Today was the day.

Jisoo paced back and forth outside the cafeteria while the rest of her class was all crammed in the small space behind her, chattering away and reminiscing over memories through the years. She doesn't know how many times she had gone over her speech but she wanted it to be perfect. She ran it over and over in her head, occasionally looking down at the paper she held in her right hand when she forgot something. She took a big breath in and folded the paper before slipping it in her robe.

"Kim, are you okay?" A familiar voice sweetly asked.

The corners of Jisoo's lips curved up. "I'm fine, Jendeukie." She turned around and found her beautiful girlfriend smiling brightly at her.

Jennie had her blue and gold gown unzipped showing off her tight fitted white dress underneath. She wore her natural hair, wavy and lusciously falling down her face. The blue cap pinned in it with a slight angle and the gold cord loosely hanging on the right side.

The two girls both wore the same exact gowns but to Jisoo, Jennie wore it better.

"Looks like you're about to pass out." The brunette teased as she walked towards Jisoo and grabbed the flaps of Jisoo's gown. She straightened them out before fondling with a white sash that marked the girl's title.

"Nerves." Jisoo shrugged casually. "The speech and all."

Jennie's brown orbs flickered up as she gently laced her hands around Jisoo's neck. "Hey," she said softly, "you're going to nail it."

The taller girl sighed.

"I'm going to forget the words and blank out. People will laugh at me and I'll be known as the valedictorian who gave the worst speech." Jisoo rambled insecurity evident in her voice. Jennie just chuckled lightly and shook her head causing the raven-haired girl to furrow her eyebrows together. "Why are you laughing?" She whined.

"Because the Kim Jisoo I knew was always so confident. Nothing stood her way. She's fearless, optimistic, assertive, and most of all down to earth person I've ever met. She conquered every hill she came across." Jennie spoke eloquently. "She's my rock in this slippery slope we call life."

"Jennie..." Jisoo whispered lovingly but was cut off when the shorter girl shushed her.

"And though you haven't showed me your speech, I know it'll be great. So put all the past valedictorians to shame. Make them regret writing their poor excuse of a speech." Jennie grinned then gave her girlfriend a wicked winked. Jisoo bit her lip and smiled at the brown-eyed girl.

"Maybe you should just do my speech for me. You're better with words anyway." Jisoo suggested.

"Yeah right." Jennie snorted. "When it comes to you, I never know what to say."

Jisoo blushed and wetted her lips by instinct. "I love you."

"I love you too and don't you forget that." Jennie replied sincerely.

"Can we kiss now?" Jisoo asked slyly as she leaned in.

"Nope!" Jennie declared, pulling herself off Jisoo's grasp. "We have friends to say goodbye to." She held out her hand for Jisoo to take and smiled. "Let's look back on our years in this horrid place, shall we?"

The pale girl took Jennie's hand and intertwined them together. "It wasn't that horrible."

Jennie raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Uh yes it was."

"I got you in the end, didn't I?"

Jennie paused. She turned to Jisoo and stared through her piercing brown eyes. "Oh Jisoo, I am not the prize here... You are."

"Huh?" Jisoo cocked her head to the side not understanding what the smaller girl was saying.

"You didn't get me..." Jennie bit her lip and smiled. "It's me who got you in the end. I'm the lucky one."

-

Flashback

Lisa, Jisoo, and Rosé laughed loudly causing an echo in the big gymnasium. Their heads all bowed down looking at the small screen that Lisa held in front of her. They were on Jennie's Facebook account scrolling through old profile pictures of the brunette. She looked so cute and innocent with her soft smile.

Jennie had walked in the gym and saw the three huddled all together. Naturally, her curiosity got the best of her so she tried to take a peep at what they were all so focused on. She caught a glimpse of a picture of herself from 6th grade and gasped.

"Oh my god!" Jennie exclaimed. She snatched the phone from the trio and blushed furiously. A mix of anger and embarrassment flowed through her.

"Hey!" All three complained whipping their heads up to glare at the snatcher.

"How the hell did you guys find my profile?" Jennie growled.

"Ummm, I don't know, Ruby Jane. How did we?" Lisa teased, a sly grin dancing on her face.

"Don't. Call. Me. That." Jennie gritted through her teeth. She shut her eyes briefly as memories came in flashes.

"Easy there, Tiger." Jisoo said calmly. "We were just joking, Jendeukie."

"Well, it's not funny." Jennie barked. She raised the phone and pointed at the screen. "This is private."

"No. It's on public, actually." Rosé countered receiving a soft disapproving nudge from Jisoo and a giggle from Lisa.

Jennie rolled her eyes and tossed the phone back to Lisa. The Thai's eyes widen and scrambled to catch her most beloved. Luckily, her athletic abilities kicked in and were able to catch it with no trouble.

"Nini!" Lisa shouted. "Warn a girl!"

"Whatever." Jennie grumbled. She didn't have the patience for her teammates' antics right now. She stomped away from the girls and slumped down the wall where her bag was. She dug through her things and tried to forget.

"What's with her?" Rosé asked in a displeased tone.

Jisoo brought her hand to her neck and stared at Jennie. "I dunno. But she's mad. Maybe we should apologize to her."

"For what?" Rosé retorted. "All we did was go through her profile pictures. It's not a crime. I do it all the time." She chuckled. "Woah that rhymed."

The older girl gave Rosé a knowing look. "Rosie."

"I'm just sayin!"

"Chu's right. Nini did looked upset." Lisa spoke quietly feeling the guilt eat her up.

There was a brief pause. The three girls all looked at each other trying to see who would be the one to do it. They all knew Jennie had a small temper and none of them wanted to get the end of that stick.

Jisoo sighed. "I'll talk to her." She knew no one else would cave. She ran her hand through her hair and prepared herself for the rage.

"Chu, maybe..." Lisa trailed off with remorse then turned to Rosé. "Maybe you should do it this time, Rosie."

"What! Why me?" Rosé huffed.

"Because Jisoo's always the one taking the blows. Her and Nini aren't even in the best of terms." Lisa reminded the taller girl. "Plus you egged her on."

"Excuse me, but you were the one that mentioned her other names!" Rosé argued. "That got her really fired up."

Jisoo raised her eyebrows at the conversation going on in front of her. She scratched her head and tuned the two girls out, her eyes finding themselves focusing on a grumpy brunette by the wall.

"Chu." Rosé tapped the pale girl's shoulder. "Tell Lisa it was her fault and that she should apologize to Jennie!"

"Uh-uh. You were the one with that smart mouth, Rosé!" Lisa sassed. She snapped her fingers and bobbed her head.

"Enough." Jisoo said firmly. "I'll talking to Jennie, okay? I already said I was. You idiots can stop arguing now."

Lisa and Rosé shut their mouths.

"Alright." Jisoo mumbled. She walked away from her teammates and towards Jennie. She stopped her tracks when she towered over the girl tying her shoes.

"Jisoo if you're here to make everything better, leave." Jennie muttered without taking her eyes off her laces. She didn't know whether it was Jisoo's presence or if it was just a really crappy day that's causing her hands to not work properly. She cussed under her breath when she wasn't able to get the lace in the loop.

Jisoo saw the struggled and bent down. "Here, let me." She gently removed Jennie's hands from the shoes and started to work on the laces herself.

"I can do it myself." Jennie grumbled, crossing her arms.

"I know you can." Jisoo replied. She raised her gaze to meet Jennie's brown orbs. "But that won't stop me from trying to help you out."

The brown-eyed girl's facial features softened. She watched as Jisoo dropped her head back down to tie her shoes. A smile forming on her lips as she whispered ever so quietly, "Thanks."

"What was that?" The other girl asked failing to hear what Jennie had said.

Jennie cleared her throat, "I said, not too tight."

Jisoo rolled her eyes playfully and loosened the laces. "Better?"

"Hmm."

"So, um. The girls and I wanted to apologize for invading your privacy like that. We shouldn't hav-"

"It's fine." Jennie answered coldly. "I'm over it, anyway."

"Jendeukie, you know we were just playing around right?"

"Jisoo. I said I was over it. Can we not talk about it?"

The pale girl sensed irritation in the girl's tone. She gave up and stood straight as she held her hand out for Jennie to take. "C'mon lets practice then."

Jennie stared at the hand for a minute before deciding to clasp onto it. She pulled her weight up as Jisoo held her ground. "I'll get the ball." She stated then jogged over to the storage closet to bring out the ball cart.

Jisoo let out a sad sigh when Jennie disappeared. It was like as if the girl didn't want to talk about her feelings. She didn't like Jennie keeping it to herself because she knew one day that the girl will blow up. She lazily strolled over to her teammates who have been gawking at her for the past five minutes.

Lisa smiled smugly and shook her head. "Chu, when will you learn?"

"Probably, never." Jisoo hummed.

"You've got it bad, Chu." Rosé wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Taken and closed off. You really hit the jackpot there." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

The dark haired girl groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I know." She mumbled.

"I suggest you stop while you're ahead, Jisoo. Chasing Jennie isn't healthy. She'll only break your heart." Lisa advised. "Like I told you last year, try Nayeon."

"I can't stop now." Jisoo confessed.

"Why not?"

"BecauseIvealreadyfallensodeep." Jisoo muffled in her hand.

"What?" Rosé asked leaning closer towards the girl.

Jisoo picked her head up and locked eyes with Rosé. "I'm already in love with her."

The outside hitter frowned. "Oh, Chu."

"Did she at least forgive us?" The Thai queried earning a glare from Rosé. "What? Jennie asked me to sleepover on Friday... it'd be awkward if she still mad, hello."

-

Jisoo sat on the bench just outside the school as she waited for her dad to come pick her up after practice. She mindlessly stared at the sky and smiled at the different shaped clouds she had made up. She shut one of her eyes and tilted her head when an interesting cloud slowly passed.

"It looks like a car to me." She heard someone say to her left. She snapped her head to the left and discovered Jennie staring at the same cloud she was examining. The brunette glanced at her and waved. "Can I sit?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah." Jisoo scooted over and made room for the petite girl. "You waiting for Irene?"

"No." Jennie responded, her voice with malice. "We're in a fight. She doesn't know but we are. I'm waiting for my mom."

Jisoo pursed her lips together and awkwardly shifted. "Okay..." Inside she was actually celebrating and praying for the couple to finally break it off. Then maybe, just maybe, Jennie will give her a chance. "You wanna talk about it?"

"What do you think?" The brown-eyed girl hissed.

"Right..." Jisoo nodded and gulped. She side-eyed Jennie and said, "you wanna hear a joke?"

Jennie turned her head slightly and arched an eyebrow.

"Why are movie stars so cool?" Jisoo snickered. "Because they have lots of FANS! Ba dum ba dum."

"That was dumb." Jennie scoffed. She bit her lower lip to stop herself from smiling.

"Oh yeah? How about this. Ahem... Why do bananas wear suntan lotion?" Jisoo tried again. "Because they PEEL!" She nudged Jennie. "Heh? Heh?"

"God this is torture." Jennie whined jokingly, a small chuckle escaping her lips. She looked over at Jisoo, who was beaming at her. "You are a child."

Jisoo scrunched her nose and squinted her eyes. "Jendeukie, I. Am. Your. Faaaaather!"

Jennie couldn't help but break. She threw her head back and laughed melodically. "Oh my god. You're such a nerd."

"At least I'm a nerd with class." Jisoo said smoothly. She adored the girl and seeing Jennie laughing and smiling was so precious to her. She preferred that Jennie to a grumpy one she had encountered earlier.

Jennie's laughter died down and silence fell upon the two again. She swung her dangling feet on the bench and faced Jisoo. "I was bullied." She admitted her gaze glued to her lap.

Jisoo's smile faltered as she heard those words come out of Jennie's mouth. Her forehead creased together as she gave all her attention to the brunette. "W-what?"

"That's why I was so upset earlier." Jennie revealed. She brushed over her nose and played with her fingers on her lap. "I didn't want you think I'm this drama queen that makes a whole fuss about stalking my facebook page."

"Will you tell me what happened?" Jisoo posed cautiously.

Jennie shrugged. "I guess. It's not a big deal, really. Back in 6th grade, I went to a really awful middle school. I mean, it wasn't all bad, I had friends and all but they were, um, assholes."

She sucked in a deep breath in before continuing. "They would push me around and sometimes call me names but at the moment I thought it was in a joking manner. I just shook it off at the end of the day or laugh about it with them. I dunno. I just didn't want to be alone so I took it."

"Jennie... they were your friends?" Jisoo croaked.

"Yup. I was a very timid kid, so maybe that's why. I never really had the courage to stand up for myself. Guess it was partly my fault."

Jisoo gaped at the brunette. She shot up from her seat and knelt down in front of Jennie. She reached over to the girl's face and lifted her chin with her finger. "Hey. Don't you ever think it was your fault. Ever." Her brown orbs pierced through Jennie. "It's never your fault. They were a bunch of assholes who were jealous of you."

Vacantness filled Jennie's eyes. "Why would they be jealous of me? I wasn't pretty. I was okay with my classes but I wasn't smart. I wore average clothes. I went by Ruby, which didn't help my situation. I hated middle school. The only thing good that came out of it was that Irene agreed to be my girlfriend."

If Jisoo's heart was aching before the last part tore it to pieces. "And she didn't stand up for you all that time?"

"She went to a private school." Jennie sniffed. She wiped a lone tear and pretended to be okay.

"Jendeukie-"

"No, Jisoo. I know what you're going to say. I've heard it so many times, okay? It's the past and I've moved on."

"But you're still hurting."

A bitter laugh escaped Jennie's lips. "Because it still hurts... You wouldn't understand."

"Jennie, look at me." Jisoo tried to make Jennie look at her but the brunette kept pulling away. She sighed in defeat. There were no words she could say to make Jennie feel better because she knew that the girl wouldn't listen to her. So instead of talking she pulled Jennie's body into hers and just held her. It didn't take long for the smaller girl to reciprocate the notion. "You're right, I don't understand. But-"

"That won't stop you from trying to. I know." Jennie finished. She shut her eyes and tightened her hold on Jisoo. "Thanks, Chu."

"I'll always be here to listen no matter how much you pretend to be okay."

"And that's why I'll always be the luckiest girl to have a friend like you."

-

Jisoo stood in the podium and stared at her notes. She took a sharp inhale before lifting her gaze to the crowd. She searched for her favorite chocolate orbs in the students below. A glint of joy sparked in her when she found them intently looking at her.

"In high school, the most dreaded day of the week is Monday. Students hated it. Teachers hated it. Even our Principal, Mr. Hemsworth hated it." She gestured to the big man standing a few feet away from her.

"That's true." The blonde man chuckled. "I hated it."

"But why?" Jisoo asked rhetorically. "Why hate a day that haven't had the opportunity to show what it has in store for you? It has the potential to be the best day ever but you already have this mindset that Mondays are horrible. It's just another day."

As she spoke people remained quiet, attentively listening to each word.

"Later in life, each and every one of us will go for a job interview. So imagine calling the office, getting a job interview and the secretary says they can only fit you in on a Monday. Are you going to refuse because that day is no good for you? No! You say yes, I will take that. Grab that opportunity and own it."

"You see my point is, in life there are always going to be Mondays, those days where you hate life and just don't want to do anything but lay in bed. The days where you think are the worst because something happened that day last week. Don't dwell over the past, look forward for the future and make the most of the present. You can't let silly things like presumptions stop you from getting or doing what you want. It's a challenge, I know, so overcome it."

Jisoo paused. She shifted nervously. Being on the spotlight and hearing crickets were more nerve wrecking than how it looked like. She looked back to Jennie to find comfort and then continued her speech.

"Take it from me. I spent One hundred and Forty Four Mondays, my whole school career in this school and not one did I take for granted. No way I was letting that day ruin my whole week. In all honesty, I liked Mondays it was a fresh start. A whole new week. People were skeptical but I didn't give a fuck because when I walked through those halls I had one thing running in my mind: 'Today's another day, another day to make someone smile.' You don't know how much a smile can affect one person. You can't believe what one smile did to me." She looked right at Jennie. "It could literally turn their whole day around. It wasn't easy to get that smile but it was a challenge that I've accepted the very first day someone told me they hated Mondays."

Jennie's cheeks burned as all eyes turned to her.

"Monday is an ordinary day but it has so much to offer so don't sell it short. Who knows, maybe there's something in store for you then. I read a quote once that's goes like,