#this is turning out to be more angsty than i originally intended dfhdjksfhdj

[kanawuts]

The Girl Who Loved Fairy Tales

Inspired by this post by @panncakes​

Part 1

Part 2

“It’s nice to meet you,” Jane said, returning the smile. “I’m Jane. You knew that already though, I guess. And this is Tan.”

Dr. Fai’s face turned red. “Oh my god, you probably think I’m so weird for knowing your name. I’m not a stalker, I promise. Dr. Bunn talks about you sometimes, is all. He mentioned you were coming for lunch today.”

Beside her, Tan shifted impatiently, no doubt wanting her to wrap things up so the two of them could get back to dissecting every interaction he’d had with Bunn during lunch.

Jane resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. “Don’t worry, I didn’t think you were a stalker,” she reassured Dr. Fai. “Anyway, we better get going. Thank you again for returning the keychain. I really appreciate it.”

She and Tan turned to go.

“Wait!”

Jane spun back around.

“The movie theater…they’re doing a Disney movie marathon this weekend. Showing a bunch of the classics. I was going to go alone because it’s not something any of my friends are really interested in, but I was thinking…maybe you’d like to join me? Since it seems like you’re a fan?” Dr. Fai trailed off, looking flustered. “Sorry, this is weird, isn’t it? We don’t even know each other. Sorry. Forget I asked.” She gestured over her shoulder. “I’m just gonna get back to work. It was nice to meet you, Jane.”

For a moment, Jane considered letting her walk away. After all, they didn’t know each other. But, on the other hand, a Disney movie marathon was right up her alley…

“That sounds fun,” she called after Dr. Fai, stopping her in her tracks. “I’d love to join you.”

Dr. Fai turned, eyes wide. And then her face broke into a huge smile, a blinding smile, a smile that for an instant reminded Jane so much of another smile, one that had belonged to another girl she’d once known. A girl she had tried desperately to forget.

Her heart did a somersault in her chest.

Shit.

She shouldn’t have said anything. 

“Really?” Dr. Fai asked, still smiling brightly. “Okay, great! Um, okay. What’s your Line ID? I’ll message you the details.”

Well, it was too late to back out now.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

**

“So that was completely unfair,” Tan said a few minutes later, as the two of drove back to the cram school. “I spent the entire lunch using my best material on Bunn and I may as well have been flirting with a wall. Then all you do is drop a keychain and immediately get asked out on a date? This is bullshit.” He huffed in faux annoyance, before grinning. “I’m happy for you though. Can I be your man of honor when the two of you tie the knot?”

Panic flared up in Jane’s chest. A date??

She tore her eyes away from the road to stare at him in shock. “Shut up, what are you talking about? She wasn’t asking me out on a date.”

“Um, yeah, okay. Just a stranger asking another stranger to go sit in a dark theater with her and watch a bunch of romantic movies, completely platonically.” He rolled his eyes. “Did you see how nervous she looked? It’s totally a date.”

Jane gripped the steering wheel tighter, her palms suddenly sweaty.

A memory she had tried so hard to drown in the deep recesses of her brain came floating back up to the surface.

Her college dorm, twelve years ago. Lying in bed with her, the girl whose name she tried never to think about. But no matter how hard she tried to forget, she could still remember how the girl had smiled at her, panting slightly, lips swollen, looking so beautiful. So goddamn beautiful. “That was fun, wasn’t it?” she'd asked. And Jane had pushed aside all her fears and agreed. It was fun. Really fun. 

But then… “Now that you’ve had your way with me, Jane, what do you say to a date? Me and you? Dinner tomorrow night?”

That one word. Date. It yanked Jane right out of the perfect little fantasy land the two of them had created in her dorm room that night, the one where no one else mattered…or even existed. She thought of her parents, her strict, traditional parents. She’d never disappointed them before. That was Rung’s specialty. Rung, who’d dropped out of pharmacy school only a few months before she would have graduated. Jane still remembered that argument. Her father, shouting until he was red in the face. Her mother, sobbing, as she begged Rung not to throw away her life.

If they had responded like that to the news that their daughter was opening a spa, how would they respond to the news that their other daughter was dating a girl? She didn’t even want to think about it. Couldn’t think about it. Couldn’t even consider it.

So she’d lied and said she was busy the following the night, in fact she was super busy for the next two weeks. “A bunch of exams, you know how it is.” And she’d promised to text her when she had some free time. But she never did. She ignored the girl’s texts and calls. Avoided the places on campus she knew she frequented. Told herself it didn’t hurt. Told herself that it had all been a drunken mistake. As if that night had come out of nowhere. As if the feelings hadn’t been building up for months.

She went back to dating boys. She graduated. Moved back to Viangpha Mork. Reconnected with Pued. Fell hopelessly back in love him. And then, finally, the stars had aligned in their favor after years and years, and he became her boyfriend. And that girl became a hazier and hazier memory. Jane had her soulmate. Her prince charming. Nobody else mattered.

But Pued had turned out to be less of a prince and more of a frog.

And Dr. Fai’s smile had been so blindingly beautiful...

Jane took a deep breath. And another. She refocused her gaze on the road. “You’re full of shit, Tan. It’s not a date.”

To be continued...

Part 3