The Angel Next Door (Rosé X Female Reader)

46: What was that?

Word Count: 1,826

What was it that had touched my cheek? After it happened, Rosé did not return to my apartment. I did not see her for the rest of the day. Except for when I was sleeping - to be accurate, I had been too distressed to sleep, but I dozed off a few times - any time I wasn't, I was turning over Rosé's actions in my mind.

It had only been for a moment, brief enough to make me question whether it had been my imagination - but something soft had definitely grazed my cheek. Knowing how close she'd been to me at the time, and remembering the feel of it, I could guess what Rosé had done. But that didn't mean I understood it.

No one would ever have imagined it, that Rosé herself would kiss me, even if it was just my cheek.

...Why?

Typically, a kiss is something only shared with someone close or important. I wanted to tell Rosé how precious she was to me, but my last attempt had gone so poorly that I was embarrassed just thinking about it. There was really no excuse - I hadn't even tried to make a move.

However, Rosé was different. Even if it was only my cheek, she had really kissed me. I understood that she cared about me, liked me even, and treated me well. But confronted with her feelings in the form of a kiss, I was left more bewildered than elated. I wonder if she's starting to really like me?

I couldn't help but wonder if Rosé, like me, was not straight. It made me question if there was a possibility that she might be attracted to women too. I felt like I'd never gotten the chance to really impress her, like she'd only ever seen what a worthless person I was. I couldn't think of any reason why she would like me.

The notion that nobody could ever fall for me, and that I was an arrogant fool for hoping, spun round and round in my head, making it hard to think about anything else. At school, I kept my mess of emotions from showing on my face, but inside, I was miserably distressed.

Whenever Rosé made eye contact with me during school, she would turn her gaze away subtly, so I also avoided looking in her direction. Nevertheless, my eyes followed Rosé whenever possible, and the ever-perceptive Jennie must have noticed the small distance that had opened between Rosé and me.

"Did the two of you get into a fight?" Jennie asked over lunch.

"Huh? You had a fight, Y/N?" Jisoo asked.

Lisa and Rosé weren't joining us that day, so the three of us were having lunch together.

"No, we're not fighting, but... well, um, something, some things happened..."
I mumbled those words and avoided going into detail. I couldn't possibly explain that I had completely failed to kiss Rosé, and that she had kissed me on the cheek instead.

Jennie did not hide her exasperation. She gave me a look that said, "You better give up and confess everything if you know what's good for you."
I couldn't meet my friend's gaze.

"Anyway...," I muttered, "some things happened, and we're both feeling self-conscious about it, or like..."

"Unbelievable, just how much of a wuss are you?"

"Shut up, you dumpling."

"Now, now, Y/N strikes me as the cautious type," Jisoo interjected. "I doubt she can make an approach without a painfully obvious signal telling her to go for it."

"That's what I mean; she always chickens out!"

There was no way Jennie and Jisoo could understand what had happened, but the two of them didn't hold back, and their accusations at me for "chickening out" stung quite a bit.