chaelaurent's book of drafts & drabbles

Two Weeks

The iced coffee I was drinking nearly shot from my nostrils.

I cough a couple of times into my arm, my vision becoming blurred with tears so my eyelids are forced to shut. Then I blink my tears away and meet the woman's unwavering gaze with heavy breaths. Her eyes had widened at first over my reaction, but they quickly returned to their mischievous state. Her lips spread into a sly grin.

"Mai. Darling, are you alright?" Roseanne asks, handing me a napkin from the table. Shortly afterwards, she rests the same hand on my arm.

I cannot help but stare. Warm blush is flooding my cheeks and surely the tips of my ears are turning pink. My fingers subconsciously find the nape of my neck and rub it while my head lowers. Unable to meet her alluring brown eyes anymore, I somehow find the courage to reply.

"Y-Yes, I just...' my lungs force another cough out of me. 'I wasn't expecting you to say something like that."

"Well, I did tell you that I'm only here in L.A for two weeks."

"I mean what you said after that."

She knits her eyebrows and glances past me. With a tilt of her head and her puckering lips, she hums as if she needs to think about that one. She's toying with me, teasing because she thinks it's fun. All that's doing is getting me even more embarrassed than before, and yet somehow, I'm shamelessly feeding into it.

Of course I am. Like a little kitten, my ears are raising at the sound of Roseanne's voice and my feet sprint to eat up the scraps she tosses me. How can I help it after meeting her for the first time a couple of months ago?

Pinkchella.

***

What a whirlwind of a weekend. We met during the afterparty. Through my older brother, I had the chance to meet Roseanne and the rest of Blackpink. Being the younger sister of the lead vocalist/guitarist in a band has its perks. Like getting to meet other artists. Since my older brother is the star of the show, I was expecting the Blackpink girls to give him most — if not all — of their attention and me a simple hello with a friendly hug. Never did I expect one of the members to keep her eyes on me instead, a drink in one hand and the other running through her gorgeous blonde hair.

There was a shyness between us at first. I'm not good at small talk, but she seemed to be a natural at it. I did my best to play along until it no longer felt like pretend. She felt real. We seemed to click together like pieces on a puzzle board.

I was just burning the image of a carefree Roseanne, at midnight, buzzed with liquor and smoke from her vape into my memory when, all of a sudden, somebody accidentally spilt their drink on her black leather coat. She turned immediately to the person with a hardened gaze. "The fuck, man?"

"Shit — sorry, Rosie!" The guy yelled over the music, raising his hands in defeat. I noticed the tattoos along his arms and open chest. He walked out of view to join his friends before Roseanne could chew him out further with clear animosity.

"Ugh. I literally just bought this coat!" She turned back to me and said. I studied her as she assessed the situation, attempting to wipe the alcohol off with her sleeve. She didn't seem all that angry at the guy for ruining her coat. Just somewhat embarrassed, a slight upturning at the corners of her mouth as she kept looking down. Besides, he called her by a nickname which suggested some type of close relationship.

I put my hand out and motioned for her to hold it. "Come on, let's go clean it in the bathroom."

A spark of interest flashed in Roseanne's eyes as she eyed my hand before meeting my gaze. She nodded and took my hand, following my lead out of the crowd to where the ladies' room was. We passed a group of girls crowding around a bench nearby the door. Once inside, I let go of Roseanne's hand to help her pull off the coat.

"This shouldn't take long. I have some perfume for the smell..." I muttered, focused right away on positioning the coat by one of the sinks. It was tougher than it looked. I didn't exactly have anything to hold the water in other than my hands, plus it needed to be soapy. I decided to pump the bathroom liquid soap on my wet hands and rub them together until they were covered in suds. Next, I set about rubbing out the alcohol from the leather until it looked okay.

In the meantime, Roseanne sauntered beside me with hands held behind her back. She peeked over my shoulder at what I was doing before turning beside me to lean on the counter, sort of sitting on it with her shoes planted on the floor. I puffed at my bangs while I worked, willing them to move away from my eyes — but they came back like when you throw a boomerang. It was frustrating. I haphazardly washed the soap from my hand so I could move the hairs behind my ear.

"Cute."

I glanced up, noting a curious look in Roseanne's eyes as they met mine. My eyebrows raised. "Hm?"

"I said,' Roseanne pressed further. 'You're cute. Just my type when it comes to girls."

At any other time with practically anybody else, I would have found this flirty remark rather annoying. Overconfident, zesty, somewhat egotistical — and yet, the way she delivered the line with her amused eyes and small tilt of her head made me want to crawl inside a hole. It was so cocky, so sexy at the same time.

Roseanne found a bit of soap on my face. She used the pad of her middle finger to dab it off the bridge of my nose. I wouldn't have been able to come back with a witty rebuttal even if I tried. Blush creeped on my cheeks, turning the tips of my ears pink as they always do when I get really flustered. Roseanne was transfixed by this when she noticed. From then on out, she made it her mission to see me blush again like that.

***