Chapter 9

"Jesus Christ, it's already how late?" Lisa asked.

"How long are you going to get ready?" It was already 1 am by the time Chaeyoung exited her bathroom, dolled up and ready to go to the party. Lisa had already come over late in an attempt to avoid going altogether, but now Chaeyoung was treating this like she was getting ready to be a bride in a wedding.

"Oh, so now you're all eager to go?" Chaeyoung replied.

Lisa rolled her eyes.

"Are we going or not?" Jungkook impatiently yelled up the stairs. They were at Chaeyoung's house since they'd all be carpooling to the party.

"Let's go,' " Chaeyoung said, pulling Lisa with her down the stairs.

"Jesus, try-hard much," Jungkook said when he saw Chaeyoung's dress and extensive makeup.

"Hey, I just know that Sean's going to be there and since he just broke up with his girlfriend, I'm making a move on him tonight," Chaeyoung explained with over- the-top gesturing.

"And I got to look the part, sweetheart." Sean was some senior that Chaeyoung had apparently had a crush on since sophomore year. Jungkook and Lisa rolled their eyes at her explanation.

"Alright, whatever, let's go," Jungkook said, and the three of them headed outside to the car.

Chaeyoung drove them to the party and as expected, it was already jam packed with drunk teenagers. The party was larger than Lisa had expected.

They hopped out of the car and headed in. Naturally, the place was already trashed and there was a plethora of people stumbling around, making out, and possibly doing drugs in the corner.

Lisa was already getting flashbacks to the last party she went to that got busted. They probably shouldn't stay here very long.

As Chaeyoung lead them through the crowd of sweaty bodies, Lisa wondered if Jennie actually did show up.

She felt a feeling that was almost similar to...hope?

No, no, that couldn't be it. There's no way she'd want to see Jennie's little prissy face at an out of control house party.

After several minutes of Chaeyoung trying to get the three of them to dance in the living room or play a round of beer pong, Jungkook split off to talk to some guys from the soccer club he was in.

As they stood in what was basically a corner, Chaeyoung was very obviously looking for her crush among the crowd of people. Ultimately, she spotted him in the living room with a few of his friends. Chaeyoung seemed reluctant to go talk to him.

Sensing this, Lisa said,' "Hey, why don't you go say hi? I was going to go put my jacket in your car anyway, so I don't have to carry it around."

Chaeyoung beamed at Lisa. "Really?"

"Yeah, and I'll come back in and join you or Jungkook."

"Okay, well...be careful." Chaeyoung handed Lisa her car keys reluctantly.

Lisa chuckled. "I should be saying that to you. Go get 'em."

Lisa playfully shoved Chaeyoung in Sean's direction before turning to head out the front door. The cool air was like a blast of relief for Lisa compared to the stuffy house interior. Honestly, she wished she could just take off and go home, but Chaeyoung and Jungkook seemed to be having fun. Maybe she should just hang out outside away from everyone...

Before throwing her jacket back in Chaeyoung's car, she decided she'd light up a cigarette and take a quick stroll around the block. She rarely smoked, but every once in a while, she found it helped clear her head.

She used to do it a lot more when was first introduced to it by.... well, never mind. No use in sinking her mood by thinking of that now.

Lisa started walking around the block, not far enough to be out of sight of the party. When she came to the corner of the street, she stopped and looked up at the moon, lost in thought.

But her thoughts were interrupted when she heard something that sounded like a tiny sob. She looked to her right and a couple of feet away, sitting on the curb around the corner, was a girl with her head buried in her arms.

Surprised that a girl was out here alone in the dark, she approached her. Poor girl must've gotten dumped and drank away her sorrows. It wasn't safe to be out here in such a vulnerable state.

"Uh, hey, are you oka-"

Lisa bent over and started to reach her hand out to the girl, but the girl lifted her head before she could make contact. Lisa was stunned into silence when she realized the face belonged to none other than Jennie Kim.

Jennie's expression looked as if she'd just seen a ghost, and she was most certainly crying. Her entire body was trembling slightly, and whether it was from the cold or fear or both, Lisa couldn't be sure.

"Jennie?" Lisa asked, astonished.

"Lisa?" Jennie returned. She suddenly started to furiously wipe her eyes. "Fuck. Of course, it's you at a time like this."

Lisa didn't even have time to be offended by what Jennie said. She'd never imagined in a million years that she would see the other girl like this. Jennie seemed like the only emotions she had were rage and disgust, so seeing her so helpless and distraught was, well...

"Are you okay-"

"Don't!" Jennie interrupted her, her voice full of malice.

"Just leave me alone!"

"But you shouldn't be out here sitting on the curb alone," Lisa protested. "Why don't we just-"

"No! I hate you and you're the last person I want to see right now, so just go away!"

Lisa started to feel frustration bubble up inside of her, but she pushed it down. As much as Jennie was lashing out at her and as bad of a relationship as the two had with each other, Lisa couldn't leave her alone here. She couldn't risk the brunette getting picked up by some drunk guy or even a random stranger driving through the neighbourhood.

Lisa hesitantly moved to sit right next to Jennie, and the honour student flinched, seeming surprised by the action.

"Listen, Jennie," Lisa said softly,

"I know we aren't the best of friends. But I can't leave you out here alone. Why don't you just come with me back to the house and I'll see if I can drive you home."

Jennie shook her head, rubbing at her eyes once more. She seemed to be refusing to look at Lisa. "I can't go back there."

Lisa was a bit surprised by that response. "Did someone do something to you?"

Jennie didn't answer, her eyes turning blank as she stared at the asphalt in front of her. After several seconds of silence, Lisa hesitantly touched Jennie's arm in the gentlest way possible, so as not to startle the smaller girl. Jennie flinched anyway, but she didn't pull away.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Lisa assured her.

"But I would never use something that makes you so upset against you."

Jennie was quiet for a few more seconds, but Lisa decided to just be patient. As long as she wasn't leaving the girl out here alone. After Lisa was convinced that she wouldn't get a response, Jennie started talking in the hoarse voice of a person who'd been crying.

"It's just...he's here, th-this guy I knew," Jennie began.

She started shivering again.

"A guy?" Lisa gently prodded.

"Yeah, he...I knew him since elementary school," Jennie continued. "He was a family friend of ours, but...'

"Before she could finish her sentence, Jennie choked on her words and began crying again.

Seemingly embarrassed, she buried her head in her arms again, quietly sobbing.

Uncomfortable yet feeling utterly bad for the brunette, Lisa decided that she couldn't just sit there quietly while the girl bawled her eyes out. She hesitantly and carefully wrapped her arm around the girl's delicate shoulder, lightly leaning her into Lisa's weight.

Jennie stiffened in Lisa's arms, her sobs ceasing for a moment.

"It's okay, you can cry,"

Lisa murmured near the girl's ear. "I'm here."

Although it was immensely awkward, showing this kind of affection to a girl she was supposed to loathe, Lisa couldn't help herself. She'd been in this sort of broken state before, and all she had craved was someone to be there for her, to be physically present while she worked through her agonizing emotions.

And no one ever was.

Lisa was worried that Jennie would pull away and be offended by the gesture, but instead she eventually melted into the embrace. She started sobbing again, quiet and a bit subdued, and after a few minutes she even wrapped her arms around Lisa as well.

With Jennie basically in her lap, Lisa refrained from telling her any empty, comforting lines. She hoped it was enough then, sitting on a curb in the early hours of an autumn morning, just holding a broken girl together.