A/N: Yay, fluffy lesbian majikal updatey goodness! Oh, this is why I shouldn't be allowed to post things at 1:32 A.M. Enjoy and please review.
A week later, Alice was still alive, which, if she was honest with herself, was a blessing. She learned back ways around and used them almost every day to escape from people who would sometimes harass her and sometimes just beat her up. She was refusing to spend much time with Cherry so that the bashing wouldn't spread to the Soc girl as well. She studied a lot at home and tried to spend as little time as possible out on the streets, which just killed her 'cause staying inside and hiding was not her style at all, but when you're friendless and in a new town you've got to be careful. The most exciting thing to happen to her all week was when she received the reply to the letter she had sent to Laura after updating it with the details of Cherry reading the notebook and her being outed.
Hi girl,
Whoa, first of all. That Cherry chick sounds… I don't even know. Maybe I'm prejudiced 'cause you said she's good-looking, but I think that was a pretty lousy thing to do with the notebook. And you've got to be more careful! You could get killed for this down there, I mean we've got some hippies in KC so it's a little more open, but in Tulsa they don't have any of that, do they? I guess the damage is done, people know now, so I'm officially worried about you.
And I miss you, a lot. I know we're supposed to be 'moving on' or whatever but you should know you still mean the world to me. I think about you all the time and I can't wait to see you again. Nothing is happening here; I'm starting to realize how boring my life is without you in it.
Now I guess I should answer what you asked in your letter since that would be the point of you sending it. Everyone's normal, I guess. We're making it without you, but just barely. No, I haven't got a new girl and I don't want one; but I'll be sure to let you know if I need anyone taken down, ha-ha. Mom and Dad are the usual—fighting a lot, but it keeps them distracted so they don't ask about where I am all the time, which is a plus I guess. Andrew misses you a lot but he's keeping busy with whatever middle-school boys do. Please tell Kenji that I tell him hi back!
Oh, by the way, I've found another one of us! Andrew was talking about some middle school gossip which normally I wouldn't listen to but he started talking about this 8th grader there were rumors going around about that she was a lesbian, and I talked to her when I was getting him from school one day and I was POSITIVE that she was. So I met her at the park (this sounds really sinister, but I swear I'm not a pedo!) and asked her, and she got all pissed off at first but eventually she admitted it so now I guess I've sort of taken her under my wing. I even told her about you and she wants to meet you, so now you have to come and visit, for the sake of the children! Ha-ha, I should shut up now.
Love and miss you,
Laura
Alice had both laughed and nearly cried while reading it. Laura was the same as ever—enthusiastic, long-winded, a little too honest, and very in-your-face. All in a pleasant way! And Alice had to admit that she was still in love with her. She never said it in quite so many words (she was never as good with words) but she missed her old girlfriend just as much and thought about her all the time, still. She was worried now, too, at Laura's comment about her parents' fighting. Sure, most parents fought, but it was somehow different with Laura—only, Alice supposed, because she loved her so much. Since the letter she missed her even more, and studied even harder as a distraction.
The studying paid off, apparently, and at dinner the next Friday night Alice bragged to her mother about the A+ calculus test she had just gotten back.
"That's wonderful, dear," Mrs. Morton said, taking the paper from her daughter and shuffling through it before frowning and setting it down. "Well, I can't understand any of it anymore."
"I studied really, really hard," Alice continued, taking it back proudly. "I didn't even go out at all or have any fun this week," she hinted.
Mrs. Morton looked up from her dinner. "What do you want?"
"Please, please, please, please, please can I call Laura tonight?" she burst out, begging like a little kid. "I miss her a lot; she's my best friend!"
Weighing it carefully, Mrs. Morton thought about it. The long-distance call would be expensive, and knowing Alice and Laura they would talk for hours. But it would be good for Alice to get to talk to one of her old friends again since she seemed to be having such a rough adjustment to the new school. And she had been studying exceedingly hard…
"Yes, fine," she sighed, smiling to see her daughter smiling. "I guess you've earned it."
Minutes later, after rushing to clear her dishes and flopping onto her bed excitedly, Alice dialed the number she had memorized by heart.
"Hello?" a young boy's voice asked after two rings.
"Andrew?" she replied, heart starting to pound at how close she was to talking to Laura. "It's Alice. Is Laura there?"
"Yeah, hold on," he said. Alice heard him yell his sister's name away from the receiver and then add, into the phone, "She's coming."
"Okay, thanks," she said quietly, feeling like it was almost to great to be really happening until—
"Alice?"
"Oh my God, Laura, honey, I miss you so much!" Alice cried, bursting into tears. All the resentment, fear, and anger she'd felt since the move came rushing out, and Laura sat on the other end patiently, whispering to her occasionally and just waiting.
"Sorry," she gasped when she was done. "I've only let myself cry once since I got here, and I shouldn't need to but there's been a lot going on."
Laura laughed quietly. "Don't worry about it. I understand."
She always understood. There was a silence during which the two girls could hear their breathing automatically syncing up. Then Laura added, "I missed you too. Are you okay? Did you get my letter?"
"Yeah, I got it. And no, not really. Well, I guess. I don't know. Everyone knows and I'm having to sneak around and stay inside mostly to keep from getting beat up. You know how I'm kind of rambling right how? Well I mean, you know me better than anyone so you know I do this when I'm nervous. So it's no wonder I blew the secret so fast."
"Calm down," the blonde giggled. "Why are you nervous?"
"'Cause I still love you," Alice apprehensively admitted.
"I love you too," Laura whispered, and Alice could just see her leaning against the kitchen counter, eyes sparkling, twirling a strand of blonde hair around her finger.
"Can you come out here this summer?"
Laura sighed. "That's a long time to wait. I mean, I'm sure my folks will let me, but I wish I could see you sooner."
"Well, my mom let me call 'cause I aced a calculus test, so if I keep doing this well I might be able to call more often. You know how it is, though, money's tight."
"Yeah. Definitely," the older girl agreed, frowning. "But you smart little thing! Glad to see you can pay attention in calc instead of ogling what's-her-name."
"What, Cherry Valance?" Alice asked, amused by Laura's obvious jealousy. "I still don't know what to think about her. She called and apologized to me and we talked for a while. I think you two would get along. But I definitely don't like her in that way. And she's completely straight."
"Yeah? Hm. Just sounds like a weird chick to me."
"Funny," the brunette replied, "'cause I told her I thought you could be friends because you are such a weird chick."
"Good God," Laura sighed, "What am I going to do with you?"
"Screw me?" Alice suggested hopefully. "Preferably soon?"
"I wish! We've got another five months, unless I can convince Mom and Dad to let me drive out over spring break."
"Well start working on it!" she replied, laughing. "Maybe you should stop corrupting 8th graders and focus on your schoolwork to lighten them up a little," she teased.
"Hey, I didn't corrupt her! I'm helping her, she's got all these questions and I have all these answers!" Laura retorted lightheartedly.
For hours the two girls talked, until finally Mrs. Morton had to say enough was enough unless Alice wanted to pay for the phone bill, so they said their goodbyes after she left the room.
"I love you," Laura said for at least the sixth time during the course of the conversation.
"Love you more!" Alice exclaimed, needing a final opportunity to one-up her.
"Goodnight, you," the older girl sighed happily.
"'Night. Sweet dreams."
