#lusher

lusher blinked rapidly, her heartbeat matching the pace set by her eyelashes. you had caught her staring, again. she scrambled for something, anything to say. something to diffuse this strange tension that she had caused. "I just... you look good."

real smooth lusher, you're a certified flirting expert.

you simply let out an airy laugh, waving away the compliment with your hand. "I'm literally wearing your shirt, narcissistic much?"

lusher sputtered, shaking her hands rapidly as she tried explain herself to you. "I'm kidding lusher! you're always so on edge around me, i swear."

lusher laughed with you, hoping that you didn't catch the look in her eyes that confirmed what you had just said. on edge, not exactly the term that she would use to describe how she felt around you. about you.

maybe giddy? nervous? wanting to impress? she wasn't sure, and right now, with you in her apartment instead of in badas' like you always were she wasn't worried about anything but you.

"it's actually because... im in love with you, and I always have been." lusher stated in an overdramatised manner, her hand on her chest.

"get in line." you replied back, giggling at her mock confession. lusher joined in on your laughing, ending it with a sigh. it felt so strange to say those words out loud to you, even though you didn't believe them to be true.

it was cathartic, in a weird way. she got the relief of confessing, but without the consequences. this had to some kidn of self sabotage, but she didn't mind it, anything to hear your laugh.

your moment together was interrupted when you checked your phone momentarily, only to be met by a flood of messages and missed calls. all from bada.

you let out a sigh, realising that your absence had probably worried her. you started typing a response, assuring her that you were okay at lushers, when the woman in question entered through lusher's front door.

"I have no idea where she is, lusher. she wasn't at my place, so I went to hers and nothing. I'm starting to thin- oh." she paused her rant mid way through when she saw you, obviously surprised that you were here.

she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, her lips pressed into a thin line. "... can we talk?"

you looked at her, before turning your gaze back to lusher, silently asking if you could go speak with bada privately. she was disappointed, you could tell. hell, anyone with eyes could tell that she didn't want you to go, not now, not for bada.

nevertheless, she nodded, trying and failing to hide her displeased expression.

"I went back to my place looking for you, I didn't know you were at lushers." bada was the first to speak once you both entered her car, facing forward with her hands on the steering wheel out of habit. her tone was... strange. for lack of a better word. there was some semblance of anger, you think? you couldn't place it, and that just made it all the more confusing.

"I was." your reply was curt. to the point. no cushioning bada from your anger, no more fake smiles and laughs, just you and how your real feelings being expressed to her fully.

she physically flinched just a bit at your coldness, but it was almost refreshing. like a run early in the morning, or the blazing, bitter first sip of coffee when all you want to do is go back to bed. a wake up call.

another awkward silence stretched over the car, with only the feint song on the radio and the nervous drumming of bada's fingers on the steering wheel to break the uncomfortable quiet.

"I'm sorry." bada said softly, effectively breaking the silence. "for not taking as much care of our friendship as you were. i know it may not seem like it because of my actions, but you are my whole world, and when I showed up to my apartment and you weren't there anymore I–"

was she crying? you didn't know, you weren't looking at her, you couldn't bear the sadness in her voice. you simply faced forward, letting her say her piece.

"I realised that losing you would be the end of my life as I know it, and I know that it's shitty of me to only realise it when you have one foot out the door but I hope that you... will allow me to prove or redeem myself to you or... just please. please, give me a chance."

you took it all in, her words. they seemed... sincere, and you wanted so desperately to immediately put a smile on your face, jokingly mock her for being so dramatic and assure her that you weren't going anywhere.

but, you didn't.

you nodded, turning to face her so that you could acknowledge her apology verbally. "you're my best friend, bada. I haven't given up on you." those words, however curt they were, lifted the heavy weight on her shoulders instantaneously.

she was relieved that she hadn't lost you yet, and she was going to do everything in her power to ensure that it wouldn't come to that.

she wrapped her arms around you from where she sat in the drivers seat, squeezing you tightly, as if she was afraid that you would disappear. she let you go, wearing a giddy expression on her face. "you are too good for me, my love. okay, okay, what do you wanna do now? we could go to the arcade and as a treat I'll finally let you beat me at that stupid dancing game."

you grimaced, feeling a lump from in your throat. "although I'd absolutely love to‐" bada's heart sank into her stomach. she knew she wasn't going to be forgiven immediately, but knowing didn't make your rejection any less heartbreaking.

"-but lusher actually wanted to have a game night kinda thing, and I couldn't ditch her in good conscious. it would be a little hypothetical of me. but, I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" you concluded, already opening the passenger door.

as you walked back to lusher's front door, you couldn't help but feel a little proud of yourself. usually, you would've jumped at the opportunity to even be in bada's presence, cherishing every speck of attention she'd give you.

but as you walked back into her apartment, the look on lusher's face made any doubts about your decision to stay vanish in her eyes.

"I thought you were gonna leave with bada." lusher spoke, unable to hide the smile creeping on her face. you had chosen her. by some miracle, you'd chosen her.

"and miss our impromptu game night? not a chance. now, prepare to lose at every game we play." you smiled back, feeling a small amount of guilt at leaving bada, but not enough to sour being with lusher.

☆

so this was what it was like.

to be rejected in favour of someone else.

bada could now understand your qualms perfectly, and the feeling she was experiencing left her wondering why you had even given her another chance.

it was a special kind of rejection, made up of a range of emotions. she was angry, not at you but rather, at herself. how many times had you felt this way because of her?

she was jealous. of lusher, she wanted to be the one that you were spending the night, she wanted to do game night with you. she wanted you to be in her shirt, not lushers. not anyone else's.

god, that fucking shirt. if she ever got her hands on it, she would burn it, or shred it, because maybe if it were destroyed, bada could live the rest of her days pretending that you had never put on your body in the first place.

did you let lusher see you out of the shirt as you were changing? were you going to let her take it off of you at the end of the night? were you and lusher a thing?

she couldn't stomach the thought. of you, sweet, gorgeous, sexy you being touched by someone else. the thought of your back arching, your mouth falling open, sweet noises escaping from between your lips because of lusher.

the thought ate her up from the inside as the hours of the night turned to morning. she had no reason to be so opposed to you receiving pleasure, lusher wasn't a bad person by any means, she would treat you well.

but bada could treat you even better, she was sure of it. she had spent years with you, and she was confident that she knew your body better than anyone else, even though you had never slept together.

bada stared at her phone. the time read 2:47 am. no new messages from you.

having thoughts about sleeping with her best friend was not something that bada had expected to do. maybe it was sleep deprivation making her delirious or something, maybe this was her brains attempt at conceptualising just why she felt so abrasive when confronted either the thought of you with someone else.

or maybe... this was the beginning of the eventual self reflection that bada would have to do to conceptualise how she felt about you.

whatever it was, she needed to sleep. she needed to sleep to forget that you were mostly likely, too busy with lusher to even remember her.

wow, she was such a hypocrite.

Tatter smelled something suspicious in the air following Bada’s MIA status after their Performance Battle. Yes, the team did witness Bada landing on her chin during one of the routines- and it’s not that the BEBE member didn’t believe in said injury- it’s the fact that their team leader was oddly giddy after the fall. Like, straight up lowering-her-cap-by-the-rim-to-hide-her-smirk-lip-biting-giddy. ‘No one should be that cheerful after tearing a muscle’, Tatter had decided. ‘Therefore, Bada must be suspicious’, she further deduced.

“Look at her trying to play coy with us,” Tatter leaned over to their team’s sub-leader and muttered, frowning at the charm which the choreographer seemed to be exuding lately. Looking pointedly at their team leader, who’s currently snapping a selfie in the studio mirrors (presumably to post it on her instagram later), Tatter narrowed her eyes. Bada had always been a heartthrob to the camera and fans, but the blonde dancer had noticed a telltale spike these past weeks. “Look at all that swag, she must be overcompensating for something.”

Looking up from her stretches, Lusher followed Tatter’s gaze towards their team leader in an oversized hoodie and sweatpants, whose mood did seem to be extraordinarily pleasant as of late. “Oh- Oh damn. Sorry for calling you crazy last week, you were clearly onto something.” Lusher squinted at Bada’s obnoxiously preppy footsteps in the morning. “Prancing around on a Monday? Somebody got laid over the weekend.”

‘Who could it be?’ Tatter wondered to herself as she finished warming up for the day. ‘Bada’s reaction to the bouquet and the card- what an interesting reaction.’

“Whoever it is,” Lusher pressed her palms together dramatically and said a little prayer, “thank you for keeping her happy, and our lives easier.”

“Amen to that,” Minah chimed in. “You reckon it’s someone from the show?”

“Elaborate.”

As the duo bickered among themselves regarding the identity of Bada’s newest scandal, Tatter continued to ponder over the pieces of information she had accumulated. Her eyes lit up as she recalled Latrice’s request, and something involving a skirt.

“Lusher,” Tatter interjected a debate between Minah’s team-Redy and Lusher’s team-Audrey. “Do you remember that time Bada asked to borrow your skirt?”

Lusher snapped around with speed that almost warranted whiplash. “Latrice’s friend!” Her hand flew to her phone by the dance studio’s floor length mirror, flicking through her contact list. “Aha.”

Latrice was at the shops when her phone chimed. Reading the message popping up on the phone, she chuckled a little and clocked the noseyness instantly. Within a few moments, Latrice had sent through your best ‘this is her’ photos and social media profiles to the team BEBE’s subleader.

Tatter and Lusher hummed squinted their eyes at your picture, trying to pinpoint why’d you look familiar. A shockingly good candid photo of you attending an event was pulled up on Lusher’s phone. A gray suit sat on your shoulder, accompanied by a scowl as the photographer had caught you off guard (cr 📷: Latrice). “I think I’d remember if she’s been around,” Minah wondered aloud.

“Elevator, real tall.” The usually timid Sowoen piped in unexpectedly. “The one with mother Miranda vibes.”

Now that registered in Lusher’s mind. “Wait,” Lusher zoomed in on your picture, “does Latrice have more friends in town?”

“Mhmm- I dig the delinquency,” Tatter said, still staring at the phone. “Bada finally found her match huh.”

“I’m giving my number to her,” Sowoen announced. The youngest is filled with surprise today.

Tatter and Lusher glanced at each other before bursting out into a fit of giggles. “We are pretty sure Bada is linking up with her, what do you mean you’re giving her your number?”

“I called dibs!” The youngest of the group wailed, her teammates now laughing at her flushed red cheeks.

The noise attracted their team leader, who have finally decided to investigate the shenanigans that the girls have been up to.

“What’s the gripe? Who do we hate?” The tall choreographer butted between Sowoen and Minah, expecting another Selena-Hailey debate going on among the dancers, only to be shocked when Lusher turned her phone screen to her. “Woah! How’d we get this?”

Sowoen gently prodded a finger at Bada’s shoulder. “Bada-unnie,” she quietly, but firmly, requested for Bada’s attention. “They said you’ve been linking up with her. Respectfully, that’s not cool man, I called dibs.”

The group stared wide eyed at the baby of their team, who’d suddenly found her voice in the team- and immediately chose to use it to declare her utmost disappointment at their team leader’s disrespect.

“Wait. Pause. Rewind. how did the conversation get here in the first place?”

“I find you suspicious these days,” Tatter shrugged.

“Can you still pass my number along?”

“I have no idea what’s going on but I’m loving your energy,” Lusher and Minah egged on. A ‘go Sowoen’ was muttered by one of them.

Bada stares incredulously at her teammates, “y’all this is the toxic gossip train-”

“Nope,” Tatter cuts her short, not giving Bada a chance to finish her sentence. “That’s not how that saying is used.”

“We won’t gossip if you give us the tea,” Minah proposed an alternative.

“There’s no tea!” Bada shook her head at the girls, raising a hand in defense. “Look, it’s nothing serious, and I won't let it affect my work. Can we please get back to brainstorming some Rihanna songs?”

The group gasped, Sowoen looking over at Tatter for moral support. “So there is something going on?”

“Oh come on,” Bada sighed exasperatedly, sticking her tongue against the hollow of her cheeks. “We’ve been filming for months, do you know how hard it is to find someone who can work around my schedule?”

“You have a schedule… to fuck?” Minah side-eyed her team leader. Tatter swiftly placed her hands over Sowoen’s ears. “That changed my perception of you- Not sure what kind of change- but not for the better, I can assure you.”

“Jesus, that’s not what I mean,” Bada rolled her eyes at the girls, defending her image in Sowoen’s eyes. “As much as I love dancing, a woman has needs, alright? Hey- no, don’t boo me Lusher. I saw the way you acted around Chocol. You little sl- I said don’t boo me!”

“Eh,” Tatter shrugged her shoulders and pointed her chin at the phone screen, “lesbians? Give ‘em two weeks, three more dates, and they’ll be u-hauling.”

Bada gasped, “accusatory and stereotyping.”

“Hey wanna bet that bada is going to use winning the show to get laid?” Ignoring their leader, the girls giggled amongst themselves.

“If we win-”

Minah was cut off by Bada. “-when we win.”

Sowoen gasped and pointed a finger at the team BEBE leader. “So you are planning on doing that!”

The girls watched their team leader dumbly open and shut her mouth as she attempted to come up with a witty comeback. When she drew a blank, she huffed and retreated to the speakers across the room, fiddling with the Bluetooth settings as she tried to keep her hands busy.

“Bada-unnie,” Sowoen cleared her throat before throwing in one last jab, “if it’s just a fling you won’t mind me asking her out, right?”

Tatter learned two things that practice: 1, Bada, despite contrary beliefs, bottoms (frequency still unknown, but seemingly not zero). 2, Sowoen is a milf hunter.

‘What a week!’ Tatter thought to herself. ‘And it’s only Monday.’

𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙴𝙴𝚃 𝚆𝙾𝙼𝙰𝙽 𝙵𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃𝙴𝚁

𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐞

𝖲𝖤𝖱𝖨𝖤𝖲

𝖫𝖮𝖵𝖤 𝖫𝖨𝖤𝖲

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗈𝗇𝗀𝗈𝗂𝗇𝗀

𝖼𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌: 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, …

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖲𝖮𝖢𝖨𝖠𝖫𝖲 𝖶/ 𝖦𝖥!𝖡𝖠𝖣𝖠 (𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗎)

01. #𝖣𝖳𝖡4𝖫

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝖧𝖨𝖣𝖣𝖤𝖭 𝖳𝖠𝖫𝖤𝖭𝖳𝖲 (𝗆𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝗇𝖺𝗆𝖾)

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗎𝗇𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝐓𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 (𝐊𝐢𝐦 𝐓𝐚𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠)

𝖲𝖤𝖱𝖨𝖤𝖲

𝖣𝖨𝖱𝖳𝖸 𝖣𝖠𝖭𝖢𝖤𝖱

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗈𝗇𝗀𝗈𝗂𝗇𝗀

𝖼𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍

chapters: 00, 01, 02, 03, …

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖲𝖮𝖢𝖨𝖠𝖫𝖲 𝖶/ 𝖦𝖥!𝖳𝖠𝖳𝖳𝖤𝖱 (𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗎)

01. 𝖣1 𝖲𝖨𝖬𝖯

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝐋𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 (𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠)

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖲𝖮𝖢𝖨𝖠𝖫𝖲 𝖶/ 𝖦𝖥!𝖫𝖴𝖲𝖧𝖤𝖱 (𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗎)

01. 𝖲𝖴𝖦𝖠𝖱 𝖡𝖠𝖡𝖸 𝖲𝖤𝖮𝖸𝖮𝖴𝖭𝖦

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐡 𝐋𝐞𝐞

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖲𝖮𝖢𝖨𝖠𝖫𝖲 𝖶/ 𝖦𝖥!𝖬𝖨𝖭𝖠𝖧 (𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗎)

01. 𝖬𝖸𝖲𝖳𝖤𝖱𝖸 𝖶𝖮𝖬𝖠𝖭

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝐒𝐨𝐰𝐨𝐞𝐧 (𝐊𝐰𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐰𝐨𝐞𝐧)

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖲𝖮𝖢𝖨𝖠𝖫𝖲 𝖶/ 𝖦𝖥!𝖲𝖮𝖶𝖮𝖤𝖭 (𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗎)

01. 𝖲𝖴𝖯𝖤𝖱 𝖲𝖧𝖸

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥 (𝐂𝐡𝐨 𝐆𝐚-𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠)

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖲𝖮𝖢𝖨𝖠𝖫𝖲 𝖶/ 𝖦𝖥!𝖢𝖧𝖮𝖢𝖮𝖫 (𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗎)

01. 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖦𝖱𝖠𝖭𝖣 𝖧𝖴𝖬𝖡𝖫𝖨𝖭𝖦

02. 𝖢𝖫𝖨𝖭𝖦𝖸

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝐇𝐚𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐢 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐠 (𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐲𝐞-𝐣𝐢)

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖲𝖮𝖢𝖨𝖠𝖫𝖲 𝖶/ 𝖦𝖥!𝖧𝖠𝖤𝖢𝖧𝖨 (𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗎)

01. 𝖢𝖤𝖫𝖨𝖡𝖠𝖳𝖤

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐮 (𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐇𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦)

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖫𝖨𝖪𝖤 𝖨 𝖢𝖠𝖭

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗎𝗇𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝐀𝐢𝐤𝐢 (𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐲𝐞𝐢𝐧)

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖲𝖮𝖢𝖨𝖠𝖫𝖲 𝖶/ 𝖦𝖥!𝖠𝖨𝖪𝖨 (𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗎)

01. 𝖠𝖯𝖯𝖱𝖤𝖢𝖨𝖠𝖳𝖨𝖮𝖭 𝖯𝖮𝖲𝖳𝖲

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐤𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐧 (𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐨)

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖳𝖠𝖪𝖤 𝖨𝖳 𝖠𝖫𝖫

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝐍𝐨𝐳𝐞 (𝐍𝐨𝐡 𝐉𝐢𝐡𝐲𝐞)

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖲𝖮𝖢𝖨𝖠𝖫𝖲 𝖶/ 𝖦𝖥!𝖭𝖮𝖹𝖤 (𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗎)

01. 𝖡𝖮𝖡 𝖯𝖠𝖭𝖢𝖠𝖪𝖤𝖲

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽

𝐋𝐞𝐞𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐞

𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖲𝖧𝖮𝖳𝖲

𝖲𝖮𝖢𝖨𝖠𝖫𝖲 𝖶/ 𝖦𝖥!𝖫𝖤𝖤𝖩𝖴𝖭𝖦 (𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗎)

01. 𝖧𝖤𝖠𝖱𝖳𝖡𝖱𝖮𝖪𝖤𝖭

𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗌: 𝗋𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾𝖽