august, nct

067

067

melanie parked her car in the taco bell parking lot, putting on one tree hill. she placed her phone on top of the frame so that both her and jade can watch it while they ate. "these crunchwraps don't hit like they used to."

"you haven't been the same ever since you got covid." mel sighed, patting her best friend on the head. "but the baja blas—"

"oh that shit still hits the g spot." jade interrupted her, the two giggling over the amazing drink.

after finishing their meals, jade looked over at her best friend. with a small smirk, she teasingly poked at her, "time to go to sooyoung's house cause you're in love with sungchan!"

laughing her small ass off, mel just shook her head with a smile. but the smile came with a blush, jade's laugh out quieting down. "this is where you punch me for saying something stupid."

mel punched jade slightly, muttering small whispers calling jade stupid.

but jade just kept staring at her best friend, coming to the realization that she already betted on.

"so you chose sungchan." jade finished what she somewhat already knew, trying not to express her disappointment.

mel felt the awkwardness in the air, but nodded, "don't roll your eyes.."

"just, like.. help me understand cause this makes zero sense."

"zero sense?" mel furrowed her eyebrows, thinking about how she felt the only thing in her life that made sense was her relationship with sungchan. "i just think about the way he looks at me and the butterflies in my stomach... he's the reason why it never worked out with anybody else."

jade closed her eyes, trying not to laugh. "girl."

"what?"

"he's not your soulmate, he's a distraction." jade shrugged, no remorse in her voice. looking over at her best friend, she noticed the glossy eyes and sat up a bit straighter, "no way...come on, mel! you can't honestly sit here and tell me that you would choose him over anyone else in the world."

mel turned back to the show playing on her phone, "i never said he was my soulmate."

"then?"

"you wouldn't bother to try and understand—"

"try me."

jade cocked an eyebrow, mel smiling. "well.. i don't know. when i first met him, i was in one of the worst periods of my life. so much shit was going on, but he never judged me. he just tried to make me happy everyday, becoming my best friend. he never saw me the way i saw myself, and instead, he convinced me i was someone worth loving. the biggest regret in my life is bringing him down with me. i couldn't imagine the weight he had to carry, having to constantly support, reassure, and comfort me. he could have been so much happier with someone else that was more emotionally mature and stable. and yet at one point, we still chose each other."

"i understand, i promise. but dude, thats just nostalgia.."

"no, god. you never knew him like i did! you didn't experience the slow dancing to random disco songs, or betting money on who can get kicked out of the library quicker, constantly laying down in the road without a care about being run over." mel anxiously began to ramble, having something to prove, "and we talk so well to each other, and i mean really really talk... about everything, and anything...the world, and philosophy, and the books, he gets me. i feel so safe in him arms, i'm sorry i just love him." melanie continued to gush, the words to describe sungchan coming easily to her.

jade's scoff caught her attention, the adoration in mel's eyes draining as she looked over to her friend in shambles.

"you can't love him! it's attachment, melanie, maybe obsession! but the truth is, your heart will never feel the same. the doubts are uncontrollable.. it's a choice you make. and maybe you think that's the only choice you have because you believe he's your happiness, but come on! don't be the fool he takes you for! it won't ever come close to how it was before." jade yelled, heating up once she finally let out everything she has been thinking. everything she has avoided telling melanie in the past, "someone who broke you can't fix you."

melanie was taken aback, still taking in the words she had just heard. she knew jade wasn't his biggest fan, but she didn't know the way she felt about the situation until this revelation.

"i don't need to be fixed." she smiled, looking up to avoid crying, "but he can mend what we had. i know he can. jade, i can't let go of him that easily."

"god, mel! how are you this stupid, really?" jade asked, running her hands through her hair, clearly stressed over the argument. "i'm sorry, it's just, it's annoying watching you choose things that get you hurt."

the smile dropped from from melanie's face, sudden anguish taking over. shrugging her shoulders, the girl bit her lips and tried to look away from the shorter one, knowing eye contact would cause tears. "please shut up."

jade raised her eyebrows, scoffing once again. "you're choosing him over me..."

"i'm not choosing anyone ove— what do you want me to do, jade? you want me to smile and hug you, accept the fact that sungchan is awful and i should just go back home with you and live out the rest of my life next to you because you always want whats best for me? i love you... but you're making me feel like the only person who makes decisions in the friendship is you. i don't want to be in the passenger seat to my own life, you're taking advantage of me!"

quieting down, the two girls sat in silence. both were unsure of what to say to each other, but had so much to say in their heads.

"i get that this can be a mistake, and that maybe i don't belong with sungchan... but i really want to try. i'm so in love with him."

"is this really a choice you want to make?"

"yes, he's a choice i'm confident in."

—
067