"Who?" I asked yet again, Chanyeol recapping his view for the second time.
"Ivy," he stressed, "I thought it was Lyra – Ivy even had her hair up in the same way Lyra usually does. Hoseok and I called out to her thinking she was Lyra, but then she didn't turn around. Then you two came out, quite frantically I might add. Gave me a jumpscare."
Hoseok laughed at the taller, whispered, "Everything gives you a jump scare," to which Chanyeol simply shoved him to the side in reply. Hoseok laughed, stopping himself when he saw my serious expression.
"So what happened? Lyra had to go to her car for something?" Hoseok asked, standing up normally and keeping his hands to himself instead of playfully shoving the other back.
"Something happened to the outfit I had brought her. There's this giant cut through the back of it." I explained, "I don't know how it happened, but it was obviously done by someone cutting it; it definitely didn't rip by getting caught on anything."
Chanyeol was surprised, taking a few steps forward to look down the left path that both Ivy and Lyra had taken long ago, the path obviously showing no sign of them being there anymore.
"Are you sure Lyra didn't cut it secretly?" Chanyeol asked, Hoseok seeming put back by even the possibility. I shook my head slowly, Hoseok jumping in with his thought process.
"If Lyra was trying to backstab you, why'd she cut the shirt she's supposed to wear? I mean, she knows it's her shirt, you sent a picture to her the other day." Hoseok said and I nodded in confirmation.
"I'm pretty sure she doesn't have anything else to wear, which is why she asked me to bring something. Would she have brought something herself to wear just to cut open a shirt that I'm not going to wear today? I mean it was a nice crop top but..." I began to trail off, Hoseok instantly shaking his head.
"No, she wouldn't do that," he said rather quickly, taking out his phone. "Let me try calling her."
As Hoseok held the phone up to his ear, Chanyeol shrugged. "I agree she isn't the type of person to simply cut up a shirt out of petty upset... but did you girls fight about something?"
I shook my head, trying hard to think back to any time we had argued about anything. Nothing super excessive came to mind and I looked up to the two boys with a concerned and confused expression. Hoseok shook his head, putting his phone down. "She's not picking up."
I glanced down the pathway, not just slightly concerned anymore.
"Lyra was really calm about the shirt being cut. I thought it was just because she's been tired all morning but... maybe she had expected it already." I said quietly. Chanyeol stayed silent, not knowing what to say. Hoseok seemed more concerned with my statement like he was earlier.
"Something must be wrong, I really don't think she would have cut the shirt. If anything, Ivy must've cut it when she was in the bathroom." Hoseok said, summing up all his thoughts in another short statement.
"Wait- Ivy was in the bathroom?" I asked suddenly, both of the boys looking confused.
"Uh yeah,"
"We said that like five minutes ago..."
I blinked my eyes a few times, trying to remember if they had ever said anything about it. If they did, I definitely didn't put two and two together until now. I was convinced no one else was ever in the bathroom with Lyra and I when I was in there, but if Chanyeol and Hoseok saw Ivy running out of the bathroom right before Lyra and I came out...
"Where's Lyra?" I asked suddenly. Chanyeol looked at me with a surprised expression and Hoseok was almost staring at me in disbelief.
"She's not picking up her phone." Hoseok restated, bringing me back into the situation from my intense theory creating. I pointed down the left path with certainty.
"I'm gonna go try to find her, call me if you need me." I said confidentially, forgetting the fact I barely knew my way around the giant park-sized amphitheater. Hoseok quickly looked towards Chanyeol, then stepping forward.
"I'll go with you," he said to me, ready to get running down the path. Chanyeol nodded, offering to help too.
"I'll go catch up with Isabella, Grace and Sana." Chanyeol said, pointing towards the patio area. Suddenly the other girls popped into my head.
"Wait, where are Grace and Sana? Weren't they changing-" I began, Chanyeol cutting me off.
"They left a long time ago and went to go buy breakfast. They texted Isabella a few minutes after we left." He explained with a little laugh, likely at my sudden burst of confusion that piled on top of the mystery of the twins and white crop top. "Take a breather, okay? We've still got time before the performance and Suho's almost here, apparently." He recapped. When I didn't reply he tilted his head with a big smile. "It'll be fine, okay?"
I gave a small nod, feeling Hoseok's hand on my arm.
"Let's find them quickly so we're not so strained for time before the performance." He said a bit quieter than normal, Chanyeol giving him a nod.
"I'll let the girls know about it and we'll keep on the lookout for both of them." the redhead said.
We gave a quick thanks before Hoseok started running down the nearby pathway. It was becoming a bit more crowded, more people making their way up and down the paved walkway. Hoseok reached his arm towards me without looking back, and when I took it, weaved through the various small groups of people.
We suddenly stopped at an intersection of two pathways in front of the entrance and exit. Hoseok was breathing a bit harder than I was, taking in a breath and pointing down a nearby path opposite of the area I had sat earlier with the others.
"I'll go check outside for a second, if you follow this path it takes you around the amphitheater and you'll end up near the stage. I'll catch up with you, text me if you find either of them." He said quickly.
I nodded, adding, "Same for you."
And with another back and forth nod of confirmation, Hoseok continued his run out the front entrance. I started down the path, finding myself in a light jog.
"Lyra?" I called out, stopping myself at a section where there was a side path on the right. It seemed to lead towards another exit and I glanced at my phone for a moment, no new messages coming in. It seemed like a good idea to continue running down the main pathway and in a few short moments I could see the side of the stage ahead. A worker was trying to move a standing microphone, the wires trailing along the ground behind him, and so I slowed down my jog, hearing a buzz in my pocket.
The text read that Hoseok didn't see anyone outside and he was heading down some side path that would connect to the path I was on. I assumed it was the small side path I had seen earlier. Where would Lyra be? She wouldn't leave the festival when we were to perform so soon, would she? I started thinking we should've started looking for her at the back parking lot where her car was.
A small grunt distracted me from my doubts and I returned into reality yet again, noticing the man struggling with the wire that dragged behind him and started hitting against the back of his legs. I quickly reached out, picking it up from behind him and walking up to his side. He gave a thankful smile and opened out his hand so I wrapped the wire around itself a few times and set it in his hand.
"I can hear you runnin' a bunch, where you headed in such a hurry?" he asked, a heavy dialect set on top of his words.
I smiled at his willingness to speak as well as his unique accent, replying honestly, "I'm trying to find my friend. I'm kinda worried because she ran off without much explanation."
"Her name Lyra? Twins?" he asked, my eyes widening. I gave a quick nod, awaiting his answer. He made a little gesture with his head to motion up ahead. "There was some drama going on, they both ran that way towards the back parking lot."
Hand on his shoulder I gave him a quick thank you, running straight ahead. I heard him laugh off a good luck as I ran down the slight hill to the side of the stage, seeing a sign that pointed towards the parking lot. I took out my phone to call Hoseok, but stopped myself as soon as I saw Lyra sitting on the edge of her car's trunk.
"Lyra!" I called out, the girl jumping up a bit and turning away for a moment before hopping off the car. She dug through the trunk as I ran up to her.
"Where were you? We tried to call but you wouldn't-" I began, stopping as she turned towards me. There was a large pink mark along the side of her left cheek.
"A-are you okay? What happened?" I asked after a few moments of silence, the girl smiling a little in response.
"Yeah, just some sister drama." she said, pulling out a little box from her car. It was a first aid kit, and she took out one of those emergency ice packs. She also had pulled out a small sewing kit which currently sat on the side of her car. I held out my hand, offering to break the ice pack for her.
"I'm just really upset," Lyra said, obviously trying to hold something in. She turned towards me, handing me the ice pack and picking up the cut crop top. "Give me a second to cool off."
I simply nodded in understanding, cracking the magical chemicals inside the bag and causing it to become awfully cold. "Do you want to wrap it in a towel? It's really-" I began, being cut off as she reached towards my hand and took the ice, setting it directly on her cheek. I decided not to argue with anything else. I sat in silence with her for a few seconds, realizing her struggle as she tilted her head to keep the ice against her face, also attempting to thread a string through a needle.
Without any words I held the ice pack for her, Lyra relaxing her neck and letting it stay up straight as she threaded the string with ease.
"I knew Ivy would do something today... I didn't know what it'd be." she said quietly, then letting out a very loud sigh of frustration. I glanced down at her stitching, everything being smooth and without error. She didn't seem to be frustrated at her sewing skills.
"She said something about cutting your outfit so I asked you to bring a second one for me. I tried to plan it out so you'd still have a costume for the performance." Lyra explained, reaching back into her truck and pulling out an empty plastic bag. "I packed myself another outfit so that we'd be okay - we'd show her she can't mess with us-"
"Rona! Lyra!" a voice shouted from the arch that opened the arena to parking lot, both of us watching Hoseok as he ran from the opening down the pathway to the car. He seemed stressed and concerned, stopping himself and catching his breath before he began to talk. He glanced at both of us casually sitting on the edge of the truck of the car, a bit more confused but relaxing a lot more. He ran his hand along his forehead and through his hair.
"So... what happened?" Hoseok asked awkwardly, Lyra simply finishing her sentence vaguely.
"But she took them too... from my own car." She said, still only looking at the fabric's stitching. I let out a soft "oh" of understanding but nothing more, making Hoseok more lost and perhaps even more wary.
Lyra finished a few more stitches, lifting the shirt up and stretching a bit to see if it would pull apart. It didn't, and I was extremely impressed with her suddenly breaking out her impressive sewing skills. "I really am sorry this happened... do you think I can wear this for the performance?"
I suddenly felt terrible for her, her expression seeming fine (other than the red mark on the side of her face) but her voice different that usual. It was soft and had an upset tone, but also layered with something more. Of course it made sense she was angry, but it didn't come through all the way.
"Of course, of course; I brought it for you anyways." I nodded, gesturing down at the fabric in her lap.
She picked it up again, looking at it from the front. It looked perfectly normal, the cut only being done along the back as if it was the official seam or a back zipper.
"I'm really sorry," she repeated again, "you should've brought a crappier shirt for me. Then this nice one wouldn't get all messed up. I swear I'll buy you another one-"
"Don't worry about it, it's not you fault. We'll be fine, we can figure it out." I said quickly, making her choke up on her words. And suddenly she wasn't holding in everything anymore.
Hoseok was frozen, not really knowing what to do. He was on his phone for a while earlier, probably texting Chanyeol and the others that we found her, but now he was more confused. The concerned worry in his eyes as he gave me a glance showed he was pushing most of that to the back of his mind.
"Lyra, it's okay..." Hoseok began, trying to comfort her. I didn't really know what to continue with as she wrapped her hands around my side, face hidden and turned towards the opposite direction.
"We'll still slay our performance, the outfit's all fixed." I said confidentially, the girl looking up with a little smile. She wiped her arm across her eyes, the touch also stinging her cheek. I lightly pressed the ice against her cheek, making Hoseok stand up a bit taller.
"Wait, what happened?" Hoseok asked once again, this time referring to the mark and ice rather than the entire situation. "Did someone slap you?" He asked, his anger obviously being swallowed.
Lyra put on a smile, laughing for a split second before wincing a bit as I accidentally pushed a little harder against her cheek. I let out a soft sorry as she looked towards Hoseok.
"You should see Ivy. She probably went home... she can never stand redness on her face." Lyra said, rolling her eyes a little to herself. She seemed awfully proud of herself, scoffing a little when Hoseok commented with a soft, "Lyra..."
"I don't mean to say she deserved it, but she kinda deserved it. She slapped me first." Lyra shrugged. Hoseok and I glanced at each other, knowing now wasn't the best time to condone violent behavior, so neither of us said anything.
Lyra let out a sigh at our silent expressions, going back to finishing up the sew job, tying a knot at the end of the strings. "Sorry guys, just give me like ten minutes to cool off. You can go ahead and meet the others now if you want. I'll be there soon."
I looked towards Hoseok, yet not waiting for his answer before I replied, "I don't mind, they're just eating now I think."
I waited for Hoseok to say something but he was now waving quietly across the parking lot at someone getting out of their car. I immediately recognized the white hatchback, smiling to Suho as he waved back. Another person got out of the passenger seat, seeing our greeting and immediately waving back with an energetic wave.
I let out a little laugh, Lyra turning towards the two as well. She chuckled too, Hoseok increasing the intensity of the wave in reply. It suddenly became a waving competition, the brown-haired kid looking like his hand was about to fly off his wrist. (Great image, I know.)
"I feel like you guys are already instant best friends." I commented, the two approaching our car near the entrance with two small bags. Suho smiled, pointing at each of us.
"That's Hoseok," he said, "and they're Rona and Lyra."
The boy looked between all of us, eyes landing on Lyra. "Hey, Rona! Heard a lot about you," he began, approaching both of us but his focus on Lyra. I almost wanted to laugh, not quite sure what was happening.
The boy stuck out his hand for a handshake, beginning, "Nice to meet you, I'm-"
"Other one," Suho reestablished in causal manner, making a little head gesture towards me. The boy pointed at Suho with a knowing "Right," before turning towards me with a smile as if nothing had happened.
"Nice to meet you, name's Byun Baekhyun."
I gave a nod, shaking his hand. "Rona Junior, nice to meet you." I almost wanted to laugh, still keeping it in.
I looked over at Suho, who was handing Hoseok one of the bags and pointing at the things inside it. They seemed preoccupied so I simply kept along the conversation.
"You're in Suho's group, right?" I asked, pointing towards the older that was busy talking.
"Yeah, you're in Suho's group too, right?" He asked, causing me to pause for a second before realizing he meant the dance class' performance.
I let out a laugh, gesturing towards myself and Lyra. "Yeah, we both are."
"Who's your partner?" Baekhyun asked Lyra, Lyra pointing past him towards Hoseok. Baekhyun glanced back, nodding. "Yeah, y'all would be cute."
I let out a laugh, Lyra coughed on what I presumed was her choking on air or saliva. She quickly commented "it's not like that," in between her pained coughs that turned her face red. She took in a deep breath, clearing her throat. I let out a laugh, patting her back.
"Oh, so you're single?" He asked, immediately making me start giggling on the sidelines yet again. Lyra smiled with a humored laugh as well, nodding.
"I guess I am." She replied.
"What'cha guys talking about?" Suho asked, adding himself and Hoseok back into the conversation. Hoseok looked a bit curious as to why Lyra was continuously coughing and perhaps why my face was red from the constant laughter.
"Hyung, she's single," Baekhyun whispered loudly, nudging the older on the side. Suho simply laughed, rubbing his side uncomfortably.
"Yeah, so is she." He said, gesturing towards me. "What's your point?"
Baekhyun simply gave him a nod, tilting his head with his eyebrows raised. Without a response he turned back towards Lyra.
"What happened to your cheek?" He asked, voice softer and more curious as he bent down a bit to be at her face level. Lyra's face had cooled down from the intense choking-on-air from moments earlier, but the red spot on her cheek stayed.
"Long story," Lyra summed up with a smile. I was honestly glad Baekhyun didn't probe any deeper into the story, but his flirting continued to make me laugh.
"But it makes your pretty face a bit uneven." He pouted, brushing his finger across the side of her cheek.
Suddenly Hoseok cleared his throat, letting out a harsh cough. Suho glanced at him, then turning towards Baekhyun and pulling his hand away from her face. Hoseok was now looking in the other direction, his tongue visibly poking at the inside of his cheek in what I assumed was annoyance.
"Nothing a little concealer can't fix." Lyra replied, brushing her thumb against her cheek. It didn't look swollen anymore (I gave myself the credit for helping on that part with the ice pack) and she was honestly right about that. Plus we'd wear somewhat heavy stage makeup anyways.
"Yo, I've got you," Baekhyun replied suddenly, reaching into a very small bookbag that hung across one of his shoulders. He pulled out a concealer stick, handing it to her. I let out a light, impressed laugh as she let out a larger one.
"I already like you." she laughed, observing the concealer's label and commenting something about the brand name that I didn't quite catch.
My focus was off to the side, where Suho gave Hoseok a little pat, the taller whispering to Suho just loud enough for me to catch.
"Can your friend chill? He's funny and I love him, but like, so does she."
~~~
a/n: hey it happened again! an on time chapter! school's starting next week for me but I'll try to make sure updates don't get postponed.
Thank you all so much for 80K reads!