Awkward was a word. A very flexible word at that. It could be used to describe an action, or maybe the way someone's face looks when they get asked out by someone. Sometimes it's used to describe a situation.
And right now 'awkward' was the word that perfectly described this moment.
The girls sat in a circle around your room and you panicked while rushing down the stares to get the snacks.
Liz was clung to your mothers leg as she watched you nervously walk in the kitchen.
Your mother turned and furrowed her brows harder than she ever had before.
"Five people was crazy! But five girls!?" She whisper yelled.
"I'm sorry," was all you could muster as you lowered your head.
As much as she wanted to be upset at you, mom couldn't stay mad.
She rolled her eyes and sighed.
"At least marry one of them," she mumbled under her breath as she handed you a bowl of fruits and a bowl of bagged chips and junk.
"Mom!" You whisper yelled back as you took the bowls.
She smirked.
"Don't act like I didn't see the way they looked at you when you came down the stairs," she said then her eyes widened. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed they're interested yet?"
You were turning away but couldn't help but freeze and turn back.
"What do you mean?" You questioned with a beet red face.
Liz watched in curiosity before tugging on your moms sweatpants.
"Are those Ladies Bubba's wives?" She asked softly.
This earned a chuckle from your mom and about a ten degrees increase of the surface temperature on your cheeks.
"I'm going now," you said quickly as you rushed back to your room.
Reached the door, you hesitated to go in and while you cooled off you heard the girls talking inside.
"I swear, he looked so annoyed," Hanni almost whined.
"I knew this was a bad idea, he hates us," Hyein commented.
You were in utter confusion as to why they thought that. Then it dawned on you. When they entered the house and you got to the bottom of the stares, you stared in awe, the only problem being that your face for some reason didn't show expressions well, meaning even when you were surprised or in awe, your face didn't really show it.
You felt stupid, sure it wasn't your fault necessarily, but you still felt bad.
Now you knew you needed to grow a pair and show that you actually liked having them there.
You put on a soft smile and shook your nerves off before pushing the door open.
They all turned in surprise and almost with worry, but it seemed to clear once they saw the smile.
W thinking self.
You placed the bowls down in the circle and sat down next to them.
They didn't say anything so you decided to take matters into thy own hands.
"Whats with the awkwardness? Eat," you said while gesturing to the bowls.
You took notice that Haerin was the first, and the fastest, to go for the snacks. Danielle chuckled at your comment and joined the hungry cat.
"Jeez, your mom gave put a lot," Minji hummed as she slowly slipped a grape into her mouth.
You watched as she did it and it was so attractive for some reason.
You felt your cheeks warm up but you refused to blush.
Pulling yourself together, you took a small slice of pineapple and ate it before getting out the stuff for the project.
You and the girls ended up buckling down for a solid hour before being a little burnt out, so you all decided to take a small break.
Over the entire hour Haerin had managed to down five bags of chips, two bags of mini Oreos, and about three fistfuls of fruit.
When she kept eating during the period where you were working you couldn't help but stare in astonishment and Hanni saw, she gave you a 'I told you so' look and you couldn't help but crack a smirk.
Other than that, the time where you were working was actually kinda fun, and about ten minutes in Hanni started humming softly to herself and it sounded actually really nice.
I wonder if she sings.
If only you knew.
Hyein flopped on your bed and you stared her down with furrowed brows.
"And what do you think you're doing?" You asked.
"Power nap," was all she said in response.
"And what if I wanted to take a nap?" You questioned.
"Get in the bed, I don't care," she murmured before her breathing was audible, heavy, and slowed.
You stared for a second in shock but laid on the floor as you looked to the ceiling. The girls got on their phones and the room grew silent.
You wanted to talk to them, but you didn't know what to say.
Then an idea sparked in your head. What if you pretended to be asleep to see what the girls would say?
So that's exactly what you did, faked being asleep.
A little bit went by without anything being said or done and you were starting to wonder if it was pointless. Then you heard a whisper.
"Do you think he's actually asleep?" Danielle's whispered voice asked someone.
"Well yeah," Minji answered.
"Good job Hyein!" Hanni whisper yelled to the sleeping girl.
The girl you thought was sleeping.
"How'd you know that would work?" Hyeins voice appeared.
What? When did she wake up?
"I don't know, I think I saw it in a study somewhere or something that when someone falls asleep in the same room as someone else, the other person should fall asleep too," Danielle hummed.
How dare they! They tricked me!
"But was it really necessary to say what you said before faking it?" Minji questioned.
"Well I thought that if he did then. . .you know," Hyein mumbled.
"No. . .no I don't know," Minji commented blankly before chuckling.
"Whatever," Hyein shot as you heard her slip off the bed.
Suddenly it felt like all eyes were on you.
"He really carried us on the project so far," Hanni said gently.
"Yeah. . .maybe we should leave him be and finish the project on our own," Minji suggested.
"We could do that," Danielle agreed.
Then the door opened and you were worried your mom was gonna yell at you for snoozing when the room fell silent.
Then you knew who it was.
Feet waddling on the floor grew closer as it stopped right next to you.
"I know you're awake Bubba," Liz's voice whispered into your ear.
You cracked a smile and sat up, looking over to your left to see your sister standing there.
"Hm?" You asked as you smiled to her.
She stepped closer and got to your ear again.
"I wanted to meet them," she explained quietly.
You gave an 'Ah' expression and nodded. Looking to the girls, you wondered how you could introduce them.
"Okay, girls, could you do me a favor?" You asked out of the blue.
They stared with wide innocent eyes and nodded. It was unbelievably adorable.
"Alright, all of you sit side by side," you explained and they did so.
You smiled at them so cutely obeying you.
"Now," you started while looking to your sister who had clung onto your arm. "The one you think you'll like the most, walk to her."
You smiled at Liz gently as her shaky eyes shifted to the five girls in front of her.
All of them held their arms out or patted their lap with smiles and even spoke in a baby voice trying to persuade your sister into picking them.
But one stayed silent and didn't reach too far, her arms were open but not eager, she was calm and didn't speak.
And you noticed it when your sister seemed to lock eyes with someone, she then slowly let go of you and you followed her gaze.
The invisible line landed on Haerin.
And Liz waddled to her.
Rather quickly too.
Landing in Kitty Kangs arms confused Haerin but she slowly wrapped her arms around Liz and gave her a hug.
The other four pouted, but you smiled widely. You'd never seen your sister choose someone so quickly.
Liz removed her face from Haerins chest and looked up to lock eyes with her.
After a few seconds of staring she turned to face you.
"I like this wife the best," her high pitched voice spoke with no remorse.
And at that you grew beet red and even threw your head down as an embarrassed smile painted across your face.
The girls chuckled at Liz and when you managed to calm down enough to look up, you caught all of them glancing to you before they darted their eyes away.
"Well who are you?" Danielle asked with a babied tone.
Liz glanced to Danielle as she clung to Haerin a little tighter, which she didn't do to anyone else other than you, mom, and dad.
"Elizabeth, you can call me Liz," she explained softly.
"Or Eli," you added with a teasing tone causing your sister to shoot you a glare.
She hated being called Eli.
"What grade are you in?" Minji asked as she scooted closer.
"2nd grade," Liz murmured.
"So you're 7?" Hanni hummed.
Liz smiled.
"Yeah," she squeaked.
"What do you like most in school?" Hyein wondered.
"Lunch," Liz chuckled.
Next thing you knew, Liz was sitting in Haerins lap as the other four circled around her. They talked and talked, Liz answered all their questions happily, smiling even.
And all you could do was stare wide eyed.
These girls were different.
"At least marry one of them."
You sat in silence as your cheeks grew hotter.
That wouldn't be too bad.
Then a voice called out.
"Liz!" Your mothers voice echoed through the house.
The chatting between the six girls stopped and they waved her bye as she left to go see what her mom wanted.
Once Liz left they looked over to you as you stared back.
You couldn't think of anything to say so you cut to the only option you could think of.
"Ok, let's get back to work!" You spoke with forced enthusiasm.
They nodded and you started again.
After a little bit with barely any talking, someone decided to speak up.
"Your sister is really cute," Danielle commented.
You glanced up for a slight second, unable to stare at the beauty in front of you.
"Yeah, she is," you hummed fondly.
It was true, your sister was cute and adorable and perfect in your eyes. It may have been the fact that she always managed to cheer you up through the hardest times made you grow a little dependent on her cuteness and innocence.
"How's it like between you and your sister?" Minji hummed a question.
You thought for a moment before smiling softly to yourself at the answer.
"Inseparable," your voice explained gently under your breath.
The girls stared and deep down they felt something bloom, something they knew wouldn't end well.
——
After a while of working and finally finishing the project, also burning through enough food to possibly feed an African tribe, the girls were getting ready to leave.
"Good job today, we did good," Minji praised as she got done packing her stuff.
"Thank you for coming over," you bowed to them knowing damn well they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
"Thank you for having us," Danielle smiled widely.
"And for feeding the beast Haerin's bottomless stomach," Hanni added with a smirk before getting punched in the shoulder by an upset kitty.
Haerin stared swords into Hanni, not even daggers, daggers would never be enough to pay for the embarrassment she felt as her cheeks grew beet red.
You chuckled and nodded as you stared at the ground.
"Well, I'll see you out," you said as you started walking with them.
As you walked down the stares and got to the front door, the five girls stopped, staring at the ground.
"Where are our shoes?" Hyein questioned as she comically threw her gaze to each corner of the room.
You shook your head as you knew what had happened.
"We didn't even walk around the house," Hanni said in confusion as she looked with Hyein.
Then Liz strutted into the room and looked to them.
"Did you lose your shoes?" She asked innocently, like she had nothing to do with this.
"Yeah," Minji said as she started walking around and looking.
"Can I help you?" Liz suggested shyly.
"Sure!" Danielle agreed with a smile.
And with that, the search began.
The truth was as obvious as day and you still didn't understand how the few people who got this special treatment didn't notice, but you shrugged and wondered where Liz had hid their shoes.
You decided to join them while they searched.
After splitting up you ended up finding Haerin in the laundry room.
"Hey," you called to her as you leaned against the entrance.
She looked up with a blank stare and eyes that resembled a cat.
"You're the first person my sisters gone to, ever," you explained plainly.
She blinked before giving a small smile.
"I'm guessing she's shy most of the time?" Haerin asked as she went back to looking for her shoes.
"No, she's completely mute outside of the family," you said as you looked around with her.
This caught the Kitty's attention.
"Like she doesn't talk at all?" She questioned.
"Yup," you confirmed. "I'll tell you something else too."
Haerin maintained her gaze on you as you continued looking for the shoes.
"There was one time I had a friend over and he brought his girlfriend, when they went to leave, Liz stood at the door holding her shoes out for her. The girl then went on and on about how much Liz must like her when In reality it's the opposite. My friends girlfriend was rude the entire time and Liz was tired of her, so she handed her shoes to her," you went on and on.
Then you looked to Haerin waiting to see if it processed. And suddenly her eyes opened wide.
"Are you saying your sister hid our shoes?" She asked.
You smiled and nodded.
"She does it to anyone I bring over that she likes, she hides the shoes so they have to stay longer and the harder the shoes are to find the more she likes you," you continued your rant. "And I have a feeling this may take a while."
She stared at you for longer before looking to the ground.
You glanced over to see that her cheeks were pinkish.
"Hey," she called to you softly.
"Hm?" You gave a response.
"Would someone that gets along well with your sister be your ideal type?" She asked, her voice staying at its quiet tone.
You didn't even think about what she had asked, you answered without thought.
You chuckled.
"Now that you mention it, yeah, someone who gets along with my sister is who I'd wanna be with for the rest of my life," you answered brightly.
And with that it grew silent for a moment before Haerin spoke up again.
"You must really love your sister," she added.
You thought about it again.
"Yeah. . ." You started before thinking more. "It's really weird. I'd literally fight an entire war by myself for her. It's like I need her as much as she needs me."
Haerin stared at your back as you walked to the door.
"I'd give just about anything up to ensure her safety and happiness," you explained while pausing before looking back to her. "So thank you for showing me a side of her I'd never seen before."
And with that, a feeling hit Haerin hard, like an autumn breeze, except instead of colorful leaves blowing by her, it's a flock of butterflies with shades she's never seen before, feelings she's never felt before.
You quietly walked away and left Haerin alone, allowing her to soak in these new feelings.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Her cheeks burned bright.
Her lips quiver at the thought of yours.
Her hands covered her mouth as she had a plastered smile across her face.
"I-"
She stopped, questioning her feelings and their worth. But being human lead to situations like this where rationality was thrown to the side and the feelings of the moment are capitalized.
"I love you," she whispered to herself, hoping you'd hear it but also never catch her utter the words that felt so sacred.
She gripped at her heart and felt it's pulse get even faster.
"Yeah, I love you."
(Will I regret posting this chapter because it wasn't planned out and I have no idea where I'm going with this story? Yes. Is that gonna stop me from writing about possibly the most interesting and lovely group of girls I've ever seen? Nope! Gonna try my hardest to post a chapter each week, I will not be keeping promises though. For now bye bye:3)