Work Text:
“This is so dumb. Why do we have to learn each of the elements anyway?”
“I know – who cares which square is which and how to identify barium or gold or whatever.”
“Honestly, the only time I need to identify gold is when it’s a shiny piece about to drape across my neck.”
“Will you two quit your meandering?! Some of us are trying to pay attention here!”
“Pay attention to what? You’re not even looking at the papers.”
Paris whipped her head around from where she’s standing, directing her glare down the aisle to the table of papers and pencils, and to Madeline, who only raised her hands up with a defensive ‘well it’s true!’ Louise, who’d been unfurling their large yellow poster board, scoffed.
“She’s just keeping an eagle eye out for Gilmore – see if she can scare her from even coming up to the table.”
“Fun for Paris, yet another group project stuck with Little Miss Hometown.”
“It’s only because Mr. Henderson refused to let us do a group of three..” Paris grumbled, having returned to lazering her gaze out to the library. She stood at the opening of the many aisles of books that lead to their table, eyes peeled to the stairwell leading up to their chosen spot on the fifth floor. She also, was wondering what kind of curse she brought upon herself so that whenever she was forced to do group work, somehow Gilmore came attached with it.
But they couldn’t get out of it now – the three girls situated up inside Hartford’s library, waiting on their third member with binders and supplies scattered over their station. They’d all agreed to meet here for their science project this time; it was a better meeting point, rather then one of them having to host at their homes or Paris driving far out to Gilmore’s backwoods town again.
Rory agreed to meet them here at 1. Paris flicked her eyes to her watch for the umpteenth time. It was 1:02. She squinted at the top of the stairwell that refused to show anyone coming up, foot tapping as she tried to qualm her twisting stomach that would undoubtedly spike when she finally spots Rory.
“Why do you even care so much about Gilmore?” Louise asked.
“I don’t!”
“Yeah, tell that to your stiff neck tomorrow.” Madeline snorted. Paris spared another glare back at them – the aisle that opened up their table wasn’t long enough for them not to spot the annoyance on her face.
“I’m looking our for our interests! Do either of you want a falty mark because Gilmore couldn’t be asked to show up?!” That only got muted silence and some eye rolls “Exactly. So shut your traps.”
“Well can we at least start writing out the title and stuff?” Madeline asked “I was thinking bubble letters.”
“Fine. Whatever.” Paris muttered.
“God, this is going to take forever.” Louise sighed as Madeline began picking through the pens, staring down at the papers “And I haven’t even gotten started on the packet either.”
“Shocker.”
“Ha ha.” Louise glared, though it was to the back of Paris’s head “Well then, if you’re all finished up with your work like you usually are Par, you won’t mind if I take a sneak peak at your notes..–”
Paris, who’d been using perhaps too much of her energy watching for her supposed enemy, felt her whole body spike just a little too late of realizing what was happening. She spun around to find Louise aiming for the sheet of elemental compounds laying in her binder she so stupidly left open – the one with a long, gooey confessional letter she’d wrote on the back in a fit.
“Wait – no!! Don’t!!”
“What?? You’ve never had a problem with me using your notes before..” She scanned the science answers, but then her brow drew together when she saw words seeping through the back in the light “Wait, there’s something on the back..”
Paris was already rushing over with all alarms blaring “Don’t – give it back!!”
“...Oh my god.” Louise’s eyes had all but popped out of her head as she read over the paper “Oh my god!!! Madeline!”
“What??”
“Louise –”
“You have to read this!!!”
Paris had already practically jumped onto Louise, grasping onto her frilly pink jacket with one arm flailing wildly to snatch the paper – but unfortunately for Paris, there was two of them and only one of her. Madeline had already leapt up and grasped the paper Louise held out, rushing away as Paris dropped her first friend like she’d caught fire and scrambled for the second.
“Madeline give it back right now –”
“What’re you trying to hide Paris?!” Madeline was grinning, holding out the letter just out of Paris’s reach as she ducked and dodged the swipes, no idea what was on here but enjoying the teasing nonetheless. Louise, meanwhile, was jumping up on her toes she was so excited.
“Read it!! You won’t believe it!!”
“Madeline if you don’t give that back right now –”
“Is this, like, a hidden failed test or something?!” Madeline teased, managing to push Paris away long enough to catch a couple of the confessional words and for her entire face to light up in gobsmacked delight “..Oh my god!! Oh my god!”
“I know!!”
“Both of you –”
“Holy shit! You like –”
“You like Rory!! Like, like her!”
“SHUT UP –”
“You like Gilmore!!”
The two continued to freak out while, on her own, Paris was broiling and about seven seconds away from having a panic attack. She kept screaming for the masses to “shut it!!!” but they couldn’t be silenced or even pushed over as Paris continued to attack them while they worked together to keep the note over her head, passing it back and forth.
“I can’t believe it!” Louise beamed, non-pulsed as Paris yanked on her arm, practically foaming, to get the paper she held over her “Like, I cannot believe it.”
“This is insane, I knew it though! I mean, like I didn’t really know it, but I knew there had to be a reason why you were so obsessed with her and you wouldn’t stop – ow! Geez!!..”
It took violence for Paris to finally reach victory – or, just elbowing Madeline in the stomach, making her double over to finally snatch the paper.
“God..” it wasn’t done hard enough to cause any damage but Madeline still remained slightly bent over, arm wrapped around her stomach while side-eyeing the blonde “Choose violence much??”
“I hope it hurt!!”
“I mean, I guess we should’ve expected it would end like this, as this is Paris..” Louise concluded.
“Yeah but, even Paris, turns out, is full of surprises..” Madeline grinned.
The excited chatter started up all over again – but for Paris, she had no idea what to do. For once in her life, she felt defeated and without a battle plan. Overwhelmed and embarrassed, she groaned and collapsed into one of the table chairs, hands over her red face. Great. This was just great. Her plan to simply live and die with her feelings for Rory had now been fully blown out of the water – and that embarrassment would be enough, except now there was the fun bonus of her friends abandoning her and her secret probably smeared around school as the latest hot gossip. Did you hear Paris Geller is a dyke?
Paris hears, faintly, the chatter die down, and could almost feel the questioning eyebrow rising at her.
“..What’s the matter with you?” Louise asked without even a hint of sarcasm
“Take a wild guess!!” Paris spat between her fingers; she didn’t even want to look them in the eyes yet.
“You look upset.” Madeline deducted.
“No shit Sherlock.”
“..Paris, we didn’t mean to make you upset.” Louise spoke honestly “This is exciting! You like, never have crushes on anyone – especially like, super gooey ones..”
“Yeah, who knew you could have those feelings?”
“Ha ha, well get your laughs in now!” Paris snapped her pointed teeth up at them, tossing her anxiety under the rug of anger to cover it “I’m sure it’ll be twice as fun laughing at me with others after I’m collectively dumped – but just so you know, before you go that route I also have just as much dirt on the both of you, so I’d be careful in what you say!!”
“What’re you talking about??”
“Yeah – why would we dump you for having a crush?..”
“And why could we tell people? Who cares? It’s not like a lot of people even gave a damn when it got out that you liked Tristan.”
“You two can’t be this dumb..” Paris shifted her gaze uneasily between them “Gilmore’s a girl, in case anyone forgot..”
A beat.
“So?” Louise prompted.
Paris could only blink back, completely undermined by that reaction. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Another tick of silence passed, the two girls staring innocently down at their friend.
“..What’dya mean ‘so’?!” Paris squinted
“Who cares?” Madeline posed with the same nonchalance as Louise.
“Wait..” Paris straightened up, her angered worry now churning into muddled confusion “You two don’t care if I like a girl?..”
“You’re so closed off Paris.” Louise rolled her eyes, Madeline with her hands on her hips “It so doesn’t matter; besides, lesbianism is like, in now.”
“Yeah. It’s the twenty-first century you know.”
Huh. For once in the few times in her life, Paris was truly stumped. She simply sat back in her chair, trying to let this information wash over her – that she just avoided probably the worst social abandonment and slandering in her life because she completely misread her friends’ understanding.
This can’t be right. Is she sure it wasn’t some trick..?
“..You two can’t be serious.” She finally said.
“Oh yeah?” Madeline perked up with a grin Paris didn’t particularly trust “Serious enough to already be thinking about slipping your paper into Gilmore’s notes when she gets here?”
Louise jumped up, grasping her friends arm “Oh my gosh, that’s a great idea!”
“No! No!” Paris was immediately back on her feet, a glare and pointed finger directed right at them “This is not happening! Gilmore is never going to know about this, and if either of you even elude to it you’ll be eating the carpet underneath us that by the looks of it is holding several layers of dirt.”
“Oh c’mon Paris! You gotta take a chance on love!”
“Madeline this isn’t your chance to live out one of those horrid Hallmark romance movies you love –”
“But why not?? It’s actually kinda cute, what you said about her in the letter – you even quote stuff, like..what, Bronte, or something?..”
“Austen, genius.” Paris hissed, secretly surprised Madeline was even able to pick the line out – the ‘you pierce my soul – I am half agony, half hope.’ which Paris ties in with the letter, saying she thinks she finally understands the confession a bit more now.
“Whatever – same thing, isn’t it?”
“It’s not the same thing –”
“Madeline’s right Paris, what could it hurt to at least try with Rory?”
“What could it hurt?! Now you two have to be joking!! You know there’s a reason why you don’t see pairs of two guys or girls holding hands at school right?!”
“C’mon, Rory seems like...liberal or whatever..” Louise guessed, nose scrunching up as she tried to find the right word whilst Paris dragged her hands down her face “She could be into it – we never guessed about you! Though, totally makes sense now.”
“Oh yeah Louise, I’m sure Rory with the smalltown boyfriend who, under both your words, has perfect hair and a cute body would totally be down to dating a girl.”
“Yeah but they broke up! Maybe it was for a reason!” Madeline brought up “Maybe this is your chance!”
“Exactly! So c’mon Par, give us that letter –”
“Get your hands off me you lunatic! –”
“Madeline grab her other side –”
“Madeline don’t –”
“Just let us help you Paris!”
“This isn’t help this is coercion –”
“Um, is this a bad time?..”
As if on command, all three bodies spun around. Rory stood there, big white sweater and binder innocently clutched to her chest. She was giving them a rather arched eyebrow. Paris immediately felt herself flush, body clicking into a straight position as she hurriedly detangled herself from her friends.
“Nothing.” She snapped, forcefully stuffing the letter in her pocket even as it crinkled “You’re late.”
“I know, there was just construction along the library block and we even left early –”
“I’m not interested in your excuses!” Paris dismissed because the longer they stood here as Rory talked the longer Paris was going to find herself staring at those frustratingly blue eyes and that wasn’t helping anybody, pointing a finger to their table of papers “I’m interested in getting this project done and ready for an A, so why don’t you sit and make up for lost time.”
“But Paris,” Madeline perched herself on Paris’s shoulder, the widest, knowing grin on her lips “shouldn’t we, you know, do a bit of catch up before getting to work and maybe discuss –”
“No! No!” Paris roared but quickly drew in her volume, shaking her off to seethe back “We’ve wasted enough time as it is – we’re talking about our work and that’s it, I don’t want to hear anything else!”
“Everyone make sure not to breathe too loud.” Louise rolled her eyes. Paris glared, not missing the smile Rory bit down either.
The group settled down at the table and started to orchestrate the task at hand. They knew their topic, so now it was about formulating – Paris, grabbing the helm, ordered them to start researching, grabbing informational pieces they can start writing down and cut out for their board.
Paris didn’t have any trouble saddling up with her textbooks, and neither did Rory it looked like, dissecting pages for highlight passages. But, shock of all shocks, it only took ten minutes for her friends to steer off topic and abandon their work for menial discussion – which this time, was about Louise’s latest crush of the week.
“I mean, I dunno..” She sighed in dramatic lament to Madeline “He’s in my math class right, and I like, tried to talk to him into helping me with the assignment and playing it up that I totally didn’t understand it – but then Ms. Wheeler told us off and said we had to work on our own!”
“Boo.” Madeline frowned.
“I know! I just gotta get his attention. I was thinking, like, I might be able to finally talk to my mom into lip injections, you know, if she can get my dad to pay for it, and that’ll maybe get his –”
“Dear god!” Paris burst, striking a glare up from her books “I ask you two for so little – can we, for once, stay on a school topic without you both loosing focus in under a minutes threshold?! Gilmore and I have no choice but to unfortunately hear this blabbering, and if this project is going to get done, then we’ll be needing our brains to not melt out our ears!”
“C’mon Paris,” Louise only rolled her eyes to the biting words “we can at least talk while we highlight, you don’t need immense brain power for that..”
“I may not..” Paris muttered, just catching the smile Rory hid among her work.
“It gives us a chance to catch up! Like, Mads and me have been going on about our love lives, but we’re hogging the limelight – like..what about you Rory?”
Paris felt her body seize up, already catching on. Rory innocently rose her head at her name, furrowing back.
“What abut me?..”
“You still on that singles train?” Louise asked.
“Um, I guess so..”
“Bummer.” Louise drawled, gaze flicking back to a not-so-subtly-smiling Madeline and where you could essentially see the mutual eye spark. Paris’s alarm bells started ringing.
“Truly.” Madeline agreed “But, hey, they say that the best way to get over somebody is by tryin’ it out with someone new!”
“Well, uh, thanks guys, but I don’t really think our tastes line up –”
“Oh c’mon,” Louise waved Rory’s concerns away “I actually think we have someone perfect for you, right Mads?”
“Alright, Louise, by now that’s been enough gabbing –”
“Right!” Madeline plowed right over Paris’s strained warning “This person is just right; really smart, totally shares the same book-ish interests, cute –well, when they wanna be..–”
“Madeline!” Paris snapped, trying to ignore the way her voice pitched, and how it got Rory’s eyes to flick up at her “Look, you haven’t highlighted a single line through this supposed catch-up – Gilmore says she’s not interested, so would it kill either of you to listen and shut up?!”
“She didn’t specifically say she wasn’t interested..” Louise fought back, narrowing her eyes back. Much like a bull presented with a red flag, Paris felt herself flare up, fists tightening as she tried to keep her blow-up down so Rory wouldn’t catch on.
“Well, I –”
“She shouldn’t have to Louise – can’t you read tone?!”
“Guys –”
“Look at you Paris,” Madeline was smiling a kind of particular smile Paris didn’t care for “coming to Gilmore’s aid now – had a change of heart?”
“Madeline –”
“Do you guys want a minute?..”
“You stay!!” Paris shoved a pointed finger at Rory who immediately fell back in her chair and directed herself back at her work, after snarling back at her friends “And everyone – everyone just shut up!! We’re here for work, and I’m not going to let my grade slip because of any meandering, so either knock it off and do your part or you can walk yourselves home!!”
“..Fine.” Louise said, suddenly standing up from her chair “I have to go to the washroom, fix my hair – Mads, you coming?”
“I could use a touch-up.” Madeline agreed, following after Louise as they departed from the table. Paris fell back in her chair, groaning into her hands that covered her hot cheeks; she felt like she’d been through the ringer. She was going to be exhausted by the end of the day if those two kept trying to divulge the one secret she desperately couldn’t have revealed.
“What’s the matter with them?” Rory asked, eyeing them as they walked further across the library.
“When I figure it out I’ll let you know..” Paris grumbled, flipping to a new text book page “Now are you going to partake in any work either Gilmore?”
Rory, blessedly, could be trusted to carry her weight, and they both got back on track, working in silence. A few minutes later though, after finally gathering enough textbook facts to start putting on their board, there was another interruption from further in the library, floating out from a nearby aisle.
“Paris!..Hey Par!..”
“Madeline, if you want to talk to me you can walk the twenty feet over to me!”
“I need your guys’ help, I lost Louise!”
“What do you mean you lost Louise?!” Paris now lifted her head up, trying to spot her friend hiding down in the books “I’ve never even seen you two separate!”
“I thought they couldn’t separate because once they do they start to decrepitly age..” Rory added.
“The bathroom is single stall so she was suppose to wait for me outside, but she walked off and I can’t find her!”
“Tough break then! Maybe this way we’ll actually get work done.”
“C’mon you have to help!”
“I don’t have to do anything Madeline! Louise is grown, she’s more then capable of finding her way back on her own, and if she left and got hit by a car instead, then I’ll say something nice at her funeral!”
“Please?! We promise to help double down on the project if you guys come!”
“Why do I have a feeling that’s an empty incentive?!”
“C’mon Paris,” Rory leaned in slightly “it’ll probably take just as long to have this argument then it would be to help.”
“Then you go play Hide n’ Seek with them Gilmore.”
“No!” came Madeline’s rushed voice “You both have to help!”
“Why?!”
“We’re coming!” Rory answered, already rising from her chair. Paris spat underneath her breath.
“Fine! But you stay.” Paris gave in by getting up, hoping to take care of this quickly “No sense in losing our whole party..”
“I can come.” Rory started following.
“I’m sorry, but has everyone just put my voice and asks on mute?!”
“Nah – I’ve tried that before, doesn’t work.” Rory quipped, walking them down and peeking her head into the lines of shelves “Madeline??..”
“Uh, down here!” the voice had somehow, the second Paris and Rory had gotten up, moved even farther away, trailing now from the back wall at the far end “I need your help down here!”
“And here I thought we were looking for Louise..”
“You moved!” Paris accused, hurriedly stepping by Rory to at least pick up the pace “By the time we finally do reach you Madeline, it’s not just Louise who’s going to have gone missing!”
The two did reach the end, the final bookcases flanking either side and a blank wall in front of them – except, for the sole open doorway at the end of it, making the closet the only open get-away. Paris rushed forward with Rory behind, ready to catch her friends red-handed as she jumped in.
“Madeline!–”
Paris rather, found empty space starring back at her. It was only a tiny closet, filled with rickety shelves decorated with supplies such as industrial cleaning bottles and numerous paper towel rolls. Paris nearly imploded.
“She – what the hell is going on here?!”
Rory fell in beside, eyes scanning the shelves “Well..maybe we try the floor down? It’s got those stained-glass windows; those two seem like they’d be distracted by shiny things.”
“This is absurd!! I didn’t come here to traipse around like an idiot at the whim’s of those two!” Paris, looking for an out to place her fuming anger on, spins around to the brunette “And it’s your fault!”
“My fault??” Rory furrowed “How?”
“I don’t know yet but it is!”
“Wow. That has to be your best, driving Paris Geller argument to date.” Rory folded her arms in return to the verbal fire, annoyance starting to cross “Honestly, if I had to place any blame for this, I think it falls on you.”
“You’re saying I wanted this?!”
“I’m saying that you were so adamant in shutting down Louise that she got fed up, walked off with Madeline, and now we’re here in a closet the size of a portable bathroom trying to look for your scorned friends!”
“Oh – that’s rich Gilmore! What else should I have done, huh!? Let them blab on as our project grows dust, taking our grade down with them?! You want the added fun of a repeated grade?!”
“No, but if you’d just have let up a little on them Paris, maybe they could’ve just done the work and talk! I mean, you seemed even more harsh on them to shut down the conversation then usual, even by your standards – you’ve let them yammer before, what’s so wrong now?”
“Nothing!” Paris snapped too quickly “It-it’s nothing – just, by this point Gilmore, if you’ve heard enough yammering as I’ve had, you would’ve gotten fed up with it too!”
“Yes, and now look where that’s gotten us!”
“I can’t be blamed for every frivolous and stupid thing those two decide to do! Why don’t you stop wasting time by placing blame and either help me find and then strangle them, or go back and –”
A sudden loud thud burst from behind them, snuffing out the argument and most of the light out of the room. Both girls spun around to the noise – and found the door slammed shut. A mutually confused second of silence, and then,
“That’s...not good.” Rory muttered, raising another eyebrow. Another second after, they could hear muted but delighted girlish giggling from over on the other side.
Paris felt her whole stomach drop.
“Oh no..” She dashed to the door, practically jumping onto it, grasping the doorhandle that refused to turn and slamming down her other hand “Hey! You two! What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Let us out!”
More giggling, and then Louise’s voice came through “Now, Paris, don’t be mad –”
“We’re past that already!!”
“But since you refused to come clean, we thought maybe some solo time with Gilmore could get you two to talk!”
“I swear to god –”
“Talk about what?” Rory inquired, stepping in beside Paris “Is this their version of conflict resolution or something?”
“Unfortunately not.” Paris growled, now slamming both fists on the door “I swear on my life Louise, if you don’t let us out I’m going to call your mother and tell her exactly what you did with Landon Miller and why she should simply burn the sheets on her bed!”
“Paris, those threats are kinda empty when you went and left your phone on the table.”
Paris’s eyes went wide. She put a hand over her pants pocket and found it was, indeed, empty.
“Dammit..I’ll use Gilmore’s phone then!..”
“I also left mine in my bag..” Rory admitted.
“Dammit Gilmore!”
“Sorry, but I wasn’t really planning on your friends trying to shanghai us!”
“Looks like you two are tied up in there..” Madeline chimed in “So, Paris, isn’t there something you’d like to share with Rory?”
“No!” Paris had started to grow red – which was blessedly hard for Rory to see in this low light – as her anger along with her embarrassment began rising “And if you two don’t let us out, you won’t even be able to imagine the world of hurt coming to you –”
“C’mon Paris!..” Madeline whined, showing zero concern for the threats over her head “Just say it! Get it off your chest!”
“Say what?” Rory prompted, getting curious.
“Nothing! Your stupid little plan isn’t going to work so I’d open the door before I seriously start considering putting my hands on your neck –”
“Paris it’s not that hard! Just tell Rory and then the both of you can come out, simple!”
“Louise –”
“Tell me what?”
“Stay out of this!!” Paris snapped her teeth at Rory, who simply tossed up her hands.
“Well, it’s either tell her or you two can spend the rest of our meeting time hanging out in the closet!” Louise explained in a rather nonchalant voice that made Paris’s blood boil “See how much work gets done then..”
“You two cannot be serious!”
“Dead.” came Madeline’s voice
“C’mon Paris,” Rory tried to reason, Paris bringing up her nervous gaze to meet the blues “it can’t be that bad – just tell me so we can get out of here.”
Paris stalled. There was a muted chorus of ‘yeah, just say it!’ and ‘tell her!’ behind the wall, but Paris made no movements. Anxiety swelled as Rory’s eyes stared into hers, curious and unassuming in what this guarded secret could be. For a second, Paris amused the idea that Rory, who’d already put up with so much in their tumultuous times together, might just be understanding about the whole thing. After all, that’s Rory’s gig, isn’t it? Still holding her gaze, Paris slowly parted her lips and straightened her back..
“..No!” She bit down on her nerves, stubbornness and anger overriding as usual “I’m not playing into this game – you two think you can outlast me! Ha! I’d like to see your attention last over something that doesn’t have diamonds or Leonardo Dicaprio’s face on it!”
“Fine then!” Louise’s voice chimed “We’ll give you two some time alone to work it out – in the meantime, me and Mads will get to work beautifying our poster board!”
There was another chorus of giggles, then joined by footsteps, both which gradually grew quieter and further from the closet. Paris continued to bang on the door and yell out threats she had no way of performing in here, but nothing worked. Rory sighed, falling back against the rickety cupboard shelves.
“Some friends you have..”
“They’re not friends.” Paris growled, putting her palms flat against the door to start pushing “After today, they’ll be lucky if don’t land the number one spot on my enemies list..”
“I thought that was my spot.”
“Funny. Care to actually stop standing about and help me push down this door?!”
“You know, call me crazy, but I actually don’t want to be liable for destroying government property. Also, I really doubt we’re enough to knock it down.”
“You don’t know that!” Paris declared. With a tiny jump, she pushed her weight onto the door using all her might – only for the door to not even jostle and for her feet to slip out under her instead, Paris catching herself before she fell. Rory rose an eyebrow.
“Oh well nevermind, I’m clearly wrong – you’re obviously about to strong-man that door..”
“At least I’m doing something!” Paris quickly straightened herself up and dusted off “What about tools then?! Unscrew the hinges!”
“This is a cleaning closet. The deadliest thing in here is bleach.”
“Fine!” Paris was about ready to scream, pivoting back to bang on the door “Hey! Let us out!”
“Paris, they’re not coming back –”
“I know that! I’m not talking about those idiots, they’re other people in the library!”
“What, you mean the three other people here on the fifth floor? If they didn’t hear us earlier, they aren’t going to hear us now.”
“So that’s it then?!” Paris turned with hands on her hips and flames in her eyes – there was no way she was spending the rest of the hour in here with Rory, so close that if she took another step they’d be nose to nose “Your plan is to just stay in here?! Waste away on our own, if the lack of oxygen doesn’t kill us first?!”
“Madeline and Louise may be ridiculous enough to lock us in here, but they’re not dumb or mean enough to just leave us.” Eyesight having finally adjusted, Rory spotted the overhead string and pulled, a single low-light white bulb turning on “Plus I feel fairly sure that when my mom comes to pick me up and I’m not there, she’s going to at least bother to snoop around.”
Paris snorted. Good thing at least one of them had a parent that cared. If they did end up getting locked in here all night, she’s pretty sure the only one who’d take note would be her nanny. But she would at least silently admit that Gilmore was right; they would simply have to outlast, at the very longest, an hour before her so-called ‘friends’ came back.
“..Well this’ll be an interesting session.” She grumbled, sliding down the shelves to sit down on the carpet. Rory sat across, barely enough room for the both of them, splayed out legs bumping against each others and almost hip-to-hip.
“What should we talk about in the meantime?”
“I don’t know!”
There was a scoff “Well you’re an interesting conversationalist, surely there’s something we can discuss.”
Interesting? That could have several meanings, depending. Paris squinted at the other girl.
“..Who says that?”
“Um, me.”
“And why would you say that??”
“Because it’s true Paris.”
“And so why would you think that?!”
“Because..” Rory sighed, head falling back with a thump “Is this really what we’re going to talk about?!”
“You brought it up! I for one am not trying to have any conversation to attempt to enjoy this filler time while we wait in this death chamber!”
“Well you could’ve just said that!”
“Fine!”
Silence fell over. Both girls angrily avoided each other’s eyes, shifting in their spots. Paris decided to stare right at her shoes, as to best ignore Rory and this whole situation. The tiny square of this closet was already filling up with lavender – her shampoo, Paris knows. Taking it in was already making her worry how long she’d last before suffocating, butterflies swooping inside her stomach. They hadn’t ever been this close – the only other moment, was when Paris had to lay over Rory’s fake corpse on Chilton’s stage. Where she was so close she could see the faint freckles that’d faded over Rory’s cheeks and hear the thought pounding in her head whether she was going to kiss her or not. The silence swelled, the only noise being faint breaths going in and out.
“...Did Louise really hook up with Landon Miller in her mom’s bed?”
“Do you really wanna know?” Paris questions. Rory’s face scrunched up.
“Actually, you know what, nevermind.”
Paris snorted “Wise choice. You can see, by how much those two blabber on about boys, I’m sure it won’t take much for them to start up the water-cooler talk all over again with you about the boyfriend and all that anyway..”
“But we broke up, remember?”
“Meh.” Paris merely waved her hand, gaze finally flicking back up with curiosity she couldn’t hide “..He hasn’t come grovelling back then?..”
“No..? I mean, I’m the one to blame anyway..”
“Please. Don’t throw yourself a pity party.” Paris scoffed as Rory’s face morphed into that ‘puppy dog’ sadness she was especially good at “What he can’t forgive, out of his own stupid petty feelings, is his deal.”
“I suppose..”
“..What’s next then?”
“What’d you mean?..”
“C’mon – Tiny Town Star’s Hallow’s most beloved girl-next-door in all her quiet beauty, there’s gotta be another schmuck waiting in line for his shot.”
“..I don’t have quiet beauty.” Rory argued, continuing before Paris could rebuttal “And honestly, that’s..not really where I’m putting my interests at right now, even if there was some ‘schmuck’ waiting..’
“Because of your wounded heart?”
Rory let out an amused scoff at the bluntness Paris soon realized was probably not the best tone for that, but Rory didn’t seem to mind. That was a secret blessing of hers; that even in Paris’s biggest blunders, Rory somehow knew what she meant at the heart of it.
“I guess, and, well..maybe I have my heart set somewhere else..”
Paris raised her brow at that, almost not sure what to say “..I gotta say, I don’t think there’s any better pick of the draw at Chilton either.”
Rory smiled faintly; far away, almost. She’d been fiddling with a loose thread from the seam of her blue jeans, but suddenly her eyes find Paris’s – and Paris finds herself freezing up, the open and wide blues that seemed to be holding something deeper, clutching onto her.
“I dunno – the person I’m thinking of might usurp those judgments..”
Paris chewed on her tongue. Whoever the hell this ideal of a guy was, she must’ve missed the memo of his arrival at school. She was almost tempted to ask who, but what did it matter? She was going to find out eventually, because the second this guy knows of Rory’s feelings he’s going to take one look at her and that’ll be that. Nor does she want to hear Rory gushing either; gushing about him and watching her light up like when she used to talk about Dean, and having to swallow the lump in her throat knowing she was going to have to live with her own feelings for the rest of time.
No. Paris didn’t really want that. So she swallowed through her thick throat, ripping her gaze away.
“Well, colour me surprised you found that at Chilton..”
“You’re kinda one to talk.” Rory challenged, straightening up “You’re the one who’s apparently been harboring this long-time crush for this guy, and then you finally get a date with him that goes, in your words, oh-so-well and now you haven’t even seen him since!”
“I –” Paris snapped, cheeks going up in red “I-I’ve got a plan! Haven’t you ever heard of taking things slow?! You nip at a guy’s feet for too long, you’ll scare him right off!”
“Uh-huh..”
“What?! You don’t believe me?!”
“I don’t believe you because, Paris, you’re more likely to sprout wings first then take things slow.”
“I – I just, you –” Paris dissolved into garbling, not sure how to defend herself while at the same time not divulging the truth. That all those things she’d told Rory about what a great date it was and what a great time they had was all a faux, said only to keep the brunette from asking more. In reality, all going out with and kissing Tristan had done was made Paris realize who she actually had feelings for – and it wasn’t him.
But right now, Paris realized, her main priority was not to let that information leak out. And if it took taking the L and getting her pride chipped, then so be it. Paris huffed, crossed arms tightening around herself.
“..Fine, it wasn’t so great! I admit it! I didn’t like it! Is that what you wanted me to say?!”
Paris felt her face growing even redder, all over mad – at having to jump around trying to hide this secret, at having to admit a different piece of shame to Rory instead. If she was saying this to her friends, or to any other teenage girl probably, she’d have expected to get a questionable brow raise and ‘what do you mean it wasn’t good? didn’t he kiss you??’ – but this was Rory of course. The kind of girl who, after Paris very specifically stuck up a fighting match by gossiping about Lorelai and Mr. Medina, somehow came to her with understanding and even an offering for help, completely throwing Paris off her battle path.
So, of course, Rory wasn’t giving her any kind of look pointed judgment. She just continued to sit quietly, watching Paris.
“..Is that what you didn’t want to tell me?”
Paris pauses. She was tentative to say anything about it, but, suddenly, she was presented with an out. She’d be a fool not to take it, and risk the truth somehow being revealed to Rory (most likely by the mouths of her annoying friends).
“..Yeah.” She shuffled, pointedly looking away “Didn’t want to admit it to you I guess..”
Rory didn’t say anything. She squinted back at Paris – scrutinizing, zeroing in. Paris’s nerves shot up again.
“..What??”
“You’re lying.” Rory concluded. Paris now threw up her hands, eyes rolling back.
“God, do you have me strapped to a lie-detecter or something?! What makes you so confident?”
“You aren’t the best liar, namely.”
“Who says?!” Paris bolts up, insulted even if that may be more right then wrong.
“Someone with your petulance for honesty wouldn’t make a good liar.” Rory shrugged simply, offering a light smile “You’re not afraid to speak the truth, unlike someone like me who is..”
Paris scoffed, falling back “Does that make you a very good liar then?”
“You’d think it would.” Rory quipped. Paris huffed out a laugh.
“I’d say. Because you appear to be just as incapable of stringing a fake line, by how many times I’ve accused you of doing such a thing and it turned out you never had.”
“Meaning you were wrong?..”
“Meaning I was mistaken.”
Rory grinned. Paris felt the corners of her lips pulling up too, head ducking down to hide it. An easy silence passed, giving them a couple seconds. Rory eventually lost her smile, eyes wandering around uneasily until bravely landing on Paris again.
“Then..what was it you couldn’t tell me?”
All ease slid off Paris, bristling. She paused, a moment held in time. What could she even say? She should simply push it away and snap that she wasn’t going to tell Rory, who’ll have to deal with that being that. Rather, she felt her almost smile disappear as she turned her glare away and murmured,
“..You wouldn’t want to know.”
To Paris’s surprise, Rory bristled at that, straightening up with indigence and brow burrowed “Who says?”
“Because it’s bad, is that enough for you?”
“No.” Rory hit back – a rare out-right push, hardened eyes narrowed at her. Paris glared right back at that.
“Trust me Gilmore, I’m doing this at your betterment! So just lay it to rest, I’m tired of people clawing over me for it!”
That seemed to work – Rory deflated, back hitting the creaking wood shelves, causing the neon coloured cleaning bottles to rattle. Paris was content to try another subject or return to the safety of silence, but Rory still looked miffed. A sour quiet stormed over her, gaze zeroed in on the big bottle of bleach across on the shelves then at Paris. Paris squinted; she could already sense her thoughts brewing. After what felt like a stretch of an eon, the soft words broke the tepid bubble,
“I just...I know I’m not your top go-to to dispel worries and secrets..” Rory shifted, almost nervously, back to picking at that loose thread rather then look at her, and Paris felt herself stiffen as well – Rory was never nervous around her, their moments were always striking and with fight, and to see Rory almost cower like everyone else does around her was extremely off-putting “And that you’d rather peel off your skin with an old rusty fork then admit secrets or worries to me..”
“Preferably.”
“Mm.” Rory hummed dryly, near amused enough to lighten the heavy air, but not quite “But..I’m still holding out that promise, that if you ever need someone to talk to, I’d always be here, and..”
Paris was holding her breath. She hadn’t realized till the moment the sentence trailed off, but there she was, trying to quietly exhale it out as she held on for the last of Rory’s words – only for it to hitch again when Rory’s eyes came crashing up into hers, unassuming and without the angry clouds of earlier. Just open to her.
“..And I’d hate to think that, there’d ever be anything you felt like you couldn’t tell me...”
All the trepidation and heaviness and openness in Rory’s voice and the ocean blue staring into her – and Paris didn’t know what to do. She mulled and chewed her tongue but couldn’t think of any words to give back. The little room had become too tight for any sharp words, and too much for her to simply wave Rory off.
For one of the first times in her moments of nervousness, Paris knew without a doubt, that Rory was telling her the truth. And it was enough, enough kindness outstretched, for the very horrid secret she’d wanted to keep buried to creep up to the edge of her tongue. For her to stare back just as openly to Rory, and to go over the blue that always hits her right down to her soles and the baby pink lips barely more then a foot away from hers. The softness that curves the line of her jaw and of the pale cheeks she’d nearly cupped on stage.
And above all, the brilliance of a mind that could battle with the best of her – and find a way to a familiarity Paris had never found in another.
It starts tugging the words up Paris’s throat as warmth spreads through her stomach and she breaths in the gentle lavender, and suddenly for the briefest of moments Paris’s walls slide down completely and she parts her lips for the words waiting to fall out –
“We’re baaack!”
Louise. Both girls froze up and the moment disappeared into thin air, heads spinning to the door. Paris felt herself suddenly snapping back in, back to reality, and to recognizing what she was seconds away from revealing and risking. Not wanting to allow herself that again, she quickly scrambled onto her knees and up to her feet. Rory immediately followed, jumping up beside her.
“Alright ladies!” came Madeline’s voice “We’ve given you loads of time to think about stuff and talk it out, so we hope you’re ready!”
“Yes, what a due we owe you both.” Paris rolled her eyes.
“No lip from you Par – the only thing we want to hear, is whether you told Rory what you had to tell her..”
A hanging silence followed, waiting for Paris to fill it with answers. Paris kept herself shut though, stuck in her spot. She tried to come up with something else, anything to bypass it, but she knew inevitably that her horrible, no-good friends wouldn’t let them out till she admitted it. A cynical part nearly wanted to say “I was just about to, if you two dummies hadn’t come crashing into our moment.” Panic began rising with no way out.
Suddenly she feels Rory lean into her; breaking the limited space between them by taking the tiny step forward, her sweater-clad shoulder bumping into hers, and with a voice so low only Paris was barely able to hear it.
“C’mon Paris, just tell them yes. Then we can finally get out of here..”
Paris paused. Swallowed roughly. Unfortunately, that looked to be the only way out, the only way her friends would open the door. A heavy risk, but if it paid off they’d be in the clear.
She took a breath. Turned to face the door.
“..Uh, yeah – I did..”
There was some squealing only muffled lightly by the door, followed up with excited whispers. Paris saw Rory’s brow furrowing from the corner of her vision. Her throat was close to overflowing with panic now; she had to get out of here.
“Okay, we played your stupid game, now let us out –”
“No! Wait, wait wait..” Louise broke in excitedly “Before we open it – Rory, what’d you say back???”
Shit. Paris’s stomach dropped out, head whipping over to Rory. The brunette looked just as thrown, lost without any context to draw from. Seconds ticked by so Paris had no choice but to lean in, hissing,
“Just say yes..”
Rory nervously flicked her eyes to Paris’s for only a breath – but took the leap of trust, turning back to the door.
“..Um, y-yeah, me too...”
Another eruption of squeeing, this time a little louder. Without warning, the door violently flew back – both girls inside jumped back a little, blinking back as the damp darkness inside the closet evaporated at the shining light both from outside and off of Madeline and Louise’s beaming faces.
“Oh my gosh you guys, this is major!” Madeline said, buzzing on the tips of her toes “We knew you could do it Paris!”
“Yeah, sorry we had to go the tough way about it.” Louise grinned, not looking particularly sorry “But you did it! And now, oh wow, we get to talk about –”
“No! No!” Paris broke in, before the bubble of ignorance could burst over Rory and leave her covered in the mess “We’re done with this! Done!! We played along with you two idiots and I’m done doing it – and you’re both lucky you’re leaving this meeting without me tossing your strangled bodies in that closet! Speaking of, we’re now two hours over our allotted three that were suppose to be used for work, and we’ve barely got that poster board up to kindergarten level –”
“But –”
“No! That’s it – we did what you two wanted, now we’re doing what I want – which is what we should’ve been doing all along!” Paris stormed by the quieted pair, belining for their table and leaving all this behind “So keep up – you too Gilmore! And if I hear a single peep of any of this, I’m not going to be this nice about it!!”
Somewhat surprisingly, that worked. The group got back to their texts and papers and finished off what was left – Paris finishing looking up the rest of the material, having Rory write it down on card notes, and then leaving Madeline and Louise to take those and post them to the board. She’d separated their two parties as much as she could to diminish cross-over talking, but everyone shockingly stayed on topic. Most of the conversation was her and Rory going over what points to write down on the cards, Madeline detailing out her bubble letters and Louise complaining about how the glue she got on her fingers is going to ruin her nails.
Paris was able to stay in the clear, thank god.
“Paris can we stop now?” Madeline started whining once the hour was up, laying her head down on the table dramatically “I think I’m getting carpel tunnel or something...”
“Big talk for the self-titled bubble letter master..” Paris muttered. Beside her, Rory glanced down at her watch.
“Actually, I’ve only got ten minutes till my mom comes to get me..”
Paris huffs then, and grasps the corners of their poster board, yanking it across the table towards her “Fine then – since I’m the only one who wants to get an above average grade on this, I’ll go home to finish this on my own, just as it seems I always have to..”
“I mean I’m totally open later if you want extra hands; I can come over tomorrow and we can work on –”
“No.” Paris snapped, cutting Rory off “I don’t need help – trust me, I’ve been rolling out ‘group projects’ solo for a while now..”
“Now Paris, is that any way to talk to your –ow!!” Louise bent over from where Paris kicked her knee under the table, sending a glare back up.
“I hope it bruises.” Paris hit back “Now come on and grab your stuff, as everyone’s so desperate to get out of here!”
Five minutes later and the four were already cleaned up and heading down the stairs. Paris made sure to orchestrate their leaving, with Rory at the front and other two walking right behind her.
They pushed open the large glass library doors, opening onto the concrete steps and crisp air. The teens gazed out to the parking lot – Paris’s car was, obviously, still parked off to the side of the lot like she’d left it, but the unmistakable old Jeep had yet to pull up.
“Where’s your mom?” Louise asked. Rory peered out further.
“Um, should be here any second..”
“Well, call us if you freeze to death waiting Gilmore..” Paris said, hands going over her pockets for her car keys – only to find them oddly empty “Wait..why..–”
“What?” Rory asked
“I can’t find my…oh you have to be kidding me!!” an all new rage fell over Paris, causing her to whirl around with a finger pointed to her friends “This is all your fault!!”
“What’d we do??”
“Well now my keys are missing and I bet it was when you locked me and Gilmore up in that closet that was too dark for me to even notice my keys falling out!!”
“Paris chill out will you?” Madeline rolled her eyes, pivoting back to the library “We’ll help you go look for them..”
“No! You stay! I’ll go – otherwise you’ll probably just end up dropping them all over again on the way back, if you can find them at all!”
Paris stomped back up the steps with enough power to let the whole library know she was coming, ripping open the doors. Unfazed, Madeline and Louise went back to whispering to each other. Rory sighed out again, hoping her mom would come soon enough. She’d certainly have a lot to say when Rory gave her report on the studying session (“if they were trying to bully you, then they made a mistake letting you out; it should’ve been my pleasure to find you shivering in that closet when I came back – with all your stuff hocked.”)
Rory glanced down at her watch again. She was watching each passing second climb higher when the odd, gnawing feeling of watching eyes came over. She slowly turned her head, meeting the gleeful eyes of Madeline and Louise on her. They were both biting down on wide-spread smiles, clearly giddy with information Rory didn’t know. They didn’t seen to have any desire to look away, or even politely pretend to, so Rory simply had to ask,
“...Can I help you two?..”
“Should we just ask her?” Madeline turned to Louise, looking ready to burst at the seems. Louise just let loose a grin and took the affirmative to look to Rory.
“Okay, before Paris comes back, we need to know that the best idea for a first date is, because she totally won’t know.”
“You need..me to answer?”
“Duh.”
“Uh, okay..” Rory tried to simply ignore why exactly the two people who had new crushes every week needed her dating advice, mulling “I guess..maybe a movie might be good? Sometimes it can be a little intimidating for first dates and you still have to shake off the awkward. So, instead of struggling trying to come up with conversation, you can spend some time getting used to each other while watching a movie, not talking. And then, well, I usually like some kind of snack treat after – and then you have the movie to talk about after too. Is that good..?”
“Ooh, that’s perfect for Paris!” Louise squealed, making Rory furrow even more.
“Yeah totally – she needs to be eased in.” Madeline agreed “The only problem is, trying to find a movie she’d not immediately hate and want to go see without making mean comments the whole time.”
“Wait –”
“True. Maybe it should be a documentary?”
“Yes! You like boring documentaries, right Rory?”
“Well, yeah – I mean, documentaries aren’t always boring, and I know a few I think Paris would like – but, wait, hold on,” Rory tried to regain her thinking, while also not showing any upset “Par-Paris is going on a date? Is it with Tristan? Because I just – well I, I um, might have a feeling she doesn’t want –”
“Ew no.” Louise scrunched up her nose “Why would she go on a date with Tristan after we finally got her to confess her feelings to you today??”
“..I’m sorry what –”
“She means that Paris told you she likes you, duh – c’mon Rory keep up, we thought you were smart.”
“But I –”
“Oh god – I just thought, what’re we gunna do about Paris’s wardrobe?? She has nothing date-worthy!”
The two friends went back to feverishly calculating for the perfect date, leaving Rory reeling. That was the secret? Rory felt a whole rush go through her body, as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Thoughts ran a mile a minute, but now that Rory could piece them together, it all started to make a clearer picture. No wonder why they were all acting so weird, and no wonder Paris was so desperate to keep this from leaking out. Paris, actually liking her.
This...this changes everything.
The sudden sound of tires coming to a stop brought Rory out of her rapid thinking. She looked up to the Jeep stopped below the steps and her smiling mom who’d stuck her head partially out the window.
“All aboard for the express route back to smallsville!”
No! Not yet! Rory’s stomach tightened up, scrambling for a way out – she just needed a couple more minutes if she was ever going to catch Paris.
“Actually, uh, mom, can you wait one more minute??” Rory called back “I um, think I left my pencil case back in the library!”
“The lucky one??”
“With the little drawings of hot dogs on it!”
“What’re you standing around here for then?? Go go!”
Rory quickly nodded back to her mom’s ushering, easily stepping by the other two still engrossed in their world and reclimbed the steps. She stepped back into the library and immediately belined for the stairs, time ticking away.
–
Back upstairs, Paris was already grumbling from having to be so close to this dirty carpet. She was on her hands and knees, peering under the gaps from the shelves to catch any glimmer of her keys. So far, no dice.
Paris swore under her breath, shuffling to the other side of the closet. The desk they’d been using was all clean, so she knew they weren’t there. Her fingers skimmed along empty space, only annoying her more; god, if her friends really made her lose her goddamn keys so they could play their stupid game of matchmaker –
Aha! Paris hit something hard and metal, which made a slight jingle noise at the jostle. She grasped them, yanking them out and hoping back to her feet. She held the ring of keys up to the limited light, immediately recognizing them as hers.
Paris sighed out, stuffing the keys into their proper place in her pocket. Thank god. She’d have had to hear about it for forever from her father if he’d have to pay for a tow.
That’s when, Paris heard footsteps quietly shuffle up behind her. Turning, she caught Rory there, looking out at her. She huffed.
“Shouldn’t you be heading off back to your podunk town already?” She posed, furrowing when Rory didn’t say anything back “...What???”
Rory shuffled in her spot – she was staring back at her oddly, as if anticipating saying something she was working up to. Finally, she stepped up to Paris, eyes shifting from her to the ground as she poses,
“I just..had to ask one more time..that thing you couldn’t tell me…” she raises her head finally, Paris caught off guard again by the wide blues “..was it really that terrible?..”
Paris narrowed her eyes, concern beginning to swirl in the bottom of her stomach. Why bring that up all over again?? Why can’t people just mind their own for once?!
“That again? Am I not allotted any privacy?!”
Her voice was sharp, but this time, it didn’t pull either a wince or sarcastic reply from Rory. She remained quiet, almost subdued. Paris didn’t really know what to do with that, without a Rory that wasn’t drawing any battle swords to her. She instead ended up sighing out, voice turning quiet in a pitiful admittance,
“Yeah, it would’ve been that bad..”
Rory said nothing. And so Paris said nothing, waiting nervously. Then, Rory took a tiny step in, closing off any space separating them so they were face to face and Paris found herself staring down oceans while trying to keep breathing right as Rory swiftly ducks in to her –
and kisses her.
Altogether, Paris feels like the head of a firecracker that just went off. Panic and confusion and elation and every single damn colour of the rainbow rushed through her and she’s unable to move or think anything else other then Rory is kissing her Rory is kissing her holy shit she’s kissing her.
And it’s soft. So soft. As soft as Paris imagined it’d be when she gazed down at Rory on that stage and thereafter dreamed about for the entirety of that night and then some. She’s soft and gentle and Paris can faintly taste the artificial, vanilla wax of Rory’s chapstick – and it’s amazing how Paris can be both so lost and so happy at the same time and she can’t believe it’s happening in some dank cleaning closet and it’s everything.
Blessedly, in the next point second Paris’s fried brain clicks in and she remembers to return the kiss. Nervous, not entirely sure of what she was doing, but Rory just seems to know and meets her nervousness, carefully pulling her in until it’s less like Rory is simply kissing a dumbfounded, frozen Paris and more like Paris was actually returning the kiss, careful and giddy and elated.
Now all Paris can think, is that she wants to kiss Rory again. And again. And again and again and over and over.
But, altogether, Rory pulls away, lips parting wetly. Paris slowly blinks her eyes back, back into reality as dimmed light soaks in. She opens to Rory standing there, Paris somehow surprised she hadn’t miraculously disappeared.
She was there, in the tepid quiet – and she was beaming at Paris. The kind that was almost girlishly giddy and that she was trying to shyly hold down, but it was breaking out at the corners of those pink lips. Held silence trickled over, but it wasn’t an unwelcome kind like earlier, instead giving both girls some time to process. Finally, Rory took in a breath,
“...I dunno..” her voice was barely a whisper but Paris still felt like her ears were ringing, staring dazingly at the baby blues shining back “that didn’t seem so terrible to me...”
Paris’s heart jumped again. Wait, that could only mean…
She wanted words but they simply wouldn’t work, leaving her gaping and awed. How did Rory figure it out?! Did those weasels back there squeal to her?! And what did it mean that this was Rory’s response?! Paris ran through anger and shock and joy and something like lovesick because she couldn’t quite believe it and she hates it when things refuse to make sense –
There was a soft laugh. Paris clicked back in, to Rory’s smile that’d only grown in response at her fish-out-of-water gaping – but it wasn’t a pointed laugh Paris realized, not cruel. The light shining off of Rory told her otherwise.
“I’ll see you around Paris..”
And in a blink, Rory was backing out of the closet and was gone. Paris stood there for a few seconds more, hoping the longer she did she could get both her over-beating heart and whirring brain to calm down.
Fat chance.
Paris shook herself off. C’mon, get it together! You’re not some lovesick schoolgirl! She made a quick exit down the stairs and out, pushing past the doors. She took a step once more onto the concrete platform, eyes raised to the parking lot and catching the sun shining off a car pulling out the exit. It was that same, faithful Jeep.
Paris’s gaze shifted over to her own vehicle, Madeline and Louise meandering around it. Her sneakers hit in hard slaps as she swiftly climbed down, making a straight line for the car and ignoring the pairs’ annoying yammering that soon stopped as she approached and opened up the doors.
They all quietly got in, Paris in the front and the two in the back. Paris fell back into the leather cushioning, heaving out. Her head was still spinning. Her friends stayed surprisingly quiet, but Paris could feel their eager gazes on her, posed over the back of the chair and literally on the edge of their seats to hear the gospel.
“…...So?” Louise began carefully “Now that we’re officially clocked off of ‘school study time’, mind giving your dying friends here the details of what happened back in that closet?..”
Paris waited. And waited, furrowing down at her lap. She could faintly hear the squeaks of the car seats from them leaning over to her. Paris, honestly, wasn’t entirely sure what to say, given she had little idea what the hell actually happened.
Until, suddenly Paris spoke with a voice so soft and undeniably happy –
“She kissed me...”
– and then the whole back-row exploded.
“Ahh!”
“Oh my god –”
“I knew it!”
“Me too – we told you Paris –”
“This is so great – we gotta start planning for double dates too –”
“Isn’t it...triple dates if it’s me with my crush, you with yours, and them?..”
Paris groaned, letting her head fall into the steering wheel. She much preferred them when they were quiet.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter – Paris, we have to start planning, me and Mads have already –”
“Alright! That’s enou – let go of me will you?!” Paris whipped around with vitriol, pushing off the fingers tugging at her “This doesn’t mean either of you are in the clear I’ll have you know! You still locked me up in a closet and lost us good school work time, and this isn’t helping either – frankly, how would you both like to walk home instead?!”
“Why?” Madeline grinned “So you can go over to Gilmore’s instead and play tonsil hockey??”
That caused more wild snickering from the back seat. Paris growled under her breath, admitting with frustration that it didn’t matter what threat she uttered at them – nothing was getting them off this high. She turned back round and forcefully turned the keys, slamming back the stick after the engine rumbled to life.
“How the hell did we ever become friends..”
“Face it Par.” Louise went on to boast “We got you in!”
“No more talking from the back! If I hear another peep, I’m not afraid to push open the back doors!”
Nothing was going to get Madeline and Louise from gossiping about the new spark to their friends love life, but blessedly, they at least stopped prodding and poking her and instead giggled between the two of them. Paris shook her head to herself, trying to give her focus to the road ahead.
She already felt exhausted; like her brain had been running full-speed all day, and not in the ‘I just whizzed through all my homework sheets and readings in a full night’ afterglow that she likes. This was different, and a little frightening to her. She already knew she was going to be tossing and turning the rest of the night with no sleep.
Wondering what made Rory kiss her. Wondering if maybe she was that wonder-boy student Rory had been speaking of with such mirth. Wondering if this means she actually wants something more from her – something like a romantic, go-on-dates kind of thing. Wondering how she was going to approach Rory back at school on Monday. Wondering what pay-back she was going to use on Madeline and Louise.
Wondering if she was going to get to kiss Rory again.
It was scary for sure, and Paris hates being in the dark on any matter. But, it was exciting too. Under the layer of nerves, she couldn’t shake the giddy joy that had her running the kiss on a memory-loop. Is this how other teen girls are suppose to feel with their other crushes? Not totally sure what was going to happen, and yet, at the same time, unable to shake off the elation for when that next moment was going to be. Half agony, half hope.
Paris pressed her lips together and barely caught the taste of vanilla lingering. A smile curled up, unable to be held down this time.
Alright, she could live with that.
“..Hey Paris, we can see you smiling!”
“Go jump off a bridge Madeline!”