in every universe (one shot-s) | JENLISA

country roads

TWELVE

Lisa doesn't mind her new neighborhood, even if she personally longs to live in a city someday.

The countryside town is mild, tame and placid. Her little block of houses are each spread apart from each other, making the place feel tiny and reserved despite it not really being that small. There are plenty of huge trees in sight, pretty as heck in spring with their pink blossom and there's a park only a two-minute walk from her own house, which she supposes she likes quite a lot. She hasn't met any new kids yet. School doesn't start for another few weeks and she'll have to take the bus to get into the city (she doesn't own a bike but god does she want one). She supposes that t's a good time for her newly moved family to settle into the place before everything really kicks in.

Family she thinks is something I never thought I'd say.

It doesn't bother her that much, not having any friends. Or at least, it doesn't bother her as much as she supposes it should. She's always been a little bit shy and scrawny. A little bit behind the other kids. A little bit untamable and emotional and unexplainably different. She had a friend in nursery (what was her name? Sea? Amy?) but they went to different primary schools.

Her foster fathers' are nice. Her foster sister, Jisoo, is nice. They're her friends, and that's all she needs. The meals she is fed, the clothes she is given and the school she's enrolled in are all... nice. It's the first time in her life she's felt a sense of rhythm and normality. 'Secondary school is where most kids find their feet. You'll make friends sweetie, I know you will' she could hear Lean and George saying.

Jisoo had friends and let her hang around with them. They were okay, she supposed, but they weren't really her friends. And the stuff they did together? Lisa's no snob, but hanging around in the nearest city's shops for hours on end and looking at video games wasn't her thing. She wanted to do more... sporadic things, like race people places and roll down hills and climb trees. Jisoo was so openhearted and outgoing, and she loved her, but they were different. She guesses being two years older makes you more into that stuff. Despite their differences, however, Lisa was grateful for her and her kindness.

Sitting on the swing set in the early spring evening, she closes her eyes and breathes in, smelling the fresh air and letting a small smile win over her face. Secondary school, she thinks, is where she'll try her hardest to fit in just a little better. She hears footsteps approaching. She assumes it's Jisoo.

"Hey, I haven't seen you before!"

Lisa opens her eyes. She hasn't seen this girl either; she's definitely not her foster sister. She's short and brunette, hair slicked into a tight ponytail. Her eyes sparkle radiantly. Lisa notices they are bright honey.

"Your eyes are like, two different colors!" Lisa touches her face self-consciously. Her heterochromatic eyes had always been a source of insecurity.

"Yeah, and yours are just one."

Lisa kicks the ground underneath her swing nervously. She's never been great at talking to other kids. She finds them too upbeat and loud. She hears the girl giggle and when she does, a little snort escapes her nose. Cute.

"I'm Jennie", she says, taking the swing next to her and kicking off the ground, "who are you?"

"Lisa."

"You live here?"

"Yeah, on the street over." She swallows. "Do you live here too?"

"Yeah, my house is so close to this park I can walk here when I want. Angella lets me because she knows I'll do it anyway".

"Is she your sister?"

Jennie shakes her head, a lock of brunette hair escaping its' ponytail. "No, she's my foster mum."