Chapter Text
Aubrey feels bass pumping through her chest, and her entire body warms as she feels the beer in her hands hitting her system. She sees Hollis chatting with a pink-haired kid in these gigantic nerdy glasses and smiles, leaning over to punch them lightly on the shoulder.
"Hey, Hollis. Cool party."
"Cool outfit," Hollis replies, giving Aubrey an exaggerated once-over. She just laughs, and they continue. "Keep a lookout for Jake, alright? Someone he wants you to meet."
"Alright, you got it." Aubrey grins as Hollis punches her arm, a bit harder than she punched theirs, and she twists on her toes, heading for the back porch. Jake's always out back showing off for somebody.
As she steps out the door, a wave of summer heat hits her already warm face, and she grins. Yeah, this is her time.
She sees Jake's unruly mop of blonde hair from the back– He's climbed up to sit on the railing of the porch, because of course he has. Next to him is somebody with much longer, not much neater blonde hair wearing a floral sundress. The sound of the door creaking open causes the sundress wearer's head to tilt to the side, and Jake immediately manages to almost vault over the railing to run up to Aubrey and throw his arms around her.
"Whoa! Hey to you too, Jake. Uh, Hollis said you wanted me to meet somebody?" Aubrey squeezes Jake's torso, then pulls back, glancing behind Jake to see that the other blonde has turned towards her. They're twisting a long lock of hair around one finger.
"Oh, fuck, I shouldn't have told them, of course they told you..." Jake looks at the ground and scratches the back of his head sheepishly for a moment before looking up at Aubrey. "So, yeah, this is Dani? She's, um... We grew up together."
"Y– Yeah." Dani licks her lips nervously, glancing between Jake and Aubrey. "I, uh... You look... Cool."
"Aw, thank you!" Aubrey strikes a pose, grinning at the blondes like a madwoman. She drops the pose and goes for a more natural smile after a few seconds. "Seriously, though, you too. That dress is so cute."
"Thanks. Um, I don't... Wear dresses a lot, it feels weird."
"Yeah, I get that. I can't wear skirts at all without jeans."
"Without... Jeans?" Dani looks lost.
"Yeah. I know it's unconventional, but I hate the feeling of the air on my thighs..." Aubrey shudders a bit. "Even leggings don't help."
Jake laughs. "You guys are already getting along, that's great! I have to go kill Hollis, are you girls gonna be good on your own?"
Dani smiles and nods quickly. Aubrey rolls her eyes a bit. "Don't kill them too hard, okay? I think we're gonna be great."
"Fine, fine..." Jake rolls his own eyes and walks into the house, leaving Aubrey alone with the prettiest girl she's ever seen.
"Um... Do you mind if we sit somewhere?" Dani looks up at Aubrey from behind a curtain of that blonde hair. "I worked pretty hard today."
"Oh, sure! Lead the way. Um, what kind of work?"
Dani starts down the stairs, and Aubrey follows her to a bench below a tree near the fence as she talks. "Oh, just gardening, landscaping, that kind of thing. Mama needed me to prune the wisteria, and I didn't feel like doing anything else, but I wanted to be busy, so I went and weeded the garden, mowed the lawn, and split some wood." Aubrey notices for the first time how toned Dani's arms are as she sits beside her.
"Um... Wow. That's a lot. I'm not very good with plants and stuff, actually, is that a lot?"
Dani laughs. It sounds like music. "I mean, it's not that much for me, but it's basically my job. I like doing it." She leans towards Aubrey with a conspiratorial smile. "I don't have to work out, either."
"I'll bet," Aubrey says. "So, do you have a favorite flower?"
"Yeah, um, does ragweed count? I've always loved it..."
Aubrey and Dani continue to pry into each others' minds for a full hour. In that hour, Aubrey feels a nagging headache start to form. Oh, no– Not here. Not now.
"Hey, um, Dani?"
"Yeah?"
"I actually have a curfew tonight, um, and it's getting pretty close..." Aubrey sighs. "Do you have a phone number or something I could get?"
"Um, no, I'm sorry... Why don't we just plan to meet up?" Dani licks her lips again, something Aubrey's noticed she does when she broaches new subjects.
"Um, sure! Are you free Thursday afternoon?"
"I'm not really allowed out in the afternoon, actually... I mean, I'm not really supposed to go out on my own at all, or with Jake, for that matter. But, um, Thursday night would work for me." Dani's face broadcasts a "do not ask" signal so loud even Jake would understand it.
"Right. How about ten o' clock? The park by the Boys' and Girls' Club?" Aubrey bites her own lip a bit. The idea of sneaking around with Dani...
But, no. It's not like Aubrey can date people, not with Sylvain butting in.
"Deal." Dani smiles like the sun, and Aubrey finds herself smiling back.
"Okay, um... I'll just go, then. It was... Really nice meeting you. I'll see you next week?"
"Yeah," Dani says, almost whispering. "I'll see you next week."