That Way
Title: That Way
Pairing: Fei / Jia
Rating: PG
Words Count: 2375
Genre: Angst
Summary: It was in the way her eyes shone when there was a challenge, in the way she accepted it, every time. In the way she won, every time.
A/N: I deleted the entry when I just wanted to save the changes T_T I feel like the most stupid person on Earth right now. I lost the comments I received. *insert f-bomb if you want*
Yeah, so this is my first Miss A fic, and the first to appear on bad_but_good . ^^
Beware the angst, though.
THAT WAY
It was in the way she smiled, in the way she spoke, in the way she unconsciously pushed her hair behind her ear while talking.
“Who do you think is sexier? Nichkhun or Jaebum?” she asked, pointing at the guys playing volleyball while the girls were getting a tan not too far away on the beach.
Min, raising her eyes from her book, took a look at the boys, and just by the look on her face, it was obvious that she couldn't care less.
“I don't know. Junsu?”
There was a snicker and rolling eyes under flashy pink hair. “Yeah, whatever.” But Min was already back to The Portrait of a Lady, isolated from the rest of the world.
Then, those fascinating eyes were diverted from the literary girl and they fell upon Fei, who had been watching all the time. “And you, Fei, what do you think?” The sun rays glittered on the pink locks framing that pale face. It was distracting.
Fei, older and more mature (apparently), frowned. She didn't even need to look at the half naked guys looking stupid not too far away to figure out an answer, but she did anyway, to please her friend. “I don't know,” she said, shrugging. “They're not really my type?”
There was another snicker and a “what is wrong with you, guys?”, but Fei was used to that behavior. She actually found it pretty cute, in a way.
It was in the way she smirked, in the way she looked so confident and in the way she raised her chin high when she knew she was right.
“And what do you have against Junsu anyway?” Min asked, taking her chewed gum between her fingers and rolling a tissue around it before throwing it away, far enough for it to disappear in the dark night.
A faint breeze made the pink hair move as an incredulous eyebrow was raised. “You're honestly asking?”
Min rolled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself and kept walking. “What? Just because he's not as tall and beef-shaped as the guys you usually like? Junsu's really cool, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah, he's cool. In the song lyrics writer and “I am a misunderstood artist” kind of way.”
Min rolled her eyes again but didn't try replying to this. It was useless. “We should go back to the dorm. It's getting late, the camp supervisors won't be happy if they find us outside at this time.”
There was a sigh of annoyance, but the pink hair shook along with the nod.
Fei, silent as always, couldn't help but smile as she followed her friends back to the dorm.
It was in the way she didn't let anyone tell her what to do, in the way she showed no fear, in the way she could defy anyone.
“So it seems that some people have thought irrelevant to follow the rules we have set up and explained at the beginning of your stay here,” Jinyoung Park said, standing in front of all the teenagers who were looking at him intently.
Or at least, almost all of them were. His eyes fell on a tall girl with pale skin, dark eyes, and pink, flashy hair.
“Jia.”
Hearing her name, the girl raised her eyes to meet his, but the move was so slow and nonchalant, it made the owner and main organizer of the camp sigh.
“Jia, I think you should listen to what is being said right now. It concerns everyone here. Especially you.”
There was a smirk on that pale face. What happens if I don't listen? Words that didn't need to be spoken. That girl breathed insolence.
“Jia, your parents paid a lot of money to give you the chance to be here with us this summer. You should be respectful of that and follow the rules. It would only make yours and everyone's stay here more enjoyable.”
Those pale red lips stretched into an amused smile as her chest hopped with her snicker. “Well I didn't ask my parents to pay such a big amount of money to get rid of me. I can't help it if they want to ruin themselves so bad.”
JYP (that was the nickname everyone called him, everyone except Jia) sighed. Every year brought its load of insolent teenagers who thought they were so much better than what this summer camp could offer. But this girl was a lost cause. He would need to talk to her parents when they would come and get her at the end of this week. But for now, he couldn't argue. It was useless. It was what she wanted, obviously.
“From now on,” he said, back to talking to the whole group, “you will be required to be in your dorm at 10PM and to be in bed at 11. Breakfast is at 7:30AM, and activities will begin at 8:30. That will be all.”
As people got up and left the room, Fei watched Jia following the rest of the group, clearly expressing with her body language that she'd rather be on the beach or anywhere else than being here, following a group of dumb teenagers.
Those dark piercing eyes met Fei's, and the older girl smiled, a bit shyly.
Those pale red lips stretched into a smile too, a more confident one, before it all disappeared along with the pink hair into the crowd.
It was in the way her eyes shone when there was a challenge, in the way she accepted it, every time. In the way she won, every time.
Wooyoung looked at the boys and girls surrounding the fire with him, and finally settled them on a confident pink-haired girl.
“Jia, truth or dare.”
That famous smirk appeared on those lips and the answer was known before it was even spoken. “Dare.”
Wooyoung grinned, thrilled at the idea of making Jia doing whatever he wanted. The grin became bigger when he found his idea.
“You,” he said, pointing at Jia, “will kiss her.” He then pointed at Fei.
Fei's eyes became round and big, and Min raised her eyes from her book. Jia, however, didn't show any sign of surprise. That smirk didn't move. She knew what she was doing.
“Only if you kiss Junsu.”
Fei gaped, Min raised an eyebrow and Wooyoung... stammered, having suddenly lost the confidence he had built up. “W-w-what? B-But, you... I don't have to accept that. It's your dare!”
Jia, who had been laying backward, propped up on her elbows, sat up, tilting her head in an intimidating way. “Only if you kiss Junsu.”
Wooyoung, knowing he wouldn't win this argument, looked at his right, at Junsu, who seemed to wish he was anywhere else but here. This was going to end in one of his songs, for sure.
Someone in the group, probably Taecyeon, decided that the two who would last the longer would win.
The two boys lasted exactly 2.5 seconds, spitting on the ground as soon as they pulled apart, as if to get rid of the other's taste, while everyone else was bursting into laughter.
That was, of course, before they realized the two girls were still kissing.
No one thought of counting the seconds, but why would anyone care? The girls won. But even that thought didn't occur to most of them, as they stared at the scene, mouth hanging open and eyes as round as coins. And when Jia finally pulled away, smirk still in place as she looked at everyone with defiance, no one laughed. Or at least, not right away.
“What the hell was that?” Junho asked, looking more amused than shocked.
“I believe I won again.” And there was that smirk again.
And the game went on.
And Min was the only one to notice Fei's dumbstruck look.
It was in the way she acted differently when she wasn't surrounded by lots of people, in the way she looked so much more sincere and true whenever it was only the two of them.
Fei had heard noises coming from outside and had sneaked out of bed to come take a look. She knew who she would find there. She had seen the empty bed. And had known even before seeing it.
“Oh, it's you.” Jia said, barely turning around to look.
Fei didn't reply and simply stepped forward until she was closer. But not too close. Just the right distance.
“You want one?” the pink-haired girl asked, holding her pack of cigarettes up. If JYP or one of the camp leaders were to find this, she would get kicked out, right away.
But as she brought the lightened cigarette to her lips and blew the white smoke to her left with an expected ease, she obviously didn't care.
Fei declined with a shook of the head and wrapped her arms around herself. It was a chilly night. She should have brought a jacket.
“You're cold?” the pink-haired girl asked, between two puffs.
Fei shook her head again. She shouldn't be outside at such an hour, just like Jia shouldn't. As the eldest of the two, Fei should tell Jia to come back to the dorm, to stop smoking, to follow the rules. She shouldn't be standing there, watching her younger friend acting like that.
“You should go back inside. It's cold,” Jia said, and that surprised Fei. Jia rarely showed any sign of concern.
But she could. Sometimes. Fei knew her better than most people on this camp. They had been here for a few weeks already and Fei had a few times seen Jia like no one else had. Her confidence and pride never left her. But her wittiness and defiance did, sometimes.
They stood like that for a while, in the wood behind their dorm, under the shining moon. In silence. And it wasn't uneasy or awkward. It was just the two of them.
After a few more minutes, Jia threw her cigarette on the ground and stepped on it.
“Come on. We're going back to the dorm.”
And she grabbed Fei's hand, guiding her back, as if she might not remember the way.
It was in the way her touches were so special, and yet so normal, in the way they made the skin tingle and in the way it felt so good, like it was meant to be.
“Come,” Jia said, grabbing Fei's hand like that other night and guiding her somewhere. And Fei followed. Because it was Jia, and she knew better than to contradict her.
They kept walking for a while. Holding hands. Even though it was more like Jia dragging her and she was following.
They arrived at the beach. It was deserted, since everyone was eating breakfast. They should be there too. The rules said they had to be at the cafeteria at 7:30. The rules said they couldn't go on the beach when there were no supervisors. The rules said they had to be ready for activities at 8.
But the rules went against pretty much everything Jia did.
“Look!” the pink-haired girl said, pointing at something in the distance, in the water.
Fei screwed her eyes up, trying to block the sun rays from blinding her. Something was emerging from the water, somewhere far away, and then diving again. “What is it?”
“I don't know. I think it's a whale.”
Fei frowned. “Are there whales around here?”
Jia grinned, displaying a sheepish look she reserved to few people. “I don't know.” And she laughed. Like a kid.
And it was so beautiful.
It was in the way she was so beautiful, like no one else was. In the way her hair swayed with the breeze, in the way her freckles framed her nose, in the way her shoulders hopped when she laughed.
She kissed her. Because it seemed like a good idea, like the thing to do.
Fei kissed Jia, thinking she shouldn't be scared of doing so, thinking that expressing her feelings would relieve her. Thinking that first loves were beautiful, after all.
Their kiss lasted for a few seconds, nothing like that kiss that other night, when they were by the fire. It lasted until Jia pushed her away. Suddenly. Abruptly enough for Fei to fall on the ground and wince at the sudden pain.
This was no kiss by the fire. This was no challenge, with no winner and no crowd. This was just a kiss. A normal kiss. A loving kiss. And that...
That was disgusting.
“You're disgusting.”
The words fell on Fei like anvils, knocking her out sufficiently for her not to notice Jia leaving.
Leaving Fei alone, on the ground, in the middle of the deserted dorm, while everyone else was enjoying lunch. She felt bad, queasy. She wanted to throw up.
And she did.
It was in the way she was so unpredictable, in the way she never did what one expected her to. In the way she could hurt someone. Just because.
Jia told everyone.
Everyone.
Even the poor young Suzy. Young, sweet, easily influenced Suzy.
Fei could face Taec's perverted and sexist jokes, Wooyoung's staring or Junho's uneasiness. But being mocked by an angel was something she couldn't. It was the last thing she could have expected. And the most painful one.
It was in the way she could stop talking to someone. Just because she decided she would. In the way she could change her mind. Just like that. Because she decided to.
What Fei loved about Jia. It was pretty much everything. Even the bad things. Even what she shouldn't approve of. It was what made her forget the authority of her slightly older age, made her forget what she believed in and what she thought was right.
And it was when Min sat next to her that night, wrapping her arm around her shoulder and letting her cry on her shoulder, that Fei wondered why she always had to fall for the wrong person.
__________________
To all my faithful readers, just know that I love you.
If you've been waiting for Dear Jessica 3 all this time, THERE IS NOW A DEADLINE!
Dear Jessica 3 will be posted on August 6th. I will accept no excuse from myself to be late. (If I finish it sooner, it will be posted sooner. Otherwise, it will be on August 6th.)
THANK YOU!