Chapter Text
“Shit, shit, shit, SHIT,” Laura mumbled under her breath as she turned around quickly. She gripped the drink in her hand tighter as she looked for somewhere, ANYWHERE, to hide.
Why was her ex here? Of all the places in the world, she just had to show up at the same party Laura had decided to attend. She didn’t really have beef with Danny, no, she still quite liked her. Not in that way, but there was something particularly mortifying about being at a party alone the first time you see your ex since the actual breakup. Especially when Danny herself showed up with someone. A guy? Really? Laura didn’t think she was into guys.
Maybe if she just found someone she knew, she could pretend to be with them. Problem was, Laura knew absolutely nobody at this party. LaFontaine was supposed to come with her, but Perry had a cleaning crisis so they bailed last minute. She really couldn’t be mad at them. Perry was really having a breakdown over something, so Laura had decided to brave the party alone. Why not jump out of her comfort zone? Maybe it would lead to something special.
What Laura didn’t think it would lead to was her grabbing the nearest stranger she could find and pulling them towards her.
“I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend super fast because my ex is on her way over here with her new boy toy,” Laura said, keeping her eyes on the now approaching Danny.
“Oh, this should be fun,” came the deep, broody voice of the stranger. “What’s your name, cupcake?”
“Laura,” she answered. For the first time, Laura actually looked at the stranger she had grabbed.
The girl was beautiful. Her black hair was wavy and fell around her face. Her red lips stood out against the black t-shirt and leather vest she was wearing. She had a mischievous smirk on her face that really just blew Laura away.
“Carmilla,” the stranger replied as she pulled Laura closer, intertwining their fingers between them. For a second, Laura thought that she was going to kiss her. “Is it the redhead with the frat boy following her around?”
Laura could only manage a nod.
“Prepare for incoming,” Carmilla smirked as she released Laura and turned to face Danny and the boy.
“Laura?” Danny asked as she pushed her way through the small crowd of people.
Laura turned to face her ex. “Danny!” she said a little too chipper-y. Her voice was high, probably with nerves and… whatever it was Carmilla had stirred up inside of her. “What are you doing here?”
“Kirsch asked me to come with him,” Danny answered as she pointed to the boy with the goofy grin on his face.
“D-Bear is the best wing-woman,” Kirsch told them.
Laura scrunched her nose up in confusion. Carmilla looked at her, chuckling.
“Kirsch is a new friend of mine,” Danny explained. Her gaze shifted from Laura to Carmilla. “New friend of yours?”
“Girlfriend, actually,” Carmilla said. Laura thought she heard just a hint of pride in the statement.
“This is Carmilla,” Laura told Danny. She tried to suppress the big smile that was itching to escape by pressing her lips firmly together. She really shouldn’t feel this giddy about a stranger calling her their girlfriend. Especially when it was all fake.
The look on Danny’s face made Laura regret her plan a bit. She never meant to hurt the redhead. If she had known Kirsch was just a friend, she never would have drug Carmilla into this.
Her thoughts were disrupted when she felt a gentle touch trailing down her arm. Carmilla traced a line back up to Laura’s should and then down to her wrist. Kirsch was rambling on about the buffet that was happening towards the front of the building, but Laura just really couldn’t pay attention. She finally managed to tune back in when Carmilla let her hand fall on Laura’s hip, resting there as if she owned it.
“We should go,” Danny said, her eyes flicking down to where Carmilla’s hand rested. “Kirsch spotted, like, three girls he wants me to help him with.” She faked a laugh. “It was really nice seeing you again.”
“You too,” Laura smiled as Danny and Kirsch turned and left.
“I guess I wasn’t a pleasure to meet,” Carmilla spoke once the two were gone, but she didn’t remove her hand.
“Thank you for doing that,” Laura said. She looked at Carmilla who she found was already looking at her. “I really thought that guy with her was her date.” Laura blushed.
“You freaked out over a puppy,” Carmilla smiled.
Her voice was so languid. Laura could get lost in it. The way she was looking at her, it made the butterflies in her stomach pull out machetes and start going all crazy.
“I’m, um, I’m sorry for pulling you away from your friend for nothing,” Laura said as she looked past Carmilla and to the woman who didn’t even seem to notice she was gone. She was socializing with a few other partiers. The look of hunger in her eyes was a bit off-putting to Laura.
“It’s just Mattie,” Carmilla answered. “My sister. She won’t miss me, and I wouldn’t say it was for nothing.”
“Oh,” Laura breathed. There was an attraction pulling her closer to Carmilla. Something so alluring it was undeniable.
“Can I get you something else to drink?” Carmilla asked, swiping the empty bottle of beer from Laura’s hand.
“Please,” Laura smiled.
She watched as Carmilla smirked. Her eyes traveled over Laura’s face and landed on her lips for a split second before she was backing away into the crowd and towards the bar.
Maybe coming out tonight was one of the best decisions Laura had made in a while. Maybe the stranger pretending to be her girlfriend was that something special it was meant to lead to.