"Taking a Selfie Together." Starring Lori Loud and Carol Pingrey.

Royal Woods, sunset.

A brisk spring evening slowly descends into dusk as Carol Pingrey and Lori Loud make their way home. They had themselves a friendly outing as part of their agreement to bury the proverbial hatchet regarding what they affectionately called "a stupid selfie war," and all things considered, it went pretty darn well. They could have focused on talking trash about Bianca and Soo Yung over their ice cold drinks at the mall (and they did for a little bit, truthfully), but for the most part, they didn't let such extrinsic matters distract them from a fun day just getting to know one another a little better.

They went shopping at Bold Navy, and ended up buying stylish matching sweatshirts that just so happened to be buy one get one half off. Which might have perplexed Leni, considering nothing was missing. Nevertheless, it was pretty exciting for both girls when they serendipitously picked out the hoodies. One blue, one purple.

"You should take the blue one. I can't pull it off as well as you can," Carol suggested.

"Oh don't be silly! But here. You take the purple one. It's the color of royalty after all," Lori encouraged her new BFF.

They shared a laugh at that before touting, "We're ridiculous!"

After buying new clothes, they decided to check out the sporting goods store. For Lori, it was fun seeing what kind of things she could learn from Carol about her many pastimes. Apparently, she loves to paint and draw, as she displayed when asking the clerk (some dude named Colin) about canvases. She also surprised Lori when they passed by equestrian goods.

"Oh yeah, every summer I'd go to the farm to take care of the horses, and every fall I'd get back to cheerleading. It was so much fun," she explained.

And while Lori felt a little embarrassed about only knowing how to golf and occasionally participate in speech and debate between folding her siblings' laundry, she remembered their agreement to put best feet forward.

"Gosh, there really isn't anything you can't do, is there?"

Carol just shrugged a bashful little shrug, wearing a sweet little smile. "Oh, stop. You're too nice."

It made Lori happy to show support without asking for anything in return. It's not something she could afford to do all the time for just anyone, but for Carol, she'd gladly make an exception here and there.

The surprises didn't stop though. When the subject of her plans to raise money for a new car came up, she told Lori she was working on an art commission for a fellow violinist

"You play violin? That's actually really awesome!"

Carol did her best to stay humble with a laugh. "Oh, it's no big deal. I mean, playing twelve minute minuets with flawless transitions is just a little hobby of mine."

"You'll have to show me sometime. My sister Luna actually plays… well, literally every instrument, heh heh," Lori suggested with some nervousness.

"Oh, she's the one with the paperclip earrings, right?" Carol asked… with a tone.

It made Lori a little worried. It would literally be the worst thing in the world if she had to smack a girl in the middle of Sporty King for dogging on her sister. Good day and good chemistry aside, Luna is her sister, and not even Carol Pingrey gets away with talking bad about her family.

However, her worry would soon be exchanged for a different kind of surprise with the unexpected follow up from Miss Pingrey.

"She's kind of cute."

Lori's eyes widened. She had to make sure she heard it right, so she repeated with a little chuckle, "She's cute?"

Carol seemed to become a little flustered by that. "Uh, you know… like, it's cute she plays all those instruments!" she clarified.

It definitely wasn't how Lori thought the conversation would go, but she was just happy it didn't go in a less pleasant direction. Especially with how well things were going.

No, they weren't perfect. They didn't agree on every little thing. Carol had to apologize for bringing up Lori's inability to pull off blue jeans, but Lori also had to apologize to Carol for a quip about using too much of the 'crummy' brand of dry shampoo.

Like their first fateful encounter in this mall, the one where they took their first BFF selfie, they were learning to make compromises. And dang, it was going pretty swell. For every minor drawback that came with their disagreements, there were positives to far outweigh those negatives. Shared interests in varsity golf, college aspirations (and gossip), and a natural chemistry that just made it easy to talk to one another made them pretty good BFFs after all.

Yeah, it was literally the best day Lori could ask for just spending time with her new bestie. Definitely the start of something wonderful, as far as she's concerned. It makes it very easy for her to just… kind of say that to her as walk their way home in their new matching hoodies.

"Hey Carol?" she begins.

The other blonde seems to be fixated on the sidewalk, maybe zoned out a little with their momentary pause from conversation. But she hears Lori's voice, and she shakes herself. "Yeah?"

Lori meets her with a warm smile. "This is going to sound, well… pretty lame, but I want to say it anyway," she begins. Her heart races a little bit with the thought that Carol might meet her sentiment with anything less than sincere reciprocity, but she decides to take a leap of faith anyway. Some of that Pingrey confidence must have rubbed off on her...

So she takes a breath, then says what she wants to say.

"I just want you to know I'm really glad we did this today. I mean, I don't know about you, but I think you're really great. I loved spending the day together," she confesses, feeling her cheeks burn a little as she's forced to look away from the other girl.

And for a moment, the words linger in the air, bringing her a little trepidation as Carol keeps her response belated. The girl with the purple headband eventually responds with a smile though.

"I'm really happy to hear that, Lori. I really am," she states, and the two girls smile with the understanding.

However, Carol's wanes as she turns to study the ground below once again. Whatever enthusiasm that was there now seems tainted, and Lori certainly sees it in her blue eyes.

Dang it, things were going so well! What did she do to mess it up?

"Uhm, is everything alright?" she asks.

Carol fakes another weak smile as she shrugs it off, but her "I'm fine. It's okay," doesn't convince Lori at all.

And while part of her wants to just let it go and maybe change the subject to avoid seeming like a clingy spaz just in case she's wrong, she also realizes… the reward is greater than the risk. If something is wrong, this is a chance to make things right again, just like that day at the mall. It's not only a chance to connect on a deeper level with Carol Pingrey, but also a chance to make her see that she's cared for.

It's just what best friends do.

So, she swallows her pride, and asks her again.

"Are you sure, Carol? You know you can talk to me, don't you?"

Her persistence seems to pay off as the other girl sighs, stopping herself to stand still on the sidewalk. Lori stops too, simply watching with a brewing anxiety in her chest as Carol looks to the ground and not her eyes. What could possibly be troubling her? More importantly, is it even something Lori can help her with?

The idea that she can't make any difference, or even make it worse somehow, really scares her. With the bond they've developed these last few hours, it would be very painful for it all to be jeopardized thanks to a good ol' fashioned Lori Loud screw up.

But dang it, even if it isn't something she can help with, she'll sure as heck try.

Finally, Carol answers her.

"I just… I kind of wanna ask you about something. Something important…"

Curiously, Lori follows with, "Okay? What is it?"

For a short while, Carol seems frozen. She's motionless as she looks to the sidewalk, not even blinking. With every passing second, Lori feels herself becoming paralyzed too, all except for the pounding in her chest.

But her suspense isn't edged for too long, thankfully. Carol offers her the truth soon enough as she finally looks back up to meet her proclaimed BFF's eyes.

"So… Do you remember earlier when I said your sister was cute?"

Even though she wasn't sure what Carol would open with, this still stuns Lori. "Uhm… Yeah. I remember. Why?"

She can see there's more hesitation on her part, but commendably, Carol perseveres.

"Well, here's the thing Lori. I don't want to do anything to mess up this thing we've got going on here; because I really like you. I think you're awesome. I always have," she assures her.

Lori bashfully rolls her head. "Is this another butt kissing contest? Because I have plenty of ammo," she quips.

It makes Carol laugh a little. "Let me finish," she says before getting serious again with a deep breath.

And that's when she drops the bombshell.

"But I should tell you something before we get any closer. Something I think you really should know about me… Lori, I'm gay. I like girls."

She's left literally, actually speechless by that. It just… came out of nowhere.

But while it makes Lori a dumbfounded mess for a moment, and it shows with the way her eyes widen and her mouth goes agape; she's also astute enough to see that this is very important to Carol. She clearly sees this as something imperative enough to get off her chest here and now, and it's probably something she's struggled with a lot not only today, but on days like today with other people like Lori.

So she snaps herself out of her stupor to meet Carol with the respectful levelheadeness she deserves, and carefully considers her next words to follow up with.

"Oh… Okay," she starts to break the ice. And while the next part isn't easy at all, she decides not to overthink it. Relax, and sink it. "I hope you realize this doesn't change anything between us. I don't care if you're gay or not. Or wait… No, that came out wrong."

While she feels like she's put her foot in her mouth by saying the most patronizing thing possible, Carol just sighs with relief as a small smile comes to her face. She even laughs a little laugh!

"Lori, chill. I get it," she says to her.

The other girl does her best to ebb on the excitement, taking a breath and offering a casual "You do?" for her response.

And Carol just keeps smiling, whatever weight that was pressing down on her seemingly lifted.. "Yeah. That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

"It was?" Lori dubiously responds. "I mean, I didn't mean it like I don't care about you or something. I meant like… You know…"

"Well I would hope you care about me after telling me I use crummy shampoo," Carol teases. "But seriously… I just don't want to mess up our friendship."

She takes a moment to collect her thoughts, just as Lori uses the opportunity to settle herself into paying attention to the things she's being told.

"Look, I only brought this up because I've had friends before who found out I'm into girls, and they started treating me differently. I couldn't joke around with them and stuff anymore. I got the feeling like they wouldn't let me just be friends with them, ya know?"

Lori thinks it over, and once she's comfortable that she understands, she nods. "I think I get it," she starts, and then she softly smiles. "Look Carol, I hope I don't give you that impression. I'm not going to treat you any differently now than I did this morning or all afternoon. You're still the same Carol… and you're still my BFF."

She warmly smiles back. "You really mean that?"

Lori keeps her sentimentality to her for a moment, but soon dons a playful thinking face as she hums. "Well, actually, I take that back. There is one thing that's different now," she starts, prompting Carol to raise a brow. "Now that I know what you think of Luna, I'm totally going to play matchmaker. You'll be double dating with me and Bobby by the end of the month," she only somewhat jokingly asserts.

While Carol would like to just play along, she feels more compelled to just return to form. "Thanks Lori. You really are a great friend. I wish I could have seen that sooner."

Lori puts he razzing aside once more to return her compassion, content with letting herself just be open in the same way her friend is with her.

"I wish I did too. You're the best."

For a moment, they just share this exchange of admiration using only smiling faces and glossy eyes, but only until Carol has another thought.

"Hey, so, stop me if it's weird… But isn't now the perfect time for a selfie?"

Lori considers it, and…

"Looking like this?..." she starts, conveying disbelief. But the way her lips curve makes it obvious what she plans to do. "Sure. Bring it in, Care Bear."

She blushes a little with that display of affection, and with very little hesitation, they pull out their phones and huddle together. They glance at one another before deciding on their perfect pose, and with mental synchronization, they tap their screens in tandem to take the perfect BFF selfie.

I decided to build this drabble off the fanart "Lori y Carol paseando juntas" by Aleuz91. He's a kino artist and I love that drawing.

Thanks so much for reading! :)