If This Isn't Love

22: OCTOBER 2017 - Now

"Come on, Lulu," Megan whined. "The costume is great. You look fabulous."

Luisa looked at herself in the mirror. She tried pulling up the top of the Wonder Woman costume she was wearing. Megan insisted that they all do superhero costumes. She was wearing her sexy Batgirl costume, which looked amazing with her height.

She sighed and looked at her reflection again. Her legs looked stubby in comparison to Megan's. "My legs."

"Your legs look incredible," Megan said as she stood behind her. "Look at you! I know you've gotten a bit thin, but your boobs look great. You won't be single for long when any guy sees you in this getup. You'll definitely get lucky tonight." She winked at her through the mirror.

Luisa scoffed and pulled at the short skirt. "You're saying I look desperate."

"No, you look amazing," her friend insisted. "Now, come on. Sel and Yoongi are waiting in the car. There's no time to change. Really, Lu, you look beyond incredible." She began walking away. "Besides, I'm kind of excited to see Hoseok in his Batman outfit." She giggled.

With another sigh, Luisa trudged after her friend. It really wasn't the costume that was bothering her. It was the destination, and the people who were going to see her. Or rather, the person who was going to be there.

She and Seokjin had not spoken much even though they said they would. Seokjin had remained by Emily's side throughout her chemotherapy, but he'd also said he wouldn't marry her, no matter how much it might hurt Emily or anger her father.

Seokjin had told Luisa that she meant a lot to him. She knew she was a fool for holding on to that tiniest of hope and an even bigger fool for pushing him away. She had run their last conversation in her mind so many times. Had she messed up telling him to stay with Emily?

She heard from Selina and Yoongi that Seokjin seemed out of sorts lately. They said he seemed so sad. Luisa imagined it was because of their uncertain situation, not being able to be together. But she planned to rectify that very soon. Emily's treatment was done, and Seokjin was a free man now.

He had sent her a text a week after her birthday saying that Emily had finished her chemo treatments. He wanted to know if they could see each other. She hadn't answered him yet because she wasn't sure if the timing was right. She knew that the moment they were alone, sparks would fly and control would be lost. How could they indulge in their passion just days after Emily's last treatment? It seemed selfish and inappropriate. She chose not to respond to his message until she thought about it some more.

"Wow, Lulu," Selina said as soon as they both got into the backseat of Yoongi's car. She and Yoongi were dressed as Supergirl and Superman. "You look unbelievable. Doesn't she, honey? Look at her."

Yoongi's eyes were wide as he stared at Luisa. He gulped. "Uh...uh..." He inhaled loudly. "You look great, Lu." He didn't seem to be blinking. "Really great."

Selina slapped his arm. "Oh, my God, you idiot. Why are you staring at my friend like that?"

"You told me to look at her," Yoongi protested, turning back around. His cheeks were turning pink. "Jeez."

As soon as they entered the party, which was being held at a neighborhood bar, Luisa's eyes scanned the many faces. She was looking for one in particular. No one knew the situation between Luisa and Seokjin because she'd implored Seokjin to keep quiet. No one would have known why he'd broken up with Emily. It would've seemed sudden to everyone.

She, of course, felt bad forcing his silence, but at the same time, it was best that they didn't say anything about their relationship. They didn't have one yet. Besides, people might think that they'd been fooling around behind Emily's back. Despite being with Emily, Seokjin had said he cared about Luisa. He hadn't wavered on that, and there was a little ribbon of excitement that unspooled itself in her heart. Thinking about him always made her heart race.