#playing uh. Fast and loose with the mouse. He doesn’t scare me

[fisherrprince]

ok i made it. if you nerds want one you can get one too!

[activechataclysme]

TITLE: two truths and a lie.

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Ship: The Love Square - SnekMouse Rating: T [ AO3 ]

Summary:

“For the, uh, game. You said two things,” he said, holding up two fingers. He wiggled one finger.  “That there was a, uh, boy you’ve been in love with for years,” then the other. “And that you want to get over him.”

“I get that,” he said quietly, tapping a rhythm against her shoulder with his fingers. “Do you, uh, do you see him everyday?”

“More than he knows, I think,” she said, her tone a little sly, as if she was sharing an inside joke with herself. “He sits right in front of me in class, actually.”

-o-

“I realised I’m in love with this girl recently, I’m scared to ask her out. She, um, sits in front of me, an-and…” he floundered before finally tacking on a lie. “She knows exactly how I feel.”

... Or in which warm feelings flare in chests, soft gazes are exchanged, blushes are blushed and confessions are made without even intending to.

One of their evening patrols ended with the two of them after patrol on a secluded rooftop, with beer in cheap plastic cups in each of their hands, and two half empty bottles of it between the two of them. They sat on the balustrade, feet swinging as they looked out at the city, chuckling as they played a game of Two Truths and a Lie.

Aspik found that beer, if had in, er, generous amounts , could in fact make one tipsy, as well as loose-lipped. He was sure Multimouse would’ve figured him out if she hadn’t been a little tipsy and out of it herself...

People love photographing me, I hate that they do ( She had looked at him somewhat sadly at that ) and I love shopping for my own clothes.  

My dad’s a dick, Ladybug is the uh worst and my bestfriend is a superhero. ( She had giggled uncontrollably. )

Modelling is my dream job, I enjoy piano and I love our patrols together. ( He suspected, in a very self-satisfied manner, that the flaming of her cheeks didn’t have much to do with the cold. )

…And well, If he didn’t already know Multimouse’s identity, after tonight he definitely would have....

My parents are bakers, I have a DJ friend and I’ve never dated a musician.  

I have a journalist friend, I want to be a… singer and all walls in my room are pink

Chat Noir’s hair is as soft as it looks but don’t tell him I said that ( If Multimouse wondered why Aspik was blushing, she didn’t voice that ) . I like wearing my hair in pigtails and I’m allergic to marigolds. (Hard, because Aspik couldn’t possibly say that he’d seen her eat marigolds; he never questioned it of course.)

“Your previous suit design was awful, I love rose macarons and Chat Noir’s puns are amazing,” she giggled.

Aspike let out an amused snort. “You love rose macarons. And you love Chat Noir’s puns. So the lie obviously, is about my suit. My suit was the best .”

Multinouse giggled harder, cheeks flushed pink under her mask. The beer must be really getting to her, he thoughts, watching as she took another sip. “ False ,” she declared. “Chat Noir’s puns are awful .”

Aspik huffed. “My suit was just fine , little mouse.”

“Sure, snake boy,” she snorted.

“I’ll have you know I’m an expert on fashion,” he sniffed.

“I’m sure you are, Mr. Celebrity,” she laughed.

Multimouse reached over to ruffle his hair, laughing harder at his petulant look as he attempted to flatten his hair. Just as he was attempting to straighten his bangs, he caught her soft blue gaze on him. She was smiling at him warmly, almost a wistful expression on her face.

“What is it?” he asked, tilting his head.

She shook her head, almost as if she was snapping herself out of something. The softness left her face and she gave him a weak smile. “Your turn,” she said, downing her cup.

He watched quietly for a few moments, as she hastily refilled her cup. He cleared his throat and looked away, training his eyes on the city lights.

“I’m thankful to have you in my life and that we’re friends, your suit is super cute, grey and pink? Very you . And uh…” he floundered, when he sensed her wide-eyed blue gaze. “I… Uh, hate passionfruit?”

He heard her let out laughter, and he couldn’t help but turn to look at her. “You don’t hate passion fruit,” she giggled.

He snorted. “Well, how would you know? Maybe your suit is not cute. Maybe you’re not my friend.”

“You’re so silly,” she laughed. “Don’t think I haven’t seen you scarf down the passion fruit macarons I bring occasionally…”

“Well, only a fool would dislike those,” he said petulantly. “I can tell they’re baked with love,” he added teasingly, wagging his eyebrows at her.

She blushed and looked away, nervously patting one of her space buns. “...Er, well, m-my suit is amazing . I only ever wear top notch fashion, th-thank you very much.”

He grinned. “I’m sure you do.”

“And I… We’re…” She seemed to inhale deeply, before her gaze flickered over to his, a little wistful. “Friends. I know we are. You make sure to let me know.” She laughed, though it sounded a little hollow to his ears. “Everyday.”

Her eyes widened a fraction and she chuckled nervously. “I mean, everytime we patrol.”

Aspik frowned at the distant look in her eyes and the nervous fidgeting of her hands. He scooted a little closer to her and hesitantly took her hand in his. She stiffened, but only for a moment before relaxing again with a gentle sigh. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

“I’m glad we’re friends,” she said softly, and added almost as if to herself. “I’m happy we’re at least that.”

“Me too,” he said, before adding gently. “Your turn.”

“What? Oh, um right,” she said, and he felt her fidget lightly before settling down.

“I’ve been crazy in love with a boy for years,” she started, and Adrien froze. How had he forgotten about that . “I need to get over him, because I know he doesn’t see me that way...”

“He’s an idiot,” huffed Aspik, illiciting a startled laugh out of her.

“He’s not,” she said. “He’s the smartest, sweetest and kindest person I’ve met. Second only to maybe Chat Noir.”

“So Chat Noir is first , huh?” preened Adrien.

“Don’t tell him I said that,” she laughed. “It won’t do his ego any good.”

“Pfft,” said Aspik dismissively. “He’s the humblest hero of them all.”

“Sure,” said Multimouse, rolling her eyes.

“But we digress,” said Aspike. “This debate is on hold until further notice.”

“Whatever you say, li’l snek.”

They were silent for a few minutes before Aspik finally cracked. “You only said two things.”

“What?” she asked, lifting her head off his shoulder to look at him.

“For the, uh, game. You said two things,” he said, holding up two fingers. He wiggled one finger.  “That there was a, uh, boy you’ve been in love with for years,” then the other. “And that you want to get over him.”

“Hm,” she hummed, looking away again before letting out a soft self-depriciating laugh. “It’s going to be so easy to?”

Aspik wrapped a hand around her shoulder to tuck her further into his side, because what an idiot of a guy.

“I get that,” he said quietly, tapping a rhythm against her shoulder with his fingers. “Do you, uh, do you see him everyday?”

“More than he knows, I think,” she said, her tone a little sly, as if she was sharing an inside joke with herself. “He sits right in front of me in class, actually.”

Adrien felt his breath rush out of his lungs, as the world shifted in his mind’s eye. Like a fast replay of everything with a new filter, and he felt his chest start to warm. He tightened his grip around her and pulled her tighter against him.

He cleared his throat. “Have you, um, tried asking him out?”

“Only a hundred times,” she laughed. “It’s always gone wrong. Maybe that was for the best anyway. He doesn’t… He doesn’t see me like that.”

“And how do you know that? If you haven’t asked him out?”

“He says that we’re “just friends” at least once a week.” Marinette snorted. “I am starting to think that’s his way of gently letting me down without really having to reject me. He values friendships too much for that, I think.”

“You should really not make presumptions,” he said nervously, heart racing.

“Pretty sure I know what I’m talking about, Aspik. I’m sure I know what I’m talking about.”

“Including his feelings?”

“Feelings he’s made pretty clear,” she said as she drew circles on the back of his hand.

Aspik sighed, feeling like he was on the precipice of losing something he hadn’t even known he had. He really, really did not want to let go.

“My turn,” he said quietly. “I… There’s this… girl.”

Multimouse seemed to deflate a little next to him, which he couldn’t help but find a little perplexing. But he trudged forth.

“I realised I’m in love with this girl recently, I’m scared to ask her out and…” he floundered before finally tacking on a lie. “She knows exactly how I feel.”

“Well, that’s kind of obvious, snake boy,” she sighed. “I don’t see what you have to be scared about…”

“She… I found out only today that she’s trying hard to move on from me.”

“That means she still does have feelings for you.” Her voice was smaller than he’d like, almost a breathy resignation to it. “You should ask her anyway. I can’t imagine anyone saying no to you.”

“Yeah?”

She lifted her head off his shoulder, her gaze warm, smile fond. “Yeah.”

Aspik hummed. “Even you?”

“Of course! I just told you I- Well, I- I mean, if-if it weren’t for that guy I told you about, then um, yes. Definitely. For sure. Yep.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe I’ll leave a note on her desk when school re-opens after Winter Break. With a bunch of flowers.”

“Yeah, I’m sure she’d like that,” sighed Multimouse.

“Actually, maybe not,” he amended thoughtfully. “She sits right behind me, so it’ll be hard for me to see her reaction. And she’s a little prone to easily freaking out,” he chuckled fondly. “Maybe I should enlist my bestfriend’s girlfriend for help. Those two are bestfriends, you know, and she’s a schemer, that one. What do you think I should-”

He stopped when he realised Multimouse’s head wasn’t against his shoulder anymore. He turned to see that she was staring at him with wide eyes, head tilted curiously

“Did you say that she sits behind you? Like right behind you?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh,” she muttered. “Y-You said that she has feelings for you. And that you found out she was trying to get over them.”

Adrien unfortunately had always been just a little slow on the uptake. So he chuckled a little. “Yeah, found out today, in fact.”

“ Today ?”

“Yep, today.”

“She told you herself, did she?”

He really should have noticed the careful neutrality in her tone.  

“Yes, actually,” he nodded vigorously. “But you seem to think there’s still hope, so I… Wait a second .”

He whirled on her, eyes narrowed, to find that she was studying him too.

“Do you…. Know ?” she asked first, eyebrows set in a wary pinch.

Aspik hesitated before leaning closer to her, almost nose to nose now bodies twisted to face each other. He turned completely to her in a moment, one leg folded, the other hanging off the ledge of the roof.

“Do… you know?”

“I asked first, mon é cailles .” The slight twitch of her eye gave away her faux serious facade though.

He smirked as he wrapped a hand under her knee to tug her closer, while her hands came up to hold his shoulders so she could stabilize herself. “Can’t argue with that logic ma petite souris ,” he chuckled, face towering over hers. “But I’m afraid I have the upper hand here.”

With that he kissed the corner of her lips ( Her. Lips. ), just as he decided to hell with it and tugged her onto his lap ( Oh, my god! ) fully.

“A-Aspik!” she squeaked as he looked up at her affectionately, before pressing a kiss to the other corner of her mouth.

“Multimouse,” he said, now his hands wrapped around her hips, zero room between them.

She was watching him with parted lips, face flaming, while her expression was of utter disbelief. Hesitantly, her hand went up to trace his mask, before it settled on cupping his cheek. Blushing, she looked at him with soft eyes before leaning slightly and kissing the apple of his cheek.

“How… How did you find out?” he asked quietly, as she started to draw back.

She looked panicked for a moment before relief seemed to wash over her.

“The game sort of gave you away,” she admitted, not meeting his eyes as one of her hands snaked ( snaked , heh) over his chest and over his shoulder so she could play with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Um, so what gave me away?” she asked shyly.

He froze for only a second before thanking the gods for having Marinette herself present the answer to him.

“The game,” he grinned.

She groaned before deflating in his arms ( In. His. Arms!!! ), forehead resting against his shoulder.

“I knew the beer was a terrible idea,” she whined. “It made us too loose-lipped!”

“Beg to differ,” said Aspik. “Best idea you’ve had, I think.”

Multimouse giggled. “Maybe.”

“Hey, Marinette?”

“Hm?”

“I do love you, you know. I meant that.”

She was quiet for some time before she finally drew away from him to look him in the face. She brushed his hair out of his eyes, dancing with a pure sort of happiness that made his heart burst with joy. She kissed his forehead, and then the tip of his nose, making his face heat up with anticipation.

As he watched, her eyes flickered to his lips, before she looked away nervously, biting her lower lip with worry. Adrien’s heart warmed - what, was this the hundredth time just that night? - and he brushed the tip of his nose against her chin.

“You know, you keep doing that and I might just kiss you,” he said teasingly.

He laughed softly as the tips of her ears turned red. “Well, you won’t hear me complain, mon écaille irisée ,” she muttered.

And well, so he kissed her. She seemed frozen in shock for a fleeting second before melting against him. Her hands locked around the nape of his neck as she pulled him closer, an almost mind-numbing tug at the base of his skull as she tilted his head back to get a better angle. He decided then and there that he wouldn't complain if they never stopped. He tried his best to cull the purr building in his throat because that would be dead giveaway, and wondered briefly if he'd develop snake-like tendencies as well if he wore the miraculous long enough. His teeth grazed her lower lip, where hers had been less than thirty seconds ago, and he bit it gently, greedily swallowing the moan she let out.

They finally parted for breath, and her buns sat skewed on the top of her head, messed up and unkempt, some strands straying loose and falling on her as she stared at him.

“You know, no one’s ever called me iridiscent before,” he said, eyes dancing with mirth as he swept back some of the loose hair off her face.

“Shut up, nicknames aren’t really my forte,” she pouted, leaning into give him another peck against his lips.

“No, I love it,” he assured her, making her look down at him again. “Will you promise to call me that forever?” he asked teasingly, an eyebrow quirked with mirth.

Everytime he thought she couldn’t turn any redder, she proved him wrong. And he loved her for it.

“You’re too much,” she complained. “You and Chat have been spending too much time together!

Adrien only laughed. “But you looooooove me.”

“Yeah I do.”

“I’m glad you didn’t get over me,” he said quietly.

Her smile faded and she looked at him fondly. “Thanks to you, you don’t make it easy, you know.”

“So I’ve heard,” he chuckled.

[rvmmm21]

. you know who i am? part deux .

aand to the anon who first requested this. look what you’ve done. you’ve created a very tiny demand for a part 2. and now i’ve dug myself even deeper because there’s gonna have to be a part 3 as well. i have the restraint of someone who has no restraint at all when it comes to getting carried away with supposed to be one-shots. 

if you’d like to read it, it’s also on ao3.

part 1 can be found here.

[badgirl/bully!joohyun x freshman!seungwan]

...

Bae Joohyun loves playing with her food. And Son Seungwan makes a very tasty snack. She finds herself victim of Joohyun’s entertainment time and time again; all these wicked little games of cat and mouse she’s forced to participate in whether she wants to or not. It’s awful. Awfully thrilling too; never able to shake the feeling of being watched from round corners, behind doors and… goddamnit, not even work provides her an ounce of solidarity. 

But she… likes it?

After filing out of class, Seungwan spots the black velvet trio in their usual inconspicuous corner, draped in all their menacing glory and laughing about something she can’t quite hear. Seeing as they’re partners now, Seungwan doesn’t think it’s too bad an idea if they got a little friendlier with each other.

Being nice never hurt anyone, she mentally hypes herself up for the challenge.

Feeling emboldened, she gingerly taps Joohyun on the shoulder, proud that she hasn’t passed out from gaining the attention of God herself. She musters up the courage she’s never had to in all her years of living.

“H-hi sunbae,” she says sheepishly, mindful of the girl’s seniority, “I-I think – I think y-you look nice today.”

Her innocent attempt at a compliment backfires instantly, when Joohyun suddenly whips completely round to face her. Books and loose sheets of paper drop like bombs, scattered at her feet when she sees the older girl’s features contort into a scowl that threatens to eat her alive. Poor Seungwan’s absolutely horrified, frantically wracking her brains for where she could’ve possibly misspoken.

The next thing she knows, she’s in a verbal joust; and no points for guessing who’s winning.

“Today!?” Joohyun scorns in disbelief, breaking away from a very amused Jennie and an unbothered Sooyoung, “what, so I don’t look good every day? Huh? Is that what you’re telling me, freshman?”

“N-no! No! Of – of course not!” Seungwan’s brown eyes double in size and she vigorously shakes her head, automatically backing away at the sight of a rapidly advancing, angry Joohyun, “I-I… I just meant t-that–”

“That I usually look hideous but today I ‘got lucky’!?”

The shorter girl gasps in shock when she feels the pointy angle of a door handle dig painfully into her lower back, making her cringe, cornered once again.

“T-that’s that’s th – no no no, I’d n-never!” she winces, brows knitted in fear, trembling hands up in surrender, more than ready to black out there and then.

The intensity of those unwavering pupils is enough to make the kingpin of the largest drug cartel in the world crumble to his knees. And if that’s the case, then Seungwan has even less hope than she’d originally thought. She carelessly grasps around behind her in search of… anything, really.

Joohyun just stands there, clearly enjoying watching the smaller girl fight to stay upright.

“Say, ‘I’m an idiot’.”

The instruction is concise. Clear. But Seungwan unfolds herself in a squeak of confusion; say what?

Her hesitation does her no favours, and a palm slams against the side of her head, rattling the hollow wooden door she’s pressed against. Seungwan’s never complied faster in her life, her words sloppily copied and pasted like a broken inkjet printer.

“AH! I-I’M AN IDIOT! I’m an i-idiot, pleasepleasedon’thurtmeplease…” she pleads, bracing herself for the worst.

And just like that, Joohyun’s sweet, airy music-box giggling fills Seungwan’s ears like she hadn’t almost made her drop dead two minutes ago. Creaking a wary eye open, she sees Joohyun much too close for comfort, grinning knowingly and twirling a lock of her caramel hair between her long fingers. The raging blush now colouring Seungwan’s cheeks is accompanied by distant snickers from the other two loyal observers.

“You’re too easy, Seungwannie,” she whispers so only Seungwan can hear, giving her hair a quick ruffle like she would a little brother, “so cute. Makes me want to bully you all the time.”

Paralysing hysteria and that warm, fuzzy feeling concocts a dreadfully perplexing mixture in her chest, and a dishevelled Seungwan can only watch the back of her bully as she struts off with her posse.

Okay, what the hell was that… and when can she do it again?

~~~~~~~~~~

Joohyun realises she’s five minutes early for her ‘study’ session with Seungwan today. She had insisted they study at her dorm seeing as she had it free for the whole afternoon, but eventually realised Seungwan was too much of a deer in the headlights to be able to make sense of the directions she’d given her. So here she was, playing babysitter, waiting for Seungwan to finish her writing class so they could walk back together.

Blithely sauntering over to the on-campus sweet shop, she orders herself a plain yoghurt smoothie, and a taro milk tea for her little study buddy. Taro milk tea that will definitely stay in the cup like it’s supposed to, this time. Surprised at her own actions, she hands her card over to the man as she hooks her fingers through the handles of the plastic bags holding their drinks. Eh, it’s the least she can do for hovering a jackhammer over Seungwan’s sugar-glass heart yesterday, she thinks.

Her lively mood quickly sours when she notices her favourite nerd across the halls, engaged in conversation with a random boy she’s never even seen. Joohyun grits her teeth, staying stagnant behind the pillar she was passing, watching this stupid boy waste Seungwan’s time.

… … …

Seungwan couldn’t say she’d really noticed him until he’d come up to her today. Deep almond eyes, spidery emerald locks framing a dashingly chiselled jawline, and the fashion sense to match; she could appreciate his good looks. Other than the fact that she wanted to know where he got that black padded baseball jacket and the suede boots on his feet, she desired nothing else from him. That was all it was: objective curiosity.

Although he seemed to be interested in a lot more from her, unfortunately.

“So, I’ve seen you around,” he mumbles through the cigarette between his lips, cupping his palm over the flickering lighter. Seungwan offers a kind smile, unsure of what exactly is going on here.

“Uh yeah…” she offers lamely, trying not to let on the fact that she’s holding her breath to try to avoid inhaling the silvery smoke escaping his lips, “I’m majoring in literature… uh, what are you…”

“I work here part time. Men-Tei, Japanese restaurant just across building B,” he says, cutting her off with a confident puff, “this whole uni business isn’t for me. Dropped out of school when I was 15 and everything.”

She didn’t ask, but okay.

He continues before she can say anything, “yeah, anyway I’m Jong-in. I’ve seen you in my restaurant a couple times too. Figured I’d catch you one of these days to ask you out for a drink or something if you’re down. What’s your name?”

Seungwan lets out a nervous laugh in response to the awkwardness. She really, really wants to leave. This guy may have been blessed with an impressive face, but his approach was anything but. The whole time he was speaking, Seungwan was unfazed by the intensity of his gaze, only thinking about how she could be working under a much more favourable one.

“So what’s your name then, pretty?”

Ugh, gross.

Just as she’s about to hit him with the good old ‘none of your business, coconut head, I have my sights on someone else’, she feels a strong arm curled around her bicep. It’s Joohyun. Just the person she’s never stopped thinking about. She looks proper mad, and she evidently isn’t afraid to speak her mind, looking damned hot while she’s at it; as Seungwan’s fluttering heart will attest without a doubt.

“And that’s not happening, you arrogant bastard,” Joohyun resists the urge to spit in his gorgeously smug face, “get a clue and shove it up your arse.”

Spinning on her heels, she drags an undeniably amused Seungwan along with her, leaving a confused, annoyed man in her dust. The younger girl can’t help but notice a moist coolness brushing against her leg as she’s being led to Joohyun’s dorm, and she glances down, trying to peer into the bags.

“S-sunbae,” she asks between strides. Joohyun is really pulling her along, “w-what did you get?”

Joohyun glares at her for the briefest of moments, but Seungwan sees right past the anger transparently masking those fairy-like features. Plus, she could’ve sworn she saw those cinnamon eyes soften ever so slightly at her curiosity.

“You’ll see. Wait till we get back.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The whole ‘backs-against-walls’ trope fast becomes a common occurrence whenever they are together, and Seungwan can’t help but wonder if Joohyun gets a kick out of this… an innocent kick, of course! Perhaps she finds Seungwan funny when she’s scared out of her mind, perhaps she likes seeing the way she flinches, the way her hands quiver when she’s holding them out like a shield. Or maybe she’s just keeping her on her toes for… god only knows at this point. There is just no straight answer when it came to the girl who pretty much forced herself to be Seungwan’s partner.

They were getting work done, at least. Well, more like Joohyun sat there and let Seungwan juggle between doing a good a job as she could at deciphering age-old literacy, and balancing a rapidly accelerating heartrate and a blood pressure sink-hole.

And she was doing an amiable job at keeping it all together this bright Friday afternoon, if she did say so herself. They were on the floor of Joohyun’s dorm room, open books and note-pad paper spread out around them, and Seungwan was just re-analysing her summary of the notes she’d made against the original text. She was getting into it, finally able to block out the fact that she was unwillingly being observed under a microscope.

That was until…

“Seungwan. Oi. Freshman. Did you hear what I just told you?”

A frazzled Seungwan darts up from her analysis, dropping her pen onto the wooden floorboards with a clatter. She helplessly watches it roll under the bed then looks up to see Joohyun sliding herself across the floor so she’s face to face with her.

“Ah s-sorry… what did y-”

Joohyun suddenly grabs Seungwan by the drawstrings of her hoodie and tugs her in, her cruel smile broadening as she leans in to purr into her ear.

“I told you to be a good girl and not to make me jealous.”

The way Joohyun threatens her so delicate yet menacingly has Seungwan struggling to breathe. She clutches at her own drawstrings, careful not to graze the girl’s grip, and unsuccessfully tries to straighten up, chuckling nervously when it’s obvious Joohyun isn’t done with her just quite yet. Her senior’s eyes warn her of the severity of what she’s just said as she leans forward again, suggestiveness dripping off her words like molten lava.

“…or you’ll make me do something nasty.”

Yep, a defibrillator and stretcher would be useful right about now.

“I-I…”

Seungwan utters the beginnings of a defence as soon as her hoodie is released, but she’s too caught up in whatever the hell that just was, and she just can’t seem to remember how to speak in full sentences.

The one-sided study session continues, thankfully, without another hitch.

~~~~~~~~~~

Her alarm is deafening, and Seungwan blindly reaches her hand over to swipe it off. She hasn’t even had the energy to open her eyes when the image of Joohyun’s teasing smirk the other day flickers in her brain. Before she knows what’s hit her, she’s got a face full of carpet and a sharp sting on the back of her head from where she’d swiped her whole phone down with her. Groaning out loud, she buries her face in the duvet still tangled in her legs.

Ugh, must she be this way?

God couldn’t have blessed her with an actual sense of coordination, could he? Well, perhaps he had, but she’d wasted it all the first day she met Joohyun, and now there was nothing left. Great. Just as she’s pining her loss of the ability to put one foot in front of the other without thinking about her attractive senior, Seulgi’s face peeks through the door.

“Yah, you having nightmares or something? This is the third time you’ve fallen out of bed.”

Seungwan scoffs from under the plush fabric. Nightmares have nothing on Bae Joohyun. She delegates them, if anything. Nightmares have nightmares of Joohyun. She honestly wished she could say she was having bad dreams… I mean, can’t be any worse than accidentally calling your customers ‘babe’, getting very well acquainted with doors to the face, or checking round the corner of everywhere you go just in case a certain someone happens to be there… which was what Seungwan’s entire week seemed to consist of ever since Joohyun had very nicely threatened her. The memory remains pin sharp, and it has Seungwan a complete and utter mess.

Seulgi watches the duvet mountain on the floor collapse and huff in an unspoken request to leave it in peace. It’s a beautiful morning, but the carpet is oh so comfy. The girl rolls her eyes.

“Fine, whatever. I’m making breakfast, hurry up and get ready.”

About twenty minutes later, Seungwan strolls into the kitchen in an oversized, stripey monochrome jumper and some skinny jeans. Her best friend has a piece of toast between her teeth, pattering around the kitchen in search of something or rather. She stops to sniff the air as Seungwan sits at the counter, slouching over with her chin in her palm.

“Are… are you wearing perfume? Ag-again?”

Her only response is a grunt and a hand into the fruit bowl. Seungwan absentmindedly crunches into an apple, eyes glazed over and staring into space. Seulgi observes her zombie of a friend mechanically chew the same mouthful of apple for a good two minutes before she’s had enough.

She sets her own toast down and reaches across to snatch the fruit out of her non-existent grip. Seungwan flinches, almost choking on the apple slush, as it is now, before managing to swallow it down, “yah, what’s wrong with you!?”

“Just checking you can do something other than groan and grunt,” she replies, hands on hips but extremely concerned, “anyways what’s happening? Is this about the assignment? You’ve been talking about it a lot…”

Seungwan hasn’t lied to Seulgi, per se. Told her a vague truth? Yes. Left out a few questionably majorly important details? Also yes. She did feel horrible for it though, seeing as they’d been best friends for years and Seungwan had made them promise to never keep secrets from one another.

With a sigh, she finally comes out with why she’s been acting like a fool all week.

“So… yes it’s about the assignment…and… and I’m uh… I’m paired with someone...”

Seulgi’s reaction is withheld, clearly because Seungwan has a ton more explaining to do.

“And J-…” she catches herself, proceeding to figure out a way to describe ‘she-who-shall-not-be-named’, “… the person I bumped into on the first day… y-you know, the day where you warned me to lay low…”

Seulgi goes wide-eyed with realisation and Seungwan uncomfortably bounces her knee as she finishes the hardest thing she’s ever had to tell another human being.

“Um so yeah, I’m w-working with her, i-it’s good, it’s good though so… so like, no worries or anything we’re good now.”

“You’re working with Joohyun?”

Ugh god no, at the mention of that name alone, Seungwan has another image of vantablack and cinnamon zap through her like lightning. She slumps down onto the countertop, the cool surface almost sizzling at the contact of her forehead. She nods against the marble.

“Oh my gosh, Wan-ah,” Seulgi exclaims. She’s surprised but still able to put the kettle on for her morning tea, “is that why you’ve been such a klutz recently? Yah, she’s messing you up isn’t she? Is she bullying you? Do you need to talk to someone about this?”

Christ sakes, she would’ve… if only she didn’t like being ‘bullied’ as much as she did. She lifts her cast iron head, gazing at her best friend with a look of pure misfortune, “it… it’s not really like that.”

“Then wh-” the other girl stops when it hits her; the perfume, the insomnia, the falling out of bed, “oh no, oh no, no no no… please don’t tell me you’re actually falling for her.”

You poor, poor thing, Seungwan thinks as she sits there watching her friend make breakfast, carrying on with life as usual. She was way past the warning signs; she’d walked right off the edge with a smile on her face. And she’d fallen.

She has fallen and can-not get up.

~~~~~~~~~~

It really was one thing after another with Joohyun. For once, Seungwan is early to class, avoiding the hassle of squeezing past a line of other people and saving herself the embarrassment of having to apologise for tripping over a bag strap or clipping someone over the head. She’s all set up, feeling rather happy the seat next to her is empty. She isn’t claustrophobic or anything, it’s just nice having more room to yourself sometimes. Although Seungwan can’t help her wandering gaze, scanning the sea of faces for a particularly mean one. She spots her usual seat, but it’s just Jennie and Sooyoung. They’ve got their phones out and they’re whispering; probably something evil, Seungwan assumes.

She inwardly shrugs. Guess Joohyun’s a no-show. How typical, she thinks, guess who’s gonna have to catch little miss ‘I’m-too-busy-being-sexy-and-intimidating-to-come-to-class’ up with today’s lesson. God, that girl is something else. Seungwan makes her mind up, she’s standing her ground today. No more reading off her notes. If she can’t come to class on time, then she can find someone who’ll roll over and let her read theirs.

Of course, it’s not until half an hour into the class, when Seungwan’s finally getting into the groove of what the lecturer is saying, when she feels an all too familiar presence materialise in the seat next to her. She almost doesn’t want to look. And when she finally not so discreetly does, she’s met with windswept tresses cascading in shiny, black waves down a Saint Laurent rib-knitted black cardigan and cheeks flushed a slight pinkish. How someone who’s clearly had to run to class can still look like she’s ready to walk the runway at Paris Fashion Week is beyond Seungwan.

Whatever concentration she’s built up in the thirty minutes class has been in session evaporates into thin air sitting next to this stunning beauty. This stunning beauty whose hand was ‘accidentally-not-on-purpose’ gently resting on her forearm, raising her body temperature to dangerously high levels.

“Can I see your notes?” she whispers, leaning in so her breath is hot against Seungwan’s ear.

Shivering inside and out, she instinctively slides her exercise book across the table. She doesn’t see Joohyun’s sneaky little smile as she reads the neat cursive of Seungwan’s hard work. The younger girl focuses extra closely on the way the lecturer’s tie is slightly off-centre and how he has one cuff folded while the other remains snugly buttoned. She knows she’s just going to give herself a breathing problem if she looks the other way.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Hyun-ah,” Jennie says, bringing a fistful of popcorn up to her mouth, “when are you gonna quit playing with her?”

Joohyun gives her a questioning hum, as if she doesn’t know exactly what her friend is asking her.

“Yeah,” Sooyoung quips with a laugh, “come on, aren’t you worried you’re gonna give her like… a heart attack or something? That poor kid’s a medical emergency waiting to happen if you ask me.”

“What’re you implying, Young-ah,” Joohyun says, nonchalantly pressing a strawberry to her lips, “you saying I’m gonna kill her?”

Sooyoung huffs in amusement, “duh, I mean I literally saw her soul leave her body that time after class. You aren’t afraid she’s gonna like, I dunno, snap and get you back someday?”

At this point, even tough-as-nails Kim Jennie and Park Sooyoung can sympathise from afar, all too knowing of how Joohyun’s little bullying games could end.

“Nah, she’s a good girl, she knows she’s mine. C’mon, start the movie.”

“Good girl, huh,” Jennie sneers, snatching the remote away before Joohyun can even reach for it, pink lips curled into a playfully sly grin, “hey Young-ah, I think Hyun has a crush on that little nerd.”

“Defs,” the girl replies, settling down between them both, “this is the longest you’ve kept up with tormenting someone. When are you gonna move on, huh Hyun? Stop playing with her.”

Sooyoung and Jennie’s smug expressions visibly deflate when Joohyun purses her lips, indifference written all over her face as she looks them straight in the eyes.  

“I’m not playing with her. I’m going to make her my girlfriend.”

The almost indiscernible smile that traces her lips after that last sentence tells the other two that she means damn well what she says. The conviction in her aura is unwavering. Jennie and Sooyoung exchange quick glances before shrugging; nothing they can do about it anyway. Joohyun’s mind is made up. And their friend’s the definition of a go-getter.

“Aight, whatever, call me when you guys get together,” Sooyoung teases, grabbing the bowl of popcorn out of Jennie’s lap and reaching for the nearest cushion to cuddle as the latter presses play.

Joohyun finds it increasingly difficult to concentrate on the movie they’re watching and not let her mind wander to clumsily charming milk tea spillages and nervously stuttered apologies.

~~~~~~~~~~

Seungwan would find it easier to wrap her head around if someone had dumped her upside down in a mirror maze with a map of Disneyland and a small audio recording of a voice screaming, ‘biscuits and cheese’. 

Because right now, she is confused with a capital ‘c’.

Joohyun magically pops up during every one of her shifts at the café, and Seungwan can pretty much make her iced Americano blindfolded with her hands tied behind her. Joohyun likes it with exactly five ice cubes, no more, no less. Not that Americanos are hard to make in the first place, but Joohyun seems to know how to make Seungwan’s hands just that bit shakier, and her mind, just that much fuzzier. Between spilt milk and chipped teacups, it’s a wonder she hasn’t been fired yet, if she’s brutally honest.

But it isn’t as simple as that.

Joohyun is there during her break hours too, every time without fail, holding up none other than her favourite: taro milk tea with half sugar and less ice. Seungwan notices the seat next to hers in their shared literature lectures might as well be reserved for her royal highness, with how frequently she turns up ‘late’, and has to sit next to her out of nothing but ‘convenience’. And that one pivotal occasion where Joohyun corrected her ‘sunbae’ to ‘unnie’ in the midst of one of their little weekend revision sessions. That’s another thing. Their usual allocated Friday meetups after Seungwan’s writing class has bled into full-blown weekends of ‘study time’, where Seungwan finds herself discovering more and more about the girl who wears mystery like a well-loved winter coat, the girl who’s like a baked cinnamon roll; burnt and scalding to touch, but warm and sweet in the middle.

There is really no turning back from all this.

Seungwan is in waist deep, and she can only pray Joohyun is too.