× let's get lost.

@lalisa Uncomfortable. That was the only word that could describe how he was feeling at the current moment, maybe it didn't even come close to it. Her response had drew 'ooh's and 'ah's from the people outside the volleyball team, and even a few from the members who were nowhere near involved in the situation let alone had any knowledge of what was going on. If she even decided to look his way afterwards, she would see that even though he was a bit antsy, he was still thankful that she was able to shut them the up. For the moment, at least.

Could this pep rally get any worse? It was like the world was practically provoking him to knock some sense into any person who even dared to look his way. His hands moved to begin cracking his fingers, a habit he only showed when he was trying to calm himself down or distract his mind from saying anything that he would regret.

"Hey, why don't you get back up there and do another dance number?"

Mingyu's movements halted; there's no way somebody on his team had actually said that. Straightening himself up to glower at the person who said what they said, he took no hesitation standing to his feet in the space between Lalisa and his teammate and he spat, "Alright. Cut it the out before I make you, benchwarmer."

@mingyu Though it was quite easy for her to block everything out and become absorbed with her thoughts, the commotion behind her made it much harder. The group of volleyball players, specifically the male team, has always been notoriously rowdy, however she didn’t expect them to be quite as bothersome as they were then. At first, she couldn’t make out the subject they became excited about, the booming screams of spirited students drowning them out. However, the constant delivery of her name made it relatively easy to figure it out, without the need of context. Boys will be boys, of course, and this wasn’t the first time she became the center of attention in their conversations.

When boisterous laughter erupted after Mingyu had bumped into her from behind, she received her confirmation. She turned her head to meet the third year’s gaze, much closer to her own than it was a few seconds ago, before shifting it to his teammates. Her eyes, which were previously filled with her affliction, were now burnished with the rage of her impatience. Her full, crimson tiers were pressed into a thin, unimpressed line, and she narrows her eyes at Mingyu in particular.

“You know, it’s kind of interesting that you boys are so concerned with your friend getting attention from a girl,” she began, umber irises trained on the dark-haired male as she spoke. Her voice was loud and clear, as she made sure that most of the male volleyball team can hear.

“It’s like you’re trying to live vicariously through him,” she paused and turned to address them, a bitter smille dancing upon her lips. “Since the rest of you s can’t get even if you paid them. You act like a bunch of children in middle school, talking about how I looked at him twice. Now leave the man alone, and stop being a ing nuisance while everyone else is trying to watch the performance.”

@lalisa "She looked at you again, bro!"

His stomach churned at her gaze that was thrown his way, probably in reaction to all this noise behind her. The murmurs around him and the pats of what could only be explained as "congratulations" were beginning to become annoying, as if they weren't already to begin with. Mingyu swatted at his teammates, occasionally rolling his shoulders to move hands that continued to rest on him. His short fuse was almost bound to make him to say something out of annoyance again. For now, he needed to relax.

"Alright guys, get a grip."

But the teasing wouldn't let up. Straightening up his posture, trying to force himself from letting his emotions show through his visage, he finally paused to throw them a pointed looked. The laughter had died down and some finally gave him one last "supportive" pat. The pat ended up being harder than expected, pushing him hard enough to bump into the woman of the hour. It was already bad enough the situation they had run into earlier, and now these idiots were actually being loud enough and further embarrassing him in front of her. ing great.

"I," he started out in embarrassment, "I'm so sorry, Lalisa!"

@mingyu It was incredibly difficult to focus on what was in front of her, despite the attention-commanding blares of trumpets and overbearingly loud speakers. What was in front of her should have been enough to pull her out of the confines of her mind, the debilitating thoughts that were enough to remove such a bright smile off her face. Not that it was genuine, anyway. The toothy grin on her visage was just for show, but even then, she was usually good at keeping it, for the sake of appearances. And yet, she sat there, marred brows and a distant gaze giving way to a troubled face. Lalisa, who normally found it so easy to focus, was spaced out then and there, lost in a sea of cheering students. Her eyes, have once again fallen to stare at the red markings on her wrist, the date unfamiliar to her. 



‘It isn’t his,’ she repeated in her mind a dozen times over, in a pathetic attempt to become married to the idea. But how could she ever be? Her whole life, all of her plans was ruined by a stupid birthday. She should ignore it, she really should. But she knew that it would be near impossible to ignore. What was burnished on her skin was fate, something that, despite what most fiction might argue against, is inescapable. Lalisa knew that at some point, her love for him would fade, even if she didn’t intend it to.

An utterance of her name pulled her out from her thoughts, and she looked around for the source. When her somber gaze landed on Mingyu’s, it hardened immediately, and she quickly turned back around so that he wouldn’t be able to see the despondence in her eyes.

@lalisa The sound of the crowd cheering brought his attention back to the women in front of him. He mimicked his teammates (as well as everybody else in the gymnasium) and applauded once they finished their performance number. Even without completely watching this performance, he knew how talented Lisa was. Hell, anybody within a 30 mile radius could feel it. He had seen her dance before, but this time it seemed as if he just couldn't focus on it like he usually could. All this soulmate crap was starting to bother him more than usual too. It was possible that it might've even been the reason for his emotions being so out of wack. Mingyu felt himself tense up seeing the cheerleaders come back towards the bleachers. , how did he forget they sat right in front of his volleyball team?

At the sight of her smile, he blinked and then quickly faked a cough, placing his mouth in between his elbow and forearm. There was no way she had gotten over their interaction that fast. Or maybe she did? Maybe she just didn't care and he was being dramatic? "Bro, Mingyu! Did you just see that? Lisa totally smiled at you!" At first, he was gonna pretend like it was so loud that he couldn't hear what his teammate said, but then another one spoke up behind him about the same topic.

"She smiles at everyone," he spoke impassively, before deliberately turning his attention back to listen to the announcement about future games.

@mingyu The gymnasium boomed with the music as she and her team members executed their routine. The speckles of light from recording phones along with wild, rowdy cheers encouraged the brightest grin on her mien, lips outstretched into the most brilliant smile she could manage. With her obsidian ponytail swinging left and right and arms moving about in the air, it’s hard to detect any form of unhappiness from her. And it’s partially true: the stage, in front of a large audience was always where Lalisa felt her best. It’s the only place where she could forget, shove away whatever troubled her throughout the week. 



But of course, it’s all short-lived. As soon as they finished their number, it all came rushing back to her. It was as if the dance was her liquor, and she was then sobering up. If only she could turn back time, turn the clock just to before they begin their routine. So that she may forget for another six minutes. At least, for a little bit more. But when she accidentally meets the eyes of the man she had been actively trying to avoid, she knew that there was absolutely nothing she could do. Her smile dims, just a bit, but she doesn’t let them see. Doesn’t let him see. So when the announcer gives her team a warm thanks for their time, she rushes back to the bleachers to reclaim her seat. And just to her luck, it was right in front of the person she bumped into not too long ago. Once again does she force a smile towards the male, before turning to watch the last segment of the assembly.

@lalisa Mingyu repeated the process of throwing cold water on his face probably a dozen times, also managing to wipe off the rest of the face paint his teammates had put on him an hour ago. He should've just stayed in his dorm, oh how he should've just ing lied and said he was sick. Anything would be better than sitting around in this torture. After letting the water run for a few more seconds, he turned it off and grabbed a towel to pat his face dry. Well, whatever. He made it half way, he could handle another hour.. or at least hoped he could. Eventually making his way back to the stands, he almost groaned in agitation seeing what was happening next.

There she was, the very same girl he just bumped into was performing with the rest of her cheerleading squad. Mingyu could hear his teammates around him, one asking what happened to his faceprint, others making remarks about how attractive they thought the cheerleaders were. "Ah, I was hot so I went to go wash my face," he partially lied, flashing a smile to them before turning to stare down at his hands, not wanting to feel anymore guiltier about the whole situation with Lisa. Finger trailing over his skin that was ingrained with his soulmate mark right under his wrist, he couldn't help but feel sorry for whoever his soulmate might've been.

@mingyu Although she returns to the stands with the peppiest smile she could manage, Lalisa’s mind was at a disarray. But it wasn’t because a freshman she barely knew yelled at her, or the fact that they locked eyes for a brief moment before they went their separate ways. Rather, that was the least of her worries. As she took her place upon the bleachers beside the rest of her squad, she looked down at her wrist, and the bit of red that peeks out from beneath her sleeve. She stares at it, wondering why it decided to shift now. When she finally, for the first time in years, allowed herself a chance at pure happiness with another. But it seems fate didn’t agree. It never did. Her breath trembles at the thought, and before she could lose her composure, she pulls her sleeve up to cover what little was showing of her mark.

The girl takes what little time she has left to force herself back into spirit. It doesn’t take a lot, of effort, really; she has done this several times before (it becomes easy once she learned how to perform). On queue, she pushes herself off of the bench to lead her team to the center of the gymnasium. They file to their positions, and when the music starts, she dances just as they rehearsed every day before.

@lalisa Clenching his jaw as he waited for her to step out of his path, Mingyu continued on his way to the bathrooms, her response to his tone and overall behavior going far from unnoticed. Then, he even furthered his mistake by turning around to glance in her direction, in which he was met with her gaze. His head swung back around and he pushed the entrance to the bathroom wide open. The crowd and overall excitement going on outside was muffled in just the slightest by the door, but his ears were beginning to ring, making it even more difficult than it already was to focus on anything. He hated when he got like this. Of course, he could always find a way to better manage his anger, but the thought of some professional pitying him was not on his agenda. His chest heaved, as if he had been holding his breath since he first entered the auditorium. Hands leaning on the nearest sink in the bathroom, his eyes met with his own in the mirror. Mind thinking back to the way Lisa had looked at him, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in his chest. Then, like a switch, Mingyu was back to his previous agitated state.

",' he cursed, turning on the nob and waited for the water to get the coolest it could possibly be before he splashed some on his face.

@mingyu His face reads like an open book. It's obvious that he is making a large attempt at concealing it. Frustration is heavy in his voice as he speaks, the words mumbled beneath an exasperated exhale failing to go unnoticed by her, though she knows better than to pry. A curious gaze flutters to the fist, barely catching sight of it before she brings her attention back to his visage. Irritation. It's subtle in his features, but the cadence of his voice highlights it just enough. So she backs away and steps to the side, more so out of respect rather than fear. "Jesus, Mingyu." She raised her hands up, surrendering to the anger he directs at her, brows furrowed with concern. Though she's itching to prod further, to poke the bear with a stick in order to find out what caused such an attitude, she decides to brush it off, at least for now. She walks off, glancing over her shoulder once to gaze upon the male, before returning to the stands. She's been gone long enough, anyway.

@lalisa Mingyu was almost in the clear, he was so entirely close to being left alone for a few minutes until he almost walked into Lalisa. All in one breath, an exasperated sigh followed by a not so quiet "ing great" spilled from his tongue. He balled his hands up into a fist, an execrable attempt to restrain himself, yet pushed a "smile" that had more than just a pinch of irritation in it.
"Fine," he replied curtly, the voice in the back of his head that usually warned him when he got like this completely unconscious. "Now, could you get out of my way?" The boy's canines were digging so deep in his bottom lip, he was surprised that the metallic taste of blood hadn't touched his tastebuds yet. Deep down, Mingyu knew he shouldn't have said it that way. It was just he couldn't find it in himself to stop the rush of anger he had been holding in.

@mingyu Today in particular, has been unnecessarily exhausting. At least, for Lalisa. With assignments, cheerleading practice, and student tours on top of hours and hours of lectures and labs, it’s a wonder how she manages to stay upright. One would assume that her energy would have already been spent by now. If she were to collapse within the next few minutes, it’s doubtful that anyone would be surprised, especially with the little sleep she has gotten in the past few days. And they didn’t even need her to tell them. The dark circles under her eyes and the yawn-per-minute were telling enough. Her liveliness, or lack thereof, in the pep rally was no different. Several yawns in brought her to excuse herself to the bathroom to splash her face off, in hopes that it would wake her up. And it worked for a little bit, though she would argue that it was much more effective with ruining her hairstyle and removing the stripes of green, black, and gold that previously decorated her cheeks. Oh well. With a heavy sigh, she exits the bathroom, only to nearly bump in to a familiar face. “Woah, sorry,” she stepped back with a bashful chuckle, only to realize that the person she bumped into was a very cranky Mingyu. “Oh hey," With brows laced in concern, she tilted her head, before inquiring, “You good?”

@lalisa Today was not going well for Mingyu. At all. If it was up to him right now, he wouldn't even be at this ing pep rally. But because he played volleyball, and it was especially important for the freshman to get into the "school spirit," he ended up on the bleachers with his jersey on and two short-horizontal lines of face paint on each of his cheekbones, representing their school colors. The longer he sat there, the more irritated he got and his stomach was filling with butterflies to the point where he could feel each wave they were swimming in. His fingers vigorously twitched and he suppressed the urge to clench his hands, knowing it would do nothing but irritate him more. Maybe he just needed to get a minute alone with himself in the bathroom, to collect his thoughts and emotions, then he could continue to pretend things were fine until the pep rally was over. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom real fast, okay? Save my seat!" He flashed an insincere smile to his fellow teammates, pushing himself out the seat and in the direction of where the bathrooms would be.

@mingyu @lalisa [] happy roleplaying!