Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 1 - Let’s Be Friends

“It’s… beautiful, Vella..” Chondra commented in awe, just having heard her friend’s song for the first time. “Yeah, really nice.” Michael added on in a rather unimpressed tone… though, probably genuine. “Better than I could do.” Alex then says, making it about himself as usual. Rory chimes in… only really getting in an “It’s—“ before being cut off by Claudio. “Nice. Not what I would normally listen to, but I can tell it’s good for the genre— probably..”

Vella ran off, embarrassed. She knew she’d feel this way no matter what.. but… experiencing it was something else. No answer from her friends would’ve satisfied her. Rory broke the silence after a minute or so. “You should go after her, it’s what I’d want.” He directed it towards Alex for… some reason.

Chondra let out a frustrated groan.
“Alex clearly doesn’t want to put in the emotional effort. I’ll go apologize for all you guys myself.” She tossed her headphones to her brother before running after Vella. She needed someone to listen to her… headphones weren’t going to help.

Chondra searched all of Frankton, not quite used to the area. The girl tried to think of where her ally could’ve possibly went. Where could someone think alone…? Somehow she remembered a swing set she saw in the corner of her eye earlier. And somehow she was right! She took a deep breath and made her way to the swings, sitting on the one beside Vella.

“Hey… you ok?”
“Yeah… Yeah— It’s just— I know I’m overreacting… but, did you guys hate it? Be honest with me..”
Vella looked at the ground. She wasn’t crying. That was a good sign.
“I was honest the first time.. so were they. Your song was beautiful. That’s all there is to it.”
She offered her a reassuring smile, not that Vella would turn to see it.
“I’m sure everyone loved it. It’s just… a very different type of song. Otherworldly, right?”
“Thanks..”

Vella now looked straight ahead. “I won’t act like I feel completely better. It’s nice to know that you really care though. You’re a good friend, Chondra.” Vella stood up. “Let’s meet up with the rest tomorrow. You can come a little earlier. I should probably get to know you better. Or— you know what— let’s hang out…. Like… normal people for a day.” She smiled at the idea, and so did Chondra. “Sounds like a plan.” The hula hooper replied quietly.

The two then separated for the night. Vella to her trashy apartment, and Chondra to her brother.

At around 9:07 a.m. the next day, Chondra arrived at the Frankton Arcade. She was there to hopefully find Vella. And she did. She walked over to her, chuckling a bit. “I wouldn’t have this pegged as your type of place. How’d you end up working here?” She was totally right… Vella hated it there.
“Well… jobs aren’t paying too well these days. Took the easy way out. It was either minimum wage at the Burger Joint or minimum wage here…”
“How about we get you out of here?”
“Yes please.”

Chondra took her hand and got her outside.
“See? Much better in the fresh air. Bet I could hook you up with a job at a record store. They have windows~” She teased.
“I’d.. actually like that.”
“Oh? I’ll talk to Claudio about it.”
“Thanks. I’ll owe you.” She smiled.
“So… you wanted to hang out?”
“Yep. Dumb on my part for not telling you where or when to meet me.”
“It’s alright. Didn’t take me long to find you. Let’s take a walk.”

Vella nodded. It had been awhile since she’d taken a simple walk with someone. She hadn’t been very active at all really… it wasn’t too noticeable, but she’d been putting on weight.
“Do you often take walks, Chondra?”
“Every morning. I decided I’d wait so I could take you with me. Plus, never done a walk in Frankton before.”
“Not too scenic really… I’m betting it’s much better where you and Claudio live.”
“I’m not gonna say no.”

The two proceeded on their walk, chatting about mundane things. Vella couldn’t remember the last time she had a friend like this. Someone who she could just.. talk to. Eventually after a mile or so Vella was out of breath.
“C-could we— could we take a break for a second?”
“Sure..” Chondra smiled, trying not to snicker.
“Thanks.”

They stopped at a bench, sitting with about a foot between them. Vella had the urge to scoot closer… so did Chondra. It felt almost magnetic. Maybe like gravity. Just… some force. They were both just happy to spend the day together. Before they knew it, the sun set.

“I’ll email you about the job tomorrow. If you’re up to it, I might even have space for you to live in Flag Town. It’d be nice to have another girl around.”
“Thanks. I know I’ve been saying it a lot, but really.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Well, see you later..”
“Get some good sleep, Vella.”

End of Chapter 1.

Chapter Text

Since the last chapter, some things have changed. Vella now lives with Chondra and Claudio, working at the record shop with them as well. Only… Vella is the sole, real worker. The siblings make her do everything to earn her pay. Vella is totally fine with it. Beats doing nothing at an arcade for a shitty salary.

Chondra and Vella had been spending every day together, sharing a bed and all. Completely platonic! Just two good friends. Best friends even! Vella actually slept on the couch for the first couple nights until Chondra got up for some water and felt bad for her. She had crept her way into the hula hooper’s soft spot.

Skip to about a week after she moved in. Chondra is heading out to the gym at 9:07 a.m. on a Saturday. “Hey Vella, tryna come with?” She asked the still sleepy girl in her bed. “Mm… sure…” She replied. She hadn’t really been to a gym in forever… The only reason she said yes was to hang out with Chondra some more. She got lonely quick without her. Had she become totally dependent on her…? It actually wasn’t bad to depend on someone like this.

“Well get dressed then. Don’t bother taking a shower since you’re gonna work up a sweat.” Chondra giggled and left the room, waiting by the front door. Vella threw on some clothes and joined her. Soon enough the pair was at the gym, ready to get Vella in shape!

“You’re going to start coming with me a few times a week so you better make the most of it.”
“I never committed to that!”
“Come on. It isn’t that bad!”
“Fine.”
Vella rolled her eyes playfully, acting like she was really angry before giggling.

Chondra then escorted her to the treadmills.
“I noticed that you— well— kind of suck at walking long distances. So today we’re starting off with 30 minutes on the treadmill.” Vella would usually take offense to this kind of thing. It wasn’t bad when it came out of her bestie’s mouth. She went all 30 minutes without a single problem….! Other than the fact she was already getting sweaty. The gym was a little humid.

Next up was benching. Then miscellaneous work with some weights. Vella soon discovered she had a weak upper body. And Chondra… she was crazy strong! Vella could watch her lift all day… She actually got sent into multiple trances watching her. Maybe she needed to see a doctor.
The two finished with some biking and stretching. A nice cooldown to end their first shared workout! Vella felt herself growing more and more attached… It scared her. She was afraid of loving and losing again. Wait- loving? She didn’t LOVE her… right?

“Good work today, Vella. You should be proud you’re putting in the effort. Alex would’ve given up half way!” Throwing shade at Alex was a common thing. Everyone did it.
“Thanks, Ch-“

“Hey, Chondra!” Vella was cut off by a very in shape woman. She seemed to be friends with Chondra, along with a few other women that came up to her.
She knew all these buff attractive people? For some reason it made Vella feel awkward. Maybe even jealous. She was so… average.. She failed to recognize her own strengths and good looks.

The other women said their goodbyes after enough small talk. “You ok?” Chondra turned to Vella as she was spacing out. “Yep! All good!” She smiled sheepishly. “When I’m done with you, you’re gonna be looking 10x better than them. Personally, I think you already are~” She was good at cheering her up. The only person that made Vella truly happy. And… she just called her hot~!

“Let’s head home and get showered.”
“Mhm.”

End of Chapter 2.