didn't know you were cold ('til you felt my fire) // JENLISA AU

Chapter 14

"You seem to be in a better mood these days."

Jennie smiled into her lunch as she chewed, head ducked down as she avoided Seunghyun's eyes. It was the first Monday back at school over the holidays and she was eating lunch before class with him as usual. Lisa had told her she wasn't comfortable with them eating lunch together at school, with her and the rest of her family. "I don't think we want guys to talk about why you're hanging out with the vandal." She had said.

Jennie had thought of protesting, but then she thought about the prospect of eating lunch with Ella, and decided that some space was okay.

"Is it your new friend?" Seunghyun's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, and this time Jennie looked up at him. He smiled knowingly at her reaction, adjusting himself behind his desk. "Your mom kept complaining about how much time you spend on the phone over the break."

Jennie couldn't help her blush and just sniffed a 'hm' to pretend she wasn't bothered by his teasing. It wasn't exactly untrue; she and Lisa hadn't been able to see each other much over the break with holidays and family and Lisa working odd jobs and hours. But whenever they could they would call each other up, sometimes spending the entire afternoon on the phone chatting about their day, stories to tell each other, shows or films they had watched.

They had once spent nearly three hours on the phone that was just Lisa describing the chaos that was her siblings attempting to play a video game and Jennie had laughed to tears at Lisa's mock documentary-style descriptions.

"So, who is it?" Seunghyun's voice again cut through her thoughts and she let out a distracted 'hm?'

Oh, Seunghyun had that smile on his face. Jennie tried to play it cool and just shook her head, pointedly refusing to answer.

After a minute Seunghyun just huffed a laugh and changed the subject. "Did you do anything for your birthday? Or any plans coming up?"

"Not particularly." She shook her head. Today had been like every other birthday since she'd been old enough to no longer need a nanny - waking up alone like all weekdays and coming downstairs to a cake and a card with a bit of cash inside. And like always, she had cut herself a slice for breakfast (she would later lie and tell her parents she had it for lunch), pocketed the money and tucked the card into the back of the trashcan where it wouldn't be noticed.

Seunghyun looked about to say something when the class bell rang and instead he quickly started to pack up his lunch and offer a quick smile in Jennie's direction. "Well, maybe college birthdays will be more fun."

Jennie just snorted, packing up her own lunch.

As the students started to pour in, she heard a now completely familiar laugh echoing in the halls and perked up. Looking over to the door she saw Ella, shoulder to shoulder with Lisa, chatting animatedly as they rounded to enter.

Lisa glanced up in the middle of her sentence to see Jennie and brightened. "Jen!" Adjusting her backpack on her shoulder she quickly turned to her sister with a "just a sec Elle," and jogged over to Jennie's work table. "Hey." She said with a bit of an exhale as she stopped beside Jennie, grinning lopsidedly.

"Hey yourself." Jennie smiled, suddenly shy. Like all her excitement at seeing Lisa again has burnt up in a flash fire, leaving her feeling lightheaded and far, far too warm. Lisa looked taller than she remembered, the freckles looked more scattered. She'd redone the hair dye to a vibrant pink and black again, the shaved part reshaven cleanly and Jennie had the overwhelming urge to see how it felt under her fingers. And that lopsided smile made Jennie want to grab the girl into a hug.

Jennie was vaguely aware that Seunghyun and Ella were present and tried to stay composed.

Lisa shifted on her feet, mouth quirking in and out of the grin as she pulled her backpack off one shoulder. "It, uh, it's your birthday, right?" She asked as the bag hung off her elbow and she shoved the other hand into it, digging around. "I, um, well, I got you this. It's not much but..."