One-shot: Swan Love [PART 1]
Title: Swan Love
Pairing: Jessica x Tiffany
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU
Word Count: +7,000
Summary: Swan love is labeled as the strongest of loves.
A/N: LJ is a bitch, making me split my fic into two parts
part 2
[Note: Everything in italics is present time, and everything in regular text has happened in the past.]
The mechanized sounds of cars zooming and the roar of the passing crowds emitted clearly in the bustling nightlife time of Seoul. Lights of all kinds glimmered brightly and reflected off the shiny surfaces of tall skyscrapers. These buildings, despite their varying heights, towered high and mighty over the winding roads of the city.
A chilling breeze brushed over the city, sending leaves and debris into the sky. A lone green leaf, that presumably came from one of the many tiny trees planted on the edge of sidewalks, twisted and twirled high in the air. The leaf danced somberly to an apartment complex’s rooftop, resting on the building’s edge. The leaf was suddenly picked up by two slim fingers as it was raised to a woman’s face. After staring at the crisp plant, she released her grip on the leaf to which it once again flew into the air.
Another breeze brushed the city, causing the woman to rake a hand through her tussled, brown hair. Her eyes were locked in front of her, though her view was merely the side of another building. She flinched when something changed in her line of vision: a red balloon. The woman stared at it curiously as the object floated slowly upwards. She wondered if there was a child bawling down below on the streets once she had recognized the balloon; it had come from the zoo.
The zoo, huh? She thought to herself, her eyes becoming lidded as she immersed herself in her memories.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-* -*-*-*-
Jessica lazily leaped out of a school bus, as a crowd of students wearing the same uniform as her gathered around the entrance of the zoo. She yawned loudly as she tried to mingle with the crowd, not paying attention to the loud decrees of the teacher. She gave a loud grunt when she felt a painful force hit her in the back.
“C’mon Sica! Now is not the time to be tired!” The energetic girl claimed as she jumped merrily in place.
“Yuri, I just woke up from a one hour nap. I’m exhausted.”
“C’mon, this is our senior field trip! At least show some interest in where we are-look, we’re going in now!”
Jessica heard her friend squeal in excitement, and was promptly dragged along by the raven-haired girl through the gates of the zoo.
For the first hour of the field trip, Jessica was reluctantly dragged along with Yuri as she scoured around the zoo. She sighed loudly as she plopped down onto a bench while her idiotic friend was at a nearby exhibit, taunting the monkeys behind the glass window. After rubbing her eyes in order to rid of any grogginess, she examined the environment around her. Her eyes scanned the crowd, occasionally seeing uniform-clad girls. However, after setting her eyes on a particular girl, she felt her breath get caught in her throat.
“Tiffany Hwang? Wow Sica, didn’t know you had such a refined taste.”
Jessica jumped at the sudden voice in her ear, shoving Yuri’s head away in annoyance. However, it didn’t stop Yuri from talking.
“The brunette beauty. The ace of her class. The gentle flower that all boys and girls wish to behold,” Yuri exclaimed as she twirled teasingly around the bench. She bent forward so that she was face-to-face with Jessica. “Have you talked to her yet?”
The question made the older girl shrink in her seat, as she stuttered, “I-I did… like, once.”
“Well judging by how you’re acting, you should talk to her more.”
“No! I mean-um… I-I don’t know…”
Yuri recoiled at the rare sight of Jessica being shy. Her eyes veered to the side for a split second, and soon, a mischievous smirk grew on her face. She quickly pulled at the other girl’s arm.
“Yah! Yuri! What are you doing-HWUAH.”
Jessica found herself tripping backwards in result of Yuri shoving her harshly. She let out another cry when her body collided into something, causing her to topple to the ground. She groaned when she felt a dull pain on the spot she landed on. She turned to see what she had collided into, and gasped loudly when she saw her crush on the ground, reeling in pain.
“T-Tiffany, oh my gosh are you okay?! I’m so sorry!”
She quickly took the fallen girl’s hand, and hoisted her to her feet.
“Oh, Jessica. Yeah, I’m okay.” Tiffany patted her jacket and straightened her skirt before returning her attention to Jessica. Jessica noticed how the brunette’s eyes scanned her body from her head to her toes, and she swallowed the lump in her throat as a reaction to such an invasion.
“So Jessica, I haven’t seen you since that little fiasco earlier in the year.”
“Uh, y-yeah…”
“Are you with someone right now?”
At the sound of the question, Jessica hurriedly turned around, hoping that she could get a revenge punch at Yuri, but unfortunately, her friend was nowhere in sight.
Idiot coward.
“I was, but I guess she disappeared.”
Jessica turned to see Tiffany with her famous eye-smiles as she stretched out a hand, and asked, “Walk with me, then?”
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
There was a sea of people stretched along the pathways of the zoo as the crowd moved back and forth throughout the grounds. Jessica found herself looking everywhere except in Tiffany’s direction in order to avert her gaze from the soft hand that still held on to hers. She felt hot in the ears just imagining what their connected hands looked like in perspective from passing onlookers.
Realizing that Tiffany wasn’t going to let go of her hand any time soon, Jessica mustered up the courage to peer over at the other girl, and was pleasantly surprised by the girl’s big grin. Seeing the younger girl’s bright smile made her relax and at ease, finding that she too soon had a smile on her face as well.
“You seem really happy…” Jessica lamely pointed out in order to strike a conversation.
“I can’t help it. I just love being at the zoo. The place is just filled with romance.”
“R-Romance…?”
“Mhm. People don’t normally see it, but animals are actually quite the romantics. For example, do you see and hear the birds all around this place?”
Jessica perked her ears, filtering out the music and crowd, and sure enough heard the sounds of birds chirping away.
“Birds are constantly serenading each other in hopes of finding a lover.”
Jessica hummed in an intrigued manner. She looked to her left to see that they were approaching an exhibit filled with antelopes. She leaned her head closer to Tiffany as she pointed to the habit with her free hand.
“What about them? Don’t those kinds of animals like, fight each other and the winner gets the girl?”
A sad frown replaced Tiffany’s smile as she looked away from the area.
“I don’t really like that. Personally, if it was me, I would always end up feeling bad for the injured loser.”
Jessica unconsciously smiled at such a sincere thought. The two girls continued to wind around the zoo, passing by many exhibits. Tiffany squealed when they approached the artic section of the zoo. She hurriedly dragged the older girl to one of the glass windows in which a colony of penguins was seen.
“They’re cute,” Jessica noted, her eyes following a penguin that was waddling around.
“Did you know? When a penguin falls in love with another penguin, it’ll search an entire beach for the perfect pebble, so that they can present it to them.”
“Like a proposal?”
“Yup.”
After some time, the two girls soon ended up at a miniature park within the zoo that had a large lake in the center. Jessica heard Tiffany gasped, and was surprised when she started downhill and towards the lake. Curious, she followed after.
Jessica was behind Tiffany who was standing at the edge of the lake. The waters were dyed a bright orange from the setting sun. She followed the girl’s line of vision to see a pair of swans floating delicately in the water.
Hesitant, Jessica asked, “Do you like swans?”
Tiffany turned to look at her; Jessica was stunned by how beautiful she was when her body was coated in the light of the setting sun.
“When swans fall in love, they love each other for their entire lives; their love is eternal. Even when one of the swans die, the other one will live the rest of their life alone, where they will never fall in love again. In extreme cases, the swan can die of heartbreak…” Tiffany gazed at the orange sky, and spoke with a voice so soft and gentle, it made Jessica’s heart tingle from an unrecognizable feeling,
“It’s my dream to one day find a love as powerful as a swan’s love…”
Jessica stared in awe, but her trance was broken at the sound of passing students loudly shouting. Finally realizing how late it was, she noted, “I guess it’s time for us to get back on the buses.”
Tiffany turned to face her, though her eyes veered more upwards. She adorned a smirk as she said, “Come with me really quick.”
There wasn’t any room for objection as Tiffany grabbed her hand, and pulled her along. They traversed up the hill and along the sidewalk until they came to a vendor’s stall. She approached the stall, and Jessica watched curiously as the man handed her a red balloon. Tiffany replaced the hand that held on to hers with the string of the balloon.
“Think of this as thanks for hanging out with me.” She said with a smile.
“Uh, um… thanks. I had fun, too.” Jessica lowered her eyes as she felt the blush coming.
Tiffany waved good-bye and soon followed the crowd of students that flooded towards the buses. Jessica came from behind the crowd, mesmerized by the balloon she held. She heard a cry in front of her, and she felt her eye twitch when she saw Yuri waving frantically at her.
“Hey Sica! How was-oh my god is that a balloon?! HAHAHA, I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE STILL 5. OH MY-GAAH!”
Yuri fell to her knees, wheezing for air as she clutched at her bruised stomach. Jessica lowered her clenched fist, and snorted in annoyance.
“Jesus Sica, after all I did for you… did you have a bad time or something?” Yuri managed to gasp out.
“No, actually… this has been the best time I had in a while.” Jessica merely stated, as she merrily tied the string of the balloon to her wrist.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
“I just realized how bad of an idea this was.” Jessica hissed as she pressed her back against the picket fence.
It was pitch black aside the illuminated streetlights. She found herself in a quiet neighborhood as she followed Yuri through the winding obstacles that were the backyard fences. After hopping a couple more fences, the two girls found themselves in the backyard of a relatively large house.
“Come on Sica, we’re already at Tiffany’s house. You can’t back out now.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I’m not doing this.”
“Don’t be such a chicken.”
“Call me what you want, I won’t go through with this.”
Yuri stood still just staring at the flustered girl, nodding her head slowly as she scanned the backyard with her eyes. She briefly said, “Alright then” before approaching a patch of gravel. She scooped up a handful of pebbles and positioned herself next to Jessica once more. She examined the face of the house before noticing a window. Pointing to it, she claimed,
“I bet that’s Tiffany’s room right there.”
“What are you planning?”
“Nothing really.”
Yuri raised her arm, and prepped it for throwing. Realizing what the girl was doing, Jessica hurriedly tried to hold down her arm. However, it was too late. Yuri had successfully sent the pebbles flying, and the two girls cringed when the flurry of rocks pelted against the window. It was less than ten seconds when a light emitted from the window.
“Good luck, Sica!” Yuri whispered, patting her friend’s shoulder before making a lunge into a bush.
“God damn it, Yuri.” Jessica sighed, as she started to pace frantically.
Jessica felt her heart skip a beat when she caught sight of a silhouette in the window. She grasped at her beating chest as she tried to calm her nerves through deep breathing.
You can do this. You’ve been practicing all week for this.
She jolted when she heard the reeling sound of the window opening, signaling as her cue to start. Exhaling, she began in a shaky voice,
“Baby, you’re all that I want,
When you’re lying here in my arms,
I’m finding hard to believe,
We’re in heaven…”
Just before Jessica was prepared to sing another verse, Tiffany’s voice chimed, causing her to watch in shock and awe.
“And love is all that I need,
And I found it there in your heart,”
Jessica, with a big smile on her face, joined in with Tiffany, their voices resonating in harmony.
“It isn’t too hard to see,
We’re in heaven…”
The two girls giggled as the dark neighborhood became silent once more. Jessica barely heard Tiffany quietly shout, “Wait there. I’m coming down.”
She watched as Tiffany disappeared from the window, and the light went off. A few seconds go by before the girl emerges from the back door. She adorned a pink nightgown with her brown hair gracefully covering her shoulders as she wrapped her upper body in a loose blanket. She approached Jessica until they stood a few inches from each other.
“I thought that when someone was serenading, only one person was supposed to sing…” Jessica shyly pointed out, her hand playing with her hair to calm herself.
“Yeah, but doesn’t it sound more amazing when it’s a duet?” Tiffany said, with a slight giggle.
Jessica tugged at the collar of her shirt nervously, as she cleared her throat.
“Uh, listen…Tiffany, um… I was just w-wondering if, you were free this Saturday?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Oh, then um… w-would you go on a…date… with me?”
Jessica felt her heart flutter when Tiffany smiled brightly as she replied, “I would love to.”
For a long time, the two girls just stood there, staring at each other with goofy grins on their faces. They were disrupted, however, when a loud laughter erupted from behind the bushes, Yuri toppling from the leaves.
“Oh my-Oh my god, hahaha, I-I can’t take this anymore!” Yuri spluttered as she clutched at her stomach in her fit of laughter. “Jessica Jung, the ice princess, the quiet lurker, is stuttering and acting shy! Haha! This is freaking priceless!”
The once peaceful neighborhood was booming with chaos as Yuri screamed while running away from a fuming Jessica.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
“You must think I’m lame for bringing you to the zoo on our first date.”
“Not at all. This place is where I feel the happiest.”
Jessica led Tiffany to one of the zoo’s restaurants for lunch, and they had spent the rest of the day just wandering around the zoo like they had done on their senior field trip. Hours felt like minute as Jessica walked side by side with the other girl. Not many words were exchanged as she walked around, but it felt comfortable otherwise.
The sun was soon beginning to set when the two girls sat on a bench at the park. Off in the distance, the pair of swans could be seen drifting along the lake, creating small ripples in the water. Jessica inhaled the crisp air, stretching her arms behind the bench. The sound of Tiffany’s voice made her turn her head.
“Do you know why lovebirds have their name?”
“Why?”
“Because a pair of lovebirds in love will spend long periods of time just sitting together.”
“Oh…”
Jessica had to stop her reflex from flailing and jumping from her seat when Tiffany suddenly scooted next to her and gently leaned her head onto her shoulder. She felt her heartbeat quicken in pace and beat erratically. She tried to relieve her nervousness by trying to regulate her breathing, but it didn’t help. Her heart only felt more pressured when Tiffany said,
“You feel really tense.” She took her head off from her shoulder and continued, “I’m sorry, I must be making you feel uncomfortable…”
“No!”
Tiffany flinched at the outburst as Jessica flew out of her seat and stepped away a couple of feet. Jessica began to pace in a hectic circle as she tried to organize her thoughts and feelings. She needed to say something or else her heart would explode from god knows whatever this feeling she is experiencing.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just… it’s just that… I-I really like you and that I, uh…”
Jessica turned her head briefly to see the two swans. Watching them, she inhaled and turned her gaze towards Tiffany with a confident look.
“You said your dream was to experience swan love, right? Well… I promise to try my hardest to give you that experience, for us to have a swan’s love. But… I can only do this if you’ll let me…”
She watched as Tiffany stood up, and finally concluded, “Will… Will you give me that chance?”
Jessica heaved when Tiffany suddenly lunged at her, her arms wrapped around her neck. She felt the girl bury her head into the crook of her neck. She heard a muffled ‘Yes’, and Jessica felt a sudden surge of joy as she smiled dumbly into the girl’s smooth hair, embracing her around her small waist.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
“I can’t believe Yuri got us kicked out of a five-star restaurant.” Jessica groaned, leaning against the bench.
It had been a year since she had seen her friend, so when Yuri had offered for them to go on a double date with her, Jessica had accepted. She had brought Tiffany, and the friends were soon reunited. However, they had only gone through an appetizer before the drama began. Several girls approached their table and were flustered towards Yuri and her date. It had turned out that these girls were lovers and ex-girlfriends of Yuri, and they were stirring trouble once they saw her with yet another girl. To put it simply, a grand spectacle occurred and Jessica and Tiffany happened to be caught in between, resulting in everyone involved being ejected from the building. With the date in ruins, the two girls decided to escape to the zoo.
“Well, at least Yuri is still active as ever, right?” Tiffany merely said.
“Yeah, except instead of an idiot coward, she’s turned into an idiot player.”
The moon in the sky dimly lit the dark night. The fountain in the center of the lake quietly erupted with water as the pair of swans circled around. Jessica felt the weight of Tiffany’s head on her shoulder, and she responded by hooking an arm around the girl’s neck, resting her hand on her shoulder.
“Hey Jessi.”
“Hm?”
“Remember when we first met? It was towards the beginning of senior year.”
“Y-Yeah…”
“A couple of boys were harassing me, and I genuinely thought something bad was going to happen to me… That is, until you came… You stood right in front of me, and protected me…”
“But I got a pretty bad beating…”
“I think that’s when I fell in love with you… Because you didn’t fight back, you didn’t have anything to prove so you didn’t fight them… that was the bravest thing ever, but I felt really bad that you got so hurt.”
Jessica flinched when she felt a gentle hand on her thigh, shutting her eyes closed when the invading hand delicately moved back and forth.
“Do you remember what I did as a thank you?”
Jessica turned her head away, hoping to hide her blush just from thinking of that moment.
“You kissed me… on the cheek…”
Tiffany slightly chuckled as she stated, “I had never seen someone run away so fast like you did…”
Things became quiet for a while except for the soft sloshing of water from the fountain. Jessica felt the hand on her thigh disappear, and was slightly saddened from the lack of contact. However, she blushed even harder than before when she felt the hand on her chin, urging her to look the younger girl in the eyes. Tiffany had a serious expression, but her eyes held a somewhat pleading and desperate look.
“If I kissed you right now, would you run away like you did last time?”
It took some time for her to say anything, until Jessica finally said with all her confidence, “Never.”
The last thing Jessica saw was Tiffany’s smirk before she felt the hand on her chin move to the back of her neck. It pulled her forward until she felt the soft feeling of lips on her own. Her mind was being overridden with the intoxication and seduction of the kiss, as she moved her hand from the girl’s shoulder and raked it through Tiffany’s luscious hair, running her thumb delicately over her ear.
When Tiffany pulled away, Jessica gasped for air, leaning slightly forward so that they could still be together as she connected her forehead with the younger girl’s.
“Jessi, I love you. I hope you know that.”
Hearing the words echo in her ears, Jessica felt the biggest smile on her face, managing to mumble out, “I love you too” before she lunged at her for another kiss out of pure joy.
Towards the center of the lake, the two swans stared lovingly at each other, their heads connected so that the gap between them formed the shape of a heart, and their bodies bathed in the shining moonlight.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
“Oh my god Sica, it’s 7 in the morning. Why am I even alive?” Yuri groaned as she covered her eyes with one hand, and let her other one drape over the seat.
Yuri was laying in the backseat of a car with Jessica driving. The car zoomed down a highway as the sun began to rise from over the horizon.
“Maybe if you’d lay off the booze and sex, you wouldn’t be so messed up right now.” Jessica retorted, occasionally looking in the rear view mirror to check up on her exhausted friend.
“Is this seriously so important that you’d drag me out from my apartment? I don’t even know if the girl from last night even left my place yet.”
“I’m going to propose to Tiffany.”
Yuri stopped herself from saying anything, because of Jessica’s use of a serious tone. However, under all the determination, she could detect her nervousness, so she kept silent.
Jessica sighed, and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
“It has to be perfect…”
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
“Sica, I understand how important it is for this to be perfect, but I can only look at so many jewelry stores.” Yuri complained as she plopped onto a bench.
The two girls were inside a large shopping mall, the place bustling with people around. Jessica tossed a water bottle at her in which she caught and drank from greedily. They had spent the last six hours since the mall opened browsing around the jewelry stores, but they haven’t found anything yet.
“Face it, we’ve checked all the jewelry stores in this mall. I don’t know what else you want, Sica.”
Jessica held a perplexed expression as she paced back and forth, scratching her head in frustration. Finally she said,
“Alright, I understand that you’re tired. You can stay here, and I’ll keep looking.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“Good luck, then.”
Jessica nonchalantly waved good-bye, before semi-jogging down a pathway. Yuri watched her until her figure disappeared into the crowd. Sighing, she realized just how tired she was. Resting her head on the back of the bench and closing her eyes, she felt herself being lulled to sleep.
“Hey, wake up.”
Yuri jolted forward. She thought she had snoozed off for only a few seconds, but she took a glance at a window, and only saw darkness. She yawned as she stood up and stretched.
“What time is it?”
“It’s 9. The mall’s gonna close soon.” Jessica stated as she dragged Yuri towards the exit.
“…Jesus, you’ve been jewelry shopping this entire time?”
“Yeah, but…” Jessica raised the tiny box in her hand and showed it to her friend. “I finally found it.”
Jessica slammed the car door as she situated herself in the driver’s seat. Yuri leaned on the passenger door where the window was rolled down. She gave a thumbs up to the brunette, smiling as she said
“Good luck.”
Jessica gave a small smile as she nodded towards her friend before she drove off.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
White vapors escaped Jessica’s mouth as she panted heavily, finding herself at the zoo’s park. She scanned the park, from the small splashes that the fountain of the lake created to the inseparable swans drifting on the water, until she spotted Tiffany sitting on the bench that they always sat on. Feeling her heart flutter, she jogged her way down the hill.
Tiffany heard the soft crunch of grass being stepped on, turning her head to see her girlfriend approaching. Smiling, she stood and embraced her when she got close enough.
“Hey you.” Tiffany whispered, giving a small peck on the lips and then patting down Jessica’s tussled hair.
“Hey…”
“Want to tell me why you called me out here?”
Jessica didn’t reply, but rather, she gently pushed the girl so that she sat on the bench. Tiffany looked quizzically at her, not quite understanding her actions. Jessica held onto both of her hands, giving them a squeeze as she tried to formulate her words.
“Listen, Tiffany… I… I love you so much… and when I made that promise with you… that you, that wecould have a swan’s love… I strongly committed myself to the fact that I would always be yours… but… what I would really like to know is…”
Jessica bent down so that she was on one knee. She reached into her jacket pocket, and pulled out the box. Holding it in front of her, she resisted the urge to laugh when she saw Tiffany’s gasping face. Opening the box, it revealed a simple, silver ring with a small diamond in the center.
“Will you be mine?”
She took the ring out of the box, and held her hand out. Tiffany offered her left hand to which Jessica delicately held as she slid the ring onto her ring finger. Noticing that Tiffany’s eyes were brimming with tears, she raised her other hand to wipe a tear away.
Jessica grunted at the sheer momentum when Tiffany lunged at her, hugging her tightly. She was propelled backwards as the other girl giggled, drunk from her own happiness.
“Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes! Oh god, yes…”
Jessica joined in with the fit of laughter as they twirled around silly in the dark night. When the two girls finally stopped moving, they stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Tiffany tenderly moved a stray strand of hair behind Jessica’s ear.
“I love you so much…” Tiffany whispered, leaning her head so that their foreheads connected.
Jessica only responded by ridding of any space between them, and giving a deep, long kiss.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- part 2
Pairing: Jessica x Tiffany
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU
Word Count: +7,000
Summary: Swan love is labeled as the strongest of loves.
A/N: LJ is a bitch, making me split my fic into two parts
part 2
[Note: Everything in italics is present time, and everything in regular text has happened in the past.]
The mechanized sounds of cars zooming and the roar of the passing crowds emitted clearly in the bustling nightlife time of Seoul. Lights of all kinds glimmered brightly and reflected off the shiny surfaces of tall skyscrapers. These buildings, despite their varying heights, towered high and mighty over the winding roads of the city.
A chilling breeze brushed over the city, sending leaves and debris into the sky. A lone green leaf, that presumably came from one of the many tiny trees planted on the edge of sidewalks, twisted and twirled high in the air. The leaf danced somberly to an apartment complex’s rooftop, resting on the building’s edge. The leaf was suddenly picked up by two slim fingers as it was raised to a woman’s face. After staring at the crisp plant, she released her grip on the leaf to which it once again flew into the air.
Another breeze brushed the city, causing the woman to rake a hand through her tussled, brown hair. Her eyes were locked in front of her, though her view was merely the side of another building. She flinched when something changed in her line of vision: a red balloon. The woman stared at it curiously as the object floated slowly upwards. She wondered if there was a child bawling down below on the streets once she had recognized the balloon; it had come from the zoo.
The zoo, huh? She thought to herself, her eyes becoming lidded as she immersed herself in her memories.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-* -*-*-*-
Jessica lazily leaped out of a school bus, as a crowd of students wearing the same uniform as her gathered around the entrance of the zoo. She yawned loudly as she tried to mingle with the crowd, not paying attention to the loud decrees of the teacher. She gave a loud grunt when she felt a painful force hit her in the back.
“C’mon Sica! Now is not the time to be tired!” The energetic girl claimed as she jumped merrily in place.
“Yuri, I just woke up from a one hour nap. I’m exhausted.”
“C’mon, this is our senior field trip! At least show some interest in where we are-look, we’re going in now!”
Jessica heard her friend squeal in excitement, and was promptly dragged along by the raven-haired girl through the gates of the zoo.
For the first hour of the field trip, Jessica was reluctantly dragged along with Yuri as she scoured around the zoo. She sighed loudly as she plopped down onto a bench while her idiotic friend was at a nearby exhibit, taunting the monkeys behind the glass window. After rubbing her eyes in order to rid of any grogginess, she examined the environment around her. Her eyes scanned the crowd, occasionally seeing uniform-clad girls. However, after setting her eyes on a particular girl, she felt her breath get caught in her throat.
“Tiffany Hwang? Wow Sica, didn’t know you had such a refined taste.”
Jessica jumped at the sudden voice in her ear, shoving Yuri’s head away in annoyance. However, it didn’t stop Yuri from talking.
“The brunette beauty. The ace of her class. The gentle flower that all boys and girls wish to behold,” Yuri exclaimed as she twirled teasingly around the bench. She bent forward so that she was face-to-face with Jessica. “Have you talked to her yet?”
The question made the older girl shrink in her seat, as she stuttered, “I-I did… like, once.”
“Well judging by how you’re acting, you should talk to her more.”
“No! I mean-um… I-I don’t know…”
Yuri recoiled at the rare sight of Jessica being shy. Her eyes veered to the side for a split second, and soon, a mischievous smirk grew on her face. She quickly pulled at the other girl’s arm.
“Yah! Yuri! What are you doing-HWUAH.”
Jessica found herself tripping backwards in result of Yuri shoving her harshly. She let out another cry when her body collided into something, causing her to topple to the ground. She groaned when she felt a dull pain on the spot she landed on. She turned to see what she had collided into, and gasped loudly when she saw her crush on the ground, reeling in pain.
“T-Tiffany, oh my gosh are you okay?! I’m so sorry!”
She quickly took the fallen girl’s hand, and hoisted her to her feet.
“Oh, Jessica. Yeah, I’m okay.” Tiffany patted her jacket and straightened her skirt before returning her attention to Jessica. Jessica noticed how the brunette’s eyes scanned her body from her head to her toes, and she swallowed the lump in her throat as a reaction to such an invasion.
“So Jessica, I haven’t seen you since that little fiasco earlier in the year.”
“Uh, y-yeah…”
“Are you with someone right now?”
At the sound of the question, Jessica hurriedly turned around, hoping that she could get a revenge punch at Yuri, but unfortunately, her friend was nowhere in sight.
Idiot coward.
“I was, but I guess she disappeared.”
Jessica turned to see Tiffany with her famous eye-smiles as she stretched out a hand, and asked, “Walk with me, then?”
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
There was a sea of people stretched along the pathways of the zoo as the crowd moved back and forth throughout the grounds. Jessica found herself looking everywhere except in Tiffany’s direction in order to avert her gaze from the soft hand that still held on to hers. She felt hot in the ears just imagining what their connected hands looked like in perspective from passing onlookers.
Realizing that Tiffany wasn’t going to let go of her hand any time soon, Jessica mustered up the courage to peer over at the other girl, and was pleasantly surprised by the girl’s big grin. Seeing the younger girl’s bright smile made her relax and at ease, finding that she too soon had a smile on her face as well.
“You seem really happy…” Jessica lamely pointed out in order to strike a conversation.
“I can’t help it. I just love being at the zoo. The place is just filled with romance.”
“R-Romance…?”
“Mhm. People don’t normally see it, but animals are actually quite the romantics. For example, do you see and hear the birds all around this place?”
Jessica perked her ears, filtering out the music and crowd, and sure enough heard the sounds of birds chirping away.
“Birds are constantly serenading each other in hopes of finding a lover.”
Jessica hummed in an intrigued manner. She looked to her left to see that they were approaching an exhibit filled with antelopes. She leaned her head closer to Tiffany as she pointed to the habit with her free hand.
“What about them? Don’t those kinds of animals like, fight each other and the winner gets the girl?”
A sad frown replaced Tiffany’s smile as she looked away from the area.
“I don’t really like that. Personally, if it was me, I would always end up feeling bad for the injured loser.”
Jessica unconsciously smiled at such a sincere thought. The two girls continued to wind around the zoo, passing by many exhibits. Tiffany squealed when they approached the artic section of the zoo. She hurriedly dragged the older girl to one of the glass windows in which a colony of penguins was seen.
“They’re cute,” Jessica noted, her eyes following a penguin that was waddling around.
“Did you know? When a penguin falls in love with another penguin, it’ll search an entire beach for the perfect pebble, so that they can present it to them.”
“Like a proposal?”
“Yup.”
After some time, the two girls soon ended up at a miniature park within the zoo that had a large lake in the center. Jessica heard Tiffany gasped, and was surprised when she started downhill and towards the lake. Curious, she followed after.
Jessica was behind Tiffany who was standing at the edge of the lake. The waters were dyed a bright orange from the setting sun. She followed the girl’s line of vision to see a pair of swans floating delicately in the water.
Hesitant, Jessica asked, “Do you like swans?”
Tiffany turned to look at her; Jessica was stunned by how beautiful she was when her body was coated in the light of the setting sun.
“When swans fall in love, they love each other for their entire lives; their love is eternal. Even when one of the swans die, the other one will live the rest of their life alone, where they will never fall in love again. In extreme cases, the swan can die of heartbreak…” Tiffany gazed at the orange sky, and spoke with a voice so soft and gentle, it made Jessica’s heart tingle from an unrecognizable feeling,
“It’s my dream to one day find a love as powerful as a swan’s love…”
Jessica stared in awe, but her trance was broken at the sound of passing students loudly shouting. Finally realizing how late it was, she noted, “I guess it’s time for us to get back on the buses.”
Tiffany turned to face her, though her eyes veered more upwards. She adorned a smirk as she said, “Come with me really quick.”
There wasn’t any room for objection as Tiffany grabbed her hand, and pulled her along. They traversed up the hill and along the sidewalk until they came to a vendor’s stall. She approached the stall, and Jessica watched curiously as the man handed her a red balloon. Tiffany replaced the hand that held on to hers with the string of the balloon.
“Think of this as thanks for hanging out with me.” She said with a smile.
“Uh, um… thanks. I had fun, too.” Jessica lowered her eyes as she felt the blush coming.
Tiffany waved good-bye and soon followed the crowd of students that flooded towards the buses. Jessica came from behind the crowd, mesmerized by the balloon she held. She heard a cry in front of her, and she felt her eye twitch when she saw Yuri waving frantically at her.
“Hey Sica! How was-oh my god is that a balloon?! HAHAHA, I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE STILL 5. OH MY-GAAH!”
Yuri fell to her knees, wheezing for air as she clutched at her bruised stomach. Jessica lowered her clenched fist, and snorted in annoyance.
“Jesus Sica, after all I did for you… did you have a bad time or something?” Yuri managed to gasp out.
“No, actually… this has been the best time I had in a while.” Jessica merely stated, as she merrily tied the string of the balloon to her wrist.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
“I just realized how bad of an idea this was.” Jessica hissed as she pressed her back against the picket fence.
It was pitch black aside the illuminated streetlights. She found herself in a quiet neighborhood as she followed Yuri through the winding obstacles that were the backyard fences. After hopping a couple more fences, the two girls found themselves in the backyard of a relatively large house.
“Come on Sica, we’re already at Tiffany’s house. You can’t back out now.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I’m not doing this.”
“Don’t be such a chicken.”
“Call me what you want, I won’t go through with this.”
Yuri stood still just staring at the flustered girl, nodding her head slowly as she scanned the backyard with her eyes. She briefly said, “Alright then” before approaching a patch of gravel. She scooped up a handful of pebbles and positioned herself next to Jessica once more. She examined the face of the house before noticing a window. Pointing to it, she claimed,
“I bet that’s Tiffany’s room right there.”
“What are you planning?”
“Nothing really.”
Yuri raised her arm, and prepped it for throwing. Realizing what the girl was doing, Jessica hurriedly tried to hold down her arm. However, it was too late. Yuri had successfully sent the pebbles flying, and the two girls cringed when the flurry of rocks pelted against the window. It was less than ten seconds when a light emitted from the window.
“Good luck, Sica!” Yuri whispered, patting her friend’s shoulder before making a lunge into a bush.
“God damn it, Yuri.” Jessica sighed, as she started to pace frantically.
Jessica felt her heart skip a beat when she caught sight of a silhouette in the window. She grasped at her beating chest as she tried to calm her nerves through deep breathing.
You can do this. You’ve been practicing all week for this.
She jolted when she heard the reeling sound of the window opening, signaling as her cue to start. Exhaling, she began in a shaky voice,
“Baby, you’re all that I want,
When you’re lying here in my arms,
I’m finding hard to believe,
We’re in heaven…”
Just before Jessica was prepared to sing another verse, Tiffany’s voice chimed, causing her to watch in shock and awe.
“And love is all that I need,
And I found it there in your heart,”
Jessica, with a big smile on her face, joined in with Tiffany, their voices resonating in harmony.
“It isn’t too hard to see,
We’re in heaven…”
The two girls giggled as the dark neighborhood became silent once more. Jessica barely heard Tiffany quietly shout, “Wait there. I’m coming down.”
She watched as Tiffany disappeared from the window, and the light went off. A few seconds go by before the girl emerges from the back door. She adorned a pink nightgown with her brown hair gracefully covering her shoulders as she wrapped her upper body in a loose blanket. She approached Jessica until they stood a few inches from each other.
“I thought that when someone was serenading, only one person was supposed to sing…” Jessica shyly pointed out, her hand playing with her hair to calm herself.
“Yeah, but doesn’t it sound more amazing when it’s a duet?” Tiffany said, with a slight giggle.
Jessica tugged at the collar of her shirt nervously, as she cleared her throat.
“Uh, listen…Tiffany, um… I was just w-wondering if, you were free this Saturday?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Oh, then um… w-would you go on a…date… with me?”
Jessica felt her heart flutter when Tiffany smiled brightly as she replied, “I would love to.”
For a long time, the two girls just stood there, staring at each other with goofy grins on their faces. They were disrupted, however, when a loud laughter erupted from behind the bushes, Yuri toppling from the leaves.
“Oh my-Oh my god, hahaha, I-I can’t take this anymore!” Yuri spluttered as she clutched at her stomach in her fit of laughter. “Jessica Jung, the ice princess, the quiet lurker, is stuttering and acting shy! Haha! This is freaking priceless!”
The once peaceful neighborhood was booming with chaos as Yuri screamed while running away from a fuming Jessica.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
“You must think I’m lame for bringing you to the zoo on our first date.”
“Not at all. This place is where I feel the happiest.”
Jessica led Tiffany to one of the zoo’s restaurants for lunch, and they had spent the rest of the day just wandering around the zoo like they had done on their senior field trip. Hours felt like minute as Jessica walked side by side with the other girl. Not many words were exchanged as she walked around, but it felt comfortable otherwise.
The sun was soon beginning to set when the two girls sat on a bench at the park. Off in the distance, the pair of swans could be seen drifting along the lake, creating small ripples in the water. Jessica inhaled the crisp air, stretching her arms behind the bench. The sound of Tiffany’s voice made her turn her head.
“Do you know why lovebirds have their name?”
“Why?”
“Because a pair of lovebirds in love will spend long periods of time just sitting together.”
“Oh…”
Jessica had to stop her reflex from flailing and jumping from her seat when Tiffany suddenly scooted next to her and gently leaned her head onto her shoulder. She felt her heartbeat quicken in pace and beat erratically. She tried to relieve her nervousness by trying to regulate her breathing, but it didn’t help. Her heart only felt more pressured when Tiffany said,
“You feel really tense.” She took her head off from her shoulder and continued, “I’m sorry, I must be making you feel uncomfortable…”
“No!”
Tiffany flinched at the outburst as Jessica flew out of her seat and stepped away a couple of feet. Jessica began to pace in a hectic circle as she tried to organize her thoughts and feelings. She needed to say something or else her heart would explode from god knows whatever this feeling she is experiencing.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just… it’s just that… I-I really like you and that I, uh…”
Jessica turned her head briefly to see the two swans. Watching them, she inhaled and turned her gaze towards Tiffany with a confident look.
“You said your dream was to experience swan love, right? Well… I promise to try my hardest to give you that experience, for us to have a swan’s love. But… I can only do this if you’ll let me…”
She watched as Tiffany stood up, and finally concluded, “Will… Will you give me that chance?”
Jessica heaved when Tiffany suddenly lunged at her, her arms wrapped around her neck. She felt the girl bury her head into the crook of her neck. She heard a muffled ‘Yes’, and Jessica felt a sudden surge of joy as she smiled dumbly into the girl’s smooth hair, embracing her around her small waist.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
“I can’t believe Yuri got us kicked out of a five-star restaurant.” Jessica groaned, leaning against the bench.
It had been a year since she had seen her friend, so when Yuri had offered for them to go on a double date with her, Jessica had accepted. She had brought Tiffany, and the friends were soon reunited. However, they had only gone through an appetizer before the drama began. Several girls approached their table and were flustered towards Yuri and her date. It had turned out that these girls were lovers and ex-girlfriends of Yuri, and they were stirring trouble once they saw her with yet another girl. To put it simply, a grand spectacle occurred and Jessica and Tiffany happened to be caught in between, resulting in everyone involved being ejected from the building. With the date in ruins, the two girls decided to escape to the zoo.
“Well, at least Yuri is still active as ever, right?” Tiffany merely said.
“Yeah, except instead of an idiot coward, she’s turned into an idiot player.”
The moon in the sky dimly lit the dark night. The fountain in the center of the lake quietly erupted with water as the pair of swans circled around. Jessica felt the weight of Tiffany’s head on her shoulder, and she responded by hooking an arm around the girl’s neck, resting her hand on her shoulder.
“Hey Jessi.”
“Hm?”
“Remember when we first met? It was towards the beginning of senior year.”
“Y-Yeah…”
“A couple of boys were harassing me, and I genuinely thought something bad was going to happen to me… That is, until you came… You stood right in front of me, and protected me…”
“But I got a pretty bad beating…”
“I think that’s when I fell in love with you… Because you didn’t fight back, you didn’t have anything to prove so you didn’t fight them… that was the bravest thing ever, but I felt really bad that you got so hurt.”
Jessica flinched when she felt a gentle hand on her thigh, shutting her eyes closed when the invading hand delicately moved back and forth.
“Do you remember what I did as a thank you?”
Jessica turned her head away, hoping to hide her blush just from thinking of that moment.
“You kissed me… on the cheek…”
Tiffany slightly chuckled as she stated, “I had never seen someone run away so fast like you did…”
Things became quiet for a while except for the soft sloshing of water from the fountain. Jessica felt the hand on her thigh disappear, and was slightly saddened from the lack of contact. However, she blushed even harder than before when she felt the hand on her chin, urging her to look the younger girl in the eyes. Tiffany had a serious expression, but her eyes held a somewhat pleading and desperate look.
“If I kissed you right now, would you run away like you did last time?”
It took some time for her to say anything, until Jessica finally said with all her confidence, “Never.”
The last thing Jessica saw was Tiffany’s smirk before she felt the hand on her chin move to the back of her neck. It pulled her forward until she felt the soft feeling of lips on her own. Her mind was being overridden with the intoxication and seduction of the kiss, as she moved her hand from the girl’s shoulder and raked it through Tiffany’s luscious hair, running her thumb delicately over her ear.
When Tiffany pulled away, Jessica gasped for air, leaning slightly forward so that they could still be together as she connected her forehead with the younger girl’s.
“Jessi, I love you. I hope you know that.”
Hearing the words echo in her ears, Jessica felt the biggest smile on her face, managing to mumble out, “I love you too” before she lunged at her for another kiss out of pure joy.
Towards the center of the lake, the two swans stared lovingly at each other, their heads connected so that the gap between them formed the shape of a heart, and their bodies bathed in the shining moonlight.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
“Oh my god Sica, it’s 7 in the morning. Why am I even alive?” Yuri groaned as she covered her eyes with one hand, and let her other one drape over the seat.
Yuri was laying in the backseat of a car with Jessica driving. The car zoomed down a highway as the sun began to rise from over the horizon.
“Maybe if you’d lay off the booze and sex, you wouldn’t be so messed up right now.” Jessica retorted, occasionally looking in the rear view mirror to check up on her exhausted friend.
“Is this seriously so important that you’d drag me out from my apartment? I don’t even know if the girl from last night even left my place yet.”
“I’m going to propose to Tiffany.”
Yuri stopped herself from saying anything, because of Jessica’s use of a serious tone. However, under all the determination, she could detect her nervousness, so she kept silent.
Jessica sighed, and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
“It has to be perfect…”
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
“Sica, I understand how important it is for this to be perfect, but I can only look at so many jewelry stores.” Yuri complained as she plopped onto a bench.
The two girls were inside a large shopping mall, the place bustling with people around. Jessica tossed a water bottle at her in which she caught and drank from greedily. They had spent the last six hours since the mall opened browsing around the jewelry stores, but they haven’t found anything yet.
“Face it, we’ve checked all the jewelry stores in this mall. I don’t know what else you want, Sica.”
Jessica held a perplexed expression as she paced back and forth, scratching her head in frustration. Finally she said,
“Alright, I understand that you’re tired. You can stay here, and I’ll keep looking.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“Good luck, then.”
Jessica nonchalantly waved good-bye, before semi-jogging down a pathway. Yuri watched her until her figure disappeared into the crowd. Sighing, she realized just how tired she was. Resting her head on the back of the bench and closing her eyes, she felt herself being lulled to sleep.
“Hey, wake up.”
Yuri jolted forward. She thought she had snoozed off for only a few seconds, but she took a glance at a window, and only saw darkness. She yawned as she stood up and stretched.
“What time is it?”
“It’s 9. The mall’s gonna close soon.” Jessica stated as she dragged Yuri towards the exit.
“…Jesus, you’ve been jewelry shopping this entire time?”
“Yeah, but…” Jessica raised the tiny box in her hand and showed it to her friend. “I finally found it.”
Jessica slammed the car door as she situated herself in the driver’s seat. Yuri leaned on the passenger door where the window was rolled down. She gave a thumbs up to the brunette, smiling as she said
“Good luck.”
Jessica gave a small smile as she nodded towards her friend before she drove off.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
White vapors escaped Jessica’s mouth as she panted heavily, finding herself at the zoo’s park. She scanned the park, from the small splashes that the fountain of the lake created to the inseparable swans drifting on the water, until she spotted Tiffany sitting on the bench that they always sat on. Feeling her heart flutter, she jogged her way down the hill.
Tiffany heard the soft crunch of grass being stepped on, turning her head to see her girlfriend approaching. Smiling, she stood and embraced her when she got close enough.
“Hey you.” Tiffany whispered, giving a small peck on the lips and then patting down Jessica’s tussled hair.
“Hey…”
“Want to tell me why you called me out here?”
Jessica didn’t reply, but rather, she gently pushed the girl so that she sat on the bench. Tiffany looked quizzically at her, not quite understanding her actions. Jessica held onto both of her hands, giving them a squeeze as she tried to formulate her words.
“Listen, Tiffany… I… I love you so much… and when I made that promise with you… that you, that wecould have a swan’s love… I strongly committed myself to the fact that I would always be yours… but… what I would really like to know is…”
Jessica bent down so that she was on one knee. She reached into her jacket pocket, and pulled out the box. Holding it in front of her, she resisted the urge to laugh when she saw Tiffany’s gasping face. Opening the box, it revealed a simple, silver ring with a small diamond in the center.
“Will you be mine?”
She took the ring out of the box, and held her hand out. Tiffany offered her left hand to which Jessica delicately held as she slid the ring onto her ring finger. Noticing that Tiffany’s eyes were brimming with tears, she raised her other hand to wipe a tear away.
Jessica grunted at the sheer momentum when Tiffany lunged at her, hugging her tightly. She was propelled backwards as the other girl giggled, drunk from her own happiness.
“Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes! Oh god, yes…”
Jessica joined in with the fit of laughter as they twirled around silly in the dark night. When the two girls finally stopped moving, they stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Tiffany tenderly moved a stray strand of hair behind Jessica’s ear.
“I love you so much…” Tiffany whispered, leaning her head so that their foreheads connected.
Jessica only responded by ridding of any space between them, and giving a deep, long kiss.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- part 2