Nayeon, Irene, Jeongyeon, Yeri, Jisoo and Rosé all huddled around the computer screen in the dark bedroom, nobody knowing how to handle what they were seeing. "That's it, I'm telling Lisa" Chaeyoung blurted out as she attempted to leave the room only to feel her arm being pulled back by Jisoo. "Chaeng wait" Jisoo gasped, "we could be messing with something we shouldn't be here. Lets not do anything rash until we have talked about it". The Australian threw her arms at and huffed in frustration, "what is there to talk about? Lisa needs to know about this, she's our friend for god sake!". "You only think we should tell her because you believe this shit is real, the rest of us aren't convinced" Nayeon added calmly. Jisoo looked at the pained expression on Rosé's face, "I...I agree with Chaeyoung, I think we should tell Lisa...eventually". Irene shook her head, "and then what happens if we tell her? Think about it. Lets just say for a second this is really happening then how do you think Lis will react if she sees this? We have to be very careful here". Yeri nodded in agreement, "yeah they are right, we should sit on this information for a while". Irene smiled, "3 against 2". "Yeah well there are 6 of us here..." Rosé responded coldly. The group all looked at Jeongyeon who was now sat at the end of Nayeon's bed trying to stay low key and out of the discussion. "Well?" Nayeon asked, clearly gesturing for her girlfriend to agree with her. "I agree" Jeongyeon responded as she looked Nayeon in the eyes, "...with Rosie and Chu". Nayeon frowned at her disagreeing girlfriend but Jeongyeon had already broken eye contact with the other girl and was now staring awkwardly at the floor.
Irene shrugged casually, "whatever, this isn't all of the gang anyway". Chaeyoung scoffed ironically, "right so everyone else gets an opinion except for the one person who it involves. Great". Rosé was a very sweet and gentle person, often painfully shy and not someone who favoured confrontation but she was also fiercely loyal when it came to her friends, especially Lisa and she was prepared to fight with anyone if she needed to, she had strong morals and fought for what she believed was right. "Everyone calm down, lets discuss this calmly and rationally, everyone makes their point and we decide how to proceed from there" said Jisoo, the voice of reason. The group agreed, though reluctantly in Chaeyoung's case.
"Aren't you cold in that?" Jennie asked as she finished the last of her milkshake. "A little yeah" Lisa replied shivering slightly as her eyes traced the fluttering descent of a few snowflakes that started filling the air outside, "I keep meaning to buy a winter coat but I don't have enough money". The waitress cleared her throat to gain Lisa's attention as she cleaned up the plates, "didn't mean to eavesdrop but if you're looking for work the record store in town is looking for a part-time sales clerk, the girl that used to work there went missing a few months ago they still haven't replaced her. They like pretty young things like yourself, they reckon it boosts sales". The Thai raised her eyebrows in curiosity as she pondered the decision. "Oh my god do it!" Jennie exclaimed excitedly, "you could get me discounted records!...or be a productive member of society blah blah". Lisa twirled a pink straw around in the tall empty milkshake glass, -could I really do it? Attend classes at two different schools, dance in my crew, cheerlead in the squad AND work a part-time job?-, "I'll think about it" she uttered. "Yesssss" Jennie said with a tiny fist pump in the air.
Jennie tried brushing the snowflakes out of her long black hair with a comb as the two girls walked down the street away from the diner, ultimately giving up once she realised she was fighting a losing battle, the snow was only getting heavier, "we should get inside some place so my hair can recover" she said, putting the comb back into her pocket. "Yeah preferably somewhere warm" Lisa added, shivering again.
As they strolled along looking for somewhere to hang out their attention was drawn to two police cars and a number of cops speaking to people both inside and outside of the nearby stores, "woah do you think there was an accident or something?" Lisa asked. Jennie looked around, "I don't know, there isn't any ambulances or doctors so maybe a crime". "Wait!" Lisa said abruptly, "that's Elizabeth speaking to one of the cops, she looks upset we should go ask what happened". Jennie's eyes bulged, "uh that is Elizabeth Dustin Lis, you don't just run up to Elizabeth Dustin...". The Thai rolled her eyes, "me and Elizabeth are cool don't worry, she's a lot nicer than people think, it will be fine now come on". The brunette dragged her reluctant friend across the road towards the tearful head cheerleader who had just finished giving a statement to a police officer. "Is everything ok honey?" Lisa asked in a soft kind tone as she approached. Elizabeth instantly threw her arms around the tall Thai girl for comfort as she wept gently, "it's Kelly, Lisa. She's been officially reported missing and the police are asking around town about her last known whereabouts, nobody knows where she is". Lisa hugged the cheerleader back tightly as she rubbed her back, "it'll be ok, I'm sure she's alright and just off having fun somewhere. The police will find her ok? Don't lose hope". Jennie watched on awkwardly while standing next to the two girls, she knew this was a serious situation and she had no reason to be feeling so vulnerable but she couldn't help but feel intimidated by the most popular girl in school, the dark haired Korean was a lot softer and shyer than most people realised.
The snow crunched underneath the two girls' feet as it settled on the ground beneath them getting thicker and thicker as the minutes went by. "It's crazy how many girls skip town, I guess this is why you hippies have such a bad reputation around here" Jennie said as they walked with linked arms. "Yeah..." Lisa replied cynically, "why do you think it is, that they all leave?". Jennie sighed as she trailed her free hand across the hood of a parked car, creating a line in the snow, "because this town is just so boring, I don't blame them". Lisa thought back to what the waitress said earlier, "don't you find it weird that it is only girls going leaving town, I mean why don't the men find it boring too?". The older girl shrugged, "guys leave here too but they leave on the new college scholarships and opportunities that girls just don't get. All there is for women here is getting married to a guy and looking after his children". "But why are they all getting classified as missing? Why do they leave and never contact anyone again? Jen think about it, are you sure this is just girls skipping town, there could be something sinister going on here" the suspicious Thai replied. Jennie smiled as she grabbed Lisa's hand, "you're so silly, stop trying to creep me out. Do you think they've been abducted by aliens or something? Lis you haven't lived in this town long and you already can't stand to stay here, you're said you had private stuff and I might not see you again right? This place sucks, these girls have to run to get away, I envy their bravery, I want to go too". "Where would you go?" Lisa asked. "Everywhere" she replied.
Jennie kneeled on the edge of her garage roof, holding her hand out so Lisa could climb up. "Come on" the older girl said as she pushed open her bedroom window "we need to find you something warm to wear, you can't travel home like it it's freezing". "It's kind of you but I think I'll be o-...wow" Lisa took a look at Jennie's room after she climbed through the window, Jennie had posters of Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, John Lennon and other idols of the 60s, stuffed toys on her bed a figures on the desk along with make-up products, her room could of easily been any of the rooms in the girls' dorms in Lisa's school in Korea. "You're kinda tall but I'll have something that fits don't worry" the black haired girl said sweetly while looking through her closet. The Thai checked out Jennie's room some more while she waited, playing with the music box on her desk and picking up an unnamed book from the side. -Wait, is this her diary? Oh crap- Lisa couldn't deny she was tempted to read it but would never invade her friend's privacy like that. "See anything interesting?". Jennie's sudden voice startled Lisa and caused her to panic and drop the diary, flicking it around in the air clumsily as she desperately attempted to catch it as it fell, "I uh, I didn't read it I swear I was just looking at your stuff and...and" she rambled as she placed the diary back down onto the desk. The older girl giggled, "relax, I know you didn't it. Besides, it's only a dummy to trick my parents anyway. My mom likes to snoop so I have a fake diary that I just talk about school and my grades so she doesn't get upset, my real diary is hidden". "Am I in it?" Lisa asked excitedly. Jennie smirked, "and what would I have to write about you?" suddenly both girls remembered their kiss the other night and looked away from each other awkwardly. "Anyway..." the younger girl said.
"Uh yeah anyway here's some clothes that should fit you so that you can...oh crap look" Jennie gasped while looking out her window, "it's like a blizzard out there". Lisa walked towards the window and looked outside at the snowstorm, there was no way she could go out in that, she wouldn't even be able to see where she was going, -I could try calling Rocco- she thought to herself, -but it's too dangerous to be driving in this, I wouldn't want him to have an accident-. "Walking home is gonna be a problem" she sighed. "You'll have to sleep here tonight" the elder of the girls responded, "my parents will both be asleep soon so they shouldn't notice, the no friends in my room rule is mostly to keep out guys anyway". The Thai didn't really have a choice and she knew it but she was worried about being away from modern day Korea for too long, she didn't want her friends worrying, "where would I sleep?" she asked. "In my bed" Jennie replied. Lisa tilted her head in confusion like a puppy which Jennie found very cute, "but where will you sleep?". The Korean giggled again, "in my bed too silly". The brunette started to panic, "so...we are both going to be in your bed?". "We can top and tail if it really bothers you that much" the elder replied sarcastically. Lisa's eyes widened dramatically, "we can top and what?!". "Top and tail, it means sleeping at opposite ends of the bed so your feet would be next to my head and mine next to yours" Jennie said while getting an extra pillow out from her closet. "Ooooh" Lisa felt a little silly, she wasn't even sure what she thought Jennie meant, "I don't think that will be necessary" she laughed nervously.
Jennie threw a large t-shirt at Lisa's head, "oops sorry" she laughed, "you can sleep in that". Lisa pulled the shirt off of her face, "thanks" she said as she hurled one of Jennie's stuffed animals at her playfully. The elder of the friends went into the bathroom so they could both change privately, Lisa in a baggy white t-shirt and Jennie in a black one.
It was around 2am but Lisa couldn't sleep which seemed to be typical of her luck recently, -great, barely any sleep for weeks and now I have the chance I'm too damn nervous to close my eyes-. Her mind was racing, both worried about the clock ticking by in modern day Korea with her friends not knowing where she was and with the gorgeous girl sleeping next to her. In fact the Thai was mostly concerned with the girl next to her.
Just the sound of the Korean's breathing was occupying the brunette's mind and filling her stomach with butterflies, she couldn't understand why the older girl had such a powerful effect on her. -What the hell is wrong with me-. Jennie began to stir in her sleep, turning over on her side, her body now generally close to the Thai's as she subconsciously rested her arm over Lisa's waist and slid her leg over Lisa's hip, her bare thigh stroking the younger girl's as she snuggled up to the increasingly nervous brunette, probably confusing her for a stuffed toy that usually lay where Lisa now was. -Oh god help me- Lisa began to panic again as she felt the warmth of Jennie's body against her own, dirty thoughts creeping into her mind which surprised even Lisa herself. She had never had thoughts like this about a girl before, she didn't even often think about she had dated in such a sexual way it always felt tawdry. Lisa's feelings for Jennie were getting stronger and stronger the more she spent time with her. -This is bad-.
"Lis?" Jennie stirred still half asleep, her voice groggy. "Yeah? You ok?" the Thai whispered in response. Jennie nuzzled her face into Lisa's neck, "cuddle me I'm cold" she whined like a baby her eyes closed firmly. Lisa gulped as she cautiously wrapped her arms around the sleepy Korean, rubbing tiny circles into the older girl's back with her thumb. Jennie sighed contented as she drifted back to sleep, complimenting Lisa's dirty thoughts with her own dirty dreams.
"I am so screwed" Lisa mumbled under her breath attempting to think about anything other than Jennie Kim.
"This is so messed up, we have to tell Lisa" Dahyun said while leaning on Nayeon's head to get a better look at the computer screen. "Do you mind?" the irritated Nayeon huffed as she pushed the younger girl off her, tidying her hair up with her hands. "No, we can't" Irene replied. "Irene is right" Jisoo sighed much to the annoyance of the Australian sitting next to her. Jeongyeon shook her head, "but she deserves to know, we can't just keep something like this from her, she's our friend". "Think about it" Irene protested, "it's obvious what will happen if we tell Lisa about this, lets just pretend for once second that she really can time travel, she will clearly try to change things and that could do all kinds of crazy damage to the world". "But how?" Chaeyoung questioned. The group of girls all stared at the screen, [Olivia Wood, dead, body found in 1967. Kelly Morsen, dead, body found in 1965. Denise Roberts, dead, body found in 1962. Hannah Riley, missing. Jennie Kim, missing. Rocco Santoro, missing. Jeanie Preston, dead, body found in 1965. Chloe O'Keefe, dead, body found in 1977. Claire Cooper, missing]. There was pages and pages of murdered and missing people, mostly women that were all believed to be centred around an infamous serial killer that American police and media had nicknamed 'The Night Butcher' due to the brutal way he would stalk his victims at night and stab them to death. The Night Butcher murdered mostly young women and a few men from the late 1950s right up until the 1970s, he was eventually caught and arrested in 1983 and sentenced to death row after being found guilty of the murder of 13 people, he was finally executed in 1991 as an old man. The Night Butcher, real name Phillip West, was believed to also be connected to the disappearance of at least 17 other young women and men during his 30 years of terror but refused to ever admit to killing them or revealing where their bodies were.
"Lisa will try to save Jennie's life" Nayeon began to explain, "she will warn her about the killer". "Isn't that a good thing!" Rosé protested angrily. "Rosie please think about this carefully, Jennie Kim is already dead, she was killed decades before Lisa was even born. If Lis changes history then there will be someone alive in the world that wasn't before, which will also alter the lives of everyone that comes into contact with her, she'll get married and have kids, kids who should have never existed who will impact on other people's lives that they were never supposed to meet. Just one person being in the world that wasn't supposed to be could create pretty massive shockwaves through time that could end up being really bad, it could mess up the world". Rosé wanted to argue but she knew Nayeon was right, time travel was incredibly dangerous and nobody should have the power to mess with it. "She still deserves to know" Dahyun mumbled, "it's not fair that she isn't going to get a chance to say goodbye". Irene sighed, "it says here that Jennie was last seen the night of the Winter Dance, so we have until whenever that is in Lisa's weird time travel clock to make a decision, for now we keep quiet". The gang all agreed to at least stay quiet for now, they had a little time, they all realised how careful they had to be.
Lisa's eyes felt heavy, so much so she was struggling to keep them open as she finally started to fall asleep. Holding Jennie so close to her was managing to calm her down some how, she felt peaceful enough to rest her mind. Lisa and Jennie were falling deeper and deeper in love with each other and neither girl could do a thing to stop it, right now it seemed hard to imagine that they could keep lying about it much longer but Lisa knew that things always seemed less perfect when the sun came up. This was tonight, tomorrow would be different.