Letterman

Chapter 19

Jisoo shoves her way up the stairs, pushing past anyone who blocks her path, with Rosie trailing shyly behind her, occasionally tripping over her own drunk feet.

After the third time that Rosie trips, Jisoo places a hand on the small of her back protectively, helping to lead her down the hall. A random boy nearly knocks into them, beer sloshing over the rim of his cup, and Jisoo glares sharply at him before pulling Rosie closer to her body. It's a tad possessive and territorial, but Rosie seems too drunk to mind. She seems to like it, even.

They weave through the crowd for a minute longer before Jisoo finds the door to Mino's guest room. Most of her attention is still on Rosie, so she gets no warning for what happens next.

Jisoo throws open the door and immediately groans in disgust, hit with instant regret.

Beside her, Rosie pinks and dissolves into drunken giggles.

Inside the room a couple is locked at the lips, the girl with blonde hair straddling a dark-haired boy, her legs wrapped obscenely around his hips. He continues to kiss at her neck sloppily until Jisoo clears her throat very, very loudly to be heard over the music, catching his attention.

His eyes narrow at the unwelcome interruption and Jisoo meets his gaze with an unimpressed stare of her own. Meanwhile, the blonde girl squeaks in surprise and scrambles off of the bed.

"Get out."Jisoo snaps, tapping her foot impatiently and gesturing to the door with her free hand. The other remains on Rosie's waist.

"We're not done." The boy argues stubbornly, even though his girlfriend is already adjusting the skirt around her lips, hastily pulling up the zipper. "It's a free country. You can't just—"

The boy's eyes widen almost comically at Jisoo's borderline animalistic growl and he scurries off of the bed, hurrying to grab his striped boxers where they lay in a pile on the floor. The blonde girl is gone before he even finishes getting dressed. Jisoo slams the door behind them and locks it, the party outside becoming muted as soon as it's shut.

A beat passes. The world seems to narrow down to only Jisoo and Rosie. Jisoo's hands shake on the knob as she comes to the sudden realization that they're alone together for the first time in days. She swallows thickly. Another beat passes.

"That was mean." Rosie's amused voice comes from behind her. It sounds far away, yet so close, just close enough to be tantalizing. The sound of a mattress creaking, a muted gasp, and a quiet giggle comes next. "You're so mean."

Jisoo finally finds the strength to turn around and sees that Rosie has taken it upon herself to splay her body across the bed. She's a pretty sight, dark hair laid out on the pillow and legs parted ever so slightly so that her dress rides up her thighs a little—not that it was hiding much in the first place.

Jisoo glances up and away at the ceiling, trying to find something to distract her, to no avail. Has Rosie always had these types of dresses? Jisoo wonders. Did Rosie dress up this way for her?

"I know." Jisoo breathes out, ignoring the words that cling to her insides, haunting her all the while.

Jisoo walks calmly to the bathroom, but in reality she flees like the coward that she is, desperately attempting to escape the weight of her lungs and the intoxicating scent that she's sure belongs to Rosie.

In the bathroom, she turns on the sink and splashes water onto her face. She's too sloppy with it, soaking through several spots on her top, but she figures that Rosie either won't mind or won't notice in her drunken stare. It's a helpful reminder that Rosie is drunk. Drunk. Now is not the time for a deep talk. Jisoo sighs and fills a glass up to the brim with cold water before heading back out into the room, slowly approaching Rosie with it.