Chapter Text
When they were much younger, Gert and Chase were very close. They were probably the closest in the group. Sometimes, when the others were busy playing hide and seek, they’d build blanket forts in her or his bedroom and pretended they were somewhere far, far away, with nothing but mother nature. Or maybe they were out in an open field in the middle of the night, pretending to see constellations they had made up.
He was the one who stood up to Anna van Dien in fifth grade who picked on her for wearing glasses. She was the one who punched Keller Davis in the groin when he tried to give Chase a wedgie in the middle of the school yard. They both would get in trouble, but they always had each other’s backs.
However, things began to develop more when Gert began to realize how handsome Chase really was when they were 13, among other things. She liked how he was brave, she liked how he was smart but wasn’t an asshole about it, she liked how he always protected her and doesn’t take offence when she protected him, she liked him. So she would try to spend more time with him. Ask for his help in science, making sure her family would come the earliest to Pride meetings at his house so they would have extra time just for the both of them, things like that. It was probably obvious, looking back at it now, but she realized that he would do the same things, too. That gave her a tiny bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, her feelings were reciprocated.
But then Amy died and the band began to fall apart. Gert and Chase were no exception to the scenario. He became that buff jock people loved to fawn over, and she became the purple-haired nobody who didn’t have friends. The both of them had changed. Hell, all six of them had.
And now, two years later, Gert was hiding in the ladies’ room, wiping away her tears during a Pride gala.
It was stupid, because she didn’t know why she was crying over someone she hadn’t spoken to in two years, and are now only on speaking terms because their parents turned out to be murderers.
It was stupid, that she had let someone--least of all, a boy--affect her so deeply. This was probably the most shallow thing she has ever done in her life; cry over some guy.
It didn’t help that her mascara was running all over her face. She could have at least used a waterproof one for, like, crying in toilets and what not. Stupid mascara.
“Deep breaths, Gert. You have it under control.” She told herself. “Everything is okay, really. Alex and Nico got their hands on the incriminating evidence to lock up all of our murderer parents, you got to play an old Atari Star Wars and sort of mingled with two guys who turned out to be a bit creepy, and let's not forget that Chase and Karolina totally made out on the rooftop despite the fact that she’s probably head over heels for Nico. That's cool. All good, all good. Everyone’s having a great time. Everything’s great.”
But everything was not. If they were, she wouldn’t be breaking into little sobs again. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her make up was completely worn down by now, leaving her close to bare, hints of black streaks still stained her face, and it really didn’t help that her nose looked like a tomato. This was all so very, very stupid.
Gert still had feelings for Chase Stein, it was about time she admitted at least that much to herself. She had repressed it for so long and it’s all coming back to her in a blur and she’s overwhelmed. So she let waterworks flow this time. At least once she’s done with it, she’ll feel better. Hopefully.
By the time the tears had stopped and her face didn’t look so much of a complete trainwreck, Molly texted her saying that she was waiting in the lobby. So she wiped her face for the last time and went out to look for her parents and Molly.
The universe wants to screw me over right now, she thought to herself as soon as she bumped into none other than Chase, who was grinning ear to ear. She would smile discreetly at how charming he was if she didn’t feel so shitty.
“Hey, where have you been? Your parents are looking for y--.” He stopped, his lips twisting in a frown and his brows furrowing as he noticed her face. “Are you okay?”
She forced a smile. It was small, but still a smile nonetheless. “Yeah. Totally.”
He didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t push the subject either. “O...kay. I’m going to catch up with my parents. See you at school?”
“Sure thing.” And with that, she left him be.
Minutes later, Gert was in the limo on her way home, resting her head against window. Her parents had asked her what happened, to which she just looked at her feet and told them she didn’t feel like talking about it. Molly gave her a gentle pat on the back before falling to sleep in the car. Suffice to say, it was not how she saw her day panning out. But whatever it is, she knows she’ll pull through. It’s just that not every day you get your heart broken.
She’ll be okay.