A/N: A little something I came up with for AU Sunday- a lot of words for a very short scene… Enjoy!
"Hey!"
Sarah rolls her eyes, grudgingly halting halfway down the long hallway as she hears the clear voice behind her.
"What." She sounds irritated, grumpy, and she isn't surprised. The epic hangover raging through her brain right now isn't pretty, and if Kate thinks she can get away with pushing her buttons right now, she is dead wrong. The other girl looks as put together as ever, shirt fully buttoned, skirt the appropriate two inches above the knee. In comparison to Sarah she looks like the perfect angel of Dalton- even her hair is a uniform bob, brushing the tops of her shoulders when she shrugs and folding perfectly behind her ear when she pushes it back. Not that Sarah ever notices this little nervous tic of hers, of course.
"You can't just wander out of rehearsal- we have to be ready for competition next week!" Kate's tone is exasperated, her eyes wild and cheeks flushed after running the length of the hallway in pursuit of Sarah.
"I told you, if I have to listen to one more ridiculously pitched note come out of Anderson's enormous mouth-" She is cut off before she can finish the insult, Kate's eyes flashing as she hurries to defend her friend.
"Oh stop pretending this is about your stupid vendetta against Blair. You've been avoiding me, you know you have."
"Contrary to popular belief, princess, you are not the center of everyone else's attention. Is it so difficult for you to believe that I don't want to be a Warbler?" At this the shorter girl scoffs, tossing her hair slightly as she shakes her head and focuses her blue eyes on Sarah.
"Don't pull that with me. You might get away with that excuse with the others, but not with me. I know you, Sarah. This shit with sneaking out at nights, your random hatred of people you were friends with only last week-"
"I thought you said this wasn't about Blair." Because of course it's always about Blair, and her shiny straightened hair, and the crispness of her blazer when she walks in in the mornings. Kate basically melts when those nude glossy lips smile in her direction, and for the last couple of weeks Sarah's had to resist the temptation to slap the smirk off of it.
"It isn't. It's about you. Something's going on with you, and you know that I'm the only one who'll notice. So what- you're destroying your entire school career or the sole purpose of avoiding and annoying me?" Her hands have reached her hips, her face a bizarre mixture of anger and worry. Sarah can't find it in herself to explain- because how can she? She could attempt to describe how being in that room with Kate was like feeling her own blood burn under her skin, how she felt when she saw the blush rise in her cheeks. She can't even begin to describe the way she feels when Kate's full attention is focused entirely on Anderson, with her sleek hair and impeccable makeup and skirt that was nearly as short as Sarah's own.
Standing in front of Kate in the impressive halls of Dalton Academy, Sarah's own inadequacy is stifling. Her hair is a mess and she knows it, having run her fingers through it rather than tie it back that morning. It's loose over her shoulders, flicking into her eyes, curling over her collar where the first three buttons are gaping open. Her makeup is probably smeared, her gloss long since worn off. The contrast between her gangly form and the petite brunette in front of her only serve to remind her of the reasons she stormed out of the choir room only minutes before.
"I'm sorry if I've annoyed you. I just think it's better if I'm not in the Warblers." She tries to be blunt, hoping Kate will get the gist and stop harassing her, just turn around and walk back to the waiting Warblers, to Blair.
"But you-"
"I mean, it's not like I'm ever going to get a solo and we all know my voice isn't that strong and you're going to be busy with fucking Candles or some shit and I just- I wanted- I don't fit in there, okay?" Her voice is quiet, but seems enormous as it echoes. Kate's expression has changed entirely, the anger softening and her eyes growing wide as if she's figuring something out.
"This is because of the duet." It isn't a question, Sarah realizes, not at all. Kate is staring down at her shoes (and really, Sarah is surprised she's the only one; trust Kate Hummel to wear three hundred dollar heels to trek around hallways in), lower lip protruding in what quite possibly may be the cutest pout she's ever seen and several seconds pass before she looks up again.
"You could have auditioned, you know. If you wanted to sing with Blair that badly." She's quieter still, high, clear voice ringing through the air like ice cold water to the face. Sarah's head reels.
"With Blair?"
"It's obvious- how you feel. You should just tell her, you know- I won't be hurt. She'd be crazy not to go for you." Kate shoots her a quick smile, sadness lurking behind her seemingly cheerful expression.
"For- for- Oh for God's sake. You think I want Blair?" She can't stop the incredulity bleeding into the other girl's name; did Kate, poor, naïve, innocent Kate, really think that after all this time, it was Blair that had held her attention for months?
"Well don't you? Whenever I'm with her I always see you looking over and doing that awkward smile-frown thing, and then you went crazy when you heard she'd asked me to sing with her just then and-and…" Kate trails off, confusion evident in her eyes as she searches Sarah's face for the truth. She appears to find it, as realization dawns, and her eyes dart down once more.
"Unless…"
When she looks up Sarah dreads to think what her own face looks like. There's no point pretending now, no point pushing her little crush to the back of her mind and ignoring the way her heart speeds when she is this close to Kate. It's over, the jig is up, and there's no turning back from this point.
"Sarah…?" The pause is the tensest second of Sarah's life so far, questions and confusion heavy in the air between them.
"Look, just- ignore it, okay? It'll go away- the way that I… the way that I feel, and we can be friends. I just, I know I'm not- good- for you, and-"
"Wait, why aren't you good for me?"
"You fit in here. You're perfect and incredible, and everything that everyone here fucking aspires to be and I'm never going to be that person. Kate, I'm not stupid, okay? I know how I look, how I act, how I wear my clothes, everything that everyone here judges me for and just- you know what, it doesn't matter. None of it matters. Go back to practice; you have a duet to rehearse."
With this she looks away, unwilling to see Kate turn from her and officially leave, choose the polished group of girls in the choir room over Sarah, with the coffee stain on her tie and her shoes that clack too loudly. Instead she hears a giggle, half muffled by Kate's pale hand.
"Sarah, I'm not perfect. Not by any stretch of the imagination."
"Yeah, right- you-" Before she can finish speaking Kate has swept her hair up and over to the right, exposing her entire jawline. Several inches of her hair are cropped short in an impressive undercut, concealed by a thick layer throughout the day. She looks different like this, mischievous written in the unusual shine in her eyes.
She looks entirely out of place.
Her perfect preppy uniform, her heels, polished to a flawless shine; all of these things seem ridiculous, comic, against her unusual hairstyle. The layer she has swept over is choppy, jagged, and as Sarah watches Kate has to shake her head slightly to flick unruly strands of hair out of her eyes. It is a tiny movement, but one that distracts Sarah from the fact that she has opened her mouth once more.
"So now we've established that I am not the android you apparently thought I was-" Sarah should really apologize, tell her that she thinks more of her than that, but she doesn't get the chance. Kate surges up into a kiss, all softness and perfume. Sarah doesn't have to think before she's pulling Kate closer, cradling her face, fingertips brushing back the wild layer that is threatening to fall into Kate's eyes again. Her makeup is definitely smeared now, and she feels a thrill spread through her when she realizes that she will have Kate's lipstick lingering at the corners of her mouth for hours afterwards.
The kiss ends too quickly, abruptly, as a bell sounds from behind them and signals the end of the day. Kate rapidly runs her hands over her uniform, smoothing it out and smiling when she notices Sarah's eyes follow the path her hands take. She winks once, an expression definitely copied from her, Sarah decides, and flicks her hair back over, running her fingers through it until it once more looks like a standard bob. Sarah doesn't bother to fix her appearance; she generally looks disheveled in the first place- no one will notice a difference. She instead watches as Kate walks –knowing exactly the way her skirt sways as she does- towards the door, headed to her car. Once it has closed behind her Sarah shakes her head and heads in the same direction, anxious to get home and figure out what the hell just happened. As she climbs into her car, her phone buzzes with a text.
For the record, I think you're perfect too. –K xx
And if you seriously think I was going to be won over by Hey Monday you are stupider than I thought –K xx