Imperfectly Perfect [Chaelisa]

thirty three

It's been a week since Jules' accident, and Chaeyoung has noticed a lot of changes in Lisa's attitude. Usually at lunch when they're at school, she'll be messing around with Jisoo or making some dorky jokes, but she's been incredibly quiet. Their friends always try to pull her into the conversation as a means of distraction, but Lisa always stays glued to Chaeyoung's side, fiddling with her fingers.

While Chaeyoung doesn't mind that she has all of Lisa's attention, she still thinks it's weird, because her girlfriend isn't normally like that.

"Hey, Chaeng," Jisoo nudges her when Lisa heads out of the room with Somi to get a drink. "Has she been quiet with you all week? Lisa, I mean."

"Yes," Chaeyoung nods and taps on her leg, "I- um, when I walk her home, I'm the one doing all the talking, which is really weird because I'm usually the quiet one."

"Be there for her when she needs you, Chaeyoung," Jisoo tells her, "she feels like she can't call you to come over if she's upset because she doesn't want to stress you out with unexpected plans. She told me that on the phone the other night."

"Really?" Chaeyoung blinks in surprise. "But I'm supposed to be a good girlfriend and look after her when she's sad. How am I supposed to do that if she won't tell me she's upset?"

"Tell her that she can talk to you when she needs it," Jisoo explains, "then she'll call you and you can get your good girlfriend-ness on."

Chaeyoung hums in thought and glances up to see Jisoo staring at something else. So, she follows her friends' gaze and her eyes land on Jennie, who is across the room talking to a friend. "Why are you staring at Jennie?"

Jisoo tears her gaze away from their friend immediately. "I wasn't."

Chaeyoung frowns. "Yes you were. I just saw you. Don't lie, lying is bad."

"Chaeng," Jisoo turns to her with an odd expression, and Chaeyoung glances down at her feet. "Drop it. Okay?"

"But- why were you staring?" Chaeyoung asks again, because she wants to know why, since she can't read body language as well as their other friends. "I don't understand."

"I wasn't," Jisoo argues, giving her a light shove, "shut up, Chaeng."

Chaeyoung continues voicing her train of thought. "It's rude to stare, that's what my dad always says to my brother when we go out as a family and he stares at a girl. I remember I used to stare at Lili a lot when she wasn't looking. Oh, wait, that makes sense. Is that why? Do you like Jennie?"

"Oh my god, be quiet!" Jisoo shoves a hand over Chaeyoung's mouth and pulls her into the art department's computer room, sitting her down in one of the desk chairs. "You can't tell her."

Chaeyoung frowns to herself. "Tell her what?"

Jisoo rolls her eyes. "Tell her that I like her."

"Oh, I won't tell her if you don't want me to," Chaeyoung promises, but then she realises that she has the perfect opportunity to get Jisoo back. "You like her, though. So I can make fun of you, like you did to me when I liked Lili."

"Not in front of her. You can't do anything that might make her think I like her." Jisoo warns her. "I can't lose her, Jennie is one of my best friends and if she found out..."

"If she found out she could be your girlfriend. And then you'd both be really happy." Chaeyoung finishes for her, because she thinks that'd be cute. "I bet you were looking at her ass earlier."

"Chaeyoung. Shut up." Jisoo shoves her again and Chaeyoung frowns, because she doesn't like that. "You're not supposed to be teaser. You're supposed to be the tease-ee."