"You suck."
"Do not. I just haven't played in awhile."
"I didn't know we were making excuses," Abigail teased, poking Gabrielle in the ribs with her elbow.
"It's not an excuse! I'm just way too busy trying to make my shack into something livable" Gabrielle retorted. "Do you know how miserable it is not having a kitchen? I've been eating energy bars for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for weeks. WEEKS, Abby."
"Excuses…" Abigail sang as Gabrielle's avatar died again. Journey of the Prairie King was no laughing matter… Gabrielle was beginning to think this game was impossible. It didn't help that she was nervous; thankfully, her hands had stopped shaking enough for her to outlive Abigail a few times. "You said you'd help, but you have died way more than I have."
"I blame the hunger. I haven't eaten since this morning and it's currently… wow. It's nine. We've been playing for four hours."
Abigail's eyebrows raised at hearing that. "Wow, that is a long time. If I feed you, do you promise to stop sucking so hard?"
Gabrielle whistled. "That was cold, ice cold. Is dinner gonna be that cold, or can you cook better than you can play?"
"Promise," Abigail said, playfully leaning against Gabrielle and smiling at her. She knew she couldn't cook, but thankfully Caroline kept some frozen pizzas in the freezer. Her mom knew how Abigail liked to snack late at night, and hated waking up to the sound of clattering dishes in the sink. "Do you like pizza?"
"Just as long as it's hot, I don't give a shit."
Abigail stood up, offering a hand to her dark-haired friend, which Gabrielle took, groaning as she stood up. "What's wrong with you?" Abigail asked.
"Just a lot of hard work. That farm is in terrible shape." Gabrielle groaned, rolling her shoulder in its socket. "I spent the morning hunched over a pile of mud, trying to find potatoes."
As Gabrielle stretched out her shoulders, Abigail watched out the corner of her eye. Gabrielle's shoulders were wide, wider than Abigail's, but she had a delicate frame that was wrapped in muscle, hinted at by Gabby's tighter-than-usual purple t-shirt. As Abigail snapped back to reality, she looked at Gabby's face, which had one eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"Pizza?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, uh, this way to the kitchen, but be quiet. My mom and dad are probably sleeping or close to it." she murmured, leading Gabrielle to the kitchen, scolding herself quietly. She had decided earlier that it was the alcohol that made her feel attracted to Gabrielle, but right now she was stone sober. This was going to take awhile to figure out, she decided.
After the pizza was in the oven and they had returned to Abigail's room, Abigail flopped on her bed. Gabrielle stood, slipping her shoes off. Abigail watched contentedly.
"Oh, sorry. Do you mind?" Gabrielle said, blushing. "I can put them back on."
"I don't care," Abigail smiled. She was happy to see Gabrielle relaxed. "Hey, you don't have to be so nervous around me."
Gabrielle looked like she had seen a car accident. "What, what are you talking about?"
Abigail sat up, cross-legged. "I can tell. You clam up and don't say a lot. You do that thing where you close your eyes and breathe deeply. My mom does that when she looks at our bills…"
Gabrielle stopped mid-breath and opened her eyes. She sighed sadly. Abigail felt her stomach drop. "I'm sorry, Gabby, I didn't want to make you feel bad. I wanted to help you feel better. I know how hard it can be to warm up to people. I don't want to be one of those people." She patted the spot on the bed next to her. Gabby sat down, shoulders hunched up, knees together, hands in her lap. She looked really uncomfortable.
"I don't know why I get like this." Gabby said after a long pause. "I just… I hate the way I feel when I'm around other people. I just find myself expecting them to dislike me."
"That's crazy! I don't dislike you at all," Abigail said. She took the opportunity to scoot a little closer to Gabrielle. "I really like you! At first I was mad at you, but I think I can get over it."
"What?" Gabrielle said. She looked confused now. Awesome, she's hurt and confused, Abigail thought to herself. You are doing an awesome job, your first time hanging out alone with her.
"I always loved to hang out on that farm. I used to spend my afternoons there. I'd camp out in the shack, hang out there with Sam and Sebastian…" she started laughing, laughing hard.
"What?" Gabrielle said. She looked more relaxed now. She was leaning against the wall, legs stretched in front of her, hands folded in her lap. She was looking at Abigail with a suspicious grin.
"I used to have a booze stash. Wait. I still do…" she was laughing even harder now. "I have a bottle of whiskey hidden under the floorboard across from the fireplace!"
Now Gabrielle was laughing too. "I wondered why that floorboard was so squeaky! Thanks for the free booze!"
"Hey, no, that's mine!" Abigail said. "You can't have it!"
"I really appreciate the housewarming gift. It's very sweet. You didn't have to." Gabrielle laughed. Her laugh was like a bell. Clear, bright, authentic. Abigail felt relieved that she could distract her from their awkward conversation topic.
"Yeah, no, I'm gonna need that back. You don't know how hard it is to save for alcohol on the tiny salary my dad pays me." She leaned against the wall perpendicular to Gabrielle. Her bed had always been in the corner. Abigail felt safest there. She tried to stretch her legs out, but Gabrielle had already been stretched out… She tried to pull her legs back, but Gabrielle pulled them into her lap, resting her hands on top of Abigail's calves.
"Don't worry, I'll let you keep your precious whiskey."
"You found it!?"
"Of course. How could I not lift the squeaky floorboard? I was trying to fix it until I found out that your ginormous bottle of booze is what was pushing it up in the first place." Gabrielle started laughing again, patting Abigail's leg. They had cozied up a bit in the corner of the mattress that was between them. On that last pat, when her hand landed, she squeezed Abigail's thigh gently. "Don't worry. I kept it safe. I didn't want to drink mystery alcohol."
"Thanks," Abigail giggled, squirming closer. Their shoulders were touching now. Abigail could feel the warmth of Gabby's body radiating into her arm and thighs. It was comforting. Being with Gabrielle felt normal. She didn't judge or try to convince her of anything, and Abigail liked that. She decided she might be okay with it if she didn't really know if her feelings were platonic or romantic.
"You know, you don't have to hide your booze in my house. You can just come over and bring it with you," Gabrielle said teasingly.
"Noted." Abigail giggled, before sighing and laying her head on Gabrielle's shoulder. Her stomach fluttered like a small bird clutched in someone's hand. Gabrielle's hands tensed over Abigail's thigh. Was she making her uncomfortable? Gabrielle didn't move her hands though, so maybe she liked it? Maybe she liked being close, Abigail thought. Abigail could feel Gabrielle's hands trembling on her leg. She gently placed her hand on top of Gabrielle's pale fingers. Though her body was warm, Gabrielle's fingers were ice cold.
Abigail turned her head to look up at Gabrielle. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes intensely focused on Abigail's hand over hers. Abigail wondered what she could be thinking about at this moment. Gabrielle's eyes looked to the side toward Abigail. She turned her head, leaning it against the wall to get a better look at Abigail. Her face was mere inches away. Abigail felt the breath rattling out of her own nose as her heart rate increased. She lifted her head from the other girl's shoulder and stared Gabrielle in the eyes. Instead of sadness, there was a look of curiosity… or was it fear? Abigail couldn't tell. She felt like she was playing the world's most intimate game of chicken. Neither girl would look away. Abigail felt intensely curious. The corner of her mouth turned up in a half-smile as she could feel Gabrielle's breath on her cheek. Gabrielle moved in closer, slowly, inch-by-inch, smiling and closing her eyes….
The oven timer went off. Shrieking down the hallway… ugh. Fuck. Abigail didn't want her mother to storm in here, eyes ablaze over being woken so abruptly, finding her daughter cuddled up on her bed with Gabrielle. She didn't want to know what her mom would have to say about it. That, and a burnt pizza. Grumbling, she jumped up off the bed and ran to the kitchen. Cursing timing under her breath, she opened the oven. Smoke billowed out. "Fuck," she whispered. Gabrielle must have followed her in the room, because Abigail heard her open the kitchen door behind her before the smoke alarm went off.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Last thing I need is angry parents."
"No problem." Gabrielle said curtly. She closed the door after Abigail ran the charred pizza out to the trash can. "I'd better get going."
"Oh, really? I could make you a sandwich or something…" Abigail said wistfully. She wanted Gabrielle to stay… she wanted to see where that look was going to end up.
"That's okay," Gabrielle said, pulling her shoes on. "I had fun hanging out with you tonight."
"Me too," Abigail said, shyly smiling. Well, at least she had fun. She might have blew it with the pizza, but when she thought about it, they really did have a good time together.
"I'll see you later." Gabrielle said, stepping outside. She waved as she walked back towards her farm. Abigail closed the door, slumping against it. She cursed whatever collective, spiteful universe had caused the abrupt end to their night. Maybe it's for the best, she thought.
Author Note: I just want to say thanks to everyone who's reading my story :) It means a lot. I know I update frequently and sporadically, but I'm a student, so I might not be able to keep up this pace all the time. Have a happy Saturday!
