0 0 1, NEW FRIEND KITTY

Darlin grinned as she moved through first class looking for a seat. She sat down and closed her eyes, fatigued by the long drive. The travel from where she lived to the airport took an hour and 45 minutes. She just wanted to rest without being distracted or annoyed by people criticizing her every move. "Excuse me, Miss Palmer?" A gentle voice rang out from beside her. She gently turned to face the flight attendant. She didn't say anything, simply lifted her eyebrows to indicate that he could speak. "Is your seat comfortable?" "Your parents wanted the best seats for you."

She grinned at herself and hummed calmly. Her parents were filthy rich, so she got everything she wanted and more. "It's perfect, sir, thank you," she replied with a pleasant smile.

"Oh, please call me Enzo," he said, reclining her seat slightly so she could relax her back. She nodded and closed her eyes once more. "Would you like anything to snack on before the flight takes off?" He inquired, standing tall and proud.

"Chocolate chip cookies, please," she asked without opening her eyes. Darlin adored cookies, but her all-time favorite flavor was snicker doodles, which she never got anytime she purchased or requested cookies. She only ate snicker doodles made by her grandmother. She wouldn't eat snicker doodles if anyone else made them.

Enzo nodded and walked away to retrieve her cookies. Darlin took her Air Pods and connected them to her phone. "Tek it" by Cafuné was blasting in her ears. "So long, nice to know you; I'll be moving on," she quietly sang along to the music. Enzo approached her seat, holding a platter of cookies in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. He moved the cookies and milk on a larger dish and walked away.

About 2 minutes later, Darlin sensed a person standing in front of her. She opened her eyes and gazed down at the individual's shoes. She rolled her eyes and paused the music. "Any reason why you're watching me?" She inquired the stranger, not taking her eyes off of the floor.

"I see you finally grew out your hair." Darlin's heart pounded so rapidly and loudly that it seemed like everyone on the planet could hear it. It wasn't just a voice she recognized; it was her ex-boyfriend Min Ho's.

She noticed the same nonchalance from a year ago as she glanced into his eyes. It has been a year since Darlin and Min Ho last saw or spoke to one another. She knew that returning to KISS would end in her seeing Min Ho, but she thought she could handle it; apparently, she was wrong.

"So you're just not going to say anything?" Her ears ringing with his accent. She had forgotten how much she missed it. When he realized she wasn't responding, he decided to test her patience further. "Wow, you finally got rid of that horrific wolf cut."

"Yeah, I remember you went through your little emo rebel phase." His remarks made Darlin cringe. She hated being reminded of her behavior, looks, and wardrobe from the tenth grade. Min Ho grinned as he saw that she had reacted.

"You used to go about cutting and coloring your hair every day, getting weird piercings, wearing dark clothes, and fishnets all the time, and your parents were furious-you still have the piercing, I see."

When they were in 10th grade, Min Ho told Darlin that she would look beautiful with a nose ring, so she got one. And she never took it off; all of her other piercings were gone but that one."Hey? Do you think of me when you look at the piercing?" Min Ho inquired, clearly attempting to get a response from her.

She caved. "What the hell do you want from me, Min Ho?" She grumbled, her eyes glaring. When he saw that she had finally spoken, he grinned again.

"Wow, your voice got deeper," he said, attempting to look appealing while gazing down at her. In response, Darlin grinned and said, "And your accent got even more annoying than it was before." Min Ho scoffed and sat down in the aisle next to her.

"Uh-shouldn't you be going to find your seat or something?" She inquired.

"Obviously this is my seat, idiot," Min Ho remarked with an eye roll.

Darlin let out a sigh. She turned her music back on and laid her head back, saying, "This is going to be a long flight."

---

Darlin exited her chauffeur's car and shut the back door. "Thanks, Hwan," she said to the driver through his window. He smiled and nodded, then drove away. As she approached the school door, she picked up her suitcase and pulled it with her. The 13-hour flight had left her weary, especially since Min Ho had been bugging her the entire time.

"Darlin!" A voice yelled from behind her. When she looked around, she saw Yuri, her best friend from ninth and tenth grade. Darlin smiled widely and began to walk toward Yuri. Before she could approach her, she was knocked over by a girl with medium brown hair.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," the girl said as she helped Darlin up. "It's fine, don't worry," Darlin said with a gentle smile. The girl smiled back at her and moved toward the door. Darlin dismissed it and rushed towards Yuri, leaping into a tight embrace.

They laughed merrily and twirled around in the embrace. "Oh my gosh, I miss you so much, bestie," Darlin exclaimed as she released the hug. Yuri smiled and reached for a strand of Darlin's hair.

"You grew your hair out; the bangs look so good on you!" Yuri smiled and gently stroked her hair. "Thank you-where is Juliana? "I miss that crazy girl," Darlin said, missing her other best friend.

In KISS, Juliana, Darlin, and Yuri made the best trio. They were all really connected to one another and will always love one another. Yuri frowned and sighed in response. "I have no idea, but I hope she gets here soon, though," she said. Yuri's sudden outburst of melancholy caused Darlin to furrow her brows.

"Well, I have to go talk to my mom; I'll see you at the welcome party," Yuri remarked, racing away. Darlin shrugged and made her way to the school's entrance.

She approached the line of children enrolling and took a position behind the girl she had previously bumped into. When Darlin's phone vibrated, she looked down and saw that Min Ho had texted her. With a heavy sigh, she opened the message.

hey weirdo, you staying in
the dorms this semester?

Yes, why?

just wondering, now stop
texting me weirdo

You texted me first birdbrain

*seen*

"Next person"

"Hi, I'm a returning student from last year," Darlin said to the woman as she approached. She missed going to this school. After her breakup with Min Ho, she moved to California to finish the remaining semester of her 10th grade.

"Welcome back to KISS, name?" The woman smiled charmingly as she spoke.

"Darlin Palmer, and I'm staying in the dorms this year because I didn't last year," she said to the lady, smiling. The woman searched the files but apparently couldn't find what she was looking for.

"Oh, here it is. Sorry, you're the second person whose file was in the wrong spot." After giving Darlin the file, the woman instructed her to complete the paperwork.

Darlin went to sit in an open seat and fill out the application. She took a seat on a comfortable sofa. "Hi again." A voice spoke alongside her, prompting Darlin to look at the girl.

It was the girl she ran into earlier. "Hey," she said drearily. "Mind if I sit here?" The girl asked, flashing her teeth in a bright smile. "Not at all, come sit," Darlin said, touching the couch next to her and indicating for the girl to sit. "I'm Kitty, by the way. What's your name?"

"Darlin," she said as she completed the forms. Kitty clarified, hoping Darlin would agree, "I don't mean to come off as strong, but I feel like we should be friends."

The unusual girl's comments made Darlin smile. "Sure, let's be friends," she said. Kitty gave Darlin a big smile and drew her in for a hug. Darlin gave her a cheeky eye roll and returned the hug.

---

Darlin arched her eyes in suspicion when Kitty grabbed a picture of Principal Lim from her bags from when she attended KISS. "That's such an old picture; how do you have that?" Darlin inquired.

"It's a picture of my mom and Jina when they came here," Kitty explained, her gaze fixed on Principal Lim, who was currently speaking with someone in front of them. Darlin's eyes widened with interest.

"Wait-that means my mom and your mom might've known each other!" "I'm getting excited," Darlin added. Kitty looked at her bewilderingly and cocked her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Well-my mom and Jina went to school around the same time and graduated in '94 together," Darlin informed her. Kitty grinned as her eyes widened. "What's your mom's name?" Darlin asked, trying to piece things together.

"Eve, Eve Song."

Darlin squinted and laughed. "No way, Kitty! Your mom is the girl my mom couldn't stand back in high school," she said, laughing again. Kitty was a bit lost since she didn't know much about her mom's past.

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked, puzzled about why anyone would dislike her mom. "My mom used to tell me stories about her friends and foes from KISS, and your mom and Jina were definitely on her hate list," Darlin explained, diving into memories from a few years ago.

"Did she ever say why?" Kitty asked, intrigued. Darlin shook her head and said, "Nah, she always got touchy when I brought it up and would just change the topic, so I stopped asking."

"Sounds pretty personal-do you think Jina would tell us?" Kitty asked, totally unaware of how stubborn and private Principal Lim is. Darlin gritted her teeth and took a deep breath."Honestly, I don't think that's a smart move, trust me."

Kitty frowned for a moment and then shrugged. "Well, I guess we can figure it out ourselves?" she suggested, hoping Darlin would be on board."Absolutely," Darlin replied with a grin. Kitty beamed back and gave her new friend a hug.

---

Darlin wrapped up her story about her breakup with Min Ho, saying, "Yeah, we ended things last school year, and it was pretty rough." Kitty, walking alongside her in the dorm hall, chimed in, "Min Ho sounds like such a jerk. You totally deserve way better!"

They were both thrilled to discover they were roommates for the semester. "Oh, he's definitely a jerk," Darlin laughed, and Kitty joined in, sharing a light moment. Once they stepped into their dorm, they took a look around.

"Hello?" Kitty called out, hoping to see if their other roommates were around. When no one replied, they decided to check things out. One room had two beds piled with stuff, so they figured their roommates were out.

In another room, there was just one bed. Darlin couldn't resist and jumped onto it, letting out a happy sigh. "This is totally my room, sorry Kitty," she said as Kitty walked in. Kitty laughed and plopped down next to her.

"This place is awesome; I'm loving it," Kitty said, taking in the surroundings. Darlin nodded, "Right? I can't believe I chose to live at home last year."

"I'm going to finish unpacking," Kitty said before stepping out and shutting the door. Darlin pulled out a matching teal blanket and pillow set, made her bed, and flopped back onto it. Just as she was about to drift off, her phone buzzed beneath her. "Ugh, what does he want now?" she muttered, seeing Min Ho's name pop up on the screen.

hey crybaby

you coming to the
welcome party?

crybaby? really min ho?

you used to cry constantly
when we were together, it
was honestly really annoying

maybe it was because
you were a shitty bf

i was a perfect
perfect boyfriend

and you didn't

answer my question

what question?

ugh do you ever listen

are you coming to the welcome party?

ofc i'm going

 i'm so hot now, and i want everyone to know

whatever, evangeline

omg do not start
calling me that again

i'll call you wtv i
want to call you

see you at the welcome
party evangeline

stop calling me that

*seen*

Darlin set her alarm for 5:50 and tossed her phone aside. She was still feeling wiped out and had 5 hours and 27 minutes left to catch some Z's. A smile crept across her face as she thought about her upcoming adventure with KISS. This semester, she was determined to have a way better experience than the last one.

"Time for a nap," she whispered to herself before drifting off into a deep sleep.

☆○o｡..:* siiyahboo speaking !
2,190 words!! this chapter was
meant to be published on saturday
but i was busy and honestly lazy asf, but i actually like
this story so, i'm gonna update as much as i can (fridays, saturdays, and/or sundays)