KALEIDOSCOPE, l. jeonghyeon

✯ FIVE

The two best friends lay side by side on Ahram's bed, mindlessly smoothening out the skin care masks on their faces. When the older of the two let out her third sigh, Yena sat up and eyed her friend, raising a brow beneath the mask. "What is it?"

Ahram hummed, feigning confusion, which only caused the younger to roll her eyes. "Oh, come on. You've sighed, like, a billion times in the past two minutes." Yena laid back down, propping herself on her elbow and palm to continue facing her friend. "Does this have something to do with your fight with Jeonghyeon? Lovers quarrel?"

Shooting upright, Ahram's mouth dropped then immediately closed when she remembered the mask on her face. "Lovers quarrel?" She repeated, voice filled with astonishment.

"Well, duh!" Yena exclaimed with a giggle. "Aren't you two secretly dating? You know, you didn't have to hide it from me!"

Ahram's head ached. What had she done to make it seem like she and her chameleon nemesis were a couple?

"Jeonghyeon and I are not a couple." She stated, her words coming out a bit harsher than intended. When she remembered that they were playing friends, Ahram cleared her throat and added, "We're just friends. No romancing."

Yena didn't have to say anything for Ahram to know she wasn't sold. She sighed again but stopped when she remembered her friend's comment. "There's no convincing you, is there?"

"Nope! He's got heart eyes for you," Yena beamed matter-of-factly and propped her arms behind her head as she laid back on the bed.

Though Yena couldn't see her face, Ahram turned away from her friend.

Her thoughts were instantly invaded by the image of Lee Jeonghyeon and his cheeky, impish grin. Ahram could feel her cheeks warming beneath the face mask and was immediately relieved when she remembered it wasn't clear.

Boys teasing the girls they liked was such a middle-school mindset, and Ahram liked to think that her enemy was smarter and more mature than that. Well, at least smarter.

Jeonghyeon was her nemesis, a chameleon boy, and if what Yena said was the case, if he had feelings for her, she'd have to avoid Jeonghyeon at all costs.

✯

As it turns out, avoiding Lee Jeonghyeon is a lot harder than Ahram expected.

The infamous boy appeared at her side approximately six and a half seconds after Ahram walked into the building, his arm around her shoulder in seven, and his voice in her ears in nine.

Nine seconds into her day and she had already failed.

"I couldn't help but notice your hair today," he teased. Ahram had been running late and tossed her hair into a very high, very neat bun that sat atop her head. "Very acorn-like."

Ahram rolled her eyes and shoved the boy off. "Have you ever seen an acorn? Cause if you have, you'd know that my hair looks nothing like an acorn."

Jeonghyeon only pursed his lips and made a sound that reminded Ahram of when people saw babies. "So cute. Look, your friend is coming. Play is nice, hm?"

"I hate you," the girl glared.

"Hate you too, Acorn."

Immediately after the nickname left Jeonghyeon's lips, the two forced laughs and smiles as they walked side by side, approaching their friends as if they hadn't spotted them in advance.

Yena's smile instantly brightened when she spotted Ahram and Jeonghyeon together, her hand excitedly tightening around Junghyun's. "Hey, guys! Our first class got canceled so we're getting breakfast! Want anything?"

Her eyes drifted down to where Jeonghyeon's arm was hovering dangerously close to her friend's waist, and Yena bit her lips together to stop from grinning too maniacally.

"Nothing for me," Ahram said before looking up expectingly at the boy beside her, who shook his head and declined as well. "We might go out together after our classes. Right, Ahram?"

To anyone, especially her best friend, the redness crawling up the said girl's neck looked like flustered shyness, but Jeonghyeon knew what the color really meant. Ahram had to take a steady breath to calm her internal rage, biting down on her tongue so hard her teeth nearly pieced through.

"Right," she breathed through clenched teeth. "Almost like a date!"

Now it was Jeonghyeon's turn to flush pink, choking on his spit as Ahram gave him a "playful" shoulder nudge.

"Aw, okay!" Yena said with a frown, but the excitement in her voice gave her true thoughts away. "Well, text me later, Ahram!"

"Will do!"

Bidding goodbye to the couple, the enemies detached themselves the moment they were out of sight.

Jeonghyeon visibly shuddered. "That was awful."

"What," the girl teased. "Never touched a girl that long before?"

She knew that was the wrong thing to say when a suggestive smirk crossed the boy's lips. "Darling, wouldn't you love to find out."

"Ugh. You're literally the devil's offspring."

Jeonghyeon gasped dramatically. "OMG. Do I get horns and a pointy tail, too?"

Rolling her eyes, Ahram bit back laughter as she shoved the boy square in the chest and continued making her way to her class. "Whatever. Don't wait up for me after school; we aren't going anywhere together."

"Your loss."

•
if you have any ideas or thoughts on how this story should go/how their relationship should progress, lmk!