When she got to class the next day, she was hoping to see Sunny, but she is nowhere to be seen, to her disappointment. Tiffany is not present either, probably at the dance studio practicing for her performance today.
Pushing her thoughts aside, she focused on the rest of her classes until lunchtime. She stared at the blackboard with her head propped up by her hand, looking as if she is deeply absorbed into the lecture. Still, her mind had already drifted away to somewhere else. She reminisced about this semester when she hanged with Tiffany and smirked at every funny thing she could remember. However, the smile turned slightly bitter when the memories brought up scenes with Sunny, somehow feeling a bit guilty. That thought was quickly pushed to the back of her mind.
On the other side of the classroom, seeing Taeyeon's smile instinctively evoked an ugly expression on her face. Jessica wondered how this damn shorty can be so impervious to everything she does to her. She wants to wipe that stupid smile off of her face, but she had not succeeded once. Whenever she talks to her, it's as if Taeyeon doesn't care a word she said and not only that, it's like she's always mocking her in some way.
...
After settling down with her food at the cafeteria, she wondered if Tiffany would hang with her today or have her final rehearsal before her performance this afternoon.
To her luck, Tiffany appeared in front of her as if God had heard her prayers again. Taeyeon made her usual stupid grin when she sees her pretty friend. Perhaps this time, the smile was a bit too pronounced that some people might think she is a clown.
"Wow, you are happy to see me today; what happened?" Tiffany looked at her as if it's just a typical Friday.
"Am I?" Taeyeon smiled, looking down at her food, feeling her skin prickling with embarrassment.
Tiffany smiled at her cute reaction and sat down across from her with her lunch.
As they dig into their food, Taeyeon keeps staring at Tiffany, wondering something. Ever since Taeyeon discovered how nice it felt to sit beside her, she started wondering. Her mind wondered what it feels like to watch a movie while laying her head on the girl's shoulders or even her lap. What if she cuddled with her to sleep, and her mind went through a bunch of other what-if scenarios? She did this to the point of daydreaming, chasing away all her worries for the day. However, she kept them as mere fantasies, thinking the thoughts must be pretty childish, needy, or worse – Tiffany would think she is weird and avoid her.
"Uhm..." Taeyeon hummed a little, trying to get Tiffany's attention, who's just silently enjoying her soup.
When the girl didn't hear her, she went up to an awkward cough. She coughed louder.
Success.
Tiffany looked up and saw her plate full of food, "Aren't you going to eat?"
"Uhm..." Back to square one again.
Tiffany squinted her eyes at her, "What are you up to?"
"Can I..." Taeyeon tried her best but only ended up in a poker face. Her body going numb before the following few words came out. Why is this so hard? It wasn't even this hard talking to Jessica.
Tiffany raised an eyebrow, thinking what might have gotten into her friend. "Alright, what are you scheming?"
"Can I uh...sit...you?" She blurted the words out anxiously.
"...sit...me?" Tiffany's eyes widened, then slowly scrunched up her face and bit her lips but failed to suppress her erupting laughter. "HAHAHAHA!"
"...arghhh! Shut up already!" She bit down on her lip, cursing herself.
"Yes, you can sit next to me." Tiffany composed herself. "Sit me...oh my god, that sounds..." she amused herself one last time, earning a glare from a red-faced girl in front of her.
"..."
"Why are you still sitting there? Didn't you want to sit beside me?" Tiffany scooted over a bit, so there's enough space for her.
She gave a slight smile and slowly sat down beside Tiffany. Her long face was still present as she stared at her food tray.
"After all this time, you are still shy to ask to sit beside me?"
"It's not that...it's...ugh I don't know. Just let me sit beside you from now on!" Taeyeon said grumpily. She didn't know what she was thinking, making her that nervous. All this time, it was Tiffany who took the initiative to sit with or next to her. This was the first time she asked to sit next to her. Being friends for so long, she probably didn't need to ask for permission for such a small thing. However, she still felt the need to.
"TaeTae? It's okay, ah. Of course, you can. You are such a child." Tiffany chuckled, comforting her with a rub on her back.
WHO IS A CHILD!? She wanted to shout at her, but nothing came out except her cheeks puffing out. Taeyeon retook a deep breath, finally recovering from her embarrassment. She can't believe she was so nervous just to ask Tiffany to sit next to her.
"So, are you ready for your dance performance? It's in less than two hours." She tried to change the subject.
"To be honest, I am a bit nervous." Tiffany admitted, "You will cheer for me, right?"
"Uh...yeah...sure." I am not screaming for you like some fangirl, though.
"And no, you don't have to scream like a crazy fangirl. You being there is enough."
"Who said I was your fan!?"
"You look just like one who saw their idol standing right in front of her for the first time." Tiffany teased.
"Dance first, talk later."
------
Taeyeon looked lost at the entrance to the auditorium as she wandered around the hallways full of people waiting for the performance. She was anxious to see Tiffany's performance, and her heart was racing. Why does it have to be with so many people, just another source of anxiety she did not need.
No one is going to talk to you, nobody knows you to care, just act natural...Pacing back and forth, playing around with her fingers, and when the doors to the auditorium finally opened, she hurriedly went in, hoping for a good seat. While she was walking down the aisle to find a seat, she thought she saw a glance of Sunny from the corner of her eyes.
It has to be her, that same plaid jacket and black pants. "Sunny!" She shouted at the girl not far in front of her.
To her dismay, Sunny kept walking as if she had not heard her and turned right into a row near the front. By the time Taeyeon reached the same row, the seats in that row were already filled.
"Whatever." She sighed in disappointment and looked to the rows of seats that are still available. In the end, she just sat at a seat next to the aisle alone. Is that idiot really not going to talk to me?
The performances spanned over almost two periods. It was meant as a refresher and motivation boost for the students to work hard for their finals. A lot of talented people from different clubs or just students who volunteered performed on stage. And of course, that included her sister as well, who is going to sing. Her sister's performance was outstanding, better than she had imagined compared to when she sang for her at home. But what happened next surprised her, it was Tiffany's performance, but she was not performing with her dance group. It was a duet performance with the one and only evil princess herself, Jessica.
For the next couple of minutes as their performances played out, Taeyeon froze in her seat, unable to move, face prickling, feeling completely numb. She never expected Tiffany to be performing in a duo. She had always been practicing with her group, so Jessica was the last person she expected. Tiffany told her that they had stopped talking.
So, this is what jealousy feels like. Taeyeon admitted right away. Wait...I am jealous??
She was confused by her own feelings and wanted to just go on stage and pull Jessica off the stage so that she could only see Tiffany's performance. When she finally looked away to her right, she saw Sunny happily clapping away at the performance. Something tells her that there is something that she doesn't know or is aware of, which just made her more upset.
After the performances were over, Taeyeon went out fast and forced herself in front of Sunny to get her attention.
"Sunny!" She yelled, pulling the other shorty to a stop.
"Hi, Taeyoon." Sunny replied in an unfamiliar tone.
Taeyeon knitted her eyebrows slightly, confused. "Did you see Tiffany's performance?" She tried starting a normal conversation, despite the uneasiness she felt between them.
"Yea. Why?"
"Did you like it or not?" She replied, starting to feel the unwelcoming tone from the latter. Usually, Sunny would have started sharing her thoughts when they see each other again, but not this time.
"Jessica and Tiffany dancing together is bothering you, isn't it?"
Taeyeon hates how Sunny just knows what she thinks, like it's written on paper. "No..." She paused to think of an excuse out of the accusation, "I didn't even know they were supposed to perform together until today. Did you know?"
"I did. If only you cared enough to ask her, then maybe you would have known too."
"When did she tell you?" Taeyeon asked, not sure what the girl was muttering about. "Why would I ask about that? I am not interested in what she does with that girl." She was genuinely confused by the seemingly meaningless remarks.
"A while ago when I was tutoring her. I don't know, Taeyoon. Anyways, I have to go."
"Where are you...."
Without waiting for a reply, Sunny turned and walked away from her.
"Aaahh, why didn't Tiffany tell me?" She frowned on her spot. "And what is wrong with Sunny?"