The rest of the week sort of went by in a blur. Like a bad fever dream with lots of sandwich orders and Jisoo constantly squealing and giggles at me. I swear you were nice to her one time, and suddenly she thinks you're her new best friend.

Sigh.

Okay, so after I helped her win that claw machine, she switched lunch tables and sat with me and Kookie, much to the annoyance of all her friends. Kookie kept giving me that face—the Lisa you've done it now face. I kept giving him the lay off me will ya face.

Rosie was avoiding me, yet again. This time I have no clue why. Every time I would see her in the hall, the moment I would try and walk over to her, she would get the heck out of there as fast as she could. I could see her staring at me and Jisoo sometimes. Which just makes me madder at Jisoo and want to get away from her.

Jisoo has definitely become that annoying person people pretend they love when in reality everyone hates and talks about them behind their backs.

And by everyone, I mean me. It's like a walking nightmare; every time I turn the corner, there she freaking is!

Just when I think I've finally lost her, bam! She comes up behind me and hugs me. I swear, I wake up screaming, expecting her to be standing over me and watching me sleep. The girl does not know the definition of personal space.

Also, she's made it a regular thing to come and bug me at work. I've been working on my plan to hook her and Crush up, but just when I think the two are hitting it off, he says something dumb and screws it up. Or she will completely miss her chance or blatantly ignore his flirting. Gah! I just want to grab their faces and smash them together.

I don't even think Crush likes her like that, but he is just a natural flirt anyway. It's a leftover charm from his pretty boy days. He can't help himself. He flirts with anything breathing or pretty-looking. Guy has a desperation about him; it's kind of sad, really.

I think he might still be in love with his ex because he talks about her a lot. I don't even think he notices he's doing it. Poor guy. He might be single for a while if he keeps going the way he is going.

Saturday morning came, and I felt someone sit next to me on my bed. I thought my nightmare was about to come true, and I was going to find Jisoo staring at me with those creepy lavender eyes. But when I opened my eyes, it wasn't Scary Jisoo; it was Rosie.

Wonderful, beautiful, Rosie.

"Rosie! What are you doing here?" I sat up.

The mirror adjacent to my bed showed me my bedhead, which made me cringe, so I quickly fixed my hair.

"I heard from Jisoo that you guys are hanging out today." She avoided eye contact.

"Yeah ...we are..." I eyed her. She was silent.

"Well, you didn't come all the way here just to confirm that so what's up? You still mad at me?"

I crossed my legs and gave her my full undivided attention.

She sighed and slouched down in defeat. Her eyes stayed glued to the ground. I watched her clench and unclench the sheets in her hand.

"Rosie?" I moved closer.

"I... I think I'm going to tell Jisoo how I feel."

"What! Now? Today!?"

She nodded.

"No. No, no, no. You don't want to do that. No! Bad plan, abort, abort."

"Lisa!" she turned to me obviously in distress.

"Rosie! You can't just go up to her and say that! Jisoo will totally freak out. Besides we've been over this. She's not even looking for a relationship right now. She told me."

"Wait, she told you that? Why would she tell you that? And why did you even ask about that?"

"For you!" I quickly come up with. "I've been trying to give her hints."

"You have?" she raises an eyebrow.

"Duh! What are best friends for?"

"But I've been mean to you..."

"Yeah, I know. You jerk."

She sighed, "Gosh, Lisa, I'm so sorry. I've just been stressed out, and these feelings I have are like, really strong. I can't just ignore them. I'm freaking out here. You weren't helping, and I just can't explain it. You don't know what it feels like to feel like this."

I know more than you think.

"Hey, my friend is in love. No big deal. But we've got to play this right. Jisoo is not interested right now, trust me. Crush from work has been flirting up a storm with her, but it just went right over her head. She even asked me if Crush liked me; the girl is oblivious. If you go in declaring your feelings, it is not going to be pretty. Trust me. I say abort the mission."

"Good thing I came here first." She sighed in relief.

"Yeah, a good thing." I force a nervous laugh.

"I'm sorry. I've been a crank lately. I just have a lot going on at home. Plus, this Jisoo thing, I just... I'm so confused."

"Hey, I'm confused too," I grumbled.

"You are?"

Crap! I let it slip. Think of something quick. "Yeah... uh, I am. I just uh, well you see... I..."

Ugh!

"Are you gay?" she asks outright.

"What! No! Golly, Rosie really?"

"Lisa, I saw how that kiss affected you. Plus, I always thought you gave off a vibe."

"Have you been talking to Kookie?" I frowned.

She giggled and smiled. I felt my heart skip a beat.

"I'm so fucking gay." I accidentally said out loud.

I quickly shut my mouth and felt my face go red. "I mean, gah! Just ignore that last part."

She laughed hard, and I fell back on my bed, putting my pillow on my face. With any luck, I can suffocate myself before Jisoo shows up.

"It's okay if you are, you don't have to lie." She playfully shook me.

"I just don't want to freak you out. I don't want you to think I'm only saying it because you said it first." I moved the pillow and turned to look at her.

"Well, are you?"

"No." I sighed.

"So you're gay then, not just because I'm gay." She laid next to me.

"You've said gay so much that now it sounds weird."

She laughed.

I turned and smiled at her.

Rosie is so beautiful when she laughs. How could I not notice it before?

The way her full, raspberry-tinted lips pull back to reveal her amazing smile. Those white and straight teeth looked like a smile you'd seen in a commercial. I like looking at the skin wrinkled up by her eyes and her cheeks moving up just slightly with a blush, making her skin look that much more stunning. The way her green eyes with hazel flecks sparkle. I could stare at them all day.

Why does she have to be so beautiful?

"Lisa," Rosie called snapping me out of my daze.

"Huh? Oh sorry." I blushed.

"What were you thinking about? You zoned out on me," she smirked.

How beautiful you are.

"What's so great about Jisoo anyway?" I ask.

"You know, come on she's so..."

"Perfect." I finished for her.

"Yeah, exactly."

"She doesn't deserve someone like you," I said. She eyed me.

"What I'm saying is, perfection is overrated. I mean, I don't see the appeal."

"Well, you and I have different tastes, I guess." She sat up. I sat up too and grabbed her hand.

"Why don't...why don't you and I date?" I suggested. She just stared at me.

"Like a practice run. I mean, we've been friends forever. Wouldn't it make more sense if I was your first relationship?"

"Where is this coming from?" I shrugged.

"Lisa... I like Jisoo."

"I know."

"Okay then." With that, she got up and left. I quickly got up and followed her.

"It could be like a practice run," I said.

"No thanks." She went downstairs.

"But why not?" I followed after her.

"Because that would be weird. I don't want to date you." She made a face.

"Morning Rosie, Lisa, breakfast is almost ready. You are welcome to stay Rosie." Mom called.

"Well, why not?" I pushed.

"Because you're you," she said like it was obvious.

With every second I felt my heart cracking in several places.

"Oh."

"See you around." She said before walking out the front door.

I just stared at the door. I couldn't move. I felt like someone had picked me up, dropped me off of a tall building, and I shattered into pieces at the bottom. Because I'm me she said.

What's so bad about me? Why did she make a face? Am I that unappealing?

"Where'd Rosie go?" Mom walked over to me, wiping her hands in a dish rag.

I tried to say something, but I felt like I had a literal frog in my throat. I opened my mouth, and I felt the ball in my throat wobble up and down.

"Lisa?" Mom grabbed me by the shoulder and turned me around to make me look at her.

Finally, the dam broke. A sob ripped out of me like a frog leaping from my throat.

"Oh, sweetie. What happened?" she pulled me into her arms.

Just then the door opened, but it wasn't Rosie coming to apologize; it was Jisoo with a smile on her face. I hated her. I wanted to tackle her and rip out her throat. I wanted to scream at her and curse her out, making her feel what I was feeling.

Her eyes registered my distressed state and her face softened.

"LIsa! What's wrong?" She quickly engulfed me into a hug.

I pushed her off and ran upstairs to my room.

What was wrong with me? Was I not pretty enough? Not cool enough? Maybe I just wasn't perfect enough. Not like Jisoo. I tore off my lame cherry themed pajamas and began to rummage through my closet.

A light knock came from my door.

"Lisa? Did I do something wrong?" Jisoo asks softly.

Yes, you exist. That's what you've done wrong, Jisoo. Why can't you just go die! Ugh!

I pulled on some shorts and a t-shirt. I then pulled on some socks that came up my ankles and slipped on my sneakers. I quickly brushed my hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. Then I opened the door and pushed past Jisoo to go to the bathroom. She quickly chased after me.

I shut the bathroom door in her face.

I washed my face and dried my tears. I brushed my teeth and check my reflection one last time. My copper brown hair and brown eyes seemed bland. My skin was pasty looking and unattractive. I just looked... like me.

I quickly turned away and walked out of the bathroom.

Jisoo was still there. The girl could not take the hint. I rushed downstairs and grabbed the key to my bike lock.

"Lisa, where are you going?" Mom called.

"Lisa," Jisoo caught my arm.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed in her face. She flinched and quickly dropped my arm.

I ran outside, got on my bike, and took off. I rode down the street, across an intersection, over to a park, and through the park to the creek. A place where Rosie and I used to come and hang out before it flooded out last year.

I jumped off my bike and let it clatter to the floor before running over to the gazebo and going to sit on the bench, bringing my knees to my chest and burying my head in them.

I heard someone walk up and into the gazebo. I looked up and sniffled. For a moment the sun lit them up just right so I couldn't see who it was. I got hopes that it might be Rosie, but then my eyes adjusted to the dark hair and lavender eyes, and I felt sick.

Jisoo.

What do I have to do? Spell it out for her? Doesn't she have other people to bother?

She walked over and sat next to me.

"I followed you," she said before I could ask how she found me.

"Stalker much," I grumbled.

"I just wanted to be sure you were okay."

"Why do you care?"

"Because... You're my friend." I actually laughed out loud.

"Lisa, what happened?"

"You mean besides the fact I just came out to my best friend and asked her out, and she basically said dating me would be gross and would never happen?"

Her eyes got wide.

"I didn't know you liked Rosie like that."

"I don't. Fuck Rosie!" I spat.

"Oh okay."

I just buried my head in my knees and started crying again. Stupid Rosie. Stupid confusing feelings, stupid, stupid, stupid. Why did I do that? I ruined everything. Gosh, I really do suck at this.

"Hey, it's okay, it's Rosie's loss." She rubbed my back.

"I wasn't even being serious. She didn't have to be such a bitch..." I mumbled into my legs.

"Hey, I think you're pretty great. I would gladly date you," she said to cheer me up.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I forced myself to look at her.

"Because..." she said.

I eyed her.

Then she leaned in and quickly kissed me on the cheek, reminding me of when I first officially met her. I saw her face get bright red in embarrassment. I smirked; it did make me feel a little better. I moved and kissed her on the cheek too.

"Thanks," I said.

"Milk candy?" She quickly said.

"Do you ever run out of those things?" I sat right and took one from her.

"No way. I restock every other week."

I giggled and so did she.

I opened the milk candy and popped it into my mouth; she did the same.

Maybe she's not so bad after all.

I rested my head on her shoulder and stared off into the creek. We just sat like that in silence.