Erin Gilbert does not have a massively huge, swooning like a teeny bopper over sparkling vampires, hopelessly devoted to you crush on Jillian Holtzmann.
Absolutely not.
She does not feel a prickle on the back of her neck and tingling in her fingertips when Holtz brushes against her mid-ghostbusting before launching into a barrel roll to approach the glowing blue presence in front of them. And she does not – oh god, she most definitely does not – feel anything when Holtz jumps to her feet, turns slightly at the hip and winks at her before running her tongue over the side of her proton gun. She faces forward one again and cocks the gun. A single zap – it's quick and perfectly aimed, as if Erin would expect anything less from Holtz - and the ghost is captured, secure in the pack strapped on Holtz's back.
"Kickass!" Abby exclaims as she runs towards them from across the street where she and Patty had been in the midst of catching their own ghost. Abby approaches and pats Holtz on the back and then turns to Erin, who is still standing there, staring at the blonde scientist like a lovesick puppy dog. "I can see you were a huge help here," Abby says with an eyeroll. She snaps her fingers in front of Erin's face, which seems to bring her out of her adoring haze.
Erin blinks a few times and stammers. "Uhh."
Holtzmann turns to her and smiles that goddamned dimpled smile that does so many things to her. Delicious, delightful things.
Erin Gilbert does not have a crush on Jillian Holtzmann. Absolutely not.
-X-X-X-
"Cheese or pepperoni?" Patty gestures toward Erin with a piece of each in hand.
"Cheese," Erin responds, not looking up from the newspaper she is thumbing through at the table. A beat, then she raises her head and squints. "No, wait. Pepperoni." She reaches out to Patty, who places two slices on a paper plate and slides it across the counter. Starving, she grabs a piece and eyes it like the juiciest piece of meat she's ever seen. Her mouth begins to water before she stuffs half the slice into her mouth and practically inhales the greasy piece of heaven.
"Anyone seen Holtzmann?" Patty asks.
"Last I saw, she was upstairs working on something," Abby responds while grabbing a plate of her own. "She's been in her own little world lately." Abby pauses. "Well, even more than usual for Holtz."
Patty snorts.
"I'll go take her a plate," Patty offers, grabbing the food in one hand and a cup of soda in the other.
Erin jumps out of her chair and snatches the food from Patty's grasp. "I'll bring it to her," she chokes out through a mouthful of pepperoni.
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Gilbert," Patty laughs. Abby and Patty exchange a look before the taller woman steps back and puts her hands in the air. "Take it."
Erin smiles sheepishly, somewhat embarrassed by her outburst. She gulps, then opens her mouth to come up with some type of excuse, but the only thing that comes out is an awkward squeak of a laugh. She turns on her heels for the staircase and makes her way up toward where Abby saw Jillian working.
She barely makes her way up the stairs before she hears the familiar sound of tools buzzing away. Erin approaches the doorway and barely peeks her head through the doorway, instead giving herself a moment to admire. Holtzmann dances around the room, a pair of pliers in one hand and a wrench in the other. She wears a pair of old, loose jeans, rolled up – perfectly uneven – that shouldn't compliment her figure but, good God, they just do.
Erin bites her lower lip and inhales slowly, as quietly as she can. She closes her eyes for a moment before taking a step forward into the lab toward Holtzmann, who is intensely focused on a cacophony of pieces parts spread across the experiment table. She's bent slightly at the waist against the table, trying to fit different parts into various slots before discarding incorrect pieces behind her with an indifferent toss over her shoulder. She's so engrossed that she doesn't even seem to notice Erin's existence.
Brilliant, Erin thinks to herself. "Hellooo," she sings, waving the pizza and soda slightly.
Jillian looks up slowly, then flashes that toothy smile that makes Erin melt like butter. No, her breath definitely doesn't catch in her throat as a result. Definitely not.
Holtzmann's eyes sparkle behind yellow-hued goggles, which she promptly takes off and tosses aside onto the table. "Hiya."
Erin shifts her weight back and forth between her feet nervously and let's out a pained laugh. "I, uh. I brought you something." There's a long pause while Holtzmann just stares at her, smiling. "Food. I brought you food." Erin extends her hands out to give the grinning scientist the pizza and soda.
"Thanks!" Jillian responds, snatching each item out of Erin's hands. "The low fuel light was a' flashin'." She takes a large bite out of the pizza and chews loudly.
Erin laughs awkwardly again and locks her hands in front of her, not quite sure what to do with herself. She stares ahead and finally gets a good look at Holtzmann's outfit. Perfectly paired with the ratty jeans is a white and red t-shirt; it reads, "Ah! The element of surprise!" Erin snorts. So ridiculous, so classically Holtz.
Erin realizes she's just been standing there in the awkward silence, the only sound Jillian's chewing and swallowing. She takes a few steps to the right toward a pile of metal that appears to be Holtzmann's latest concoction. Curious, Erin reaches out to touch the contraption, but is quickly stopped by an urgent "Gilbert!" She pulls her hand to her chest and turns back toward Holtz.
"What?"
"It's urgent!" Jillian exclaims, pointing into her cup.
Concerned, Erin rushes over. She looks down into the cup of fizzing Pepsi and arches an eyebrow. "What, what is it?!"
"Look," Holtz whispers, inching her face closer to the drink. Their faces are close, their noses almost touching as the two women look inside the Styrofoam cup as if it were the goddamned Cave of Wonders. Erin can smell a mixture of coconut lime shampoo from curly blonde hair and greasy pepperoni breath. She should not find it enticing.
She does.
"What?" Erin whispers, her eyes looking up to meet Holtzmann's. They're strikingly blue and seem to shine despite the subdued lighting of the lab. Jillian parts her lips and flicks her tongue out slightly and Erin thinks she may kiss her – oh my god, what is she kisses her. Erin closes her eyes and oh so slyly puckers up.
Then, suddenly, Jillian blows into her straw and sends fizzy bubbles pooling over her drink and into Erin's face. Holtz finds it hilarious, a throaty laugh filling the space between them.
Erin sniffs and steps away, wiping a few drops of Pepsi from her face. "Ha. Ha. Hilarious," she grumbles. Holtzmann continues to laugh.
So much for kissing.
Erin clears her throat and rubs her forehead. "Well, I just wanted to make sure you had something to-" She stops as a pile of paperwork and blueprints catch her eye in the corner of the table. They're stacked in manila envelopes and folders with a few stray pieces peaking out of the corners. "What are these?" she asks, thumbing through the blue and white papers.
"Something," Holtzmann says quickly, grabbing the stack of folders and pulling them to her chest. She doesn't say much beyond that, but the look on her face tells Erin she's not exactly up to talking about it.
Her interest piqued, Erin steps behind the table where Holtzmann is. "Is this 'Something'?" She gestures toward a small instrument in the shape of a triangle.
This time, it's Holtz who shifts her weight back and forth on her feet. "Mmmm…hmm." She tosses the folders behind her, then gently swats Erin away and picks up a screwdriver.
Erin simply stares, expecting Jillian to elaborate on whatever it is she's been working on.
She doesn't.
There's a long silence before Holtz finally explains, "It's in the early stages." She taps her screwdriver on the table a few times before bending down and tinkering with the machine again. "I'm not ready to disclose it's exact purpose just yet. Pliers?"
Erin stands for a moment, unmoving, having simply basked in the wonder that is Holtzmann "inventing".
"Yo. E.G., phone home," Holtz teases, waving her hand in front of Erin's face.
She blushes before rushing over to the adjacent table to grab the pliers. "Sorry, I was just basking. I-I-I mean, thinking." Erin extends her palm forward and hands Jillian the pliers.
Holtzmann grabs the tool, but pauses for a moment to look at Erin. She smiles. "About what?"
You.
Me.
Inventing and chill.
"N-nothing," Erin stammers, folding her arms over her chest.
Holtzmann says nothing, simply salutes her with her free hand before turning back to the machine.
Erin is mortified. She's made a total fool of herself, with her stuttering and her staring and her….well, her general self. Why she ever thought there was even a chance of anything between of the two of them…she turns on her heels toward the doorway to the staircase. "Ok bye!" Erin says hurriedly, marching back to the doorway.
She barely rounds the corner before she hears it – the familiar zap of wires short circuiting. She'd heard it a million times before during Holtzmann's experiments – nothing to be particularly concerned about. But then she hears a bang, followed by a thump, and Erin knows something is different here. Something not quite right.
She turns around and half enters the room, leaning the right side of her body into the doorway. Then suddenly, time stops. Her heart pounds in her ears and her whole body shakes and shivers simultaneously. Wires flicker and sizzle as they are engulfed into flames.
And on the ground, in an unconscious heap with several burns and what appears to be a wound to the forehead, is Jillian Holtzmann.
Erin is paralyzed, her head screaming for her to just fucking do something, but her body frozen. She half expects Holtz to jump up with a classic "gotcha!" or finger guns or something. She'd murder her afterward, sure, but at least she would know she was ok.
"Jesus Christ, Holtz, get up," Erin thinks to herself, her nails digging into the doorframe as the fear continues to freeze her in place. "Get up."
She doesn't.
Erin screams.