Almost Love: A Blackpink High School AU

Chapter One: Brunette

Jennie's P.O.V.

I tapped my pink pen impatiently against the desk, counting down the minutes till the end of the period. Math was never my strong suit, nor was the class. I tried to pay attention to the notes that Ms. Park was writing on the board, but I couldn't focus. My mind seemed to always be wandering, no matter how hard I tried to calm it down.

Luckily, I sat next to my best friend Irene, who I would pass notes with all the time. She was my best friend from cheerleading, which we practically devoted our lives to. I don't know what I would do without her. She was like the Betty to my Veronica, if you will.

As soon as Ms. Park's back turned, Irene gently threw a paper crane over to my desk. She was definitely a woman of many talents, that's for sure. I quickly unfolded it while I still had time. It read: "You free tomorrow?" I sent her a smirk, which she smiled back towards.

The second I heard the bell ring, I leaped out of my chair, hoping to get out of there as fast as I could. As I was rushing, I didn't see the small girl ahead, causing me to bump into her and send her books crashing down to the floor.

"I-I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to get in your way. I'm sorry," the girl said hurriedly, bending down to pick up her books.

"It's okay! You have nothing to apologize for. I wasn't looking," I reassured her, reaching down to pick up her pink notebooks.

As I did so, I noticed that her notebook had a signature in beautiful handwriting.

"Jisoo," I mumbled under my breath, repeating what was written on the book.

Luckily, Jisoo didn't hear me. As I picked up her notebook, her hand touched mine briefly, causing me to look up at her. I had only seen the back of her head before today, because she sat in front of me in class. She had beautiful deep brown eyes, an adorable smile, and luxuriant dark hair that framed her small face. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink, which made me smile.

"C'mon, Jennie," Irene sighed loudly, standing in the doorway waiting for me.

I quickly composed myself and handed Jisoo her notebook.

"Here," I said, sounding a bit harsher than I meant.

"Thanks." She walked away shyly.

I caught a glance of her before she left. Her loose curls bounced when she walked and her steps were fast and quick. There was something about her that I couldn't quite pinpoint. Whatever it was, I was determined to figure it out.

"Jen, do I seriously have to drag you home?" Irene pulled me out the door by the sleeve of my sweater. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I said, returning back to reality. "Sorry..."

Irene and I walked beside each other out the door, as she rambled on about this guy in her chemistry class that she found to be cute. However, my mind was swimming elsewhere. I didn't snap back until I felt a familiar arm wrap around me.

"Jennie!" Lisa exclaimed, her normal smile present.

"Hey, Lis," I chuckled. "Ugh, you're all sweaty!"

"Well, duh," she said. "That's what happens when you play basketball, silly!"

"Did you ditch again?" Irene asked.

"Yeah," Lisa responded quietly. "But I had to practice for State!"

"Studies come first, Lis," I said seriously. "You know this."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mom."

We walked out to the parking lot where we saw a brunette slumped against a dark red convertible. Irene's face lit up as she immediately ran over and hugged the girl while Lisa and I exchanged looks. There had clearly been something going on between her and Seulgi, but we couldn't place it. Although Seulgi had a tough exterior, she seemed to have a soft spot for Irene no matter what. The thought of them being together made me smile.

"You got the car?" Irene squealed.

"Yeah," Seulgi said sheepishly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

My eyes diverted away from Irene and Seulgi when I noticed a certain dark haired girl strolling across the parking lot. She was with a blonde who I recognized, since she was class president. Were they friends? It dawned on me that I never paid much attention to people outside of my close circle of friends. Unless they were one of my many ex-boyfriends. They were talking and laughing, which made me beam. Even though she was soft-spoken, I could hear a soft echo of Jisoo's laugh across the distance. It was a bit of a deep-throated chuckle, but it was kinda cute to me.

Wait, what?

No, not like that.

She was pretty, but girls can call each other pretty. They don't have to like each other romantically to say stuff like that. It's just a given. I realized that I had been staring for far too long, because Jisoo had already gotten in the car. My inner thoughts seemed to be having a sword fight just as the blonde turned to look at me. I guess she could sense my staring. Then again, I've never been subtle with anything.

'Abort mission,' I thought to myself as I quickly turned away.

But I soon realized that I wasn't the girl that the blonde was staring at. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lisa staring in the same direction that I was. Normally when she would stare at girls that she fancied, she would have a devilish smirk on her face. I knew Lisa well enough to determine her facial expressions without any words being said. Today, however, she was looking at the girl with a legitimate smile and a rosiness to her cheeks. She seemed to notice me staring fondly, so she quickly turned around, her ponytail moving with a mind of its own.

"Whatcha looking at?" she asked with a smirk.

"I could ask you the same thing," I said, trying to compose myself.

"If you must know," she began. "It's Little Miss Preppy."

"Rosé?" I asked.

Lisa nodded and chuckled a bit.

"But she's a little uptight for you, don't you think?"

Before she could respond, Irene yelled for us to come to the car. I shrugged, walking back in that direction. When I got there, I turned to look at the car that I'd been staring at. It was gone, as well as Rosé and Jisoo. As I turned back around, I caught Lisa looking in that direction too.

I sat next to her as I normally did while Seulgi and Irene chatted about who knows what. Normally I would be there to interject a few times, but today I wasn't feeling it. I guess I was just deep in thought. I looked out the window as the trees went by, thoughts running through my head. All of them seemed to drift back to that damn brunette.

But why?

I'd only talked to her once and that was today. Maybe it was her rosy cheeks. I wonder what blush she uses. Maybe it was her dark brown wavy tresses. I wonder if that's her natural hair color. Maybe it was her soft, coral lips. I wonder how many guys she's kissed. Whatever it was, it could be interpreted many different ways. I thought of it as admiration and respect.

Lisa could tell that I was a bit apprehensive, so she moved over slightly in her seat and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. I leaned into it, as I normally did. Lisa and I had a friendship that appeared to be a relationship to most people. She would hold my hand, hug me, and kiss my cheek like a girlfriend would, and although she was gay, I was most certainly straight.