Chaeyoung slid in the plush red leather seat across from Jennie in the newly-opened fifties style diner. She giggled as a waitress came to their table looking like she'd been transported straight from the set of Grease, short skirt, knee high socks and a rumpled shirt. She smiled at them and put some menus on the table and told them she'd be back to take their order.
"This place is boss," Chaeyoung remarked, trying to keep her tone casual.
"Boss?" Jennie asked, quirking an eyebrow over her menu.
"Yea, you know. Hip. Swinging."
"You looked up fifties terms to impress me, huh?"
"Are you impressed?"
"Very."
"Then yes, yes I did. You're also a Dolly and we're jacketed."
"Dolly I can guess...but jacketed?"
"Going steady," Chaeyoung explained.
"I think you might just about be the cutest thing I've ever seen. And I was in the same room as a box of puppies once."
Chaeyoung grinned in delight at the compliment and went back to scanning her menu. Their waitress came back a minute later, her cheesy smile never leaving her face.
"You guys ready to order?" she asked with a friendly tone.
Chaeyoung looked to Jennie who nodded slightly.
"Um, yea. I'll have the tuna melt please and a root beer float," Chaeyoung said, putting her menu down.
The waitress nodded and wrote down the order, then turned to Jennie.
"Grilled chicken salad and a coke, please."
The waitress scribbled again and took their menus with a smile.
"I'll be right back with your drinks."
She turned on her heels and left, returning a couple of minutes later with two tall glasses, putting each of them down on the table, trying not to interrupt the conversation going on between the two girls.
Chaeyoung smiled in thanks as the waitress put their drinks down and departed, not letting her attention leave Jennie for more than a second. The brunette was currently telling her about her life in New Zealand.
"Mom worked in the city, so we lived in an apartment block really close to the ferry. You literally walked out the main doors and turned to your right and there was the ferry stop, so it was good for Mom. Plus, you had the best view right on your doorstep. That was one of the weirdest things about moving out here, actually was getting used to living in a house. My place in Auckland had like a gym – uh, not that I ever used it, but it was nice to know it was available. And there was a Starbucks right there and a really nice supermarket right on your doorstep. But it's nice having a house too. Not having to squeeze into an elevator at the morning rush times or make sure the concierge knows the name of every single guest you might have."
Their food arrived just as Chaeyoung was about to say something. She held off speaking until they were alone again. Jennie speared a piece of lettuce and was chewing when she heard her girlfriend's voice pipe up.
"I always wanted to live in an apartment."
"Really?"
"Oh yea," Chaeyoung answered through bites, "Probably one of those 'grass is always greener' things."
They continued chatting as they ate, Chaeyoung filled the other girl in a bit more on her absent parental influence and how Lisa and Jisoo had been her real family. Jennie sympathized and once again felt thankful that she had such a good relationship with her own mother. They moved onto lighter topics, talking about music and television, what classes they liked. When it was time to leave, Chaeyoung insisted on paying with Jennie agreed to only on the proviso that she got to get the movie tickets.
They walked to the back of the mall where the movie theatre was. They decided on the thriller about the killer child, both thinking the 'scary' factor might affect how close they could be to each other.
Making their way into the theatre, they found it was still fairly empty as there was twenty minutes before the movie started and had a look around. Jennie was carrying both the large popcorn and coke that Chaeyoung had ordered while the brunette had gotten the tickets.
"Where do you wanna sit?" Chaeyoung whispered.
"Where's it darkest?" Jennie whispered back with a smirk on her face.
She saw Chaeyoung's face turn up slightly in a grin before the taller girl led them to seats in the back corner of the theatre. They sat next to each other and Jennie settled the popcorn between them, and brought the drink up to take a sip, for the first time noticing the lone piece of plastic sticking out.
"Only one straw?" she asked the redhead.
"We've already swapped saliva," Chaeyoung replied with a glint in her eye.
Jennie loved the playful banter that existed between them and shot her girlfriend a sultry half-smile in response.
"If you get scared during the movie, I can hold your hand. Or you can use my shoulder to hide in," Chaeyoung said, taking a handful of popcorn.
"That's sweet, honey. Same over here. My hand and shoulder are at your disposal."
"Oh thanks, but I don't get scared at movies."
"Never?" Jennie asked disbelievingly, handing over the large coke.
Chaeyoung took the drink gratefully, getting a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach that they were in sync enough for Jennie to just know how she was feeling. One part of her head rationalized that the brunette probably saw how much popcorn she had eaten without drinking anything and knew she would need to, but for once she told her rational side to be quiet so she could enjoy the closeness.
Through logic or not, the fact that Jennie seemed to understand her so well sat very nicely with Chaeyoung. And she loved that she generally had a similar sense about the brunette herself. She still found it hard to believe that they'd only been an item for such a short while, she felt like she'd known her forever. Realizing she'd gotten lost in her own head and had yet to answer her girlfriend's question, she swallowed the liquid in her mouth and put the drink back in it's pocket.
"Nope. Scare me movies cannot."
"Alright, Yoda," Jennie said, smirking, "We'll see."
The lights dimmed at that moment and they settled back as the trailers began playing.
An hour and a half later, the movie was drawing to a close as the child's second attempt at killing her mother failed after already cutting off her father's hand, and she was now being drowned in bath of holy water by the local priest, it was in fact Chaeyoung's head that was locked tight against Jennie's shoulder, shielding her eyes from the screen with her hand. Her other hand was gripping the brunette's so tightly that both their knuckles were white.
A small trail of blood bubbling up to the top of the bathwater ended the film as the screen faded to black and the credits began to roll.
"You can look, babe. It's over," Jennie said in a caring voice.
Chaeyoung took her hand away from her eyes and lifted her head from Jennie's shoulder, so she was sitting up. She let her hand stay in the brunette's but loosened her hold so the circulation could start to flow again.
"I wasn't scared," she said defiantly, despite all her actions proving otherwise.
"Look at me Rosie," Jennie said in a firm voice.
Chaeyoung turned her head to meet Jennie's gaze and the girl continued speaking.
"You can be scared with me. You don't have to be all strong and brave all the time, 'cause no matter how you feel, you'll always be my girl and I'll always be there to hold your hand, okay?"
Chaeyoung nodded and again felt that utter contentment again that Jennie understood her so definitively.
"In that case, I was terrified," she said with a small smile.
"And would you look at that," Jennie said, smiling and bringing their conjoined hands up between them, "Hand holding."
"C'mere gorgeous," Chaeyoung replied with a goofy smile on her face, "We sat in these seats so I could kiss you inconspicuously and I was too busy being frightened of a fake child to take advantage of you. Of that fact! Take advantage of that fact."
Jennie giggled at the blonde's verbal slip as the taller girl started blushing and leaned over to capture her lips. Chaeyoung smiled into the kiss and sucked the brunette's bottom lip into her mouth, eliciting a moan from the other girl that Chaeyoung decided she very much liked hearing.
Sounds of rustling to their side broke them away from each other. Chaeyoung looked over Jennie's shoulder and saw that a handful of ushers had made their way into the theatre and were collecting the abandoned garbage.
"I think that's our cue to leave," she said when Jennie looked over her own shoulder as well and saw the people.
Jennie smirked and stood up, taking Chaeyoung with her through their still-conjoined hands. They walked out of the theatre with a few curious glances from the ushers and out into the carpark.
"I love going into a building when it's light out and coming out when its dark. You don't notice that twilight period so it really kind of hits you full force. Is that stupid?" Jennie asked as they strolled towards Alexis.
"No way. It totally makes sense. It's appealing to the English lover in you. Seeing conflicts and contrasts in everyday life. Comparing them. It's the same for me but with scientific notions."
"So you're saying we're similar?"
"Yep. But different. I think it's why we work so well. Why we get each other."
"You're very philosophical tonight," Jennie said with a smile as she unlocked the car, "I like it."
"I like you. And I like to think. So when I combine the two, good thoughts tend to come out."
Chaeyoung jumped in the passenger seat and did her seatbelt up as Jennie did the same on the driver's side.
"Are you ever not thinking?" the brunette asked as she started the engine.
"Well in the last few day's I've found that a certain someone's lips cut all coherent thought right out."
Jennie smiled a small smile as she drove towards the Park house.
"It's...um, you're talking about mine, right?" she asked, a sudden insecurity plaguing her for reasons completely unknown.
"O-of course I am, Jennie," Chaeyoung replied, taken aback by the apprehensive tone in the girl's voice.
"I know," Jennie replied, feeling silly for her brief self-doubting moment, and chuckled to lighten the mood, "I used to stutter, you know. Pretty badly. Mom took me to a speech therapist when I was really young to try and overcome it. Two actually. Ironically the first one had a bit of an odd therapy method and made me feel so bad about the fact that I had a stutter that it just made me stutter more. The second one was much nicer. I was speaking completely evenly after a year with her."
"I can't wait to meet your Mom. She sounds really nice."
"Maybe you can have dinner at mine sometime this week?"
"Really?" Chaeyoung liked the idea but was nervous about actually meeting her girlfriend's mother.
"Hey, I met your Dad."
"Yea, but I'd be introduced to your Mom as your girlfriend," as soon as Chaeyoung had said it she realized she liked how it sounded, "I'm in. But can we make it later in the week? I need some time to mentally fret. It's just my way."
"Sure," Jennie giggled, pulling up outside Chaeyoung's house, "Whenever you want."
"Good. So I have to spend time with my parents tomorrow. They like to keep up the appearance that they actually care sometimes."
Jennie reached out to place a hand on the blonde's knee in comfort.
"But I'll see you Monday, right?" Chaeyoung finished.
"Absolutely. You want a lift in to school?"
"Oh. I normally just walk."
"Well, see, you've got connections now, Ms. Park. What's the point of having a girlfriend with a car if I can't drive you places?"
"Um, parking," Chaeyoung answered with a giggle as if it was obvious, "But I'm not gonna say no to spending more time with you."
"Cool."
Chaeyoung looked into her driveway and saw the porch-light on, so she leaned over to kiss the brunette, pulling back quickly. Her parents weren't home enough for anyone else knowing about her and Jennie to be a threat, but being just outside her house with shining lights around, well, it was risky to say the least.
"I had great time. Text me. And thank you for the flowers," she said as she reached into the backseat and took the bouquet, before opening her door, "I'll run up to my room with them when I get in."
Jennie nodded her understanding and winked at her girl.
"Sweet dreams, beautiful. Oh and Rosie, remember, the killer kid was just a movie character, okay? Don't be scared to go asleep."