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They met after Year 11, at some club. Some club where the bouncer was kind enough to not ask for ID. They met when Effy had managed to find even a minute without Pandora’s company, and Katie had gotten into an argument with Emily.
The redhead stood leaning over the sink in order to adjust her makeup. Although many girls had entered and left the toilets without catching her attention, when the brunette walked in it was as though Katie had just seen an angel. Effy felt the same, though didn’t understand the feeling. She felt her heart skip upon seeing her, and then entered a cubicle like she hadn’t seen Katie at all. Katie then went back to touching up her appearance with much more urgency than she had before.
Effy was too prideful to wonder why the other girl made her feel the way she did, and Katie was too insecure not to.
Washing her hands, Effy glanced over to her right, and grinned when Katie quickly turned her head back to the mirror hoping not to be caught staring. The brunette’s gaze lingered for a moment, watching intently as the other girl blinked into her mascara wand a few more times.
Taking a deep breath before looking up, Katie spoke, “Hey, um, you’re Tony Stonem’s sister, right?” The conversation continued as you’d expect, with Katie desperately trying to impress Effy, who wondered why such a perfect girl seemed so uncomfortable when they made eye contact. When Katie got home that night, she broke up with her boyfriend over a phone call.
They became friends quickly, bonding over the similarities in their lives despite the obvious difference in aesthetics. Despite how they hung out so frequently, it was rarely at either of their houses. Each of the girls were embarrassed that the other might judge their home-life, so the only times they ever did was when they’d be home alone. The times when Effy prayed her parents wouldn’t arrive unexpectedly. The times when Katie would internally freak out over any single part of her house that looked messy. They preferred going out.
Effy liked parties and clubs, because she could drown out all the confusing thoughts she would normally have when in Katie’s presence. Katie often dreaded it now though, since she’d rather have Effy all to herself. She had grown increasingly jealous over her, though she refused to show it, since she couldn’t bear the hell of Effy potentially thinking she’s even somewhat weird. She’d even taken up smoking just so that she could stand next to Effy when she needed a break outside of the venue.
Katie liked the simple activities. She preferred going for walks, picnics, meals out. She quickly learned that she liked getting ready for parties with Effy much more than the party itself. She found that it was guaranteed that Effy would compliment her on at least something, though she never understood why the brunette couldn’t look directly at her when she said it. If she was lucky, she could even convince Effy to let Katie apply some makeup onto her. There Katie discovered that every part of that girl seemed to be freezing to touch, and it was there that Effy discovered how hard it was not to lean into Katie’s soft, warm hands.
Gradually it seemed that there would always be some kind of physical contact when the two of them were together. Sometimes it was when they held hands while walking. Sometimes it was when the music would be too loud for them to hear each other, and Effy would gently hold Katie still while she whispered into her ear, the cigarette scented breath making the shorter girl's skin tingle. Sometimes it was even when the Fitch girl was too far from her house to go all the way home, so she’d sleep in Effy’s bed with her. She always seemed to lay so uncomfortably still, especially when Effy would lay her arm over the other girl’s side, or even snuggle closer so that she could breathe in the scent of her red hair.
They were never apart, even when they were. Katie's parents made comments about how she always seemed to be typing on her phone, and Pandora complained to Effy about how she seemed to never fully listen to her when she spoke. They always called each other in the evenings, particularly right before they slept. Sometimes, during the night, when she knew the blue-eyed girl's phone would be silenced, Katie would call her just to hear the voicemail.
They had only ever said they loved each other once. Effy said it first, just a quick "I love you!" before she hung up the phone. And while Katie was smiling to herself in her bedroom about it, Effy was biting her nails out of regret or fear in her own bedroom. Katie said it about a month later, after a random party, and after consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. It was when Effy was re-clipping the little bow that had come loose from Katie's red hair. "I love you," rather than "Thank you." Then she threw her arms around her for a hug so that she didn't have to see her reaction to those three words. They were hardly love confessions, since they only meant it platonically. Maybe they'd say it romantically in the future. Maybe.
Katie eventually cracked about her crush, and told her twin every detail about her best friend that she found so enamouring. Emily couldn't possibly have been more disinterested, especially when Katie would panic about how she would be going to the same college as Effy in September, even though they were inseparable anyway. Effy hadn't spoken to anyone about it, other than the low-quality camera she used as a diary on occasion. She would talk about how she had never had a friend that she loved so much, that she worried over, that she thought about during every second of the day.
Their first day wasn't so bad, though. Katie almost missed being surrounded by the many blonde beauty students who seemed in awe of everything she said or did. What she missed more was the adoring smile of the brunette across the small crowd. Maybe they didn't need to worry so much about college.