Things were different. You could feel it.

Maybe it was the way you two sat in the van in silence, her head rested on your shoulder as her breathing began to steady. Maybe it was the way you had taken her hand and squeezed it lightly to reassure her you were there, or the way Jisoo had allowed you to be with her without any opposition, or the way you hadn't let go of her hand as you both got out of the car and walked up to her door.

You weren't sure. You only knew as she looked at you across the counter that something was different. You wondered if she felt it too.

"You want water?" You asked softly, looking towards her with a small smile.

Jennie nodded tentatively, opting to take a seat on the floor against the couch instead of on it. She'd told you that she thought it was more comfortable there. You both sat there the night before too, when you'd gotten drunk, however the sight in front of you wasn't the same at all. She didn't look so tired when she was laughing freely with you.

You sat down next to her, a glass of cold water in your hand which you extended towards her for her to take. Though instead of doing that, she had only stuck out her parted lips slightly, and a small smile appeared on your face at the action as you pressed the glass to her lips.

The water slid down her throat with ease, and you kept the glass where it was as she gulped the rest of it down. She thanked you with a shy smile and you shrugged, placing the glass on the table in front of you. Jennie let her head rest back on the cushion, her eyes locked on the sight of the slightly pink sky through one of the blinds that were open.

"It's pretty." You said suddenly, and she looked back at you with a smile. It reminded you of the one she had given you the night she took you to the rooftop after their win. It felt so long ago to you.

"I thought you liked dark skies."

"I do, but this one is just as peaceful," you shrugged, "I like peaceful skies."

Jennie hummed in response, like the answer just made sense; like it was so completely you, and something told you that she thought just that. Pulling her knees to her chest, she let her cheek rest on top of her legs, her face turned towards you fully. You wondered if she ever let anyone else see her like this. There was a slight shame in the way she looked at you, as if she was scared of your judgement, yet at the same time an assurance that told her you'd never. It was true that she looked more tired than the night before, but you thought maybe there was a freeness in what had happened too, and you knew the feeling to be familiar too.

There was always one thing you did whenever you felt like it was too much as a kid. "I have an idea," you said, and she waited expectantly for you to continue. Eventually, it became clear that you were waiting for her to ask what it was, and she playfully rolled her eyes.

"What is it?" She indulged you.

"Well, one time when I was sad, my mom took me to this place not too far from here." You explained, and Jennie's ears perked up at the mention of your mom. You'd never mentioned your family before. You hoped she couldn't hear the way your heart dropped a little over your words. "It's actually where I met Sana. She took me there a lot from then on."

Jennie tilted her head, "Were you sad a lot?"

"You could say that." You laughed lightly. Jennie sent you a sympathetic look, and you shook your head to reassure her. "But I was happy a lot too. Because of my friends. Well— Sana."

"Good." Jennie said softly. Then, "You deserve to be happy."

Well, you thought, if she heard the way your heart dropped at the mention of mother, you hoped she could hear the way she seemed to mend it with just a sentence. So simple, yet you'd only heard it from three people in your life thus far: Sana, Si-young, and now Jennie. You found you didn't mind that list at all.

Still, you had to return the sentiment. "You do too."

"Mm," Jennie shrugged, "maybe when someone other than you believes that, I'll get it." You opened your mouth to reject the idea, but the look in her eyes told you there was no use; that she felt no longing to talk about it any longer— so you stayed quiet for her. Jennie took the silence as a cue to continue. "So, what is this place?"

You grinned, "Oh, I wouldn't wanna spoil it, Jennie! It's a surprise."

Jennie groaned at that, though there wasn't any real displeasure in it. "Why? I don't like surprises."

"You'll like this one, I'm sure." You assured her, standing up excitedly. "But I'll take you later. You should rest right now."

And if Jennie had any objections to that, she didn't show it, nodding her head and dragging her feet towards her room. You saw her sit at the edge of the bed for a second, and you considered walking over and asking her if she needed anything, but a second later she made herself comfortable and you let out a breath of relief.

The past twenty minutes had felt like a rollercoaster. The last thing you wanted to do was call someone, the first thing being joining Jennie on the journey to dreamland. But you'd be busy tonight, and you had already missed more calls in the past few months than you had your entire length of knowing Sana, so you pressed her name on your phone with a content sigh.

And as Sana did without fail, she picked up immediately. "Hey, y/n!"

"Sana, hey." You smiled fondly. "How is everything?"

"Good, we're just preparing for our next thing." She confirmed. "How about you? How are things with Jennie?"

"Eh, could be better." You chuckled. "It just got too much, I think. Now we're back at her apartment."

"Oh, poor girl." Sana said sadly. "It could be worse though, right? At least she's still with you."

"Yeah, actually, I'm gonna take her to that barnhouse we used to go to."

"Oh, really?!" Sana exclaimed, "I miss that! It was so fun. She's gonna have a great time."

"I hope so," you sighed, your head turning to take a glance at the sleeping girl. She'd left the door open so you could easily see her, and your eyes turned soft at the sight. She looked sad in her sleep too, you thought, and you were determined to change that.

If there was one thing that was obvious to you in this whole thing, it was that Jennie was tired of being her, and you weren't exactly a stranger to the feeling. You'd probably spent half your time growing up wishing you were someone else, and the one person to help you forget that was Sana, mostly taking you to that certain barnhouse.

Which is exactly why a few hours later, the sky much darker, you and Jennie stood in front of it, eyes in awe at the sight before you. It was exactly how you'd remembered it, if only a little newer; a brighter coat of red on the walls, the strings of lights hanging all over the roof all in working condition, the wood floor now without cracks. It made your heart beat to the sound of the music booming from stage set in the back of the room, where a happy man stood, dancing subtly with a big grin on his face. There were groups of other people dancing in the middle of the dance floor, their name tags stuck on to their clothes. They all looked happy, and when you looked towards Jennie, she didn't seem to be too far behind, the glow in her eyes almost as bright as the lights that illuminated the room.

"This is amazing." She breathed out, looking towards you with that favorite smile of yours. "You didn't tell me you liked to dance."

You shrugged, "I don't usually."

You didn't. You were never much of a good dancer, always embarrassing yourself whenever you attempted to put in any effort. Whether it was actual lack of skill or just lack of confidence that caused your moves to fail so badly, you didn't know, and you didn't spend much time trying to figure it out, just avoiding it altogether. In weddings, you dreaded the part where everyone had to go to the dance floor; at parties, you only did the smallest of moves if you had to, usually preferring to go around and talk to people instead or sit in a corner and think about life. But here it was different. Here, you danced.

It's just simply what you came to do when you came here, and if you weren't dancing, you were sitting at the surrounding tables and watching other people dance. There was a bar if you wanted to drink, though of course you needed ID for it. You knew it wasn't too hard to get past, though. You felt a comforting pang in your chest at the flashback of you and Sana with fake IDs drinking beer that neither of you liked at all. You'd never get drunk, but it was the sentiment of it that counted for the both of you, always making you feel older than you were. You thought it funny, because it seemed to have the opposite effect on you now that you were older. You felt like you were a kid again. A kid with no name.

You stepped towards the table with the sticker name tags, piled up for you to take. Grabbing the sharpie, Jennie watched you as you wrote down a name that definitely was not yours. At her curious look, you shot her a grin, handing her the sharpie before continuing, "I don't usually like to dance, but here I'm not me."

She perked up an eyebrow, "So, here you're Olga Shushkova?"

"Who's gonna tell me I'm not?" You joked, then nodded towards the pen in her hand. "Your turn."

"Okay, but I can't promise you I'm gonna top your alias tonight," Jennie laughed before bending down towards the table. She paused for a second, the tip of the sharpie making a dot on the sticker while she contemplated, before she finally wrote something, quick and sure. She stuck it on herself before turning towards you with a proud smile.

"Nawt...chenie?"

"Yeah," she giggled, "get it? Not Jennie... Nawtchenie."

Your eyes suddenly widened at the revelation, acting like it was the best thing you'd ever heard in the world. "That's amazing! Nobody will ever know."

Jennie blushed, her gaze looking away from you momentarily and her voice dropping low and shy, "I thought so too.."

You smiled at the action before turning towards the barnhouse again. Track 67, as you'd remembered it, was nearing its end: '真夜中のドア' by Yuri Tanaka. You'd been there enough that you must've heard the track hundreds of times. It was Sana's favorite, you knew, because it was in Japanese for the most part. You liked it too; the chorus was in English, and Sana always made sure to sing it to you when you were feeling your lowest.

As you and Jennie walked in and waited on the side, near a table of an old couple smiling brightly at the dancers, you turned to Jennie and mouthed the lyrics back to her, 'stay with me.'

Jennie laughed, the pink once again returning to her cheeks before she smiled sweetly at you. Her eyes were locked onto yours as the song repeated its final chorus, and you found that you'd come to miss her staring contests. They didn't seem to be searching like they did before, not lost or confused. You thought they looked like they were just beginning to find something out for the first time. You thought she looked at ease, and the feeling spread throughout you too.

Suddenly, the man on the stage spoke, breaking your stare as you both turned to him. "Okay, the next track was requested by a young lady by the name of Tinker Bell!" He announced, and Jennie looked back at you with wild eyes at the mention of the fictional character's name, to which you shrugged at with a playful grin. "As you all know, this place is meant for you to forget all of your worries and your thoughts, and this track is sure to help you lose yourself in the song. The song being track 134, 'Lose It'!"

You gasped, "My favorite song!"

"Really?" Jennie asked.

"Yeah," you nodded before taking a hold of Jennie's arm, "come on, let's go!"

With your heart beating, Jennie let herself be pulled by you onto the dance floor. There were people dancing all around you, and as you turned to face Jennie you could see her look around them in amazement. Some were good, some definitely were not, including you, who was already starting to do those small moves you do at parties. She let out a laugh at the sight, though you could see she was still a little tense.

Heart clap, we skip a beat. Count one, two, three.

"Don't worry, Jennie." You whispered, stepping towards her and boldly taking her hands. "Nobody knows you here. Tonight you're not you."

And don't you stop the music, get into it, won't you dance with me?

Find a place and lose it, you can do it, won't you dance with me?

Jennie bit her lip, looking towards the doorway and into the parking lot just outside. You knew what she was thinking. She shouldn't be here right now, she should be working, reevaluating what she's done wrong and why it was a mistake to break down in front of everybody earlier; with a light squeeze, you brought her attention back to you.

Move your feet and feel it in the space between

You gotta give yourself a moment, let your body be.

"Stop it," you said softly, "just lose it."

And she did.

You smiled as she nodded at you, the tenseness in her shoulders leaving her completely as you took one of her hands and spun her around. She laughed, and you found that your favorite song didn't compare to the way it sounded, or the way she smiled as you two danced around each other. She was a much better dancer than you. That was clear to anybody who cared to spare a glance at you two. But it wasn't about that. There were no ranks, no comparisons, no competition; there was just Jennie, happy and smiling.

Jennie stepped closer to you, her fingers somehow slipping into yours in the middle of it all. You thought you could hear her heart beating, or maybe it was yours. She moved her feet to the beat of the song, her whole body naturally taken by the melody. Her eyes closed in on you; no ranks, no comparisons, no competition— just you.

"How had I not heard of this place?" She giggled.

"Don't know," you smiled, "maybe you just needed the right person to take you, Nawtie."

"Nawtie?" She tilted her head, an amused smile on her face.

"Yeah, Nawtchenie... Nawtie. I just came up with it." You shrugged. Jennie spun you around this time. "Do you like it?"

Jennie bit her lip to stifle a laugh, "I love it... Olgy."

You had laughed at the nickname, and at some point the bridge of the song had started and Jennie had slowed her movements, you naturally mirroring her as your eyes were on her. You became aware of how close she was once she slid one hand up to your shoulder, the other one still intertwined with yours and resting at both of your sides.

Your breath caught in your throat, she looked up at you, and with the sweetest voice whispered, "Thank you."

You didn't have a chance to respond. Not before she looped her arm around your shoulder and pulled you into a hug, her chin resting on your shoulder. The feeling of her so close to you was something you had yet to get used to, but eventually you'd relaxed. You brought your free hand up to her back, smiling at the way her breathing was so calm.

Things were different. You could feel it.

You weren't sure how long you two stood there, simply finding comfort in each other's touch, you only knew that the song had ended at some point and Jennie only pulled away once the man spoke again to announce the next track. She had an embarrassed look on her face. You knew intimacy like that didn't come easy to her, but you were happy that she trusted you enough to do that. Plus, you hoped she found comfort in the fact that you were probably as red as a tomato too.

As your eyes focused up on stage, you noticed it wasn't the previous man you'd seen, however, and your eyes widened once you recognized who it was.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I recognized a certain somebody in the crowd and I had to announce this next track," he smiled, his eyes falling on you, "this one is for you, kid: track 35, 'Crocodile Rock'!"

You laughed loudly, both at the song choice and at the giddiness you felt of seeing him again. You felt Jennie look at you curiously, and you turned to her to explain who he was before he met you on the dance floor. "Um, you can just call him David. He used to look out for me whenever I came here."

Before Jennie could respond, you were slightly thrown off by that exact man throwing his arms around you. You giggled, returning the hug before he pulled away. He scanned your sticker before addressing you.

"Olga Shushkova, where have you been?"

You let out an exasperated breath, "Oh, not many places. My work in Russia keeps me pretty busy."

"Ah, what a shame, we've missed you here." He quipped, yet you knew he meant the last part. You knew, since you'd missed it too. But before you could express that, he had turned to Jennie, who was standing there patiently, her head subtly bopping to the music. "And who's this? I don't think I've seen you before!"

"Oh, I'm Jen-"

"Nawtchenie!" You corrected, though you knew that he knew exactly who she was. After all, she was Jennie Kim.

"Right, Nawtchenie." She smiled, sticking her hand out for him to grab. "What should I call you?"

"Oh, David is just fine." He replied, shaking her hand briefly. Jennie opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off, already knowing what she was going to say. "No, no formalities here unless they say so. Everyone is equal here, right, Olga?"

You nodded your head, "right."

"You must be pretty special for this one to take you here. I've only ever seen her come here with three people." David chuckled. "Who were they again? Your mother, Sana, and-"

"Speaking of Sana, she said she misses it here!" You cut him off, earning a suspicious look from the girl next to you. You ignored it, however, focusing your attention on making sure the man didn't continue listing names. Which, luckily, he did.

"Ah, that's too bad. She's probably too busy to come here, anyway." He said, sucking in his teeth. You nodded, and the three of you stood there for a while before he finally excused himself. "Well, I didn't mean to interrupt your night. Just needed to make sure I didn't scare some random kid by talking to them up there and dedicating this song to them."

"Well even without the story, it would've been a good song choice." You giggled, giving him a short hug to say goodbye. "I promise I'll come back more."

"Good, ignoring me is no way to repay me, you know!" He joked, already stepping away. "And it was nice to meet you, Nawtchenie! You look like exactly what this girl needed."

"Okay, that's enough." You glared at him, and he winked at you before he left completely.

"Exactly what you needed, huh?" Jennie asked.

You shrugged, attempting to do some sort of dance by hopping around slightly. "Guess I can't deny the positive effect you have on my life."

Jennie laughed, doing the exact same move as you.

"Yeah, me too, Olgy."

And to say your heart skipped a beat wouldn't have done it justice, you almost falling on your feet. Jennie pretended not to notice of course, if only to save you from some embarrassment. You didn't care, though, the both of you dancing through the rest of the song together without a care in the world.