THE LIGHT OF LOVE | JENLISA

Chapter 20.

The party was going on for an hour already and Lisa caught herself repeatedly looking out of the window because Jennie still wasn't there. She cursed silently, not knowing what was making her more mad, the possibility that Jennie decided not to come or the fact that her "small get-together" turned to a huge fest. Somehow the news of Lisa Manoban throwing a party went viral among all students and, given her reputation, a lot of people decided to show up, even though they wasn't exactly invited. Currently the entire downstairs was filled with people, half of which Lisa didn't even know. She cursed under her breath again, thinking about how she'll have to clean up all the mess before her mom comes back.

Lisa jumped to her feet noticing Jennie getting out of the taxi in front of her house. She ran downstairs and opened the door just in time to let her friend in. And then her jaw just dropped. Jennie was wearing a stylish dress, a black one with white elements, silver necklace and earrings and elegant black shoes on high heels.

She looked insanely hot: that's all Lisa's poor brain could think about at the moment. She knew that Jennie was attractive, but the way she dressed at school did nothing to highlight her natural beauty, as if Jennie simply didn't care about her appearance. But the way she was looking now was just a whole another level. Lisa's gaze subconsciously lingered on Jennie's impeccable neckline, perfect make-up, lovely hair, bewitching lips...

"You look... gorgeous." Lisa stammered out, stopping herself from saying "hot" in the last moment.

"Do I? Sorry, I didn't know what to wear, I... I've never been to a real party before." Jennie wrinkled her nose. Her behavior was in sharp contrast to how she looked: she was visibly very anxious, didn't know what to do with her hands and her eyes were unconfidently looking around. "So I just thought I'd wear something nice because it's such a special occasion-" she abruptly fell silent when she noticed how other people were dressed: most boys wore t-shirts and jeans and girls casual tops and skirts.

"Oh my god, I can't believe I made a fool of myself already. I knew it would happen. I'm so stupid. I'm going to go now. Goodbye." she rambled in a panicked voice and turned to leave.

"Jennie, calm down. What's in the bag?"

"Oh, right, sorry, I almost forgot. It's for you." Jennie handed her friend a small gift bag, still looking very awkward and uncomfortable. "Happy eighteenth birthday Liz."

Lisa mindlessly took the present from her. "How could I ever have thought that Jennie was scary, fierce and strong? Once you get to know her better, she's just a sensitive, vulnerable girl." her mind wondered how first impressions can be deceiving. Then she took out a small bottle of perfume from the bag.

"Wow, thanks Jen. And what a delightful scent. I love it. What brand is it?" she asked, surprised that there were no markings on the bottle.

"It has no brand. I made it myself. For you." Jennie replied and before astonished Lisa could react, she turned away and began walking away.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Lisa ran after her and stopped her. "Come on, it's not that bad, people are going to stare at you, yeah, but so what? Just ignore them."

"I can't, I'll feel like I'm on a display-"

"Just come in for a half an hour, please. You'll like it, you'll see. And you don't have to worry about all these people partying downstairs, we'll go upstairs to my room, all my friends are just chilling out there."

Jennie hesitated.

"And I won't leave you alone, I swear." Lisa added and her face brightened up when Jennie reluctantly directed her steps back to the house.

"People are staring at me, they must think I'm a freak for dressing up like that to your party." Jennie complained as they were walking up the stairs.

"Wrong. They are staring at you because how great you look. I don't want to scare you but you'll be hit on a lot today."

"Hit on?" Jennie's eyes widened and she gulped. She's never been "hit on" in her life. It was a frightening perspective, what would she even do?

Just when they reached the middle of the stairs, some guy yelled after them from below:

"Hey Lisa, who's your sexy friend? Aren't you going to introduce her to us?"

Lisa ignored him completely. "See what I'm talking about?" she said to Jennie, who was blushing again.

"By the way, you're making perfumes yourself? You're so full of surprises, Jennie Kim." Lisa deliberately didn't conceal how impressed she was.

"It's just my hobby. It's quite easy, anyone could do it really."

"Yeah, sure. And did you make this one... specifically for me?"

Jennie just nodded. She was so modest and humble when it came to her achievements that it made Lisa admire her even more.

They stopped in front of the door. "Ready?" Lisa asked and Jennie took a deep breath. "I'm not sure-" she answered faintly but it was too late anyway, because the blonde swung the door to her room wide open and ushered Jennie inside.