Choosing you | LisRene AU [BOOK 2]

7

"We're gonna go and get plastered on Saturday," Jisoo admitted, sighing. "I mean, I figure that's what we'll do at the frat party. That's what always happens. Even if I don't feel much like drinking, Rosé always does."

Lisa hummed thoughtfully into the phone, walking through campus. It was Thursday, and she'd just driven from work to the school in order to speak with the director of administration because she had completely forgotten to even tell her own university that she had sent a transfer application to NYU before doing so. Now she'd just left the office and was heading back to her car. "So you guys are back to normal?"

Jisoo groaned. "Hardly. I mean, sure. But I can't read her at all. I think that she might be mad at me, but I don't think she's mad because I dropped off the face of the planet for a week. I think she's mad that I've been talking to you more than her."

"Why do you think that?" Lisa asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"She keeps dropping little hints about it," Jisoo muttered. "Surprisingly, she's hardly brought up that guy Luke around me, though, which is a huge fucking relief. Still not sure whether I should talk to her about... how I feel... I don't want to while she's mad at me, that's for sure."

"You should do whatever feels right as far as talking to her," Lisa advised. "Don't feel like you have to talk to her. You'd be putting yourself out there, and while I think that you probably should at some point if you really want to get past it all, you don't have to, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Jisoo said, sighing. "Anyway. You coming to the frat party on Saturday, or is it truly going to just be me and Rosé drowning ourselves in alcohol?"

"I can't." Lisa realized with a frown that this was the second time that she'd had to turn down an invitation to a party from Jisoo, and she groaned. "I'm sorry, Chu. Irene and I are going to Williamsburg all day Saturday. We thought that a break from reality was in order."

"Oh, yeah of course. You both totally deserve one, anyway. Hey, I gotta go, Rosé's gonna be back any minute and I need her help on my math homework. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." The line ended and Lisa slid her phone into her back pocket.

Suddenly, familiar voices filled her ears and she froze, turning her head. "Wait, I have to sit in the hotel for the whole rest of the day? Where are you going? You said that I could come here to visit you, not to sit around while you go out and do things."

"Look, kiddo, I'd take you with me but it's really not a good idea. I haven't met up with these guys in years, and I don't even know what kind of people they are anymore. I promise that I'll be back before it gets too late," Marco told the younger boy, ushering him forward.

Lisa made eye contact with her father suddenly, and he and Haruto stopped in their tracks. "Lisa. Hey! How are you? I meant to call you after running into you on Monday. I wanted to know if you maybe wanted to have dinner one night. You could bring Irene, and I could meet her. Maybe Saturday?"

"I can't on Saturday," Lisa said, stuffing her hands into her pockets and glancing nervously at Haruto, who seemed to be scrutinizing her. "Irene and I have plans. We've been kind of stressed out lately – her mom just started pestering her after not talking to her in years and well... we kind of need a break from reality."

"Oh, I understand," Marco said, nodding. "Well, I'll be here next week too, at least. Haruto will be headed back to New Jersey, though. His mother would kill me if I let him miss too much school."

Haruto frowned, glancing up at his dad. "I have all my makeup work that I'm going to do this weekend. It's not like I'm really missing anything." He looked at Lisa. "Seventh grade is easy."