Music pounded and shook the walls of the apartment, some top 40 playlist playing far too loud yet to be expected upon any given Saturday night. Parties were a natural part of college, whether it was in the basement of a frat house or a slightly more mild location like a random junior's apartment. No one really cared where it was as long as there was access to alcohol involved. That was always the priority for college students, hardworking or not.
"Come on, April, take a shot!" Amelia, the hostess of tonight's event, insisted.
"I have to wake up early tomorrow." For church, of course, even if she wouldn't say that. "I'm good." She rejected.
"Buzzkill!" The brunette shouted, taking the bottle of tequila with her as she went to find someone else to seduce into her antics.
The redhead sunk back into the chair, holding onto her plastic cup a little tighter than before. Water was the only thing in it but she thought holding onto it might keep it from being so obvious. When Amelia had mentioned she was having people over, April had accepted the invitation under the guise that it was a small group. Her friend had mentioned that their study group would be there, and she thought that it wasn't going to be much larger than that. But the apartment was just about as crowded as could be. She had underestimated just how much of a socialite the other woman was.
A few faces around the room she was capable of recognizing, from her pre-med and biology classes. She knew Lexie – a complete brainiac with an eidetic memory and Mark, the senior boy that she always hung around who seemed nowhere near smart enough for her on the surface. His best friend Derek, too, who happened to be Amelia's older brother who was supplying the alcohol given he was a little bit older than the rest of us.
Arizona Robbins had shown up, of course. She was the face of our particular study group. She was a senior majoring in biology and also on the pre-med course, though apparently, she was taking a gap year between finishing her undergraduate degree and attending medical school.
Legal at twenty-two, Arizona had no qualms about hammering down a mixed drink or two or dancing with some of the other girls at the party. Everyone knew that she was as gay as could be – she was on the executive board for the pride club.
"We need to do something to get this party started!" Amelia announced.
"I've got an idea," Mark hollered. "Spin the bottle – seven minutes in Heaven style!"
In a typical youthful and horny fashion, cheers of agreement sounded loudly through the room. Most people in there were at least tipsy – April was one of the few exceptions, but sticking out was something that stressed her out, even if she wasn't a fan of games like these. It was better to go along and hope to God that the bottle wouldn't end up landing on her. People would be too drunk to notice, hopefully.
"There are three closets in here," Amelia smirked as she glanced around the group. "Things can definitely get a little raunchy. No one be a buzzkill." She sent a look at April.
An empty beer bottle was set down among the large group of people and spun around with a flicker. Everyone except for April sat forward with interest to watch as it spun quickly and slowed down, eventually settling on one person. Cristina Yang. She sat back on her heels with a haughty smirk and it was spun again, eventually landing on one of the younger males in the room, George O'Malley. She groaned out with frustration and the mocking quickly began as they both dragged their feet to the closet.
"Again, again!" The crowd chanted. Amelia was happy to comply, sending the bottle spinning around the group of people. A few seconds passed before it landed on April, and she froze.
"Oh no…" she mumbled under her breath, wetting her lips. She already hated this.
The bottle was spun once more and her hands curled into tiny fists, short nails digging crescent moons into the palms of her hands as she waited anxiously. After what seemed like an impossibly long spin, it finally began to slow down before landing on a person.
Once the glass stilled, April looked up to see who it had landed on. Of course, it was someone that she knew. Arizona Robbins. They had studied together a few times.
All of the guys in the group hollered out loud once they realized that it was two girls going into the closet together. Arizona was out and proud, of course, but April wasn't. April knew that she liked girls, that she was probably bisexual even if she didn't have a lot of experience with any gender. But she'd always stayed deep in the closet, scared of how her family would react if she tried to step out.
"C'mon, red." Arizona quipped, a big smile on the blonde's full lips.
Lips pressed together in a tight line to try and keep herself from pouting, April stood up and followed the slightly older girl into the closet in Amelia's bedroom. The light was pulled on and both of them had to be careful of their step for shoes and other knick-knacks that littered the floor, pushing clothes aside to try and make it slightly more comfortable.
"Have you ever kissed a girl before?" Arizona asked with a smirk.
"I, uh," April tried to speak, her mouth suddenly too dry. She swallowed thickly before giving it another attempt. "No, I haven't. I haven't really kissed anyone before," she admitted honestly.
"Seriously?" The blonde questioned, her eyebrows shooting up into arches.
Cheeks flooding with a color that nearly matched the hair on top of her head, April nodded.
"I would have never guessed. Why not? You're hot. It's not like there is a shortage of guys, or girls, who would be willing to get it on with you." Arizona rambled on confidently, resting her hands on her hips despite it being a little crowded for the room in the closet. "I mean, seriously. There's no reason for you not to be having some fun."
April's gaze dropped for a moment and her bottom lip caught between her teeth, just barely giving a shake of her head. There was something intimidating about being in here alone with Arizona – she was older and beautiful, a lot out of her league.
"No need to be so shy." This time, Arizona's smile was gentle. "It's just me and you. We're friends."
"Yeah," April wet her lips, taking a deep breath and trying to force a smile across her lips. "Sorry, I'm just not used to stuff like this. When Amelia invited me to the party, I didn't realize that it was a big party. I thought that it was going to be just a small group of people," she explained and gave a slight shrug of her shoulders.
"I'm not surprised, that was probably the only way that she could get you to come." She replied.
"Mmhm," she nodded. "This isn't really my scene."
The redhead fell quiet shortly after her words, her arms wrapping timidly in front of her ribcage and trying to shrink herself. Both of them were about the same size and height, the blonde perhaps just standing a bit taller than the other merely from the confidence that she had straightened up her spine. That managed to make a big enough difference, especially when the two of them were confined together in such a small space. It had barely been a minute and yet it already felt impossibly long for her. Arizona, on the other hand, didn't mind. She always appreciated time with a beautiful woman.
"Are you interested in kissing a girl?" Arizona asked to break the silence, her eyebrows quirking up as she examined the other's face carefully. She could see something there, even if she couldn't quite name it.
"I–" There was the stuttering again. "I don't know, I mean, I uh…" Her voice trailed off to silence.
"You did always give me that bi or demi vibe," the blonde remarked, blue eyes sweeping over the other's forms and letting her thumbs hook into the belt loops of her jeans. "Sweet, quiet, demure. Just waiting for the right person to swoop in and rock your world completely."
As oblivious as April could be to flirting and pickups, this particular instance was impossible to miss. Arizona's pupils were huge in the dark room, looking at much more than just her face. The heat rose in her cheeks again.
"I don't really know what I am," April finally admitted, licking her lips subconsciously. "I think that I'm bi but I don't really have the experience to know either way." She clarified.
"Then how about I give you a little experience and help you figure it out?" As if it was a selfless act.
Even if it was a natural, flirtatious flow of conversion, April still found herself stunned by the suggestion. She wasn't completely oblivious, despite what people might have thought about her. She knew what people her age typically did in situations like this one, making out and groping to take advantage of the seven minutes. Hazel eyes stared at the woman across from her for a long moment, as if she was expecting her to suddenly take the words back with an obnoxious laugh.
"Seriously?" April finally questioned, staring at her.
"Yeah. I mean, why not? We're already in here. You may a well get something out of this experience. No sense in wasting seven perfectly good minutes with a hot girl." Whether Arizona was talking about herself or April, well, it was hard to determine. Both, probably.
"Oh… okay." The redhead finally managed to get a syllable past her lips after a few long seconds, blinking quickly a few times as she assessed the situation one more time.
"Okay?" Arizona asked once more for confirmation, thin eyebrows perking up.
"Okay," April repeated the syllable with just a little more confidence than before.
The blonde stepped forward toward the younger woman, her hands finding the small curve of her hips and pulling her in just a little closer. Both heads turned to the side and red stained lips met painted pink ones for the first time.
Slow and hesitant at first, April paused for a moment before attempting to return the kiss, trying to act as natural as possible about it. She'd never had a real kiss before – not one like this, close together and intimate, without the worry of anyone else in the world seeing the two of them. Arizona's lips were soft and warm, even if she could faintly taste the alcohol on her lips alongside something sweet. She couldn't quite name the latter of the taste. Even if she didn't know exactly what it was, she liked it.
Arizona had more fervor to put into the kiss, pulling her hips to flush against her own. April didn't taste like alcohol or anything else that had been passed around the party. There was a pure quality to her, sweet and natural, something that most of the other girls on campus didn't seem to have. She found herself incredibly attracted to it.
Lips eventually separated once more for the sole purpose of putting oxygen inside of their lungs again. But the separation only lasted for a brief moment. Blue eyes met hazel again and with a slight nod of confirmation, their lips met again. This time, there wasn't as much hesitation coming from April, one hand resting on Arizona's cheek as they kissed. She could feel her confidence growing just a smidgen from being with her.
Finally, they parted once again, though not a lot of distance was put between the two of them. April's hand fell from Arizona's cheek to her shoulders, pausing as she tried to catch her breath again. Arizona's hands remained suited on the other woman's hips.
"So, how was your first real kiss with a girl?" Arizona asked with a large smirk.
Still momentarily breathless, all April could manage to do was nod her head.
"That good, huh?" Laughter slipped through the blonde's lips though a joyful look remained seated on her lips, feeling thoroughly satisfied with herself. She'd known and admired April for quite a few weeks now. She had barely noticed the redhead when they first sat down in the same section of anatomy together given how meek and quiet she was, but once they had ended up in the same study group together, she had realized there was a bright intelligence inside of that she didn't always let show.
And now that she had kissed her properly, felt the softness of her curves underneath her own hands, it was safe to say that she happened to be just a little bit enamored by all of the quiet, subtle charms that the red-haired woman had to offer.
"Yeah, I guess it was pretty good." April finally managed to speak up, a smile of her own just barely beginning to flirt across the soft curve of her lips.
"Well, thank you very much." Arizona grinned right back at her.
"How much time do we have left?" The redhead asked, realizing that she had left her phone out in the room with everyone else. She was sure that once the two of them left, there was going to be plenty of commentaries made by Amelia, Mark, and everyone else who decided it would be fun to prey on her.
"Just another minute or two." She answered. "Is there anything else you want to do?"
Staring at Arizona for a minute longer, April leaned forward to place her lips on top of the other woman's one more time. She was still just as soft as before, the same sweet flavor mixed with something alcoholic. Maybe she hadn't been drinking like everyone else at the party, but this was just enough to make her feel like she was indeed just a little bit intoxicated.
Suddenly, the closet doors flew open with two other women standing on the other side. Amelia was there, of course, along with an older, dark-haired woman that April didn't recognize. Amelia looked incredibly satisfied with what she saw.
"Hah! I knew Kepner was into chicks." The young Shepherd said with a grin.
"She most definitely is," Callie confirmed, dark brown eyes sweeping over both April and Arizona in approval. "I gotta hand it to you, I didn't see that one coming." She laughed.
"Well, I'm glad to see you finally had some fun." Amelia eyed April with amusement.
"Oh yes, we most certainly did." Arizona smiled, slinging her arm around April's waist.