Lisa tries to tear her eyes away from Jennie but it's difficult.

The other girl is moving quickly around the kitchen, singing along to some Top 40 hit on the radio, hips swinging in time to the music, hands drumming a rhythm on the countertop. A pair of lose shirt covering her shorts, and her hair is still wet from the shower.

"I never took you as a cook," Lisa comments as Jennie places the food in the oven

"I'm cooking chicken nuggets."

"Very domesticated."

"Yeah well I know how to treat a girl right."

A small, nervous smile tugs at the ends of Lisa's lips, a blush flooding her cheeks and she stares down at her twisted hands.

"Indeed you do."

Jennie makes her way over to where Lisa is perched on the countertop and places a soft kiss to Lisa's bangs-covered forehead; hands placed either side of Lisa's legs. She stands in between them, watching the food cook as Lisa's hand wind themselves into Jennie's hair, running through the strands, tugging lightly when they reach any knots.

"That feels good," Jennie murmurs, tilting her head back slightly.

"Yeah well don't get used to this kind of treatment."

"Even though I cook for you?"

"Jennie you've placed some chicken nuggets and smiley faces in the oven, it's not exactly a three course meal."

"One day I'll cook you a three course meal and I'll expect this kind of treatment on a regular basis."

"Well then you'll have to cook a three course meal for me on a regular basis."

"Deal," Jennie replies.

Lisa feels her breath hitch slightly. She knows that the two of them are only joking around, but she still feels like they're edging slightly closer to things being right. Because surely joking about the future, leads to talking about the future and maybe, just maybe, that makes a future between them seem like a real possibility.

"Don't stop," Jennue whines when Lisa's hands still.

"Sorry."

Her fingers resume their actions, and when Jennie's locks are completely detangled, Lisa stars to knead her fingers into a Jennie's scalp. Lisa blushes when a moan escapes Jennie's mouth.

"You should definitely give me massages more often," Jennie says.

"I've been told I'm very talented with my hands."

Jennie raises an eyebrow suggestively.

"And how are you with your mouth?"

Lisa swallows nervously. She's aware how easy all of this flirting comes to Jennie but Lisa is vastly inexperienced and sure, Jennie may never have done this with a girl before but Lisa has never really done this with anyone before. There's been kisses and flirting but never anything more, and so Lisa isn't entirely sure how to act.

"I couldn't say. I suppose you'll have to feedback later."

Jennie coughs in surprise.

"I suppose I will."

Jennie refuses to meet Lisa's eye after that, suddenly the food is the most important thing and they require Jennie's complete and utter attention.

Lisa contents herself with scrolling through her phone, notifying her mum that she won't be home for dinner. After that it's a simple matter of scrolling through her tumblr feed (having asked Jennie for the wifi password as soon as she walked through the door) until the food is ready.

The pair eat in silence, it's hardly a candlelight dinner and Lisa is starving. But after it's done Jennie is in no rush to clear the plates away, instead she sits for a few moments longer saying nothing, foot casually brushing against Lisa's.

It's simple and easy, and Lisa loves that. There's just something about spending time with Jennie that takes her mind off of everything, and so when Jennie leans in to kiss her once again, once everything is back where it belongs, Lisa is more than happy to oblige, kissing back with such ferocity that Jennie has to take a moment to steady herself against the kitchen counter.

It's the sound of the latch in the door clicking that causes Jennie to pull away and when Irene walks into the kitchen, there's no sign of anything that went on before she arrived.

"Lisa," she says, her voice conveying that she truly is happy to see her, "I see you're round again. I guess we're going for every night this week?"

"Sorry," Lisa apologises, cheeks flushing red, "I can go if you want me to."

"Of course not, it's nice having you here, stops Jennie from being such an annoying little sister. Just surprised your parents aren't missing you."

"My Dad's out at work most of the time, he works the evening shift. And mum's probably glad she doesn't have to cook for me."

"Yeah I'm stuck doing it instead," Jennie interjects teasingly.

"It's the least you can do."

"It's not like I'm getting anything in return though."

Lisa has a reply all lined up before she remembers that Irene is there, watching the pair interact with a thoughtful expression on her face. As much as Lisa is sure that Irene would be fine with whatever is occurring between Lisa and Jennie, she knows better than to suggest anything. If Jennie's not ready to tell people then Lisa's not going to do it for her, that's something that Lisa knows Jennie has to do for herself.

"I'll buy you a really nice birthday present," Lisa replies.

"I'd like a pony."

"How rich do you think I am?"

"Well you've got until January get the money, time to start saving up I suppose, better get on it."

"In your dreams."

"It actually is," Jennie says, "last night I dreamt that I rode a pony to school every day so you could technically make my dreams come true."

"Have you had any less expensive dreams?" Lisa asks. "Maybe you dreamt that I bought you some CDs or a book or something."

"Are you asking me what I want for my birthday? You've got ten months Lisa."

"I like to be prepared."

"Idiot," Jennie says, but the smile on her face suggests she thinks otherwise.

xxx

An hour later and the two of them are back to the kissing. They're soft and short, punctuated by brief spatters of conversation. It's during one of these pauses that Jennie poses the question that's been on her mind for the past few days.

"Hey Lisa."

The other girl looks up from where she was tracing a pattern on Jennie's palm to look Jennie in the eye. Lisa's smile is soft, and strands of her hair are falling into her eyes. Jennie resists the urge to brush them away for her.

"Yeah?"

"Did you ever meet up with Nancy?"

There's a moment of silence, the only sound the clock ticking on the wall. Jennie can feel Lisa tracing figures of eight into her palm and tries to focus on that rather than the panic that rises within her at the thought of Nancy.

"Yeah," Lisa replies eventually, "we met up last Saturday."

"And?"

"It was shit."

"Oh."

"She said sorry."

"I suppose that's good then," Jennie tells Lisa, unsure of what else there is for her to say, the right words just don't seem to be forming.

"Not really," Lisa says, "it sort of seemed like she didn't really know what she was apologising for. Like she knew what she'd done wrong, she knew she'd acted like a bitch but she seemed to think it was a thing that had upset me for like a week and now found kind of funny, she didn't seem to get that it kind of ever so slightly ruined my life. I mean she got that it was a horrible thing to do, got that I'd been upset but she doesn't realise what she really caused, and I didn't know how to tell her."

"So what did you do?"

"I ran."

"Why?"

"Every time I looked at her all I could think about was that she'd broken me and she didn't even realise it. I just couldn't stay."

Jennie tries to ignore the erratic way her heart beats when Lisa says that, tries to remind herself that she is no Nancy McDonie.

If you don't hurt then she won't hurt you. Jennie tells herself that several times before replying.

"I'm really sorry about that, I knew you were hoping she'd changed."

"People don't just change Jennie, no matter how much you want them to."

The words ring so true that Jennie can't find the words to reply; instead she takes Lisa's hands in her and begins to trace a pattern of her own.

"J," Lisa says suddenly.

"What?"

"That was the letter you were tracing. Did you never play that game?"

"What game?"

"One person traces a letter, or a number, or a shape onto the other person and they have to guess what it is."

"That sounds like a shit game," Jennie says, but she offers her hand out none the less, "I guess it's my turn to guess then."

Jennie is surprised by how calming she finds the gentle brush of Lisa's skin against hers. How soothing it is just to be with the other girl. Jennie frequently has to remind herself that this can't last forever, that this safe haven the two of them seem to have built is going to fall apart. Jennie knows that things like this never last long, someone always gets tired and leaves, it's simply a matter of time. Jennie is just content to make the most of Lisa while she still can.

Just as long as Lisa doesn't take Jennie's heart with her when she goes.

The pair lay languidly side by side when they grow tired of the game, hands brushing gently together. They say nothing but then, there's nothing to say. Instead both are content to lie in silence, bodies touching in ways that suggest so much more than friendship. It occurs to Jennie that it's not just the kissing that shows what has changed.

Quiet music plays in the background as Jennie watches Lisa, the other girl watching right back. Jennie's eyes flicker across every line of Lisa's face, tries to drink in every freckle, every flaw. Jennie is desperate to commit Lisa's every feature to memory, though when she'll revisit it she's not entirely sure.

Lisa's eyes start to flutter closed and she tries to stifle a yawn by placing a hand over her mouth.

"You look cute when you're sleepy," Jennie murmurs.

"You look cute all the time."

"Are you trying to make me blush?"

"Well you look cute when you do that too."

"Not as cute as you."

Redness spreads through Lisa's cheeks like wildfire spreads through a forest and Jennie leans over to press a kiss to Lisa's lips.

Jennie loves the way that Lisa can uncomplicated everything, the way that when the pair of them are lying here together everything seems so simple. It's times like these that Jennie thinks that maybe they don't need a label. They don't need to be friends or girlfriends or whatever else. They can just be Lisa and Jennie, and that can be enough.

Jennie turns so she's staring up at the ceiling, staring up at the stars that Irene stuck up there when Jennie was six years old and scared of the dark, scared of the unknown.

"You okay?" Lisa asks, her voice cutting through Jennie's thoughts.

"Fine."

"You sure?"

Don't offer more than she's willing to give.

Don't offer more than she's willing to give.

Jennie prepares herself to break the one rule she has.

"His name was Jaebum."

"Whose name?"

"The boy who's the reason I threw the party."

Jennie doesn't miss the flash of hurt that crosses Lisa's face before Lisa schools her features into a more neutral expression. Lisa appears to be starting to withdraw and Jennie knows she can't let that happen.

Don't offer more than she's willing to give. Maybe Jennie should have stuck by that.

"And who is he?" Lisa asks eventually.

"He's the boy that broke my heart."