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𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃

Sophia sat on her bed in the hotel room in Argentina, the sky outside beginning to lighten as the sun starts to rise. She hadn't slept a wink last night; jetlag and the habit of having trouble falling asleep in a bed that isn't her own making sure of it. All night, she'd just doomscrolled. Everything ranging from silly cat videos to absurd conspiracy theories to speculation of the possible downfall of Katseye, all because Manon took a hiatus. Her fellow member. Her teammate. Her "best friend". Totally not the same person she'd been pining after since she came to Dream Academy.

Manon was the complete opposite of the elegant, composed, rich vibes that Sophia exuded. Manon was was all smoke, fun and freedom. But we all know the saying. Opposites attract. This applies to Sophia and Manon too. It was a little rough at first, but they worked through it and grew closer. After those initial moments of anger and hatred (or was it something deeper all along...?), Sophia found herself falling. Hard and fast. She tried to hide it and failed miserably. The fans shipped them, the other members would tease her, yet somehow, to some miracle (or curse, if you will), Manon never noticed. Never batted an eye when she caught Sophia staring at her with heart eyes. Never thought about it too deeply whenever she needed something, Sophia was there with it. Never saw the quiet pain feigned as playful interest that flickers in Sophia's eyes everytime she does the M.I.A outro.

With another sigh, she checked the clock. 5:57am. *"So that means ot should be 9:57am for Manon right now..."* Sophia thought to herself. Then, out of sheer impulse, she dails Manon's number and waits. The line rings for a few moments before Manon's voices crackles through.

"Sophia, hey! How's everyone? How's Argentina?" Manon says with a warm as the call connects, a warm fluttery feeling spreading through Sophia at the sound of her group member's voice, unable to keep a small smile of her own off her face.

"Ugh, it's actually so pretty here like it's insane, but it doesn't feel the sane without you. I saw your story the other, it looks like you're having the time if your life without Sohey and Grant at your ass." Sophia grumbles with a long sigh, a small pout forming on her lips. Manon's soft laugh echoes through the quiet room, the faint side of fabric rustling heard on her end.

"I can here your pout from all the way over here." Manon teases lovingly before her voice softens, "You know I'll be back soon enough. Its not like I'm leaving Katseye, even if the whole fandom is acting like it." She reassures, her soft voice a soothing balm to Sophia's sleep deprived, soul.

"I know, I know... it's just not the same without you here... I mean Megan is covering all of your parts and she does ir so well but just isn't the same..." Sophia murmurs with a soft, tired sigh, shifting to sit up and look out the window as the sky turns from deep blue to pastel pink and soft orange. Manon is silent on the other end of the line for a few moments, taking a moment to absorb Sophia's words. The depth of them.

"I got you something," Manon murmurs after what feels like an eternity. "for us, technically, its like a matching kinda thing, but you know what I mean." She murmurs sheepishly, her words making Sophia's heartbeat stutter before it begins to race.

"Yeah? Is it a surprise or can I ask what you got me?" Sophia hums, trying not to sound flustered. She's never been nore relieved that Manon couldn't see her flushed face through the voice call. At Sophia's question, Manon ponders for a moment before she chuckles, causing Sophia's traitorous heart to flutter.

"Nope, you're gonna have to wait until i get back. But I just know you'll love it, trust me. Now, shouldn't you be getting ready to perform at Lollapalooza?" Manon points out, teasing lightheartedly, her smile loud and clear from 11,160 kilometers away.

Sophia groans dramatically and flops back on the bed, throwing an arm over her eyes.

"...Yeah I do... promise me you'll watch it?" She murmurs like a petulant child, already dreading to face the long day of practice, hyping up and keeping the other memebrs under control and perform the actual performance itself.

"Of course I will, what kind of teammate would I be if i didn't?" Of course. Teammate. Right. Ignoring the pang in her chest at her "teammate's" words, Sophia hums in agreement and sits up in the bed once more"

"A really shitty one, i suppose... but yeah, i should get going. Have fun in the Alps, don't get into a snowboarding accident before our show starts!" Sophia says, putting on a cheerful facade and hangs up before Manon can get a snarky comeback in.

The smile on her face fell almost immediately. She lets her phone drop to the bed beside her and sits on her bed for a few more moments, pondering over all of her decisions that had lead her up to this moment. Auditioning for Dream Academy. Countless nights of late night practices. Performing "Buttons" while on the verge of throwing up and miraculously pushing through. The "beef" she had with Manon. How they talked it through and decided to make up. All of these things have lead up to this; becoming the leader of one the biggest girl groups of the decade with millions of fans worldwide. It should've felt rewarding. She should've felt happy. But instead she's caught up over the Swiss girl who stole her heart without even realizing it.

𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃𓂃𓂁𓂃

The screams of the fans are still ringing in Sophia's ears as she finally gets back to the hotel after the performance. She's sore all over but she can't seem to wipe the smile off her face. The crowd was so incredibly loud and supportive and not a single thing had gone wrong, which was a rare occurrence with Katseye. Even though the lack of Manon's presence was there, they managed to have a spectacular performance. With adrenaline rushing through her veins, she immediately reaches for her phone and goes through all of the notifications she'd missed; nothing important, a few congratulations from her family and friends back in the Philippines and and the Dream Academy girls... but nothing from Manon.

The post-show adrenaline fades instantly. Her smile drops. Her shoulders slump. The high fades. Manon didn't see it? Or maybe she did and it was horrible? Or maybe Manon didn't want to talk to Sophia at all??*"I mean, it could be because there's a timezone difference, it's 3am over there anyways..."* Sophia thinks to herself and turns off her phone before going to take a long, hot shower and hopefully sleep tonight. Hopefully.

Miraculously, it only took Sophia half an hour to fall asleep. Now dead asleep, the clock on the bedside table ticks quietly in the hotel room. 2am. In time with the soft "ticks" if the clock, the door of the hotel room clicks open and a familiar figure stumbles inside. Standing a simple black tank top underneath a pale blue button up shirt, baggy navy blue jeans, 3 suitcases (how she dragged all 3 suitcases by herself, we'll never know) and wild, windswept curls, stood Manon. A very breathless and worried looking Manon who'd basically speed ran through the whole trip to get from Switzerland to Argentina because Sophia hadn't answered the texts that Manon sent mere minutes after she turned off her phone. The texts congratulations her of her performance and that she's coming back from her trip early.

Seeing Sophia's sleeping figure, Manon sigh in relief and closes the door shut quietly, leaving the suitcases by the door and go sit on the edge if the bed next to her. The bed dips underneath her, the springs groaning under the additional wait and causes Sophia to stir, making Manon freeze. Bleary eyes fluttering open, Sophia groans and turns to lay on her back and turns her head to look at Manon's silhouette, who was practically glowing in the dim light of lamp in the corner of the room.

With her soft skin glowing and eyes sparkling with warmth, Sophia can't help but stare at Manon. Without thinking too much, Sophia reaches out and cups Manon's cheek, as if making sure she's real. She leans into Sophia's hand like a cat, her eyes fluttering closed as she relishes the way Sophia's thumb runs over her cheekbone with reverance.

"Sorry for waking you up..." Manon mumbles apologetically, her own hand coming up to cover Sophia's and presses her lips to the base of Sophia's palm. This seemed to pull Sophia out of her sleep induced haze; she scrambles and sits up on the bed, yanking her hand away with a flustered squeak. The sight makes Manon chuckle and shake her head with a fond smile.

"Hey, it's just me, not some old creepy weirdo." Manon teases lightheartedly, reaching and ruffling Sophia's already messy bedhead, making Sophia bat her hand away with a disgruntled whine, glaring up at Manon with those dark soulful eyes that she loves. Manon's teasing smile softens at the sight into something sweeter and softer and opts to hug Sophia instead. She pulls her "best friend" into a bone-crushing hug, burying her hear the sleep warmed skin of Sophia's shoulder, her hands tracing circles on her skin through the cotton of her sleep shirt absentmindedly. Sophia melts into her arms like ice cream under the hot sun, practically going limp in Manon's arms, nuzzling into her wild curls, taking in the way they smell like what she imagines the Swiss Alps smell like; wintery, fresh and soothing. Praying that Manon won't hear her racing heart Sophia pulls her closer.

"What are you doing gere, Manon? Weren't you supposed to come back like next month? For Coachella?" Sophia mumbles against Manon's hair, arms tightening around the her instinctively. Manon lets out a noncommital hum and shifts both of them to lay together on the messy bed before pulling away, pushing hair out of Sophia's face and tuck it behind her ear.

"I mean, I can go and do whatever i want during the hiatus, technically. Besides, I missed the girls. I missed you." Manon murmurs and pull Sophia closer once more, fitting her perfectly against side like a puzzle piece. At her words, Sophia freezes, her mind racing at the possible implications behind her words. *"There's no way she means what I think she mean... right?"* Sophia thinks to herself before turning her just enough to meet Manon's eyes.

"Is that right? You missed me? Didn't know you were a sap like that." Sophia teases fondly, poking Manon in side with a snort.

"I did, I swear! How could you accuse me of lying to you?? I could never do something so atrocious!" Manon exaclaims dramatically and flops onto her back, an arm thrown over her eyes dramatically and proceeds to ruin the effect by bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Absolutely unbelievable. And you're supposed to be older than me." Sophia says with a lighthearted scoff and shifts to lay across Manon's stomach with the elegance and grace that never seems to fade even when she's half asleep and quite literally just rolled out of bed. Manon lets out a long, dramatic groan and grumbles incoherently along the lines if "the things people do for love", making Sophia chuckle.

They lay like that for a few minutes in wordless silence m, Sophia's sleep-addled self beginning to drift off until Manon stand abruptly, dumping Sophia on the bed, ignoring her indignant squawk of protest and going to her suitcases. She kneels beside the smallest one and unlocks it (after 5 minutes of cursing like a sailor because she forgot the code), passive-aggressively unzips it open and pulls out 2 ridiculously huge shark plushies. The ones that Sophia recognized as "blåhajs".

One was the classic blue and the other was a soft, baby pink. From the bed, Sophia watched with wide eyes and slackened jaw. It was the same sharks that Sophia remembered seeing the sharks at an IKEA when she'd went there with the Dream Academy girls when they'd gone to Korea for the second mission and got a free day. The sharks her gaze had lingered on when they passed by the shop but didn't get because she didn't have enough money in hand at the time. What Sophia didn't know was Manon had noticed. She saw the way Sophia's eyes lit up when she saw them.

Manon herself didn't have the money to buy them either, so she waited. Told herself that she'd get them for Sophia once things calmed down. It only took about 2 years. Their schedules were literal hell. Long nights in the studio, extra rehearsals, early mornings and late nights. Many mental break downs and crash outs later, Hybe decided to put Manon on hiatus for a reason we'll never know. But Manon isn't complaining; she went back home, visitied family and friends and enjoyed herself for the second time during their entire career. While she was there, Dani decided to point out Sophia's predicament to Manon, which only solidified her resolve to get Sophia the sharks. Which lead to this very moment.

With the blåhajs in hand, Manon approaches the bed with a smug grin and hands over the pink one Sophia, who accepts it with the most starstruck, flabbergasted expression. She simply sat with the shark for a solid 15 seconds before throwing herself at Manon (who screams) and tackle her to the bed.

"WOAH HEY HEY CHILL GIRL!" Manon yelps, squirming underneath Sophia before relenting to her attack with a sigh, Manon's hand coming up to play with her hair as Sophia remains flopped on top of her.

"I'm assuming you like them, then?" Manon says after a few minutes, the stupid, dumb grin that Sophia loves plastered across her face.

"No, i absolutely hate them." Sophia deadpans, pulling her blåhaj closer nonetheless. Her antics make Manon scoff and roll her eyes fondly. They stay quiet for another few minutes.

"Dani told me that you liked me..." Manon murmurs hesitantly, as if saying the words aloud would ruin the soft, ethereal atmosphere of the hotel room. Her words make Sophia's head snap up so past that it almost gave her whiplash.

"SHE WHAT??? OH MY GOD I'M GONNA-" Sophia gets cut off by Manon pressing her lips to her cheek. At the sudden, intimate gesture, Sophia freezes with her eyes wide, jaw slack, shark to her chest and still laying on top of Manon, all of a sudden aware of how close they actually are.

"I like you too, Sophia... I just didn't know you liked me back... which in hindsight seems stupid because now that I think about you were actually pretty obvious... so my bad..." Manon mumbles, burying her face in Sophia's hair and arms locked around her waist, her whole body tense as if she's waiting to get yelled at. At her words and and actions, Sophia can't help but sigh and simply melt into her arms. In other situation, Sophia probably would have yelled at Manon for putting her through all of this for the past 3 years, but right now... Sophia felt happy. She felt lighter than she had in ages. Everything finally felt right.

"You are a very stupid, completely oblivious little shit... but it's fine, i suppose I can forgive you." Sophia mumbles back and presses a kiss of her own to Manon's cheek, making her whine and hide her face with her own blåhaj, making Sophia laugh softly.

"Does this mean we're a thing now? Like we're official?" Manon murmurs, peeking from behind her blåhaj to meet Sophia's eyes. The question makes Sophia go quiet. Pondering the question before nodding.

"I mean... if you're asking... who am I to say no? But you're the one who's telling the others." Sophia murmurs back, her lips curving into a pleased, contagious grin, which Manon returns as she tightens her hold on the younger girl.

"OK, good. Now... let me go change and take a quick shower, then we can sleep, ok?" Manon murmurs with the biggest, happiest grin Sophia has seen on her face in a while. She nods in response to Manon's words and rolls off of her, allowing Manon to get up, go to her suitcase, grab a pair of pyjamas, her hair products and skincare before going to the bathroom, shutting the door with a click.

Sophia tried to stay awake until Manon back, she really did, but by the time Manon finally stepped back inside the room, wearing a simple white tank top and plaid pyjama pants with her hair somewhat more tamed than earlier, Sophia was passed out, cuddled up against both the blåhajs with her in the middle and snoring quietly. The sight makes Manon's heart flutter and an unexplainable giddy feeling erupt in her chest. The sight before her is a rare one from the usually composed leader of Katseye who always has her guard up and won't go to sleep until the other girls do, had fallen asleep asleep whole cuddling with not 1, but 2 giant sharks.

With a fond smile, Manon quietly steps toward the bed and crawls under the cover, pushing the sharks away and replacing them with herself. Sophia doesn't stir this time, only snuggling closer to Manon in her sleep with an incoherent mumble.the actions make Manon resist the urge to squeal with happiness, instead opting to pull Sophia closer and bury her face in Sophia's hair.

Within minutes, they're both fast asleep, curled up together like a pair of cat sharks and snoring softly. After years of yearning they've finally found their way to each other and are now at peace. The only hardship left to be faced is telling the rest of the Kats...