Chapter Text
Nico was not having a good day. She had been tired all day yesterday due to a particularly stressful cheer practice. The only thing she was looking forward to was the romantic date her boyfriend Alex had said he planned for her. He canceled last minute, saying that he wasn't "on top of his homework." Well, he might not have been on top of his homework, but he was certainly on top of Eiffel, one of her fellow cheerleaders, as proved by the many, many videos she found on the internet. Apparently, Alex conveniently forgot to mention that his homework was being done at the track party Nico wasn't invited to and the only thing he could've possibly been studying was the anatomy of the female human's mouth.
That is why she was perfectly justified in storming up to Alex and interrupting him while he was talking with his "bros" to interrogate him about last night. And also why she was perfectly justified in screwing off the lid of a slushie she had just bought (grape. his least favorite flavor.) and poured it all over him and his stupidly charming face when he just shrugged and smiled. His Apple Watch was just an unfortunate casualty that she hadn't taken into account; it wasn't her fault that his family was rich. Apparently, Atlas Academy's principal didn't really agree with her logic and she got three detentions. Which was totally unfair because that meant less time she could be helping her squad with their routines and that meant more time Eiffel would get to take charge.
For a second, she wished that she could control the deep rage that boiled inside of her. And then she remembered the purple dye seeping into his blue polo shirt. The rage no longer bothered her as much.
Karolina's day had been pretty ok. At lunch, her school Gay-Straight Alliance, which she was proudly president of, had had an emergency meeting. Well... pretty much every lunch was already a meeting because the club's only members were her and her best friend (and vice president) Gert Yorkes, with the occasional guest appearance of Molly and Gert's boyfriend Chase. Karolina didn't mind in the slightest, Gert could talk for hours about how damaging a heteronormative society is and Karolina loved to go off about cute queer couples in real life and tv shows. Plus, she didn't really connect with other people. They didn't "get" her and she couldn't be bothered with trying to explain.
Unfortunately, her day took a nasty turn when her history teacher began talking about the Woman's Suffrage Movement. She had been barely paying attention as she'd heard it all from Gert before. Instead, she was mindlessly tracing the small tattoo she had gotten over the summer. It was by the hem of her black t-shirt, towards her right hip, and it was a small cluster of colors that formed a rainbow-esque patch. She had gotten it partially for pride but also partially because she thought the color patterns looked really cool on her skin. As she traced mindless shapes onto the tattoo with her finger, she heard something that made her tune back into class.
"...and because of this, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention, where two hundred women showed their support for Women's Suffrage. Clearly, it was that time of the month for most of them when they decided to rip down the stable social structure that had been working so far, but..."
"Excuse me?" Karolina called out, Gert looking as angry as Karolina felt. Many of the other female students looked shocked as well, but nobody looked even close to how outraged Karolina and Gert were.
"Well, of course the right to vote and equality is something very important for women but there was no need to be so aggressive about it. America would have taken that path on its own eventually, so these conventions and protests were just a nuisance to the people trying to run their country at the time. And we all know women have a hormonal spike, so it's a natural conclusion to fall upon." he responded back, unapologetically defending his position.
"Gert." Karolina muttered through clenched teeth. Gert turned to her and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Hold my snapback."
Karolina tossed Gert her "Wild Feminist" snapback and began walking through the aisles while rolling up the sleeves of the yellow flannel she had on.
"Are you trying to tell me that all women that stood up for their rights, in a way that directly confronted men, were on their period? Sojourner Truth? Susan B Anthony? Oprah goddamn Winfrey?"
"Miss Dean, I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from using that type of language in my classroom. Take a seat and I'll talk to you after class," he said sternly.
"And you'll what? Offer me a tampon for the period I'm 'clearly on'?" Karolina spat back, taking a few steps forward until there was only a foot of space between them. The class had fallen silent.
"Miss Dean, I'm going to have to ask you to go to the headmaster's office. Now." he seethed. Karolina was ready to knock him out but she heard Gert hiss "go to the office, you idiot."
Karolina sighed but a part of her knew that Gert was right. She walked over to her purple-haired friend and snatched back her snapback, before cooly strolling out of the room.
An hour later, after the final bell had rung.
"Detention. One month." Karolina said, strolling towards Gert's locker.
"Be glad it isn't more, dumbass. I hate the asshole too and I'm all for sticking it to the man, but you know what your mom will do if you get into serious trouble again." Gert lectured. She sounded upset but Karolina knew it came from a place of love.
"Anyways, my first detention is right about now so send Stacey and Dale my love but I won't be able to go home with you today."
"Wow. So you blow up and I'm the one who gets the short end of the stick? Screw you, Dean," Gert teased.
"The only end of the stick you can get is the short end, Grumpy." Karolina used the nickname she had coined for Gert a few years back, describing both her height and her demeanor.
"Well lucky for me Chase happens to be into short girls, Dopey." Gert threw back, closing her locker and walking with Karolina to the library where detention was held.
"Lucky for you, unlucky for him. Poor guy, I could almost hear his neck breaking last time he leaned down to give you a goodbye kiss. Don't know how he does it, I don't think I've ever met a short girl worth the trouble."
"Are you implying that I'm not worth the trouble?!?"Gert gasped, clutching a hand to her chest in faux shock.
"Sorry Gert, you're just not my type," Karolina laughed. She gave Gert a playful nudge that turned into a goodbye hug before she walked into the library. She saw one other person there and she almost did a double take because this person most certainly did not belong. Nico Minoru, the school's cheerleading captain and therefore queen bee, sarcastic as hell but she wouldn't be caught dead in detention. Probably because it was "too last season" or something. However there she was, wearing her very revealing white and blue cheerleading crop shirt and drumming her hands impatiently on the desk. Karolina glanced up at the clock and noticed that it was already five minutes past when detention was supposed to start. So it appeared that this was just going to be Nico and her. Fun.
Nico wasn't feeling too ecstatic about this either. The school's token lesbian just walked into the detention center. Don't get her wrong, she doesn't have anything against gay people. Just because she's not shouting it from the rooftops doesn't make her bisexuality any less valid. Her close friends know and that's all that matters to her. However, Karolina Dean needed to make sure that everyone around her knew how she was feeling and what was not "PC" about the situation. Even now, she strolled in with a backward snapback and yellow flannel, looking like a giant stereotype.
She's probably here for yelling at a student who was chewing gum made in a factory that was associated with child labor in 1897, Nico thought sarcastically.
She's probably here because she got caught screwing Wilder in the janitor's closet, or some other painfully obvious high school popular girl cliche, Karolina thought bitterly.
Karolina sat down with a sigh at a table far away from Nico's. She began to fidget with the bracelets on her left and right wrist, which were both entirely different. On one hand, there was a large, sturdy, silver bracelet signifying her as a member of her mother's church. She was never allowed to be seen without it, one of her mother's most strictly enforced rules. On the other hand, she had a slender, braided rainbow bracelet given to her by Molly on National Coming Out Day two years ago. Both Molly and Gert had matching ones and Karolina wore her bracelet as much as she could, although unfortunately it was not waterproof like her mother's shackle.
After what seemed like an eternity, the English teacher in charge of detention strolled in while on her phone. She glanced up briefly, spotted the two women, and quickly shoved her phone into her pocket.
"Oh sorry, didn't realize anyone was here. The usual two guys who are always in here got picked up on drug cases last week. I had hoped that kids could stay out of trouble for one week to give me a break but....evidently not," she sighed passive aggressively. Karolina rolled her eyes as the teacher resumed speaking. "We can't have you in the library today, due to renovations, but the headmaster has given me permission to send anyone who has detention to do janitorial jobs. I'll help you get your supplies. You're going to be cleaning the girls' bathroom."
Both Karolina and Nico groaned. Karolina almost got up to inform the teacher that forcing two women to clean bathrooms would be perpetuating the harmful stereotype that it is a "woman's job" to do household cleaning. However, she held her tongue. She got up and followed Nico out the door, leaving a respectable amount of distance between her and Nico so that no passerby thought they were friends or anything (Karolina almost shuddered at the thought). They reached the janitor's closet and were handed various bottles and brushes.
Nico and Karolina walked silently together to the girls' bathroom. Karolina realized that as much as she despised the stereotype of cheerleaders, she would have to talk to Nico at some point. Might as well start a conversation at some point.
"So... Nico. Crazy seeing you here, do you come here often or are you just passing through?" she joked. Nico couldn't tell if she wanted to laugh or leave; Karolina was cleverly straddling the line between corny and interesting.
"I've never been in detention before, if that's what you're asking," Nico replied cautiously. She didn't really know how to interact with Karolina. She was almost nervous that she was going to say something wrong and evoke a rant from the passionate blonde.
"Well then, what're you in for?" Karolina asked, grabbing a toilet brush and handing Nico a washcloth. Nico took the washcloth with two fingers, dunking it into the soapy water concoction and started with the sinks.
"You make it sound like a prison sentence. Hate to break it to you, but Orange Is The New Black isn't a reality," Nico snarked, becoming more comfortable. Karolina was actually surprisingly charismatic and had a comforting aura that made her feel like talking. Which was weird. Totally weird.
"Hey, don't crush my dreams inmate. What do you think? I'm totally Soso, right? With a hint of Nicky?" Karolina perked up at the mention of one of her favorite shows. If Nico knew about it or had even watched an episode or two of it, there's no way she could be all that bad.
"Oh yeah right," Nico scoffed. She didn't like how accurate Karolina's description actually was. "And who would I be?"
Karolina thought for zero seconds.
"Piper."
"Piper?!?" Nico spluttered incredulously, "The blonde, white, privileged, social justice warrior? Out of the two of us, that description does not fit me."
"Are you calling me Piper? I'm insulted. Out of the two of us, who has the boyfriend, the Miss Perfect title, and probably got picked up on a light charge that holds you here for less time than me?" Karolina responded, actually feeling a little offended but mostly just feeling curious about this new side of Nico. They fell into a semi-awkward silence, both doing their jobs without really knowing what to say to each other. They had talked, so they knew they were both capable of conversing without bursting into flames. But there was still some previous prejudice holding them back. Nico still held the fear that she would say something wrong. And as for Karolina, she was trying to tame the wild lesbian flirt that sometimes took over her body when a cute girl was in sight. What?? It's not like she could help the fact that Nico was hot. She just was. The earth was round, water was wet, and Nico was attractive. A fact of life that we point out and move on from. Except... Karolina was having a little trouble with the "moving on" from it part. Especially with Nico stretching to reach the top corners of the bathroom walls, causing her shirt to ride up slightly exposing even more skin- which Karolina was completely not staring at. Karolina opened up the third stall door and recoiled in disgust at the mess that laid within.
"Seriously." she muttered, "how the hell did someone get blood on the walls? Looks like a freaking crime scene in here." Nico put her rag down and moved to look at the source of Karolina's griping. She almost started laughing to herself about how the blonde was clearly pissed off but barely cursing.
"While that is a pretty impressive feat, it's still only a few dots of blood. Suck it up, I had to deal with the hair and chewed up gum in every single sink." Nico challenged. Karolina, never one to take a shot at her pride lightly, grumbled "give me the rag" and began rolling up the sleeves of her flannel. She changed her mind and instead took off her flannel. She looked around for a clean place to put one of her most prized possessions but all she could see was dirty toilet stalls and sinks that had been taking the dirt off of people's hands since before she was born. She was considering sprinting to her locker before she heard Nico clear her throat. Karolina swiveled around to see the shorter girl with her hand outstretched, offering to hold the flannel.
"You looked like your head was gonna explode," Nico mumbled her explanation, "just clean quickly." Karolina gingerly handed it over to Nico, who rolled her eyes at how much Karolina cared about this piece of fabric. However, she imagined getting bathroom germs all over her cheerleading uniform and she quickly understood Karolina's feelings. Wanting to get back to work, Nico impulsively put her arms through the shirt and slipped it on. It smelled good; masculine with an underlying sweet scent that made it feel cozy. She began wiping down the mirrors until she heard a small chuckle from behind her. Crap. She finally realized that she probably shouldn't have put on this stranger's flannel that she had offered to hold. Great manners, Minoru. As she slowly faced Karolina, she realized that Karolina kind of looked good in just a black t-shirt and jeans. There was something about the plainness of the outfit that drew attention to the alluring details of her face. Nico squashed her thoughts. She hadn't even been single for a day and she was already thinking about other people. Was she even single? In most cultures, a slushie to the face could be seen as a definitive end to a relationship but who knows. This was high school. She had seen a girl slap her boyfriend's face so hard that he still had the mark on his cheek while he was making out with her two days later. Karolina's smirk snapped Nico out of her thought whirlwind.
"You don't look half bad in that flannel. You'd make it pretty far as a lesbian," Karolina said without thinking. She didn't know how Nico would react. Damn pretty girls who made her mouth spit out whatever her brain was thinking.
"Thanks but I make it pretty far on my own in the bi community," Nico threw out. She took pleasure in the pink tinge in Karolina's cheeks. Sometimes it's the people fighting hardest against stereotypes that are doing the most stereotyping.
"I'd pay to see Wilder's face when you dropped that bomb. Probably a mix of excitement and his fragile masculinity shattering," Karolina said a little bit louder than she meant to.
"That's... actually pretty accurate," Nico laughed and then glanced at the floor, "but we broke up, so it doesn't matter anymore." Nico's eyes darted up to see what Karolina's reaction was. She seemed taken aback, apologetic, and... something else that was glinting in her eyes.
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know," Karolina apologized. She might have apologized, but there was a stir of eagerness in her chest and she felt a tug in her lower abdomen. The chase was afoot. There was an attractive, bisexual, single woman, who had a genuinely good personality, in front of her and that was not something she was gonna take for granted. "So why'd you dump him?"
"You're very confident that it was me," Nico replied, feeling slightly flattered. How is it that Karolina Dean had managed to make her go through a full spectrum of emotions in a little over an hour? Karolina took a few steps towards her and Nico instinctively took one back, but she found herself with her back against the wall. She didn't feel trapped though, she just felt almost embarrassed at how much her body was reacting to Karolina's change in demeanor.
"Because it was very clear that you are way out of his league. Shoot a little higher next time," Karolina said, her voice lower and quieter now. She stopped with a foot or two of space in between Nico's body and her own. It was not lost on her that Nico was breathing a little heavier now and there was a tint in her cheeks. Karolina could hear her own heartbeat roaring in her eardrums. She had never put herself out there quite like this before.
"Are you implying," Nico said quietly but confidently, "that you know someone who could be better for me?" Karolina smiled slightly. Nico was not rejecting her. Nico was playing along. Karolina gently placed her hand on the wall above Nico's head, allowing her body to lean closer to the smaller girl's.
"I think I just might know somebody like that," she said. The tension was thick; their cleaning supplies lay forgotten on the floor. However, someone forgot to tell Gert that Nico and Karolina were having a moment because seconds later the purple haired teen pushed through the door, already talking a mile a minute.
"Leslie won't be able to pick you up today so she sent your amazingly talented best friend to chauffeur you back to the five-star Yorkes' hotel. And then, what does this amazingly talented best friend have to do? Endure a ten-minute lecture from Mrs. Heebner about immature hooligans always getting themselves into trouble so that I can find out that you're cleaning the girls' bathroom and that-" Gert finally paused and noticed that Karolina and Nico were scrambling away from each other and adjusting themselves. "-You're clearly busy... with a cheerleader, niceee. I'll wait by the main entrance for you to finish anything you're doing, 110% no rush. Nico, you're looking very nice today." Gert chuckled and leisurely strolled out the door. She shook her head to herself and whispered, "damn, Dean has game." As the door slammed shut, both girls awkwardly picked up their supplies and headed towards the janitor's closet.
"I'm sorry for Gert, she's a bit of a handful at times," Karolina laughed, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. Nico, whose full face and neck were glowing pink, nodded. They placed their stuff back and faced each other; the eye contact was painfully awkward. Thankfully, Karolina navigated awkward situations fairly well. Seeing as her mother forced her to talk to the most influential churchgoers, she had to talk to a lot of rich old white guys who liked looking her up and down. So she got good at bouncing back and keeping the smile on her face.
"I don't know about you but I'll be here tomorrow, same time same place."
"Yeah I'll be here for two more days," Nico responded.
"You got off easy. I'm in here for a month. You didn't answer me before, what could the Nico Minoru have done to get her in detention for three whole days??" Karolina mimicked a reporter, holding her hand out as if she had a microphone in it. Nico lightly brushed Karolina's hand aside.
"You'll have to show up tomorrow to find out," she teased. She liked having someone who was actually interested in her. The more time she spent with Karolina (which had only been an hour and a half, but still) the more she was realizing that Alex had never cared about anything but making out and showing her off at parties.
"Well, I'll definitely be at detention tomorrow. And trust me, I won't be late this time," Karolina smirked before heading off in the opposite direction to yell at Gert. On an afterthought, she whirled around and called to Nico, "Bisexual and less time than me? Definitely Piper." Nico grimaced but there was still something very sweet about Karolina pursuing the topic.
Nico had only one thought as she watched the bouncing blonde hair get smaller and smaller in the distance. Karolina Dean is going to be the death of her.