"Are you alright?" Lisa asks as they pack for their trip.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" Jennie doesn't look at her as the older girl continues to pack.

Lisa stares at her before going back to packing, "You don't seem fine. What happened back there?"

Jennie doesn't answer. She stands up to get more things to put in her bag, only then she says, "Nothing. What are you talking about?"

Lisa only sighs. Jennie makes it clear that she doesn't want to talk about it – if ever there really was.

Lisa's clearly not going to get anything from Jennie.

----------------

Jennie flops almost instantly the moment their mat was placed upon the grassy plains of the picnic garden.

Lisa does not need to be yanked down anymore as she initiates to sit beside the shorter girl who manages to look more and more beautiful every day.

The sunglasses Jennie was wearing and the thin fabric of her tank top are not helping. These only draw more of Lisa's stares, more than she wanted to or allowed herself to.

In a few more moments, Jennie's relatives start to occupy the picnic garden, all having their own basket and food to share.

Lisa doesn't feel as uneasy like before since attention is not much on her now. Maybe they got used to seeing her already that they really don't bother with her anymore.

Although Lisa would be lying if she says that she hasn't caught some of Jennie's relatives deliberately gawking at her.

She would just think that it's just because of her hair colour.

This was confirmed when one of Jennie's kid cousins goes to her and unexpectedly says, "Your hair is pretty."

Lisa and Jennie look at each other in sync, Jennie raises her sunglasses and smilingly shrugs at Lisa.

Lisa shrugs and smiles back before turning to the little kid, "Thanks, kid. Your hair's pretty, too."

"How about me, kiddo?" Jennie tilts her head to have a better view of her cousin.

And the young cousin replies, "You're pretty too, deukie."

Jennie and Lisa only giggle softly again as they watch her skip happily back to her mom.

"Cute cousin of yours." Lisa comments as she lay the food in the mat.

"Yeah," Jennie lies down, "Runs in the blood."

Lisa jeers, "Then it skipped you."

Lisa laughs harder when she feels Jennie's backhand slaps her arm.

-----------

It was time to eat and so the tribe of a family Jennie has gathered altogether once more, making Lisa shift from her position and scoot closer to Jennie.

They were eating peacefully when an absurd request – demand – was given from the bitch of a princess Lisa had long thought gone.

"Feed me." Jennie says directly.

"What?" Lisa turns to her as she chews on a sandwich.

"Feed me." Jennie simply repeats.

"Uh, are you sure?" Lisa asks sarcastically, "Because I'm pretty sure that your relatives are here and are watching."

Jennie shrugs with her eyebrows meeting together, "So?"

Lisa looks left and right, "It'll be weird?"

"Why would it be? You always feed me."

"Jennie, be realistic here."

"I am. I am commanding you to feed me."

Lisa's mouth was beyond ajar.

Oh, the things Jennie makes her do.

With a shake of her head, Lisa finally feeds Jennie a sandwich – with some stares smouldering holes at their skulls.

It was only stopped when Lisa playfully shoves the whole sandwich to Jennie's mouth, laughing while looking down as Jennie punches her in the arm once more.

----------------

Their trip to the temple and shrines were kept short and simple as they pray in sincerity for brief moments of silences.

"What did you pray for?" Jennie returns the water bottle she previously asks Lisa to bring.

"For you to stop being a bitch." Lisa puts back the bottle inside her bag as she slyly smiles as she feels Jennie's hand slap hers, "What did you pray for?" She turns to Jennie.

"That you stop whining about me being a bitch." Jennie smirks back at her.

Lisa agrees to join the staring contest as she says, "Huh, we'll see whose will get answered first."

And Lisa sees Jennie smile at the ground.

----------------

But their hiking was put in a complete stop when it starts to rain, hard.

"You are such bad luck, Lisa." Jennie bumps a shoulder to Lisa's.

Thankfully, they were already back home by the time it starts pouring cats and dogs.

Their hiking becomes a marathon of stories – all kinds of stories – ranging from children's tales to old wives' tales to simply nonsense.

Jennie and her relatives sit together in the living room catching up with each others' lives, laughing at old memories, and taking pictures here and there – with Lisa being called to join time to time.

Surprisingly, Lisa enjoys every moment of it. Maybe it was the sound of the rain that calms her or the comfortable mood set today by Jennie's uncle who told funny stories about his entire lifetime as a traveller such as him having a very bad back ache when he once slept on a tent-covered rocky platform.

It was all comfortable, and Lisa would leave it at that.

--------------------

Except it wasn't all comfortable the whole night, for it starts to thunder.

Poor younger kids coil up to their respective mothers as they scurry under the latter's skirts because of fright.

Maybe Lisa would have done the same if her own mother was there.

But it seems that it would be Jennie doing that with how she's hiding her trembling.

Even if they're a bed away, Lisa could see from the corner of her eyes how Jennie shudders underneath that blanket.

Lisa calls out, "Are you alright?"

"H-Huh?" Jennie slightly turns her head,

"Yeah, yeah. I'm alright. Why'd you ask?"

"Nothing," Lisa sits up to properly see Jennie, "It's just that you're shaking."

"What?" Jennie slightly turns again, "This? Oh, no. No, I'm no-"

Even before Jennie finishes her sentence, a thunder wins over her first. Making Jennie immediately bring her hands to her ears and – Lisa is sure – shut her eyes tight.

It was loud and deafening, but Lisa is too overwhelmed by Jennie's sight that she forgot to cover her own ears.

It was only then that Lisa remembers that Jennie is sensitive to smell and somehow sensitive to sound as well.

"Are you..." Lisa tries not to laugh, "Are you afraid of the thunder?"

"What?!" Jennie snaps back at her, "No, I'm not!"

"Oh, yeah? Then why are you all covered up and cringing?"

"I'm not cringing," Jennie sits properly to look at Lisa's comfortable lying form, "You're cringing."

Lisa raises her eyebrows to taunt the older girl more, and before Lisa could even answer back, another loud, crashing sound booms all over the place.

Making Jennie yelp and hide back under her sheets, and Lisa can't help but let her giggle escape her throat.

"Ah, Jennie." Lisa holds her forehead as she mindlessly says, "Why are you so adorable?"

Lisa was about to take it back once she realizes what she just said but then another thunder got to her first and it was enough to shut her and Jennie up as well.

Lisa looks at Jennie's side of the bed and finds that the older girl is wrapped with her blanket like how a butterfly nestles at its cocoon.

She could not take any more of this circus as she thinks to herself just how old Jennie really is, because honestly, Jennie is more of a child than most of her younger relatives in here.

Lisa's heart disturbingly pounds at her chest again as she wonders if her next actions will be and are justifiable.

She takes her blanket off her and feels the breeze that accompanied the rain seep through her skin. She shivers at first but then she manages to stand up from her bed and slowly walk up to her next destination.

Jennie's bed.

Jennie feels her hands get unbelievably sweaty and clammy in such a cold weather. She's hesitant of what she wants to do, why is she even doing this?

She plans to go back to her own bed and just sleep the night off as originally planned but she sees Jennie jump from shock again when another rumble envelopes the room.

"Move." Lisa says softly so as not to startle Jennie but firmly enough for Jennie to hear.

When Jennie hears it, she quickly looks to where that soft sound came from.

"Lisa," Jennie mutters once she sees the source of that calm voice, "What are you doing?"

"I," Lisa stops.

What was she doing?

"I-I..." Lisa feels her face get warm and her hands get cold, what the hell is wrong with her?

"I..." She continues to stumble with her words, and gives up when it won't roll off her tongue, "Just move, okay?"

Jennie looks at her for a few more seconds which made Lisa a bit more tensed than what she already is, then Jennie nods and scoots over.

Lisa takes this as cue to dip herself in Jennie's blanket and nervously climb all the way up to Jennie's bed.

"Don't do anything perverted to me." Jennie says as soon as Lisa finishes settling down beside her.

Lisa scoffs at the insult, "You wish."

Jennie stays silent at first but then she asks, "What do you even want?"

Lisa mentally curses because Jennie is unbelievable right now, "Can't you see I'msacrificing myself to keep you company? Why don't you just admit that you're scared, you wimp?" Lisa lightly laughs.

"I'm not scared." Jennie twitches an eye, and Lisa sees it because the lightning once again shows up.

That was enough for Jennie to cover her ears again.

Lisa shakes her head, "This is what you called 'not scared'?"

"I'm just..." Jennie trails off, "Being cautious."

"Yeah, right." Lisa positions herself comfortably in Jennie's soft bed.

"Yeah. Right."

Lisa was about to close her eyes when she senses warmth slowly getting near her. She fully opens her eyes and sees Jennie moves closer to her.

So close she could practically smell the shampoo Jennie uses, so close she could practically see all of Jennie's creases, so close she could practically taste Jennie in her mouth if she even dare try to.

And Lisa admits that she's not as touchy as normal people, but the moment seems too right for her to hug Jennie, to embrace Jennie in her warmth – with her warmth.

But she does not move.

No. Not will all the mixed feelings fighting inside of her.

The feeling of wanting to pull Jennie closer to her – even closer than they already are – and let Jennie be all that she sees, the feeling of dreadfulness if she does and if Jennie pulls away, the feeling of nervousness of how physically intimate they are right now, the feeling of joy because they are intimate right now.

But of all the feelings playing within her, one seems to outgrow all the others. One seems to overpower the fear, excitement and anxiety Lisa feels all at once.

It was the feeling of longing for Jennie.

More than longing.

Lisa starts breathing hard after her abrupt thoughts, and so she does not hug Jennie anymore.

Until it was Jennie who personally takes one of her hands and wraps it around the smaller girl's waist, ending Lisa's inner battle with herself.

And it was all that took Lisa's breath away from her.

"Th-This is nothing, okay?" Jennie timidly says, "It's just that..." Jennie stops and so does Lisa's heart, "Im just... r-really cold, okay?"

Lisa tries to swallow but her throat was to dry, so she was only able to coarsely say, "O-Okay."

Who cares if she's just a school mate to Jennie, right? Lisa could only wonder if Jennie really only think of them as that.

Because then Lisa feels Jennie softly clench the front of the blonde's shirt as Jennie gently rests her head on Lisa's neck.

Lisa was afraid that Jennie might hear the thumping of her uneasy heart, but the thought was immediately stopped when Lisa hears Jennie muffle,

"Lisa,"

"Hmm?"

Lisa continues to feel Jennie clench on her shirt as Jennie says in a soft, serene voice,

"I hate you."

And Lisa can't help but smile and finally hug Jennie,

"I hate you, too."