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Liz Miller was a rare breed of cool. She wasn’t popular, she wasn’t a loner, she didn’t fit in any social cliques. She simply did not give a shit. It infuriated Kimberly.
Kimberly Carter was popular. She knew everything about everyone, she held power over the entire school and she was not afraid of fighting to keep her top spot. She held onto her image for dear life, and she dared not tell anybody about her family life. Only Shannon was supposed to know.
Then, camp happened. Liz, with all her fearless self-confidence, had strutted into Kimberly’s life, devastating all the walls Kimberly had carefully put up over the years. And she did it so effortlessly. She didn’t push, she didn’t pry, she just existed, too close to Kimberly for her not to notice.
Once, at camp, Liz caught Kimberly reading Carmilla in their shared room. Kimberly tried to hide it, but she knew Liz had seen it. She knew Liz knew what it was. What it meant. In panic, she froze, expecting Liz to mock her, or to blackmail her. Instead, Liz sat down on her bed, then pulled out a copy of The Price of Salt, and she began reading it, as if it was no big deal. Kimberly swallowed, anxiety subduing. She knew Liz was gay, she had heard of the infamous Lizbian at school. She envied how confident she was with her sexuality. Even at that point, as she realized Kimberly was like her, she didn’t ask any questions, nor did she seem particularly interested about this new information.
“Why are you so chill about everything?” Kimberly asked, frustration and gratefulness battling inside her. Liz looked at her sideways, cocking an eyebrow. “Should I pester you with questions instead? A motivating speech, perhaps?” She teased, rolling her eyes, then looking back at her book. Kimberly’s nostrils flared up. She stood up, walking towards Liz, ready to punch that stupid smirk off her face. As Liz saw her approaching, she placed the book on the floor, looking at Kimberly. “What?” She asked, after Kimberly froze in front of her.
Kimberly’s jaw tensed. She licked her lips, looking at Liz’s stupidly cute confused face, then climbed on top of her. Liz made a strangled noise. Watching The Lizbian, always confident, never uncomposed, being flustered, overweighed all the thoughts in Kimberly’s head yelling at her that this was a bad idea. Kimberly’s pupils dilated. She bit her lip. “I’m gonna kiss you now.” She implicitly asked for consent, and waited just long enough for Liz to make a vaguely affirmative sound to capture her lips.
As they parted, both gasping for air, Liz looked at Kimberly and smirked. “Didn’t know you were into literature like that” she teased, wiggling her eyebrows. Kimberly snorted, hiding her face in the crook of Liz’s head. “Shut up.” She muttered. Liz carefully stroked her hair, chuckling softly. Kimberly knew this was dangerous. But then, why did she feel so safe?
As they laid in the same bed, Liz holding Kimberly like she wasn’t at least 5 inches shorter, they opened up to each other, in ways neither of them had ever done. Kimberly talked about how she hated her parents, how she changed every day at school into non-preppy clothes because her parents thought her edgier outfits made her look gay. Liz opened up about her father leaving, and how that made her trust people less. The remainder of camp was spent between talking all night, secretly making out and holding hands when no one was looking.
On the last day, Liz approached Kimberly, whisking her aside. “Hey.” She muttered, hiding behind one of the camp dorm buildings, looking around to make sure no one could hear them. She knew Kimberly wasn’t out, and she cared about making her feel comfortable, even if it hurt a little every time Kimberly would hastily move away from her whenever she heard footsteps
Kimberly looked like she had been crying, her eyes puffy, her cheeks darker than usual. “Hey.” She mumbled back, her hands balled up in fists to her sides.
Liz could feel how tense she was, probably plagued by the same thoughts she was having. “We’ll see each other at school, and we can hang out after as well. I don’t live that far out of the district.” Liz reassured Kimberly, touching her arm. Kimberly flinched, taking a step back. “Yeah, we can do that.” She nodded, looking around, more on edge than usual.
Liz frowned, crossing her arms. “You good?” She asked, concern seeping through her voice. Kimberly nodded, and, in hindsight, Liz wished she had pried. She didn’t, however.
“I see my mom over there, she came early because I have a shift at bad vibrations this afternoon. Money is tight this time of year.” Liz pointed at her mom, smiling. Kimberly nodded, retreating in herself. “Alright, see you.” She went to walk away, but Liz stopped her. “Can I kiss you?” She whispered. Kimberly frowned. “No.” She said sharply, looking around frantically. She sighed. “I’ll see you around, Liz.” She said, easily freeing herself from Liz’s grip, leaving Liz with a daunting feeling in her gut.
As school started again, Kimberly changed. She was so scared of what people would assume if she started hanging out with Liz, of what her parents might do if they found out. She started avoiding Liz like the plague, as if camp never happened.
Liz tried to talk to her a couple of times, but she soon realized that Kimberly was icing her out, so she gave up.
And then one blonde preppy bimbo invaded the school and suddenly Kimberly couldn’t stop seeing her and Liz everywhere together. Sitting together, eating together, hanging out, laughing, hugging. It made Kimberly’s blood boil. What did Elle Woods bring to the table that would be appetizing to Liz? Nothing! She was the epitome of what Liz hated. She pried, she meddled, she got Liz’s mom fired! And Liz still chose to hang out with her.
Then Kimberly got to know Elle, and she realized why she was so likeable. She also realized how shitty she had been to Liz. Invertedly, she had become what Liz hated the most.
After the scandal blew over, and after Elle left, Kimberly let herself try being close with Liz again. She’d walk with her, sit with her at lunch, and if their goodbye hug lasted one second too long, she didn’t mind.
The concert was the tipping point. Liz looked insanely hot with her hair gelled back. And she looked ridiculously cute as she freaked out. So, naturally, Kimberly kissed her. And then Liz freaked out more. And then she kissed her back. It felt right.
After the show, Liz went backstage to pack away her stuff. Kimberly waited for the other band members to leave before sneaking in.
“I gotta say, Lizbian, you weren’t bad back there.” Kimberly teased, leaning against the wall. Liz jumped at her voice, then grinned as she saw her. “Yeah? I feel like I messed up the intro.” She commented, biting her lip in thought. Kimberly rolled her eyes, stepping towards her. “You were great.” She assured her, poking her cheek. Liz looked up at her, holding eye contact. “Thanks. For pushing me to do this.” She smiled softly, blinking at her.
Kimberly nodded, looking away. Her body swayed in discomfort, not used to people thanking her. “It was whatever. I didn’t do much.” She said in dismissal, crossing her arms.
Liz took her hands, making Kimberly’s head snap back at her. “I feel like we were interrupted before I got on stage.” Liz smirked, a mischievous look on her face. Kimberly scoffed, despite how flustered she felt. “So romantic of you.” She teased, trying to downplay how eager she felt. Liz deadpanned at her. “Last time I tried to be romantic you didn’t talk to me for months.”
Tension built up in the room, the moment fizzling out. Liz dropped her hands, grabbing her suitcase. “I’ll see you at school, Kimberly.” She muttered, the adrenaline fading wiping away her willingness to let the taller girl get away with avoiding her for months.
Kimberly, for once in her life, felt brave. She grabbed Liz’s wrist. “Wait.” She spoke, rubbing her thumb on Liz’s wrist. “I’m sorry. About after camp. I was just... scared.” She admitted, tears building up in her eyes. She took a deep breath. “I like you, Liz. I’m sorry my parents are assholes. I’m sorry I can’t be out and proud like you. But, I really like you. Please, give me another chance.” She muttered, not releasing her grip until Liz turned around.
Liz looked up at her, an unreadable expression on her face. Slowly, a smirk made it out of her. “I never thought I would see The Kimberly begging for little ol’ me.” She teased. Then, she walked towards Kimberly, not giving her the chance to rebut before kissing her. “I don’t care if you can’t be making out with me in public. I just wanted you to accept what you feel. That’s enough.” She whispered, sealing her words with a kiss.