she feels like home, an interrupted dream come true. like i've lost what's mine before i even had the chance to have it.
—
the night was still young, the cityscape below her gaze looked miniature with the lights that bounced off the walls. and the heights that she was reaching within the lift must've been the reason for why the pit inside lisa's stomach felt endless.
except that it wasn't.
the elevator dings, 70th floor. and her heart races. she looks at her faint reflection on the glass for the last time, she's aged into a fine woman indeed.
a soothing sound that played off from the piano was heard all through out the large room where a bunch of familiar faces had gathered.
"champagne? to shake your nerves a bit?" chaeyoung suggestively said though forced a glass of veuve clicquot in lisa's free hand. which, the woman downed in an instant and lowly groaned at the taste. she has avoided drinking for months but the occasion was something that made her need alcohol in her system for a little push to adjust.
adjust, perhaps the right word for it rather than thinking of a way to "survive" the night as if it were a life and death situation. because it wasn't. they aren't kids anymore to think of it in a way that meeting her ex-girlfriend for the first time in years was some type of poison that she had to avoid.
because truth be told, jennie was far from being the person she wanted out of her life. she was far from being the poison that'd kill her.
and as lisa stands across the room from jennie chatting with their old friends, smiling and laughing lightly, the younger woman feels a pinch in her heart. but it didn't sting, at least not anymore. instead, this brought a satisfied smile on lisa's lips. it was rather comforting.
it wasn't too long till her ex-lover took notice of her presence. settling their gazes on each-other, jennie smiles at her and politely excuses herself from the circle as she walked up to who- was once her greatest love.
"fashionably late as always, manoban." the woman joked then giggled, letting lisa plant a kiss on her cheek as a casual greeting.
"there's a reason why early birds can never look as good." lisa teased back,
"i've always been an early bird you know that!" she laughed louder, and lisa's heart had started to steady in the presence of jennie. a person all too familiar, even after so long.
once their laughs died down, their eyes settled on each other once again. with contented smiles that crept on their lips, they were happy, finally. even without having to be each other's absolute reason.
[FLASHBACK; 9 YEARS AGO, at the prime of their early 20s, on the third year of their relationship]
lisa placed gentle kisses down jennie's spine, her skin fully exposed, beautiful as she may be bare, nonetheless as heavenly as the works inside the louvre.
"cold," jennie cooed adorably, making lisa wrap her arms around the girl beneath her.
"good morning love," "we're finally in paris." "together." the younger girl said in between the cheek kisses, she felt like bursting from so much happiness to be in a city so cliché with someone she loves.
jennie smiled at the reminder though with her eyes closed, then soon feeling the absence of her girlfriend on top, making her blink- once, twice.
looking around the room, lisa was dressed lazily, just in her navy blue sweatpants, and loose black tee. the girl moved around swiftly, grabbing her sketchpad and a graphite pencil she brought with her.
