seventh heaven | (chaesoo)

step three

"I must be going insane," she thought to herself.

Rosie had locked herself in the school bathroom, pacing around endlessly with one hand on her forehead and another hand on her hip.

She kept walking around in that same line, back and forth, over and over again. Her head was hung low, looking at nothing but her feet and the yellowed tiles. She was pensive, mind all over the place as she tried to make sense of what just happened.

It started out simple enough, really.

As usual, Jisoo and Rosie were attached by the hip, hands intertwined together as they walked through the halls of the school. Every now and then, Jisoo would make a joke about how lifeless this place looks, how everything was a monotonous shade of brown no matter where you looked. She also made a joke about she absolutely hates the color brown because of these halls, although Rosie wasn't entirely sure if it was a joke seeing the way Jisoo visibly shuddered just at the mere mention of the color.

"I don't like brown too," Rosie admitted. But it was the kind of admission that could have (and should have) easily been shrugged off.

But Jisoo, the ever diligent best friend, perked up and smiled before she went on to exclaim that their shared similarities is what makes their friendship so lasting.

"You see, Rosie," she began. "This is why you and I are the best of friends."

Jisoo didn't even let Rosie squeeze in a word in their conversation before she continued to go on, "I don't like brown, you don't like brown. We always don't like the same things. Isn't that so cool?"

It wasn't supposed to make Rosie's heart beat out of her chest, but it did.

And it did because she started to list out in her mind what other similarities she and Jisoo shared.

Jisoo and I both like pasta.

Jisoo and I both dislike chocolate cake.

Jisoo and I both enjoy mystery novels.

Jisoo and I have spent many nights rewatching The Lion King and crying together each time Mufasa dies.

Jisoo and I...

Jisoo and I.

Jisoo and Rosie.

The last thought, somehow, brought a genuine smile to Rosie's face. Something about Jisoo and Rosie, together, even if it was just in a sentence, filled her heart with a certain elation that she felt she could just dance among the stars if she wanted to.

That's so strange, she thought to herself.

"What's so strange, Rosie?" Jisoo inquired, curious eyes staring back at her when Rosie whipped her head in the voice's direction, blinking a few times to give her time to wrap her head around it all.

"Huh?"

And then Jisoo smiled.

First, with just her lips stretching out into a curve. And then before Rosie knew it, Jisoo's pearly whites were on full display. She doesn't remember when she started feeling like her breath gets caught in her throat whenever Jisoo smiles at her like this, but she has learned the art of keeping a poker face even when her heart is hammering against her chest.

"You said 'that's so strange', Rosie," she chuckled. "And I asked you what was so strange."

It must have sounded like any other chuckle in the world, but it woke something up deep in Rosie's soul.

Rosie's thoughts were racing in her head, one after the other, everything moving at such lightning speed that she couldn't keep up. It doesn't help that Jisoo is still smiling at her. Not even a smile to tease her, but just a curious smile on her face to encourage her to say what was on her mind. It was a dizzying sight, and Rosie was just so sure she would have fallen to the ground had it not been for Jisoo's warm hand wrapped around hers keeping her steady.

"I, uhm," she tried, clearing her throat and shaking her head a little in an attempt to clear her mind. "I was just thinking how strange it was that they didn't think this school needed a pop of color somewhere."

Jisoo nodded in understanding before returning her attention to the endless brown in front of them. "Hmm, I guess you're right," she hummed back, turning her head in every direction she could as they continued to stand there with their hands intertwined. "Maybe we need some color around here," she agreed.

And as Jisoo moved her head around to look at and examine everything around them, Rosie took this time to just properly look at her best friend.

Rosie wasn't going to go on a whole list to describe the almost angelic way Jisoo looks because when one of her hands involuntarily went up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Jisoo's ear, she realized it was enough to know that there is some truth to when people say that angels walk among us.

Because here's one right in front of her.

And it was that thought, that one final thought she had in her mind when she was admiring Jisoo, that brought Rosie crashing back down to Earth.

It was the fact that Rosie thought that mischievous, playful, and loud Jisoo was an angel, that effectively shook her out of her thoughts, her eyes immediately going shut as she desperately tried to get the thought, that idea, out of her mind.

Jisoo must have noticed because of the way Rosie's hold on her hand went limp. "Rosie?" she asked, sounding a little concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Me?" she forced out a chuckle. "Of course I'm fine. I'm great. I'm absolutely okay."

Jisoo gave her a weird look, tilting her head to the side as if it would give her a better view of Rosie's flushed face. "Are you sure?" she said, before her hand went up to cup Rosie's cheek. "You look a little pale there."

Rosie thought her face was going to combust into inextinguishable flames the moment Jisoo's palm landed softly on her cheek, enough to make her feel afraid that Jisoo would be let on to something she's not sure she wants her to know just yet.

And so she did the only thing she thought she could have done.

She harshly removed Jisoo's hand from her face, an action that surprised the both of them before she very quickly blurted out in a tone a pitch higher than her usual one, "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

Rosie was already walking off in the opposite direction, not even giving Jisoo a chance to say anything in return.

"I must be going insane," she repeated to herself before she eventually stopped walking around in that same line, legs suddenly feeling tired and aching for something to rest on.

When Rosie opened the door to the bathroom, she had not even adjusted her eyesight to the endless brown before her when she felt a strong, familiar grip on her shoulders.

"Rosie," the voice said, sounding stern but worried just the same. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Maybe that time of allowing herself to dive deeper into her thoughts helped because as she returned the gaze of the person in front of her, she found it easier to find the words she knows she needed to say.

"I'm alright, Jisoo," she smiled. "I'm tired though. Can we go home now?"

Jisoo was quick to agree, her hand finding its way back to Rosie's as they slowly made their way back home.

The third step to falling in love? Madness.

The madness of one's racing thoughts. The ridiculousness of thinking Jisoo was an angel in disguise.

And also, the almost forced inability to deny that Rosie was falling deeply, madly, in love.