Chapter Text
NingNing was reaching for her left ankle on the wooden floor of the school dance studio, her focus on the pop track playing from someone’s Bluetooth speaker. Most of the team was chatting lazily, sprawled across yoga mats. NingNing was, as usual, in her own world—zoning into the stretch, into the quiet that only came when her mind finally stopped buzzing.
“Nice form,” a voice murmured behind her.
She didn’t have to look up. “You’re late, Aeri.”
Giselle—Aeri to her—flopped down next to her, ponytail bouncing. “Traffic,” she replied casually, not sounding sorry at all.
She reached forward, mimicking NingNing’s stretch. Or pretending to. Her fingers barely grazed her sock.
“In the hallways, right,” NingNing said, not looking over.
Giselle grinned. “I’m trying to match your vibe. Mysterious. Untouchable. Graceful.”
NingNing rolled her eyes. “Stretch.”
“Fine,” Giselle groaned. “But only because you’re watching.”
🦋🦄
Over the next few weeks, it was like clockwork.
Giselle would appear behind her in dance practice, or beside her in the locker room, or hovering just close enough on the walk out of school. Always with something to say—sometimes a compliment, sometimes a joke. She leaned on walls, leaned on NingNing’s shoulder when she thought she could get away with it. NingNing would sigh, push her off, or ignore her entirely.
The problem was, NingNing had known Giselle since sophomore year. They’d been in the same French class. Back then, Giselle hadn’t flirted. She was a little aloof, more interested in joking around with Karina than starting conversations with girls like NingNing.
But something changed this year. Or maybe Giselle had always been like this, and NingNing just hadn’t noticed until now.
🦋🦄
“Hey, Ning,” Giselle said one afternoon, following her into the equipment room to grab backup speakers.
“No.”
“You don’t even know what I was gonna say.”
“Still no.”
Giselle tsked, crossing her arms. “What if I was going to tell you your hair looks really good up like that?”
NingNing blinked. “It’s literally in a bun. Like it always is.”
“Yeah. And it still looks good.”
NingNing brushed past her toward the closet shelves. “Find the charger.”
Giselle did, after a dramatic sigh and a shoulder nudge on her way out.
🦋🦄
The thing was, NingNing didn’t dislike Giselle. Not at all.
She liked her sharp humor, the way she always knew how to keep practice light when things got too tense. She liked the way she picked up choreography fast but stayed humble, how she high-fived even the quietest first-year when they got a move right.
But this whole “flirty bestie” act? It was dangerous territory. Giselle flirted with everyone—or that’s what NingNing told herself.
Except Giselle didn’t flirt with everyone.
Just her.
🦋🦄
Rain hit the windows on the Thursday it all started to tip.
NingNing was crouched by the stereo, rewinding a routine to the eight-count mark. Most of the team had left already.
It was just her and Giselle.
Again.
“You always stay late,” Giselle said, folding up mats slowly, like she was stalling.
“I like the quiet,” NingNing replied.
Giselle moved closer, brushing lint off NingNing’s sleeve. “You like being alone.”
NingNing didn’t answer.
Then Giselle added, softer, “But you always let me stay.”
NingNing looked up.
Giselle wasn’t smiling. Her usual teasing light had dimmed, just slightly, behind the soft edge of her expression. She was still close—too close—but she wasn’t reaching out, wasn’t touching.
She was just… waiting.
NingNing stood, grabbing her water bottle. “I don’t mind,” she said eventually.
“Why not?” Giselle asked.
NingNing didn’t answer that either.
🦋🦄
The next few days, Giselle backed off.
It was so slight, NingNing almost didn’t notice. She still sat next to her during warm-ups, still mirrored her in the mirror, still offered water bottles and casual touches.
But her eyes didn’t linger as long. She didn’t hover after practice.
It felt worse, somehow. The absence of something you never admitted you wanted.
NingNing tried to ignore that realization, too.
🦋🦄
One Monday, dance team got out early.
The sun had dipped lower than usual, bleeding orange and honey across the empty courtyard. NingNing leaned against the railing of the outdoor steps, sipping from a juice pouch one of the freshmen had given her.
She didn’t expect Giselle to sit next to her.
But she did. Quiet, this time.
After a long moment, Giselle said, “You’re impossible to read, you know.”
“I get that a lot,” NingNing replied.
“You never react to me.”
NingNing smiled a little. “I react.”
“No, you don’t. You just… deflect. Shrug. Walk away.”
Giselle’s voice wasn’t accusing, just quiet. Like she was asking something she didn’t want to say outright.
“I react,” NingNing said again. “Just not the way you want.”
Silence.
Then: “So what do you want, Ning?”
NingNing looked down at her empty juice pouch.
“I don’t know,” she said.
But she did.
🦋🦄
The week before midterms, dance practice was brutal.
Long reps. Back-to-back run-throughs. Someone on the team cried in the locker room.
NingNing stayed late again, stretching in front of the mirror, hair already half fallen out of her bun. Giselle wandered in silently, hair slicked with sweat, water bottle nearly empty.
“You good?” Giselle asked, leaning on the barre behind her.
NingNing just nodded.
“You never complain,” Giselle said. “Even when everyone else is about to collapse.”
“I complain in my head,” NingNing replied.
Giselle smiled. “I bet you do. Quietly roasting everyone in sight.”
NingNing smirked.
Giselle hesitated. “Can I ask you something?”
“No.”
Giselle laughed under her breath. “Too bad. I’m asking anyway.”
NingNing raised an eyebrow, but didn’t stop her.
“Why do you let me do it?”
“Do what?”
Giselle looked at her reflection instead of her face. “Flirt with you all the time.”
NingNing was still for a moment. Then, quietly: “Because I don’t hate it.”
Giselle’s gaze flicked to her then—sharp, hopeful, stunned in a way that almost made NingNing nervous.
“I just don’t know what it means,” NingNing added.
They stood like that for a while. Neither speaking. The Bluetooth speaker was still softly playing something low and rhythmic in the background.
Then Giselle stepped closer, but not enough to touch.
“Can I wait until you do?” she asked.
NingNing met her eyes.
She didn’t answer. But she didn’t leave either.
🦋🦄
They weren’t together. Not yet.
Things didn’t change in a dramatic way after that. Giselle still flirted. Still hovered close. Still nudged her during stretching and leaned against her arm while pretending not to.
But there was something different now.
Something quieter.
A softness NingNing hadn’t realized she was holding back from.
🦋🦄
Until one day,
there was no music swelling in the background, no empty hallway, no perfect lighting.
It was late. Past seven. They’d stayed after again, alone, helping clean up the leftover confetti from a pep rally dance number. They were both tired, sweaty, irritated with how glitter somehow made it into everything.
Giselle was mumbling something sarcastic about future lung damage from inhaling foam stars.
And NingNing just… leaned over.
Not far. Just enough.
A small, quiet kiss on the corner of Giselle’s mouth.
She froze. Then blinked. Her hand twitched like she didn’t know whether to grab her or not.
NingNing pulled back half a second later, cool as ever. “You missed a spot,” she said, pointing at the glitter on Giselle’s shoulder.
She stared.
Then grinned.
“I’m never recovering from that.”
NingNing shrugged, starting to sweep again. “Don’t make it weird.”
“Oh,” Giselle said. “It’s already weird.”
NingNing busied herself with the stereo cables again, pretending her heart wasn’t hammering against her ribs.
It wasn’t even a real kiss, she told herself.
Just a moment.
Just long enough to cross that line they’d been toeing for a while. Long enough to make it real.
“You always do that,” Giselle said finally, her voice low, almost careful.
NingNing didn’t look up. “Do what?”
“Act like it’s nothing,” Giselle said. “Like I imagined it.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Another pause.
Then the soft thud of Giselle laying on the floor behind her.
NingNing turned, slowly.
Giselle was looking at the scuffed gym ceiling, legs stretched out, hair slightly frizzed from the humidity of the room. She looked real. Touchable. Still a little glittery.
NingNing dropped to the floor beside her.
She didn’t say anything. Neither did Giselle.
For a while, they just sat there, side by side, elbows barely brushing, as the leftover sparkle of the evening settled around them.
Then, softly:
“I didn’t imagine it, did I?” Giselle asked.
NingNing shook her head. “No.”
Giselle smiled again—small, this time. Quieter than usual.
“I didn’t think you’d ever let me catch up.”
“I didn’t think you’d wait this long,” NingNing replied.
“I didn’t have anywhere else to be.”
That made NingNing look over.
Giselle wasn’t looking back this time, wasn’t trying to tease or flirt. She just meant it. Like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
NingNing reached over, flicked a silver star off Giselle’s arm, and leaned her shoulder slightly into hers.
Just a little. Just enough.
“Next time,” NingNing said, “you should stop talking and just do something about it.”
Giselle blinked. “Do something like… what?”
NingNing gave her a look.
Aeri blinked again.
Then grinned. “Oh.”