Chapter Text
“Hey, Ragatha?” Pomni asked, her voice quiet and slow. Ragatha stirred slightly, her eyes half opened.
“Yeah, Pom?”
“Do you think that our human selves know each other?”
Ragatha pursed her lips and shifted slightly, "There's a possibility.”
“I think they do, cause I know I’ll always love you. In this world and in the next.” Pomni said, moving up in bed slightly to hug her. Ragatha smiled and closed her eyes again. She wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close to her chest. Pomni rested her head on Ragatha's shoulder, leaning closer to her. Ragatha shifted slightly to kiss Pomni on her forehead, smiling softly as she did.
“That's sweet, Pomni.”
. . .
Abby watched as people trickled into and trickled out of the neon lit club. She fiddled with the ends of her dress— which she realized was much shorter than she had thought it was— before taking a deep breath and walking in. The club stunk of alcohol, sweat, and even the slightest touch of cigarette smoke. She weaved her way around all sorts of friend groups, keeping her head low. She picked up her speed and began to speedwalk, moving even faster around the people in the crowd, dodging them with almost perfect precision. She knew this club was well known for their drinks, which was almost the entire reason she had come here in the first place.
After dodging many drunk adults, she finally spotted it. The bar. It was drowning in pure neon colours, so bright it made her eyes hurt. She perked up and picked up the pace, before suddenly feeling the touch of another person's skin on hers and the fabric of her nice dress getting soaked. She nearly toppled over, and she certainly would’ve, if it wasn’t for the stranger in front of her quickly grabbing her by the wrist. The girl she had basically ran into was just as tall as she was. Her red hair briefly reminded Abby of what fire looks like in it’s ignition phase, and she had a blue dress on with puffy sleeves that looked more fit for church.
She was also gorgeous.
“I’m so sorry!” The other woman shrieked, her voice surprisingly audible in the chaotic environment. Abby laughed awkwardly, wincing at the absolutely horrid texture of her wet dress. Whatever the other woman was drinking seemed to be ice cold; it might as well have been taken from the arctic.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry! Wait, let me… uhm…”
Abby’s laugh got awkward and more forced. She waved her hands around wildly, watching the poor woman in front of her panic search her purse. “It’s okay, it was just an accident, I—“
“Here! Take these!” She whipped out some small napkins and took them out of their packaging, quickly handing them to Abby. She grabbed them rather quickly, which only made the other woman’s anxiety worse. Abby watched as she pulled out tissue after tissue, almost like it was a magician and this was a magic trick. She would’ve laughed if she wasn’t somewhat disgruntled about one of her only decent dresses being ruined.
The other woman awkwardly rested her hand on her side, her other hand clutching the now empty glass cup. “Can— can I buy you a drink?”
Abby perked up. She nodded whilst dabbing the napkins on her dress. Before she knew it she was holding hands with this beautiful stranger and being led towards the bar. Her face was beginning to flush, yet it was barely visible due to the dark atmosphere of the club.
The two of them sat down beside each other, an awkward silence beginning to settle in between the two.
“So… what’s your name?” Abby asked.
“My name’s Suzie. And your name is…?”
“Abigail… but you can call me Abby.” Before she could even think about it, she awkwardly held her hand out for a handshake. Suzie watched in confusion before taking her hand and gently shaking it, her brows slightly furrowing.
“What drink will I get you?” Suzie asked, resting her hands on her lap. Abby shrugged,
“I wanna get a negroni, but I heard the margaritas here are really good.”
Suzie perked up, smiling slightly. “Oh, I’ve never had the margarita’s here! Maybe I’ll try one too. What’s your favourite drink? I love a good cosmopolitan.”
“I like negronis, but I’ll basically drink anything.”
“Wanna try a cosmopolitan? That is, assuming you’ve never had one.”
“Are you looking to treat me tonight, or are you just trying to make me forget about the fact my dress reeks of alcohol?” Abby said, half flirtatious and half sarcastic. Suzie rolled her eyes,
“Well, I'm surprised that no one else is treating you tonight.” Suzie said, matching her tone. “What’s a girl as gorgeous as you doing alone?” She continued, clearly flirting. Abby froze before turning bright red. Suzie laughed right at her before stopping and turning away, her body occasionally twitching due to her giggles.
“Just order the drinks now, Suzie…” Abby said, slightly laughing as well.
“Okay, okay, sorry. I’ve already had a few drinks..” Suzie laughed, her smile faltering. “I’m assuming we’re both gonna get martinis first?”
Abby nodded, noticing her smile waver. As they waited for their drinks to come, the awkward silence was threatening to seep its way between the two of them again.
“Do you come here often?” Suzie blurted out suddenly. Abby stumbled backwards slightly in her seat from her sudden question.
“This is my first time here, actually. What about you?”
Suzie paused to think about it for a moment.
“I think I’ve been here like… twice. This is my third time now. I live about two towns away, which is probably why.”
“Two whole towns away?” Abby asked, absolutely baffled. Who in the right mind drives two whole towns away for a bar that’s at the very best subpar?
“You’re so far away, why come here specifically?”
“Getting away from… stuff.”
Abby watched as Susie’s smile faltered, her smile becoming less genuine and almost like it was hard for her to keep it on.
“Well, I came here for that too.” Abby said, trying to change the topic. Even if changing the topic required her to lie through her teeth.
“We’re both here to get away from something, so let’s get away the good old fashioned way. Let's drink our troubles away.” Abby cheered, trying to be enthusiastic. A genuine smile returned back to Susie’s face, causing Abby’s smile to grow even wider.
“Couldn’t have worded it better.” Suzie smiled back at her.
. . .
The two of them had managed to down 2 martinis, 2 cosmopolitans, and multiple shots of whatever the hell they could still pronounce. Abby had never thought of herself as a light-weight, but in the presence of Suzie, she might as well be. She giggled incoherently as she took a swig of her negroni. Suzie giggled at her and took a sip from the cosmopolitan she had been swirling for almost an hour.
“Suzie, how are you gonna be able to afford all this?” Abby asked, feeling like she was babbling. Suzie smiled shyly, “I come from a pretty wealthy family.”
“Oh, okay, so now you’re just flexing.” Abby quipped sarcastically, trying to hide her drunken smile. Suzie smiled back, “Hey, you asked, and I answered.”
“Tootsie…” Abby mumbled, resting her head on her arms. Suzie burst out laughing,
“Did you mean to say touché—?!”
Abby seethed in her seat as she watched Suzie laugh at her simple mistake, almost like it was the funniest thing in the world. She laughed like she hadn’t laughed in years, and as she did, Abby could feel the heat rush to her cheeks. She tried to convince herself it was because of the alcohol, but even deep down she knew it wasn’t.
“You know, speaking of flexing, I’ve been told I’ve got pretty good muscles…” Suzie said, slurring her words slightly, the drinks clearly beginning to get to her.
“Oh, do you now?”
Suzie nodded happily, “Yup! I played softball for a while. I also do horse riding.”
“Dang, you’re like… rich rich.” Abby said aloud, her eyes widening. Suzie blushed, “Well, I did say my family was pretty wealthy.”
“I know, but like… horses? Holy crap, no wonder why you offered to buy me a drink without a second thought.”
“When I said wealthy, what were you thinking?” Suzie asked, her eyebrow raised.
“I dunno. A big house with a pool?”
“You’re right about the big house, but wrong about the pool. We had a farm instead.”
“A whole farm!” Abby yelled, as if her voice was competing with the music in the club. Suzie hushed her while giggling, “Yes, yes, a whole farm. What about you, Abby? What are your hobbies?”
She looked away and swirled around the remainder of her negroni before answering. “Not much. I like to explore abandoned buildings and post about it on YouTube sometimes. That’s… kind of it.”
“That sounds so cool!” Suzie said, genuinely excited. “Before we leave, tell me your channel. I’d love to watch some of your videos.”
Abby nodded before taking another quick swig of her drink,
“Hey… I know we’ve known each other for like, two hours, but I think you’re pretty cool. If you'd like, I can give you my number—“
“I would love that.” Suzie said, loudly and enthusiastically. The two girls took out their phones, exchanged numbers, and laughed.
“Would you wanna meet up here again maybe… next week?” Suzie asked, holding her hand out for a shake.
“Sure, I’d love to.” Abby replied, enthusiastically shaking her hand.
“…wait,” Abby deadpanned before glaring at Suzie, “Are you doing a handshake because of earlier—“
Suzie couldn’t help but burst into laughter, shaking and laughing like a madman. Abby couldn’t help but join in.