I'm still waiting.

My dad stuck his head in the living room and when Jennie saw him, she left.

No, I don't mean my parent's house, just the room.

Bobby and Hanbin are sitting in the love seat to my right.

After my dad did whatever Jennie asked him to do, he came back and took a seat beside my mom.

They're on the couch behind me.

I have my hiney on the floor with my back leaning against the couch.

Rosé is on my left and I can tell she wants to talk but she respected Jennie's wishes that everyone stay where they were.

Joon and Maddie went home right after dinner because they're headed to Florida tomorrow for a vacation.

I'm not quite sure why we're all facing the same direction, but that's the way Jennie wanted it.

My curiosity for what she has going on in that mind of hers is at an all time high. Many different scenarios went through my head, including one that sent my heart racing until the rational side of me took over.

We've only been a couple for five days.

Five glorious, splendid, fantastic days, but still.

I know Jennie is the one but that doesn't mean I want to rush into anything.

"What do you think she's doing?" Rosé asks me as just before Jennie walks by.

She doesn't look in my direction.

I do notice that she has my dad's guitar in her hand.

Nice!

It's sing-a-long time again.

Maybe Jennie and I can do a duet.

We haven't had the chance yet.

Well, I guess we did have the chance when I was drunk but Jennie didn't take it.

What to sing?

What to sing?

I know, I know!

I want to sing "A Whole New World."

What?

It's a Disney classic.

And we all know what a good track record all things Disney has for Jennie and me.

"I think she's going to sing for us," I tell Rosé.

She rolls her eyes. "Thanks, Captain Obvious."

I elbow my friend and we share a laugh until Jennie's clears her throat to get our attention.

My eyes meet hers and when they do, all jokes and smart remarks I have ready to go leave my mind completely.

Her gaze is intense.

Very intense.

My stomach does a somersault as the room plunges into silence.

Jennie seems nervous and I'm not sure why.

It's not like she's hasn't performed for all of us before.

And when she did, there was all this uncertainty surrounding her and me that isn't there anymore.

"I uhm, wrote this song yesterday," Jennie starts as she takes a seat on the chair my dad placed at the front of the room. "And I wanted to play it now if you don't mind." I hear the beginnings of a joke from Bobby until Hanbin shuts him up.

Thank you!

Who knew Hanbin would turn out to be such an ally?

"I've been through a lot since I moved to L.A. and before that as well." Jennie shifts around on the chair and it's clear that she isn't a fan of talking about herself. "But my luck seems to have changed for the better when I met Jisoo." I duck my head at Jennie's words as my heart swells with love. Jennie's sweetness always turns me into a pile of mush. "And I, uh, wanted to dedicate this song to her."

Oh my god!

My own personal dedication!

My first, of what I hope to be many, from Jennie.

Hearing her sing never gets old.

And knowing this ditty is for me makes me even more excited.

I'm impressed that she's doing this with so many people present and that she said all those incredible words when I know she's not a fan of wearing her heart on her sleeve.

Jennie begins to play and any trace of nerves she might have had before, vanish.

The instant her fingers touched the strings of my dad's guitar she transformed into another person.

It's pretty amazing to see how she went from completely out of her comfort zone to someone who oozes confidence.

Just another reason why I know that having a career as a musician is Jennie's destiny.

As soon as Jennie opens her mouth to belt out the first lyric of the song she's playing for me, all my attention and focus goes to her.

I disregard everything else.

My eyes stay on her soulful brown ones and the only thing I hear is my thumping heart and Jennie's beautiful voice.

I was drowning in deception
Awake in a nightmare

I feel a pang in my chest.

Each note and each word stings.

I know Jennie's referring to herself.

I was searching for something
Or someone to show me they care

Even though we've talked about Jennie's past in bits and pieces, loneliness and pain are two themes that came out in those discussions.

I've tried so hard to erase those feelings from her mind and her heart.

I know they will fade with each moment and day we spend together.

But I wish that time was now, so Jennie doesn't have to hurt anymore.

And then she came along
Helped me sing a different song

Oh god!

Is she singing about me?

I give my head a shake to stop myself from thinking.

What I need to do now is listen.

What I need to feel is her, and our love.

With her brown hair and brown eyes
She saw the truth in my lies

Oh god!

I can't help it.

She is singing about me!

And about us.

She saw the truth in my lies

My chest constricts.

My throat dries up.

My eyes water.

My body trembles

I don't know how I got so lucky
Why she picked me to be the one

There are so many reasons.

More than I can name.

I could ask the same thing too.

But I don't want to question why Jennie fell in love with me, I only want to love her back.

I felt broken inside
It was cold living in a world without any sun

She's baring everything to me.

And I love her even more because of that.

Jennie's past might have been filled with more bad moments than good ones.

But I have her future.

Our future.

With limitless possibilities.

And unimaginable happiness.

And then she came along
Helped me sing a different song
With her brown hair and brown eyes
She saw the truth in my lies

My tears fall rapidly and I can see Jennie struggling to keep her composure.

But she does.

Showing strength not many people possess.

And showing me how much I mean to her.

She saw the truth in my lies

It may have taken me a while, but I did see the truth.

The truth Jennie made apparent even if my own issues temporarily blinded me.

She isn't the type of person who likes talking about her feelings for hours upon hours

And that's ok.

God is it ever.

Because from the first day we met, she's let me know how she feels in the way she is comfortable expressing herself.

Her thoughts that I so desperately wanted to understand were right there for me to hear.

I just didn't know how to read her.

But now I do.

From our first fight, when she came back and took my hand. Her eyes communicated to me what she was really thinking, when she couldn't say it out loud.

From the way she comforted me after I fell the next day. Her gentle touch and soothing voice, erased the shame and embarrassment I felt.

At the recording studio when she stood up to Irene and then made sure I was ok afterwards.

At my parents' house the same night, whether it was calming me down after I freaked out because I didn't know about her father or the obvious jealousy she exuded when my dad mentioned my past with Rose.

At our first movie night when she showed me an unguarded side of her that was so unexpected.

When she called me the morning of my parent's barbeque to tell me she also couldn't wait to see me, like I couldn't wait to see her.

Of course, I have to mention how she handled herself after I shared one of my most painful memories. She made me feel safe and she made me feel safe with her, two things I definitely feel today.

Then there was the night Jennie gave me the most wonderful gift, time with her and my very own prom. She exposed her feelings to me and it's only now that I understand how much she did.

And then there was our first kiss.

The kiss that she initiated only to have me reject her advances.

The kiss she stayed for, even though I told her leave.

The kiss that freed me from my doubts.

The doubts that up until that point, threatened the very thing I wanted the most.

Jennie.

Those are only a few examples of how she made her feelings known.

I get that now.

At times her simplest of gestures spoke more than words could.

Or needed to be.

And when it was necessary, she verbalized her thoughts with complete honesty, despite how hard it was for her.

Jennie has given me all of her in different ways from how I have let her inside my mind.

But what's important aren't the details, it's the realization that she has.

Now the world is different
Full of warmth and full of great dreams
She is the one that made me see
See that not everything is at is seems

I'm so overwhelmed.

Not only from the song but also from the purity of this moment.

Jennie's voice cracks as her emotions come pouring out of her.

I love you my brown-eyed angel
My words are coming straight from the heart

God!

I almost can't stand the intensity of what is transpiring.

I fight the urge to shut my eyes and break our gaze.

I owe her that much.

To let her see what she's doing to me.

It's such a small thing compared to what Jennie is giving me right now.

But I know she appreciates that I'm showing my feelings to her.

Thank you for seeing the truth in my lies
This is not the end for us; it's just the start

Jennie finishes playing the last few notes of her song, my song, our song and nobody says or does anything.

I think they're all waiting for my reaction.

Especially an uncertain looking brunette who won't stop staring at me.

It takes a few seconds but eventually my body reacts to what my brain is telling it to do.

I rush over to Jennie, not caring about the audience we have.

She barely has enough time to put my dad's guitar on the ground before my arms are around her petite frame.

For someone who is used to talking to let people know what I think, I'm beyond speechless.

I use my body instead and the force of my embrace to thank Jennie for what she just did.

When the need becomes too great I pull back to press my lips softly against hers, my tears still present, my heart overflowing.

Neither of us notices the room emptying.

Because we're already by ourselves in that bubble that comes from how much we love each other.

I rest my forehead on Jennie's.

I reconnect my watery eyes with hers.

"Jen," I whisper but I can't say anything else.

Instead I let her take the lead.

"I was going to sing that when we were alone," she starts as both her hands cup my face. "But after that email, I just had to let you know what you've done for me."

I lick my lips and try desperately to get refresh my parched mouth. "I didn't do anything..."

"Yes, you did, Jisoo." Jennie won't let me finish my protest. "You showed me there was a way out of the mess I created." I move my head from side to side, refusing to accept her praise because all I did was love her. "You made me believe in myself again." Her voice drops down to a point that I have to strain my ears to make out what she is saying. "You made me believe in you and in us."

It's all so much to take in.

But I'm trying because I know how much effort it's taking on her part to be this open.

"I love you and even though I might not always say the right thing or do..." Jennie doesn't get another word out because I smother her with kisses.

Warm, tender kisses that let her know how she couldn't be more wrong.

Jennie may not be perfect, but like I told her the other day, she is perfect for me.

In all ways that count.

And in all the various ways she lets me see inside her mind and more importantly inside her heart.

"I put together care package for the two of you," my mom tells Jennie and me later that night in her kitchen.

After Jennie's performance and after we had assured everyone that they could come back inside the living room, she put on a different show.

One that included requests from her captive audience.

She worked the crowd, singing a Cher song for my brother and following it up with a Bette Midler classic for Hanbin. It sounded funny to be hearing those songs being sung by Jennie, but was once again she was using a unique way to say thanks to two people who helped get her and me together.

Everyone had a turn asking Jennie to sing something for them.

And when the song choices got ridiculous, she played whatever she wanted.

My eyes stayed on her pretty much the whole time.

And she loved every second of it.

"Thanks, Mrs. P.," Jennie excitedly exclaims as she reaches for the bag before I get the chance. "I love your cooking." It's safe to say that Jennie has won my mom over even more now.

"You know that's ours to share," I say to Jennie but she swats my hand away. "Mom, she's not sharing," I whine like a kid.

My dad tussles Jennie's hair like he's done to me countless times and he misses the way her eyes dance from the gesture.

Something so ordinary, means more to her than he realizes.

His acceptance means just as much as my mother's does to Jennie.

To treat her with affection and to do it without fanfare lets Jennie know that my dad welcomes her into the fold, in case she had any doubts.

"You're going to share that care package with my daughter, right Jennie?" my dad asks as he puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course I am, Mr. A.," Jennie assures him like the answer was obvious. "I just want to see what's inside first." She opens the bag and when she sees what my mom packed away, her eyes light up. "Brownies!" she squeals. "I love brownies," Jennie gushes while looking into my eyes.

Yeah, we all know she's talking about me.

My mom leaves to go spend time with Bobby and Hanbin while the three of us joke around.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and Rosé's voice soon after.

She took a phone call right after dessert and she's only returning now.

"You have a second?" she asks me when I turn around.

"For you, I have a whole minute." I get a smack on the arm for that smart ass remark.

"I'm borrowing your girl," Rosé tells Jennie as she pulls me towards the backyard.

"Don't forget to bring her back," Jennie calls out.

I don't think she has anything to worry about.

I follow Rosé out the room, but I do catch my dad asking Jennie a question he would only ask when I'm not around.

"So, Jennie, what do you think about coming over one night so you and I can jam together?" He laughs and I hear Jennie laugh as well.

If I wasn't about to have a very important discussion with Rosé, I'd chew him out for making that kind of request.

But I'll leave Jennie to handle things herself.

Something, I'm now confident she can do without my help.

Rosé and I end up seated on the steps of my parent's deck.

"I'm sorry for yesterday" is the first thing out of Rosé's mouth. "You have no idea how embarrassed I am."

Yes, I do.

But this isn't about me.

"I'm surprised you remember anything," I reply because I really can't.

Rosé was loaded.

More than loaded actually, she was completely wasted.

And she acted like a person I did not recognize.

"So am I." She cracks a smile. "I think I've taken over from you in terms of my drunken mistakes."

"I wouldn't go that far," I joke before turning serious. "But you did scare me."

"I know," Rosé somberly says. "I kind of scared myself, I've never been that out of control or acted like that much of an ass."

"What's wrong?" I ask as I angle my body towards Rosé. "There has to be something wrong or you wouldn't have avoided me this morning."

I know my friend.

That's exactly what she did by leaving when she knew I wanted to talk with her.

Rosé sighs. "It's stupid."

"It's not stupid, just tell me," I implore her.

I finally have everything going right for Jennie and me, I don't want there to be problems with Rosé now.

She's like the sister I never had growing up and I need to make sure there's nothing seriously out of whack with her.

"I am so happy for you, Jis, really I am." Rosé looks away when she starts. "You know that no one pushed for you and Jennie to get together more than me."

Very true.

She was a great cheerleader and Team Jensoo member.

"And I don't want this to come across the wrong way because the last thing I want to sound like is one of those friends who has to bring someone down when they're up." I tilt Rosé head towards me because I don't want to have this conversation with her profile. "But I'm jealous."

"How are you jealous?" I ask as I try not to overreact.

There are two ways Rosé's declaration can be taken.

Instead of panicking that she's in love with me, I'll wait for her response.

Whoa.

Wait.

Did I just think before I acted?

Interesting.

And weird.

"I don't have feelings for you," Rosé clarifies.

Thankfully!

I don't want to deal with that.

"Things have changed with us," she continues with a lot of sadness. "And I guess it hit me harder than I thought it would."

"Nothing's changed," I reassure her. "You're still my best friend."

"Yes, they have." Rosé refuses to believe me. "You might not see it yet, but things won't be the same between us." She's right, I don't see it. "It won't be like it was. There won't be any more late night calls to complain about our bad dates, or movie nights when where we vow to stay single, or trolling for hot girls together."

Oh.

I kind of get where she's coming from.

"They dynamics of our friendship have shifted and I understand that things can't stay the same forever but I'm going to miss what we had," Rosé finishes.

"I'm right here," I say as I cover Rosé's hands with mine. "I'm not going anywhere, so why are you acting like I'm leaving town?"

That's the part that I can't grasp.

"When I started getting upset about us, you weren't there for me to talk to," she informs me and I suddenly get it completely.

I was with Jennie.

Wrapped up in her arms and enjoying the beginnings of our relationship.

It never crossed my mind that Rosé was going through something as well.

She never crossed my mind.

"I'm sorry." I hope my sincerity is coming through.

I should have been more aware.

"Don't you dare apologize for disappearing for a few days," Rosé strongly retorts. "If I had a hot girl like Jennie in my bed, I would have done the same thing as you." She smiles but I still feel like a crappy friend. "I'm not blaming you, Jis, stuff like that happens when couples first get together, and Bobby being with Hanbin all the time, didn't help matters."

"Like you're losing both of us?" I