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"How did you even brake it?!" Alex asked, bewilderment anxiously raising his voice.
Karolina blinked several times before stuttering. She fucking stuttered.
Her eyes instinctively darted to the tiny wiccan next to her. Nico's half lidded eyes remained anchored in the dirty ground between them, stabbing it harder every passing second.
They remained silent way too long for it to be comfortable.
"Uhm..." The blood rushing to her cheeks felt more alien to Karolina than the sparkles threatening to burst through her delicate skin at any moment.
She could physically feel the others staring at them. Her gaze shifted back at the cracked suppressor uselessly lying in her palm.
It took a lot of willpower to keep her mind from wondering back to the blissful moment. She didn’t care about anything in the world then. Well, anything other than Nico’s fing-
No.
Gritting her teeth hard, Karolina shifted her weight. She knew she really wouldn't last long if this conversation kept its already awkward pace.
Stupid bracelet.
She risked looking up at the rest of the gang, quietly standing behind the gradually panicking boy.
Chase just stood there frozen, so her eyes locked with Gert right next to him instead. Gert's eyebrows raised in her typical half-questioning, half-judgemental arch. Suddenly she dropped her plate when Karolina's pleading gaze dawned in.
Gert's hand pawed at Chase before they exchanged the look which made Chase's eyebrows shoot into the stratosphere, with a visible "Oh" forming on his lips upon the realization.
Karolina couldn't take the pressure of knowing stares and instead tried to find some solace in Molly, who was hunched over breakfast on the other side of the fireplace.
Very. Wrong. Move.
Molly's Cheshire cat grin said it all. For the youngest member of their runaway family, she truly was very perceptive. Sometimes a little too much.
She couldn't look away faster. Well, at least she didn’t have to spell it out for them. Except-
"Karolina, this is serious. What the hell happened?" Alex insisted, the worry in his voice blazing stronger.
She uunderstood his concern, she really did, but this was getting ridiculous.
"I..." Karolina tried again but her lips refused to form any decent reply.
All those years of being the perfect church girl giving perfect performances and oscar-winning worthy speeches on a whim, and here she was - a giant bubbling mess because of a fucking bracelet. Well, it was less the bracelet, more the fucking that short-circuited her.
But still.
She risked a quick look at the others again, but now all of them smirking – especially Chase’s dumb smile - made her even more uncomfortable.
She contemplated whether them knowing was for better or for worse.
Nico’s adamant silence wasn’t really helping either.
"How?!" Alex insisted on not letting go of the matter. For such a genius he could pretty oblivious sometimes.
Her head started to swim, she seriously needed some sort of an anchor if she wanted to avoid turning into a beam of colors other than that spreading blush and give their location away immediately. Her palm itched to reach for Nico's hand. But she couldn't ask that of her yet. She obviously hasn't worked everything out with Alex yet and everything was still kind of fresh and...no, she wouldn't throw her under the bus like that. She understood.
Her eyes closed shut. All these confusing emotions swirling around her just made her want to fly far, far away so she wouldn't have to deal with any of this. She would take Nico with her, that's for sure, however paralyzed she was to even glance at her now, afraid of what she might see.
Would she like it though? Why was she so quiet about it? Was she so ashamed? Did she regret it?
She didn't even realize her fingers dug into her palms painfully until slim fingers snaked around her trembling fist.
What should she say?
"It doesn't matter." Nico stated finally. Easing away the iron grip, their fingers interlaced almost naturally. "Can you fix it?"
Karolina finally mustered enough courage to look at Nico again. Her beautiful dark orbs fiercely pointed at the boy in question, not a tremble in her voice.
Heavens, how she loved that girl.
"I...ugh," it was Alex's turn to stutter. His eyes darted from the bracelet to the girls several times before they locked with Nico's. Finally he relented with a sigh. "I don't know, honestly. I'm not really an expert on church issued technology."
Karolina felt a massive wave of relief flood her as they finally moved on with the matter. She could get lost in the depths of Nico's decisive look for days. There was something under all the layers of perfectly applied make-up that was so alluring, something that was pure Nico.
Her eyes inadvertently travelled lower to the thin line Nico's lips were forming. However well the dark waxy substance accentuated those kissable lips, it got even more attractive when they managed to smear it while making out. Her tongue ran across her own lips, still evoking its taste. Oh how easy would it be, to just bend down and capture those lips again.
"Chase will probably be more of a help. Could- Karolina could you tone it down a little?" Alex asked, shielding his eyes with a wince.
"Wha-" Karolina started, tearing her gaze away and shooting a puzzled look at him before she realized she was straight (ha) up glowing.
"Sorry," she muttered in embarrassment before trying to suppress her shining. She didn't come with a manual, it wasn't like she could just switch it off. Not when Nico's thumb was running soothing circles over hers.
Gert snorted loudly, then quickly covered her mouth. Nico groaned, obviously fed up.
"Okay, tell you what," she announced. She reached for the bracelet in Karolina's other palm and tossed it to Chase. "Sort it out."
With that, she turned around and headed toward the van parked not far away, tugging at Karolina's hand to follow her. And she did, without missing a beat. Her lips instinctively spread into a shy smile as she studied Nico’s back.
Gosh, she was so useless.
"Wait Nico-" Alex tried, just to be flipped off by the almost goth. "Where are you going?"
"To hide this walking lighthouse," Nico called out disinterestedly.
Alex just stared at the two girls disappear into the van, shaking his head in disbelief.
"So," Gert started with an even wider grin. "Did just happen what I think happened?"
"I'm honestly surprised that bracelet lasted this long," Molly muttered before she continued to fill her plate, earning a glare from her sister.
***
“I’m glad that’s over with,” Nico sighed heavily, taking a seat next to Karolina.
The light brush of their knees shouldn’t have had such a strong effect on Karolina, they were fully clothed, hell barely even touched and she could feel the swirling colors on her skin intensify.
Good thing the bracelet wasn’t an issue anymore.
She often forgot how liberating it felt to be rid of the last shackle that tied her to her life before this whole whirlwind of evil parents and impending world endings. It’s not that she didn’t feel free, but the others didn’t light up the moment they took of a piece of metal. She didn’t even know what she was, but if Jonah could control his miracle powers, so could she. Later though.
She shook her head, those things could wait. She wanted to live in the moment now.
Looking up, she caught Nico dreamily gazing at her before averting her eyes.
She couldn’t help but smile at the antics. Nico’s tough, almost nihilistic demeanor and the way she openly expressed her affection made a very odd but immensely cute combination.
“I hope we don’t have to go through that ever again,” Karolina said, the smile never leaving her lips. Nico’s expression faltered a little, something very close to disappointment flashed in her eyes.
“The bracelet debacle, I mean. Not…not the way we broke it,” said Karolina feeling brave now that they weren't surrounded by a scrutinizing squad.
She wasn’t all that confident about every aspect of her recently evolved self just yet. And they still didn’t talk about any boundaries with Nico.
“I’d very much like that,” she added, the pads of her fingers gently brushing over Nico’s smooth cheek.
“Now look who’s a textbook charmer,” a lopsided grin adorned Nico’s features, the slight blush coloring her high cheeks was visible even in the spectrum of flickering light.
Nico’s hand found its place on Karolina’s waist, teasing the strip of delicate skin where the yellow star tank top didn’t reach.
Karolina immediately sucked in a shaky breath. She couldn’t help the shiver that rippled through her body at the contact.
Nico must’ve noticed because her grin only widened.
She was gorgeous. Just sitting there, smiling at her. The prismatic lights bounced off the walls, painting her in a whirlwind of beautifully shifting colors. Even in the dim light Karolina could see her half lidded eyes radiated such a spark of joy Karolina’s lights could never match.
She didn’t know whether her heart stopped or was just beating so fast.
Yup.
She was utterly gay for her.
And she was definitely staring.
“Do I have something on my face?” Nico asked, quirking an eyebrow, her head tilted slightly in question.
Karolina mulled over her answer.
Who knew how much time like this they had left, and yet she didn’t feel like rushing at all. She studied the details of Nico’s face closely.
The tips of her fingers followed the delicate dips and rises until her thumb ghosted over the curve of her lower lip. T
The sensation of Nico’s sharp intake of breath only spurred her on.
She never noticed how much closer they were leaning towards each other. But that was it, she just felt constantly gravitating towards Nico.
“You’re breathtaking,” Karolina whispered, leaning so close they were breathing the same air.
Nico blinked rapidly, subconsciously licking her own lips in anticipation.
The air between them was heavily charged, it was getting impossible to breathe. Or it was just the effect she had on her. She didn’t know and she didn’t really care at this point.
“Yeah well, you’re one to talk,” Nico breathed quietly, her lips grazing Karolina’s as she spoke.
Karolina couldn’t take it anymore.
She had a hard time not surging forward any sooner, capturing Nico’s delicious lips with her own.
***
Some pleasant time later, a massive energy wave killed the fire and the batttery of the van as later revealed. A muffled, breathy "Sorry" amidst giggles was heard from the inside of the vehicle.