Lisa is pulling the sheets off of her bed when Jennie steps out of the washroom, hair wet and dripping, getting soaked into the towel slung on her body. Lisa huffs out a breath as she takes a look at her and drops the sheets on the floor. Jennie watches her, puzzled, as Lisa goes to rifle through her wardrobe.

"I thought I'd just make you do the naked apron," Lisa muses, ignoring the indignant sound Jennie makes in favor of pulling out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. "But I don't think I can handle it." She adds, flinging the garments in Jennie's general direction. Jennie squawks as she catches them. "Put those on." Lisa states.

Shutting the wardrobe, she walks over to her and places another towel atop Jennie's head. "And stop dripping water all around." She smiles.

She quirks up a corner of her mouth. "Anything else, mam?" She asks.

She kisses the sarcasm out of her. "Yes." She grins. "There's eggs and brown bread in the fridge. I want egg-white omelettes and you can make whatever you want for yourself." She punctuates the order with another kiss. "Shoo now, get dressed and make yourself useful." She quips, slipping past her and getting into the washroom.

Jennie sighs and pulls on the shorts and the t-shirt and smiles at the fresh scent of the fabric conditioner. She dries her hair enough to leave them damp and then looks around, spying a laundry hamper near the bed, next to the sheets. Walking over to the washroom door, she calls out. "Lisa, you left the sheets on the floor. Want me to put them in the laundry hamper?"

She replies, "Yeah, put the towels in there, too, please! I'll do the laundry after."

She loosely folds the sheets and the towels, drops them in the hamper. She makes her way to the door but remembering something, walks over to the washroom door again. "Hey, where are the utensils, exactly?" She asks.

"Just look around in the kitchen!" She calls out.

"What? Don't you know where you keep the utensils?"

"Uh, not really. I don't cook."

"Seriously?" She asks, aghast. "So you just live off of instant noodles?"

"No!" The door opened, revealing an annoyed Lisa. Face covered with facial foam and pouting she says, "I mean, not all the time. I get take out. And Chu, she cooks for me sometimes." Her voice trails off, sounding embarrassed. When she remains silent, Lisa whines. "C'mon, please."

She sighs. "Alright, fine. I'll look around. You're going to have to learn some basic recipes though, sometime. You'll get sick if you just eat instant food and take out all the time."

"Yes, mom." She calls out playfully before slam the door.

"Not your mom!" She retorts, but smiles when she hears her laughter as she makes her way to the door.

She finds the eggs and brown bread in the fridge, along with butter and a few cubes of cheese. Scouring the cabinets, she takes out the utensils and cookware she needs and smiles when she comes across the tea blends. She should get Lisa to make her a cup of peppermint tea as she'd done at cafe. The tea had worked like magic when she was exhausted and troubled; she's excited to savor the cool, gentle taste of peppermint now when she can feel the happiness thrumming under her skin, mixed in with her blood.

Humming a melody that's been coming to her in fragments since the shower at night, she washes her hands at the kitchen sink and gets to work. Finding her way around a kitchen is second nature to her by now, and she loses herself in the familiar motions despite being in an unfamiliar space. Soon, four fluffy white omelettes are ready, garnished with pepper, and there's cheese melting on the last slices of toast in the microwave, topped with oregano and chili flakes.

"Lisa!" She calls out, knowing her probably taking care of the laundry. "Breakfast is ready!"

She hears an excited "Oh, fuck yes!" and then, "I'll be there in a minute!" from within.

It makes her smile as she plates the food and brings out the cutlery, but seeing the quantity of the toast makes her frown. She wonders whether she went overboard with the cooking, and wonders still whether it was because she was lost in putting the melody together in her head, or because she subconsciously wanted to impress Lisa.

She rummages around, and finds a cover for the dish with the omelettes, while she puts the plate with the mountain of toast on it inside the microwave to preserve the heat. "Lisa!" She calls out again.

Before she can get an answer, the doorbell rings. She takes a step forward then hesitates. Should she open the door or wait for her? The doorbell rings again. Lisa doesn't look likely to appear anytime soon, so she goes to the door, glancing at her room as she passes, noting the sound of the tap running coming from the washroom.

The doorbell rings twice in succession and the ringing sound echoes in her ear as she opens the door to see Kai about to ring the doorbell again.

"Finally, li—" He pipes up and quiets down immediately when he sees her at the door. He aborts the frown her face is pulling, but she notices it. "Jennie." He says her name as if mentally putting puzzle pieces together. "Hi. What are you do—um, I mean, I didn't expect you here?"

She wonders if she is grimacing; her brain seems to have lost connection with her body. She wants to shrivel up and die, but she presses her lips together into a tight-lipped smile. "Um-" She starts and immediately loses her words.

"Huh? That's my t-shirt." He observes, staring at her dazedly. He seems to realize his mistake immediately, having verbalized his thoughts, and blushes faintly. "It used to be my favorite t-shirt and I thought I'd misplaced it or something." He explains. "But it looks like she stole it from me." He trails off, unsure.

She looks down at the t-shirt, notes no wonder it feels so big for her. Despite being little smaller than Lisa, she thinks it would be big too for Lisa's frame. "Right." She murmurs.

"Jen, I'm hungry!" Lisa calls out as she steps out of the room. She cranes her neck to look at her. "Where's my—oh, kai! There you are!" She exclaims, brightening up. He waves at her. "Jen," She sounds a little disapproving. "Let him in, and shut the door before the cats run out."

She wordlessly steps away, allowing him in and shutting the door behind her. She stays plastered to the door, watches her jump into his arms and he returning the embrace warmly, feeling her heart thump in her ears, a sinking feeling in her stomach. The t-shirt feels heavy, suffocating, like it is wearing her body down; she itches to take it off.

As if standing in the rain, looking in through a glass window, longing for the atmosphere of warmth and cheer she can see, she watches her chatter with him happily. The cats, too, come out of hiding, having recognized him.

She knows she is being irrational, that her thoughts are taking a wholly unnecessary turn, but she can't stop herself from spiraling. Lisa she understands; he is her best friend, of course she'll be happy to see him. But the cats? She feels a stab of jealousy as she watches them accept his affection. But feels it subside into nothing when she catches her fond expression at the sight before her. She's forgotten she's there, hasn't she?

"Mm, what smells so good?" His voice cuts through her spiral as well as whatever reverie Lisa seems to have lost herself in. "Lis, you can't have cooked, right? I won't eat it if you cooked it. I can't die before I marry him."

Lisa socks him in the arm. "No, you asshole. She made breakfast."

He turns to Jennie immediately. He is still looking like he is fitting puzzle pieces together, but he smiles warmly at her. "That's a relief, then." He points at Lisa with his thumb. "Don't ever let her cook. She almost killed me."

"I did not!" Lisa cries out indignantly. He shoots her a look. "Fine, but not like I meant to." She trails off, embarrassed. "I didn't know you were allergic to walnuts then and I just wanted to bake something for you." She adds in a small voice.

He swings an arm around her comfortingly. "C'mon, it's okay. It's funny in retrospect."

She smiles, leaning into him. "It is, isn't it?" She agrees, looking up at him.

"The food will get cold." Jennie says as she walks past them to the kitchen.

Lisa separates from him and follows her immediately with an, "I'll help you."

Jennie doesn't look at her as she opens the microwave door and pulls out the plate full of cheese toast.

"That looks so good." Lisa murmurs in her ear, and she nearly jumps out of her skin.

"Your omelettes are probably cold by now." She says, pointing at the dish on the counter.

She spares them a glance and smiles at her. "That's alright." Jennie nods and makes to move past her, but Lisa stops her with, "Think this will be enough for the three of us?"

Jennie looks at her and then glances at him who has seated himself at tiny dining table and is on his phone, fingers tapping away. "I can make more if we need it." She sighs.

"You're the best!" She says, moving in, intent on kissing her.

She takes a step back. "Let's eat. Weren't you starving?" She jibes, pressing her lips into a smile and walking past her with the toast. "Get the omelettes and the plates." She calls out over her shoulder.

She narrows her eyes at her but does as told.

The trio fit themselves and the platefuls of food at the table somehow and split the omelettes and cheese toast. Lisa and Kai collectively make sounds of delight as they take their first bites.

"This is so good." She speaks with her mouth full. She feels somewhat appeased and smiles at her.

Kai is quiet in his admiration. "I missed this, you know." He says, a gentle smile on his lips.

Jennie is suddenly hit with a rush of memories: all the times she cooked for him and got that same smile in return, the kisses that always followed. The glint of the wedding band on his finger rivals his smile and she blinks the memories away.

"Thank you." She mumbles into her cheese toast. She can feel the downpour of negative feelings fading to a drizzle.

"What else do you miss?" Lisa questions nonchalantly, focused on cutting her omelette into bite-sized pieces. She misses the looks they throw at her and looks up with an innocent smile on her face. "About her, I mean. You two were together for a few months, right?"

He shoots Jennie a look but Jennie is staring at Lisa. "Um," He says.

"C'mon, what are you feeling so shy for? I'm sure even she would like to know." Lisa chirps, ignoring Jennie's raised eyebrows.

"Okay." He states firmly. "Alright, well. I miss her cooking, of course. And whenever I made her accompany me to the gym instead of going on a run. I miss jamming on tracks together with her. But I think I miss making her laugh and seeing her smile at me the most."

There is silence for a long moment. Kai, however, is unaffected as he serves himself another piece of toast.

"So you miss her." Lisa states, almost accusingly.

Jennie opens her mouth to interject, but he beats her to it. "Of course, I do. She's a good person and I enjoyed hanging out with her." He tells her. Turning to her, he adds. "I miss us being friends."

"Kai, I—" Jennie starts, but Lisa interrupts her. "How'd you two meet, I don't think I ever heard that story?" She asks, tone light. Jennie glares at her.

"What's up with you today?" He laughs.

"What? I'm just asking you two how you met. It's a casual question." She defends herself.

"Jennie, you want to answer that?" He asks her good-naturedly.

"Yeah, c'mon, tell me." She waves her fork in the air.

Jennie exhales through her nose, trying to maintain her composure. "At the club." She says.

"And then?"

"Then what?" She retorts.

"And then what happened?"

She falls silent, refusing to give in to her bait.

Kai, however, seems to have no qualms about it as he says, "We both got a little drunk, so I took her home."

"And then what?" Lisa eggs him on.

"Then we fucked!" Jennie snaps.

Jennie glowers at her and Lisa narrows her eyes at her, smiling sweetly, and turning her attention to him who is looking between them, a hint of trepidation on his face.

"She's really great in bed." Lisa says. "Surely you miss that too?"

"Lisa." Jennie says, warningly, looking at him, hoping to get some back-up.

He is frowning at Lisa and Jennie feels victorious. "So you two did sleep together." He says.

He realizes belatedly, once again, that he has spoken his thoughts out loud and looks like he desperately wants to take his words back.

Jennie deflates, feeling exhausted all of a sudden.

Lisa seems electrified by the question and proudly pulls down the neck of her t-shirt to show off the hickeys Jennie had left on her collarbone. "Look." She says proudly.

Jennie clenches her fingers around her fork and knife.

"Oh." He says. He takes another bite of the toast and chews thoughtfully. "Are you two together now?" He asks.

"No." Jennie answers.

"Dating?"

"No." Jennie states, clipped.

Lisa looks at her with shock and confusion etched on her face which she pointedly ignores.

"Oh." He repeats. "Okay, then." He says, and shoots them both tiny smiles.

The silence is tense and suffocating as the three of them finish their food, focused on their plates and not even daring to look up at each other. A sharp buzzing startles them all and he pulls out his phone.

He smiles sheepishly at them. "Have to take this." He says and accepts the call. Soon, after the call ended, he beams. "Sehun wants to meet you two."

"Huh?" Lisa sputters. "He's already met us."

"No, like, he really wants to get to know you both." He says. Jennie frowns but on seeing the soft, proud expression on his face, her frown disappears as he adds, "He said it's because you've both made an impact on my life."

"Oh." Jennie mumbles. Lisa looks at her, questioning, and Jennie returns the look and turns to him. "Yeah, I guess we can do that." She says.

"That's great!" He chirps. "How about dinner? Hmm, I think next weekend, maybe?" He looks at Lisa first, and then at Jennie to see their reactions.

"Sure this isn't an excuse for you to shove your romance in our faces?" Lisa quips, half-serious.

He takes it in stride and laughs it off. "No, no, nothing like that."

"I doubt it." She muses.

"C'mon. Don't be like that. It'll make him very happy." He says.

"Hm." Lisa hums, voice a little off-kilter. Jennie senses that Lisa is about to say something mean and sucks a breath in, dreading, anticipating. "You do everything that he tells you to do, huh?" She comments. "He's got you wrapped around his little finger."

The mirth in his eyes seeps away. "No." He answers seriously. "I choose to do what he asks of me, and I choose to be wrapped around his little finger because he's the love of my life. His happiness matters a lot to me."

She blinks at him and then looks away. "Yeah, alright. Dinner next weekend works."

"Perfect, I'll text you two, then." He smiles easily. "I'm gonna have to get going now," He addresses Lisa. "Thank you for the food." She turns to Jennie. "It was good to see you."

Jennie smiles in return. "Likewise."

They clear the plates away and Lisa assures Kai that he doesn't need to bother with washing any dishes. He smiles thankfully, glad that he can hurry home. They see him off and she shuts the door and sighs.

"That lovesick fool." Lisa grumbles fondly, following Jennie to the kitchen. "See what I have to deal with on a regular basis?" She laughs.

Jennie doesn't reply. Instead, she starts washing the dishes.

"Jen, leave them be. I can wash them later." She says.

She shrugs her off and continues to wash the dishes without even sparing a glance at her.

She frowns, hurt. "Seriously?" She rolls her eyes. "What are you doing?" She asks, irritated.

"What do you think?" She sneers, washing the last of the dishes and keeping them aside.

"No, I mean, what the fuck are you trying to do?" Lisa snaps.

Jennie whirls around, angry. "What am I trying to do? I'm trying to keep the fuck calm."

"Not doing a great job of it." She taunts, arms crossed against her chest.

"How could I after what you did!"

"What did I do?"

She inhales and exhales deeply, trying to calm herself down. "Stop pretending like you don't know."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Really?" Jennie scoffs. "So you weren't trying to make him jealous? Or make me jealous? Or both of us, I don't know."

"What?" She hisses. "What the fuck are you saying? I did no such thing!"

"Then what was all that? Bringing up my relationship with him, shoving that hickey in his face, talking about me as if I wasn't even in the room?"

Lisa takes a step back, looking conflicted. "Jen, listen," She says softly, hurt and insistent. "I didn't—I mean, that wasn't—"

"I don't know what you're playing at," She cuts in. "But I'm not going to be a party to it." She stomps away to the bedroom.

Lisa follows her, anger rising. "The fuck are you talking about? Listen to me. Why would I want to make either of you jealous?"

She pulls the t-shirt off and tosses it to the side. "Oh, I don't know." Jennie says spitefully. "Maybe because you are still in love with him and are playing some cruel game with me."

Her jaw drops before she clacks it shut. Lisa stares at her, stone-faced. "So that's who you think I am, huh?"

"No, that's who you're showing yourself to be." Jennie fires back, pulling the shorts down and letting them fall to the floor. She grabs her own clothes kept on the bedside drawer and begins to wear them.

"Fuck you! Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I was jealous of you two and wanted to show you off, make our relationship clear? Instead of whatever bullshit narrative you ar—"

"Oh? Well, I didn't want to be shown off!" Jennie cuts in again, zipping her jeans with trembling fingers. "I didn't want to make our relationship clear to him. Or to anyone. I just wanted to spend time with you!"

Lisa bites her lip. "Jen..." She tries to reach out to touch her, but Jennie moves away.

"You didn't give a shit about how I was feeling, I don't fucking believe you when you say you were jealous of him and me." Jennie says, defeated. She shoves her arms through the holes in the shirt and begins to button it up.

Lisa crosses her arms. "Tell me the truth. You were jealous, weren't you? And now you're lashing out at me."

"You tell me. Why was he here?"

"Because I cancelled our dinner plans yesterday. For you." She seethes.

"So why didn't you tell me he was coming?" She says, fumbling with the second-last button.

"You mean why didn't I ask for your permission before inviting him for breakfast?" Lisa narrows her eyes. "Because I don't need your permission to call my best friend to my house for breakfast when I didn't know if you would stay."

"Whatever." She straightens her shirt, and grabs her clutch. "Let's not do this." Jennie walks past Lisa, who once again follows her.

"Really? After everything, you're just going to fuck off like this? It's not even worth it to talk things out?"

"What is there to talk about?!" Jennie stops and turns, raises an eyebrow.

"Of course," Lisa smiles, hollow. "Of course, we aren't even dating. That's what you told him."

"We aren't." She agrees, walking to the door. "Right from the start you only pretended to want to date me, and wanted to fuck, and made a nice little game of it for yourself."

"Fuck you!" Lisa raises her voice. "You know nothing about me!"

She smiles, tight-lipped. "That's true." She bends down to put her shoes on.

"But you know what? I do know you, jennie." She spits. "You like playing hard-to-get, don't you? It boosts your ego to have people chasing after you, begging to be a part of your life, isn't it?"

"I'm not going to listen to all this." She stands up. "I'm leaving." Yanking the door open, she walks out.

"I'm not going to stop you!" Lisa calls after her and Jennie stops short as she hears the door slam shut.

She stays rooted to the spot for a moment, the adrenaline making her fingers shake and her heart pound in her ears. She inhales and exhales deeply, once, twice, thrice. Then she walks away without turning back.

hm... who's fault is that? who do we have to blame here? 🤔

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thank you. all the votes mean a lot to me