"What the hell do you want, Lisa?"
The Thai girl took a deep breath and stood still as the blonde girl stared at her. She deserved this.
After outing Chaeyoung, Lisa had received a lot of soul eating glares from the other girl's group of friends. But never from Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung had always resolved to keeping her head down and avoiding the girl. But apparently things could change, too.
She had just gotten into the library during their free period, disappointed to see that she didn't recognize anyone in the small room. Wandering aimlessly over to the line of couches against the wall, her eyes landed on the familiar blonde girl. Chaeyoung.
Before she had time to stop herself, Lisa hurried over to the couch, tossing her backpack down and sitting down on the opposite end from Chaeyoung. She just craved to be close to the girl. But she knew she couldn't blame Chaeyoung for hating her.
Obviously, her abrupt intrusion had caught Chaeyoung's attention. And now, here they were.
"I don't want anything," Lisa said quickly, shaking her head. "I was just trying to study..." she held up her backpack and took a deep breath. This had been a bad idea.
"There's plenty of couches," Chaeyoung spat, standing up and motioning around the room. "I bet you wouldn't want to be caught sitting next to a dyke," she said, laughing bitterly.
"I-I didn't-" Lisa swallowed hard and quickly stood up so her height matched Chaeyoung's. The older girl saw this as a threat, though, and took a step forwards. Lisa held her breath.
"I don't care, Lisa," Chaeyoung shook her head. "You're a pretty fucked up person, did you know that?"
Lisa just stood still. She knew Chaeyoung was physically more powerful than her, and if the older girl did attempt to beat her up, it would be successful.
As much as she wanted to hate Chaeyoung for saying these things to her, she knew it was an appropriate reaction to what she had done to her. She'd practically outed Chaeyoung in front of the whole school. Not that it had been her choice, but Chaeyoung wasn't aware of that.
"Chaeyoung?"
Lisa jumped when another voice appeared from behind Chaeyoung. Jisoo jogged up next to her friend and sent Lisa a questioning glare.
"I really didn't-," Lisa started, wanting to prove her point. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to say, but she didn't have the time to think, either. The moment she stepped forwards, Jisoo moved inbetween the two girls and collided her fist with Lisa's nose.
"Don't you dare go near her again," Jisoo growled.
Inhaling sharply, Lisa quickly fell to her knees and cupped her nose as Jisoo and Chaeyoung disappeared out of the room. When the initial pain subsided, she slowly drew her hand away from her face and grimaced when she felt the dark red liquid running from her nose.
She looked around the room for help with pleading eyes, but everyone simply ignored her. She deserved this. Lisa squeezed her eyes shut and held back tears before slowly staggering to her feet and disappearing into the bathroom.
Lisa's eyes shot open and she inhaled sharply, stumbling backwards off the bed. She brought her hands up to her nose, swearing that she could still feel the throbbing from her memory.
In a state of confusion, she wiped her eyes and looked around the room. It took her a few moments to come back to reality, realizing where she was.
"What's wrong?" Chaeyoung shot up from her spot on the bed, noticing the immediate change in Lisa's disposition. She moved forward to grab Lisa's hand, but grew confused when the younger girl practically flew backwards out of her reach.
A rush of adrenaline shot through Lisa's veins when she saw the girl in front of her. Suddenly, she wasn't sure what to believe. The girl in her memory and the girl she was facing right now were so different, yet so similar. A wave of fear washed over her.
"Lisa..." Chaeyoung took a step forwards. Lisa immediately searched the room, finding the door and sprinting towards it without hesitation. She practically ran straight into Jisoo as she hurried down the hallway.
"Lisa?" Jisoo raised an eyebrow at the panicked girl. Lisa's eyes shot wide open when she recognized the girl. More importantly, what the girl had done to her. Her hands involuntarily moved up to cup her nose and she searched the hallway in a panic. She needed an escape.
Lisa burst through the first open door she could find and slammed it shut behind her, breathing heavily. This was all too real.
"What the...?"
Lisa jumped when there was a voice from behind her. She turned around quickly, only to grow confused when she saw Jennie sitting on her bed, a laptop next to her.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Lisa thought for a few moments. Jennie was nice. Jennie hadn't hurt her. At least she didn't think so. She could trust her.
The minute Lisa made the connection that she had someone who was her friend, she burst into tears and padded over to the bed, burying her head in her hands.
"Oh my god," Jennie quickly jumped to her feet and placed her hands on Lisa's shoulders. "What's going on?"
Lisa just shook her head and practically threw herself into Jennie's arms, crying into the older girl's shoulders. She was so... confused. She didn't understand why all these things were coming back to her all of a sudden.
"Do you want me to get Chaeyoung?" Jennie pulled back and studied the younger girl in her arms. The minutes the words left her mouth, Lisa's eyes shot up and she shook her head furiously.
"No," she whimpered, another sob escaping her lips. Jennie didn't have time to react before Lisa had burrowed under the blankets in her bed and curled up into a ball.
Utterly confused as to what was going on, Jennie slipped out into the hallway, only to be met with a confused Jisoo and distraught Chaeyoung.
"Where is she?" Chaeyoung stepped forwards, biting her lip. Jennie nodded towards her door.
"Crying in my bed..." she ran a hand through her hair. "Care to explain what the hell is going on?" Jennie looked back and forth from Jisoo to Chaeyoung.
"I don't even know," Chaeyoung sighed in a mix of worry and frustration. "I kind of snapped at her... but then... I don't know," she shook her head. "She wouldn't even let me touch her... she was terrified."
"Of you?"
"Both of us," Jisoo spoke up, squeezing Chaeyoung's shoulder to try and comfort her. "She booked it out of here as soon as she saw me."
"Then why would she come to me?" Jennie asked. The other two girls were clearly as lost as she was. Jisoo shrugged and Chaeyoung looked down at her feet guiltily.
"I should go in there," Chaeyoung blurted out, moving forwards. Jisoo and Jennie both made eye contact, silently aware that it wasn't a good idea right away. Jennie moved to block the door and Jisoo laid a hand on Chaeyoung's shoulder.
"You should wait," Jennie bit her lip. "I asked if she wanted me to get you and she sorta... panicked. I don't think it's a good idea right away."
Chaeyoung's face dropped and she nodded slowly, feeling drained. Jisoo sighed.
"It's getting late," Jennie said softly, checking her phone. "Let's just... go to bed. If she calms down she'll come back to your room."
"What if she doesn't?" Chaeyoung looked up innocently.
"Then we'll figure this out in the morning," Jennie glanced at her door. "I really don't know what else to tell you."
Chaeyoung wasn't sure what to feel. She just had to snap at Lisa and screw everything up once more. She simply nodded and disappeared back into her bedroom before her roommates could see the tears fall.
Sleep didn't come easy for Chaeyoung. She tossed and turned practically all night, painfully aware of the empty space in the bed beside her.
After countless hours of staring at the ceiling, Chaeyoung gave up on getting any sleep that night. With a heavy sigh, she pushed herself out of bed and trudged out into the hallway. She listened quietly as she passed Jennie's door, but she figured both girls had already fallen asleep.
Once she made it downstairs, Chaeyoung grabbed a drink from the kitchen and fell back on the couch. The older girl furrowed her eyebrows when she attempted to turn the TV on, but was met with the same black screen instead of Netflix.
Her frustration was evident, now, and she frustratingly made her way over to the piece of furniture across the room to check if the television was plugged in. She squinted, moving the entertainment center slightly to see behind it. Something shifted and caught her attention.
Growing confused, Chaeyoung reached forwards and grabbed the odd material. When she pulled it out from the crack in the furniture, she took a step back to observe her findings. She casually removed the tissue paper from around the rectangle and nearly gasped when she realized what she was holding.
Chaeyoung quickly moved back over to the couch, not peeling her eyes off of the painting she held in her hands. Right away she had known it was by Lisa. Lisa had painted her.
Lisa had painted her.
Chaeyoung took a deep breath and studied the canvas. It was better than what she would have expected from Lisa, but she could still tell it wasn't the work of a professional artist. She didn't realize how much attention to detail the younger girl had. It was endearing. It was perfect.
Chaeyoung had to set the canvas down to wipe the tears from her eyes. This is what she had been doing with Maia. God, Chaeyoung had been such an idiot for suspecting anything.
She wasn't sure how long she stared at the painting for. All she knew was that she only moved from her spot on the couch when she heard two pairs of footsteps behind her.
The second Chaeyoung turned around, Lisa stopped in her tracks. She hadn't seen the older girl on the couch. As soon as their eyes locked, Chaeyoung grabbed the painting and jumped to her feet.
"Lili..." Chaeyoung hurried over to the younger girl and held up the painting. Jennie watched in confusion. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I should've asked... I-," She was cut off when Lisa quickly moved away and hid behind Jennie.
"Lisa," Chaeyoung held up the painting and shook her head. "I said I was sorry," she met the younger girl's eyes pleadingly. Lisa just moved further behind Jennie. Chaeyoung felt her heart breaking.
She met Jennie's eyes pleadingly, even though she was aware there was nothing her friend could do. With a sigh, Chaeyoung let her shoulders drop.
"I'll be upstairs if you need me," she mumbled, leaving the painting on the couch and disappearing up the spiral staircase. Lisa followed her with her eyes, waiting until she heard the bedroom door shut to move out from behind Jennie and walk over to inspect the canvas on the couch.
Three days passed of complete silence between the two girls. No matter how many times Chaeyoung would try to apologize to Lisa, or even simply sit next to her, Lisa would run to Jennie or Somi. For some reason, she would avoid Jisoo as well.
Part of Chaeyoung was concerned that Lisa's avoidance wasn't just because of her outburst. Lisa seemed genuinely terrified whenever she was around Chaeyoung. The thought made Chaeyoung feel sick to her stomach.
It was now Tuesday morning, and Chaeyoung had made a point to leave the house before anyone else woke up. She didn't want to have to deal with the pain that came with seeing Lisa go out of her way to stay away from her. She'd rather just disappear before they could notice she was gone.
She knew Lisa wouldn't want to come to class with her. Instead, she drove to school alone, blasting the radio to try and keep her mind off of things. The thing that scared her the most was the thought that maybe this was it for them. Maybe Lisa had just decided that she was done.
She smiled sadly at Maia as she made her way over to the desk, knowing the other girl was wondering where Lisa was. Chaeyoung just avoiding talking to any of her classmates and pulled out her sketchbook. She didn't feel like starting another painting. She had nothing to paint.
Class passed by painfully slow. About fifteen minutes into the class, she heard quick footsteps down the hallway and then the door of the classroom was burst open. Everyone turned their heads as a girl in a blue beanie quietly entered the room. Chaeyoung grew confused, craning her neck to try and get a better view.
She raised an eyebrow when Somi poked her head into the room and searched the desks. When her eyes found Chaeyoung, she held up her phone and pointed to it, signaling for Chaeyoung to do the same. Before Chaeyoung could respond, the younger girl was gone. Lisa had already made her way over to Maia's table.
Chaeyoung pulled her phone out of her pocket. Seconds later, a message appeared on her screen.
[Somi - 10:38] She woke me up saying she was ready for class. She wouldn't take no for an answer.
Chaeyoung just sighed and put her phone away, forcing herself to keep her eyes off of Lisa. This was going to be a long day.
Meanwhile, Lisa set her backpack on the ground and sat down in one of the stools at Maia's table. She watched for a few moments before the other girl broke the silence.
"How'd Chaeyoung like her present?" Maia smiled, turning to wipe off her paintbrush and giving Lisa her attention. Lisa hung her head down, realizing that Valentines Day had come and gone without a word exchanged between them.
"Is something wrong?" Maia turned slightly in her chair, sensing the change in Lisa's personality.
"There are bad things," Lisa mumbled, shaking her head and looking up at Maia. "I can not tell you." Immediately, Maia glanced over at Chaeyoung.
"Have you told anyone?"
Lisa shook her head. Confused, Maia made an abrupt decision. She subtly unlocked her phone, opening the audio app and pressing record. She was sure Chaeyoung might need to know anything that came out of their conversation. Hiding her phone behind her backpack, she gave Lisa a comforting smile.
"What kind of bad things?" Maia asked carefully, watching as Lisa's face distorted into one of fear.
"Bad things," Lisa thought for a few moments. "From a long time ago."
"Like what?" Maia glanced back over at Chaeyoung, who seemed to be falling asleep while sitting up.
"I... They are scary," Lisa tugged at the beanie on her head. "It is like having a dream, but it is real." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Very real."
Before Maia could say anything else, Lisa stood up and shook her head. "I have to go to the bathroom," she mumbled, padding out of the classroom before the other girl could stop her. Maia glanced over at Chaeyoung, who seemed to have had the same idea she had. Both girls locked eyes and when Chaeyoung looked away, Maia grabbed her phone and headed over to her table.
"You should hear this," Maia said softly, pulling up a stool next to Chaeyoung and holding out her phone. Chaeyoung raised an eyebrow, but quietly took the device from the other girl and held it up to her ear before pressing the play button. Lisa's voice appeared.
"Bad things-They are scary-It is like having a dream, but it is real. Very real,"
Chaeyoung's face slowly dropped as she gained a basic idea of what was going on. She sat in frozen confusion for a few moments before Maia spoke up.
"She's in the bathroom," the other girl mentioned, pointing to the door. Chaeyoung stood up slowly and debated her options for a moment. She couldn't just sit and wait for Lisa to come back to her anymore. After quietly thanking Maia, she excused herself from class and hurried down the hallway.
Lisa sat in the bathroom, watching the light above her flicker on and off slightly. The younger girl had closed the toilet seat and curled up on top of it, keeping her feet off of the floor. She tugged on her beanie just as she heard the door of the bathroom open.
There were a few quiet footsteps and Lisa held her breath when the noise stopped. Suddenly, she was met with a sense of déjà vu when Chaeyoung's voice filled the room.
"Hello?"
The younger girl felt the same rushing feeling she'd experienced before, as everything slowly flashed before her eyes.