Chapter 4: Don't Panic

They walk through the deserted halls until the see the lights flowing softly from under the gym step at a time, they make their way down to the entrance. Cosima takes a step forward and unravels her arm from Delphine's as she opens the door for her. Inside the find nothing particularly eye catching and Cosima thinks that it might be worse than last years.

To the far right corner of the gym, they see a group of three teachers chatting amongst themselves while another group of 3 are seated at a round table. In front of the bleachers that have been folded back, Paul is speaking to the "DJ" (school janitor) and is showing him something on his phone. Cosima counts the amount of staff members three times over and releases a sigh of relief when she can't find sign of Donnie anywhere. The last thing she would want is for him to ruin her night with Delphine.

Delphine suggests that maybe they should get a drink and pulls Cosima ,by the hand, to the beverage table. They both grab the simplest of drinks (punch) and sit at an empty table.

"Is it always like this?"

"If by this you mean boring, then I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but yeah."

She makes a small "oh" and continues to look around the room. The flickering lights that are giving the building an eerie glow seem to finally be working when it comes to Delphine. Cosima looks at her and can practically feel the softness of her skin. Through the loud music that's blaring from the speakers, she can still hear her calm breaths. Despite only seeing half of her face, she can still see the way the lights sparkle in her eyes; the faint smile across her face.

Delphine slightly turns her head and ,from the corner of her eye, looks at Cosima and spreads that smile a little bit wider. She's amazed at what such a simple thing could do to a person when she finds herself smiling back.

She feels a tap on her left shoulder and turns to find the body connected to the hand. She's met with nothing but air and when she turns back, Donnie is leaning on the table with his back towards Cosima, talking to Delphine. She looks around him and is met with uncomfortable eyes. Cosima could easily see that Delphine is trying to be kind but with Donnie, that sort of stuff doesn't work.

"I see you made it."

"Yes, yes I did come. With Cosima."

"Well...I don't see any talking happening so why do we head over to the little boys room and maybe have a conversation of our own."

"Oh no thank you. That's not necessary I'm having a wonderful time now so I don't see any reason to disturb that."

"You sure about that sweetheart?"

"Yeah she's sure. Leave us alone."

"Oh hey Cosima! Didn't see you there."

"Just...go away we're fine."

"Well are you sure the lady doesn't want me to stay a bit? Why don't we ask."

"I don't need to ask her to tell that she's uncomfortable. It's obvious that we both want you to leave. Why don't you go walk the streets and look for someone else to harass."

They stare at each other for a moment before he releases a frustrated groan and slaps the table. Admitting his defeat he walks away with one hand in his pocket and the other scratching his chin.

"Thank you. I didn't know-"

"Of course. He's just being an asshole like always."

Delphine pats the top of Cosima's hand with her own and turns to her to tell the story of how at her last school, a junior was constantly asking another student to the dance after being repeatedly rejected by said student. He never gave up and eventually she had to sit him down with his parents and have a discussion with them about his behavior.

When she finishes telling her story, Cosima excuses herself to go to the restroom.

As Cosima exits, she finds that the table is empty and scans the room for her. She sees Delphine at the refreshment table and there's someone with her.

She makes her way over to Delphine and finds that she's in the middle of what looks like a funny conversation with Paul. As she gets closer she hears something she wishes hadn't.

"So how about it? Would you like to go on a date sometime? Maybe tomorrow or next week?"

She sees Delphine smile and look to the side before resting her eyes on Paul again.

Cosima's ears start to buzz and the same gut wrenching feeling she felt earlier in the car returns. She takes a wine bottle and makes her way across the gym and out the backdoors.

It's gotten much colder and the air starts to sting her skin as she sits out there on a bench. She manages to open the bottle and when she does, she rotates the cork in her hand a few times before throwing it at a nearby trashcan (it doesn't go in) before taking a swig.

She reaches in her pocket and pulls out her phone and debates whether or not to call Sarah.

She decides against it and opens Facebook. As she scrolls she finds a picture of Sarah and her boyfriend ,Cal, at a lake. Not much further down Felix posted a video of Kira decorating the cookies he and Alison made.

Suddenly she feels a bit alone.

Behind her, the door opens and she hears the clack of heels hitting concrete behind her. She doesn't bother turning around because she knows exactly who it is and doesn't really feel like talking to her for some unknown reason.

Soon after the door closes, Delphine walks around the bench and sits down next to her. She leans back, pressing her back to the metal, and watches Cosima as she looks out at the lunch tables ahead. As she watches her, the bottle is placed on the ground, and Cosima leans back to match. Delphine takes the bottle and lifts it to her lips before taking a drink. She sets the bottle back down and looks up at the sky.

They sit in silence and listen to the sounds around them; muffled music from inside the gym, car horns from down the street, and the distant sounds of barking dogs. After a minute or two, Cosima sighs and acknowledges the fact that Delphine is most likely confused as to why she disappeared and hasn't spoken yet.

"Sorry."

Looking at Cosima she gives a small smile. "I didn't come outside for an apology, Cosima."

"Oh, ok, so you came for an explanation,right?"

"No."

She turns to Delphine and furrows her eyebrows a bit.

"I came to make sure you were okay."

She laughs to herself. "Thanks, but I'm fine."

Delphine takes a breath and looks forward. She pulls her coat tighter around her and plays with the bottom button. The stars are plentiful and the moon is bright. Delphine wonders how they look to Cosima. She wonders how the stars feel looking down at them. She wonders if the moon is jealous by the shine in Cosima's eyes and if the stars surrounding are envious of the sparkle she displays every time she smiles.

"I don't know...No one has given you any space since you got here, I mean, everyone has been flocking to you and invading your space and it's not cool. Paul, Donnie, me-"

"I don't mind you at all. In fact...I'd prefer it be you around me than anyone else."

Cosima turns her head and hides the incoming rosiness into her shoulder, facing away from Delphine. Meanwhile, the blonde has a smile resting on her face, looking somewhat proud of herself for making the other girl react the way she did.

Delphine takes one last breathe and as she watches the air from her lungs float about in the air, she places a soft hand on Cosma's.

"Why don't we leave. Why don't we go somewhere else, huh?"

Cosima lifts her head and glances at their hands before meeting Delphine's eyes.

"Yeah, of course! I think there might be an event at the park that we could check out..."

"I was thinking maybe we could go to your house? You know, just to relax. Maybe watch a movie…?"

There's a trace of hopefulness in her voice as she asks. Cosima smiles at her and almost...giggles, before she takes Delphine's hand and takes her back in the gym. In advance to exiting, they go to the refreshment table and take two bottles of wine as they start off on a run out the front doors, clumsily bumping into each other as they go.

The two of them had gotten to Cosima's apartment in one car, Cosima's car to be exact, and hadn't really done much when they got settled.

Hours later, the tv is throwing shadows across the room as the colors change between light and dark. Opposite from the tv, Cosima is lying down sleeping, with her head resting on the arm of the couch as Delphine ,whom is also asleep, is comfily settled between the sleeping girl and the back of the couch. One lanky leg is intertwined with a shorter one as the fingers of one hand are intertwined with the fingers of another.

She lifts her head and groans when the sun hits her eyes from between the curtains. Her ears adjust and Cosima realizes that they'd left the tv on all night. As she moves to grab the remote, the weight of another body that's half-resting on her own, is noticed. She freezes but only for a moment prior to looking down and finding a head full of curls resting on her stomach. She remains there, unmoving, hoping to not wake up the sleeping girl. She only gets a few minutes to enjoy the situation before she starts to stir awake.

A lazy hand drifts up Cosima's right side and across her stomach as it goes to rub tired eyes. Legs untangle themselves, as do fingers, and Delphine pushes herself up. Cosima's not afraid ,nor ashamed, to admit that she is a bit disappointed when the taller girl sits upright.

"Good morning, sleepy head."

"Bonne matinee, Cosima."

Cosima's not sure if she's seen anything more beautiful in the morning. Delphine's hair is flopped over to one side and her shirt is hanging off her shoulder just a tad. With one arm supporting her up, she uses the other hand to continue to work her eye. When she's done, she looks at Cosima with those big brown eyes that Cos has come to adore, and gives an awry smile. Cosima swears that her heart is capable of flying out of her chest at any given moment.

Not even an hour later and Delphine is standing at the front door with her coat and bag in hand.

"Thank you, for the wonderful night; I definitely didn't expect something like this but...I enjoyed it."

"Any time, any time! I'm glad you had fun. I should probably drive you back to school to get your car...give me a sec?"

She's just about to turn around when Delphine objects.

"No, you don't have to. I'll just take a cab, it's not far. I appreciate your offer though, it is very kind of you."

"Oh, ok well...just let me know when you get home! So I know you're safe."

Delphine nods and leans in to Cosima's ear.

"Goodbye, Cosima."

She places a soft kiss to her cheek and turns as she walks down the hall.

Cosima softly shuts the door and leans her back against it.

I really didn't think this one through.