Chapter Text
Your phone buzzed on late Friday afternoon, your fingers getting chilly from being out of your pockets. The sun was starting to set as you had gotten back to your apartment to prepare for your sleepover with your new friends: Barbie and her girlfriends! You had been so jittery all day waiting for your last class to end so you could go home and pack your duffle bag with sleepover essentials.
Jinnie 💞
Hi honey! Movie night officially starts at 8pm, but you can come over whenever. Felix and Minho keep bragging about you to the others lol
You blushed and replied with a quick ETA message, saying you’d be there a little early to get to know everyone and help set up snacks. You had been texting casually back and forth all week, really cementing the idea that you had somehow made a great mistake of bumping into her that day.
By the time you had packed everything, including your own copy of Barbie in the Nutcracker, it was 6:45pm and time to leave. You drove slowly to the neighborhood Hyunjin had directed you to, stopping in front of a gorgeous house. It was a warm spring day, and all the plants were in bloom from the streets to the porches of each manicured house. The sun was just starting to crest when you walked up their porch and knocked on the neat door. Hyunjin’s charm bracelet jingled on your arm as you knocked four times.
The door swung open after a minute or so of you rocking on your heels to –
“SHE’S HEEEERRREEE,” Hyunjin bellowed behind her while she turned to beam at you. “I’m glad you could make it! Come in, come in, Binnie’s setting up the tv.”
Their house was overwhelming in the best way – so many decorations and pairs of shoes and scents. It was homey with lots of blankets in the living room you passed on your way to the kitchen where Felix was organizing some snacks on a charcuterie board with two other girls you hadn’t met before. The kitchen was warm from the oven and smelled sweet and salty at the same time, like a haze of baking had been done all afternoon
“This is IN, or Innie,” Hyunjin said, pointing to the girl with the off-the-shoulder dance tee and mixing bowl. “And this is Chan, or Channie!” The other girl was wandering around with Felix trying to frantically double-check the brownie recipe. Hyunjin leaned in and whispered, “She hasn’t even noticed you’re here, honestly, she’s been so excited to meet you all week. Same with Binnie. She’s trying not to break the DVD player in the living room,” and motioned to a buff girl in a sleeveless tank and booty shorts – not that you noticed that. Her muscles were staring at you, not the other way around.
“And this is-“
“My name’s Han Jisung, but you can call me yours,” a newly appeared Jisung said with a wink. Which prompted Felix to spit out her water and yell a get over yourself, Han! as you giggled and she kissed your hand.
You helped gather all the foods from the kitchen and spread them along the coffee table in front of the huge sectional they had – with plenty of pillows and all their matching pajamas laid out. Each girl had the same style with different colors of pastel silk pjs, and based on Minho’s that she was already wearing, each pair had their name sewn into the edge in delicate script.
“Oh, here is your pair too! Seungmin’s friend makes the alterations, she’s super talented,” Felix rattled off when she passed you a pair in your favorite color.
“These are gorgeous! Thank you so much!” The silk felt so soft on your skin, and based on Hyunjin’s fashion classes she talked about, you knew they had to be excellent quality.
You settled into the couch as each of the girls changed into their pjs too, grabbing drinks and snacks on their little serving plates. Fresh fruits and cubed meats and salty chips were served around as Innie explained all the different dips she had made from her friends’ recipe books. The music of the 12 Dancing Princesses started as Jisung started cheering like it was a football game, passing you some chocolate along the way. You were slowly starting to relax into yourself. Maybe this was the start of something new.
~
“Okay but Nori was so into Elina in Mermaidia, you cannot convince me otherwise.”
“I’m not saying she wasn’t, dingbat, I’m saying Liana and Alexa from Diamond Castle had a bigger chance of getting together than them! Nori was too prideful.”
“…but Nori was so hot for Elina.”
This was the argument between Jisung and Changbin currently happening after the ending of Mermaidia, which Seungmin (your current cuddle buddy) dubbed the ‘best Barbie movie ever made in the history of filmmaking’. It was nearing 1 am and more than half the girls were wired (courtesy of all the ice cream and brownies eaten) while a few were nodding off. Minnie had tucked her socked feet under your thighs as Chan passed you a fluffy blanket.
“By the way, thanks for the pajamas, Minho! They’re super comfy,” you whispered behind you. The argument was ramping up and you were kinda interested in it, okay?
“No problem, darling. You look so good in them too!” she said eyeing you a bit before winking. Over the evening, some of the girls were giving you looks that you couldn’t tell if it made you want to blush or hide in their necks. But both sounded kinda nice either way…
At some point between Spy Squad and Mermaidia, Binnie had moved some more sections of the couch together to make a huge bed out of the couch where everyone was snuggled together sharing blankets and throwing popcorn, much to Chan’s chagrin. You happened to be situated between Felix, feeding you chips and dips throughout the movies, and Seungmin, who was attached to your arm like a comfy koala. Getting to know the girls through their snack choices, movie opinions, hot takes about the Barbie universes, their classes, and just chit chat was honestly just what you needed to feel at home for the first time since coming here. It may have taken a bit, but finding your footing in a new place can be as exciting as it is scary. And having some cute girls by your side while doing it? Well, maybe you’d get something more out of it than you expected.
“Alright, girls, I’m putting on Princess Charm School,” Felix announced while grabbing the remote to switch DVDs. It was clear Jisung’s and Binnie’s argument would last until the morning by now.
As the intro song queued up, you got a text from Hyunjin.
Jinnie 💞: are u having fun?
You: yeah! am I making a good impression
Jinnie 💞: oh you’re doing more than that lol
Chan and Felix have already asked when ur coming over next, they wanna bake with u
You: omg no way
Jinnie 💞: YES way
I’ve got an extra invitation to a party next weekend… you wanna think about it? It’s a video game tournament
You: YES
I mean uh
Yeah yeah that’s totally cool yeah
Jinnie 💞: it’s a date 😉
“She’s coming to the tournament, girls!”
Which made the whole living room erupt into cheers – even Jisung and Changbin, who were still very interested in the lesbian debate of Nori.