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Gert pulls Karolina to the side once they finally arrive at the gala, and heaves a sigh.
“Hey, Karolina, I’m uh. Sorry about barging in back at your house. It seemed like maybe we were interrupting something?” and oh, god that isn’t really the best way to say it but at least she didn’t start with something horrible like “Do you have a thing for Nico?” because she knows how that would have sounded.
Karolina blinks at her a couple times before coming back with “Why, you jealous?” which has Gert blinking back.
She lets out a nervous giggle, because wow, ok. “Uh. Well. I guess Nico’s not really my type.”
“Girl like you has a type? Isn’t that, what, bending to societal expectations of attraction?” oh, two could play at this game. It’s times like these that Gert is reminded she actually really likes Karolina.
So she smiles a bit, tucking her hair behind her ear and tilting her head, “We all have weaknesses. Mine just happen to be blonde.”
At that Karo blushes, a light and pretty pink, and smiles. “I’m glad you kept your glasses on, they suit you.”
She smiles because this is nice, being friendly and flirty with Karolina. “I do need them to see, and hate it when the makeover in movies is always ‘girl takes off glasses, girl is hot underneath!’it’s tiring.”
Karo laughs and smiles wider, brighter, “I think you’re pretty hot with them on.”
“I think you’re just hot.” They both dissolve into giggles, because it’s silly and fun, and they both like someone else but it’s nice to flirt and forget for a bit.
Before she responds, Chase comes over and interrupts. “Uh, hey guys, what’s all this about?”
It annoys Gert how he still makes her chest tight, that he makes her palms sweat a bit, that he can shake her even if she had definitely just been flirting with Karolina, and it’s a little frustrating. Chase is always a bit frustrating, but moreso now when she actually didn’t want him to be. She just wants to have fun and not. Pine or whatever she’s doing over Chase. It’s not like it’ll ever happen, despite the fact that what she thinks are fond smiles are sometimes directed at her, and she needs to get over him. Preferably by flirting with Karolina.
So she arches an eyebrow and smirks, “Oh, you know. Girl talk. Let’s go in, Mols.” she turns to the group “Karo, catch up later for punch?” and winks. Molly shoots her a look saying, very clearly, that she’s being obvious, but the rest of them just nod a bit and Chase’s brow creases. Which. Good. Let him be confused. Today is the day Gert is going to stop being dumb over a boy and stops being jealousies of her friend.
———
After they split up to get the video files, Chase sees Karolina head towards the stairwell. She looks…sad. And he’s going to make sure she’s okay. He does another kick walk around of the room, and as he gets to the elevators, he hears laughter. Laughter unmistakably belonging to Gert. Gert who, it seems, is laughing and smiling at the receptionist. He says something and Chase thinks he hears “proletariate” and sees Gert smile as she responds enthusiastically. It makes something in him twist and his face feel hot, because Gert doesn’t smile like that at him, not anymore really, shy and eager to hear more. She just snarks at him and, really, he gets that they’re on different worlds but it would be nice if she were to notice him.
Except, he has been pretty obvious about hitting on Karo. So maybe he should lay off a bit, specially considering she doesn’t seem interested in him at all.
Gert tucks hair behind her ear and leans closer to receptionist dude, and Chase’s heart squeezes uncomfortably in his chest. First with Karo, now this rando? Is tonight Gert’s flirting rebellion? She was never going to look at him, but knowing that doesn’t stop his eye picking and throat tightening when he sees her looking pleased at someone else’s flirting, even if he never had the guts to himself. He turns on his heel to go find Karolina in the stairwell. At least he can make sure she’s alright, Gert seems to be doing just fine on her own.
———
Karolina is sitting on the roof, bottle of vodka in hand, being miserable. It’s not that she wants to be miserable, and she didn’t start the night off that way. Actually, she had fun getting ready with Nico, even though she almost, almost, did…something before Gert and Molly came in. And flirting with Gert? Where they both knew what was on the table in regards to liking unavailable people? Was nice, fun, and maybe it was time she stopped pretending she could probably ever do that with a boy.
But admitting that is hard, and not a lot of things are hard for Karolina, and it’s scary, because she has no idea how her mother would react to her precious Church Girl Daughter being. Well. Being what she is. (She’s ashamed she can’t even think the word without getting nervous.) And she’s tired (so tired) of being that good church girl, of having to be something she’s not, of never feeling free, of feeling like something is clawing the inside of her chest, and of all the horrible things they’ve discovered about their parents in the past few days. So she takes another swig of the vodka an tries not to think about the edge of the roof.
She does try to think about Gert, though. Flirting with Gert was refreshing because they both knew it was for fun, between friends. And she was always on about equality and societal expectations, so, so what if two friends flirted with each other? And the part of Karolina that is tired of hiding nags at her that it was fun because it let her flirt with a girl consequence free. She’d probably feel bad about maybe using Gert to ease that vice on her chest, but Gert seemed just to understand, and she wasn’t going to get over Chase without a little help.
And, speak of the devil, there he is. Karolina feels something like annoyance at seeing him. Even though Chase is a perfectly fine friend, a good friend, and she really does like him, Gert is a good friend too, and she feels like she owes it to her to be annoyed at the dumb boy ignoring her.
“hey, Karolina, what are you doing up here? Drinking, uh. Shit vodka?” and she feels a little guilty because Chase’s face is pinched in concern, and yeah, he is a good friend.
“Just needed to be alone, I guess. Teenage rebellion.”
Chuckling, Chase nods, “I get that.”
Karolina is, well, she’s drunk and that hit’s a nerve because he doesn’t. He doesn’t get how much pressure she’s under. So she gets upset and angry at him. “Yeah?? Do you Chase? You have to deal with actually being smart, while I’m…I actually glow.” She almost said something else. She’s not ready to say it. She regrets snapping though because Chase looks like he’s trying not to cry.
“I get it more than you’d think. We all have more than one secret, Karo.”
Rubbing her eyes, she sighs and sits on the ledge of the roof, “I’m just. so tired of trying to meet other people’s expectations of me. I’m so tired of hiding from. So many things, Chase.”
His voice is soft when he responds, “Hey, isn’t-isn’t Gibborim about, like, accepting the light within yourself? For everything? My dad’s just a general asshole, and I-I’m not brave. Uh, maybe move aways from the edge there Karo.”
“No, I don’t want to. And. ugh I guess it-” she doesn’t finish because she’s tipsy and leans back too far and loses her balance, Chase panics and grabs her wrist, but she’s falling and glowing and-
Not falling anymore. She’s floating. She’s flying. Holy shit, she’s flying.
Chase’s face is of awe and shock when she lands in front of him, clipping her bracelet back on, shutting down her powers.
He grips her shoulders and for a split second she thinks he might kiss her, but he just wraps his arms around her and pulls her into a tight hug. She doesn’t really get what’s going on.
“oh, god, Karo. You scared the hell out of me there.” he says when they pull apart.
She’s still shaking, but smiles “Thanks, Chase. You’re a good friend.” and he smiles, a little pained, back at her.
“I’d say it’s about time we head back downstairs.”
———
Gert sees Karolina walk out of the stairwell, and heads over to her. She’s feeling a bit weirded out by the scary looking guy who definitely just hit on her, even though she’s obviously far too young for him, but it was kinda fun to flirt with the receptionist boy via socialism. She’s feeling good.
“Hey, Karolina, what’s up?” and she smiles, small but friendly, and Karo’s face lights up with her own.
She tugs on Gert’s arm with one hand, the other holding a partially drunk bottle of Vodka, “I’ve got to talk with you!” as she pulls her into the stairwell and sits in the corner and pats beside her.
Gert can’t help the grin that spreads on her lips as she sits down “Tipsy are we?”
Karolina grins giddily, handing the bottle over.“Totally, you can catch up.”
She takes a sip and makes a face “Karo this tastes like rubbing alcohol.”
“You stop tasting it after a few swigs. Anyway. I was up on the roof with Chase.”
Gert tries to get her face to remain neutral, “were you now?”
“Yeah! And uh, I wasn’t so happy, because of… stuff. But!! I found out I can fly!”
Gert almost, almost, chokes on the vodka in her mouth. “You can- what now?”
“fly!” and she stands and takes off her bracelet, hovering in the air, in all her rainbow glowing glory.
Gert gapes. “Holy shit! Karo that is so cool!” because it really is.
Karolina settles back down beside her, ginning. “Yeah, and I wanted to tell you. You’re my friend y’know? I’m tired of having secrets.”
Her heart twinges at the sadness in Karolina’s tone. She’s always been happy-go-lucky, and it’s disheartening when she sounds so out of sorts. She’s soft when she says, “I’m glad you told me.” and really means it. Karolina deserves to have a friend that isn’t jealous of her because of a stupid unrequited crush.
Karo leans her head against Gert’s shoulder and sighs. “I wish things were different. I wish.” she huffs, “I wish our parents weren’t evil and I didn’t like someone who doesn’t like me.” she pauses, and Gert thinks she’s done, but she ends with, “thanks for flirting with me, earlier.”
A laugh bubbles out of Gert’s mouth before she can stop it, “Same to you, it was fun.” Karolina gets up to properly face Gert, she’s a bit wobbly from the vodka, but by now so is Gert. Karolina, even with her bracelet on, seems to glow.
“It was really nice, not worrying about. You know.” She waves her hand vaguely but Gert gets it. And that feeling Gert understands all too well.
“Yeah. It was. I’m really glad we’re friends. And, uh, I’m sorry for being kind of petty and a bit of a dick earlier. That wasn’t cool.”
Karolina grins. “I get it. He’s really obvious about it, I’m sorry it seems like he doesn’t notice you.”
Gert’s face drops, “yeah. I’m sorry about, you know, too.” she runs a hand over her face and groans, leaning back into the wall. “Boys are so dumb.”
Karo sighs beside her. “Girls are so dumb.”
Gert grins, “Feelings are so dumb!”
“Yeah!! What the fuck, right!”
“Making us do dumb stuff and feel sad!! What’s up with that!”
“It’s homophobia!!”
“Fuck yeah it is!”
Karo must realize what she said because suddenly she isn’t smiling. “oh. uh.”
Gert feels the intense need to clam her down, let her know it’s okay, because obviously this is something she’s been struggling with. “Hey, hey, Karo, you know I’m okay with it, right? Like, I totally flirted with you back there. It’s. I don’t mind. I’m not-I’m not straight either, you know?”
She groans. “I know! I know it’s okay and I get that you’re chill with it but. I’ve never said it out loud before. I want to, but- uhhhg. It’s hard! With my mom and everything.” while talking her brow creases.
“You don’t ha-“
“I’m gay!” Karolina declares, loudly, right in Gert’s ear. She cringes at the volume but grins at Karo’s triumphant grin. “I am a big fat lesbian!!” she says to the empty stairwell, voice echoing off the stone walls.
Gert is laughing, because it’s so nice to see Karolina look this carefree “Hell yeah! except you’re actually pretty skinny?”
Karolina falls in on herself in laughter, happy, tucking her hair behind her ear. “True. It’s nice to say it. Nice to be honest.” she sighs, and laughs loudly. “Gert. Oh, oh my gosh. Gert.”
Gert grins, “what?”
“I literally light up in rainbows. I’m so gay.”
Cackling, Gert bends to catch her breath. “Should’ve know. You’re a walking pride flag.”
Karolina smiles widely, “Yeah. Wow. This is really nice, Gert. Just. Talking about stuff.”
“Yeah. We all need to get stuff off our chest once in a while. Misery love company, I guess.”
She leans her head against the wall. “Gert, I think you’re my best friend.”
At that, Gert gets choked up. “Really?”
Karo turns her head, still against the wall and smiles softly. “yeah.”
She’s not really sure what to say, but kara is so earnest and Gert doesn’t think she’s felt so relaxed with another person besides maybe Molly in a long time. “I-I think you’re my best friend too, Karo.” and laughs wetly. “How sad is that? We hardly spoke for two years, and here we are, a week after finding out our parents are murderers and we’re bffs?”
“Somethings are written in the stars”
“I have some thoughts on fate and whatnot but I won’t say it, because I’m drunk and don’t want to ruin the moment.”
Karolina laughs. It’s beautiful.
“Also, Karo. I-uhm. Thank you.”
Her eyes are soft when she looks back at Gert. “Of course. What are best friends for?”
“If not keeping each other’s secrets? I dunno.”
“oh. Yeah. You won’t tell-“
“God, no Karo. I’d never out you. That’s-that’d be so shitty.” She tries to put on a reassuring smile.
Karo returns it gladly, still loose from the vodka. “Hey. Remember that time when we were twelve?”
“You mean, the entire year?” She can’t help the stark she has, even drunk. But Karo grins and leans in.
“You know. When we both hadn’t kissed anyone yet.”
“Oh. Yeah.” She’s. Not quite sure where Karo is going with this, but she has an idea. An idea she would probably be pretty okay with. Karo was Gert’s first kiss, and Gert Karo’s, because they decided to get the pressure of their first kiss over with with someone they liked and trusted but didn’t want to date. It was nice.
Now, Karo is grinning and leaning in. And Gert says to herself, fuck it, and closes the gap between them.
Kissing Karolina is nice. Her lips are soft, and she can’t help smiling into it. They break off slightly to breathe, sighing and smiling, before returning to the slow back and forth pressure. Karolina brings her hand up to card through her hair, and Gert wraps her arms around her neck. It’s nice, this intimacy that they both know is platonic. Reassuring. No pressure. Open about who they are. It helps Gert relax. Karo really is her best friend, isn’t she.
They separate, grinning. Karo looks extremely please with herself with her hands resting on Gert’s neck. “Now you’re my first make out, too.” she pecks the side of her mouth.
Gert laughs, and rests her head on Karo’s shoulder. “I love you, Karo. Don’t ever change.”
Arms wrap around her, hugging back. “Love you too, Gert.” after a pause, “Why couldn’t we have had crushes on each other?”
“Because hearts are stupid, and fall for unavailable people. But what’s a platonic comfort make out between best friends?”
“Very nice, is what it is.”
“And, of course, solidarity between us women loving women.”
Karo blushes and grins. “Here, here. We should probably get back, the others might be wondering where we went.”
Karo stands, and extends a hand to help Gert, who diligently takes it. Brushing dust of her dress, she says “I might have to tell Molly about this. She has a way of being able to read me far better than I’d like.”
“Oh. Uh. Ok, I guess. Swear her to secrecy? Girl Gang code or whatever you have? I’m not ready t, like tell anyone and would rather-”
She looks Karo in the eye, making sure she knows she’s serious. “I’m not gonna tell her who you are unless she guesses. I’m not going to do that to you, Karo. Molly is shit at lying, but I can make general enough comments to fend her off, probably. If not, she doesn’t like hurting people’s feelings, and I can be scary if I want to be.”
Karo gives a wistful smile at that. “I can’t imagine that. I wish I had a sister. You guys are always there for each other, and it’s obvious you adore her.”
“When we aren’t bugging each other, yeah. It’s nice, having someone like that.” She leans up and gives Karolina one last peck on the lips. “But you and I have something special too. Girl gang, right?” she holds out her fist for Karolina to bump, and smiles at her nod.
“Yeah. Girl Gang. In it together for the long haul, now, Yorkes. I’m a loyal girl.”
“Oh, I can tell.” She links their arms. “Shall we go find our fellow rebels?”
Karo grins brightly. “Yeah, we shall.”
———
Karolina is feeling light and happy, giggling with Gert as they rejoin the party. Apparently telling your best friend (she can’t believe she and Gert both said it. But it feels right) that you like girls, and then make out with them, is good for the soul.
They run into Chase, who looks a bit concerned.
“Hey, a lot has gone down, where have you guys-” he cuts himself off, taking in their probably disheveled appearances. “Really Gert?”
Karolina shares a look with Gert, one which clearly states, what is he talking about,
“What do you mean by that, Chase.” She says, defiant, purple hair swishing slightly as she moves her head.
Chase looks, well, he looks a bit mad. “First you flirt with that receptionist guy, now whatever,” he gesture to the two of them “this is. What’s gotten into you?”
And, oh. Now Gert looks mad. Karolina tightens her arm against hers, for reassurance and to keep her from doing anything rash. Chase is just a dumb boy who doesn’t realize how much of what he says Gert takes to heart.
“Excuse you, Chase! I can flirt with whoever I want to.”
“Yeah? And what were you up to with Karolina?” Oh no, Karo doesn’t want to get involved with this, doesn’t want to get into it, especially because it’ll out her and she’s not ready for th-
Gert speaks fast and low, leaning in and glaring at Chase with a ferocity Karolina didn’t know the other could possess. She really can be scary when she wants to be. “I don’t know what you think you’re talking about, Stein, but Karo and I were just bonding over our mutual love of hating parties and not giving a shit about what boys think of us. So you should back the fuck off, and worry more about our evil parents. Right Karo?”
Oh, Gert is definitely her best friend. She tries to find her voice. “Uh. yeah! Bigger fish to fry, girl gang and all that.” And she holds her fist out.
Gert smiles and bumps it. Apparently they have a secret handshake, like they’re ten or something. Karolina really, really loves Gert.
“Yeah. Come on, let’s find the others and blow this joint.”
————
“You look pleased with yourself.” Nico says, eyeing Karolina. She’s got a smile smile on her face, and a bit of a skip in her step. Nico doesn’t know why it makes her heart flutter. Alex held her hand and she had butterflies a bit then, too.
“Oh, me and Gert just had a good talk.”
“Yeah? What about?” and Karolina’s smile changes a bit at that, like she has an inside joke Nico doesn’t know, and it twists something in her gut.
“Uhm. Our mutual hatred of big parties and not caring what boys think of us.” Does she sound. Smug? Wow, that must have been a conversation, Nico knows how weird Gert can be to talk to. “It was really nice. We bonded.”
Nico isn’t quite sure what to say to that, but Chase comes up and starts telling her about his dad being dramatic.
————
Molly notices Gert’s hair is a bit messed up when she tells her about Karolina and Chase hugging on the roof. Gert handles it surprisingly well, which make her suspicious, so she looks closer at her big sister.
“Gert, is that lipstick?” because the smear on the corner of her mouth sure looks like it, but not the shade Gert is wearing.
Gert immediately bring a hand to her mouth and wipes at the spot where the smudge is. “What? No, of course no-“
“It totally is! You even knew where it was!” She’s triumphant, getting some gossip on her big sister.
Gert glares at her. “Not a word, okay, Molly?” which is weird because Gert has never really been shy.
“But you’re out? Why ca-”
Before she finishes, Gert snaps, “Because I said so Molly. It was just a kiss, just for fun. Please don’t make a bigger deal out of it than it is.” She started off sounding angry, but now she’s practically pleading. It’s a weird tone for Gert.
She nods, not wanting to start a fight. “Okay. But will you tell me how?” She really wants to know how Gert, who is generally a hot mess for Chase, ended up kissing a girl at this gala while trying to expose evil parents.
“It just. Did. We’re friends, and knew it was just a platonic thing.” Gert says. She’s holding back, and Molly wants to push, but Gert’s face is doing something like a mix between sadness and a smile. She’ll leave it.
“Ok. Let’s go say bye to the others”
————
Gert bumps Karolina’s hand as she leaves, shooting her a smile. Yeah, they totally have a secret best friend handshake. Karolina grins.