The incessant buzzing from her phone woke her but stopped the moment she reached for it. The brunette thanked her lucky stars for the minute reprieve, diving back into her fortress of dreams and blankets. A mere moment later, her phone began to buzz again. She glared at the offending object but it offered no apology as it buzzed and flashed, requiring her attention. She cursed silently as she picked it up.
"What?" Beth growled into the phone. She was not a morning person, she never has been.
"Your crankiness is showing, Dennis," came Karen's voice. "Get your ass out of bed. I'm downstairs!"
"Shit, what time is it?" Beth groaned as she leapt reluctantly from her bed.
"The math paper starts in an hour, so hurry your ass down now!"
"Okay, see you in a bit."
Beth hopped into the shower for a quick rinse. As she toweled herself off, she had a minor fashion dilemma but she settled on the dark, low-cut top she knew would get her the attention she wanted from Karen. Rushing out of her house, the brunette held her shoes in one hand and her tote bag in the other. She hollered a goodbye to her mother as she jumped into the blonde's car.
"Took you long enough," Karen mock-scolded and began their drive to school. "You take the longest showers ever!"
"I won't apologise for wanting to look good for my girlfriend," Beth retorted after giving Karen a kiss on her cheek. "Morning baby."
"Good morning," Karen smiled, taking her eyes off the road to look at her girlfriend. "And you're looking mighty fine too."
"Keep your eyes on the road, sweetheart," Beth admonished while putting on her shoes. "Don't want to die before math has the chance to kill me."
"Puh-lease. I could drive better than you with my eyes closed," Karen rolled her eyes.
"A challenge, Beattie?" Beth leaned over and began an assault on the blonde's neck.
Her tongue teased and flicked across the spots she knew to be sensitive to the blonde, and she was right when she was rewarded with a moan. Her hands moved to massage Karen's inner thigh, brushing her heated core through the jeans and the blonde whimpered in response. Fingers began to undo buttons and zippers and soon, her hands were free to explore the drenched material. Beth loved how much she affected Karen, the scent of her arousal flooded her senses as the air surrounding her seemingly grew brighter. Her fingers expertly stroked the hardening bud, drawing guttural groans and purrs from the flushed blonde. The car swerved violently as she slipped two fingers into Karen. Beth chuckled, only to earn a glare from the blonde. She continued her ministrations - her thumb rubbing her clit and her fingers moving in and out of her.
"So close," the blonde breathed and for a moment Beth was unsure if she referred to the destination or her pending orgasm.
"I love you, Karen Beattie," Beth said as she curled her fingers deep inside the blonde.
In turn, the blonde climaxed from the intensity of the moment. The once-solid grip she had on the car now diminished as she squeezed her eyes shut from the earth-shattering orgasm that continued to wash over her. She jammed the brakes, lurching them both forward before jerking them back, causing the same thing to happen with the fingers within her, making her moan Beth's name out loud again. The fingers slipped out of her and into Beth's mouth, tasting and seducing Karen at the same time. Cars began to honk behind them as the blonde came down slowly from her euphoria. Beth shot up out of the window to give them a piece of her mind - the finger - with her free hand.
"I love you too, Beth Dennis," Karen finally replied after catching her breath.
Beth took the moment in, internalizing each nuance and movement the blonde made. It was not the first time they had proclaimed their love for each other, but this marked something bigger. One might call it a rite of passage to their relationship where they have deepened their bond and could strike a place off their public sex list; to college where they could live their lives free of the petty, small-minded people who lived in their little town; to their natural instincts of hiding behind masks of heteronormative behaviour. It just felt like something bigger.
Loving Karen was easy. Falling in love with her was easier. There was nothing that could have prepared the brunette when she first saw the blonde. It was an instant attraction and she was mesmerized. The sexy, intelligent blonde was awkward and geeky, always flailing blindly in social settings. That was where Beth found her, rescuing her from their clique of high-school mean girls. Though Beth was never one to pick a side, she had good rapport with everyone. The early onset of puberty helped move things along, especially with the jocks despite their cheerleader girlfriends protesting.
They hid their relationship behind the false facade of normal relationships - Karen with her books and Beth with Kyle Williams, the star quarterback from their high school. Beth knew it hurt the blonde whenever she was with Kyle in school but constantly assured her that once they moved out of this one-horse town, they could be together without the bigoted intolerance of its people. This was why she needed to finish high school fast, and move to whichever college the blonde was accepted to, so she could be with her girlfriend freely.
The brunette knew she was not a genius like Karen, she knew she might never be able to join Karen in the fancy medical school she wanted to get to. She was street-smart; not book-smart. She knew that the business courses there were quite prestigious as well and wanted to try for it. She was literally willing to do anything to get out and start a life devoid of this place. Their town was getting too small for her.
"Beth?" Karen's voice pulled her from her reverie. "We've got five minutes! Hurry your cute butt up!"
Beth could not help but giggle at her girlfriend as they hopped out of the car and closed the doors simultaneously. Her life was perfect, and even at seventeen, she knew this girl was going to be the one she was going to spend her life with, and no one was going to stop her.
"I want you to stop seeing her!" Eric Beattie yelled. "It's not right! It's revolting!"
Karen glared at her father. He had no say in her life, as much as he was good to her. He had fed and clothed her, spoken to her and given her adequate advice. He taught her the value of life and instilled the passion of learning. He read her and her brother bedtime stories when they were younger; baked all sorts of goodies together; watched bad B-films together; criticized the hell out of them together. That was all wonderful until he brought that woman with a literal holier-than-thou, bible-thumping attitude into their lives.
Jaina was at most in her late 40s, her head was always tilted an inch higher than necessary, her lips always pursed into a thin snarl, her eyes held too much arrogance. The strong, entitled, almost pushy way she had come on to her father barely a year after her mother had passed was a little too much for her to handle. Karen could only watch in horror as the woman clung tightly to Eric. She swore she would protect her younger brother even if it meant working doubly hard in school to get to Yale and bringing him along. It was clear to Karen that her new stepmother married in for the wealth her father had, there was no love there. That was one reason she loathed the woman, and one that she loved Beth fiercely for. Even knowing that she came from money, Beth never made her feel like she was after Karen as a sugar mommy, unwilling to let her pay for dates even if it meant starving for the rest of the month.
Beth was everything Karen was not. She agreed with the age-old adage that opposites attract and sure enough, they did. Beth was the vibrant, country girl that everyone loved. She was more street savvy and knew the way around the typical social cues while Karen could barely make out what to do with a handshake. Not to say that Karen was dull, she was just not the girl with the charming magnetism. Beth had reminded her time and again that she was brilliantly funny and intuitive, though she had trouble believing that the brunette did not check the thesaurus for the latter word. Karen almost smiled at the memory before being brought back to the moment by her father.
"Are you listening to me, young lady?" Eric hollered again. "You will stop seeing her at once."
"What I'll do is see who I want," Karen retorted after letting out a frustrated grunt. "You got to see who you wanted."
"I'm a man! And Jaina's a woman!" Eric huffed, as though that explained everything.
Karen rolled her eyes. She knew if it was not for Jaina, her relationship with Beth would not have been exposed, much less a hot topic among the gossip in their tiny town. She had probably caught them during their little sexcapade on the way to school on the last day of exams. Karen wondered briefly if she was at fault; maybe she had screamed Beth's name a little too loudly. Or maybe it was their continued session behind the bleachers. Karen did not know where the sneaky bitch was hiding when she found out about them and told Mr. Fischer, their principal. Of course, she had to run to the principal - not to Eric or Karen herself, but the principal - making the entire thing blow up quite quickly without the added help of the rumour mill. The moment school had ended that day, the two girls were met with whispers and stares - the unofficial scarlet letters of a high school.
"Your father is right," Jaina cut in, voice dripping in saccharine. "Two girls together, it's disgu -"
"You're disgusting," Karen spat back heatedly before turning to her father. "I can't believe you married this gold-digger."
Karen smirked at the shock on her parents' faces before she turned to stomp upstairs. Her father grabbed her wrist, roughly spinning her around to face her parents, "You see her again, I swear I will -"
"What? Ground me? Kick me out? What's the worst you could do, huh?" Karen all but yelled, pulling away from the man. "As though marrying this shrew wasn't enough!"
Beth knew that this was going to be hard but she did not predict that the pain she saw on Karen's face when they passed each other in the hallways. She wanted to protect Karen, she wanted to wipe the slate clean and remove all the brands the heartless teenagers have placed upon the two girls. And the only way she knew how to right this wrong was to dispel the rumours and show that Karen and her had nothing going on.
Kyle draped his arm lazily around Beth as they walked with the football team, surrounding them like bodyguards to a star couple. As they passed Karen, Beth averted her eyes from the beautiful blonde. She knew those soft, honey-brown eyes were following her with such pain and she just could not bear seeing it. The rest of the team provoked Karen with rude signs and names. Beth flinched when she heard the names as though she felt them cut directly into her. In a way, they were throwing vulgar threats at her too. She wanted to yell at the childish boys to stop their taunting but the worst insult of it all was when Kyle stopped right in front of Karen and kissed Beth for the world to see.
"That's what a real man can do, Beattie," Kyle drawled as the group behind him cheered. He leaned in towards Karen, one hand on the locker behind her and continued with a wink, "You know where to find me."
Pulling the quarterback away, Beth felt the disgust for the boy deepen. One, did he just offer himself to the love of her life as though he was a gift from the gods? Two, did he just offer to cheat on her in front of the school? Goddess, this boy was barely smarter than a rock.
From the corner of her eye, Beth could see the blonde shaking, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She wanted so badly to wipe away the hurt, to promise her love, to protect the broken girl. But for the sake of appearances, and her unadmitted cowardice, she just could not.
Kyle pulled her away before she could think. Turning her head before they rounded the corner, her heart shattered as she watched her girlfriend run into the washroom with a tear-stained face.
The month went by quickly, soon it was prom. Karen managed to lay low and acquire a date for the last event of the year. She was grateful that it was the final affair marking her horrendous high school life before she embarked onto the next part of it.
The situation at home was now more tense than ever, she rarely came out of her room and even when she did, she only spoke to her younger brother Darren. She could not understand the narrow-mindedness of the people in this town, much less her father who had raised her to love life as it was. The conflicting attitude displayed by Eric made Karen feel like she had been betrayed by the only man she ever loved. To add on an extra dose of insanity, Jaina and Eric began to pray for her whenever she entered the room.
Thankfully the teasing and taunting in school had died down, though the girls were behaving childishly in their shared locker room, treating Karen like a sexual predator. Karen could only roll her eyes at them, because nakedness was precisely why she fell in love with Beth.
Beth.
It was definitely much more difficult with everyone watching both the two girls' interactions with great interest. Beth had yet to say a word to her, except her forlorn, apologetic glances when they passed each other during school. She could not believe that the brunette had stood for the way Kyle treated both of them. She understood that reputation was everything in a school setting, and at every opportunity, it was a popularity contest. But Beth had put her own reputation before the dignity of her, albeit secret, girlfriend! The shame, hurt, and disappointment she felt that day was impossible to describe. How she managed to endure the last month was quite a miracle.
Right now while she was sure of her feelings for Beth, she was not sure of Beth's. In fact, it was more intense now that she could not physically touch or hear from her girlfriend. She was in love with her, she knew for sure as illogical as it may be. She understood how the chemical reactions that happen in the brain whilst falling in love, how the pupils dilate upon meeting the person, how the heart pumps faster when seeing them. But somewhere deeper within her, she knew that Beth was the one for her, she just could not understand how she knew it.
The doorbell rang, drawing her from her thoughts. Brian Cole, her date, was at her door. The strapless, sea-breeze dress fitted her beautifully. She quickly donned her heels and twirled before a mirror once more, appraising her appearance. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she descended the stairs. Her prom date was a lanky, bespectacled boy who became her lab partner once Mr. Fischer removed Beth from her side. He was sitting in the den uncomfortably while Eric interrogated him and Jaina served lemonade.
"Hey Brian," Karen called out to the teenager, ignoring her parents.
All three turned and began their praise for the Karen. The blonde boy placed the white corsage on her wrist before they stiffly posed for the camera Eric had fished out of the closet. After assuring Eric and Jaina Beattie that their daughter would be home before midnight, the prom couple made their way to the school hall.
They were greeted by flashing lights, disco hits, and a horde of colourful dresses. Brian excused himself to get them both drinks while Karen stood along the side of the hall, glancing at the crowd. Everyone was having fun, talking and joking around, laughing and dancing. It was the highlight of their high school life and they were taking in every moment.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a familiar silhouette. Beth was in a corner alone, probably waiting for Kyle to grab drinks. She looked so beautiful with her hair tied up high, dark smokey eye makeup, and a pair of simple hoop earrings that highlight the black dress she was in. The strapless dress clung to her in all the right places, accenting her assets nicely. Karen found herself licking her lips in slight anticipation, biting her lower lip while maintaining her gaze at Beth. All she wanted to do right now was take her there and then, to hell with all these people. She wanted to tear that dress that barely held anything right off her and just have her way with Beth. She wanted to run her tongue down the valley her ample chest created. She could scarcely hold it together as she felt her libido spike. Her breath hitched when Beth turned to look right back at her. Just as she was ready to take a step towards the brunette, Brian returned with their drinks.
"They only have punch," Brian offered her a cup of obscenely pink liquid.
Karen forced a smile, nodding her thanks before sipping the cool drink to calm her heightened arousal. Brian began to talk but Karen could not concentrate on a word he was saying; she was just glancing over his shoulder. As if it was scripted, Kyle had returned with their drinks as well as a few of his friends. She felt a burning jealousy sear through her as Kyle wrapped his arms around the brunette she was so in love with. She frowned and ground her teeth.
"Karen, is something wrong?" Brian asked, intoning concern.
"No, no," Karen turned her attention to the gentle boy. "Shall we dance?"
Brian smiled, saying he would be right back as he took their cups to dispose. Again she stood alone in the school hall among hundreds of students happily interacting with each other, while the love of her life was being felt up by her sleazy, fake boyfriend. Karen could not decide which was worse, that she thought that she saw the brunette enjoying it or that Beth had seen her but made no desire to communicate with her. Again she felt the disappointment in her rise; again she felt the anger boil; again she felt used and betrayed.
A whole lot of songs and awkward prom dancing later, Karen thanked Brian for their night, giving him a pat on the shoulder instead of the typical kiss on the cheek. She decided to walk home, needing the fresh air to clear her head. One week from now, she would be off to Yale. She was going to make full use of the week to spend time with her brother and hopefully Beth. After tonight, she really did not know where their relationship stood. The lack of emotion and attention from Beth tonight was painful. She thought of the loving brunette and felt the overwhelming need to bury her head in a pillow and cry.
As she walked home, wallowing in her thoughts, she stopped when she heard her name called.
"Karen!"
Karen turned to find Beth standing under a street light, more beautiful than ever. The orange glow of the lamp gave her a surreal halo, emphasizing her high cheekbones and sharp features. At that moment, Karen knew she was never going to stop loving this girl, let alone forget her. She backtracked towards Beth, looking out for prying eyes.
Not a single word was said when Beth took Karen's hand gingerly and lead them both towards the old barn off Main Street. Not a single word was said when they began kissing softly and gently. Not a single word was said when hands roamed their bodies. Their fingers mapped each other's lines and curves, tracing lazy patterns across the bared skin. The mouths readily engulfed each other's, teeth clashing and tongues fighting for control as the kisses began to get feverish.
With their clothes peeled off and pooled at their feet, both girls fell back on a bale of hay. Karen just could not get enough of the brunette. She wanted to talk to her but this was more important. She knew that this was not just about sex, this was about the intimacy they both craved, the reassurance they both needed. She moaned softly as she felt how wet Beth was; she knew she was no better. She arched her back when the brunette took one nipple in her mouth, flicking it gently with her tongue. Her fingers automatically circled the girl's clit, making her release her own teased nipple with a hard suck. Beth smirked at her before diving back down to nip at the unattended nipple. Karen moaned again, shifting to accommodate the brunette better. But all she did was place Beth's legs comfortably between her own, letting her grind into the girl's thigh. The blonde pulled the brunette back up, deeply gazing into her eyes before kissing her.
"So beautiful," breathed Beth as she tucked stray blonde hair behind her lover's ear. "I love you, Karen Beattie, forever."
"Forever," the blonde repeated. "I love you forever Beth Dennis."
If they had both not gotten lost in the haze of lust so hastily again, the blonde might have noticed Beth's eyes flashing an electric blue and her own eyes responding with a green glow.
And with that, the night began.
Beth got ready for her date with Kyle Williams. Well, at least that was her cover. She was going to meet the boy for a while before meeting Karen. The night before was more than magical. The tension between them had been thick, even in the school hall. She watched Karen walk in with her doofus of a date, Brian Cole and wanted to walk over and punch his lights out. She imagined that Karen would have wanted to do the same with Kyle. But for the sake of appearance, she decided against it. It was not Karen's fault and she knew it. No one wanted to go to prom alone, especially not after being labelled a lesbian. Karen turning up with Brian actually doused some of the rumours, which lead to Beth being so confident and cocky about their night together.
A car horn sounded outside and Beth knew Kyle was waiting for her. She smoothed her jeans down and hopped into the car. She avoided the incoming greeting kiss, letting it land on her cheek. She smiled sweetly at the boy before strapping the seatbelt over her.
"Where are we going, babe?" Kyle asked, not picking up on her lack of intimacy.
"Just need you to drop me off at the diner if you don't mind," Beth said. "I know you have a boy's night, but do you mind picking me up after?"
"Sure, but let's go somewhere first," Kyle grinned. "You know, you left me quite early last night."
"Sorry, Kyle," Beth apologised. She really did not want to hurt the boy, despite him only being a cover for her real relationship. "I was tired so I went home."
The car stopped at one of the offroads next to a large field. Beth looked at the quarterback curiously as he unbuckled his belt and leaned over his seat. Suddenly it occurred to her what was going to happen. How was she going to repel his advances so as to not gain suspicion? And how fast can she do it? She was going to meet Karen in less than 15 minutes. If she had known that this was on Kyle's mind, she would have left the house earlier.
It was not the first time that she made out with the blonde boy. In fact, she had to do it in school to maintain her false relationship with him. Not that she did not enjoy the attention, she just wished it was Karen's lips on hers when it happened. And she did think about the girl whenever Kyle initiated. She had spent so much time with her that she could actually enjoy a make-out session with Kyle without feeling too uncomfortable.
But this time it was different. They had moved to the back seat and his hands were wandering across her body. She knew she was cheating on her girlfriend for nobler purposes but she still felt disgusted with herself. And it was worse when her body reacted. Her breathing began to hitch and she felt an insane hunger grow in her, one she had never felt before. A warmth began to spread through her as she reversed the positions they were in. She straddled the boy and kissed him, until she tasted something unnaturally sweet in her mouth. She pulled away briefly to see that there was a stream of luminescent blue wisps pouring out of the boy's mouth. She was definitely hallucinating. She looked at him and his eyes were glazed over while his lips were turning upwards into a sick grin. The transfer began to slow and stop.
"Kyle?" Beth whispered, lightly slapping the boy. "You okay?"
Searching for a pulse, Beth started to panic when there was none. She slapped the boy harder. She shook him. She punched him. She kneed his crotch. Not a single response from the boy.
"No," she whispered to no one in particular. "No, no, no, no, no!"
Kyle was not breathing. Had she killed someone? And she did not even know how she did it. What was that blue thing that she took from him? Could she pass it back? She tried doing it but nothing happened. She was sick to her stomach. She felt like she was going to throw up. Tears began to flow down her cheeks in sheer panic and horror. What was she going to do?
She grabbed her clothes and ran for her home. She needed to talk to her parents. She needed to tell someone. Maybe someone could help her. She saw her parents in the dining room and she made a beeline for it.
"Momma!" Beth cried, throwing herself into the older woman's arms. A look of confusion and alarm was shared between the two older Dennises.
"What's wrong, pumpkin?" Sam Dennis spoke first. "Did someone hurt you?"
Beth could not stop crying. The comfort her mother provided was more substantial than any other possible form of relief. She was thankful for her parents, but she really did not know how to start the conversation without revealing to them that she had been intimate with people.
"I was with Kyle," the brunette sniffed, hoping to leave out as many details as possible. "And I think I killed him."
"What? How? What were you doing with the Williams' boy?" Mary Dennis asked.
"We were in his car…" her voice trailed off. She really did not want to continue.
"You were screwing, weren't you?" Mary snapped suddenly, pushing her daughter away from her. "You dirty slag! You whore! You were doing the devil's work!"
Beth stared bewildered at the woman. What the fuck? Here she was requesting for help from people older and more experienced than her but her mother was being ridiculous! All she could focus on was that she was fooling around, instead of the obvious problem of a dead body! One moment she held Beth like she was the most precious commodity in the world, the next moment she pushed Beth away as though she was nauseated by her. It did not make her feel better, since she was feeling pretty much like a monster now.
"First it was Karen, and now this! Just look at what your filthy fornication has done! I told you to stay away you devil child! I want you gone! I want you out of my house! Out!" Mary screamed at the girl.
Beth was still staring slack-jawed at the woman. She was rooted to the ground at the sudden outburst. Never in her life had she felt so ashamed and repulsed by herself. The words rang in her ears, her heart breaking a little more each time.
Shaking her head in confusion, Beth backed away from her parents. They did not want her any more. They chased her out of her house; the very house she grew up in. They hated her, just as much as she hated herself. She was a monster. She was a devil. What the hell was happening?
Beth took off into the night, never looking back at the small town while Karen waited patiently in the diner with two glasses of iced hot chocolate, counting the seconds till she saw her girlfriend again.