Y/n shows up at their apartment an hour later, holding bags of what looks to be take out food in her hands.
Jennie's lips stretch into a wide smile as she ushers her inside. "Chicken?"
"I... had no idea what to get them," Y/n quietly mumbles so the others don't hear her. She hands Jennie the bags and slips out of her coat, Jennie getting a whiff of her musky cologne that makes her legs feel a little weak. "Shit, I'm nervous."
Jennie pouts at that and pulls her closer. "It'll be fine. They're amazing. And I know they will love you, so please don't be scared, okay?"
Y/n takes a deep breath and nods. "Yeah. Okay. I just. Don't know. Feels like I'm meeting my girlfriend's parents." She laughs. "I want to make a good impression."
Jennie can't help herself. She leans in, and kisses Y/n, slowly and languidly. Y/n looks a bit dazed when Jennie pulls away. "I told you they will love you. Just be you."
Y/n bites down on her lips and grins, nodding her head. Jennie takes her hand and leads her inside, putting the bags down on the dinner table.
"Guys," Jennie says, looking at Roseanne and Lisa who have gotten up from the couch and are basically just staring Y/n down. "This is Y/n. Y/n, that's Lisa, my roommate and best friend, and that next to her is her girlfriend Roseanne, my other best friend."
They greet each other rather stiffly, and Jennie wishes they weren't being so awkward.
"She brought fried chicken," Jennie tries again, and doesn't miss the way Lisa's eyes light up at that.
So yeah.
They start to eat, and it's not... it's not awful.
Lisa tries her best to distract everyone from the daggers Roseanne keeps shooting at Y/n across the dinner table, or the fact that she has yet to talk to Y/n in any shape or form, and for that Jennie is infinitely thankful to her friend.
Lisa brings some beer from the fridge, which helps everyone losen up, and it eventually feels like friends hanging out together more than anything.
Jennie holds Y/n's hand under the table, because she can tell how tense Y/n still is, especially because of how hostile Roseanne is being towards her.
She can't help but feel guilty. She's the one who cried over how much Y/n hurt her to her best friends, when really, Y/n was hurting because of her, too.
Y/n doesn't deserve this treatment.
"Roseanne," Jennie says after a while. "You're being quiet."
Roseanne glances at her, eyes narrowed. "Nothing much to say."
"It's kind of rude, that's all."
Lisa chokes on her beer, and Y/n glances at Jennie, squeezing her hand, telling her to stop.
"Oh, is it, now?"
"Yes. You haven't spoken a word with Y/n."
"She hasn't spoken to me either, has she?"
Y/n tenses up next to her, and it makes Jennie angry. She loves Roseanne, but she also loves Y/n, and she doesn't like how Roseanne is treating her.
"Because you've practically get back off tattooed on your forehead. You're the one who wanted to meet her so why are you being like this?"
"Jennie, it's okay," Y/n whispers, even though Jennie can tell that her girlfriend is irritated. She's just staying calm so she doesn't cause a scene.
"Do you know why I don't particularly like you?" Roseanne suddenly asks, addressing Y/n for the first time, who calmly meets Roseanne's gaze.
"I can imagine, yeah."
"So you also understand why I'm having a hard time just letting you into our group."
"Yeah, I do."
"Are you going to do anything about it?"
Y/n clears her throat. "All I can do is prove to you that I really care about Jennie. So if you could give me a chance to do that, that would be nice."
"I don't give second chances."
"If I screw up, you're welcome to kick my ass." Y/n sighs and averts her eyes for a moment, until Jennie squeezes her hand, and Y/n turns to look at her, the tension bleeding out from her shoulders.
The table is silent for a moment, before Roseanne suddenly picks her beer up and clears her throat.
"The only reason I was being a dickhead is cause I care about this shawty." She points at Jennie. "And kicking your ass will be the nicest thing I'll do to you if you do her wrong."
"Alright, can we not?" Jennie snorts. "I'm a grown girl, okay? I can take care of myself. I do bench presses."
The other three look at Jennie, and then they laugh, and that's that.
Roseanne even smiles at Y/n at some point.
And just like that, Y/n becomes part of their group, and Jennie's heart feels ten times lighter.
-
Over the next weeks, Y/n hangs out with them more often, and Jennie feels like Roseanne and her actually get along pretty well. They're both rather introverted, and they both love playing video games, so sometimes Jennie gets back home from classes to find her best friend and girlfriend yelling over some silly video game.
It's heart warming, seeing her friends accept her girlfriend with open arms like that, despite the rocky start they had.
Y/n and her hang out with Taehyung a few times, and go out to the cinema with Joohyun and Seulgi.
While things aren't perfect, they're certainly better, and it's almost too good to be true.
Jennie simply tries to think of what Jisoo told her that night.
-
But... things were too good to be true.
It's January now.
Two weeks ago, they celebrated New Year's Eve.
Her friends, Y/n, even Seulgi and Joohyun, they all went to a party that was thrown by this rich girl from Roseanne's college. It was nice. They all got pretty drunk, and things got a little tense when Jisoo started getting all up in Jennie's space, and it was fun, cause they were drunk and dancing and everyone was having fun.
Y/n though? Not so much.
Joohyun looked like she really wanted to throw her drink in her face for her sulking in the corner like that and looking like she really wanted to kick Jisoo in her ass.
Jisoo found it amusing, and she kept teasing Y/n further, until Y/n really didn't play along anymore.
What Jennie found out that night is, that jealous Y/n, equals in possessive Y/n, so she found herself pressed against the wall of a random bedroom ten minutes before midnight, Y/n sucking a massive bruise into her neck that would be visible to everyone, practically marking her.
Maybe Jennie should've hated her for that smug look on her face, but it really just made her love Y/n that much more.
It's a Saturday.
Y/n worked the whole day, went home to shower before she cam to pick up Jennie cause she'd asked her girlfriend to drive her to the grocery store since Roseanne and Lisa were out on their weekly date and took the car.
"Hey, I've got to find something for Taehyung. Gluten free bagels? Have any idea where that is? Or what the fuck that is?"
Jennie snorts. "You should probably check the baked goods section, hm? What does he want with those, anyway?"
"Beats me," Y/n mutters. "He's trying some sort of new diet. Apparently all of his friends from college are on it. He's gotten spoiled since we came here. As if he could've asked for bagels back in the village, let alone gluten free ones."
Jennie laughs. "Just go get her the bagels."
"Yeah, yeah. Give me that." Y/n reaches for the half full basket Jennie is holding.
"I'm not weak, you know? You don't have to carry stuff for me."
"What kind of girlfriend would I be if I made you carry things?"
"Well, I could say the same thing. I'm your girlfriend, too."
"Yeah, but I'm older." Y/n winks at her before walking off, Jennie watching her with a stupid smile on her face.
It's a night like any other.
But then, when Jennie is simply making her way to the fruit isle, she spots her.
Small body, white skin, a dress that costs more than thousands dollar.
Golden wedding ring snugly fit around her left ring finger.
Reaching for the organic apples, because they're healthier, in her opinion.
-
"You need to stop going for the cheaper options. Have you ever asked yourself why exactly there are cheap and expensive options for fruits?"
Jennie feels herself duck in embarrassment, not liking the tone of the older woman's voice. It always makes her feel like she's being scolded, like she's stupid and naive. "I know that, alright? But I can't afford-"
"The organic fruits are more expensive because growing them needs more care and effort instead of just spraying the fruit with toxic pesticides, which are not only harmful to you when you eat it but also to the environment."
"I'm... aware."
"Then why are you still buying it?"
"I just paid rent-"
"Put them back, Jennie."
So Jennie does, face heating up at the confused look she gets from the lady next to them who happened to overhear their conversation.
What a strange sight this must be. A grown girl being ordered around by an older woman like that.
-
But Jennie did what Hyuna told her to do, without putting up a fight, like a trained puppy. Cause that's how Hyuna had liked her best; pliant and obedient.
Kim Hyuna.
Out on a Saturday evening, grocery shopping, such a mundane thing, but it makes Jennie's mind reel.
She hasn't seen the woman in months, years, even. Almost like she'd forgotten all about her existence, or just blanked out that fact to make life easier for her.
And this, this feeling, was the exact reason Jennie had tried so hard to forget about this woman. Like she can't breathe, like she's a clueless child, like she's worthless, like a plaything.
Jennie swallows heavily and turns to walk away, as far away as she can, because she can't risk the other woman spotting her-
"Jennie?"
Jennie freezes instantly, her body locking up hearing that familiar voice again. She doesn't turn around, but her breathing gets a bit hastier as she hears the footsteps approaching her from behind.
"Jennie, is that you?"
Jennie squeezes her eyes shut, willing herself to just walk away, to leave, like this asshole left her.
But when she opens her eyes, Hyuna is already standing in front of her, the uncertainty on her face morphing into one of recognition.
Her eyebrows sharp, eyes dark and intense as ever. She's perfectly beautiful, but Jennie feels nothing looking at her.
She has a new definition of beauty and Y/n has set the standards too high for anyone else.
No one could compare in Jennie's eyes.
And right now, Jennie wants nothing more but to turn around and find her girlfriend-
"Jennie," Hyuna says, her eyes subtly flickering over Jennie's face, her body. She clears her throat, politely focusing on Jennie's eyes again. While that look used to make Jennie's skin erupt in goosebumps for a whole lot of different reason, she now just feels uncomfortable and disgusted. "It's been a while."
"It has," Jennie answers, taking pride in how steady her voice sounds.
Hyuna nods and glances around the store, probably making sure no one's watching them. Jennie wants to smile bitterly at this. Nothing's changed. The woman hasn't changed one bit. She's still embarrassed to be seen out and about with Jennie, even now, when they are absolutely nothing, mean nothing to each other, just faded memories filled with hurt and regret.
"How have you been?"
"Great," Jennie answers before the woman can even finish her sentence. "And you? How are the husband and kids?"
Hyuna visibly cringes at that. She lowers her head, a sigh leaving her lips. "Listen, Jennie. Can we go somewhere and talk?"
That takes Jennie by surprise. Throws her off, her resolution crumbling. "You want to talk?"
"That's what I said, yes," Hyuna calmly responds.
"What could you possibly want to talk to me about?!"
"You know what."
"No, I fucking don't!" Jennie snaps at them man, unable to contain the sudden flare of irritation. "We have absolutely nothing to talk about. You made yourself pretty fucking clear back then, so back the fuck off."
"Language, Jennie," Hyuna mutters in that voice.
Jennie freezes, sucks in a breath, and suddenly feels like she's a freshman in college again, clueless and gullible and stupid and naive, falling for this woman like a fool.
The words are on the tip of her tongue, like a knee-jerk reaction, wanting to apologize for being bad, when she hears her name being called, and it snaps Jennie out that haze.
Her heart starts racing, and she turns her head, sighing in relief when she sees Y/n approaching them with their basket, her eyes focused on Jennie and immediately filling with worry when she takes in Jennie's distressed state.
Y/n then looks at Hyuna, and Jennie doesn't know how she does it, because Jennie had only briefly mentioned Hyuna to Y/n, and that was way back in the village when they were only getting to know each other, but Y/n seems to connect the dots, and her eyes harden immediately.
She steps up next to Jennie and reaches down to take Jennie's hand, lacing their fingers together tightly, still staring at Hyuna.
"Is there a problem here?"
Hyuna stares at them silently, a hint of confusion and irritation flaring in her eyes. "And who are you?"
Jennie tightens her hand on Y/n's, not liking how Hyuna is trying to stare her down. The woman can do that pretty well, and Jennie just wants Y/n to know that she's so much more than this woman could ever be.
"I'm Jennie's girlfriend," Y/n answers firmly. "Should I know who you are?"
Hyuna glances at Jennie and Y/n pulls her closer, her jaw tightening angrily. "We're... old friends."
"How nice," Y/n mutters. She looks like she's ready to throw a punch and that's absolutely the last thing Jennie wants to happen, so she tugs on Y/n's hand a little, who finally snaps out of it and turns to face her.
"Let's go, please."
Y/n's eyes are still hard and she's raging on the inside, but she nods her head, and starts walking away, keeping Jennie close, and shoots Hyuna one last heated glare.
"Jennie," Hyuna calls after her. "Don't walk away from me."
It makes Jennie flinch, with in turn makes Y/n growl and slow her steps, her body starting to turn away from Jennie like she's about to go back to the woman. "Listen here asshole-"
Jennie stops her, grips her wrist and pulls. "Please. Please, fuck, don't- I can't- I can't deal with this right now. Please."
Y/n swears under her breath, and it takes her a few seconds to calm down, but in the end, the pleading words and the fear in Jennie's voice seems to be enough for her to suppress her anger and keep walking.
They don't talk while they scan the items on the self check-out, Y/n doing most of the work as Jennie is still a little too out of it from the unexpected encounter with the woman who'd used her and threw her away like she was nothing but trash.
Y/n grabs all the heavy bags with one hand, and slides her other into Jennie's hand, her touch comforting and safe as she leads the younger out of the shop and back to her car.
It's not until they're sitting in their seats and Y/n closes the door that Jennie sags into herself.
"Fuck," she whispers as she bends down to press her forehead against the dashboard of the car. Her heart's still racing, her hands trembling, and she feels like she might just throw up.
Y/n carefully places her hand on Jennie's neck underneath her hair, her palm warm against the skin, and starts carding her fingers through Jennie's hair. "You okay?"
Jennie nods, even though she's really not, but she will be. She just needs a moment. Needs to process what the fuck just happened, and why it happened. "Who does she- Who does she think she is?"
Y/n's hand tightens and Jennie wishes she would've just shut up. She doesn't want to fuel Y/n's anger even further. "You should've let me hurt her a little."
It makes Jennie crack a smile despite everything. "She probably has enough connections to get you in jail for touching her."
"Don't care. I really wanted to rip her a new one. Fucking dickhead."
Jennie laughs and lifts her head. "Stop."
Y/n looks her in the eyes and sighs, bringing her hand up to cup her cheek gently. "You good?"
Jennie shrugs and leans into Y/n's touch. "I'm okay. I'm over it, I really am, it's just.... It was unexpected. It was just scary that she tried to pull that on me again."
Y/n closes her eyes and shakes her head. "Look can we... talk about this at home? I'm really about to go back in there and I don't want-"
"Yeah let's go," Jennie says. "Let's just go."
----