october | ningselle (ON HOLD)

IIII

now

"He's so cute," Ningning gushes from her spot on the bench. Giselle, Ningning, and their friends Karina and Winter sat together.

Karina and Winter are both in Giselle's year, but due to the shared lunch period they all have, they sit together on most occasions. Karina is the perfect example of the "hot nerd"- her long, straight brown hair, feline eyes, and sharp-as-a-tack mind help her keep her impeccable grades and social status. Winter, on the other hand, is quieter, but when she shares her perspective it is as direct and informed as could be. Karina and Winter get along well, and it was obvious to anyone with a set of eyes that the younger- Winter- is infatuated with Karina, but the older girl has a boyfriend.

Much to the loss of every single hormonal teenager in the school with a crush on Karina (which is a surprising amount).

"Who, Chenle?" Karina questions dryly as she flips through a book, a drink in her hand. Winter is asleep on the table, her small form dwarfed by her giant sweater as her short black hair flops over her face, disguising her sleeping features. Karina reaches forward, flicks a hair from the younger's face, and turns nonchalantly back to Giselle.

Sometimes, Giselle thinks, Karina acts gayer for Winter than she does straighter for her boyfriend Jeno. But that's not the point at the moment; the point is the delighted look on Ningning's face as she traces patterns on the dirty table.

"He was so romantic today," she exclaims. "Remember we fake-argued in elective, Gigi? Well, today he apologized and walked me to class. Turns out we have a ton in common! It was so cute!"

So that explains why I didn't see you in the morning.

Giselle doesn't realize she's said it aloud until a frown forms on Ningning's face. "Yeah, I was with Chenle. Why, anything I missed?"

"N- no," Giselle mumbles, looking away. "It's great you were with him, I'm glad there's progress."

If she was Pinocchio, her nose would be longer than Rapunzel's hair at the moment. She's lying through her teeth and she knows it. Even Karina picks up on it and turns her head curiously at the halfheartedness in Giselle's voice.

Ningning, thank God, doesn't suspect anything and prattles on. "There was this guy trying to hit on me earlier-"

"Trying to what?" Giselle's voice rises to an enraged point and she clenches her fist under the table.

"Hit on me, it's not a big deal, Gigi, it was just he was asking for my number," Ningning mentions, giving her another strange look. "Are you okay? You seem a little on edge."

"Y- yeah, I'm fine. Right, so go on," Giselle mutters, and Karina gives her a look like, What's your problem? Thankfully, she keeps her mouth shut and that's when Winter blinks awake.

"Wha's... goin... on," the younger girl yawns, planting her tired face on her arms, which are encased in her fluffy sweater, so it looks like her face is buried in fluff. "Why's... ahh," she yawns again, and plops her face back down. "Tired. Gonna sleep more."

"Sleep as much as you like," Karina says softly, her fingertips fluttering over Winter's dark hair as she pats her back. "The period ends in twenty minutes, so you're good."

"Thanks, Rina," Winter mumbles, then goes back to sleep.

Giselle smiles to herself, but Ningning is still talking.

About Chenle, and how he defended her from the mysterious guy.

At this rate, they'll be dating in less than a week.

then [ one year ago ] 

"I got her number," Jaemin grinned, running up to Giselle, who was unlocking her locker with the impression that it would be a good day.

Yeah, no.

"That's really great," Giselle replied, slamming her locker shut once she'd extricated her books. "She really likes you."

"I like her too," Jaemin said dreamily. "We texted for hours last night. We have so much in common!"

Giselle resisted two urges. The first was to roll her eyes, and the second was to shriek in rage and go find Ningning. So that was why the girl was barely responding to her texts? Of course it was Na Jaemin holding her best friend's heart in a chokehold.

"Cool," Giselle noted. "I'm gonna be late to algebra, lover boy."

"That I am," Jaemin gushed, and then he spotted someone at the end of the hall. "That's her!"

Giselle's heart jumped, then sank again, as Jaemin dashed towards Ningning, a matching smile on their faces.

now

That exact smile plays across Ningning's gorgeous features as she grins at Chenle.

"Chennie! Hi," Ningning practically squeals, striding towards the taller boy as he appears in the parking lot. Giselle has just pulled in, only for Ningning to pop out of her own car and meet Chenle halfway, waving at him. Normally, it's Giselle who she does that with.

Today, it's Chenle.

And probably for the next week also, Giselle thinks, as she watches them smile and exchange pleasantries, and then Chenle cracks a joke in Mandarin that Ningning finds so funny that it's necessary to bend over, hold his arm, and laugh her ass off at. 

Ningning has never, ever laughed like that for Giselle: in the cute, flirty way Giselle would pay a million dollars for.

She reserves that laugh for guys she likes.

Jaehyun when he commented on the substitute teacher's outfit. Jaemin when he made an awful pickup line about chemistry.

And now Chenle, saying something in probably the only prominent Asian language Giselle doesn't know a single flipping word of.

Ningning finishes laughing and replies in the same language, and her words flow so easily. Giselle realizes she could listen to Ningning speak Mandarin all day and not get tired of it. Hell, Ningning could curse Giselle out in Mandarin and she'd be okay with it. (Not that she'd understand a word.)

That was why, the Japanese girl decides as she watches the two Chinese students grin and joke in the lot, it hurts so much.