Several days have passed since Danielle took Haerin to the tulip field. Lately, Haerin has been thinking about Danielle more than she should. Everything she does reminds her of Danielle. Every time she hears a song that Danielle said she liked or had mentioned, she is reminded of the day they met.
She knew that she hardly knew Danielle and that she should stop thinking of her, but she couldn't bring herself to. Her thoughts were only consumed by school and Danielle. It was unusual for her to feel this way. Why? Because she's realizing that she's developing a liking for Danielle and that she might even have feelings for her. But a girl? Seriously? It's her first time experiencing these complex emotions, and she's feeling them for a girl. For her it was unacceptable.
She knows that she'll get seriously hurt. For all she knows, She could be a dare to Danielle, to make the new kid catch feelings for her, they date, and then Danielle breaks her heart.
Haerin couldn't shake off the feeling that Danielle wanted to be close to her out of pity. She sighed and realized she was already late for school. Haerin decided to skip the day to clear her thoughts and figure out Danielle's intentions. She wanted a break from school to deal with her complex feelings.
Haerin lay motionless in her bed, not knowing what to think or do. She wanted everything to be solved by itself and all these thoughts and feelings for Danielle to be gone. She remembered acting all cutesy and sweet with Danielle yesterday, calling her names, and even letting her stroke her hair. But when she got home, she asked herself why she felt all sorts of things in her stomach.
Why did she panic when Danielle played with her hair? And most importantly, why did she feel so compelled to call Danielle all these couple names? They barely talked about what they were really like, and there they were acting like a couple. Haerin didn't know what to make of her current situation. She didn't ask for these feelings, and half of her didn't want to blame Danielle because these were her feelings, but part of her wanted to.
There was a sudden knock on her door, and her brother asked if she was going to school. She lied and said she was sick, not wanting to tell him that she didn't want to go to school because of a girl. Her brother left for work, and Haerin said goodbye. The girl was left alone with her thoughts once again but was brought back to reality when she got a text message...from Danielle.
The message read, "Hey, Kitty. Are you going to school today? You didn't come out to the bus...I was looking forward to seeing you." Haerin couldn't believe it, Danielle wanted to see her. Despite her skepticism, a part of her hoped it was true. "No, sorry. I'm sick," she replied. Haerin decided to take a break from texting and focus on herself. She got out of bed, took a shower, and had breakfast before heading out to the park to get some fresh air.
While walking to the park, Haerin unexpectedly ran into Danielle. At first, Haerin tried to avoid her, but when she noticed a boy walking alongside Danielle, Haerin turned back to take a closer look.
"Was Danielle really with a boy after asking me if she was taking the bus? No, that's not possible. Danielle wouldn't do that, but I don't know her well enough to be sure." Haerin shook off her thoughts and continued walking to the park, but for some reason, Haerin couldn't stop thinking about what she saw. Could that be Danielle's boyfriend? The thought of Danielle and that boy being together made her sick and hurt.
"After all the mixed signals Danielle gave me, it had turned out that I was just a joke to her." But Haerin couldn't judge her love life. How terrible of a friend would Haerin be to do that, especially to someone she hasn't known for a week?
Haerin arrived at the park and found a bench to sit on. She pulled out a book and started reading. Haerin loved the morning breeze on her face, the birds chirping, and the sun shining. It was wonderful to have a day all to herself, with no distractions or thoughts, just her and the world.
"I don't like you, Mingyu!" Danielle screamed as she pushed him away from her. She was desperate to get out of the situation. "Please, just leave me alone!"
Mingyu had had a crush on Danielle since 3rd grade and he wasn't prepared to lose her now, after everything he had done for her. "Please, Danielle, just one chance!" he pleaded. Danielle was hesitant and afraid of what he might do.
She wanted to walk to school because the only reason she took the bus was that her parents were strict, and for Haerin. She loved walking under the sun rather than taking the bus where people would bother her anyway.
Suddenly, they heard a voice saying, "Hey! Stop that, leave her alone, Mingyu!" Danielle and Mingyu turned back to the source of the voice; it was Hyein and Hanni. Mingyu scoffed, obviously not wanting to let Danielle go. "Why should I?" he snorted.
"Because...Just let her go you piece of shit!" Hyein yelled, the bell rang and Mingyu let go "See you next time, princess" Mingyu winked at Danielle and walked away. Danielle hated that nickname he suddenly gave her but it was better than being grabbed by him.
Danielle was in a hurry to attend her class and searched for Haerin, but then remembered that Haerin was sick. Since they had some free time before the class began, she took out her phone and texted Haerin, "Hey, Kitty. Are you feeling any better? I can already sense that this day is going to be boring without you." Danielle quickly sent the message and turned her phone off when she thought she heard the teacher walk in.
However, it was Hanni who entered the class and hurriedly sat beside Danielle, glad to have her friend back. "Finally! A day with you!" Hanni exclaimed, "It's so rare to see you without Haerin, you guys are like a couple." Hanni teased Danielle with a smirk on her face.
Danielle was embarrassed at Hanni's comment and blushed, and she responded defensively, "Oh, for fucks' sake, why do you always have that annoying smile on your face? Me and Haerin are not a couple!" Danielle punched Hanni's shoulder hard.
"Ouch!" Hanni yelled out in pain, just as she was about to beat Danielle the teacher walked in and greeted them.
"Good morning, class. Let's take attendance," announced Miss Winter as her voice resonated in the classroom. She called out the names of each student one by one. "Danielle Marsh?" "Here!" responded Danielle. "Kim Minji?" "Here," replied Minji. "Pham Hanni?" "Here!!!" exclaimed Hanni. "Kang Haerin?" Silence. "Kang Haerin," Miss Winter repeated the name once more. "Absent? Alright. We'll begin the class now."
As Danielle listened attentively to the class, her mind couldn't help but wander to her friend, Haerin. She couldn't stop thinking about her, and it was driving her crazy. Danielle valued their friendship, but at the same time, she hated how preoccupied her mind was with Haerin. She didn't hate Haerin, but she hated the way she couldn't stop thinking about her. Was it normal for friends to feel this way? Danielle had so many questions but didn't know how to find the answers. Despite her struggle to focus on the class, she managed to push through until lunch.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the class, and everyone headed to the cafeteria. As usual, she joined her friends at their usual table. "What was the class about again?" Danielle inquired, to which Yunjin replied, "It was about physics, and we have a test next week."
Hanni was not happy about this. "Seriously?! A test in the second week of school? This should be illegal!" Hyein agreed with her, "I know, right? It's just too soon."
However, Minji, who had just arrived, tried to reassure them, "It's just an easy test, and I'm sure you two could do it." She then offered to help Hanni with her studies, seeing that she was struggling with the subject. Hanni agreed, blushing and sweating with nervousness.
But Hyein was not happy with this arrangement. "No fair! I want help with studying too!" she pouted and crossed her arms. "Just because she's your girlfriend doesn't mean she should get special treatment!"
Minji was taken aback by Hyein's statement. "What?! She's not my girlfriend! Are you out of your mind? I'm helping her because I know she struggles with the subject more!" she explained. She knew this wasn't the truth, she'd liked Hanni for years but never dared to tell her.
Hanni was pleasantly surprised when Minji offered to study with her. She couldn't believe her ears. However, Hyein's comment about their behavior being similar to that of a couple made Hanni start to wonder. She couldn't help but think about her friendship with Minji in a new light, did they act like a couple?
The bell rang, signaling the end of the class, and everyone went back to their seats to continue eating their lunch. As the bell rang again, announcing the start of the next class, Danielle tried her best to focus, taking notes and listening intently to the teacher's lecture. However, her mind kept wandering to Haerin, and she found it difficult to concentrate on anything else.
Danielle, although she hated to admit it, was jealous of Minji and Hanni. They always had good chemistry, both of them were a blushing mess when near the other, it was like they were perfect for each other. Danielle wanted to feel this feeling, she wanted to experience it with the first and last person she'd love but she wasn't sure when that time would come. She had never understood love but she wanted to experience it nonetheless.
She couldn't wait for the class to be dismissed, but that gave her time to think. She wondered about her feelings towards Haerin - did she like her? Whenever Danielle talked to Haerin, she felt a strange sensation in her stomach, and her heart would race at the mere thought of the day they went to the tulip field or the times Haerin offered to walk her home. Danielle was completely lost in her thoughts, unable to hear the teacher's words as she daydreamed about Haerin.
She walked home alone, longing for Haerin's presence. Haerin was driving her insane but in a good way, but why? Why had she never felt this feeling with other people but Haerin? Danielle knew Haerin was not like the others, but a thought crossed her mind. Was this the feeling of love? Her heart was beating and her mind was racing, "No, that can't be possible I don't even know what love feels like." she mumbled to herself.
A/N; Hi everyone! Sorry for not posting this chapter any sooner I was having writers block lmao. I feel like I'm moving this story so fast and I can't think of conflict so I'll probably make this story more dramatic soon 😉 ITS ALSO SO HARD TO FIND A SONG THAT FITS CHAPTERS SO I WORK HARD WITH THESE CHAPTERS (the song was originally wave by wave to earth but i figured it didn't fit)