Chapter Text
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Crystal isn’t exaggerating when she says that Gigi is the most radiant person she’s ever met. No, Crystal truly means it when she says that she believes Gigi Goode is the embodiment of sunlight.
So, when Gigi begins to send Crystal smiles in the busy school corridors, barely even there, but little seedlings of acknowledgement nevertheless, Crystal is a goner.
At first, Crystal couldn’t help but be confused - it wasn’t as if she was ever exactly popular. To many, she faded into the background; a wallflower, some might say.
Her perfectly styled, brown, wavy mullet, her obscure, vividly colourful stylistic choices and the fact that she had been open about her sexuality as a lesbian since the beginning of sophomore year, warranted some unwanted attention from the likes of many - namely, Gigi Goode’s best friends.
At best, it was light teasing; name calling, jokes which focused on her sexuality, being shunned because of her out-there outfits. But, all in all, Crystal Elizabeth was often the subject of ridicule, especially in the younger years of her high school experience, when she was much more insecure and was considered an easy target.
Despite this though, Crystal never seemed to lose her positive mindset, not in terms of confidence and how she perceived herself, anyway. The brunette wasn’t lacking in the friend department, and she’d realised that she couldn’t please everybody. Instead, she’d found solace in the kids similar to her, those who enjoyed art, fashion, oh, and getting stoned. Most importantly, she was beyond comfortable with her sexuality and identity, and this openness, paired with her shy confidence was the subject of envy from many alike her.
And anyway, it wasn’t as if Gigi Goode was ever one of the girls to pick on her. Sure, maybe she’d laughed in the background a few times when she was the victim to the childish antics of Nicky or Jaida, but she never exactly joined in, which was something, right?
Gigi’s amusement at Crystal getting picked on by her friends and their sharp tongues didn’t stop Crystal dreaming about the taller girl, though.
It didn’t stop her fantasising about running her fingers through Gigi’s light ginger hair, and how she desired to place a gentle kiss on Gigi’s button nose before tucking one of the loose strands of Gigi’s high ponytail back behind her ears - it’d be her way of saying goodbye before they went to their separate classes.
In fact, it even didn’t stop her imagining how Gigi would love to be called princess, and how pretty she’d sound whining impatiently whilst Crystal would nip and kiss at the pulse point of her beautiful, porcelain neck.
Perhaps you could say that the first smile Gigi sent Crystal was the beginning of everything.
It unravelled all of the feelings inside Crystal’s heart that were already overflowing at the seams and tipped her hopeless crush over the edge of a cliff.
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“You’re gawking-“ Daegen, Crystal’s best friend began, before being interrupted by Yvie, a senior the pair met smoking around the spot where their group usually gets stoned during lunch break.
Similar to Crystal, Yvie too was transfixed on one of the cheerleaders, Scarlet Envy.
“You know, has anyone ever told you how unsubtle you are when you dig a girl, Methyd?”
“Leave it alone, Oddly. I wasn’t even looking, keep your voice down!” Crystal squawked back, unable to contain her sheepish smile as she narrowed her eyes at the green haired girl, glaring and furrowing her eyebrows - another way of telling Yvie to shut the fuck up.
“Just talk to her, Crys,” Daegen suggested with a smirk and a gentle pat on Crystal’s back as Yvie nodded in agreement. “Maybe you could start with saying hello,” she continued sarcastically, knowingly grinning. “There’s no need to disintegrate like a loser every time she as little as looks your way.”
The brunette ran her fingers through her mullet with a sign and a shake of her head as she gently shut the door of her locker, groaning, after placing her AP History textbook snug inside.
“She’s way too bright for me, it’s hopeless,”
“Hey, your girl smiles at you. More than I get,” Yvie grinned with a playful glint in her eyes.
“Give it a rest, girl, you and Scarlet might as well be ramming your tongues down each other’s throats the way I hear the two of you flirt in math class.”
Yvie’s laugh bellowed down the hall as she began to walk away from the pair, setting off to her last class of the day, not without turning back to yell “Later, nerds.” championing a warm grin.
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It was 6:15am when Crystal rolled out of bed. Today was a Tuesday, meaning her first class of the day was Literature, or most importantly, her first class of the day was with Gigi.
Crystal wanted to impress the taller girl, hell, she wanted to give Gigi a reason to continue smiling at her.
Despite being confused, and slightly worried about said smiles, the attention she was receiving was addictive. At this point, Crystal had agreed with herself that even if this was all one big giant setup - it was beyond worth it. Gigi was the best kind of antidote possible; she left her wanting more, and more, and more. Crystal was drinking her up, and she couldn’t ever imagine being bored of her.
Just as the bell began to ring, Crystal sat in her Literature class assigned seat next to Widow, all dolled up wearing her favourite denim jacket which she’d hand-painted and crafted with tonnes of knick-knacks she had collected since she was small. She’d even polished her usually scruffy, black platform Doc Martens, and with this, came a surge of fresh confidence.
Crystal looked good, and she knew it.
When Gigi entered the classroom, lightly traipsing behind Jaida and Nicky, Crystal caught the girl’s eye, and wow, what a mistake that was.
“Speaking of clowns, Crystal Methhead, I didn’t know the circus had come to town!” Jaida spat with a coarse laugh.
Crystal knew better than to respond, instead opting to stay quiet.
“That jacket is fucking disgusting, even I thought you were better than that,” Nicky chimed in with a snicker. “Is it supposed to look like a 5-year-old has gone ape shit and let out all their frustrations on it?”
When the three of them sat down in their assigned seats, Crystal furrowed her eyebrows softly, swallowing the lump in her throat that had begun to form, since this time their petty insults hurt more than usual. She’d actually put effort into her appearance today, and for once, she was hoping that it’d pay off.
“Don’t listen to them, girl. I think you look cool.” Widow said gently, smiling at Crystal.
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Throughout the rest of the lesson, Crystal had desperately tried to stay on track by listening to the teacher and taking the appropriate notes down when needed, but unsurprisingly the floor was much more interesting. Her mind was going a mile a minute - how could she have been so stupid? Crystal wanted to kick herself, she wanted to pound on the door of her locker until her fists ached, she wanted to smoke until her lungs gave out-
“Um, C-Crystal? I’m sorry about Nicky and Jaida. I know I shouldn’t be apologising on their behalf, and they should be apologising on their own terms, but you know what they’re like,”
Crystal turned around with wide, doe eyes.
She was face to face with Gigi Goode, and at this very moment, she could feel all of the air being sucked out of her lungs.
Fuck, her voice was like melted honey dripping into Crystal’s ears. All soft syllables with a sweet, gentle tone. Just the sight of her made Crystal’s legs sink into the floor like jelly.
“N-no, no, it’s okay!” Crystal overcompensated for her nerves with a huge, toothy grin. “I mean, I guess I’m kinda used to it.” She continued with a light shrug of her shoulders.
“If it means anything, I think your jacket is cute,” Gigi began, smiling shyly at the smaller girl, who looked like she’d shrunk since the first time she saw her back in the classroom today. Gigi silently prayed that Crystal wasn’t afraid of her the same way she seemed to be of her friends. “You’re so creative, it’s awesome. You know, they tease me too, usually for choosing my sewing machine over hanging out,”
Crystal giggled as Gigi continued to ramble. She was in complete awe of the taller girl - the perfect curve of her toned stomach was beautifully accentuated by the tight-fitting crop top she wore - it complimented her slender build, and honestly, it looked like it was made to be walked down these halls by her. As mid-morning began to blossom, the sunlight did too - it peaked in from the windows above the lockers, colliding with Gigi’s brown hazelnut eyes. Crystal could swear that she’d never seen eyes look so warm and inviting.
“Anyways, once again I apologise for their behaviour, it was totally uncalled for!” Crystal sent Gigi a lopsided grin in response - her breath really had escaped her. “I’m Gigi, by the way,” She continued, lightly placing a hand on Crystal’s arm before turning to walk to her next class.
“I think we’re a lot more similar than you probably think, Ms. Methyd.”
Crystal felt electrified, as if Gigi Goode had breathed a fresh, new life into her.
The last sentence Gigi had said to her before heading off was replaying and replaying itself over in Crystal’s mind as she practically skipped down the halls to class, wishing time would fast forward to the moment she could relive the conversation through her friends.
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“No, she was kind, and warm, and funny, and-and she fucking touched me Dae - I swear my heart like leaped out of my chest or something, it was fucking golden. She’s golden,”
“Easy, Gabbie Hanna. You’re on some dumb poetic shit right now, and it’s making you sound like a fuckin’ virgin,” Daegen light-heartedly quipped back. Secretly, it warmed her heart to see Crystal like this, it just sucked that she was head over heels for Gigi Goode. Straight, popular, cheerleader, Gigi Goode. But hey, Daegen knew first-hand that Crystal never opted to play easy.
“Aw, is our wittle Cryssy in lo-“
“Oh my god, Daya, I’ve spoken to her like once!”
“Mmhm, are you coming out back to smoke?” Daya said unable to contain her laugh.
“No, sis, I have detentio- Fuck! I’m already late!”
“Something always seems to ruin a good day, right, diva?” Daegen called after her as she scurried away to the classroom where detention was held.
Crystal frantically turned back to flip the girls off, still grinning to herself as she pushed open the classroom door.
“Crystal Elizabeth, it seems the bell has pipped you to the post. Take a seat, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll sit quietly.” Mrs Cox said sternly, motioning to the only spare seat in the room.
The seat was next to Gigi, and Crystal cursed and praised the heavens simultaneously.
The two girls locked eyes as Crystal began to settle in her seat, and Crystal couldn’t help but grin at the ginger girl, already amused at whatever reason the girl had for being stuck in detention.
After returning the smile, Gigi began to scribble on the lined notepad lying on the table in front of her, passing Crystal a carefully folded note over as quickly as she began writing it.
Crystal picked up on how Gigi ever so slightly stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth when writing, and she swears that she could feel her heart disintegrate in her chest.
[Gigi]
spilt foundation all over my geography homework… i couldn’t POSSIBLY have handed it in :P
God, Gigi dotted all of her i’s with hearts - the sight making Crystal bite her lip hard to contain the smile that was threatening to overflow.
Upon realising the pure stupidity of her reasoning, a loud giggle escaped Crystal’s mouth as she raised her eyebrow at the redhead. So, Gigi really was a princess, huh.
Gigi’s face lit up seeing Crystal laugh at her. Gigi’s tongue danced around her teeth as a light blush began to cloud her face, and she realised that she liked this side of Crystal - in fact, she liked when Crystal teased her; having all of her attention like this made Gigi’s heart beat a little faster than it usually did.
“That’s naughty,” Crystal mouthed to Gigi, scrunching up her nose and smirking at the taller girl, playing up to Gigi’s good humour.
In response, Gigi playfully scoffed, pushing Crystal lightly whilst pursing her lips, leaving both of the girls giggling at each other.
“Ladies! Have the two of you forgotten where you are? Be quiet, I won’t ask you again.”
As soon as Mrs Cox turned her attention back to marking test papers, Crystal grabbed Gigi’s battered notebook before the girl could resist.
She quickly scribbled down a note, sliding the notepad back over to Gigi.
[Crystal]
now ur getting ME into trouble as well, ms. goode?! and here i was thinking you were a picture-perfect princess </3
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“Fuck, I really don’t feel like going to class right now, Cox’s bad energy has sucked all the life out of me,” Crystal began as her and Gigi left the detention room and were now back out on the school corridor. “This may be a long shot, but do you wanna come smoke with me? I missed out on it during lunch,”
“Sure! Oh, um, I’ve like, never really done it before, what if I can’t do it properly?”
Crystal chuckled in response as Gigi pouted at her - “I’ll show you the ropes. They call me spliffmaster420 for a very valid reason,”
It warmed Gigi’s heart seeing how comfortable Crystal was becoming with her in such a short amount of time. It’s funny how big of a difference a few hours can make.
“Follow me, it’s just under here,” Crystal announced, leading Gigi to their spot, under the bleachers. It wasn’t much, of course, all that lay on the floor was a few old tartan picnic blankets that Lux stole from her Dad during sophomore year.
“You guys smoke here?! We train nearby, you know, um, for cheerleading,” Gigi said, wide eyed, like Crystal was leading her into a whole new world, and in fact, maybe she was. “Wow - you have, like, a setup situation going on with the cute blankets,”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures, Ms. Goode,” Crystal replied, settling into her usual spot on the blanket next to Gigi, both of them sat cross-legged.
Crystal finished up rolling the blunt, skilfully rotating it between her finger and thumb, before sealing it shut with a lick.
“How do you even roll? That looks so, like, foreign to me,”
“Pretty girls don’t roll, Geege,”
“That’s funny, since you’re awfully pretty, Crystal,” Gigi replied with a playful wink. She couldn’t help but feel slightly accomplished upon seeing a slight blush creep over the brunette’s cheeks.
Within seconds of lighting the blunt up, Crystal took a huge puff, immediately feeling the oh so familiar feeling of relaxation take over her. Upon exhalation, she felt the worries, embarrassment and frustrations of the day flow out of her. Crystal wanted to take this moment in both hands and savour it - she was smoking with Gigi Goode; straight, popular, cheerleader, Gigi Goode; her crush, Gigi Goode. This was the type of moment Crystal wanted to revel in forever; freeze time and return back to.
Crystal passed the blunt over to Gigi with a gentle smile. “Take a puff, inhale it deep into your lungs and hold it for a few seconds, then exhale. Slowly.”
After exhaling, Gigi inevitably ended up being subject to a spluttering coughing fit, squinting her eyes as the smoke almost began to engulf the two of them.
Crystal laughed affectionately at the redhead, fishing her bottle of water out of her backpack to hand to Gigi. “Take it easy, princess.”
Gigi had Crystal completely enthralled.
Maybe it was the fact that Crystal was seeing Gigi in such a vulnerable state, like she was uncovering a different layer of the pristine popular girl, or maybe it was because Crystal found the way that Gigi had never smoked weed before, despite going to frat parties monthly, to be so endearing. (Perhaps it was a mixture of both).
The way Gigi blushed at the nickname wasn’t helping either.
“You ready to go again?”
Gigi nodded in response with eager eyes, the rosy tint still left on her cheeks. She took a hit, slower this time, executing it perfectly, without a cough or even a single splutter.
“I feel, like, air.” Gigi closed her eyes for a second, allowing the high to inundate her fully as she lay her head on Crystal’s shoulder.
For the first time in months, Crystal truly felt at peace. Perhaps the weed was hitting, but with Gigi’s head resting on her shoulder like this, everything seemed to slot into place. Crystal felt invincible.
Well, she did, for a hot minute.
“I forgot my fuckin’ purse down here, lemme just gra- Oh, shit! I didn’t mean to ruin your lil’ moment,” Daegen’s voice boomed, seemingly bursting the bubble the pair had created, because as soon as Crystal’s best friend came into sight, she could feel Gigi’s muscles immediately tense up.
“No, no, um, there was no moment,” Gigi began, instantly standing up timidly, eyes glued to the grass. “Crystal was just helping me with the literature homework, um, thanks a bunch Crystal! See you around, Daegen!”
Fuck.
As soon as Gigi had left the spot to go home, Crystal began reeling - physically and emotionally.
“Thanks a lot,” She spat at Daegen, her eyes gleaming with anger and intoxication combined.
“I didn’t purposely leave my fuckin’ purse here, Crys. We never bring people back here anyway, Yvie doesn’t even bring Scarlet here, Jesus,”
“It was going so fucking well, Daegen, fuck!” Crystal raked a hand through her mullet, placing her head into her hands. “Did you see her? Goddammit, she looked so fucking scared. It was going so well,”
“I know a closet case when I see one.”
“Just leave it, get your fucking purse. Let’s walk home.”
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