Yoongi's pupils expanded into massive black holes that Jade felt could pull her in at any moment. His expression morphed into one of confusion, which was enough to pull her out of her ridiculous trance.
The two parted, carefully avoiding the water on the floor, cheeks tinted pink.
"I told you to watch out."
"I didn't know," she defended.
"Why were you running in anyway?"
"I wasn't running," Jade crossed her arms.
"Alright, alright! Let's just take a deep breath," Autumn faced her palms out. "Geez, what is up with you two?" she inquired with a gleam in her eye. "Look this was my bad, I'll clean it up. Meanwhile, Yoongi, you keep Jade company in the living room until I'm finished."
Yoongi and Jade looked spooked as they exchanged looks before they began to refuse in their own ways. But Autumn's glare grew deathly towards her little brother.
"야, 죽고 싶어? 지금 가!" the oldest of us nodded toward the living room with authority. It always made Jade uncomfortable being in the middle of a sibling's spat. Or any kind of disagreement really, especially this one. She felt like she was the blame.
Yoongi reluctantly led the way back to the living room. He specifically sat in the single seater chair furthest from her original spot on the couch where she stiffly sat again.
The silence was deafening. Jade was busy observing her nails while Yoongi was busy biting his. Jade felt prickles all over her skin which she could only imagine was her sweat glands opening. The warmth in her body was increasing with every minute that passed. However, she was determined to fill the silence.
"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked. Yoongi looked from her to the platter of crackers and toppings. Then back to her then to his nails again.
"It was made for you."
Jade shrugged, "doesn't mean you can't have any. It's your house."
He took a few seconds thinking about it before moving to the other single seater that was next to her. Yoongi grabbed a cracker and dipped in the spinach dip. As he chewed he pointed at her, "you should eat too or my sister will kill me for eating it all."
Jade knew this was true so she nodded and tried the spinach dip as well. It tasted different and there were chunks of meat in it. "What's in this?"
"Tuna."
Jade's eyes widened, "really? That's...different."
"That's my sister," he stuffed another dipped cracker in his mouth. "So, what, you don't like it?" he nodded at the remaining cracker she had bit into.
"Actually, I was gonna say it's great," she tossed the piece in her mouth.
Yoongi nodded, "we finally agree on something."
Jade rolled her eyes, "Well the plain truth is that I didn't know there was water on the floor and I definitely didn't run in there."
Yoongi dusted the crumbs off of his lap and sucked his teeth clean. "That's not exactly what I mean," he said mysteriously.
"Well, then, what do you mean?"
The man hesitated at first. Jade couldn't read his face, she never could. But his hesitancy peaked her interest. After a few more seconds passed, he sighed to himself.
"Why did you hate me?"
YOONGI
If Areum wasn't older, Yoongi definitely would've thrown her out of the house and told her find other accommodations during her visit. What was she thinking, bringing her over here anyway? This was worse than their days in elementary. At least then when Jade would storm away without a word, they weren't forced back into each other's company. When was Areum going to stop meddling in people's lives?
He was also at a loss as to why anyone needed to look nice when they were simply meeting one person casually. Yoongi wanted to rip the clips from her hair and tell her there was no need. Autumn wasn't the type to care what anyone looked like. Loose strands of Jade's hair had fallen at the sides of her face. They must've came out when she slipped and fell.
Nearly fell.
Something bothered him about that whole mess - besides it obviously being an unfortunate happenstance. It was her eyes. It took him a while to notice it as there were other factors about that catch that were screaming out at him. Yoongi could've sworn they were...but he couldn't be sure.
"It's your house," she said. Yoongi tried not to scoff out loud.
At least someone around here knew that, he thought.
Yoongi took that as an indication that it was okay to get closer to her- not that he wanted to be. He was just hungry and the crackers were nearest to her. It was his sister's fault for not allowing him to eat anything in his own fridge in order to prepare for his classmate's visit. Which he still couldn't get over.
Jade Edwards is in my house.
"Well, then, what do you mean?"
Yoongi didn't look at her as he considered whether or not he should continue on. He realized he shouldn't have brought it up in the first place, but he was being vague. Areum always told him it drove people crazy, which didn't concern him all that much. However, this time there was a reluctance to keep Jade hanging.
Plus, he was always curious. Even years later, he always wondered, "why did you hate me?"
For the first time since re-entering the living room, Jade looked directly at him. There was something there he couldn't read but the only word he could think of was vulnerable, which was strange to associate with her. Sure she was quiet and shy in school, but she never came across as vulnerable to him. Not even once.
"I...I didn't hate you," she moved timidly.
"Oh, really?" he scoffed, clearly unconvinced. "I'd ask you a simple question then you'd answer with a snobby attitude then storm away. That isn't an indication of hate?"
"I could've had a bad day!"
"For three years?"
Jade opened her mouth but decided against proceeding. Instead she thought carefully about what she needed to say. As she thought, the woman tucked her lip under her teeth which made Yoongi shift in his seat as he blew out a heavy sigh.
"You were nice to everyone except for me and I know I wasn't just imagining it. I also have a sharp memory so don't say I remember it differently because it was a long time ago," Yoongi returned his gaze down to his finger nails. He knew if he saw her struggle for words, he'd want to retract the topic. It was a mystery how he still felt like he needed to spare her from discomfort. After years of thinking he bothered her, how could he not?
"I'm sorry," she said finally, her voice dripped in penitent defeat.
Yoongi's chest tightened with guilt, "th-that's not why I brought it up. I'm not looking for an apology- I'm over it. I'm just curious about why I annoyed you so much? We barely even talked."173Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdcO0S7kCAb
From his peripheral vision, he saw Jade's shoulders rise and drop as she gave a deep sigh. He didn't know what it meant but he hoped she'd respond soon. The anticipation was killing him.
Not able to help it, he turned his gaze back on her.
The lines on her face from earlier were gone. Her features were soft again, relaxed. She brought her arms up and crossed them on top of her stomach, leaning back. The deep red of her sweater matched the rosy color in her caramel cheeks. If she hadn't acted the way she did those years ago, he probably would've thought she was pretty then too.
"Still...I should apologize," she said finally, "especially if we might be living in the same town for a while," she straightened her posture before continuing. "I only acted that way towards you because I liked you and was kind of pissed off about it."
Yoongi froze, his temperature shot through the roof. The hairs on his arms stood up where prickly bumps had popped up. The same words echoed in his head: I liked you.
Part of him wanted to deny it because of how ridiculously cold she'd been toward him. It seemed impossible and no doubt a confusing way to like someone. The other part of him, well...it wasn't quite thinking straight at the moment.
"Y-you...I mean, wait," the rest of her confession finally registered in his head, "why were you-"
"I'M BACK!" Autumn waltzed in with a larger platter of appetizers. She sat down next to Jade and looked at him expectantly. "Thanks for keeping her company. You can go now," the cunning snake flashed a huge smile at him. He knew well that she was satisfied with the outcome. And now she stepped in when he needed answers most.
"I just need to ask-"
"Bye, now!" she feign a sweet voice.
Yoongi's jaw clenched as he sent her another glare. He then chanced a look at Jade, who anxiously rubbed her knees as she watched another potential sibling feud.
He sighed and stood up to leave. Though, before leaving he snatched up the small platter of crackers and hurried out of sight. Behind him, he only heard his sister mutter something under her breath.
As Yoongi headed up the stairs he still felt warm and like he was walking on air. He laughed quietly to himself. I'm being an idiot. Why is something so small making me feel high all of a sudden? Liked, she said - past tense. He knew it was stupid to let it get to his head.
"...I liked you...," it replayed again and again.
Yoongi laughed to himself once more, though this time he wasn't sure why. But the uninvited smile on his face dropped suddenly when he remembered...
"Why the hell was she pissed off about liking me?" he mumbled to himself.
A thought then occurred to him - a plan - but he was being ridiculous. He remembered Jade telling Areum where she lived. What kind of weirdo would he be if he went to her apartment building just so he could ask her that?
JADE
When Autumn finally showed up, Jade was beyond relieved. She had just admitted something embarrassing and the older woman couldn't have interrupted at a more convenient time. The rest of the night went by pretty easily. Yoongi hadn't made any more appearances since her confession, for which she was grateful.
However, she did hold a tiny curiosity about how he felt about the whole thing. He probably hates her for treating him that way. No doubt he thought she must've been a crazy kid too. What psycho treats their crush like that? Her thoughts were full of regret during the drive home.
When Jade finally reached home, she felt absolutely exhausted and couldn't wait to get in bed. However, she figured an hour of writing couldn't hurt. She had nothing to wake up early for tomorrow anyway.
What was an hour of writing became two, then three. The next thing she knew she was waking up with a sore neck and aching back. She'd fallen asleep at her desk again.
"I really have to stop doing that," she rubbed her neck and stretched her back. Naturally she checked the time on her phone next to her sleeping laptop. She gasped, "it's noon already? I'm supposed to submit my first draft in thirty minutes!"
Jade hurried and added some last minute touches to the document before sending it in at 12:26 PM. In celebration she threw her fists in the air but yelped. The action triggered the ache in her back. Carefully, she massaged it as best as she could.
Knock, knock, knock.
The woman turned and watched the door, perplexed. She hadn't had a knock on her door since moving here. There was no reason she could imagine a reason there would be now. Maybe it was one of her neighbors who needed a favor. Or maybe it was Autumn. Out of the two Jade didn't know which one she'd prefer. Autumn was great to hang out with, but she was very energetic. Energetic people tended to drain her quickly and required her to take breaks in between visits.
Knock, knock, knock.
Jade's heart felt like it was being squeezed. She wasn't ready for company. In fact, she was still in her her pajamas...during the afternoon. What would they think? In that case she hoped it was Autumn. At least she wouldn't judge.
The writer traipsed to the door and checked the peephole.
She stumbled backwards into the wall, her face shocked. "What is he doing here?"
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173Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2NCOG3AeR
Author's Note:
Okay I read this back and noticed there were parts I slipped into first person. *facepalm* Apologies. I think I got 'em all. If not don't hesitate to call it out! <3173Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJEiIltQ0X
Thank you for reading!173Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6ssVdE26T
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