DATED : Sunday, December 5, 2010
TITLED: The Grey Sky Of An Ugly Doll -Yuri- Chapter Two
TIMED: 7:01 AM
Yulsic Chapter 2 is up!
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~Chapter Two~
*Cracking A Little Of Her Icy Exterior*
“…Please remind me why did I ever consent to let you out of you cage of a room and set foot into the school grounds,” Taeyeon grumbled as she twitched about anxiously, tapping her foot on the ground repeatedly in annoyance.
It was Yuri’s first day back at school after staying away for such a long time. Coincidentally, their school had also arranged for their class to take a field trip to the beach on that fateful day that Yuri returned, under the pretense of “learning more about protecting the environment”. In actual fact, it leaned more towards “toiling away and picking up the rubbish that other heartless people had ‘carelessly’ left behind”. At first, Taeyeon had vehemently denied Yuri the right of returning to Jessica’s side, claiming that it was too hard work, but amidst much pleading from Yuri and plenty of snuggling from Tiffany, she had no choice but to reluctantly let her free spirited yet sickly dongsaeng go back to her school. They were currently standing in front of their school’s auditorium, waiting for the ever elusive bus to come. The bus was already twenty minutes late. The never ending wait for it did nothing to calm Taeyeon’s nerves, which were already frazzled from worrying too much about whether Yuri would suddenly faint spectacularly due to fatigue.
“Because you’re the best unnie ever, Taeng…” Yuri cooed, her voice one whole octave higher than usual.. Pouting girlishly, she opened her eyes wide, giving Taeyeon an oh-I’m-a-damsel-in-distress look, an air of helplessness radiating out from her. This brought much amusement to Tiffany, who was struggling to keep a straight face at Yuri’s pretty much failed yet still endearing attempt at doing aegyo.
“Oh, keep quiet.” Taeyeon rolled her eyes and pushed Yuri’s face away jokingly. “You know I hate aegyo.”
“But you love me,” Yuri concluded, self satisfaction evident at pleasing her unnie. She flashed a victorious goofy grin at Taeyeon, who looked like she couldn’t decide to put up a martyr like face of long suffering or burst out laughing like a maniac.
Eventually deciding on the latter, Taeyeon sighed and snorted with a fake act of derision. “You must have a pretty high opinion of your aegyo to do it like that. Let you darling unnie tell you, it definitely calls for a brick to your head! But worst of all, why does it work?” Taeyeon finished her latter statement with a look of sorrow, before throwing her head back and giving a loud shout of laughter.
“Ok, the bus is here, let’s go,” Tiffany’s voice broke in calmly as she yanked the arms of her girlfriend and best friend and pulled them up the bus.
The three of them had originally aimed to go for the seats at the back so that they could stay together, but just as Yuri made to sit down beside the two of them, Tiffany stood up unexpectedly.
“No, you’re not sitting here, I’ve got other plans for you…” Tiffany gave a semi-devilish smirk as she flashed Yuri her famous captivating eye smile. Steering the other girl towards the front of the bus, she oushed Yuri forward none too gently as Yuri tried to resist and shake Tiffany’s arms off her.
“W-what the? Tiffany, are m-mad?” Yuri spluttered as she fought hard to keep herself from tumbling over and making a fool out of herself in front of the whole class. She still had an image to keep up, after all. Especially in front of Jessica..
“You’ll thank me soon enough,” Tiffany mouthed as she finally stopped in her tracks and pushed Yuri down onto a seat. Giving Yuri a wink, she turned around and started making her way quickly back towards Taeyeon before Yuri could grab her arm and demand to be allowed to sit with them.
“Unnie…What the?!” Yuri’s whine turned quickly into a gasp of shock as she whirled around to see who she was next to: her dream girl, Jessica Jung.
“Jessica…” Yuri lisped involuntarily while staring like a helpless lovesick goof at her Jessica, whose back was facing her, staring pensively out of the window, her face titled towards the side.
What caught Yuri’s attention were Jessica’s beautiful and alluring peepers. Eyes that were a kaleidoscope of chocolate and light black, occasionally flecked with a soft lighter brown. Her eyes looked as though she was deep in thought, with a hint of melancholy beckoning in, the sadness just like the barest of whispers. However, Yuri wouldn't mind being in them forever. Those eyes...were so entrancing.
“Yuri, snap out of it! This is no time to be staring at her eyes!” Yuri jumped as though she had been given an electric shock, using her hand to whack her head repeatedly as she hissed at herself to stop behaving so abnormally.
“You need the mental hospital or something?” A distinctly cold voice with barely concealed ill-humour reached her ears.
“Huh…I…” Yuri’s voice trailed off into nothingness as she looked up.
She snapped out of her trance and found himself looking now not only at the other party's eyes, but her captivating face. There was no other word to describe her but angelic. Jessica’s oval-shaped face was flawless; her cute-as-a-button nose and high cheekbones complemented her features perfectly. Her rosebud-like mouth were curled into a small , adorable pout. Coupled with her long blonde hair flowing freely down her back, with her fringe gently cupping her face, this girl was simply mesmerizing.
“H-E-L-L-O? What are you, dumb? Can’t answer a simple question?” Jessica snapped in frustration at being ignored as she raised her eyebrows, her mouth now forming a smirk.
“Sorry, I just zoned out for a while…I’m Kwon Yuri, nice to meet you!” Yuri, who had been hurt by Jessica’s mean words, quickly gathered up her courage and hastily rearranged her features into a dazzling smile as she made an attempt to have a conversation with Jessica again.
“Whatever…all you people are the same. Stuck up brats who bully everyone else,” Jessica concluded with an eye roll and yawn, brushing aside Yuri’s friendly greeting. Turning away from Yuri, she curled up into a foetus position, hugging her knees close to her chest and closed her eyes in a bid to get some rest.
Yuri bit her lip as she watched Jessica push her away and recoil back into her own world. Jessica’s cruel accusation felt like a sharp blade, piercing through her heart. She let out a gasp as her heart clenched in pain…It was a horrible feeling to be misunderstood by someone you loved. She wanted to let Jessica know that her kindness wasn’t for show, and her feelings were genuine. But how could she do that when Jessica had already outwardly showed her distaste at Yuri? However, Yuri didn’t blame Jessica for it. She knew that Jessica had been hurt by the others more than she cared to let on, and her icy demeanor was just a shield from her scarred heart and the rest of the world. However, Yuri clenched her fist and made a vow. Somehow, she would break down the ice surrounding Jessica’s heart and make it warm again. She had to.
The rest of the bus journey went on uneventfully, only a few lame jokes by their teacher and an occasional loud shout from the class joker to lighten up the moody atmosphere. Everybody was less than happy at the prospect of having to clean up after others, so nobody was in any mood at joke around.
When the bus finally stopped, Yuri contemplated whether to arouse Jessica from her deep slumber or not. Jessica didn’t look like she would open her eyes any time soon, yet she didn’t want to risk a scolding from the girl and perhaps a hateful glare too. However, when their teacher started to demand that everyone get off the bus in ten seconds, Yuri knew that she had no other choice.
Sighing with anxiety, Yuri shut her eyes tight with apprehension as she poked Jessica lightly on the shoulder. “Wake up, we’re here,” she whispered lightly, hoping not to frighten the other girl.
“H-huh?” Jessica raised her head up slowly, rubbing her eyes and stretching herself. For a few seconds, she looked blanked, but as her memories came back to her, comprehension dawned on her face and without warning, Jessica grabbed her bag roughly from the floor and stumbled past Yuri, trying to get out of that place as fast as she could. Unfortunately, one of her legs caught Yuri’s, and she tumbled to the ground none too graciously, her head hitting the floor as her ankle twisted sideways painfully.
“Ouch!” Jessica let out an ear piercing scream as she heard a sickening crack. An angry white flared up in her vision as the pain intensified. Her face contorted into a dramatic reenaction of pain as she caresses her ankle gently.
“J-Jessica!” Yuri stammered in shock as she hurriedly reached down to gather Jessica in her arms, her eyes wide with fear.
Too preoccupied with the pain to care about her animosity towards Yuri, Jessica groanded into Yuri’s shoulder, “My..ankle…it’s broken!”
“WHAT?!...Oh sorry…” Yuri exclaimed in worry first, then lowered her voice as she apologised, the loudness of the voice having unsettled Jessica who gave another gasp.
“What’s going on, Ms Jung and Ms Kwon?” The teacher, tired of waiting for so long, finally stalked up the bus.
“Jessica’s broken her ankle, Mrs Park…We have to get her to the hospital!” Yuri urged, the worry apparent in her voice as she cradled Jessica in her arms. Jessica was now sweating profusely and a stream of swear words was escaping her mouth in between whimpers of pain.
“Very well then.” Mrs Park nodded solemnly and gestured for the bus driver to start driving to the hospital after passing Yuri a first aid kit and clambering off the bus.
It was only then that it hit Yuri how close she and Jessica were. Jessica was finally in her arms…and the feeling was just…too wonderful for words. Like the sweetness of sugar, or the musky scent of honey. However, although Yuri would have loved to hold on to that moment, she knew that Jessica was suffering and was in pain.
Working quickly, she managed to detach the bandage from the first aid kit and moved Jessica slightly away from her.
“W-what are you doing?” Jessica questioned, her voice breathless.
“Binding your foot first…It’ll hurt though…You have to be strong…” Yuri placed Jessica’s hand on her arm.
When Jessica shot her a quizzical look, Yuri replied smoothly, “For you to grab on when it gets too pain.”
Jessica looked as though she would not take up Yuri on her offer, but when Yuri slightly prodded her now swollen foot, she bit back a shout of pain and gripped on to Yuri, her hold almost bruising.
Though Yuri continued to wrap her foot up as delicately as she could, the pain that Jessica could feel was as though someone had taken a hammer and rammed it repeatedly on her foot. Hence, the longer it took for Yuri to bind her injured foot up, the tighter she gripped on to Yuri, her fingernails digging into Yuri’s skin. Even so, Yuri did not turn a hair, her mind focused on helping Jessica.
It was only after Yuri was done and Jessica let go of her hand that Jessica threw a glance at Yuri’s hands. And her eyes snapped back immediately. Yuri’s arm was all red from her firm and painful hold, and the worst thing was that her fingernails had caused Yuri to bleed. Blood was now flowing from Yuri’s arm downwards like a tiny, crimson ribbon, for the wounds were very deep.
“Y-you’re bleeding…” Jessica murmured, her eyebrows furrowed in thought as she stared hard at those injuries caused by her. Guilt washed over her at once, and she looked up at Yuri with apology written over her face.
“Oh…it’s nothing. Don’t worry about me…” Yuri looked down, then managed a smile again as she waved her uninjured hand dismissively. She didn’t want Jessica to feel bad, this was but nothing to her compared to Jessica’s feelings.
“We’ve reached the hospital!” the bus driver’s voice rang out as he turned into the driveway of the hospital.
“Here…Grab my waist and I’ll hoist you up, you shouldn’t be standing in that condition,” Yuri stated calmly as she bent down, trying to pull Jessica up along with her slowly.
“I’m ok, I don’t need your help…Ouch!” Jessica tried to reject Yuri and stand up by herself, but she was once again engulfed in pain and involuntarily fell to the ground again.
Yuri didn’t say a word, but placed her arms around Jessica lovingly and raised her up unhurriedly. This time, Jessica didn’t protest, but let her head fall lightly on Yuri’s shoulder as she relied on the other girl, finding inner peace despite the pain. For some reason, being in Yuri’s arms made her feel safe…
This time, the two of them were silent again. Only this time it wasn’t awkward quietness, but a soothing calm.
The two girls stood outside the hospital, with Jessica grabbing on to Yuri for dear life.
“Are you ok?” Yuri’s forehead was creased with worry as she attempted to hold the other girl up. They had just finished consulting the doctor, who patched Jessica up, and Yuri wanted to bring Jessica home without further ado for her to get some rest. During their stint in the hospital, Jessica had been too weak to argue with Yuri or protest when the girl held her close, but as the shock and pain gradually wore off, she was getting more and more restless, and her icy exterior was back in place again.
“I’m ok, let me go, I need to go home…”
“Let me bring you home,” Yuri offered kindly, thoughts of Jessica suddenly slipping onto the ground flashing through her mind. She couldn’t afford Jessica aggravating her injury again.
“No, I’m alright. Bye,” Jessica cut her off stiffly and ambled forward awkwardly, grabbing on to the railings at the side. She heaved herself forward with great effort, and was already breaking out in sweat. However, she refused to let Yuri see that. She didn’t want Yuri to go back and report her frailty to the rest of the class, who would then have a ball of a time jeering at her again.
Yuri sighed, looking heavenward. It wasn’t going to be easy to win Jessica’s heart. One could even say that climbing Mount Everest would be an easier feat than cracking open Jessica’s cold exterior. However, she wasn’t going to give up. Her love for this girl was what kept her going, and if Jessica was a kite flying freely in the sky, Yuri would be the string attached to her, following her in her escapades and protecting her silently. Hence, she trailed after Jessica as the latter started to inch away from her, wanting to be on hand to help should anything untoward happen.
An uncomfortable silence descended upon the two for the first few minutes, only broken by the sounds of Jessica’s shuffling and Yuri’s hurried footsteps. Jessica knew that the other girl was tailing her; however, she saw no reason to turn around and bite her head off. Let her waste her time if she desired so. But after a pained and awkward silence between them, Jessica could bear it no long.
“Why are you stalking me?” Jessica snapped angrily, turning her head to look Yuri in the eye.
“I just want to make sure you’re ok…”
“I am. Now quit stalking me. I’m going to sleep on the bench here, you can go off! Goodbye!” Jessica didn’t expect the other girl to wait for her; why should she, anyway? After all, the sleeping bit was just a ruse to get that Yuri girl to stop bugging her so persistently.
Throwing herself on the park bench located conveniently next to her, she shut her eyes tight and pretended to look like she was furious, even in her dreams. She fully thought that Yuri would be scared and back off; however, the next thing she felt was a gentle coat enveloping her tiny frame and warmth engulfing her. There was also a sweet scent of what smelled suspiciously like…vanilla. Breathing in the wonderful smell, Jessica secretly hid a bright smile from Yuri. Although she despised that Yuri girl, Yuri’s scent seemed to bring some comfort and reassurance to her. Not to mention that she was oddly attracted to it. It was the most attractive smell in the whole world for her. Better than the fragrance of flowers, or the aroma of fried chicken, or the freshness of the salty sea breeze…
Jessica’s face turned cold a second later, as though someone was standing in between the sun and its direct rays. Blinking up in surprise to find Yuri positioned in front of her rigidly, Jessica threw her a curious look. What was she doing?
“I just didn’t want to sun to disrupt you when you’re sleeping, so I stood in front of it to prevent it from shining directly on you. I hope my coat is keeping you warm…or do you need my scarf too? And I’ll stay here till you wake up, even if it takes a few hours…I won’t leave you alone…” Yuri suggested, hands already moving quickly to detach her scarf from her neck to pass to Jessica. It was nearing the end of autumn, and the weather was turning understandably chilly. It wouldn’t do for Jessica to catch a cold.
“It’s ok…” Yuri’s eyes flew to Jessica in shock when the other touched her hand and squeezed it a little. Was Jessica…actually being friendly to her?
The edges of Jessica’s lips were pulled upwards as her face broke out into a true smile. Yuri was simply too cute…too innocent…too kind…too caring…too irresistible… Ever since all the bullying at school had started, Jessica had clammed herself up and retreated into her private, dreamy world. She didn’t believe that people could be earnest and good to others without some hidden, evil motive, but this girl was starting to prove her wrong. Yuri treated Jessica like royalty, giving in the girl’s whims and taking care of her to the best of her ability, never once stopping to think about herself. And that made Yuri special in Jessica’s eyes. Ok, maybe “special” was too strong a word. “Trustworthy” might be better. Jessica hated the world, but Yuri proved that she would never let Jessica go solo, no matter what happened. And surprisingly, Jessica liked it. This feeling of protection was new to her, nobody had wanted to protect her before, and she had nothing to protect. It was too soon to say, but maybe Yuri could change it. Jessica instantly liked the other girl, but her sneers and mistreatment were just her natural defenses. She would wait and see, if Yuri was indeed the one made to warm her icy heart again.
“You know what? I don’t want to sleep. Why don’t you help me back instead?” Jessica chuckled, looking Yuri straight in the eye.
“I…ok…” Yuri’s cheeks were still pinking from Jessica’s touch, and she could do nothing but to stutter back nervously. As she wrapped her arms around Jessica’s waist and pulled the latter into a standing position, something clicked inside the both of them. And that something was further reinforced when Jessica once again leaned on Yuri, breathing in Yuri’s vanilla scent.
Yuri and Jessica didn’t know it, but that something was the start of a wonderful feeling called love.
*Author’s note: Hello! I’m so sorry, I’ve really been busy these past week, so I couldn’t find time to update! Mianhae…I try to be on time next time! I hope this chapter is long enough to make up for it! My apologies if it isn’t written very well though, I have a headache. Thank you for your support! I will try my best to improve! Thank you!
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Labels: The Grey Sky Of An Ugly Doll, Yulsic
