Chapter Text
If Isabel had known before that her boyfriend, Jeff, would cheat on her with her literal cousin, she wouldn’t have gathered everyone at her parents’ house – while said parents left for work to California – and throw a party dedicated to the Viking’s victory at last week’s kickoffs.
Now, is she upset by the news? Yes, understandably. But is she heartbroken? Not really. Yes, it sucks that he did that and all, but it’s not the end of the world for Isabel. Sure, she yelled at him and broke up with him (again) but Jeff would be coming next Monday to ask for her forgiveness at school with some flowers and a goofy smile that used to make her swoon for some time when they first started dating, and she would forgive him and jump into his arms like the popular pretty girl she is.
But that will happen on Monday. Today is Friday and Jeff better not show his dumb face at her party or she will bite his head off. And for now, she will sulk on a couch in the living room, nursing a drink Brittany mixed for her. It’s not that bitter, but rather sweet and a bit lemony which she likes, and the alcohol in it makes her slur her words slightly.
She’s looking around: Brittany is next to her, slowly nodding her head along to the music playing; a few guys from the football team taking part in a competition who can stack more chips in their mouths and failing; girls from the cheerleading team – to whom she waves half-heartedly when they notice her gaze; some random people whose names she isn’t sure she knows and, well, ordinary party shenanigans that she would partake in but not today since she’s in a bit of a sour mood.
She’s sipping out of her cup and mumbles a yeah to whatever her best friend is saying before leaving the couch. Her gaze aimlessly wanders around the house and the people when she sees three girls entering through the door. Two of them are walking front and are talking in animated but hushed voices while looking around anxiously. One of the two is dressed in high-waisted jean shorts and a white crop top, while the other is wearing an oversize plaid shirt, her hair in disarray. The third girl trails behind them, her face filled with uncertainty. She’s dressed in baggy jeans, and a red and white shirt over a white t-shirt. Isabel furrows her eyebrows, trying to remember her name – what was it- hosie? Posey? Ugh – she shakes her head and takes a sip just as her eyes meet the girl’s dark ones.
“Oh my god, Hazel, will you be quiet!” PJ mutters under her breath while throwing a tense smile at someone who looks weirded out by her.
Josie rolls her eyes at their bickering and tugs at her t-shirts collar.
Hazel continues, “I’m just saying- what if she kicks us out? I mean, we weren’t invited!”
PJ pauses and firstly looks at the door of the house where the party is held and then at Hazel who’s looking at her with lost puppy eyes. In return she rolls her own, “Be for fucking real, Hazel, no one is invited at parties like this! People just come and go as they please. And also, she probably won’t even notice we’re here – she’ll be busy coddling her idiotic boyfriend the whole time.”
Josie winces internally at those words. Both PJ and Hazel know about her little (read: HUGE) crush on the school’s IT-girl, and Isabel making out with Jeff isn’t something she wants to see, but PJ once again convinced her to come here because how else are you gonna get the puss, Josie? And okay, she will try not to make such a big deal out of this and try to enjoy the time spent with her friends and free drinks.
(And maybe a glimpse of the girl she searches with her eyes everyday she comes to school also plays a part in her deciding to go to this part. Just a teeny tiny part.)
So imagine her surprise (and horror) when the three of them enter the house and first thing Josie does is clash stares with the host herself.
It’s like the whole world around her stops. The song playing in the background becomes a dull humming in her eardrums, people walking around waving their cups full of beer almost disappear. She can feel her heart rapidly beating in her throat and her hands clamming up, and she tries to discreetly wipe the sweat off on her jeans.
She’s beautiful, Josie thinks and takes a few seconds to take the sight in front of her in. It’s like her vision tunneled and the only thing she can see in this room full of people is this teenage girl, a glass in her hand and boredom and sadness in her eyes. Her hair is falling in long waves behind on her back; the pink blouse she’s donning is unbuttoned at the top making her clavicle seen, her legs are crossed and Josie can see fitted pearly flats on her feet. She kind of looks like a princess. A sad, drunk princess.
Hey-
“Hey!” PJ snaps her fingers in front of the mesmerized girl’s face, “Are you even listening?”
The girl is broken out of the trance she was in momentarily and looks at her best friend, “Um- what where you saying?”
PJ stares at her suspiciously but turns around and sees what got her friend so lost. She looks back at Josie with a smirk on her face.
“Nothing,” she grabs Hazel by the shoulder, making the dark-haired girl look at her with wide eyes, “She’s alone, dude, go talk to her. Hazel and I will try to get some bitches. Let’s go.”
Josie gawks as both of them leave and gives Hazel an astonished look as the dark-haired girl turns around with one of surprise on her own face, until both PJ and Hazel disappear around the corner of the hallway. Josie takes a deep breath, scans the room, and after seeing a table with the drinks she makes her way towards it. She asks the guy behind for something strong and he nods and mixes some whiskey (how did they even get it here) with coke. She thanks him, takes a deep breath and drinks a bit from her cup, leaving almost a half of it full but scrunching her face as the bitterness of the alcohol hits her tongue and burns her throat.
Come on you can do it!
She tells herself this mantra as she confidently makes her way to the couch where Isabel is sitting and occupies a space near her, with only one pillow between the two of them.
Ohmygodohmygodohmygod-
“Hi!”
Josie clams up immediately after the word escapes her mouth and she grips her red cup but tries not to break it because then the drink will spill all over her jeans and sneakers and she will look stupid in front of her crush and it’s not like she doesn’t already look stupid-
“Hey.”
She barely registers the response she gets behind all of the noise inside the house.
“Uhm,” Josie swallows before stuttering, “Nice party!”
Isabel takes a sip of her drink and looks around at everyone having fun except for her, of course.
“Mhmm,” she hums in agreement but doesn’t make further comment.
Awkward. Josie cringes internally and takes a big gulp of her drink almost choking on it, and coughs trying to compose herself in front of the pretty girl when she sees her giving her a (worried? Yeah, that’s what she’d like to think) glance.
The loser looks around the room trying to find anything to speak about but only finds some weird pictures on the walls, and look, she’s not one for higher art and shit! Her eyes trace the people as she takes another sip, safe this time, and tries to find her friends to ask for any kind of help but fails when she doesn’t see PJ flirting with some girl and Hazel trailing around her like a lost puppy.
“Did you know Taylor Swift is gay?”
Isabel stops mid-drink and turns her head to the right to see this girl – whose name she can’t remember right now in this slight haze the alcohol mix has caused – sitting there with a wide-eyed look on her face and her mouth opening and closing like a fish’s.
“What,” the popular girl deadpans.
The girl closes her mouth and nods, the red cup in her hands trembling, “Yeah, I know, crazy, anyway–“
“What’s your name?” Isabel turns her body toward the girl’s and runs her eyes up and down her body, as if scanning her for something.
“Uhm–“ the girls rambles, “I’m Josie. Hi. Good evening.”
Isabel can feel her lips slightly stretching in amusement as she watches the two-finger salute gesture this girl–Josie–makes.
“I’m Isabel,”
“Yeah, I know,” the speed with which Josie responds makes her close her mouth again, sucking her lips in as if trying to stop any more words that could out of her mouth.
Isabel stares at her for a second, and not finding any harm in the girl, her body relaxes and she peacefully takes a sip.
“So, Josie,” Isable misses the way Josie’s eyes widen and practically light up when she says her name, “What was it about Taylor Swift being gay?”
“Uhm, well,” Josie also turns her whole body around but her back is still as straight as a board and she looks a bit stiff, though that’s still progress, “You see, it’s not like it’s confirmed that she’s gay or anything. And I don’t like speculating on people’s sexuality, but the thing is when you say someone is straight, technically you speculate on their sexuality! So, there’s this whole theory that she used to date Karlie Kloss – you know her, right? Super model, Victoria’s Secret’s angel?”
She waits until Isabel nods slowly and continues with her rambling.
“Yeah, and so, there’s this theory that they used to date and that Taylor wrote many songs about her – and to be honest I think it’s true because there’s no way Delicate is about a man, like come on – and so they dated, and then they broke up and she got with Joe Alwyn but he was her beard and then the two of them broke up and then Karlie was seen at Taylor’s concert. So yes, I think she’s fruity as fuck.”
Josie stops and looks in horror at Isabel, realizing what exactly she just said, and is instead met with a small giggle coming from the girl to whom she poured out all of her Twitter fandom lurking. But soon enough a small, uncertain smile appears on her face as well.
“Wow,” Isabel breathes out after her giggles subside, “You seem pretty invested in all of this…”
The girl just nods and looks down in her red cup, “Well, I am not God’s strongest soldier. I see a pretty girl I try to get to know her.”
Isabel doesn’t know what happens in her head when she leans forward a bit, quite a distance between the two girls, but still, she pouts playfully and says, “Am I not pretty then?”
Josie feels as if her breath has been kicked right out of her chest. She’s drunk, she thinks as she looks at Isabels’ lightly drowsy eyes and the pout on her pink lips, though she can’t help but think beautiful, you’re beautiful.
“Thanks,” a smile appears slowly on Isabel’s tinted lips and she returns to her original pose on the couch.
Fuck, said that out loud. Where the fuck are PJ and Hazel, one minute more and I’ll go nuts.
She’s thankful to all of the gods existing and not when she sees her friends going into the living room. She mutters an embarrassed bye to the girl she just called beautiful to her face and leaves without hearing a response. Oh, how she would love to stay and talk to her for more, but she’s afraid she would just embarrass herself further. She finally catches up with two girls.
“Hey, guys,” Josie thinks she sounds a bit too out of breath and she’s sure as hell it’s not because of the ten-meter sprint she’s just done.
PJ is the first one to question her, “Did you talk to her?”
“Yeah,” she breathes out as a response.
It’s Hazel’s turn to ask her now, “How did it go?”
Josie feels herself paling and whispers, “I told her that Taylor Swift is fruity as fuck.”
On the way home, when PJ and Hazel are making fun of her – although she thinks she should be getting praise as technically she’d had a successful(?) conversation with her crush – she doesn’t tell them to cut it off but rather relishes in the memory of Isabel face lighting up with a smile after being sulky and tells herself that if she could do that again she would gladly make a fool of herself anytime.
The next time Isabel throws a party and she’s giggling at something Jeff says, she pretends to be surprised when someone mentions the amount of Taylor Swift’s songs making it into the party playlist.