Chapter 23.

Sitting in silence at the kitchen table, Lisa wondered if organizing a party was even worth it. At the moment, she was convinced that it definitely wasn't: she was up until 4 am cleaning every damn corner around the house and only slept three hours before she had to wake up and prepare to leave for school. Good thing that Jisoo and Rosé, reliable as always, stayed and helped her.

"Damn, we look like zombies. And guess what, we have to be in school soon and study for the next eight hours. My brain hurts just thinking about it. " she groaned loudly to Jisoo, who was sitting in front of her. "Did people at least enjoy the party?"

"Don't worry, they did, the party was good."

"Good? Not great?"

"Sorry Liz, it was perfectly fine, but for a party to be great there must be some crazy moment, something that everyone will always remember. Like at Yeri's party last year someone threw the couch in the pool? Things like that."

"Then I'm glad the party wasn't great." Lisa wrinkled her nose and took a bite of the toast. After a moment of brief silence, Jisoo said:

"Jennie looked like she was having a good time. You could even say that by her standards she seemed almost at ease."

Lisa's said nothing but her face brightened up a bit. Okay, maybe organizing a party was worth it after all.

"Good morning." Rosé greeted them in a faint voice, coming from the shower. "I had a dream that a meteor hit the school and classes are canceled. Please tell me it's true so that I can go back to sleep."

"I know how you feel Chae, but I'm afraid it was just a dream." Lisa replied with a painful smile.

"Damn it." Rosé dragged her feet to the fridge.

"Hey, you don't have to look there, I already prepared breakfast for you, milk and cereal." Jisoo pointed to the bowl on the table.

"Thank you Chu, you're the best." Rosé gave her a thankful side hug and brushed her lips agains Jisoo's temple. Both their faces didn't seem so tired anymore.

Seeing them together was like a watching a scene from a romance movie, Lisa felt a growing irritation inside her. She was already on edge because of lack of sleep and it might just have been the last straw.

"Shit, I know I'm probably complete asshole to even mention it, especially after you helped me with with cleaning up this whole mess, but I just can't with you two anymore! I realize I may be an awful, awful person to say that, but have you even considered that you two should just date? Like date for real? You're practically a couple already!"

Two girls stopped eating and pierced her with their gazes, Rosé's eyes were shocked and Jisoo's more like incredulous.

"What the hell Liz-"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Rosé asked, a hint of anger in her normally very calm voice.

"I know, I know, you're both straight but it's never so simple okay? And clearly you love each other, doesn't that count for something? Besides sexuality can be a complex thing, especially for girls-"

"I can't believe you'd say that!" Jisoo interrupted her. "Yes, we love each other like soulmates, but I'm just not attracted to girls!"

"How would you feel if I told you that you should date a guy because 'sexuality is a complex thing'?" Rosé asked.

Ouch, that was good argument. The thought of being with a guy made Lisa wince. Maybe indeed she went too far. But she didn't want to give up just yet.

"Come on, don't tell me you haven't ever wondered what it would be like to kiss Chu."

"Maybe I have, what of it? It's not like it's ever going to happen-"

"You have?" Jisoo glanced at her in surprise and Rosé's cheeks reddened. "Don't feel bad, I kind of thought about it myself too."

"You see?" Lisa exclaimed triumphantly. "Just think how great you would be together!"

"Yes, I'm sure we would be a great couple." Rosé looked at Jisoo tenderly. "But it's not the point. I can't force myself to like girls. And insinuating that I could just change my sexuality is just wrong, Lisa. Just plain wrong."

Lisa hanged her head and sighed, looking defeated.

"Believe me, sometimes I even wish me and Chae were attracted to each other." Jisoo confessed. "Everything would be much simpler then, we could just date and be happy together. But I guess you can never have everything in life."

"Yeah, and even if it's sad that we won't ever be a couple, we're so incredibly lucky to have found a soulmate in each other." Rosé added.

"You're right, I'm sorry, I was being stupid." Lisa apologized faintly, biting her lip. "I only wanted the best for you, I swear-"

"We know. And we forgive you for being stupid." Jisoo teased her with a smirk. "Come on, let's go, we're going to be late for school."

***

Jennie's eyes automatically filled with tears every time she remembered how Lisa said "I'm proud of you." So she made the decision not to think about it, but it wasn't that easy. Although Jennie made every effort to banish that moment from her memory, Lisa's compassionate face and her beautiful words were constantly popping up in her mind, making her heart melt.

Her eyes were subconsciously looking for Lisa during every break and they finally found her, sitting with her back against the wall, looking like she was about to doze off in the middle of the day.

"Hey." Jennie sat next to her, fighting this emotional feeling which emerged inside her again after seeing Lisa. "You look awfully tired."

"I didn't sleep until 4 am, I had to put my house back in order after the party." Lisa explained in a tired voice. "Still four hours of classes, I don't think I can do it, I just want to go home, lie down and sleep."

"Liz, according to my schedule today you should study two extra hours after classes." Jennie reminded her and the blonde let out a loud desperate whine. She was looking so drained with dark circles around her eyes that Jennie really felt sorry for her.

"Listen, you don't have to study extra today, forget the schedule, just go home right after your classes. I understand that you are exhausted-"

"No, don't allow me to do it!" Lisa suddenly exclaimed sharply.

"What? Lisa, I don't understand, you just said you wanted to go home-"

"But I also know I have to study. Don't go easy on me, don't let me be lazy! I don't have the energy to do this alone, you have to be my strength!"

"Are you asking me to be a strict, bossy bitch with you?"

"Yes please! It's the only way I can force myself to stick to the schedule. You have to demand it from me."

"Hmm..." something resembling a faint smile found its way to the corner of Jennie's lips. "I think I can do that." she stood up, her face suddenly looking fierce and cold. "You know what's at stake, Lisa, it's your dream of becoming a doctor. I'm not letting you screw it up. So I expect you to get your lazy ass to the library after classes, no excuses. It doesn't matter how tired you are, you have to study more and you know it. And when you finish, update me on your progress."

"Wow, that was pretty good." a wide-eyed expression on Lisa's face showed how impressed she was. "I'll be there."

"You better be. Because believe me, you don't want to disappoint me." Jennie spun around but before walking away she turned her head and winked meaningfully at Lisa. The Thai sat motionless gazing after Jennie because she just realized that she had never seen someone so good at winking. It looked so natural yet at the same time adorable and enchanting. Maybe even... sexy.

Wait what?

"It was just a simple wink, stop overthinking things." Lisa's mind scolded her as she got up, picked up her bag and grudgingly headed to class.