A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates. My life has been slightly hideous/dramatic/terrible. I originally intended to try to update this on a weekly basis, but I think fortnightly-ish is probably more realistic. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed or followed this story. It's very encouraging & I appreciate it so much! As always, reviews are very welcome. Thanks for sticking around!
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Cosima Niehaus reclining on my bed, bare feet hanging haphazardly off the end was something I thought I could only dream of. But here she was, her arms dancing around excitedly as she pointed to all the tiny stars littered about my ceiling and loudly proclaiming how "hella rad" my bedroom must be in the evening. As much as I had dreamed of this, spending time with her, I had never thought it would actually happen, let alone feel so natural, so perfect. My body tingled from head to toe with anxious excitement.
I watched Cosima, and tried to dream up a way to keep her here forever, and considered asking her to sleepover. I hadn't had anyone sleep over since we had come to America, and the idea of beautiful, perfect Cosima snuggled up in my bed made me giddy. Realising she would have to see me in my pyjamas snapped me back to reality.
Suddenly she sat up, jumping on to her feet and walking around my room. She inspected all my belongings with a curiosity that I would have found adorable if I wasn't so concerned.
"Delphine!" her voice sounded breathy and excited "Your room is like totally fit for a princess!" My room was large, sure, but it was not especially fancy as Cosima seemed to think. It was the only room in the house Maman hadn't personally decorated, and was missing all the flourishes of wealth Maman was so fond of. I found myself wondering what Cosima's bedroom was like, if she thought my own was so grand.
I blushed as she thumbed over the volumes sitting on my book case, scolding myself for not thinking to hide my geekier books somewhere more subtle. Adorably, she stood on the tips of her toes, straining to catch a peek at the upper shelves of my book case, where I kept my more personal belongings. Though I had not been blessed in many physical ways, with my angry patch of curls the finest hairdressers in France couldn't seem to tame, and my teeth, that while straight now, had endured two painful years of orthodontics, I did have the advantage of height. An advantage I'd never been more grateful for, considering my very personal, very full of passages rather exuberantly expressing my desires for one Cosima Niehaus, diary was currently on the uppermost shelf.
Her legs seemed to get tired, and she sunk to her normal height as she turned to look at me.
"Delphine" My name sounded like a prayer to the heavens when it slipped out from between her lips. "As much as I like looking at all your crap, I really did come here to learn something!"
"Oh merde, Cosima, don't think I had forgotten!" I pulled open my drawer and reached for the colourful pile of cards I had prepared the night before. "I made flashing cards!"
"Flash ing cards? Jesus, Delphine. You're legit adorable" Cosima beamed, and I felt my cheeks turn what I was sure was a vibrant shade of cherry red.
Cosima hurried over to my desk and sat on my rug, legs crossed, in front of me. She lazily pressed her elbow to her thigh, and lay her chin against her hand. She raised an eyebrow "Teach me then, oh wise goddess of all things French." She said it with such a cheeky grin that it took all my self control to lean down and kiss her.
And so we began. After an interesting half hour, with Cosima unabashedly making fun of me, and pronouncing things as terribly as she could manage for my amusement, Cosima decided it was time for a new lesson.
"Delphine" she began, her face lighting up like a child who had discovered a secret stash of candy their parents had squirreled away "I think you should teach me to say something dirty."
I raised an eyebrow and gave her the best disapproving look I could muster. I do not think I managed this very well, because she did not take my look very seriously.
"No, no, hear me out. I mean... Verb tenses, useful, sure. Pronunciation, fantastic! But like, how am I supposed to chat up hot French girls if I can only speak like a goody two shoes?"
My cheeks turned as red as the polish on my fingers. "Talk dirty to me, Delphine!" she said, laughing at her own joke, and blatantly ignoring my disapproval. Cosima Niehaus was enjoying my discomfort far too much, and I had to do something about it.
"Non, Cosima, I will not teach you any vulgarities!" The words flew from my mouth sterner than I had intended, but Cosima didn't care, she only smirked wider as I squirmed in my chair, trying my hardest to remain poised in the face of her cheekiness.
"You know Delphine, when a hot French girl invites you to her house to practice your language skills, you really, really hope there's going to be some physical demonstrations." She said it with a wink and yet again, my legs were jelly. I did not know whether she was joking or not, but really, I did not care.
Cosima Niehaus was joking about touching me! She had thought about us touching! She called me hot!
Before I had the chance to second guess myself, I leaned down, pressed my hand to her chin and steered her towards my mouth with a gentle force. The earth was moving so slowly, and it seemed that my whole life had been leading up to this moment. My heart thumped and I bit my lower lip softly as we grew closer. But before our mouths could touch, there was a knock at my door. Cosima darted away from me with a swift movement that implied she'd been caught like this before, and suddenly my step-father was in my bedroom.
"Delphine" He said, looking directly at me with an overly enthused grin on his face that was making me slightly uncomfortable. "You simply cannot monopolise all the pretty girls in your room like this!"
Get out, I screamed in my head, and I wanted to slam the door in his smug face.