The group all woke up in a collective state of confusion and discomfort, the early signs of a destructive hangover. Jack and Sara could still feel the slight buzzing of alcohol in their system, only having a few hours of sleep to rid its effects.
Emy and Mac had already been up and about, busy kicking random folk out and cleaning the mess as they made their way across the home. Sara had been startled by the slamming door of unhappy party goers, they must have felt like how her and Jack did. Much to her surprise Jack had moved from the couch down to the floor, letting Sara fully lay down and sprawl her legs out. She was thankful for the ample room, fully aware of how sweaty she had become in her drunken sleep, and could already smell the booze permeating from her skin. She stretched and made sure to make as much noise as possible, hoping to wake up her snoring friend, but found no success. She finally sat up and slightly shoved him with her foot, which he sharply snapped up to, thinking he was falling.
"Holy shit, why is it so bright in here," he questioned, fumbling around the floor trying to find his glasses. Sara laughed, but ended up violently coughing once feeling how dry her throat felt. "Do you know where Em is?" Jack questioned, wanting to go home as soon as possible after feeling a questionable wet spot on his back.
"No idea, I think they're kicking people out," Jack huffed once finding his glasses, finally feeling the full effects of the night before. "When did you end up on the floor?"
He sat up and began folding the blanket he had used, "Honestly, I'm not sure, but I got super hot sleeping next to you," he said while throwing his body onto the couch, "you're like a radiator." Sara blushed, feeling ultra-aware of how her clothes clung to her body, and the heat emanated still, even though the houses air conditioning was running.
Before she could apologize, Emy and Mac walked back in, bright and cheery as ever, dawned in cleaning gloves and toting around garbage bags and cleaning supplies. "Good morning gang, how you both feeling," Mac asked, piercing both of their ears and ridding them of any questions about falling back asleep.
"Fine until you showed up," Jack quipped, receiving a sharp pinch from Sara when she saw Mac's face fall, "Oh my god, I was just joking. I'm sorry Mac," guilt evident in his voice. "I had a really good time last night, it's a shame you two fell asleep so early, Sara and I absolutely destroyed the pong table." Emy's eyes were wide with shock with the insinuation, and Mac was in a panic, fearing her table was destroyed. "You guys broke my table?"
Jack let out a large sigh, "No. I'm really just fucking up this morning, aren't I," giving a defeated look to Sara, who could tell he was still exhausted. "We didn't actually ruin your table, we just played some really good games," Mac sighed and gave a forced laugh in response.
There seemed to be a stiffness in the air, and Sara could sense Jack's uneasiness this morning. "Why don't we help you clean? I would feel bad leaving your house like this," Emy beamed in response, happy that there was an excuse to stay longer with the blonde. "That would be so nice actually. Me and Em just got done kicking everyone else out, would you really not mind helping?"
Jack pleaded with his eyes for Sara to say no, but her own guilt overrode her, "I'd be glad to help, it's the least we could do." And with that the group split in pairs taking on different parts of the house, with Jack and Sara venturing downstairs, left to clean up the worst of the mess.
"Why are you so nice to everyone? I would've gladly just left once we woke up, I already folded our blankets," Jack said, the hangover taking full effect, making him bitter over the forced labor of sweeping the floor.
"I could tell Em didn't want to leave, and I legit feel bad leaving this girl to clean up this whole mess by herself, we definitely had a part in ruining this basement too." Jack nodded, knowing it was the courteous thing to do, and the two made steady progress cleaning.
"Hey, can I ask you a question," Jack asked, taking Sara out of her trance of methodically wiping down the sticky pong table.
"Sure," she said stopping her progress to look at him sweep the same area over and over again, clearly in a daze of his own.
"Do you think that soul mates exist? And not just in a weird romantic way, or like 'other half' type thing, but like someone that is it out there that legitimately helps fill part you?"
Sara was shocked by this type of question, especially coming from someone who typically hated anything to do with clichés or profound ideals of love. "Um, I guess it depends on what you're looking for." She bit her lip, searching for the way to explain what she meant.
"I guess it really comes down to how much you feel as though you need someone else to make you feel whole. I'm a bit resistant to thinking I need a partner to make me happy, because I know that relationships don't mean you're comfortable with yourself or anything. But I do believe that platonic soulmates are a thing, like that you're connected to this person in a way that is above something that we can explain. Almost like you can sense what they feel, or what they need from you, without there even being a conversation. If that makes any sense?"
Jack nodded, and gave her a small smile, but there was sadness behind his eyes. "I like that. I feel that way with you sometimes," he said, finally putting away the broom and looking at her. "You help me a lot, and most of the time you don't even need to say anything, it's just being around you that makes me feel okay."
Her heart broke, knowing that his sister was on his mind all this week, and she had noticed that he had often called her over even if it was just to sit in the same room and do separate things. She couldn't resist her own emotions and hugged him after hearing his appreciation, and felt such gratitude to be in his life. "You're so great Jack," she said stepping back. "You piss me off, and really can get under my skin, but holy shit do I love you. You deserve so much from this world, and I'm so happy to be here with you," they both were getting welly eyed, but quickly wiped them away as Emy and Mac came charging down the stairs, probably to inspect their work.
"Good job dudes! You guys are so much help," Mac patted both of them on the back and told them there was food and water upstairs for them. The two friends nodded at each before making their way up, and noticed how Mac had her hand on the small of Emy's back as they made their way up the stairs. Jacked mouthed 'wow' to Sara, and made them both erupt into laughter, causing the girls to distance themselves.
As the group finished eating and chit chatting about their events, Sara turned her phone back on, expecting only a message or two from her mom, but was bombarded with texts and notifications from numbers she didn't know, and felt her stomach drop when she opened her snapchat. Jack asked what was wrong, noticing how quiet she had gotten, "Have you guys checked snapchat or any social media this morning," she asked quietly.
The group all said they hadn't, too busy cleaning and talking to one another to care, but they grew weary hearing her tone. "Can someone check out people's stories on snap? I just got a bunch of random texts, saying something about catching me and Stacy?"
The group fell silent, before quickly pulling their phones out and looking at anything anyone had posted last night. "How the fuck does anyone know about that, and how is there any video of it? I thought you guys hadn't talked in weeks or something," Emy said, swiping through the obnoxious videos of drunk teens on her feed. "Did they say who?"
"I have no idea, I just have random texts from people telling how gross it is, or telling me to look at it, but I can't," she felt like she was in shock, scared of what was there.
"All I can find is party pics or videos from last night," Mac said, aware of the rumors that were going around the school about the teacher and her friend, but she didn't believe it until this point. "Is there someone you know that has something against you? You're so quiet, I didn't think you had beef with anyone." Emy almost jumped out of her seat when she finally got to the post that was under suspicion.
"Fuck this bitch!" She screamed, only furthering the teens panic when she saw how violently her friend reacted, "what is it," Sara questioned, feeling meek and helpless.
"It was Jenn. She must have been there that night that Tegan and her band came in to perform. I remember Stacy being there, but I didn't think you two had any time to even have anything happen. But it looks like you guys are in an alley or something, and that she kissed you, or something. It's really hard to tell because it's so far away and it's so dark."
Jack was livid, immediately dialing Jenn's number and running off into the other room. The girls watched, and Sara could feel an anxiety attack starting to begin, feeling her heart pounding too fast, and everything feeling too much, tears came down her face without her even realizing.
"What do you need me to do? Sara, tell me how to help," her friend begged for a response. Sara couldn't say anything, so scared of what was going to happen to her and her teacher. "I fucking hate her Emy. Why did this happen?" Emy instantly came around and hugged her friend, trying to soothe her in any way possible, "Jack's talking to her right now. She'll take down the video, and me and him will find out who saw it and tell them it's not what it looked like, it'll be okay Sara, nothing is going to happen."
Jack came back into the kitchen, riled up after the phone call. "She took the video down, only 20 people saw it on snapchat, and it was the only place she posted it. The people who texted you are her friends from another high school, so they don't know who Stacy or you are. She did it because she was pissed at me and you for telling her to fuck off last night. Block those numbers, and let me know if Jenn says anything else to you, okay?"
Emy stared at Jack, wondering how he got the girl to give herself up so quickly, while also seething with rage and hoping he scared the living hell out of her ex.
Sara was relieved that Jack had taken care of it so quickly, and finally looked at her own phone, "thank god that bitch doesn't have any friends," Emy said, gritting her teeth thinking about how toxic her ex was. "We're out of school, so I'm not sure how that plays a part, but I feel like they can't do much about it now, and you both have kept your distance for a while so honestly there isn't much else for anyone to do. That's the only time you guys were in public together right?"
Sara nodded, slowly coming down from her stress induced paranoia, "I just want to go home. I'm done with her." The group looked at each other, not knowing which 'her' Sara was referring to, but let her get up and leave to head for the car.
Jack grabbed all their things, and Emy said her goodbyes to Mac, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before heading to her car. Despite the shitty mood that Sara was in, it still made her beam seeing her friend finally get the girl she had been chasing after since middle school. "You guys would be cute," she teased. Emy was flush, and speechless, too excited to put into words how happy Mac was finally in her life- and relieved that Jenn was no longer a threat to any of her relationships.
After showering and making small talk over lunch with her mom, Sara finally decided to look at her other texts from Stacy and Tegan. Stacy had texted her earlier in the morning, asking if they could meet that afternoon- ready to settle things before break fully started and they could enjoy their summers, regardless of the way the conversation went. Sara agreed, and told her to meet her near the park at the end of her road, and Stacy could drive them wherever she felt best to talk.
She saved opening Tegan's text until she was in her room and her mom was busy on the phone, figuring out where to get Sara a job for over the summer. She was glad she waited, instantly shocked by the picture she received, noticing that Tegan's chest looked a little bit different in her gym selfie.
'Good morning Sar. Hope you aren't too hungover today. I made a spontaneous decision last night and let one of my friends give me a piercing. Can you guess where? ;) lol'
Sara loved how unbashful Tegan was, the girl had a right to be very proud of her body, which ironically helped her see herself in a different light. Although the messages could seem cocky, Sara knew Tegan was mocking herself in a way, or was just simply trying to get a reaction out of her. They had similar builds, Tegan obviously a little more muscular than her, but it made her realize that she didn't have to adore her body, she just had to respect it and appreciate the fact that she didn't necessarily have to work out to look like she did. Her chest still bothered her, but Tegan's message last night let her know that she found her attractive no matter how her body looked.
The constant flirting was also something that boosted Sara's confidence, and allowed her to explore and question her identity without critically judging herself for doing so. She was nervous for when they were to finally meet at university, and their attraction to each other was obvious, but is part of why the whole issue with Stacy is something she wanted to discuss sooner than later.
As Sara walked out of the door she gave her mom the excuse that she was going over to Jack's for a bit to hangout and finish a Netflix series- giving her an ample timeframe to talk to Dr. Reader. Stacy was already parked, waiting on Sara. When the teen knocked on the window, she laughed seeing the woman almost throw her coffee into the steering wheel. "You scared me," she laughed as Sara got in. The woman had picked up coffee for both of them, making Sara feel grateful.
Stacy took them back to her place, adding another layer of anxiety to Sara's rapid thoughts about what's been said about them and how quickly all of this unraveled. They made small talk, and this time, Stacy was able to successfully open her door without the aid of the teen- their roles reversing from the first time they were here, with Sara paranoid that someone was going to see them, and Stacy chuckling at the frantic movements that Sara made.
"Sit down, I have a lot of cupcakes left over from last night. One of the benefits of showing up to the ceremony is all the food the parents give the teachers." Sara thought the teacher was joking when she had a lot, but remembered that one of her classmate's parents owned a bakery, and seriously must have given Stacy 30 cupcakes in a giant to go box. "How are you going to finish all those?" Stacy laughed and said that she would just bring them to her next book club- joking that the older woman always broke their diets for sweets, and the book club was an excuse to order desserts.
They both got comfortable on the couches, and sipped at their coffee, waiting to see who was going to start the inevitable conversation. "I think we should either stop this completely, or go all in," Sara said, maintaining eye contact with the older woman. Stacy nodded, visibly tense. "I want to talk about it, but it's like the words won't come out, ya know?" Stacy said, sounding scared in a way.
Sara agreed, and decided she would try and rationalize what was going through her head. "I know us doing half the stuff we did was ethically wrong, I get that." She hesitated, and briefly looked at the older woman, "But the thing is, I don't feel guilty for being attracted to you, and I don't really even regret anything we've done. But I know that I should, and it's not something that I even agree with." Stacy's brow furrowed in confusion, "what do you mean?"
Sara cleared her throat and set her coffee down, wanting to be free of distractions to explain herself and her feelings to this woman she respected so much. "The idea of me having a kid, and sending them to school, and finding out that they were involved in any way with a teacher absolutely horrifies me. Because my mind jumps to 'how could someone look at my child like that, as an adult,' but as I sit here with you, I'm not creeped out by it, and its reciprocated? Like I clearly do have an attraction to you, and it's not all based on our physicality. I appreciate the respect you give me, and the ways I've confided in you for years makes me think that we're not wrong for being close, but we aren't smart for letting ourselves see how far we could go with it."
Stacy agreed, and the two sat for a bit grappling with it all and figuring out if they wanted to continue it, or end it here. Sara thought it was so fucked, because in theory she could always tell herself to end it with Stacy and leave it be, the baggage was obvious. Yet when she was with the woman all she wanted was to stay there and enjoy the comfort and safety she brought. Sara also never felt pressured to do anything with the woman, and is why Jack's words got under her skin- knowing Stacy never groomed her, and if anything, Sara was the one leading everything in their relationship.
Before she could realize what she was saying, Sara ended up declaring she wanted to date, but just like before it had to be under lock and key. They both felt a wave of relief wash over when Sara propositioned that, finally acknowledging their mutual feelings for what they were. They hugged on the coach, with Sara giving the older woman a peck on the cheek before separating. They turned on the tv and watched the mind-numbing reality shows on MTV- mocking all the valley girls and juice head guys on the show. They sat there and cuddled until Stacy remembered the cupcakes.
As Stacy took a bite, all the frosting got on her nose and side of her mouth. Sara laughed, and told her to stay like that, quickly snapping a picture of the woman despite her bashful protest. As their laughter subsided, Sara grabbed the cupcake from Stacy's hand and used the frosting like paint, and the woman's face as her canvas. Quickly the two were struggling to pin the other down, and left Stacy panting as Sara licked the icing her face. The quick soft licks and pecks started off sweet, ridding all the icing, and leaving her soft skin exposed. Sara continued her movements though, noticing the heavy breathing, loving the reaction she got out of her.
She quickly grabbed both of Stacy's wrists in one of her hands, and slid the other up the woman's shirt, feeling her way up the curvature of her waist, letting her hand tease the cup of the woman's bra. As her soft touches gave the woman goosebumps, Sara placed long and languid kisses on her neck, nipping gently at her pounding pulse point and getting goosebumps of her own as Stacy's breath hit her ear.
"May I touch you" Sara asked, breathless as her own body began getting excited from her motions, "please," was all Stacy's response was, letting herself fully give into Sara. Sara let go of her hold on Stacy's arms and was quick with unsnapping the bra, thankful that it was a front clasp, and helped throw the garment off the couch, keeping her shirt on. She stared at the perkiness, aware of how turned on Stacy was now, and slid her hand underneath again, this time pushing the shirt up with it and revealing her chest. She was beautiful, and the sight alone made Sara roll her hips into the woman's thigh. She pushed her body down, putting herself between her teacher's legs, and let her body rest on the woman's waist, her head level with her chest. She gave quick pecks to each side, feeling the teachers hand tangle in her hair. She took one of the nipples in her mouth roughly, and pulled at it while making quick motions with her tongue- the woman hissed in response, pulled at Sara's hair, and pushed her hips into her, both of their desire evident.
Sara pushed her body up, allowing them to finally kiss, causing the girl to let out a soft moan- unaware of how much she missed Stacy's sweet and soft kisses. Her hand traced the waistline of Stacy's pants, and felt over the zipper and button, causing the teacher to start giggling. Sara laughed with her and asked what it was. "You're driving me crazy, and I don't mean to push you, but I really want you," she said breathless, and with a blush on her face from being so honest.
"Should we move to your bed? We're sorta limited here," Sara tried joking, but her arousal was evident and was quick to sit up. "What are you going to do that you need that much room," Stacy quipped back, earning her a pinch on the butt as they walked over to the bed.
The fell into each other and continued their make out sesh, Sara unsure of when to go further. Almost being able to sense the uncertainty, Stacy grabbed her hand and pushed it down until she reached the top of her pants. "We can stop if you want to," Sara was comforted by those words, but knew she wanted to continue, unbuttoning her jeans and teasingly unzipping them. The teacher quickly kicked off the tight pants, and pulled Sara up to her to place hot kisses on her neck and ear. Sara cupped Stacy's center, moving her palm against her core with each thrust. "I want to touch you, but I want you to keep your underwear on, is that okay?" She nodded quickly and continued her kisses all over any exposed part of Sara's face and neck.
Sara rolled her hips against the woman's thigh, needing some type of friction as she started to finger the woman, the warmth and tightness almost making her lose it right there. Stacy grasped at Sara's back, and then realized how many layers she still had on. Sara was getting hot, almost uncomfortably so because of it, but didn't know how far she could expose herself. She threw the hoodie off, and kicked off her pants too, not caring that her boxers had cats on them, and slowly stripped her shirt off, hoping her chest wouldn't freak out the woman. Stacy didn't even bat an eye at seeing the binder around Sara's chest, pulling her in close, and grabbing at the girl's bum, pushing both of their cores together. The friction was limited, both wanting more, until Sara picked up with where she left off fingering Stacy, and riding the woman's thigh to keep up with her. As their kisses became sloppy, and Sara's movements erratic as the woman cupped Sara's core with her own hand-making sure not to go any further than that, Stacy tightened around Sara's fingers, and pooled in her hand. Although out of breath, Stacy knew Sara was close too and began making tight circles over the girl's boxers with her fingers, helping her reach her wanted climax. Her body shook and she fell on top, leaving both of them tired and sweaty, but ultimately content and happy with where they were at. They snuggled, and quickly dozed off holding each other, only to be sharply awaken by a knock at the door a few moments later.
Stacy cursed under her breath as she ran across the apartment to throw her shirt and pants back on, and told Sara to throw the pillows over herself to hide, making both of them laugh at how stupid this was, "Why does this always happen," Sara asked, and received another pillow thrown at her with a hush. She looked through the peephole and was relieved that it was just her neighbor from at the end of the hall.
"Hi Mrs. Perkins, is everything okay?" Stacy used her body to block any view into the apartment, hoping the lady wouldn't notice how disheveled she looked. "Yes, earlier when I was walking by and I heard some" she paused not knowing how to phrase it, "some noises. I knew you were home, and it was just brief thing, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay." The neighbor gave her a cheeky grin, "I can see everything is more than okay. Didn't mean to bother you honey, have a good rest of your night." She said goodbye, and quickly latched the door, absolutely covered in embarrassment.
She huffed when she sat next to Sara, who was laughing already. "In my defense, I didn't think you were that loud, but your apartment does have really nice acoustics. And at least she's happy you got some!" Stacy groaned, knowing that it was funny, but was now anxious that Mrs. Perkins would be spying on whoever left her place- and knew that would be a disaster considering she was on the PTO. "Sure, make fun of me, that'll be all you ever get," she said sticking her tongue out and grabbing Sara's clothes from the floor.
They spent a little more time with each other, actually eating the cupcakes this time and enjoying them. Sara noticed it started to get dark out, and wanted to avoid any serious questions from her mother and asked for a ride back. They parked where they had originally met earlier in the day, but this time they were beaming at each other, instead of being plagued by their nerves. "I'll see you sometime later this week, and just text or call me whenever you want to talk," Sara told Stacy, liking that they could make each other a part of their routine outside of school. They kissed before leaving, still feeling butterflies after the day they had.
As Sara walked up to her door she saw her mom pulling in the driveway, they waved, and talked about what they did, Sara telling the half-truth and saying she ate a few cupcakes and took a nap at Jack's, and her mom listing all the work she got done with different applications.
"You look happy Sara. I'm glad you and Jack are as close as you are now- I think you guys really needed each other," this was true, but she was surprised her mom could pick up on her radiant mood, even if she didn't know the real reason. As Sara got ready for bed, she had completely disregarded her phone the entire day, forgetting about the picture Tegan had sent her.
'Sorry Tegan. Today was a crazy day- but let me guess, you got your ear pierced, duh ;) No, but how tf do you let a friend pierce your nipple? Next level trust right there.'
She knew she needed to confront the issue, so she sent another text,
'I know its late btw, and I don't want to keep you up, but I have to tell you about some things tomorrow. Have a good night, talk to you soon.'
The last thing she needed was for Tegan to end up developing feelings while she was with Stacy. She knew she liked Tegan, but luckily it was mainly mindless flirting, and nothing much has come from it. The last thing she wanted to be like was Jenn.
