. I’m pretty sure that the pair of you shouldn’t be left together unattended.”

“Right,” Lisa said simply, her mood turning gloomy at the mention of her best friend in view of everything that had happened earlier. Chaeyoung smiled at Lisa sadly and rubbed the back of her hand with her thumb.

“Sorry,” she apologised and Lisa placed her free hand on top of Chaeyoung’s in acknowledgement. “Did you want to go there?” Chaeyoung asked her, redirecting the conversation back to the original topic. “You know, to the store?”

“I was thinking of buying some new sheet music,” Lisa thought out loud, biting her bottom lip. “I’ve been really trying to practice more and I thought maybe having some new songs to learn would help. It can wait though….”

“No, it can’t,” Chaeyoung said, pleased at the thought of Lisa getting back in to her music and pulling on her arm to lead her down the mall and towards the store. Lisa lagged behind her for a moment but soon picked up her pace so that she was beside her girlfriend again. “If you want to buy some sheet music then we’ll go and get some.”