Based on this AU from Tumblr:
"tried to get the candy bar that didn't drop out of the vending machine and now my hand is stuck can u help me out" au
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this, but it's fluffy and it's soccer cop, so I hope you enjoy!
(I do not own Orphan Black or its characters.)
Elizabeth Childs' day had been unspeakably bad. From missing the city bus and running into her first class of the day sweating and late from running to school to forgetting a change of clothes for track and having to sit in the stands to watch practice, the day had been hell from beginning to end.
Naturally, she was feeling cranky and tired and more than a little bit upset as her last class of the day finally let out. As she left the classroom and walked down the hallway she found herself face to face with the vending machine, and all of a sudden all she wanted out of life was some chocolate before heading home and diving headfirst into the mountain of homework that was already weighing her down.
So ending up in a situation such as this after the hell she had been though over the course of the day was absolutely icing on the cake. Beth wasn't the type to cry over trivial things (or really, to cry at all), but sitting here on the floor with her hand stuck in the machine was just too much for her to take and crying was starting to look more and more appealing. All she had wanted was to comfort eat, but it seemed that even the vending machine had it in for her today as her chocolate remained stuck just out of reach. Not only was she humiliated at being in such a position, but her arm was twisted at an angle that was rapidly becoming quite painful. Calling for help had crossed her mind, but the thought of anyone seeing her like this was more painful than her arm. Her athletic status and devil may care attitude had earned her some small sense of popularity here, and while she claimed she didn't care, the idea of anyone seeing her in a position like this was more than cringe worthy.
Beth gave her arm one more halfhearted tug, wincing when the machine only took a stronger grip on her arm, and gave up. She leaned back against the machine and sighed, closing her eyes against the prickling of frustrated tears. There didn't seem to be anyone else left in the school. At least, no one walking down the hallways anyway. She considered this to be both a blessing and a curse. She could hear the theatre kids down the hall in the auditorium practicing whatever infernal musical they were putting on this semester, but other than that the school was silent. Maybe the janitor would wander through eventually. While Beth wasn't sure if he had ever run into quite this situation before, she was rather confident that he would be able to get her out of her predicament.
Either way, someone had to walk down this hallway eventually. Beth refused to lose any more dignity (what little was left) by shouting until she absolutely had to.
But what she had hoped wouldn't happen did as the door to the auditorium opened at the end of the hallway. Voices and laughter poured out from the room as the theatre kids left and went their separate ways. Beth groaned internally as a small group of them began walking down the hallway right in her direction. It took them several moments to notice the poor girl sitting on the floor with her hand in the machine, but when they did they stopped short.
Then one by one, they began giggling, stifling the sounds behind hands or scripts held up to their faces. Beth figured it must be some sort of triumph for them. She knew that even at this age when they should have grown out of it her fellow athletes tended to look down on and make fun of the theatre kids. While she herself didn't even interact with them, negatively or otherwise, she knew that it must be oddly satisfying to stumble across one of them in such a compromising position.
"Yeah, funny, I know," Beth said, trying and failing to disguise the sarcasm in her voice. She had had a bad enough day without dealing with these kids laughing at her. Most of them even looked younger than her, which grated on her nerves in a way she hadn't expected. "But, you know, if one of you could help me out it would be greatly appreciated."
The little group dissolved into giggles again and Beth was on the verge of wrenching her arm out of the machine (which she knew she would regret) and going after them just to wipe the stupid smiles off of their faces (which she knew she would also regret).
But before she could commit murder, one of the girls stepped forward. She was small and wore more pink in one outfit than Beth had ever owned in her entire life, and while she looked younger than half of the group she was with Beth recognized her from several of her classes. There wasn't a trace of a smile on her face, and Beth wondered if she had laughed at all. She certainly didn't look as though she found the situation amusing in the slightest. "Go," she said, shooing the group away with a hand. "I'll meet you later." When the group didn't look like they were planning to move at all, the girl (so tiny but speaking with so much authority) changed her expression into something that even Beth would have found vaguely terrifying had it been directed at her and jabbed a finger in the direction of the door. "Go!"
The little group scurried off and the girl turned back around to face Beth, her face slightly flushed and her hand pressed to her face. "Don't mind them, they—" she trailed off, waving a hand absently in a way that made Beth wonder exactly what they were. "I'm Alison," she said, extending a hand to shake before realizing that Beth was not quite in a position to shake hands. "Oh, sorry. Can I help? Should I get someone?" She turned and made to walk back to the auditorium and Beth's heart jumped.
"No!" she said, sharper than she had intended. She felt a little bad when Alison jumped so she put up a hand, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. Just, no. Maybe you can help me?" Her arm had gone numb about ten minutes ago which was actually beginning to alarm her.
"Of course," Alison said, seemingly without a second thought. She put her backpack and books down by the machine and knelt beside Beth. They were suddenly much closer than Beth had anticipated and 'wow, she's cute.' There were freckles on her nose and Beth was finding that she really appreciated pink lip gloss more than she ever thought she would. "What can I do?"
"Oh, right." 'Get it together, Childs.' "Just, um, I can't feel my arm anymore. Could you hold the machine open?" Alison leaned in closer to wedge her own hand into the machine and Beth caught a whiff of some kind of flowery perfume that made her head spin. She winced a little as Alison pushed the flap up and some circulation began to find its way back into her arm.
It took several minutes of twisting and pulling, but finally Beth was freed from the machine. She hissed as she flexed her fingers and bent her elbow, pins and needles setting in as her arm began to wake up. "Thank you," she said as Alison sat back on her heels and smiled. "I'm Beth by the way." She extended her hand to finally shake Alison's.
She was taken off-guard when instead of shaking her hand Alison took her arm and pushed her sleeve up over her elbow. Beth winced as Alison ran gentle fingers across her skin. It hurt, but that didn't explain the goosebumps breaking out at the touch.
"You're bruised," Alison said, and Beth sensed a slight scolding sound in her voice, as though it had been Beth's fault for being reckless and getting caught in the machine. Which she supposed it was, but it wasn't as though she had done it on purpose.
"So I am," Beth replied, looking down at the long bruise that wrapped itself around the area where the machine's flap had caught her. She wasn't too concerned about the mark; she bruised all the time either from her athletic activities or from general clumsiness. "It's alright. It doesn't hurt." That was a lie. The pins and needles were beginning to recede, leaving a throbbing soreness in their wake.
Alison was squinting at her in a way that made Beth want to squirm. She felt as though this girl could see straight through her. "You're in my biology class, aren't you?" It wasn't a question that Beth was expecting after being looked at like that, causing her to flounder for a moment before gathering her thoughts. As she did, the weight of the homework currently residing in her discarded backpack descended upon her once again.
"Yes, I think so," she said somewhat dejectedly. After her "adventures" this afternoon all she wanted to do was go home and sleep, but her imminent graduation loomed ever closer and with it came the pressures of keeping her grades up so she could get into a decent college. "I should be working on that research paper now, but ya know, shit happens I guess." She gestured at the machine with her head. Alison visibly winced at her language, and while Beth normally would have rolled her eyes, all she could do was think about how cute this girl was.
"Yes, that's what I was about to go do now actually," Alison replied, gathering her backpack and books and standing. "I want to write it from a more kinesiological standpoint, but I don't know if our teacher will let me. I don't think she understands where I am coming from at all."
Beth stood as well, picking up her things from where she had dropped them when she got stuck. "So you actually understand the assignment?" she asked, realizing suddenly that she may have found her silver lining after all. Who knew it would come from getting stuck in a damned vending machine?
"Of course, don't you?" Alison replied, but a look at Beth's face seemed to tell her all she needed to know. "Oh. Do you need help?" There was something almost hopeful in her expression as she asked, but Beth blinked and it was gone.
"I thought you had to meet your friends," she said, glancing down the hallway toward the door that Alison't giggly friends had disappeared through earlier. She needed the help, and desperately wanted the company, but Alison did not seem like the type to willingly spend time with her of all people.
"Who?" Alison asked in return, blinking up at her for a moment before realization dawned on her face. "Oh, no. They'll be fine." She waved a hand in dismissal and Beth couldn't help but smile. For the first time in a very long time homework actually seemed appealing.
"Yeah, sure. I could use the help," she said, trying to keep her tone nonchalant when in reality she couldn't think of anything she wanted more in this moment. Especially when Alison's face broke into a grin and she took her arm and began pulling her down the hall. She was chattering a mile a minute about her project, but Beth found that she didn't mind. There were tingles running up her arm that had nothing to do with her bruise and everything to do with the way Alison tucked herself so neatly into Beth's side as though they had been friends for years.
In fact, Beth didn't even realize that she had stopped listening to the girl in favor of appreciating the feeling until Alison stopped speaking abruptly. She was prepared to start apologizing for not listening (Alison seemed like the type of girl she would find herself apologizing to a lot) but Alison hadn't even noticed.
"Wait here," she said, detaching herself from Beth's side. Beth missed her warmth immediately and turned, watching as the girl walked back to the vending machine and regarded it carefully. After a moment of careful consideration Alison aimed a well-placed kick at the machine, smiling proudly when Beth's chocolate dislodged itself and fell out.
Beth couldn't help but laugh as Alison sashayed over, pressing the chocolate into her hand and herself back into Beth's side. "You deserve it," she said with a smile, picking up her chattering precisely where she had left off.
Beth lost herself in Alison's words and warmth once again, thinking that maybe she didn't need the chocolate so much anymore.