"Fallin For You"
Amy should've known something was up when she inexplicably ran into her best friend when she was out with her girlfriend for the eighth time that week. No, she should've known about it the fifth time that she was out at a club, supporting her DJ girlfriend and for some reason Karma would bop her way over to her, drink in hand, and let out a totally fake sounding "Hey! What are you doing here?" as if she had been practicing the phrase with Lauren.
"Just...here to see Reagan...again...as usual." Amy replied the fifth time this occurrence happened.
"Oh she's playing tonight?" is along the lines of what Karma would usually say. Then she would proceed to look to wherever the DJ booth was and her mouth would form a too-perfect "O" as she spotted the older girl. What Amy never took into account was the way Reagan never seemed upset or jealous that Karma always seemed to be around.
It was like she knew that she was going to see the top of a specific red-head at any moment from her booth or see excited eyes spot them from around the corner of the frozen pizza aisle while her and Amy were grocery shopping for her apartment. Every time Amy would call her friend out on her blatant stalking, Reagan would laugh and stick up for Karma. "She just misses her best friend babe. Why don't you two go locate the Captain Crunch while I get water? And without another word she was kissing Amy on the cheek and pushing the shopping cart away from them in search of a few gallons of water, or ice cream, or whatever she would be getting whenever Karma had found them on their bi-weekly grocery trips.
It had been nearing six-months now since Amy and Reagan had been together. School was out, the summer was starting and Karma had all the time in the world to enact her plan. Though the color of her hair may lead others to presume otherwise, Karma was incredibly patient and she had no problem waiting until the school was out to finally capture, what she had realized (three months ago), were the girls of her dreams. Well 1 ½ of her dreams. She didn't know Reagan all that well, they had only had a few solo encounters but from those times, she could tell that she wanted to. And those smoky eyes always made her swoon when they were trained on her. Of course, she couldn't just jump in the middle of the happy couple and insist they add her to what looked like their own little paradise. She had to go slow. Slow and steady wins the race, and the hearts.
She knew there was going to be some kind of backlash. Amy was a hard nut to crack no matter how much time she gave the blonde. And Jesus, the girl did not forget. It would be difficult to convince Amy that her feelings had changes since the beginning of the year. But she was going to keep trying no matter what it took.
Reagan knew that was something up the third time they ran into Karma, but surprisingly (most of all to herself, she never had a good record of sharing) she found that she wasn't as upset as the girl obviously tried to woo her bestfriend in line at Krispe Kreme. It was the normal kind of flirting. It wasn't smoldering glances or light touches, it was like she was watching them time travel. Back to the past before Amy was finding herself and Karma got lost. They began to fall in perfect sync with each other and if she didn't find herself doing the same with Amy recently, she would've been jealous. But when Karma cornered her after one of her shows, not to warn her that she was coming for Amy, or intimidate her, but to truly get to know her and congratulate her on a successful show, she found herself opening up to this pushy red-head. By the time third time she had spoken to Karma on her own, she could easily see why Amy was head over heels for the girl.
So, on the twelth and final time they accidentally ran into each other, Amy, Karma, and Reagan had all grown used to seeing each other in different places under different circumstances. This time happened to be in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn. Reagan had begged Amy and maybe bribed her into helping her with catering a convention that was happening at the hotel. The pair had just walked out of the building, hand in hand and checks in their back pocket after the ordeal was over to find Karma pulling up right beside Reagan's truck. "Oh hey guys!" She she said, as if the bumper sticker-covered truck wasn't obviously Reagan's and she didn't expect to see them. Amy couldn't help but chuckle under her breath at how obviously deliberate Karma was being. She had always been the better liar of the two but Amy didn't know Karma's acting was this bad as well. "What are you doing here Karma?" Amy said with a smile on her lips, interested to hear the girl's excuse. Honestly, if Karma wanted to hang out with her, all she had to do was ask. With Reagan in her life, Karma forgiving her, and her connection to Liam severed with their admittance of the truth, Amy was finally getting over all the drama of the past year. She was finally feeling care-free and just enjoying her summer. She didn't know why Karma was acting so weird.
"I actually came to see you guys. Reag said that she was catering here and trying to get you to help. I was hoping she succeeded." Karma said as she got out of her car and stood in front of the backseat door. She was wearing sunglasses that Amy bought her when her family went on a cruise, and a blue floral print dress. In the back of her mind, Amy and Reagan noted that she looked inexplicably beautiful in the sun.
"Reag?" Amy repeated the nickname to which Reagan just looked at her girlfriend and shrugged. This was her first time hearing it as well although she'd be lying if she said it didn't make her smile just a little bit that she was officially close enough to Karma for nicknames. "Wait, when did you tell her about this?" Amy said, more confused than anything. In all their encounters, Amy noticed that Karma was being nicer to her girlfriend and they could carry a conversations by themselves but she didn't remember that particular conversation happening.
"Oh I caught up with her after a show a couple of days ago when you took Lauren out of town for her doctor's appointment." Karma said easily. That's how Amy knew it was the truth. No sign of Karma shifting on her feet, chewing her bottom lip, or her voice going up to an abnormal pitch.
"Yeah, I told you I talked to her the day after, remember?" Amy looked to Reagan and searched her eyes. She was smirking and that's when Amy remembered that Reagan had said that during a particularly heavy makeout session in the very truck they were leaning against.
"Oh...yeah, I remember you saying something...like that...right." Amy said, a slight blush on her face as the memories of the night passed through her mind.
Karma cleared her throat and Amy turned her attention back to her friend. "I was hoping I could talk to you guys for a second?"
That threw Amy off, Karma never asked to talked to them, she just did. She struck up conversation like it was nothing and Amy was appreciative of it. It reminded her of a time when things were simple between them and they could go off each other like Abbot and Costello. "Sure." She said, crossing her arms, intrigued by what Karma could have to say that was so important she would need permission.
Reagan leaned into her truck as well, an arm snaking around Amy's waist out of habit. Karma beamed at the couple and then turned around to pull her guitar out of her backseat. A combined pair of eyebrows raised as Reagan looked at Amy and Amy back at Reagan, neither one of them realizing that Karma's final step in her plan was being enacted today and she was about to pour her heart out to the pair who was still in black pants and wrinkled white shirts, bangs stuck to their sweaty foreheads. They didn't look all that stunning but to Karma, both of them were beautiful and she was tired of hiding her emotions. It wasn't good for her chakras.
She slid the strap of her guitar over her shoulders and tested out the tuning, making sure everything was ready for one of the most important performances she'd had so far. She put her sunglasses on her head and began to strum, humming a little bit before looking up at the pair and then singing.
I don't know but, I think I may be
Falling for you, dropping so quickly
Maybe I should, keep this to myself
Wait until I know you better
I am trying not to tell you,
But I want to, but scared of what you'll say
And so I'm hiding all my feelings
But I'm tired of holding this inside my head
Reagan's grip tightened on Amy, but it wasn't an angry, or possessive hold. Reagan didn't really know what it was for. She just knew that Karma was making eye contact with both of them while she sang and she felt Amy go breathless. She was having a hard time breathing as well as she stood, stunned at the...bravery, the emotions, the realization that was dawning on her. It was almost too much for her to handle.
I've been spending all my time, just thinking bout you
I don't know what to do, I think I'm falling for you
I've been waiting all this time and now I've found you
I don't know what to do, I think I'm falling for you
Amy hadn't heard Karma sing, really sing, for months now. Each and every time this girl opened her damn mouth and sang any word whatsoever, as long as her eyes found Amy's, the blonde was a goner. She swore the girl was a siren in a past life. She chanced a glance over to her girlfriend. Amy saw the way Karma looked at both of them and it was a little confusing. She didn't know what was happening but she'd definitely wait until the end of the song to ask any questions. Karma singing directly to her like this was a rare occurrence and the object to many dreams in the past. She felt slightly guilty about the way she was feeling at the moment but by the look on her girlfriend's face, she wasn't the only enthralled by Karma at the moment.
As I'm standing here and you hold my hand
Pull me towards you, and we start to dance
All around us, I see nobody
Here in silence, it's just you and me
Karma was replaying the night at The Wedding, a night she'd never forget. When a drunken Amy declared her love to her but most of all, when Karma and Amy danced on the dance floor, their eyes never leaving each other. It wasn't romantic, it wasn't a slow dance that made her think of her own wedding, but it was the night that her heart pulled and her brain started imagining a life together with Amy before she could stop herself. She kept her eyes on Amy the entire time.
I am trying not to tell you,
But I want to, but scared of what you'll say
And so I'm hiding all my feelings
But I'm tired of holding this inside my head
This time, Karma's eyes found Reagan's and she smiled shyly. Reagan had the kind of eyes that stared into her soul and she was worried each and every time she found herself alone with the older girl that she would figure her out. That Reagan would be angry at the nerve of Karma for even attempting something like this. But instead, the eyes were soft and understanding. They pryed, maybe, but Karma was all too willing to let them search and with every long conversation they had a club or small talks that were made while Amy was distracted with candy or donuts, Karma came a little closer to just telling Reagan everything she had planned.
I've been spending all my time, just thinking bout you
I don't know what to do, I think I'm falling for you
I've been waiting all this time and now I've found you
I don't know what to do, I think I'm falling for you
Oh I just can't take it.
My heart is racing.
Emotions keep spinning out...
Karma's eyes were closed and now she was singing with all of her heart. She was tired of hiding. She was tired of battling with herself. She was tired of lying to herself. She wanted the two girls in front of her. She wanted to be happy and she knew that she could be exactly that if they accepted her. Her eyes were nearly pleading when she opened them again and sang the last chorus. She could only hope that Amy and Reagan knew how heartfelt this song was.
I've been spending all my time, just thinking bout you
I don't know what to do, I think I'm falling for you
I've been waiting all this time and now I've found you
I don't know what to do, I think I'm falling for you
I can't stop thinking about it.
I want you all around me.
And now I just can't hide it.
I think I'm falling for you
I'm falling for you...
Karma finished the song with one last strum on her guitar before sliding it behind her back and heaving a sigh of relief. Finally she had got her feelings off her chest and while they were out in the open for the pair in front of her, and anyone else that was parked nearby, she couldn't help but still feel anxious over the coming decisions. Her bottom lip was between her teeth before she knew it while she waited for the girls to come to terms to what she had admitted through song.
"I need to sit down." Reagan said as she opened up the passenger door to her truck and took a seat, running her fingers along her temples. Karma held out hope.
"Karma..." Amy started, still in the same position she had been in for the last few minutes.
"I know what I said in the past but...I've done some soul searching, something you'd think I would've done a long time ago considering my parents but...I've come to realize that I was...really, really wrong when I said that I didn't love you the way you love...well...loved me..." Karma said, twisting her fingers in her hands. "And I know that you have no reason to believe me after all this time and what you've gone through and what I've put you through but I want you to know that I'm completely serious when I say that I was wrong. And that I do love you." Amy was about to say something else before Karma interrupted again, "But I want you to know, and this is the confusing part," She walked over to the open passenger door where Reagan was listening, waiting for Karma to get to her because she knows what she saw in the girl's eyes while she was singing. "That your girlfriend is amazing and unique and unlike anyone I've ever known before. And when she looks at me I feel like a banana and she's peeling every layer that I have back." Reagan snorted in laughter at Karma's choice of words while Amy bit her lip to hide a grin. She knew that feeling very well by now. "And that I may not love her but I'd like to get the chance to. And I know that this is incredibly unorthodox and probably incredibly out of left field. Hell, I'm coming out of the stands with this one, but I'd be the happiest and luckiest girl in the world if you'd accept me into your little world of paradise because I really want to be there with both of you."
"Karma...can you give us a second?" Reagan said as she looked out of the corner of her eye and saw her girlfriend grasping at words to say, her jaw moving up and down silently. Karma saw that Amy was clearly malfunctioning as she often did when she was presented with too many feelings so she nodded quickly and walked inside the hotel. She wasn't sure what she could do as she sat in the Holiday Inn lobby but she sat and waited, her patience was still in full affect and she'd give the couple as long as they needed.
"Babe...come over here." Reagan said, still not trusting her legs to carry her to her girlfriend. She heard the shuffling of feat and held her hand out which was taken by Amy as soon as she was close enough. Reagan looked up from the asphault and chuckled with a lopsided smile. "Say what's on your mind, shrimp girl." She said quietly, not exactly sure what was on her mind but she could tell that Amy had something to say.
"I love you." Amy said, but her eyes still had confusion so with another smile and a little surprised at the admittance, Reagan nodded and then let Amy take her time continuing. "I love you...but...I love her too. I don't think I ever stopped." Amy said quietly and Reagan could see tears springing up in her girlfriend's eyes. She squeezed the blonde's hands and kissed the back of them. "I'm so sorry." For a split second, Reagan thought that Amy was about to turn on her heels and leave her for Karma, but there was no mistaking Karma's words so Reagan held on still. "I feel so bad. This whole time. I thought I was over her. But then she just kept fucking popping up and she was acting like she was before and I missed that Karma so much baby..." Amy broke away to run her hands through her long hair and start pacing. If she wasn't so emotionally charged, Reagan would've laughed at the scene in front of her. "But then she says this shit and it's like...She didn't even want me before and now she wants both of us?! That's...It's not...she can't do that!" Amy paused to wipe her cheeks and she looked down at the wetness on her fingers as if asking herself why she was crying in the first place. "Is that even legal?"
That made Reagan chuckle finally and by that time she had regained enough strength in her legs to at least stand up and take Amy's hands again. "Okay, slow down shrimp girl...Do you love me?"
"Yeah, I just said that." Amy said, not sure where this was going and too emotional to think it through.
"Shh...do you trust me?"
"With my life."
"Do you love Karma?"
Amy hesitated but nodded, biting her lip. Reagan had to cup Amy's cheek to soothe out the anguish that was making itself known again.
"Well I'm pretty fond of her myself...and I believe her when she says she has feelings for both of us."
"But how..." Amy was immediately shushed.
"We can sort out the when, where, why, and how later on. Maybe over donuts..." That got a soft smile out of Amy. "But is this something that you think could work? A trio...is that something you want to tr? Because I gotta say, I'm pretty curious how she'll fit in." Amy didn't say anything, just nodded after a couple of silence-filled moments. "Alright...well then lets go find our girl." She said with a soft smile. The questions she just asked Amy were the same ones that just ran through her own head. She couldn't say that she wasn't afraid. Afraid of losing Amy, afraid that her heart would be able to balance things fairly, that this would all go up in flames. But seeing Karma pour her heart out, and seeing Amy admit her feelings for her bestfriend still remained, made her realize that she was the only one not admitting her feelings. She wanted this. Every time this determined girl caught up with her after her shows, she felt drawn in. Like she had to talk to Karma, even though she was exhausted. She pushed away the connection they had made, thinking that it was much too akin to being unfaithful to Amy but with this recent knowledge, she couldn't help thinking that she was lucky that Karma could feel whatever was growing between them as well.
She grinned and slipped her hand into Amy's. "Hey..." She waited until Amy looked over to her and leaned over to place a chaste kiss on the girl's lips. "I love you too." They both beamed as they walked into the hotel lobby which had Karma standing up and smiling hopefully as well.
"Alright listen, Colbie Calliat...we've got to set up some rules." Reagan said, but there was no use saying anything else because Karma was already squeaking and throwing her arms around both girls, laying kisses to both of their cheeks.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm gonna make you two so happy!" Karma was mumbling into their shoulders. They looked over the head between them and just sighed and closed the hug, pulling each other into an embrace and strapping in for the ride ahead of them.