________________

L E A V E

(n.) to cause to remain as a trace or

aftereffect

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One year ago

° ° °

"HEY LISA Fatter," a couple boys smirked as they walked past the blonde, hitting her shoulder and snickering. She ignored them and dragged her hoodie farther down to cover her face and tightened the straps of her backpack, increasing her pace.

After today, they're going to regret ever bullying her.

"Hey, babe!" the blonde couldn't help but smile a little at her best friend's voice, the gorgeous Jennie Kim.

Long, wavy brunette locks that she had dyed over the break fell in perfect careless waves around her slim shoulders. Her tan made her look more alive, and made those silver-blue eyes pop with a bat of those long lashes. Her jawline was on point, her nose perfect, her lips luscious. She wore a black sleeveless crop-top, her toned abs showing. Her tanned legs were bare thanks to the ripped cut-off shorts she wore.

Stunning was an understatement for the famous Jennie Kim.

Now their school of course had a dresscode. But no teacher ever really called Jennie Kim out. She was nice to everyone, excelled in her studies, her parents sponsored the school, and she never caused any trouble. Most of the time, they let her go with whatever she wore or chose to ignore it. Bias.

She smiled her pearly whites at Lisa, then moved to give her a hug that left Lisa wheezing for breath. She would have hugged her back just as hard, if it weren't for the boys' echoing taunts still in her mind. So instead, she managed a small, "Hi."

Jennie cocked a perfect eyebrow as she pulled back to look at her. "What's with the shy Lisa today?" She frowned, noticing the look of chagrin in her best friend's face. She cupped Lisa's chin in her hand and lifted her head to meet her eyes.

"You were bullied again." It was a statement and Lisa hung her head, not even denying it anymore. She was just so tired of hearing it all and she knew she should have been used to the insults by now. But every single time they teased her, she could feel some prick at her heart. It's smaller now, but it's still there. It's the same every day.

"It's no big deal," Lisa sighed. "Let's just go for lunch." She knew they were right. Her size and weight was unhealthy. She couldn't stop eating junk food and her body was now paying for it. If she kept this up, she'd die sooner. However, bullying her like this wasn't helping in anyway.

With a frown still marring her angel-like face, Jennie nodded and linked her arm with Lisa's, heading to the cafeteria. "I swear if they mess with you one more time..." Jennie grumbled and Lisa smiled, loving that her friend was so protective of her.

At the cafeteria, people stared as usual at the two unusual best friends. Lisa knew they all questioned their friendship, whether it was real or if Jennie was just using her for something. How could a girl like Jennie be friends with someone like Lisa? Their eyes stuck unto Jennie with envy and admiration of her beauty, and they clung to Lisa with malice and disgust.

Today is the last day. Lisa knew she just needed to endure all of this for a few more hours. She has done it for a decade, why not a few more rounds of the clock? I don't know how the hell I'm going to explain this to Jennie.

As they approached their table, the tall blonde gently nudged a petite asian girl and she looked up to enthusiastically say, "Hey Lisa!" then scooted to the side to make space for Lisa's seat. Or rather, seats. She needed two of them to fit.

"Thanks, Nayeon." Lisa smiled and gingerly sat down, finding it difficult with her size and weight. Jennie helped her gently, holding her bag in one hand and her arm in the other, navigating her.

Once she was seated, Jennie took her spot next to Lisa and immediately started eating the food their friends had gotten for them.

"Um, where's our end of the deal?" a blond guy sitting across Jennie asked her, an eyebrow raised and a small smile playing on his lips.

Jennie rolled her eyes, "It's in my bag you doofus." He grinned and reached for her bag, rummaging around until he found what he was looking for.

"Yes!" he held up the chocolate triumphantly. "Wonwoo is happy. The world may continue."

Jennie and Lisa chuckled. Kang Wonwoo's parents apparently had a "horrifying" past with chocolate, and so forbade their children any at all. Their house was void of the brown goodness and they've always had vanilla cakes for their birthdays. And thus Wonwoo and his twin, Seulgi, lived a sad life, deprived of chocolates.

A brunette girl with chrome-blue eyes identical to her brother's groaned, "We got you an extra yogurt for that chocolate. Thank you so much." She made a grab for the chocolate bar in her brother's hand and he lifted it out of her reach.

"Hey!"

"Nuh-uh Seul. You ate a whole chocolate bar without sharing last time."

"But I paid for the yogurt didn't I?"

"Sucks to be you."

Seulgi growled and smacked her brother behind his head, making him yelp and smacking her back.

Lisa, Jennie, and Nayeon looked on with amusement. Both twins were athletically built and excelled in whatever sports they tried out in. They were only in their sophomore year and universities were already sending them scholarship forms. Now watching those athletic arms take turns smacking each other was amusing to say the least.

"So what are you gonna do over the summer, Nayeon?" Jennie asked after taking a spoonful of her yogurt. "Is Im Nayeon finally opening her own mathematics university?"

"Har har har," Nayeon replied, sticking out her tongue. "You white people and your asian stereotypes. I swear. Don't make me eat your dog."

Lisa choked on her food, laughing.

"Careful, fatty," a deep voice snickered and Jennie felt Lisa tense beside her at the words. "Piggies shouldn't be choking on lettuce like that. And what's with the greens? Are you on a diet?" He mocked-gasped, covering his mouth. His friends laughed behind him, slapping his back and commending him on his burn.

"Shut up, Bambam," Jennie muttered. "Go be an asshole somewhere else."

"Awww you letting your pretty little girlfriend defend you now? I bet you can't even kiss for shit." Lisa scrunched her eyes shut, her fists clenched against her lap. Bambam then directed his words at Jennie. "Baby, if you need a real toe-curling kiss, come out back in my car later," he leaned in closer to the brunette. "I'll show you a good time." What he said didn't even make sense. At all.

She expected Jennie to just sigh, flip her hair and tell Lisa to ignore them, just like she always did whenever Lisa was bullied. She strengthened her. Lisa couldn't imagine going through elementary, middle school, and high school life without that brunette by her side. They've always been there for each other through thick and thin, and have learned to focus in their own little world and ignore what people said about them. Their friendship was strong and so who cared what other people thought?

But what Jennie Kim did that day shocked Lisa beyond her imagination and forever burned it in her memories.

Jennie suddenly stood up, causing the table to scrape loudly against the cafeteria floor and everyone to stop eating, looking at what she'd do next.

"First of all, Bambam," her tone was low, menacing. "What does kissing have to do with your original subject? Organize your thoughts before you speak because you're not making sense." She paused and looked up to see the black-haired jock's jaw clench. He opened his mouth to speak but Jennie cut him off. "I'm sick of you constantly bullying her when she hasn't even done anything to you!" She got closer to his face, making him gulp.

"And second, just to answer your stupidly idiotic statement, Lisa Pranpriya's boyfriend is going to be the luckiest guy in the world. My best friend is kissable, unlike you, whose idiotic words can't help stumbling out because you've got no lips to stop them." A series of OHHHs and BURNs echoed through the cafeteria at Jennie's jab at Bambam's thin lips.

"You bitch," Bambam moved and his friends held him back, muttering in his ear to calm down and not hit a girl. The school would go on an uproar if they heard Jennie Kim got a scratch.

"You don't believe me?" Jennie's silver-blue eyes were on fire, her stance protective. "Watch."

She reached down, cupped Lisa's face, and kissed her.

Lisa's heart stopped. What was she doing? Why was she kissing her best friend? Why is she liking it?

The large blonde was so surprised at Jennie's actions, she didn't register the complete and utter silence in the cafeteria. Her lips are softer than they look, was all her jumbled mind could conjure up.

After what seemed like forever but was really two seconds, Jennie pulled back, a look of shock on her face, mirroring that of Lisa's.

Everyone was staring at them, Bambam's and his friends' mouths hanging open.

"I told you she was kissable," Jennie Kim said shakily, trying to smirk in triumph over her best friend's bully and main source of pain.

She then smiled a dazzling smile down at Lisa's , "I'll see you later. I just remembered I needed to do something at home with mom."

"B-but-"

"Yeah, I'm going to have to skip classes. But it's our last week anyway and so I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

Jennie Kim stooped to gather her bag, patted the still-shocked Collins on his cheek, and walked out as the cafeteria erupted with applause.

________

"Have you said goodbye to Jennie?" Lisa's mother asked her as they hauled the last suitcase into their car.

"Yeah," Lisa lied. "I told her we were leaving today."

"What did she say?" her mother frowned, most likely wondering why the brunette wasn't here to see her best friend off.

She kissed me.

"Oh, she said she didn't like saying goodbyes last-minute so she said them today at school." Then to make it more convincing and to stop her mom from asking anymore questions, she added, "She cried the whole morning today and went straight home. We're both hurting."

Lea, an older, skinnier version of Lisa, nodded sympathetically as she hugged her daughter. "I understand sweetie. Are you regretting this decision?"

"No," Lisa said quickly, ignoring the lump in her throat at leaving without a word. "I need to do this. I want this."

"Then let's go! " Maze said from the driver's seat and Lea gave her back a rub, smiling. "Your dad's just excited for the food I packed for this trip." Mother and daughter shared a soft laugh as she moved to help Lisa into the car, then shut the door and sat at the front seat.

As their car drove away, a moving truck followed, and the whisper of their empty house was the only sound left.

I'm so sorry, Jennie, Lisa felt tears roll down her cheeks. I love you. Why did you have to kiss me and turn that love into a different kind?

A few hours later, as the sun started to set, their neighbor was seen patting the back of a short brunette to comfort her. Her kneeling form sobbed on the sidewalk, right outside Lisa's empty house.