Golly prompt: High School Reunion, Gail and Holly hated each other in the past, but in the reunion they realize that maybe the hate was hiding something else (love haha).

Dear Anon,

I read the 'haha' as a demonic laugh and it made my day.

I hope you like this.

Enjoy!

"Ugggh"

You look up as you hear Rachel make the sound of disgust.

"What?" you ask your best friend from high school, trying to find the source of her displeasure. You follow her glare to the other side of the room and suddenly you know what Rachel is talking about.

Her.

Gail Peck.

Your face scrunches as you involuntarily grit your teeth and narrow your gaze on the one person who made you hate high school; the one person who made you grateful to be finished and on your way to bigger and better things. She had single-handedly marred your high school days with her incessant pranking, snide comments, and generally indifferent attitude. It had been infuriating.

And nothing had changed.

There she stood with one hand on her hip, head tilted, eyes squinted, and a close-lipped smile on her face: the picture of judgement. She was standing with a group of her friends from ten years ago. Holly could tell from where she was standing that Gail wasn't even paying attention to the group.

With her heart rate increasing and blood pressure rising, Holly finally peeled her eyes away from her arch nemesis.

"I need another drink"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, isn't that Holly Stewart?" Andy asks the entire group as she points to the class valedictorian.

"I think so" replies Dov. "Man, she's just as hot now as she was then. Ow!" Dov rubs his arm as you return your fist to your hip.

"She wasn't hot" you say as you scowl in the direction of the bar. Probably the first and only time Gail Peck will ever scowl in the same direction as alcohol, but that's what she does to you.

"Do you really still hold a grudge against her, Gail?" Chris asks. "It's been ten years".

"Any of your parents ever compare you to someone you can't compete with? Huh? Cause mine did. All I ever heard in high school was Did you know Holly Stewart set the provincial record in the 1000 metre race, Gail? Did you know that Holly Stewart has been offered early admission to all the top schools, Gail? Did you know that Holly Stewart volunteers at the blood clinic, Gail?" you respond in a nasal voice that is supposed to imitate your mother. "She made my life miserable without even talking to me".

"It wasn't her fault that your mother did that and you know it. You can't change the past but maybe now is a good time to bury the hatchet" Traci says to you in her no-bullshit, wise beyond her years because she is a mother way. Damn that woman and her logic you think.

You are about to retort with a snide comment or snarky bit when a voice starts booming over the speakers.

"Welcome back class of 2003!" The crowd cheered in excitement. "Let's start our celebration off with a little contest! Everyone needs a partner. But hold on! The twist is that we've already partnered you up! Go find your partner and let's do this!"

You follow the gang to the sign-in table to see who you've been paired with. Holly Stewart is standing several people in front of you. God, please don't pair me with her. I'll take the kid who used to smell his own farts, just not her. You can tell by the way her shoulders drop and her spine stiffen that you just aren't that lucky. She turns around and looks at you with a forced smile and you now your fate is already sealed.

"Looks like we're partnered, Peck" she says in a polite, but not in a friendly way.

"Great" you mumble. "Let's get this over with".

XXXXXXXXXX

Just my luck you think as you walk back to the centre of the rented banquet hall with the one person from high school you never wanted to see again.

"So" Gail starts as she looks to the floor. "What have you been up to?" she says, obviously trying to make pleasant conversation.

"I'm a physician" you reply smugly, your petty side getting the best of you.

"Of course you are" she mumbles as she shakes her head.

"Excuse me?" you spit like venom, rage boiling.

"I said of course you are" Gail says as she looks you dead in the eye with her crystal clear irises. God, this woman is unbelievable you think as you shake your head.

"What is your problem? Wasn't tormenting me in high school enough for you? I guess I shouldn't be surprised" you whisper harshly, trying not to draw attention to yourself. You watch as Gail's expression goes from annoyed to shocked to sincerely offended.

"I tormented you? You could never give it a rest, could you? You always had to be the shining star, even now, Dr. Stewart" she sneers your name at you like it tastes bitter in her mouth.

You are seeing red.

"Are you telling me that somehow I made your life worse than you made mine?"

She laughs quietly to herself as she closes her eyes and faces her head up to the ceiling. You aren't sure what to do with this response, so you wait for her to say something. And when she finally looks back at you with tears in her eyes, you are at a loss for words.

"You were always the best, the brightest, the fastest, the most polite, and I was the failure. I could never compete with you, no matter how hard I tried. My mother always used you as the standard and I could never match it" she tells you in a soft voice, the anger having dissipated. "And here you are, perfect as usual. And here I am, the lesbian beat cop who hasn't even made detective."

You don't know what to say. The single admission has opened your eyes to her pain and has made you see why she was so cruel all those years ago.

"I know it wasn't fair, the way I treated you. You didn't actually do anything, but my life was hell because of you" she whispers to you, looking at the ground.

And then it hits you.

Lesbian.

XXXXXXXXXX

You can't believe you just poured your heart out to this woman. You're glad it has happened to help clear your conscience; ten years gave you some time to realize that it wasn't Holly who made your life miserable, it was Elaine Peck. But you had certainly made her life hell. Right now though, all you want to do is run away and never see this woman again.

You can feel her stepping toward you. You're not sure what's going to happen but you close your eyes to brace yourself for the very real possibility that she hits you.

But all you feel is softness; her gentle hands as they cup your chin, lifting your face to meet her own; the delicate kiss she plants on your lips; the lightness in your heart as you both relax into the sweetness that is this moment. When she pulls away from you, you blink your eyes open and all you see is warmth in hers. You smile back at her, the first time you've genuinely smiled tonight.

"Come on, Peck. Let's win this contest!" she says as she takes your hand in hers.