Chapter Text
Lainy Norris was just a girl. One that denied her parent’s desires for her to become a doll, live near them and have loads of children. A girl who decided to become a photographer, running away from her childhood home without telling her parents a word. A girl who decided to crash in one of her best friend’s flat just to feel free. A girl that, even after doing all of that, wasn't free at all.
Maybe her parents’ lack of faith in her wasn’t mistaken, maybe Lainy just had a stupid fever dream that she could never accomplish. Maybe she was a doll.
Or, perhaps, she was just overthinking it all.
She had been living with Gwen since she came sobbing to her front door. There were no questions asked, they didn’t need them. They have been best friends since kindergarten, after all. The golden trio: Kermit, Princess Gwendolyn and Albono, or, in case that you've just met them: Lainy, Gwen and Alexandra.
She didn’t regret her decision, of course not, but maybe she could have waited a little more. Maybe if she had found the husband her parents wanted… well, no, fuck that. Lainy wasn’t getting married because of some man’s whim. She did miss her parents and her siblings though. She even missed that guy that her sister introduced to her once, even if she hadn’t cared enough to memorize his name back then.
A gentle knock on her room’s door snapped her out of her mind.
“Lay? Wanna grab some dinner?” Gwen asked. Her accent was too thick for her own good, always able to pull out a giggle out of her. “I’m gonna order some pizza.”
“Yeah, mint!” Lainy answered without leaving the safety of her room. She wasn’t in the mood to fake a smile for her friend. Gwen would notice that she was overthinking, anyway.
However, Gwen had another plan. She opened the door slowly, giving her enough time to ask her not to come in or even close it, and entered the room. She smiled softly, sitting by her side.
“Alright, mate?” She asked, hugging her tightly. “Bad thoughts?”
“Realistic ones.”
Gwen rolled her arms around the younger’s body, letting Lainy hide in the crook of her neck.
“We are getting pizza, watching a shitty show and gossiping and then, I’ll let you think about whatever you want again.” Gwen listed, still not letting her go from her grip. “Understood?”
“Wow, bossy much, are we?” Lainy laughed, pushing aside her own mind to enjoy living with her best friend for a bit.
Gwen didn’t answer, she just gave her a kiss on her cheek, winked at her and closed the door again.
The room wasn’t as noisy as it was before Gwen dared to check on her. The thought of looking back wasn’t as scary, but still, she decided not to think about it. To oblige to Gwen’s advice (because, even if she had asked it as an order, she knew damn well that it was just a suggestion to help her out).
She stood up, with clumsy, slow movements, and opened the door. The light from the corridor was brighter than the yellowish one from her bedroom’s lamp, but it didn’t disturb her a lot. There was something brighter there, after all. Gwen’s smirk.
٭᪥ ⊱━━⊰ ᪥٭
That same week, on Friday, Gwen started rambling about her new obsession to Alexandra and Lainy while cycling to the latter’s college: Maxine.
Apparently, the woman had to do a project in which she made a marketing campaign for something that Max had designed on her own. Something like a tiny, motorized car, maybe. She didn’t catch that, maybe because Gwen had basically screamed it at them.
“And then she goes like ‘It’s not my fault that you are that much of a perfecionist pain, mate”. A pain! Just because I asked her why she hadn’t done her parts of the Power Point!” She exclaimed, her accent thick. She was breathless. Probably shouting while cycling wasn’t the best idea.
“Yep, that’s soooo shitty, Wendy.” Alex rolled her eyes, slowing down her pace every time Gwen stopped rambling to catch her breath. “Super unfortunate.”
Lainy swallowed a laugh.
“Poor her! Having to work with a girl that she would probably bang anywhen must be a real struggle.” Lainy added, her eyes still on the road.
“I wouldn’t!”
“Snog?”
“That is not the point!” Gwen protested.
Both Alex and Lainy looked at each other at the same time, as the posh girl flustered behind them.
“Oooh~ she totally would.” Lainy teased her.
“Crickey, Gwen! I didn’t know that you were that much of a vulgar-thinking person!”
“Can you please stop with the bullying?” Gwen pleaded, cycling faster.
“No!” They both exclaimed at the same time, laughing at the coincidence. Gwen, though, didn’t find it as funny.
The way to Lainy’s college was as tiring as always, especially as she was the only one who studied in north Thorneshire. Both Gwen and Alex had their colleges almost next to each other, with a five minute walk of distance.
By the other hand, the Law Building was just next to hers. And what did that even mean? That, my friends, meant that her best Spanish mate ever, worked next to her: Carlota.
They had met a couple of months ago, on a rainy day, while our poor little protagonist was looking for the place she was supposed to have a course. The day Lainy almost died.
She didn’t want to make a big deal about that, so she told no one, but Carlota did know. Of course she did. She was the one who saved her after all.
Of course, this isn’t about how Lainy met Carlota, but about the months after that. About how, apparently, she had become something like the professor’s little sister. And, about how everyone knew that. Because, if anyone decided to get too near to the Brit, Carlota would be there, and Lainy didn’t know whether that made her feel safe or weak to this point. Probably both.
“¡Lainita!” Carlota greeted her once the trio arrived at Lainy's college. She wasn’t alone, but she had another girl next to her, a bit younger than the Spaniard but not quite younger than Lainy. She had a long, brunette ponytail tied with a red bow, a bow too red for her own good.
Her eyes were the opposite to Carlota’s deep brown ones. Big, cat-like, green eyes that sparkled under the sun’s light.
“Hey, Carlo!” Lainy smiled. She gave Carlota a quick hug, facing the stranger. “Hi, I’m Lainy.”
“Charlène.” The brunette answered, a thick, french accent decorating her words. Her voice felt somehow familiar to her. She had a beautiful smile as well, and, to be honest, Lainy was between feeling envious of her and asking her for her number.
“She’s new in the Architecture Building. Just came from Monaco.” Carlota explained. “I think that Alex knew her?”
The Thai looked straight at the girl’s eyes, analysing her. It didn’t take long until she talked again.
“You are ‘BananaLeclerc’!” Alex said, her eyes wide open. Wait, she was the girl from Twitch? That was crazy!
“Oui!” The girl- well, Charlène answered.
“So.” Gwen started. “Although we know each other, I think that we haven’t introduced each other properly just yet. I’m Gwen, that short demon is obviously Lainy and the brat is Alexandra.”
She offered her a hand to shake, but Charlène took it to bring her closer, hugging her tightly.
“I didn't know that I'd find friends here.” The girl confessed. “I mean, Carlota is super nice, but yeah, I know you guys better.”
Carlota smiled, slipping a hand around Lainy’s waist.
“Everything okay?” Carlota asked in a whisper, smiling softly.
She hated when she did stuff like that. Of course she was glad that someone cared about her, but Lainy is not made out of porcelain. She doesn’t need a bodyguard at all.
“Mhmmm.” She hummed, looking at her friends instead of facing Carlota.
“Good.”
There were times when Carlota actually was just a friend of hers, when they went clubbing, played videogames or even put some makeup on each other. Other times, Carlota tried to be her mother, and fuck, if Lainy wanted a mother, she wouldn’t be in Thorneshire in the first place.
“I got to go.” Lainy blurted out, freeing her body out of Carlo’s touch. She gave them all an awkward smile. One that, as always, only Gwen was able to decode.
The blue-eyed woman gave her a simple nod, refocusing the attention on Charlène to offer her a gentle getaway.
“So Charlie…” She had started as Lainy’s steps became quieter, farer.
The stroll to her class wasn’t tiring, she was almost there after all, but her mind felt heavier than usual. Well, maybe not more than usual, but it was heavier than some moments before for sure.
Overthinking could be her second name to this point. Lainy The Overthinker Norris. It didn’t sound that bad, did it? Especially when it suited her so well.
She basically sprinted through the hall, not because she needed to, but because she felt like doing so. Because her body told her that she had to do it.
Dozens of eyes stared at her, but she didn't care. She just needed to keep going. Keep running.
So she did. She didn't stop until a body got into her way, collapsing against her own in less than five seconds. At the sixth second, she was already on the floor.
“Sorry, I wasn't…”
Lainy stopped her apology instantanily.
“It's okay, I wasn't paying attention.” A beautiful girl answered. Her eyes were hazel and her hair picked up in a messy bun. God, Lainy was too lesbian for this.
The girl offered her a hand, being both polite and cute as hell. She didn't look like an art student at all, neither did her books, that were spread around the floor. Physics, mechanics, engineering…
Once Lainy wasn't on the floor anymore, the brunette smiled, bunny teeth revealed behind her pink lips.
“I'm Lainy.” the Brit said, way too stunned by the stranger’s beauty. “Are you from…. here? I've never seen you.”
“Oh, no! My brother Hunter does. I was just here to pick him up and… yeah. I got lost.” She explained. ‘Hunter Piastri’ Lainy thought. Of course she was his sister, they were almost identical. “Im Odelle.”
“Nice to meet you.” The Brit smiled. “I would love to keep talking but I'm in a bit of a rush right now and…” She started to turn to her class. It was a shame that she had to study.
“Yeah, no problem. See you another time?” The woman asked just before Lainy started running again, her smile reaching her eyes.
“Yeah.” She breathed, the word sounded way too cheesy in her own lips.
She was late. Obviously. But maybe and just maybe, it was worth it.
Perhaps they'll meet again.