Stay By My Side

12

You stood next to Mina backstage once again. This time her confidence higher than yours. She didn't hold your hand, but she had an arm wrapped around your shoulders.

"You know. I think you're very brave." Mina whispered.

"You're braver than I am." You mumbled while looking down at your feet.

"Yeah but I had to leave for months in order to get brave again." She frowned. "You... Left for only a month." She smiled. You let yourself smile a little, you really only came back so you didn't let the group down. I guess in a way it made you really brave.

"Y/N... Can I talk to you for a sec." Your head lifted at the sound of Sana's voice. Mina gave you a small squeeze before leaving you two alone. You were nervous. You didn't know what was going to happen. "Momo and I talked..." she whispered.

"Oh.." You gulped.

"I wanted to wait until after the concert but I didn't want to have this feeling over me anymore..." She frowned.

"We don't have to talk about it." You quickly stated. Afraid of what she was going cry to say next. "We don't have to talk about it ever." You added.

"No.." Sana grabbed your hand and laced her fingers with yours. You looked down at your hand and felt your cheeks get hot. "You like me. A lot." She smiled. "And definitely more than I thought." She chuckled. You smiled, feeling her pull you closer to her. "But I don't want to hear it from Momo. I want to hear it from you." She whispered.

"I... I do like you Sana." You whispered. "A lot. But I can't do anything. You said it yourself you don't like girls like that." You frowned. "And our managers would never approve." You mumbled while letting out a sigh. You felt your chest tighten again, feeling an overwhelming feeling of sadness in your chest.

"People change." Sana quickly said. You glanced up to see if she was lying, but there was no doubt in her eyes. "I don't think I'm attracted to just one gender. I like them both, or however many there are." She shrugged. "And right now Y/N, I like you." She smiled.

"Yeah like a friend." You mumbled to yourself. You didn't think Sana caught it, but she did. Her reaction to it was pulling you away from everyone, hiding the both of you in a secluded area behind the stage. You didn't have much time to react, watching her quickly peek over her shoulder before pressing her lips on yours.

It wasn't a world moving kiss, but enough to knock the wind out of you. When she pulled away, her cheeks were slightly pink, and yours were on fire. You felt weak honestly.

"Do friends do that?" She whispered. You shook your head, looking down at the floor. You felt extremely shy now. "Come on. We have a concert to do." She smiled while walking with you.

During the concert you felt more giddy. Maybe from the kiss or maybe from just the fans' energy. Maybe both. You had no idea. You smiled walking hand in hand with Sana, feeling more calm. She gave you a big smile and rested her head on your shoulder. Yup. It was definitely her.

After the concert both of you sat in the car back to the hotel room, your hands intertwined loosely as you waited. She was quiet at first, until someone turned on VLive and everyone went hyper.

"How long do we have?" Dahyun asked our manager.

"Twenty minutes." He answered.

"Oh yeah! Fifteen minutes with Once!" She laughed to the camera. Sana laughed, her exhaustion becoming more prominent as she got much more hyper. You smiled at her, trying your best to hide your face in your mask. "Say hello Y/N!" Dahyun smiled at you while holding the phone up. You gave a small wave before she took the phone back.

When you got to the hotel, you were extremely anxious. You felt insecure again as you got out of the van, waiting for Sana to get out. You stood a little far from the group, but still next to a guard just in case.

You had no idea what had happened. But you had pulled up your mask to stay hidden, and the next thing you knew, you were pulled backwards. Immediately the security guards pulled you away, another one tackling the guy behind you who yanked on your hood. It felt like a blur after that. You were in the hotel lobby holding onto the guard as he helped you to the elevator. Sana came running in behind you, shocked that all of that had happened.

When you got into your hotel room, Sana held you while you cried. You weren't hurt, but terrified. Managers were coming in and out of your room, trying to comfort you as well as Sana. It got to the point where they had to make a public announcement on social media to make people stop following your group like that.

"I'm so sorry. I should've gotten out first." Sana whispered. "Not you." You stayed quiet, tears silently streaming down your face as you played with the strings of her hoodie. Her arms were wrapped tightly around you as you both sat on the bed.

"Well. Thanks to Once, they were able to get the guy arrested with stalking charges." Your manager finally spoke.

"How?" You frowned.

"He was posting about meeting the group for a long time. Then he went dark. Then all of a sudden popped back up with terrifying results. Now he's in jail." He locked his phone, sliding it back into his pocket before standing up. "Are you going to be okay for the night?" He asked you quietly. 

"Yes..." You lied. You watched him leave, hearing the door shut behind him. Sana immediately stood up and locked both locks on the door. Her own version of paranoia setting in. She came back to sit with you, her arms lifting your body back onto her lap. 

"I'm so sorry." She continued. "This wouldn't have happened if I had gotten out first." She whispered. You shook your head, afraid of what would have happened if it had been her. You wrapped your arms around her tightly, not allowing her to think of such things. 

"No." You frowned. You repeated it multiple times until both of you were crying.