The Only

Chapter 9

Lisa spends the next week mopey. She tries her best to act like everything is normal, but she's never really been the best liar, what more an actress?

Her mother used to tell her that no matter how hard she tries to hide a secret or her emotions, her big and very expressive doe eyes betray her.

Damn her pretty doe eyes.

So it's not entirely surprising that Rosie notices the change in Lisa's mood.

See, Rosie may not be the most attentive person in general - her head is usually up in the clouds or she's always happily stuck in her own little world whenever duties and responsibilities don't demand her focus and attention. But the people she loves are a different matter.

Rosie knew something was wrong with Lisa.

She noticed it right around the last two weeks leading up to the opening of classes, after their aquarium date. She didn't press her best friend about it, assuming it was just pre-academic year blues.

But she should have known better. The signs were there, but she just kept telling herself she didn't want to jump to conclusions.

So she simply willingly suspended belief, and convinced herself whatever was souring Lisa's mood was entirely something else.

But she's lived with Lisa for the past three years and nearly spent all her free time with her, except for semester and holiday breaks when they would both go home to their families.

Lisa is her best friend, her closest confidant, her favorite person right next to her sister, and for all intents and purposes, practically her soulmate!

She knew Lisa's favorite food and the food she would never in a million years eat. She has Lisa's mannerisms and habits memorized. She knew Lisa's walk so well that she can tell that the person walking towards her is Lisa even from far away and even without any contacts or glasses. She knew the sound of Lisa's footsteps, knew the way Lisa stuck her keys in the door that she could tell the very moment when Lisa had gotten home. She could tell when Lisa had a tummy ache before Lisa even said anything. She could tell when Lisa was about to come down with a cold. She knew when Lisa was upset or bothered by anything.

And she also knew when Lisa didn't like a particular person. It didn't happen very often because as shy as Lisa may be, people naturally gravitated to her. Her best friend had that effect on people.

Lisa starts off as a mystery when you first get to know her - a light that draws people in like moths. And then the more you hang around her, you'll see how she becomes like a warm little campfire people gathered around. And at her best, Lisa was a bright shining star that people look up to in awe.

Lisa just had that natural charm. And even Rosie wasn't immune from it.

But Rosie loved that about Lisa - loved all facets of her. She loved watching her bounce back and forth from being the little light to being the campfire to being the star and back to being a little light once again, when the attention becomes a little too much.

So Rosie could tell right away that Lisa did not like Jaehyun.

Or should have been able to tell had she not been too stubborn with herself about it. Their fight at the aquarium was already the biggest sign of that.

It was just that Rosie didn't see what was not to like about Jaehyun. The boy was absolutely charming and polite, fun to talk to and interesting. He loves music and singing, too, and it was just really easy to talk to him.

Jaehyun has also been really helpful with student council activities as well. He willingly did little things like man registration booths or help usher during the opening ceremony. He helped setting up the campus fairgrounds, too, leading up to the first day of classes. He ran back and forth, across campus buildings to get signatures from school officials, relay messages to professors, and even buy food and water for the guests.

He proved himself to be genuinely kind enough and likable.

So, Rosie, for the life of her, couldn't think of why Lisa wouldn't like Jaehyun.

Maybe something about Jae rubbed her best friend the wrong way? Maybe it was just an instance of Lisa just not liking him for no reason at all?

That does happen sometimes. Some people just give you vibes and you decide you don't want to have anything to do with them.

The thought saddens Rosie. She would love for her best friend to get along with the boy she was becoming fast friends with.

But it isn't in Rosie's business to tell Lisa who to get along with, who to hang out with, and who to like. Rosie knows her boundaries and she respects them. And she certainly loves and respects Lisa too much to force her to befriend this guy who she just recently met.

And she just misses Lisa so damn much.

She misses spending time with her best friend, walking home with her, having dinner with her, and just talking to her. She realizes she hasn't been paying much attention to Lisa because of council activities.

And she feels so awful. She can only hope Lisa doesn't feel too neglected.

She feels bad for not being able to walk home with her, too, yesterday, even if Lisa did end up having to go to the dance crew's practice room.

For some reason, she felt like she was the one who broke the promise and bailed.

So Rosie decides that she's going to make it up to Lisa.

And luckily, today was a Saturday and except for checking in with the different student committees for their reports, she has the whole weekend free.

A whole weekend to spend with her best friend. A whole weekend where she can binge watch a drama with, eat with, and laugh with Lisa.

Rosie smiles at the thought.

A whole weekend of just her and Lisa. Lisa and her.

It sounds absolutely perfect. It's exactly what she needs after such an exhausting week.

Just the two of them in their own little world for a weekend.

Rosie and Lisa. Lisa and Rosie.

And she knows just the perfect way to start it; she'll cook a nice little dinner and then she'll play something on netflix on her laptop. They can watch whatever movie or series or even documentary it is on her bed until they fall asleep.

Rosie full on grins now, happy and excited.

It will be just perfect.