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There they sat.
Drinking, screaming, laughing, and dreaming.
How was summer almost over?!
Yesterday felt like forever ago. The universe pulled them together, and within each other, they found a slice of themselves: nerds, rebels, riot grrrls, outcasts... and they found Fawn's Rest.
This mysterious, derelict house in the middle of a forest...
Maybe it was meant to be found?
Whether that was true or not remained to be seen. But the girls turned the house into their secret hideout.
Summer days were paradise.
So much to do, so much to see.
Summer nights were... magical. Every night was a party night at Fawn's Rest; whether it was idle banter, putting the world to rights, or party games...
Party games.
This was very much a Swann and Autumn idea. Every Friday, each of the girls would bring something to the party. Swann packed for a party, Kat brought the boombox and curated the playlist, Nora brought the booze, and Autumn brought the games.
And tonight? Well, tonight was Truth or Dare. The girls sat around the fireplace, drinking and laughing as Autumn tried to explain how the game worked.
"...so, one of us asks another, truth or dare? Then you pick either truth or dare, and pick the corresponding card. Then say what is on it, and the other person has to do it."
Nora was excited and couldn't wait to start. Swann was apprehensive, but ready to embarrass herself. Kat just wanted to do dares. Autumn was hopeful nothing bad would happen...
Autumn was quick to address the girls about getting personal.
"Like, remember, we wanna have fun, but don't get personal. You know I hate when shit gets personal."
"Of course, Autumn! Um, who goes first?" Swann asked.
"Me! Me! Me!" Nora begged, raising her hand in the air to get Autumn's attention.
"Nice try, Nora. Actually, I go first. And I choose... Kat."
Kat looked surprised to be picked first. But she was ready for the dares.
"Truth or-"
"Dare," Kat said, without hesitation.
She knew what she wanted. She always does...
"Oh, um... ok. Let's see..." Autumn said as she picked the right card.
"Kat, I dare you to give Nora a hickey."
This wasn't exactly what Kat wanted. She loved Nora, but not like that...
...but a dare is a dare.
She grabbed Nora's arm and gave her a hickey.
Nora's face turned red as soon as Kat's lips made contact with her arm. Her heart skipped a beat. Her mind was racing. But she realised that it wasn't going to happen... at least not with her. She was jealous, but understood that she couldn't have everything.
It was now Nora's turn.
She put her finger out, going around and pointing at the girls before landing on Swann.
"Swann Holloway... I heard a rumour you wanna play Seven Minutes in Heaven!"
How did Nora know? Who told her? Did Kat tell her?
"I... uh, um... oh god."
There was no backing out for Swann. But maybe, maybe this was good? She was really close to Kat. They always sat next to each other, Kat always made mixtapes for Swann, and Swann wrote poems for Kat. Every look was telling, every interaction bathed in romantic tension. Sparks flew whenever they were together.
And now this.
"Can... can I choose Kat?" she asked, hopeful that the others would enable this.
They knew. Autumn and Nora knew. Swann and Kat were hardly subtle, despite both being shy and awkward.
"Duh, of course! You two can go to that creepy shack outside." Autumn said as she pointed at the shack outside of Fawn's Rest.
"But... it's quite cramped in there. And I'm... well, you know."
She turned towards where Kat was... but Kat wasn't there.
She was already at the shack. There was no time to waste; she didn't want to wait a second longer to be with Swann.
"Guys, you are so slow. Get over here already!"
Swann grabbed a lit candle and followed Autumn and Nora outside.
The buzzing sounds of the nighttime insects, the occasional hooting of owls, and the gentle sounds of rustling leaves reminded Swann of how much she loved nature.
Sadly, this wasn't the time to educate the group on all the creepy crawlies that inhabited this magical forest.
Kat was leaning against the shack as she tapped her wrist with her finger.
"Tick tock, losers. I wanna do this already!"
Nora was about to open the door to the shack, but it opened itself. The creaking of the door hinges sent a shiver down Autumn and Nora's spines.
But not Kat and Swann's. They lived for the spooky, scary stuff. They were constantly begging for a spooky movie night.
"Did... did a ghost do that? What the fuck?!" Nora said, freaking out as she grabbed hold of Autumn's arm.
Whatever it was, Kat didn't care. She gestured to Swann to enter first with the lit candle. The candle flickered and threatened to blow out upon entering the shack, but quickly stopped when Kat joined her.
The door slammed shut, giving Kat and Swann an almighty jump scare.
"We're... we're gonna go back to the cabin. So uh, whatever you get up to... good luck, I guess?" Autumn said.
"But Autumn! Don't you wanna hear all the kinky stuff they get up to?" Nora asked, smirking.
Autumn simply scoffed at Nora's over-enthusiasm and dragged her away from the shack.
Now Kat and Swann were all alone, ready for their seven minutes in heaven...
One minute in heaven...
Swann held the candle up to their faces as an awkward silence filled the air.
How do you break the silence? What if you just stumble your words and stutter your way to an awkward ending where nothing happens?
Thankfully for Swann, Kat was the first to break the silence as an endearing grin appeared on her face as she stared into Swann's eyes.
"Um... so, what do we do? We can't just stay here for seven minutes and not say or do anything."
"I... Kat. Well, we... we can do anything. But um... I kind of want to tell you something."
Was this it? Was the shy, awkward Swann Holloway making the first move?
Kat had a telling look on her face. She wanted this to happen. Every little moment had been building up to this. She remembered all the beautiful poems Swann had written for her. They weren't about anyone else but Kat.
Swann's face was red. She had wanted to tell Kat about how she felt before, but never found the right moment to do so. Every time she tried to summon the courage to express her feelings towards Kat, she backed down, embarrassed by the thought of rejection.
"I... I have something I want to tell you, too. Um... fuck. I... the words... every time I see you, I-"
They both tried desperately to compose themselves. The heart was there, the words were there... but the confidence? It was lacking, and the awkward silence began to return.
But the candle began to flicker. The distant sound of the wind chimes increased as the wind picked up, swirling and making the wooden shack creak.
And as Swann was about to regain her confidence and confess her true feelings to Kat, she looked in the mirror... and she saw a different version of herself, tapping her wrist.
Time was running out...
Swann's body jolted, like a different soul had entered her...
Two minutes in heaven...
Was this a time loop? An alternate reality? Swann suddenly felt confident and inspired.
"Kat. We're both shy and awkward. Like... like two birds who aren't part of a flock. We just don't fit in, and we're ok with that, because we have each other."
The candlelight remained steady as Swann looked into Kat's eyes, which reflected the candle.
The wind had calmed down, the wind chimes were a distant sound, and the wooden shack had stopped creaking. Whether it was a coincidence or not, Swann didn't care. She was confident and inspired, and nothing could get in the way of what she was about to confess.
"I... I like you. As more than a friend. I know I'm not the prettiest girl, or the smartest, but we... we are so alike. When I first met you, I found someone who finally stood up for me. You introduced me to so many cool things!"
She remembered all the mixtapes Kat had made for her. All the Riot Grrrl music had infected her, and she felt so seen. All those girls, tired of being the butt of a joke, of being laughed at for trying to do something... and now they were making waves across America.
Her confession came from the heart. A place she had made space for one special girl...
All this newfound confidence felt like Kat was pining for the same thing as her. Maybe it was meant to be...
The candle flickered again, but the wind remained constant. Kat saw something in the corner of her eye, and as she glanced over, she saw a different version of herself...
Three minutes in heaven...
Almost halfway through and Kat felt it. Time was running out, but now she didn't care. She felt like she was on top of the world, giving it the middle finger as it bowed down to her.
Her smile was as wide as an ocean, her heart was yearning for Swann to be a part of it, and she felt like the universe pulled them together.
"Swann, I like you too. You know what I mean by that. My life... it's shitty, but being with you, it's like something drew us together."
The poems. Swann's poems. Kat remembered them, about how they were for her...
"I never realised it at first, but those poems you wrote for me... well, they were about me, weren't they?"
Swann nodded.
"Dude, who knew you were a budding poet? Like when I first met you, I just thought you only lived behind that camera. But now, well, now I realise you're more than that. Every time I see you, my heart goes crazy. I love how passionate you are about your hobbies. I mean, if you ever want to go on a romantic walk together..."
Kat's heart was skipping so many beats, and so was Swann's.
The dignity of being unique, of being different, of empowering each other's aspirations... love comes from so many places.
They were firmly fixated on each other's eyes, dreaming of a future together. Maybe there would be a happy ending? Swann had always wanted one, and Kat deserved one too.
She trusted Swann so much... and she had a secret she wanted to tell...
Four minutes in heaven...
How could time fly by so fast? How could a magical summer almost be over? A new school term was on the horizon, and the girls were dreading it. They didn't want to go back. They wanted to rewind summer and experience all the memories they had made again.
Would Swann even have time to hang out? Would Kat even be allowed out? Being apart was a growing threat...
But Swann didn't want to be apart from her heart's desire. Swann didn't care if she was a truant. Her priorities were Kat, Fluffbutt, and her camcorder. In. That. Order.
She really wanted to capture this moment in time to watch back. But her camcorder... is missing. She had left it in the cabin.
"God, I really wanted to like... film some of this. But I don't wanna shine the camcorder flashlight in your face and blind you, or get it too close in your face, plus there's like no space at all. And like-"
Before she even realised it, Kat kissed her. Their faces were illuminated by the candle as Kat's soft, warm hands caressed Swann's cheek. Their eyes closed as they kissed, and time stood still.
The sounds of the forest were silent. The wind chimes stopped in their place. The animals that inhabited the forest stood still. Time froze for Swann and Kat.
It was always what they wanted.
"My... my first kiss. God, sorry that sounded way too corny." Swann sheepishly said.
"Corny? No. It's so cute."
The first time is always the most special. That first look, that first confession...
...that first kiss.
Five minutes in heaven...
The candle flickers again as the wind picks up and the creaking returns. Swann looks in the mirror and sees... herself? The mirror version of herself taps her wrist two times...
Swann knew they didn't have long left in there. But there was an important question she wanted to ask Kat.
The kind of question where acceptance made your heart skip a beat, and rejection made it stop.
She still had the confidence, but it was beginning to fade. If there was ever a time to ask Kat Mikaelsen this question, it was now.
"Hey, um... so I was wondering. I know summer is almost over, but we don't have to be. I have all the time in the world for you, Kat. Would you... would you like to be my girlfriend?"
No hesitation, no second thoughts, no debating it. Kat knew what her heart wanted, and it was Swann. Forever.
"Of course, you dork. Sorry, I'm kinda lost in your eyes, though... I could stare into them forever. I probably wouldn't even blink!"
"Jeez-o! Shh! Shh! Or they might hear us!" Swann said as the two of them started laughing out loud.
Kat didn't care if they did or didn't hear them; she was in her own little bubble with Swann, and it was never going to burst.
There was one more thing Swann wanted to say. Was it too soon to say this? Too early to say in a relationship? Maybe she was being too hasty. But she felt that Kat deserved to know the truth.
Six minutes in heaven...
"Feel free to stop me talking and rambling, but Kat... I love you. I love you so much. Sorry if it's like too early to say, but I trust you so much, and you deserve to know the truth."
The truth. Kat appreciated honesty, but she wasn't being honest with herself, Swann, or the other girls. She feared telling them about it would change things for the worse. Why ruin a perfectly magical summer? Why ruin that first kiss? That first I love you...
Besides, Kat knew something magical about the woods that no one else knew. Something that could change their lives for the better. No more fear, no more harassment, and no more harm.
No. More. Harm.
"I... I love you Swann, so fucking much. And fuck it, you know? We can do whatever we want. If we wanna kiss, we kiss. If we wanna hold hands all day, we do. And if we wanna get kinky..."
Swann looked at Kat with her mouth agape. She... she really said that? Small, innocent Kat said that?
"What? Oh my god, don't look at me like that. Remember when I asked you if you ever caught some freaky shit on tape, and you said I once filmed two squirrels... doing it," Kat said.
Embarrassment filled Swann's face as she remembered that moment. She couldn't wriggle out of this one.
"Oh crap, you got me."
Kat sees a different version of herself, who taps her one final time...
Their seven minutes in heaven were almost up. From awkward silence to confessions, love and... being kinky? They were only at the beginning of this journey of love. And it all began in a dilapidated shack...
Tick, tock...
"Look, we haven't got long. Let's make out before they come back!" Kat suggested to Swann.
And just like that, the candle fizzles out. But they didn't care. Swann dropped the candle on the floor as they passionately kissed. Their eyes were closed, their lips intertwined with one another...
Suddenly, they heard two voices...
"...oh, bravo! Good show!"
"Yeah, guys! Good technique!"
Two sets of hands clapped in unison.
Their eyes quickly darted to the side to see the door open, and Nora and Autumn in a fit of laughter.
"Oh, fu-"
Seven minutes in heaven...
"Oh my god! How long have you two been there?" Swann and Kat quizzed the other girls.
"Just long enough to see some hot girl action!" Nora replies.
"Ew, ew, ew! Nora, enough. Keep your hormones in check, please?" Autumn begs of Nora.
Nora reluctantly agrees. Even at midnight, she was still a bundle of energy. And drunk. Very, very drunk...
"So, how was your magical seven minutes in heaven?"
Magical. Their time together was magical. But as much as Kat wanted to reminisce with the girls about what they got up to, she was reminded of something else that was magical...
Maybe it was time for Kat to tell the girls about something... some place that will change their lives forever. And it was right by Fawn's Rest...
Their seven minutes in heaven were up, but now they had all the time in the world together. And it was about to get even more magical.
"Well, we're together now. And I promise I'll tell you guys most of it later. But speaking of magical... I wanna show you guys something. Nora, quit goofing around and give Swann her camcorder so she can record all this!"
As Nora hands Swann her camcorder back, Kat instructs the girls to follow in her steps as a group of Moonlit Moths led the way...
The end...
...or the beginning?