Chapter Text
Diana politely covered her mouth as she yawned tiredly, her footsteps echoing slightly off of the buildings surrounding the quad. No one else was out at this late hour, which really wasn’t a surprise. It was just past two in the morning on a Wednesday, after all. The only reason Diana was still up was because she had been making the most of the library’s late hours to help write this research paper. She was glad that her next class was a ten o’clock, so she’d be able to get some sleep. But the strides she had made was worth the odd hours. She was now well ahead of schedule. One almost had to feel sorry for the students that waited until the last minute to do things. She knew that some (read: most) students could somehow make it work, but it would give her a nervous breakdown!
She was walking past the dorm buildings on the edge of campus and only about ten minutes from the townhouse that she was renting with Hannah and Barbara when she heard it, the soft strumming of a guitar. This was, of course, one of the last things that someone would expect to hear at two in the morning. Curiosity slightly piqued, she followed the sound of the music even as she recognized these dorms as the ones that Amanda, Jasminka, Constanze, Sucy, Lotte, and Akko resided in. The thought of the Japanese born student caused a blush to touch Diana’s cheeks. Akko was like a brilliant star that was beautiful to look at but that was frustratingly out of reach. Diana was in the medical program, Akko was going for a Physical Education Major. The first time that Diana had seen Akko was at one of Amanda’s parties, and she had fallen hopelessly into a crush with her. A crush that seemed entirely unrequited, which was just her luck. She only ever saw the dark-haired girl in passing, returning smiles and waves of greeting, wishing that they shared at least one class so that she might get to know her better.
And of course her luck continued its normal run…she turned the corner of one of the towering dorm buildings and froze. Sitting on top of one of the picnic tables littering the tree studded grounds bordering the dorm building was Akko, softly strumming a guitar that Diana didn’t even know the other girl played, but the knowledge that she could just sent another pang of bittersweet longing through her. It hardly seemed fair that someone as bright and beautiful and charismatic as Akko should also be able to play the guitar, too. Stepping slightly back so that she was partially concealed in the shadows, Diana watched quietly as Akko continued to play, bathed in the silver glow of the moonlight.
Then Akko started to sing, voice as quiet as the guitar, but the night was silent enough that Diana heard every word, and her heart fluttered in her chest. It was almost like it was a private concert for her…
“I got a girl crush,” Akko crooned softly, and the blush on Diana’s cheeks deepened as she recognized the song. Barbara had the biggest crush on Harry Styles and listened to this song constantly, to the point that Diana knew the lyrics by heart, despite feeling fairly indifferent to Mr. Styles’ voice. He was, after all, no Luciano Pavarotti. But hearing Akko’s slightly throaty voice sign the words did things to Diana’s heart…she swallowed dryly as Akko continued.
“Hate to admit it but,
I got a heart rush,
It ain’t slowing down,
I got it real bad,
Want everything she has,
That smile and that midnight laugh,
She’s not giving me now.”
Diana blinked at that, frowning slightly. That last line…it should have been ‘she’s giving you now’, right?
“I want to taste her lips,
Yeah, ‘cause they’ll taste like her,
I want to drown myself,
In the fragrance of her perfume,
I want her long blonde hair,
I want her magic touch,
Yeah, ‘cause maybe then,
She’d want me just as much,
And I’ve got a girl crush,
I’ve got a girl crush.”
Diana was certain now, Akko was changing the lyrics of the song. It wasn’t a song of a third person jealous of another pair, but was now a song of yearning for another…
“I don’t get no sleep,
I don’t get no peace,
Thinking about her,
Under my bed sheets,
The way that she’s whispering,
The way that she’s pulling me in,
Lord knows I’ve tried,
I can’t get her off my mind.”
Okay, so that definitely clears up whether she’s interested in girls or not, Diana thought with a blush as Akko crooned the modified chorus again, and followed it with the guitar chords, eyes squeezed shut, her expression almost rapturous. After her fingers danced skillfully over the guitar’s neck for a long, beautiful moment, she finally sang the final verse, her voice heartfelt and emotional.
“I got a girl crush,
Hate to admit it but,
I got a heart rush,
It ain’t slowing down.”
Then she let the song draw into silence, and Diana discovered that she was hugging herself tightly, heart soaring in her chest. Biting her lip, she almost, almost stepped around the corner of the building and into full view when movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Amanda stepped out of an alcove, a grin on her face, and Diana’s heart sank at the fond look in the redhead’s face. Oh. Of course. Amanda made absolutely zero effort at hiding her sexuality, and she was definitely more likely to be Akko’s type. Oh, Hannah was going to be heartbroken if Amanda was in a relationship…
“Nice,” Amanda congratulated, and Akko jumped slightly before whirling, unbound dark hair that was normally tied back in a half ponytail swishing against her shoulders, her crimson eyes wide with surprise.
“Amanda!” she cried, blushing heavily. “What are you doing up?”
Amanda came up and sat on the picnic table’s bench, leaning back against the table with a groan. “Just got back from the bar,” she said, grinning at Akko’s slight frown.
“Amanda, it’s now Wednesday morning.”
“Oh, good, you know the day of the week,” Amanda said teasingly before her face grew more somber. “You know, you’d probably get better results actually singing her the song and not playing it in the dead of night…”
Akko scoffed even as Diana held her breath in an attempt to hear better. So Amanda and Akko weren’t actually…? “Oh, come on, there’s no way that she’s interested in someone like me.”
“Who, Gayvendish?” Amanda laughed. “I think you’d be surprised. I’ve seen the way that she looks at you in the few parties you’ve attended together, and don’t knock yourself down. You’re a good catch.”
“But she’s so smart, and my GPA…”
“Isn’t everything. You’re a wonderful person, and Diana would be a fool not to realize it!”
Damn good thing I’m not a fool, then, Diana thought breathlessly as Amanda and Akko continued their conversation, though only briefly, Amanda encouraging Akko and Akko remaining skeptical as the two of them made their way into the dorm building, and Diana remained standing there for a moment, mind racing just as fast as her heart was.
Finally, she began to make her way back to her townhouse, a wide grin on her face, and she was so very glad that she had made the decision to investigate the source of the music! Already, she was making plans for the next day. She would approach Amanda and get Akko’s phone number and text the girl who held her heart captive. As a form of payment, she would let the feisty Texan know that Hannah was very much interested, so if you two wouldn’t mind stopping the whole dancing around each other, that would be much appreciated.
But that was tomorrow. For now, the grin remained on her face as she entered the townhouse and got ready for bed, and as she jumped into the bed with considerably more exuberance than ever before, she seized her pillow and gave a happy cry into it. One thing was for certain…
She couldn’t wait until tomorrow!