Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Girls, just because John Stevens decided to skip bail again, doesn't mean I'll give you this one. It's too dangerous." Yolanda says with a stern look on her face. "Besides, Bowser is the one that calls the shots with your bounties. And he doesn't get back from Florida until tomorrow evening."

"But, we've caught him before!" Blair reasons, "We're practically in his head already. And I bet it's a lot of money." Blair adds with too much of a mischievous tone to be taken seriously.

"Blair, not helping!"

Yolanda takes a look at the file again and sighs, "She's not wrong. It's about fifteen grand, which is more than the last time."

Sterling scoffs, "You'd think he'd learn his lesson."

"As if." Blair frowns, "Oh, to be a cis-white male favored by Georgia's judicial system."

"A rich one, at that." Yolanda says without missing a beat, still thumbing through her file.

Sterling chimes in, "Oh! What if we did reconnaissance! We won't engage, but we'll keep an eye on him so we know his next steps."

Blair lights up at that idea, "Oh, yeah! Then when Bowser gets back, we can catch him and throw his ass in jail."

Yolanda looks between the girls before finally relenting, "Oh, alright. But just this once." She pulls the folder back before emphasizing, "Do not engage, and call if you get into trouble."

"Yes!" The girls cheer and immediately compose themselves when Yolanda raises an eyebrow at them.

Sterling clears her throat and calmly grabs the file from Yolanda, "Yes, ma'am." Then follows up with "Yaaay, stakeout!"

Blair practically drags Sterling out to the car before Yolanda can change her mind.

Climbing into the car, Blair doesn't immediately key the ignition. "I know I asked this last time, but I'm going to ask again. Are you sure you want to do this?" Blair spares a glance at her sister in the passenger seat, who's been nervously chewing the inside of her cheek. "You haven't really talked about what happened at the lock-in."

It takes a few moments before Sterling starts to recount what happened, "April isn't ready to be out. When her dad came home, she freaked out majorly and...flirted with Luke at the lock-in."

"What the fuck is wrong with her?"

Sterling sniffles quietly, "I asked her the same thing."

"You said fuck?" Sterling rolls her eyes and looks at her expectantly, and Blair takes the hint. "Oh, sorry, continue."

"I ran out after she unlocked the doors and she came after me. I tried to just keep walking. I was so devastated. She stopped me and explained herself."

Blair makes a noise and grumbles, "Not well enough, if you ask me."

"Can you tone down protective sis- protective Blair for a second?"

Blair pretends she doesn't hear the correction and motions for her to continue, "You have the floor."

"She got spooked because he specifically asked about me and you. She thought it was about the gay thing."

"Not the bounty hunter thing."

Sterling shakes her head and Blair waits for her sister to continue. "What he did is still wrong," Sterling wipes at her nose, "but what he did has nothing to do with April."

Blair taps at the steering wheel mindlessly before asking, "But he has a lot to do with why she won't come out, right?"

"On top of being a woman-beater," Sterling explains, "he's apparently not a big fan of the gays."

"Surprise, surprise! What a dick!" Blair says, disgust all over her face. "So. We're going after him."

Sterling's face hardens into determination, "Damn right, we are."

Blair finally sticks the key in the ignition and fires up the Volt. She pauses and turns to Sterling again. "Will you ever tell April?"

"Tell her what? We twin swore on not telling anyone about bounty hunting." Sterling stares straight ahead, waiting for her sister to finally start driving.

"I meant," Blair waits for Sterling to meet her gaze, "will you ever tell her that you love her?"

The question takes her off-guard. She opens her mouth to answer, only to hesitate. No, is the immediate answer that comes to mind. Yes, is the answer she wants to say. She'll probably hate me when she knows the truth, is the one that scares her the most. She settles on an answer that encompasses all of her contradicting emotions, "I don't know, Blair. I'm not sure it would change anything."

Blair looks at her sister sadly, "If you want, I can beat her up after we throw her dad in jail. I'm sure that would change something."

That makes Sterling laugh, "Let's just focus on putting her dad in jail, so then we can be free of the Stevens family forever."

"Amen to that."

Blair puts the car in drive and they travel to Stevens's lake house property in mostly comfortable silence after that. She lets Sterling pick the playlist and even doesn't complain when it's something Top 40.

Sterling is thankful they don't broach the family subject during the drive. Blair's been trying to keep her busy, so she won't have to think about Debbie or Anderson or Dana. But, she's not sure how much of it was for Sterling and how much it was for Blair's own benefit. Sterling figures it's probably both. Debbie and Anderson had lied to them both. Blair doesn't deal well with being lied to. Sterling can't blame her for that. They had sixteen years of opportunity, on top of the several weeks of Blair's ever-growing suspicion, before it all blew up in their faces. Suffice to say, very little words are exchanged in the Wesley house since.

So, Blair has taken it upon herself to continue to call Sterling her sister in front of anyone and everyone because that's what they are. Sisters. Blair would even fight anyone who says they're not twins. Sterling muses that Hell would have to freeze over before Blair even thinks about disowning her. And even then, Blair would resist.

Whatever happens, at least she knows she's got Blair at her side.

*

They park just in view of the dock and scan the perimeter. It's quiet for sunset. Usually the residents love to lounge around on the dock or on their boats when the heat dies down just enough and there's an orange glow to the water. But, no one seems to be around.

That is, until John Stevens himself emerges from the Stevens boat. He looks pretty satisfied for someone with a bounty to his name. He looks around once or twice to make sure that no one's around to watch him, before he continues to load supplies into his boat.

When he struggles with two very large duffels that could easily be mistaken for body bags, Blair's already out of the Volt with Sterling following closely behind.

"Are you sure this was a good idea? We don't exactly have an escape plan" Sterling asks in a whisper as they sneak onto the same dock they trespassed last time to the Stevens's boat. She hands her sister a glock, "He might be more prepared this time around."

"We got him once, and we can get him again." Blair whispers back, holstering the the gun without thinking, "He's the idiot that skipped bail twice and has the same escape plan."

The boat is empty when they get to the end of the dock. Blair forcefully rocks boat with her foot a few times to make sure he isn't hiding in the water. They can't seem to find anything on the boat, no supplies and no bodybag-looking duffels.

"What if he threw them overboard?!" Blair asks in a panic, letting Sterling pull her back onto the dock.

"What do we do? He's not even here."

A voice behind them startles them.

"Looking for me, ladies?"

Before they can react, John Stevens pulls Sterling into a stranglehold. Blair pulls out Sterling's glock, but John already has the barrel of his own pistol pointed right under Sterling's jaw. "Any sudden movements and I'll pull the trigger, Jessica."

The girls cry out in protest:

"Her name's not Jessica!"

"My name's Blair!"

John jerks Sterling around to get a better grip, threatening her, "Shut up, both of you!"

Sterling shuts her eyes and sends a silent prayer up to God. Blair doesn't drop the gun, her grip only tightening and her knuckles turning white.

"You don't have to do this, Mr. Stevens." Sterling begs, praying desperately for a little more time. "We can come to an agreement."

Blair tries to add on, "Yeah, technically we're not here to take you in. We just wanted some intel."

He laughs and grits his teeth, "Not here for negotiations or your dumb excuses. If you want to ruin my life, then I get a fair shot at ruining yours."

The telltale sign of a gun being cocked sounds from behind John.

"Now, Daddy, that's not how we're supposed to treat our guests. Besides, they're my classmates."

Sterling is the first to speak, "April?"

Blair's jaw is practically on the floor when she processes who it is and what she's holding, "with a shotgun?!"

"Hello, Blair. Hello, Sterling." April nods at Blair and then nudges the shotgun at her father's shoulder, careful not to hold the trigger. "Daddy, you wouldn't want us to look inhospitable, would you?"

"Padawan, this doesn't concern you. You should get inside." John doesn't make any move to let Sterling go, "Your friends and I have some unfinished business." His tone darkens, "And I'll deal with you later."

April tilts her head, "I think you're outnumbered."

John scoffs and rolls his eyes, "By three teenagers?"

"Hey, two of us sent you to jail to begin with," Blair argues back, before adding out of Southern instinct, "Mr. Stevens, sir."

Sterling can only watch as realization dawns on April's face. April's lowers her shotgun ever so slightly as she rapidly blinks to take in the information. Sterling takes the opportunity to buy April a little more time, "And one is your daughter, sir."

April composes herself and readjusts, shotgun still readily in her grasp and she nudges her father again.

"Let them go."

He starts laughing, "What are you gonna do? Shoot your own father?"

April looks like she's about to crack, tears welling in her eyes. Then she visibly swallows and stares at him directly in the eye, shoving the barrel forcefully into his back, "You're the one that taught me to where it won't be fatal. And I'm the only one here with CPR training."

"You're not going to let them ruin our family like this, are you?"

April takes a shaky breath, her eyes looking between the Wesley girls, before answering, "You ruined us first."

The blood drains from his face, but he really digs his heels in, "I will not be taken down by a bunch of teenagers!"

Blair notices something in the distance and takes a step forward, "Just let us go. Like I said, we were only looking for recon. Please don't force our hands."

"Force your hands? You and what army?"

"April now!"

April takes the butt of her shotgun and knocks her father in the head, his body going limp at the impact. Sterling falls free and she kicks the pistol into the water. April studies her quickly and lets Blair pull Sterling away. April continues to point her gun at her unconscious father.

"I'm sure that'll hurt his frail ego." Bowser finally appears, slightly out of breath. April steps aside, not putting her gun down, but allows Bowser to pass. Bowser cuffs John Stevens, "and if he wants to try anything else, my bondswoman's in the car and has her cop friend on speed dial."

Bowser asks, "You girls okay?"

Sterling can only nod, her eyes on April the entire time. April looks so shell-shocked, but she finally lowers her own weapon.

Before she can say anything, Bowser announces, "I'm going to stick this fool in the Jeep with Yolanda. Meet me up there when you're done here." He throws a pointed look at Blair and Sterling, "You two are certainly not off the hook for this recklessness. I'm going to lose all my hair by next week if y'all keep this up."

They can only agree silently, sharing a look and then going back to watching April who still hasn't said a word.

Bowser shoves a half-conscious John forward, but then stops. He addresses April, "I know this was hard for you. But, you did good, kid. Yolanda wants a few words, but whenever you're ready."

April breaks her silence and simply nods, "Thank you, Mr. Simmons."

"Mr. Simmons?" Blair blurts out, and yells out after Bowser, "You didn't tell us you had a last name! Bowser, don't you walk away from me!"

"Blair, we can yell at him another time." Sterling says, her eyes still trained on April out of fear that she'll disappear into thin air.

Blair frowns and then waves a hand in April's direction, "Fine."

April straightens her back, clicking the safety on her shotgun. "I've heard enough for one night, thank you."

"April, please."

"You really want to reason with someone brandishing a shotgun?" April asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you..." Sterling looks at Blair, who raises her hands in surrender, and then back at April, "threatening us?"

"No." April sighs deeply, "He may have raised me and taught me everything he knows, but I am not my father."

"We never thought you were." Sterling says, sincerity in her tone.

Blair reassures her, "He has to answer for his actions. Not you." She grins, "Plus, you're, like, a total badass! Big dick energy all the way."

April's face turns to disgust, "I would never."

Blair's grin breaks out wider on her face, much to April's annoyance and Sterling's embarrassment, "And she knows what she likes."

"What my sister is trying to say, is thank you for saving our butts back there." Sterling explains, and she's not sure April has softened any.

"I'm still the one that has to deal with the aftermath."

Sterling knows full well that statement is meant to sting, meant to throw culpability at her decision-making weeks ago.

Blair clears her throat, "I"m going to let you two lovebirds sort out everything else." She claps a hand on April's back, "Thanks again, April. You should drop by the yogurt shop so we can annoy Bowser by giving you free yogurt."

"I'll..." April glances at Sterling before settling on a response, "consider it, Blair."

Blair fist-pumps, "That's what I'm talking about, Stevens." She runs back up the dock, probably to bother Bowser some more.

At this point, the sun has fully set. Sterling's fully aware that she's alone on the dock with April and her shotgun. "You know this means you're on her list of badass women. It's a very short list, but it's very important to her." Sterling tries to make light of the situation, "And Bowser seems to like you. I bet you're his favorite out of the three of us right now."

April merely chuckles and shakes her head, but she doesn't say anything. Her eyes are trained on the dark water of the lake, her mind far away and Sterling is desperate to bring her back.

"Thank you, again."

Despite Sterling's effort to be sincere, April's stare remains on the water.

"And I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

April asks, her jaw set and her eyes cold, finally directing her gaze at Sterling, "Did...he hurt you before we got here?"

Sterling shakes her head, "No, I'm fine."

April takes what almost sounds like a sigh of relief, but then she steels herself again. "Did you come here to arrest him tonight?"

"Not entirely, only if we had a reason." Sterling admits, "Yolanda only let us go because we promised we would only be on a stakeout. And, well, look where that got us."

"Were you ever going to tell me about all this?"

Sterling shakes her head, "I...don't know. Blair and I twin swore we wouldn't tell anyone, since we technically shouldn't be Bail Enforcement Agents as teenagers." She focuses on picking at the skin on her right index finger before admitting quietly, "I was afraid that you'd hate me if you ever knew the whole truth. I wasn't sure you'd want me after you figure out I was the one that arrested your dad, nonetheless had a hand in his second arrest." Tears start to fall at this point, "Someday isn't my call, April." Sterling finally muster courage to look April in the eye, "It's yours."

That finally makes April's features soften. She actually looks apologetic, "I can't say how I feel right now, Sterl. This is a lot."

That hurts more than Sterling would like to admit, even if it's not entirely definitive.

"I really am sorry."

"That doesn't make what happened between us less complicated, Sterling." April explains, lifting her free hand to rub her own forehead. "Or less confusing." She sets her shotgun down, double checking the safety. Then she stands in front of Sterling and studies the blonde's face. "I guess if I hated you, I wouldn't have intervened. All I know is the moment Mr. Simmons saw you two out on the dock with my dad, I knew I had to stop him. All I could think about was you."

Sterling certainly doesn't expect that. Screaming and yelling, maybe. Or even deeply-cutting insults, like the old April would. But that just knocks the wind out of her.

April leans up to place a kiss on Sterling's cheek. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Sterling sucks in a breath, whispering, "So, where do we go from here?"

"Home, I guess." April sighs, breaking the spell to pull back and turn around. She doesn't walk away just yet, only turning her head slightly to address Sterling. "I'm sorry for what I did at the lock-in. I don't think I ever apologized for that. You deserved an explanation, not the way I froze you out like that." She throws a sad smile over her shoulder, "But, my family is still a priority right now."

Sterling nods, her eyes shutting to try to block out the tears. Maybe if she keeps them in, her heart won't feel like it's cracking in two.

"Bye, Sterl."

Sterling doesn't watch her leave. She doesn't need more images of April Stevens walking away from her. She only listens for April's footsteps to get further away before she opens her eyes and looks up at the sky. She's suddenly convinced God's master plan for her and April is exactly this.

*

When Sterling reaches the Volt, April and Yolanda are having a conversation on the other side of the parking lot. Sterling offers a small smile when April catches her looking.

"You've got puppy-dog eyes." Blair comments immediately appearing at her side, "Your nemesis-turned-girlfriend-turned-ex is still pretty cool, though."

Sterling sighs and laughs at the absurdity of it all, "Yeah, I know."

Bowser shows up at Sterling's other side, "Your friend called me and Yolanda to help her take him in. She's got guts, if you ask me."

Blair nods with appreciation all over face, "I honestly wouldn't have pegged her as a narc."

"Blair, it's hardly being a narc if he's wanted for beating up yet another prostitute."

"Well, you're both pretty damn lucky she arrived when she did."

"It's okay, Bowsey, you would've saved us eventually." Blair smiles too sweetly at him.

"I don't need none of your sass." Bowser grumbles, "You two put yourselves in danger after I specifically told you to stay put."

"But Yolanda let us!" Sterling argues weakly. "She's technically in charge of the assignments."

"You lied to her and don't think I didn't give her a lecture on the way over here."

Blair groans at him like he's a lost cause, "Bowser, lecturing her isn't going to win her heart over."

"I'm not trying to win her heart! I just need to make sure my interns are safe while I'm away." Bowser explains calmly, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He lets out an exasperated sigh, "I'm so glad you two brought your own car."

"Aw, we missed you too, Bowser!" Sterling coos at the older man.

He rolls his eyes when the girls hug him from both sides and he pats their arms lightly. "Yeah, yeah."

Blair pulls back and pouts, "We're sorry, Bowsey."

"Yeah, you better be. No assignments for a month! Just yogurt duty." Sterling and Blair protest, but he's already making his way to his car. "I don't want to hear it! Take it up with Miss Cathy. Now, go home."

Sterling looks back at April and Yolanda, "What about April?"

Bowser sighs and looks at her sympathetically, "She asked us to take her home. I'll make sure she gets home safe."

Blair tugs Sterling towards their car, "Come on. It's getting late. We trust Bowser and Yolanda, don't we?"

Sterling nods, "Thanks, Bowser."

He pats on her on the shoulder sympathetically, "Drive safe, girls."

When they're about halfway home, Blair starts up conversation while resting her elbow on the driver's side window as her other hand stays on the wheel. She runs her free hand through her hair and then looks over at Sterling. "So, do you still want me to beat her up?"

"Don't bother, I don't think she'll want anything to do with us after tonight."

"You know for someone who saved our butts, she has an awful way of showing she cares."

"Blair..." Sterling is starting to get a headache. She surely hasn't accounted for Blair being Team April, but she surely didn't expect it to be like this.

"She's only begrudgingly on my list, by the way." Blair ponders, clearly battling with being loyal to her sister or being April Stevens's number one fan. "But, I guess just because she's on my list doesn't mean I can't beat her up."

"Promise me you won't give her a hard time?" Sterling asks looking at her sister, "I feel like we've already put her through enough."

"Fine." Blair grins, "Only for you."

*

The month goes by painstakingly slow, both at home and at school. So, Sterling and Blair eat their weight in yogurt at the shop to cope and to come up with new flavor profiles.

April doesn't show up to school for a week and then reappears only to be civil in group or partner settings. Otherwise, she avoids being alone with Sterling. It's not like Sterling didn't expect this, but it still hurts.

Things at home don't really get better, but they don't get worse either. Debbie tries to be gentle without being desperate and Anderson hides away in his workshop to whittle his wooden duck figurines. The energy in the Wesley house is so off-kilter, Blair muses at one point that they should run away. Sterling quickly talks her down after going over logistics of what it means to be a self-sufficient, working adult in a capitalist society. Blair bemoans that she doesn't know how they would pay for an apartment and promptly scraps the idea.

Just to get out of the house, the girls take over Chloe's entire walk schedule.

"What if we took up dog-walking?" Blair suggests as Chloe walks between them. "Look at Chloe. She loves hanging out with us. We're good with dogs!"

"Blair, mo--Debbie forced us to leash train with her so we didn't break our wrists when she was two." Sterling reminds her, her hand goes to scratch Chloe's fur softly as they continue down their street. "I think this is just a Chloe thing."

"You know you could still call her Mom, right? Like she looks like her heart is going to fall out every time she looks at you." Blair comments as she kicks a pine cone to the other side of the street. "She like totally didn't hide the fact that she was crying in the parlor the other day. I was shook."

"I know. I'm just frustrated that our entire lives were a lie." Sterling groans up to the sky, "Now, I know how you felt about me keeping secrets from you."

"Yeah, but it's not like it changed anything for us. Plus, we agreed to never keep secrets again." Blair supplies, "You being bluish-pink-purple, or whatever, doesn't change the fact that you're my sister and that your breath gives me life."

"But not actually sharing parents does?" Sterling tries to follow, confusion stitching her eyebrows together.

"No, none of that talk. Keeping your birth mother a secret from you changes how you see them. They completely betrayed your trust!" Blair bumps shoulders with her, "Totally doesn't change the way I see you, though. Your breath still totally gives me life."

Sterling smiles brightly at her sister. "What would I do without you?"

"Run away just to spite Mom."

"Hey, running away was your idea!"

"Oh," Blair tilts her head, "Yeah, that was my idea. I'm honestly such a genius sometimes."

At this point, Sterling has already unlocked the front door and is already kneeling in the foyer to wipe Chloe's paws down. "Go on, bestest girl."

Chloe licks her face before barking all while she rushes through to the kitchen.

Sterling looks up at Blair, not having gotten up yet, "I guess it was a good walk?"

Blair hangs up the leash on the wall hook, "Duh, we walked her."

Sterling holds her hands up and Blair pretends to struggle as she helps her to her feet before shoving her playfully running into the kitchen.

Sterling follows suit but doesn't account for Blair coming to a skidding halt at the kitchen island. She ends up running right into Blair's back. "Oof! Blair! Come on, warn a girl!"

"Oh, girls! Good, you're home. You have a visitor." Debbie says from the armchair, motioning to said visitor on the couch.

"Sterling, look, April's here!" Blair announces in too much of a sing-song voice to her sister who's still fussing about running into her.

Sterling's head immediately snaps up and looks like a deer caught in the headlights as she musters a response, "Hi...April. What a surprise to see you here. In our home."

The image of April Stevens sitting in her home is something Sterling can't deny she's thought about in various daydreams. She imagines them kissing in the foyer and jumping apart at the sound of Debbie and Anderson in the kitchen or the sound of Blair's snickering at the top of the staircase. Maybe April sits correct and proper on the couch, Chloe at her feet, having an agreeable and polite conversation with Debbie; Or April discusses the best ways to maintain whatever tools Anderson has in the shop; Or April catches Sterling blatantly staring and smiling bright and confident from across the room.

Blair elbows her to break her out of her reverie.

"How, uh, can we help you?"

Blair gives her a look, which she ignores.

April stands from the couch, pressing her uniform down, and then addresses the girls, "I apologize for dropping in unannounced. I... wanted to go over the Fellowship duties that I'll be leaving to you."

Sterling takes a moment to process the information presented to her, "Wait, you're quitting Fellowship?"

April clears her throat, "I'll be quitting Fellowship at Willingham, but hopefully at my new school there'll be an equivalent."

Blair looks at Debbie and then between the two girls. Sterling looks at April like the girl just dropped an anvil on her head. All three girls are thankful that Debbie doesn't pry into why she's leaving Fellowship or Willingham altogether.

Unlike Sterling, Blair thinks quick on her feet, "Mom, do you mind if we take this upstairs? I'm sure Sterling would want to take some notes."

"Oh, of course, sweetie." Debbie turns to April with a gentle smile, "Why don't you go ahead and follow the girls upstairs to their rooms? Go on."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wesley." She sets her half-finished drink on a coaster on the coffee table. "Your lemonade is delightful."

"You always gave the best compliments, my dear." Debbie ushers the girls upstairs, "Go on."

When they're upstairs in Sterling's room, Blair makes sure the door is shut firmly.

April clears her throat, and looks at them like they're crazy, "You two are terrible liars. How do you keep anything from her?"

Blair shrugs, not really bothered by the statement, "Mom and Dad are bad liars, too."

April grimaces at the thought. "Well, that explains a lot."

Sterling, completely not paying attention, hopes she doesn't look like a kicked puppy, "You're leaving?"

April smiles sadly, "With my dad in prison, we can't afford to stay here. My mom has to sell the lake house and a bunch of other assets my dad told her not to touch."

"Vengeance is sweet, isn't it?" Blair nods in appreciation.

"Nothing like a woman scorned," April offers up a crooked smile, "but it comes with consequences, I'm afraid."

"Do you guys know where you're going yet?" Blair asks, her voice soft and laid with more concern than Sterling's ever heard when these two are involved.

April sighs, "We're moving closer to my grandparents in Tennessee."

"Hey, that's not too far." Blair says hopeful, pulling up Maps to do get an estimate. "It's like 6 hours, tops, depending how far west you go."

April reminds the brunette, "Blair, no one's parents are going to allow that."

"Not with that attitude, missy." Blair sticks her tongue out April, who simply rolls her eyes with an amused smile. "But, I am gonna miss you. It's hard to break in a new nemesis, but you'll always be number one."

"Thanks, Blair. I'm honored to be your public enemy number one." April tries to deadpan, despite the smile growing on her face.

Blair grins and sticks her hand out for a fist bump.

April looks at it questioningly.

"Come on, Stevens. Don't let this be my last memory of you." She moves her fist closer, and April begrudgingly humors her, meeting her own fist with Blair's. "See you around, Apes. Ew, no I do not like that."

Sterling takes pity on April, who looks so beyond offended at the misfired nickname. "Alright, that's enough, Blair." She shuffles her sister through their shared bathroom and into Blair's bedroom.

She walks back into her own room, feeling completely out of her element. She clasps her hands together and holds them at the hem of her own sweater. Just like imagining April in her living room, she's also imagined what it would be like to have April in her childhood bedroom. Lingering stolen kisses after Debbie leaves the room and baited breaths when they hear footsteps in the hallway. Maybe April would tease her about Mr. Woofs or Miss Pengi and she'd have to kiss her to get her to leave them alone.

This isn't how it is now, and Sterling prays it doesn't end like this.

April pulls her out of her daydream with a chuckle. The girl in front of her shaking her head, "I can't say I'll ever get used to your sister being this nice to me."

Sterling shrugs, "Well, if you're as good as a shot as I am, she might just worship the ground you walk."

"I'm not entirely sure shooting is an area I would want to go toe-to-toe with you." April makes a face, "I only know how to use them out of my dad's belief that I should."

"You seemed pretty confident at your lake house." Sterling points out, "Come on, I'm sure your technique puts your color-coded notes to shame."

They look at each other and laugh, free and lighter than they've had a chance to in a while. Trying to make up for so much time lost from misunderstanding to the next, only to be met with reality once again.

"I should probably get going. My mom's adamant for us to have dinner together and I shouldn't be late." April sighs and meets Sterling's gaze, "So, I guess this is goodbye."

"Does it have to be?" Sterling asks before thinking. "Like, we could text and call and stuff, right?"

"Sterl...My mom still doesn't know, and the move is difficult enough as is." April lifts her chin, the corners of of her mouth a telltale that she's suppressing any emotion to pass the floodgate. "I have to play my cards safe still."

Sterling tries to pretend this isn't ripping her shreds inside, but she can't help but wear her heart on her sleeve, especially when it comes to April Stevens.

"On the bright side, my dad thinks I'll shoot him for real if he ever tries anything." April shrugs, "Can't say I don't like that kind of power." She peeks up at Sterling. "But, at least, I know you're safe."

"I don't know...I just figured we'd awkwardly avoid each other until we graduate. This isn't fair." Sterling starts to cry, "I didn't think you'd have to move away."

April pulls her close, her hands framing Sterling's face. She thumbs away Sterling's tears, and makes a split decision to lean in and kiss her, soft and slow and meaningful.

Please don't go. I love you. is on the tip of Sterling's tongue, but she cradles it close to her chest instead. If she's got any cards to play, this would be it.

"I'm sorry we didn't have a chance." April says sadly, her hand lingering along Sterling's jaw, looking at her like she's trying to memorize her.

"Me too."

They regain enough composure to go downstairs and face Debbie who's already lamenting that April won't be staying for dinner. Thankfully, Debbie doesn't push too hard and lets Sterling walk her friend out.

"Will you still be at school, or is this it?" Sterling asks sadly when they reach April's car.

"Next Friday's my last official day, but I might not even show up. There's so much I have to help my mom with." April sighs and then realizes, "I haven't even told Ellen yet."

"She's going to be devastated."

April finally opens the car door, but she she just looks up at Sterling, "It won't be as hard as getting in this car right now, I'll tell you that much."

"Please don't make me cry again," Sterling says, failing to hold in a sob. "I have to go back in and face my family."

"I...don't know how long I'll be able to keep my current number, but I'll text you my email address tonight."

It's a peace offering, and Sterling clings to it eagerly. "I would like that, yeah."

April can't fight the smile spread across her face, "Good. Me too."

"Thanks for, you know, actually saying goodbye."

"I don't think I could've ghosted you if I tried."

They respond at the same time, "Blair would find out."

They laugh and Sterling hugs April again. She whispers into April's hair, "I'm gonna miss you a lot, April Stevens."

April hugs back tighter in return, "You too, Sterling Wesley."

*

When April delivers on her promise and sends her an email address, Blair insists Sterling send an email immediately.

"I've already made a fool of myself on several occasions, Blair." Sterling complains as she leans back on Blair's bed to read what her sister is typing into her email, "Do I really need to add to that pile?"

"Duh!" Blair says it like it's somehow not rocket science, continuing to type with a hardened concentration. "She finds you endearing."

"Not enough evidently."

"The emojis and memes are gonna help. Trust me." Blair's tongue pokes out the corner of her mouth as she picks the perfect combination of emojis, and double checks April's email. "You know, for someone as smart as April, she can't spell."

Sterling looks over her shoulder to peek at her screen, "Blair, it's Latin and a bit of a play on words."

"Oh, I stand corrected. She's an even bigger nerd."

"It's probably a burner email. She's still worried about her parents finding out about her."

"Dude, that sucks." She grins up at her sister, "But, this will help. Promise."

Before Sterling can let Blair hit send on a paragraph full of emojis and dog memes, Sterling grabs her phone back. "Blair, do you wanna talk about Miles?"

Blair's face falls completely and refuses eye contact, "No?"

"Look, I'm really grateful that you're so supportive of me and April one day figuring this out, but we all know it's not likely right now. No matter how much big boi energy memes we send her." Sterling turns on her side to face Blair, "But, how much of it is because you want to distract yourself from Miles?"

"I don't really know how to put it into words. April is great and she is absolutely on my list of badass women. All of that is sincere, I promise."

"I know it is, Blair." Sterling whispers as she lets Blair turn to face her. "It's one of the things I love most about you."

"What? That I love my one and only sister forever and ever? And by extension anyone you choose to love?"

Sterling shakes her head, "that, and when you love, you love throwing caution to the wind."

Blair sighs deep and she lets Sterling hold her when she admits, "If I can't have what I had with Miles, then someone out there deserves to feel that. Like you and April, maybe hopefully one day, ya know?"

"Your real soulmate won't know what'll hit 'em."

"You have to say that. You're my sister."

"I am, aren't I?"

Blair starts swatting at Sterling's arm, "Sure am. Now hit send. That girl needs a laugh every now and then."

April responds in the middle of the night, long after Blair's fallen asleep:

Fr: [email protected]
To: [email protected]

Greetings from Nashville. Sgt. Bilko is upset at the lack of cat memes sent. Tell Blair I actually needed the laugh. But, please don't tell me she'll be reading all our correspondence?
-A

Fr: [email protected]
To: [email protected]

Oooh, you didn't say Nashville! Say hi to Taylor Swift for me!
She was just excited on my behalf. Will Sgt. Bilko also see all our emails too? Maybe we can just have them talk to each other and he can take up his complaints with my sister.
-S

*

Sterling doesn't hear from April for several of months. School keeps her busy and Bowser finally lets the girls join on bounty hunting assignments again. Both serving as welcome distractions.

She's sitting in the yogurt shop when her phone goes off. She's surprised when she sees an email notification from none other than April Stevens herself:

Fr: [email protected]
To: [email protected]

Isn't it weird that we're supposed to map out our entire lives when we're seventeen? That's between me and God.
Besides, as Poet Taylor Swift says, "I'm only seventeen; I don't know anything."
-A

The yogurt shop bell rings and Sterling shoves her phone into her back pocket. "Hi, welcome to Yogurtopia, where the road to heaven is paved with Sprinkles!"

"That doesn't sound like it's from the Bible, but I'm also not the best with citing references." It's Luke, laughing and smiling up at her as he bounds up the counter.

"Hi Luke, fancy seeing you here." Sterling smiles back at him, "Can I get you anything?"

"Well, hard to turn down a slogan like that." He lowers his voice, "The sprinkles are optional, right?"

Sterling laughs, "Yes, Luke. You can pick your own toppings."

"Oh, great! Had me worried there for a second."

He rattles off his order and waits for Sterling to construct peanut butter flavored frozen yogurt with bananas, chocolate chips, yogurt chips on top.

"There you go." Sterling hands him his order and then adds, "And don't worry, that one's on the house. Think of it as an apology for being a bad friend the past few months."

"At least take a tip." He grins, dropping a couple of dollar bills and various coins in the tip jar. "And you could never be a bad friend, Sterling."

"Do you think you can stick around for a bit?" Sterling asks him, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"For you? Of course!" He pauses, "Can I still eat my yogurt?"

Sterling finds herself chuckling, being reminded of why she liked him so much. She nods, "Yes, Luke."

"Sweet!"

"I'll meet you outside in a sec, yeah?" When he walks out, she calls out for her sister, "Hey, Blair!"

"Sup, sis?" Blair says, a yogurt spoon hanging out of her mouth as she carries a new concoction. Her face is full of extreme concentration as she tastes her new experiment.

"Can you cover register?"

Blair nods, "Yeah, but you owe me."

"Always, I'll be back in like 10."

Taking a scoop of her yogurt, she calls out to Sterling's who's almost out the door, "Oh, and tell Luke he's right to be afraid of the heavenly sprinkles, but he should totally try the mochi bits next time!"

Sterling finds Luke sitting on a cinder block, enjoying the weather and his yogurt.

"Hey Luke, thanks for waiting."

He scoots over so they can share the cinder block.

"Yeah, no worries." Luke says enthusiastically, "and thanks for the yogurt. It's delicious."

"Heavenly, right?" Sterling jokes, "Blair says you should try the mochi bits next time."

"Will do. Blair's always got my back on these things." He nods, keeping his spoon in his mouth. Then he sticks it back in his cup. "So, uh, what did you want to talk about, Sterl?"

"Well, you know how when we broke up, I talked about finding things about myself that I liked that I didn't know before?"

"Yeah, did you find other desserts you like?" His eyebrows furrow when he asks, "Is mochi one of them?"

"Well, yes." Sterling says, not really wanting to knock mochi. She does enjoy it immensely. "But, um, there are other things too."

"Oh, I'm so happy to hear that, Sterl." He says with a smile on his face that can only mean that he's being completely sincere. "My music buddies have taught me how to palm-mute my chords and it's really opened up opportunities for my playing. So, you must feel like the world's opened up for you."

Sterling lets out a nervous breath, "Uh, yeah, I mean. That's a way to put it."

"Well, how would you put it?" He takes a bite of his yogurt, and Sterling finds an opening.

"Well, you know how you only picked only one yogurt flavor?"

He nods slowly, "Yeah...was I supposed to pick more than one?"

Sterling shakes her head, "No, that's a personal preference. There's not a wrong way to eat yogurt, Luke."

"Oh, good." And he lowers his voice and leans in to admit, "I've never been here so I just spitballed. But I landed on a goldmine here."

"That's good, Luke." Sterling takes a deep breath, "What I'm trying to say that while some people like one flavor of yogurt. Others might like two. Or many, like on a spectrum. Or, like, none at all."

The confusion on Luke's face is evident in the way he doesn't focus on his yogurt. "So, where do you fit in the yogurt flavor preference?"

"I'm sorry, this was a bad, confusing metaphor." Sterling says, a little frustrated.

"Hey, it's okay. You know you can tell me anything." He smiles easy and reassuring, "We didn't date for 6 years for nothing, right?"

Sterling smiles back at him and takes a deep breath. "I'm bisexual."

She swears he almost drops his yogurt cup. His eyebrows raise and he blinks a few times like she can see all his brain power going into handling it delicately. He blows out air through his lips and lets his shoulders sag, "Oh, I didn't expect that at all."

Sterling shrugs. She doesn't meet his searching gaze as the tiny fear that she made a mistake comes bubbling up, "I figured who best to come out to than you, right?"

He sets his empty cup off to the side and opens his arms wide, "Yeah, I'm so happy you learned something about yourself and I appreciate you telling me. Thank you."

Sterling feels her heart swell as she leans to hug him. He's always been this supportive, and she's happy that a couple months didn't change that. Especially taking into consideration that she broke up with him.

She gives him the short version, the one without subduing a man in a throuple or April, April's father, or the lock-in. But she leaves in the other important parts, like how she finds passion in moments that are small, or challenging, or make her feel like her maxilla is set alight.

"So, do I get to meet the new girlfriend," He pauses when her face falls and decidedly pulls back, "or boyfriend?"

"Oh, I'm not dating anyone." Sterling admits, giving a quick apologetic smile, "I just wanted you to know because I trust you."

She swears that he tears up at the admission, like that's all he really wanted with her. And they promise to hang out again in the future, when things aren't so busy. She looks forward to having a friend back.

True to his word, he keeps her secret.

Fr: [email protected]
To: [email protected]

How is there this much stress with college applications? I hardly know what I want for dinner. My whole life seems a little overkill. May the odds be ever in your favor.
Have you met her yet? Have you told her that Bad Blood was indeed a cultural reset? She should know.
" I don't know anything, but I know I miss you."
-S

*

Tensions rise at home when Sterling announces at dinner one night that she hasn't even considered UGA as her choice school or even a backup.

Debbie drops her fork and is overcome with grief, probably grappling in real time that the life she planned out for the children she raised keep going a different way.

Blair rolls her eyes at the dramatics, "Mom, it's not a big deal. There's plenty of good schools out there aside from UGA."

"Go Dogs," Blair and Sterling unenthusiastically chant together.

Anderson chews thoughtfully on his chicken and then nods, settling on a nice neutral ground, "Honey, I'm sorry to hear UGA isn't your top choice, but it's nice to see you keep your options open. Blair's right. There's plenty of good schools out there."

Debbie just smiles a little too wide for Sterling to take it as sincere.

Sterling smiles sadly as she moves mashed potatoes around on her plate, "Thanks, Dad."

After helping clean up after dinner and avoiding eye contact with Debbie, she follows Blair upstairs who sits on the floor at the foot of Sterling's bed.

Sterling plops onto her bed, so her head's next to Blair's. "I had half a mind to come out to them."

"Mom would've blown a gasket," Blair cackles, throwing her head back. The she stops and sits up again. "But, you know, your confidence? I love that for you. Rejecting UGA in front of the parental units like that. Iconic. You're gonna rock the coming out thing when you're ready."

"Thanks, Blair. I only learned from the best." She shakes her head at her sister, "I'll pretend you don't actually enjoy annoying them."

"Oh come on, I only do it on your behalf!" Blair cries out in protest. "They don't take me seriously enough if it's just my own views."

"Is this your way of saying you have my back if they disown me after I come out?"

"One, they wouldn't. You're the golden child. Two, you bet your half-up-half-down wearing butt that I would fight them before they even try."

Sterling sighs, rolling over on her back and staring up at her ceiling. She decides not to say anything, knowing where her mind is wandering when it comes to Debbie and Anderson. Thankfully, her and Blair consistently find themselves on the same wavelength despite everything.

"Besides, wouldn't it be messed up that they brought you into their home, lied to you your entire life, but then that one time you need them to accept you the most, they don't?" Blair asks sadly. "I'd fight them to hell and back."

Sterling laughs, tears spilling out at her sister's unwavering loyalty. "Have I ever mentioned how much I love the energy you bring into my life?"

"I know, right?" Blair smiles, practically preening at the compliment, "What would you do without me?"

Sterling ponders it for a second, "Probably not wear my hair half up and half down?" Then she groans, "as if being the fake daughter who doesn't want to go to UGA isn't hard enough. Let's add the bi factor."

"Oooh, bi factor. That should be a reality tv show." Blair muses aloud, "Would it be fair if only the bis could win? Oh! Maybe we could ask Bowser. He's like old and wise, isn't he?"

When Blair notices Sterling hasn't said anything, she pokes the side of her face, "I'm serious though. You're my sister and I'd fight anyone, even our so-called parents, for you."

Sterling smiles because she wouldn't doubt her sister for a second, "Me too, Blair."