A/N: So this is a sequel to Three Chances, mhm, mhm. I sort of thought this chapter was a little awkward when I wrote it, can you tell me if you think that too? (Sneaky way of getting you to review. Because it makes me smile when people say things about my work.) Anyways, this is going to be in the POVs of Emily, Spencer, and Lucy (which is, as Glee fans will surely know, is Quinn's birth name) and maybe one more, but I haven't decided yet. I'll figure that out as I go along. More Glee people may make an appearance; I know for sure that Santana and Brittany will, eventually, because I want to write them.
~* Emily *~
The first time I see her, I'm with Paige, and I'm nudging my girlfriend's shoulder, and she's nudging back, and there's no stress anywhere at all. No A, no homophobic people, no inner turmoil, no reminder of things in the past. Just me, Paige, and her fabulous lips. And that blonde girl in the pretty dress, with a forlorn look on her face.
"She looks lost," Paige notes as she slides her arms around me, kissing my cheek. "I have this urge to help her."
I smile at my girlfriend and kiss her. "Really? Me too." I rest my head on her shoulder. "She's new, right? I mean, I haven't seen her around before."
"Well, you have been distracted lately…"
I roll my eyes at Paige, but it's true. I have been distracted, and a lot of it was Paige. The blonde girl suddenly sees Paige and me and a weird expression crosses her face as she comes over. For a second, I'm worried, and then she asks quietly, "Can I sit here? In my experience, gay people are always nice to…" She takes a deep breath. "…other gay people."
The way she finishes it is soft, quiet, almost afraid to be heard. I smile warmly at her. "Yeah, and we're pretty nice to everyone else, too. I'm Emily, and this is my girlfriend, Paige."
"I'm Q… Lucy," the blonde introduces herself, smiling faintly. It's warm, but empty.
Paige kisses me and leaves soon after, hurrying to get to her classroom so she can finish her homework. I like how hard she works to stay on the swim team; it shows she cares about it, and I love it when she gets passionate.
Lucy and I talk until Aria arrives, seeming a little frazzled. "Hey, Em," she mutters, and then she notices Lucy. "Hey. You're the new girl, right?"
"Yeah." The blonde smiles. "I'm Lucy. Nice to meet you."
I lean across the table towards Lucy. "This is Aria. She's one of my best friends." I glance at Aria and say, smiling, "Lucy's gay. Now me and Paige aren't the only ones."
Lucy is blushing when I look back at her. "Can you not tell everyone?" she whispers.
I bite my lip. "Oh. Sorry. But don't worry, Aria won't let anyone know, and I know Paige won't tell anyone without your permission. You can trust me and my circle."
She nods slowly, and then takes a few breaths, relaxing with a wince. When I ask her what's wrong, she just shrugs gently. "Old cheerleading injuries. Our coach was pretty hardcore. And I just… don't want anyone to know yet. Habit. My old town was sorta homophobic. I mean, we had out gay people, two of my best friends were lesbians and dating, and they weren't treated badly, but they were treated…"
"Differently," I finish, and she nods and smiles at me, relieved someone knows what it's like. I just smile back and reach across the table to squeeze her hand quickly. She flinches and withdraws her hand.
So, she doesn't like to be touched. I'll keep that in mind.
Spencer and Hanna arrive together, Spencer talking. "I want those notes back before the bell rings, Han—" She pauses when she sees Lucy. "That's the new girl?"
"Yep," I say before Lucy has to. "Her name's Lucy. Lucy, this is Spencer and Hanna." I point at each of them as I introduce them and Lucy smiles shyly at Hanna, and then her gaze locks onto Spencer.
Suddenly, she jumps up and winces. "Um, I'm going to… get to class. I need to find my way around here and, um, I'm just gonna…" She runs off.
Spencer looks confused for a minute, and then she sits down. "What was that? Why did she look like she broke a rib?"
I shrug, glaring at Aria to keep quiet. "She might have. She said her old cheerleading coach was pretty hardcore."
Spencer nods and turns back to Hanna; a while later the bell rings and we disperse. Aria follows me to my locker and asks, "Why didn't you want me to tell Spencer?"
I sigh. "Because she's… Spencer. I want to talk to Lucy before she goes and breaks her heart. Okay? So don't tell Spencer about it yet. And don't tell Hanna, either, because she'll just tell Spencer."
"I'm going to tell Spencer," Aria mutters.
I grab her arm. "Listen. Would you tell Spencer if I had a crush on her?"
Aria pauses. "Do you?"
Sighing, I shake my head. "No, I don't. I have a girlfriend, Aria. But my point is: Would you tell her?" Aria slowly shakes her head. "So why would you tell Spencer about Lucy? It's the same thing."
Aria grumbles, shifting her things in her arms. "Well, she has a right to know that the new girl has a lesbian crush on her."
"And we'll tell her. Later. After I talk to Lucy. Okay?"
Aria grumbles more, but she agrees to not tell anyone. "Except Ezra," she adds. "Because he doesn't even talk to Spencer, and I need to talk to someone about this."
I nod. "Just until I talk to Lucy, okay?"
After school, I track down Lucy, whose face is very red. She smiles slightly when she sees me, and it's a smile of happiness and relief. "Hi, Emily," she says softly. "Um… can we talk?"
Well. Makes things easier. I just nod in response, and guide her into an empty classroom. When I turn to face her, she has a half-smile on her face. When I give her questioning look, she just shrugs. "We used empty classrooms whenever we needed to talk at my old school. Or the bathrooms. Or the auditorium, but that was more…" She takes in a breath suddenly, and then lets it out slowly with a small smile. "Anyways. I wanted to talk to you. About… Spencer."
"You like her." It isn't a question; I saw how Lucy looked at her, and that's how you look at a crush.
Even though I don't need confirmation, the blonde nods a little. "I… she's just so pretty. And I know there's more to her than that, but her skin looks so smooth, and her lips are…"
I can't help my quiet laughter. "Okay, can you not make poetry about my best friend? I mean, she's like…"
"Yeah," Lucy says softly, eyes far away. "That wasn't really poetry. I should write poetry about her. She deserves poetry."
"Hey." I snap my fingers in front of her face, and then I put a hand on her shoulder. "She isn't gay, okay? But there are other girls. You'll find someone right for you, okay?"
She nods, tears leaking out of her eyes, and suddenly she hugs me. Surprised, I hug back, rubbing her back gently. "It's okay," I say softly. "It's okay, Lucy."
Paige comes in as Lucy lets out her last few sobs. "Hey," she says, a little awkwardly. "Uh, Hanna said she saw you two coming in here… do you want me to…"
My answer is holding out my arm, and Paige comes and hugs both of us, which makes Lucy start crying again. After she calms down again, I squeeze her lightly. "Why are you crying so much, Lucy?"
She smiles faintly. "At my old school… I didn't really have anyone that'd just hold me while I cried. Brittany would probably just offer me candy, and Santana would say something insulting." She sighs quietly. "I really miss my friends."
"Well, why'd you move?" I glare at Paige, and she just shrugs as Lucy gets her thoughts in order.
Eventually the girl says, so quietly I have to strain to hear her words, "I just couldn't live there anymore."
I nod and hug her once more, and then I murmur, "I'm going to tell Spencer about your crush, Lucy." She looks distracted for a moment, and then she just nods to show that it's okay. I smile in relief and ask, "You ready to go?"
Lucy starts to nod again, but then she catches sight of something and stops altogether. I'm about to ask what it is, when she whispers that we can go ahead without her. I leave what I realize is the music room; in the doorway, I peek back at Lucy and see her sitting at the piano, running her fingers over the keys. I'm tempted to go in and ask her if she's okay, but Paige pulls me away gently. I kiss her cheek and murmur, "I need to talk to Spencer. I'll call you later, Paige."
My girlfriend nods and kisses me on the lips. "I'd like to come over," she whispers against my mouth before walking off. I shiver a bit, excited. She tends to do that to me, and I love it.
But I have to hold those thoughts, because I have to talk to Spencer before any fun times with my girlfriend.
I find her in the library, studying, and she jumps when I tap her on the shoulder, although she quickly relaxes. "Jesus, Em," she mutters. "Don't scare me like that." She notes my expression and sighs. "What's wrong, Em? Did you get a text from—"
"No," I cut her off quickly. I don't want her going down that train of thought, not with the news I'm about to deliver. "No, I didn't. This is much more… mundane. You know the new girl, Lucy?" Spencer nods, her face now suspicious again, and if this wasn't so serious I'd probably think it's adorable. "Well, she's gay. And she has a crush on you."
Spencer blinks, and then she glances down to her book. "Is that all? I'll talk to her tomorrow."
"I, um, already talked to her, since I didn't know how you'd take the news."
Spencer smiles. "I'm a little flattered, honestly. I mean, she barely knows me and she likes me. I'm obviously much better than I thought I was." Her joking tone makes me smile and roll my eyes at her, and Spencer just grins back. "Listen, I'll talk to her, okay? We can sort this all out and she can go on to find a beautiful girl who loves her and they'll get married and all that, but for now, I would like to study."
"Yeah. Sure." I grin at her and walk out. I know she'll handle Lucy well; I had a minor crush on her at one point, but she set my head straight and helped me realize that Paige is good for me.
Speaking of. I check my phone and spot a text from the amazing girlfriend in question; her parents are going to be gone for quite some time, and she took a shower and is laying in bed in just a towel.
Although, the text finishes, I could be wearing less if a certain girl were with me.
I don't hesitate; I tell her I'm on my way and a second later, I am.
