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49. VIDEO CALL
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PLACING HER RED velvet latte on her desk, lia dumped her bag on the bed and pulled off her coat. she quickly changed into more comfortable clothes and grabbing her latte, made herself comfortable on her bed.
wrapping an afghan around her shoulders, she opened her laptop and pushed down on the power button. she took a sip of her drink, humming in satisfaction at the sweetness of the caffeine drink.
quickly typing in her password, she smiled as the screen lit up with her wallpaper. she took another sip of her latte, her brows arched slightly when a video call request popped up on the screen. excitedly pressing the accept button, she beamed when the faces of her best friends showed up.
"hey, guys!" she waved enthusiastically. everyone replied with their own happy greeting. "where are you off to, cat?" her gaze focused on her friend who had a thick coat on and was weaving her way through the cold busy streets of manhattan.
"i want to get this brown corduroy jacket i saw the other day for apollo. i think it would look really good on him." the blonde replied with a smile. "is his birthday coming up?" kash tilted her head in curiosity. "nope, his birthday is in february."
hodan's left brow arched higher on her face. "so this is a just 'cause present?" her voice was laced with a hint of disbelief. "pretty much, yeah." cathryn's hair bounced underneath the black baseball cap she had on. "how come i never get just 'cause presents?" lia pouted. "just 'cause." cathryn shrugged.
hodan snorted loudly and kash snickered at the reply. lia flipped them off. "i just remembered i hate you guys." she scowled. "we love you too." cathryn and kash answered the same time hodan let out another snort. "as if you could ever."
"how's school so far?" kash asked, switching the subject. a chorus of groans was the reply she got almost instantly. "the competition is real. my wrist aches from how much drawing i've had to do to improve. i cannot wait to be back home for christmas." lia brushed her fingers through her hair. "tell me about it. have i told you guys about the godforsaken ignorant douchebag in my class?" hodan pulled the pins out of her scarf aggressively.
"every time you talk about him, i want to stab a bitch." cathryn let out an unladylike grunt. "speaking of stabbing bitches, turns my class is a budding snake pit. i can't wait to be home again, away from all the toxicity."
"what about you, kay? how's boston?" lia looked at her friend who was sitting at her desk and scribbling in what looked to be a journal. "it's good for the most part. but my research writing professor is the spawn of satan. i've been working on this one project for weeks now because it's 'just not good enough' but i think he just enjoys torturing me." she rolled her eyes.
"is that what you're writing?" hodan questioned softly. "yeah," the honey blonde sighed. "wait, what does he mean 'not good enough'? can't he read?" cathryn blurted out in sudden irritation. she cleared her throat awkwardly, realising she was still out in public.
lia snorted. "ten over ten agree with crazy cathryn." she commented with a smirk. "who the heck are you calling crazy?" cathryn glared daggers at her through the screen. "i'm coming over to stab you in your sleep after this."
"damn, that's dark." kash remarked. "you're only proving her point, sis." hodan whistled. "like i'd let you in after that." lia let out a small laugh, not in the least bit affected by the threat.
"by the way..." cathryn started in a singsong voice. "kay, how's kay?" she smirked into the camera at the sight of her friend going still. "he's fine." she replied, her face flushing. "still spamming me with his god-awful pickup lines everyday. and i'm still waiting for the day he finally runs out of them."
"i don't think he ever will. it's become the k-two dynamic." hodan commented with a shrug. "and you? is your dynamic to curve my boy, joon, till the apocalypse happens?" lia turned her attention on her. hodan blinked furiously, pursing her lips awkwardly. "don't know what you're talking about."
"stop doing joonie dirty. he's really sweet. and the first guy who's lasted this long. usually, all they have to do is breathe in your general direction for you to shoot them down." cathryn told her. kash chuckled. "they're both right. namjoon really likes you. kay mentioned you once while we were facetiming and he turned into a tomato with dimples."
"when did this turn into a hodan attack session?" the somali girl finally pulled her scarf off completely. she sounded offhanded but some warmth crawled up her caramel skin.
lia snorted at her face. "stop tying my goddamn ship at the dock and let it sail." she chimed. hodan rolled her eyes in response. "if you must know, i untied it yesterday. that's why i asked for a group video call."
there was a chorus of screams from her friends, mostly of profanities. the girl pressed her lips together, amused as she waited for them to calm down. "are y'all done?" she asked when the excitement died down somewhat.
"how did it happen? tell us! tell us!" cathryn squealed. "he basically asked if i'd be his girlfriend again and i finally said yes. the end." hodan answered.
all three girls made faces, scrunching their noses in disapproval. "you're a regular buzzkill." lia tutted. "a killjoy, wet blanket, spoilsport, party pooper, stick in the mud." kash continued, listing off her fingers imitating her friend's new boyfriend. "i get it." hodan cut her off with another roll of her eyes. "i'll tell you guys on the group chat later, okay?"
"why not now?" cathryn's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "because you're about to walk into a store to buy just 'cause jackets, kay is rewriting her project, and..." she paused, eyes on the raven haired girl sipping on her latte. "lia is drinking coffee at six in the evening."
eyes moving off the red latte travelling up the straw, lia pouted. "what's wrong with that?" she asked. "nothing," cathryn answered, dragging out the word. "except that it messes up your sleep pattern." kash put in. "and then you start calling everyone to stay up with you." hodan finished. "i'm not picking up any calls from you tonight. jungkook can be your victim."
"speaking of, how's he sleeping these days? i mean, his teddy bear is states away." cathryn asked. the three girls watched with amusement as lia's cheeks slowly took on a bright pink hue.
"we talk basically every night and he usually falls asleep first." she answered, listening to the squeak of the straw against the lid as she shuffled it in its slot. "well, that's good! look at you, his angel of sleep." kash cooed. "or just the human equivalent of mr martinez's class." hodan teased. a raspberry like laugh escaped cathryn's pursed lips.
"hey! i take offence." lia made a face, mouth rounding. "i'm a riot to be around, excuse you." she folded her arms over her chest. both cathryn and hodan snorted. lia glared at them. they were so different, yet so alike. "i hope you two choke–"
her phone ringing distracted her. glancing at the screen, she beamed brightly. "guys, it's jimin." there was a small chorus of cheers at her announcement. "put him on speaker!" cathryn let out excitedly.
chuckling, lia swiped the answer button. "jiminie!" the three girls cooed before she could say anything. there was a pause on the other end of the line as though he was confirming he dialed the right number. "hello? lia?"
"i'm here." she responded with a smile. "why did it sound like you'd been possessed by legion a second ago?" he asked and she laughed. "wow, i'm offended." cathryn placed a hand on her chest. "so we sound like demons to you?" hodan said dramatically. "i'm so hurt." kash pouted.
"girls! of course not!" jimin's voice was laced with surprise and realisation. "i'm sorry, i was just really shocked when i heard three voices instead of one." he swiftly apologised.
"you're forgiven." hodan replied. "thank you." the smile in his voice was obvious. "but how–?" he trailed off. "oh, we're on a video conference call." lia explained. "oh, i see." she could practically see him nodding in understanding.
"well, this is good." he chimed after a second. "how?" kash's brow went up curiously. it was obvious he was grinning when he answered. "now, i don't have to call each of you."
☀️☀️☀️
told you it might get a bit boring 😔
in retrospect, i could've made this chapter about their talk but like i said, my brain is tired and i've been emotionally drained lately so i was in no state of mind to put it into proper writing. plus, i wanted some more happy girl time.
i'm sorry i was gone for so long but i had some personal matters to deal with. i really wanted to hit that complete button by the end of june but life got in the way. thank you for being patient with me. love, toni ♡