Cosima/Delphine NewlyWeds AU
"I'll update the readings for over the weekend and have Ms. Cormier email you all tonight." the professor announced to the class. Despite having spent most of the class already watching her TA, Cosima was happy for the opportunity to gaze at her one final time before class ended. "Have a good weekend!" he said, waving his hand in the air.
As students gathered their things and moved to the door, Cosima took her time. She usually found herself lingering at the conclusion of the class, so she could chat with Delphine. It was mostly small talk, but she was starting to get into some personal territory. So far, she'd learned that she was studying immunology, volunteering at a local animal shelter, and that she recently ended a long-distance relationship. That last one she'd learned over tea and truffles.
Cosima threw her backpack over her shoulder and walked down to the front of the room. Delphine's eyes met hers and she smiled. Unfortunately, a pair of students approached her with questions just as Cosima reached her desk. Cosima emphatically rolled her eyes at Delphine, who let out a small laugh, before focusing on the students' questions.
Cosima looked at the clock and saw that she was supposed to meet Scott before their next class. As she headed to the door, she bumped into the dude who was currently garnering Delphine's attention.
"Oh, excuse me, man." Cosima said, trying to hide her smirk as he dropped the papers he was holding all over the floor. "My bad, man. I gotta go catch my bus, I'm sorry." she said, excusing herself from helping him pick them up. She waved at Delphine.
"Au revoir, Cosima." Delphine quickly spoke, giving her a sly grin and a small wave back. Cosima's smile brightened as she turned and left the classroom.
"We got picked!" Scott exclaimed as Cosima walked into the lab.
"Picked for what?" she asked, grabbing the paper from his hand and looking for the answer herself as she sat down next to him.
"The college newlywed game!" he said excitedly, his glasses falling further down his nose. Cosima's brow furrowed.
"What? When did we sign up for this?" she asked. Scott giggled.
"A few weeks ago, remember? We got high at Sarah's place and Rachel told us about it. It's a stupid student council event she's organizing." he explained. Cosima shrugged. She'd gotten high at Sarah's a few times in the past month. "You got upset cuz the winners get money for textbooks and stuff and you said it was discriminating against people not in a relationship." Cosima's forehead shot up.
"Oh yeah!" she said, remembering Rachel's look of disgust when she went on a tirade about asexuality and their disenfranchisement in the education industrial complex. "Did we seriously apply to it?" she asked through grinning teeth. Scott grinned and nodded. "Oh man! This is awesome." she laughed out.
"I know. I feel like we could actually do well too." Scott said.
"I can't wait to tell Rachel." she added. "Can I do it? Please, please, please?" she asked, hopping up and down.
"Sure." he replied, turning to face the professor who had just walked into class. Cosima was looking forward to her next hangout with Sarah and Rachel.
"You must be joking." Rachel hissed in her beautiful British accent. Sarah let out a loud laugh but stopped when Rachel threw her a glare. "This is an important function for the University, Cosima." she said, turning back to her target. "It is meant to be taken seriously and you will make a mockery of it. Both of you." she finished; unconsciously fixing her hair as if Cosima's meddling was having a direct effect on its pristine styling. When Cosima didn't respond, she turned to look at Sarah. "They will make a mockery of it." she repeated, willing for someone to agree. Sarah rubbed her girlfriend's shoulders.
"No, no, they won't." Sarah reassured her in her less elegant British accent. Rachel let out a sharp breath but Sarah continued. "They're just cheatin' the system, yeah?"
"I won't stand for it." Rachel stated, standing and huffing out of the room. Sarah sighed.
"I'll talk to her." she said to a confused Cosima. "Are you and Scott gonna try to win? I mean, ya don't really need tha cash."
"Well, I was thinking I might convince Scott to play-act a "coming out" revelation during the game." Cosima said excitedly, her hands starting to accentuate her plan with fervor. "Like, for every answer that we get wrong, we get more and more upset and confused, until the final round when Scott tells me he's demi-sexual and I reveal I'm bi-sexual and we show the world that there's more to life than the bland-o hetero-genda."
Sarah's eyes were wide. She grabbed a joint from the jewelry box on the table and began to light it.
"Yea, I don't think I can convince Rachel of that." she finally said, shrugging her shoulders and taking a puff from the cigarette. Cosima chuckled as Sarah offered it to her.
"I guess we'll just stick to making up ridiculous answers to embarrass one another, then." she replied, taking a hit. Sarah nodded, her head in a daze. They sat in silence for a few seconds before a thought popped into Sarah's head.
"Hey, how're things going with that French girl?" Sarah asked, moving her eyebrows up and down suggestively. "You asked her out yet?"
"Ah, no, not yet." she answered bashfully.
"Maybe not ever, with how slowly you're taking it." Sarah added.
"Um, excuse me…" Cosima said in her mock annoyed voice, offering Sarah the cigarette. "This chick is super cool. And I'm not gonna be all…" she stopped, bulging her eyes and waving her hands wildly. "...just because I only have a couple weeks left of class." Sarah shook her head in disappointment, taking another hit. "Besides, she just got out of a relationship a few weeks ago. Gotta respect that post-breakup period, man."
"Boyfriend or girlfriend?" Sarah asked.
"Boyfriend." Cosima answered. Sarah looked surprised.
"Are you sure she's even into women?" she asked handing the joint back. Cosima took it.
"I don't know. Doesn't really matter to me." she mused. "And I'm not asking her out, so…"
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Sarah put her hands up in surrender. "I'm gonna go check on Rachel. If you want, there's eskimo pies in the freezer." she offered as she got up and walked to her bedroom. Cosima smiled and flashed her the sign for "I love you" before taking another puff from the joint. As Sarah entered her bedroom, Cosima heard a "whoa" followed by a "are you stress-cleaning the window?"
Cosima giggled to herself on the couch. She liked disrupting Rachel's perfect little world.
Cosima finished the final touch on her mascara, and looked at herself in the mirror. Perfect she thought. Time to have some fun!
"Move, move." a voice demanded from behind her. A bouncy, little rabbit wearing a pink cardigan pushed in front of her. "If you're done with the mirror, please let the rest of us use it." Alison added, pulling her purse onto the vanity table. Cosima put her hands up and moved towards one of the couches in the dressing room. She looked around at her competition. There were only two other couples besides her and Scott.
Alison and Donnie were the sorority/fraternity power couple from domestic-land. Born to be married, everyone said. She realized that they were probably the couple to beat. Her and Scott would have to hope for some questions that favored their close friendship.
Then there was Art and Angela. As far as she had heard, they'd only been dating for a couple of months. Art was sitting down on the couch near the door, his legs nervously moving up and down..
"Angie…. Angela Deangelis! Stop!" he yelled. Angela stopped rummaging through the bin in the corner of the room. She'd spent the good part of 5 minutes pulling out everything that was in it. Costumes, wigs, and props lay strewn on the ground around her.
"What?!" she yelled back. "Raj says that the drama department has a fake cadeaver leftover from their production of Blood Ties! I wanna find it!" she explained excitedly.
"Let it go, Angie." Art replied with caution in his voice, as if they had gone through this before and come out worse for it. Angie sighed loudly and walked over to the couch, where she plopped herself next to him. Cosima looked at the clock. The show was gonna start in less than 10 minutes and Scott still wasn't here. She'd already texted him, but he hadn't responded. She pulled out her cell phone and texted Sarah.
Have you seen Scott? He's not here and he's not responding to my texts.
She received a reply a minute later.
Partner on the way!
She breathed a sigh of relief and started pumping herself up again. That is until Delphine Cormier walked into the dressing room.
"Delphine?" was all she could get out. Delphine smiled nervously.
"Bonjour, Cosima. I am not late am I?" she said. Cosima gave her a half-smile.
"Late?" she asked.
"For the game." Delphine searched her eyes for recognition. "Didn't Scott tell you he couldn't make it?" Cosima shook her head violently. "Oh, yes, well Sarah asked me to replace him and I said yes."
"But, we aren't, our relationship is…...n't " Cosima stuttered through a laugh, her hands gesturing emphatically as if to get her point across.
"You and Scott were going to pretend to be together, non?" Cosima nodded. "And Sarah said it was just to have fun."
"Uh, yeah, sure. No, it is for fun." Cosima agreed. "Yeah, I guess, we'll just stick with what we know about each other and have fun with it." she added. Delphine smiled brightly.
"Excellente! Let's take down these assholes!" Delphine added as Rachel appeared in the doorway and ushered them to follow her. Cosima smiled at her nervously, unsure of what exactly was happening and why.
"Welcome to the first ever Campus Couples Newlywed Game! I'm Marion Bowls, Vice President of the University, and i'm going to be your host for this exciting event. Thank you all for buying tickets and supporting student government, we hope to put that money towards more great events and activities that give back to the entire student assembly. So, without further ado, let's bring out the first partners in our couples. Please welcome Angela, Alison, and Cosima."
Cosima suddenly felt Rachel's stiff arm shove her and the others on-stage. As she walked out, she heard Rachel bark orders into her headset.
"Alright, for our first round, we are going to ask our first group of partners 3 questions. When you are done answering all 3 questions we will bring your other partners out here where we will have them answer the same questions. During this round each question will be worth 5 points, if correctly matched. Are the contestants ready?" Marion asked. Cosima nervously smiled. Shit
"First question: Name something you own that your partner frequently borrows?" she asked the contestants. Alison let out a small squeak and began writing on her board.
Cosima quickly took inventory of the things she brought to class, since that was all Delphine ever saw of her belongings. My backpack? I guess she might borrow it for her own classwork, but she has a backpack so why would she… She shook her head in anger. Maybe jewelry? She had admired that gold ziz-zag necklace during one of our conversations, maybe she would remember…. oh! Or maybe Delphine would choose one of my scarves! I wear one to almost every class… but I don't have a specific one that... her thought was interrupted by the vice president.
"Answers please." Marion demanded. Cosima shook her head again, uncertain. Her eyes scanned over the belongings below her seat and landed on her red jacket. Fuck it she thought. R-E-D C-O-A-T. People in relationships borrow hoodies and shit to keep warm. And Delphine would look really good in it… no focus...
"Excellent. Next question: If your partner could be any kind of dog, what kind would they be?"
This time it was Cosima who let out a squeak. She tried not to dance for joy. This question, miraculously, they might actually get. C-O-C-K-E-R S-P-A-N-I-E-L, she wrote on the next board.
She smiled at the memory of running into Delphine in the courtyard and asking her to tea. She could tell Delphine was overworked and figured a nice trip to a cafe might make her feel more relaxed. Delphine agreed very quickly to the suggestion, so Cosima took them to a little local tea and scones place just off-campus. As they were walking there though, they pasted a couple of women selling puppies in front of their house.
"Pauvre petites chiots…" Delphine exclaimed as she aggressively pushed past Cosima to get a closer look at them. Cosima regained her balance and chuckled.
"I think you're the puppy… I mean, you nearly shoved me to the ground just then. Very chiot-like." she said, knowing full well she had botched the word 'chiot' entirely. Delphine looked up from the litter of puppies with an apologetic expression. Cosima could tell she was about to say sorry so she cut her off. "I mean, look at that one." Cosima quickly added, pointing to a little cocker spaniel sleeping in the corner. "Its got the same golden curls as you." Delphine looked at it and smiled. "Who knows, maybe you were a cocker spaniel in another life."
"Peut-être." she answered. Cosima just stared at her. Delphine laughed, "Maybe." she translated.
"Oh…" Cosima said "Sweet!" And with that they continued their walk to the cafe.
"Alright, last question: When you guys are doing the do, who is in the driver's seat?"
At this question, howls and whistles erupted from the audience. Marion smiled coyly at the contestants, one of whom began having an internal melt-down.
Oh my God, was all she could think for a good 15 seconds. Why couldn't Scott be the one doing this with her. This would have been the question she would have answered in extraneous detail to make the blush in his cheeks go nuclear. But she had to answer for Delphine. She had to think in hypotheticals about who would be more sexully aggressive. Oh God, she thought again. She's going know that you had to play out scenarios in your mind to answer the question. She took a deep breath. Just pick one. Doesn't matter who.
"Cosima, are you alright?" Marion asked out of nowhere. Cosima blinked a few times before registering the question.
"What? Oh, yeah, no prob." she answered nonchalantly.
"You look a little sick." Marion pressed. Cosima took another breath and wrote her first instinct answer: D-E-L-P-H-I-N-E
"No, man. I'm fine. No sick or dying Cosima here." she retorted. Not dying on the outside at least.
"Alright, well let's bring the other partners back onstage to reveal the answers." Marion announced. Cosima looked to the right of the stage where Donnie, Art, and Delphine suddenly appeared and walked to their respective partners. Delphine gave her an excited smile as she sat down. It made her feel a sense of calm that she didn't realize she had needed. Suddenly, Delphine grabbed her hand and held it reassuringly, almost lovingly. Damn, she's good.
So good, that she almost didn't hear Marion when their turn came up.
"Finally, Delphine, what item does Cosima say you constantly borrow from her?" Delphine studied Cosima's face ever so slightly.
"Well, we borrow a lot of things from each other…" she started. "We basically share everything." Cosima can't help but smile at the vague-ness with which Delphine was answering. She gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Mais…je pense… I'm going to say her... shoes, parce-que my all of my shoes are formal and not very comfortable so I like to steal hers." she finished with an adorable grin.
"Alright, Cosima, what did you say?" Cosima turned the board in her hand to reveal RED COAT. Delphine threw her hands in the air as the audience gave a lot of fake gasps.
"I forgot how much you take my shoes…?" Cosima didn't mean for it to come out as a question.
"No, no, c'est vrai, I am always wearing your coat when I go everywhere." Delphine explained in her own theatrical tone to the audience.
Marion moved on to the next question, which turned out to be most entertaining.
"A pug?!" Donnie asked incredulously.
"What? It's a cute dog!" Alison rebuttled.
"No it's not! Pugs are ugly. Nobody thinks pugs are cute!" he argued back.
"Your faces are remarkably similar, that's all I'm saying!" Alison interjected in a shrill tone. Oh, don't give me that." she added when Donnie got angry and folded his arms in front of him. Marion laughed with the audience and moved on.
"Art?" she asked.
"Uh…" Art started. "..I think, I'm a pit bull because i'm very tough but I've also got a secret soft spot." he said firmly. Angie turned her board over to reveal PIT BULL. They high-fived each other as the audience applauded.
"Delphine?" Marion asked. Delphine smiled proudly.
"Cosima and I have talked about this before. If I were a dog I would be a…." Delphine's smile began to fade. "oh merde…." she said angrily. "I forgot what they are called." she said looking at Cosima frantically. "I am very bad with dogs." WHAT, Cosima thought. The one question in this whole game that we can get right and you forget what they are called?! She began to telepathically respond, willing her to hear the answer. COCKER SPANIEL COCKER SPANIEL Cosima repeated over and over in her head. Meanwhile, Delphine began describing the dog to the audience, her hands miming the dogs ears, and Cosima can't help but laugh at her.
"COCKER SPANIEL!" Delphine shouted suddenly. Cosima jerked at the intensity of her voice, but quickly turned her board over to reveal the same answer. Elated that they got at least 5 points, Cosima put her hand in the air, offering a well-deserved high-five, but Delphine had already grabbed Cosima's face with both hands and brought her up for a quick kiss.
Quick to everyone else, that is. To Cosima, the kiss seemed to last as long as the metaphase stage of mitosis. Delphine's lips remained soft and still on her own and she melted at the feeling. Sparks ran through her body, as she tried not to let the thing in her stomach lift her into the sky like a balloon. And just like that, it was over. Delphine pulled back and smiled sweetly, if a little affected by the kiss as well. They continued to stare at each other, neither wanting to break eye contact.
"Art and Angela & Cosima and Delphine both earn 5 points for that question. Now we move on to the final question…" she announced loudly to the audience. And that's when Cosima remembered. The last question. Delphine noticed a shift in Cosima's features. Her genuine smile turned into an awkward one, and her eye contact was just as spotty.
"Partners, when you two are doing the do…" Marion started. Delphine let out surprised laugh. Cosima still couldn't look at her. "...who is in the driver's seat?"
Marion turned to Alison and Donnie, who both agreed that Alison was the one in charge. Art and Angela each said themselves and shared an awkward silence that followed, which the audience ate-up.
Then her time had come. Cosima's life seemed to flash before her eyes and she wondered about all the things she could have done with her life if it didn't end in the next few seconds. She tried to content herself with the knowledge that once she died she was gonna spend her afterlife haunting the shit out of Sarah Manning.
"Delphine?" Marion asked.
"Moi." Delphine stated almost immediately. "I am always interrupting her while she is doing work or I am supposed to be grading paper. I just… like to be in control." she explained to the audience who hooted and hollered. Cosima felt her cheeks go bright red. Delphine just giggled and nodded to the board she was holding, wanting to see if she was right. Cosima turned it over to reveal DELPHINE. The audience applauded loudly and Delphine raised her hands in the air in victory, still giggling. Cosima smirked when she noticed Delphine's cheeks were also a shade of red.
"Well, that leaves Alison and Donnie with 10 points, Art and Angela with 5 points, and Cosima and Delphine with 10 points. Now, will our first pair of partners please exit the stage for Round 2." Marion said, pointing to the backstage. On cue, Rachel walked out and ushered her, Alison, and Angela offstage. When they got to the dressing room downstairs, a voice called for her. Sarah ran down the hallway towards her, a sly grin on her face.
"You're doing great, Cos! You guys are actually tied for first place!" she said, slapping Cosima's shoulder.
"What the hell, Sarah?" she asked. "What's this all about? Stop laughing. Where's Scott? This is not funny." she said with as much attitude as she could muster. It wasn't a lot apparently because Sarah laughed right in her face.
"What're ya talkin' about? You guys look like you're having fun." she retorted. Cosima just waved her hands in confusion, waiting for a better explanation. "Okay, well Scott and I are having fun... and, and Rachel said it was the only way she wouldn't kick you out of the whole thing! She was really not having it, with you and Scott." Rachel seemed to appear as if summoned.
"Sarah, what're you doing back here? You're not staff!" Rachel said sternly. Neither acknowledged her.
"Sarah! You can't just drag Delphine into your little pranks… or childish set-ups or whatever. That's not cool." Cosima argued. Rachel grabbed Sarah's wrist and tried to pull her towards the exit. "Maybe I'll go to Rachel and… like… demand that she disqualify us!" Cosima tried to threaten.
"I'm right here." Rachel stated angrily, still unable to move Sarah from her spot.
"Cos?" Sarah asked, unfazed by her girlfriend's efforts. "We didn't have to convince her very hard. She was pretty on-board with the idea right away. In fact, she seemed really excited about it." Sarah revealed. Rachel let go of Sarah's wrist and huffed. She looked around, afraid someone was going to catch them. "So…. don't blow it." Sarah offered Cosima, giving her another grin.
"Sarah, please leave. If Marion hears you were here she won't let me organize under her tutelage again. Darling, I can't risk it." Rachel pleaded. Sarah finally turned to her girlfriend, grabbed the lapels of her pantsuit, and kissed her. Rachel started to kiss her back aggressively, causing Cosima to gag and walk into the dressing room with the rest of the partners. Alison appeared to be on the phone consoling someone, while Angie was playing with a prop gun she found on the floor. Cosima sat on the nearby couch and thought about what Sarah said. Alison clicked her phone shut and huffed to the chair in front of the mirror. She angrily re-applied make-up while talking to herself in a hushed tone. Ten minutes passed before Rachel came to retrieve them.
"You guys are back on." she said coldly, her lipstick slightly smudged and a strand of hair out of place. As Cosima passed her she couldn't help but tease.
"I like what you've done with your hair." she noted. Rachel's eyes filled with terror as she pushed past her to look in the mirror. Cosima knew it wasn't fair, but it put a hop back in her step as she and the two other contestants were led back to the mainstage. Cosima walked to her seat next to Delphine and gave her a smile.
"Bonjour." Cosima said quietly, and horribly. Delphine smiled brightly back at her and mouthed "bonjour" back.
"Alright, partners. To recap, the questions this round are worth 10 points each, with a bonus question at the end that is worth 25 points. Is everyone ready?" Marion asked. Everybody nodded and the audience hummed excitedly.
"First Question: Little Bo Peep lost her sheep, but my partner is always losing her blank. We'll start with Cosima..."
Cosima furrowed her brow. She lost track of many things in her life. But there were two possible answers that Delphine might have chosen. First, was her eyeliner, which Delphine had returned to her twice because twice she had left them in class. Second, were her assignments, which she'd print-out and somehow lose in transit to school. Four times, this has happened, and Delphine had been nice enough to let her run home after class and email them to her. She went with her gut.
"I'm gonna say my eyeliner." Delphine's face pinched slightly as she revealed HOMEWORK. "That was second choice! I swear it was!" she tried to argue. Delphine rubbed her hand and nodded sympathetically.
"I know, cherie, I know." she reassured her.
Alison and Donnie got theirs right, as did Art and Angela. Delphine shrugged to lighten Cosima's spirits.
"Second Question: What's the most creative date your partner said you ever made for them?"
Marion asked.
She could make something up. Have fun with it. But something made her tell the truth.
"Uh, I guess, tea and truffles at the that cafe off-campus?" Cosima admitted. She looked at Delphine nervously, who flipped her board: SPONTANEOUS TEA DATE. Cosima's eyes lit up and she pumped her fist in the air.
"Well done!" Delphine clapped her hands. Marion moved onto Art and Angela who failed miserably when Angela said their trip to the gun range was more creative than his 3 course dinner date for her. But Cosima's mind was too busy thinking of Delphine's answer. I wonder if she actually considered it a date…
"Third Question: When your partner first laid eyes on you, what did they notice first?"
Cosima looked at Delphine and chuckled. This was a no-brainer. It was the topic of their first conversation.
Cosima always sat in the front row during the first week of class so professors think she was a prepared and excited student. Then, as the weeks went on, she would slowly move her way farther back in the rows. During the second class, she was still in the front row and noticed that Delphine seemed to stare at her more than other students. At first she assumed it was her hair, as it is usually a topic of conversation for people, but then realized that Delphine was always meeting her gaze.
Definitely my glasses then, she thought.
Feeling bold, and wanting to meet this tall, and gorgeous TA, she stayed behind after class to ask her.
"I hope my glasses aren't distracting you" she said nonchalantly, her hands moving in time with her words. Delphine looked up from her desk and furrowed her brow in confusion. "I noticed you were staring during class and I just wanted to let you know that I can wear contacts if need be. Wouldn't want my impeccable style to throw you off your teaching game." she joked, her tongue poking between her grinning teeth.
Delphine laughed nervously and nodded. "They are.. um.. bold." she said, revealing her beautiful French accent to Cosima for the first time.
"Cosima, what do you think Delphine first noticed about you?" Marion asked, bringing Cosima back to the present.
"My glasses." Cosima answered confidently. She turned to Delphine who flipped her board to reveal HER EYES. Cosima furrowed her brow. "But… but that's what we first talked about! You couldn't stop staring at my glasses" she argued through an annoyed smirk. Delphine looked slightly embarrassed.
"Actually, I couldn't stop staring at what was behind them." she replied. The audience was a mix of aws and boos, clearly not feeling the cheesiness of that revelation. Cosima, on the other hand, was beet red. I'm an idiot, she thought. Every conversation she'd had with her needed to be reevaluated. Could she really have felt that way for me so early?
"After that final round of questions, our totals are as follows: Cosima and Delphine are at 20 points, Art and Angela are at 15 points, and Alison and Donnie are in the lead with 30 points!" Marion shouted into the microphone. The audience cheered. "But it's not over yet, contestants! We've arrived at the bonus round! This final question will be worth a whopping 25 points. Here we go: Romance novels and movies are always talking about love at first sight. What did your partner say you think of that idea: it's a fairytale, part fiction, or an absolute truth. We'll start with Angela."
"It's a fairytale." she responded confidently. Art revealed the same answer and Angela punched him in the shoulder and screamed "Yeah!".
"That brings your final total to 40 points." Marion announced. "Alison, what about you?"
Alison seemed to be looking out into the audience, searching for something. Or perhaps she was just in a state of thoughtfulness Cosima had never seen from the girl before.
"Absolute truth." she answered thoughtfully. Donnie turned his board over to reveal PART-FICTION and quickly tried to defend his answer.
"I just thought… cuz you said that you didn't fall in love with me when you first saw me, but that you still believed it was possible." he stammered. The audience waited for Alison to start berating him, but she just put a hand on his arm and smiled.
"Well, that means no points for you two and your final score will remain at 30 points." Marion said. "That means it's all up to Cosima and Delphine. If you get this right, you'll win the game, guaranteeing you money for textbooks and supplies for the upcoming term! But, if you get this wrong, you'll end up in third place with only a set of matching university sweatshirts to comfort you."
Delphine rolled her eyes at Cosima, who grinned back, understanding that the stakes didn't matter. Neither of them actually cared about winning the prizes. But as Cosima looked into Delphine's eyes, she realized that answering this question was different from the others. Delphine had revealed her feelings with the last question. She had laid it all on the line. And she knew that her answer to this question would let Delphine know how she felt.
"So, Cosima, how does Delphine think you would answer?" Marion asked with anticipation.
"Absolute truth." Cosima stated honestly. Delphine's smile grew as she turned over her board to reveal ABSOLUTE TRUTH.
"Congratulations to Cosima and Delphine,the winners of the 2014 Campus Newlywed Game!" Marion yelled exuberantly into the microphone. The audience erupted in cheers.
Cosima grabbed the board from Delphine's hand and threw it on the floor. She then placed her hand behind Delphine's neck and gently pulled her down into a slow kiss. Delphine smiled into the kiss. Or maybe it was her. She does know for certain that she felt a foreign tongue lightly ghost her bottom lip, causing her to sigh and deepen the kiss. They would have kept kissing forever if they didn't hear Marion's voice booming over the speakers again.
"You will both be receiving full accommodations on your textbooks and school supplies for the upcoming term. Congratulations!" Delphine and Cosima gave equals looks of shock and surprise. They were the only couple not in an actual relationship, and they had won!
The sound of glass shattering behind the curtains caught the attention of the contestants and Cosima turned to see Sarah running backstage. A second later Rachel walked out from behind the curtain, straightening her hair as she made her way towards Marion. Sarah followed close behind, trying to talk her back. It was no use, as Rachel was already whispering something into Marion's ear.
"I've just been informed that our winners are not actually a couple." The audience's cheers turned into confused murmurs. Sarah threw Cosima an apologetic shrug. "Is this true?" Marion asked curtly. Delphine looked like a deer caught in headlights, but Cosima was much too happy to care. "Yeah." she answered honestly, taking Delphines hand into hers. "Maybe that'll teach you not to make an event exclusively for couples. Don't discriminate, man." she exclaimed proudly. Before Marion could respond, Angela spoke up.
"Does that mean we get the 1st place prize?!" she asked excitedly.
"I think we should also be considered for the first prize if those two are out of the running!" Donnie interjected. Alison laughed and shrugged her head.
"I guess I'm out of the running too" she stated. Donnie turned around, confusion covering his face. "I'm sorry, but I'm in love with someone else and it wouldn't be fair for me to take the reward if I'm not 100% committed to this relationship." Donnie's mouth dropped as Alison walked calmly down the stairs, into the crowd, and straight to a beautiful brunette standing against the wall.
From behind, Cosima could hear a simultaneous "Beth?" come from Art and Angela. The crowd, meanwhile, began to clap nervously, unsure if what they were seeing was absurdity or scripted theatrics.
"Well…" Marion started, trying to take back control. "Thank you all for coming to our first and last Campus Newlywed Game! Please get home safely." And with that, Marion walked off stage and out of the auditorium. Art and Angie followed after her, arguing about their prize.
Cosima looked down at Delphine's hand in her own. They both smiled at each other. As they walked off the stage together, Cosima could hear Rachel and Sarah arguing.
"NO, SARAH. THIS IS YOUR FAULT. UNTIL YOU COME TO HEEL, I WILL MAKE SURE YOU AND COSIMA SUFFER GREATLY."
Worth it, Cosima thought.
