Chapter Text
Colleen didn’t mean to pry, she really didn’t. In truth, the girl wasn’t even supposed to be home that early, always caught up in volleyball practice for the best part of the afternoon every Tuesday after school. Their coach had only just let the team know he wouldn’t be able to make it, dismissing everyone, and the Bridgerton sister for once didn’t feel like spending any more time than necessary around her mates, doing God knows what at Cressida’s.
In retrospect, Colleen wasn’t supposed to be doing a lot of things as of late.
The girl wasn’t supposed to entertain her classmates for the sake of blending in, when all they wanted to do was talk about boys or compare their parent’s bank accounts. She also wasn’t supposed to spend the better part of her nights searching for places to visit once she turned eighteen a year from then, nor should she be contemplating leaving for a sabbatical period in those places instead of going to uni.
And she certainly was not supposed to develop a massive crush on her sister’s best friend.
Well, “crush” hasn’t been exactly the right word to describe her current feelings for Penelope Featherington if Colleen was being completely honest with herself.
The Featheringtons had moved across from them a little over a year ago, and she’d soon met their eldest children, Prudence and Phillipa, whose age was similar to hers and Daphne’s. At the time, Colleen didn’t think much of them, apart from noticing their poor taste in clothes and tendency to follow whoever was popular in the neighborhood without a second thought.
It wasn’t until a couple of weeks later, however, that the fifteen-year-old walked into the Bridgerton living room in search of her notebook and was greeted by the cutest laugh she’d ever heard, coming from this tiny girl, with beautiful red hair and an ever more beautiful smile. Noticing her presence, the stranger stopped abruptly, gazing at her with the most remarkable blue eyes she’d ever seen, and Colleen could do nothing but stare back at her, already missing the sound of her laughter, as strange as that was.
“Oh, this is sister number one”, Eloise, who she suddenly realized was by the redhead’s side all along, pointed at her, and Colleen greedily made her way over to them, offering a hand for the girl to shake.
“Also known as Colleen Bridgerton, in case you’re wondering”, she jested awkwardly, watching satisfied as another wave of nervous laughter left the stranger’s lips. After a beat, she stood up to shake her hand back.
“Nice to meet you, Colleen Bridgerton. I’m Penelope. Penelope Featherington”.
Needless to say, the girl was instantly smitten. Of course, Penelope was still only thirteen, so her crush didn’t go beyond finding her adorable and looking forward to her next visit. Eventually, Penelope’s presence at the Bridgerton house became a constant, and Colleen made the most of the moments when she wasn’t being monopolized by Eloise, often doing her best to make her laugh just as hard as that first day. At that point, she’d like to believe she knew Penelope pretty well, and that the redhead liked the bits of herself she shared from time to time. And all that while, between movie nights, afternoon teas and daily rides to school, her crush turned into something more. Not that she’d ever confided in a single soul about that.
It really didn’t come as a surprise, then, when Penelope’s was the first voice the Bridgerton sister heard upon heading towards the kitchen after returning home that afternoon, causing her to grin at the prospect of spending some quality time with the girl. As Colleen approached the door, however, she stopped on her tracks, realizing not only that Penelope wasn’t alone, but that she was, in fact, accompanied by other familiar voices, who chatted animatedly on the other side of the wall.
“Did he tell you where you are going?” Francesca asked someone inside, and Colleen got even closer to the door in an attempt to understand what they were talking about, sensing it wasn’t something meant for others’ ears - but never one to miss a good gossip.
“Not really, no”, Penelope answered a couple of seconds later, and the girl immediately detected some reticence in her voice.
“Is he coming to get you? Are you going to meet at the place?” Sophie Baek, Daphne’s classmate, and Benedict’s new girlfriend, prompted, sounding excited. “Who are they talking about?”, Colleen wondered, trying to make sense of the whole thing.
“Guys, he just asked like, an hour ago, we didn’t exactly stop to talk about the specifics yet”, the redhead once again spoke, but was rapidly interrupted.
“But details are important, Pen! We need to choose the perfect outfit, hair, and makeup, oh, and check the place beforehand to see potential good spots to sit!”, Daphne exclaimed.
“Penelope is not a doll, Daph. And she shouldn’t dress fancy only ‘cause a boy asked her out on a date”, Eloise said with unmistakable contempt, causing two or three girls to speak at the same time, in what Colleen could have guessed was their usual banter. Not that she was listening to any of it anymore. Her brain stopped working the moment the word “date” left her sister’s lips.
Penelope was invited on a date. Her Penelope. On a date. With someone else.
What?
Colleen knew this would happen eventually, of course. Her friend was smart, funny, and well known around school, always involved in some project that gradually helped her initial shyness fade away and made her stand out from everyone else in her class.
And by God, was she beautiful. Even more so now that she’d begun feeling comfortable on her own skin. The last traces of childhood were finally leaving her, and Penelope, whose fair complexion and bright red hair had once made her scared of turning into the center of attention, didn’t care for it as much anymore. Anyone with eyes would notice her at some point.
Colleen just thought she’d have more time. Time to gather the courage to ask her out herself, or at least be as far away as possible when some faceless gal or bloke did. Far enough away that her heart wouldn’t squeeze painfully in her chest like it was doing right then at the prospect of watching her friend fall in love with someone who wasn’t her.
A loud wave of laughter startled her back to reality, and Colleen started eavesdropping yet again, in hopes of finding out who Penelope was going on a date with.
“Well, I stand my ground. It’s always good to be prepared. I just want Pen to feel ready”, Daphne, in her customary motherly tone, stated exasperated, likely to Eloise, which was the only one capable of making her lose composure for a bit.
“Girls, listen!” Penelope raised her voice, silencing them all. “I appreciate your advice, I really do. But it’s not a big deal. Alfred invited me, I said yes, we’re going out on Friday, let’s see how it goes, ok?” she added, and Colleen didn’t need to be in the room to know her friend was looking forward to a change in subject. Cataloging her nemesis’s name for later, she decided to act.
“But …” Daphne was about to object when the Bridgerton sister burst unceremoniously inside the kitchen, speaking over her.
“Greetings, ladies”, she smiled, her eyes scanning the place until they found a very much stiffed Penelope, just like she’d suspected she’d be. Casually, Colleen walked up to the center counter, grabbing a handful of popcorn from a bowl close to her. “What are we doing today?” she added with her mouth full, already reaching for the bowl one more time.
“Get your hands away from our food. We’re about to watch a movie”, Eloise patted her hand, moving the bowl away from her with a scowl.
“Why aren’t you at practice?” Daphne asked, suspicious.
“Jeez, Daph, way to make a girl feel welcomed”, she joked, placing herself between Francesca and Sophie by the table. “Coach couldn’t make it. Felt like spending some time home with my favorite gals. Can I join you?” she looked around, already anticipating objections. Unlike Daphne, Colleen had grown up closer to their eldest brothers, a fact both her and Eloise liked to hold against her from time to time.
“Of course, you can!” Sophie answered before her sisters could mutter a single word, smirking deviously. “I’m sure you’re going to love the movie we’ve chosen”, she continued, motioning for them all to head to the living room.
And as they spent the remaining afternoon watching Barbie and her horse (which was also her sister, apparently) save their village and their parents from petrification, with occasional interferences to make sure Colleen hadn't yet regretted choosing to see the movie with them, the girl kept playing her part as a distraction for her sisters and in-law, satisfied with the knowledge that Penelope was finally at ease once more.
・・・・・
Later that day, after dinner was over and everyone decided to call it a night, Colleen offered to walk Penelope back to her house. It was tradition, even though the girl lived across from them: at least one of the Bridgertons always escorted her, making sure she “made home safe”.
The entire way over was filled with an intense debate on whether Colleen should give Barbie as the Island Princess a try (“I promise, Col, you’re going to love this one!”), and soon enough they had crossed the street. As the duo reached Penelope's front porch, however, the brunette could no longer keep her thoughts away from the conversation she’d heard that afternoon, nor could she help her need to know more about the date Penelope was invited to.
“So …” Colleen began, turning to Penelope completely with what she hoped was a nonchalant expression. “I couldn’t help but listen to you girls earlier”.
“Oh”, Penelope didn’t sound surprised at all, but rather shy, staring at her hands for a while before facing her with a small smile. “Yeah, I figured. You came around at an alarmingly appropriate time”.
“You seemed bothered by the questions, Pen. Are you having second thoughts? Is Debling not a good guy?” she asked carefully, and her stomach sank as the redhead vehemently denied it with a shake of her head.
“No, no second thoughts. Alfie is a decent guy, really”, Penelope assured quickly, confirming that it was indeed Alfred Debling who had asked her out. Colleen only knew him by name, since they weren’t in the same year and didn’t share any extracurricular classes, but would make sure to learn anything she could from Daphne, who was his classmate, as soon as possible.
“You don’t need to worry, Col”, the Featherington continued, and she turned her full attention back to her friend in time to hear the next words loud and clear. “I know you see me as an extension of your sisters, but I’m …”.
“You’re not my sister”, she interrupted her abruptly, appalled. There wasn’t a single part of her that thought of Penelope as such, and the girl wanted to make sure she knew that. And by the surprised expression that followed her outburst, she wasn’t really certain Penelope did.
“What is it, then?” Colleen prompted, trying to ease the sudden tension between them. “That you’re bothered by, I mean”.
“I’m just … worried. Not for the reasons the girls think, though. Alfie sees me every day at school, he’s well aware I’m not one for lots of makeup or overdressing, and I’m not planning on doing that for the sake of being liked”, Penelope eventually said, motioning for Colleen to follow her up to an old bench by the side of the house. When they were comfortably seated, she continued. “But it’s still my first ever date. And I’m not really sure how the whole thing works. What to say, or what to do. I don’t like not knowing things”.
“I’m sure you’re going to be great at it, Pen”, Colleen stated, trying her hardest to be supportive. Her friend deserved the best first date someone could have, regardless of the person by her side.
“Yeah, but you can’t really be, can you?” Penelope counterpointed stubbornly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “You’ve never been on a date with me”.
“Well, what if I did?” the Bridgerton sister blurted before she could stop herself, shocking them both. By the time the redhead spoke again, however, an idea was already forming in Colleen’s brain.
“What are you saying?” Penelope asked, wide eyed, standing up from the bench to look directly into her eyes.
“Your date is on Friday, right?” Colleen answered with a question of her own, buying time to figure out exactly what to say. When Penelope nodded, she kept going. “If feeling comfortable is what you want, let me help”.
“And how exactly are you planning on doing that, Bridgerton? I can’t exactly have you whispering in my ear throughout the whole date”, the girl looked doubtful.
“Come on, Pen, walk with me here. You said it yourself; you hate not knowing how things will turn out. And the only way to be prepared is to practice. With me, that is” Colleen blabbed, suddenly self-conscious of how desperate she sounded for someone who wasn’t supposed to benefit from any of this, only help. “Unless you don’t want to…”, she trailed off, unsure.
“I do!” Penelope half yelled, lowering her voice for the next bit. “I want to, I mean. If you don’t mind”.
“Are you free Thursday night?” Colleen asked instead of answering, afraid to give her eagerness away, and Penelope nodded. “This is really happening”, she thought, stopping herself from grinning like a madwoman.
“I’ll pick you at seven”, Colleen settled for saying, finally leaving the bench and heading back towards her house. “Wear whatever you feel comfortable in”.
“It’s a date”, she heard Penelope whispering back, and all but ran back home, going straight to her bedroom. The girl had a perfect date to plan, after all.