It was past midnight when Sarah got home. A full two hours past her 10pm weeknight curfew. She slowly unlocked the front door, and slipped in, hoping against all odds that Mrs. S would already be asleep. As she slowly crept to the staircase, beginning to think maybe she had actually gotten away with it, she heard a voice from the corner of the living room, "It's past midnight, Sarah. " She froze, before slowly turning around and heading over to where Mrs. S was sitting. "Sit down," Siobhan stated, her voice even but forceful, pointing to the chair across from her.
Sarah slowly took her seat, "Look, I'm sorry Mrs. S, I lost track of time—"
"Bullshit," snapped Siobhan. Leaning in closer to Sarah, "Why don't you tell me what's really going on?"
Sarah shook her head, "I can't." She looked away, "But it's important, alright?"
Siobhan's gaze softened slightly, "Sarah, this is not only my weeknight curfew, but the one set by the state as terms of your probation. Chicken, if you get arrested again, there won't be much I can do to help you out of it."
Sarah nodded, a lump growing in her throat, "I know. Look, I'm sorry. I won't do it again, okay?"
Siobhan paused, and nodded, "Alright. Well, you're grounded for the next two weeks. Straight to school and back. And Sarah?" Sarah finally looked up, and Siobhan reach over and rested a hand on her knee, "If whatever this is that you won't tell me about gets out of hand, you've got to let me know. You hear?"
Sarah stood up, "Yeah, alright." She trudged up to bed. How could she even begin to explain to Mrs. S everything that was going on?
Beth waited outside the school at 6:57am, sitting on the edge of a low brick wall, the results of the DNA test for Alison's parents grasped tightly in her hands. The air was chilly, and she grasped her jacket tighter around her waist. Hearing footsteps, she looked up to see Alison walking over to her from the lot where she had parked her car.
"Hey, " Beth said softly, as Alison took a seat next to her. Once she was seated, Alison hugged her backpack to her chest, "So, you have them?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly. Beth nodded, handing Alison the folded piece of paper, crinkled from being clutched so tightly in Beth's hands. Alison closed her eyes, holding the paper between her fingers, "I don't think I can do this." Beth scooted closer, "Ali, remember what I told you? It's going to be okay. That still stands, no matter what's in that paper." Alison looked up at her, surprised, "Haven't you seen it already?" Beth shook her head. "It was dark when I printed it out. I just grabbed it and folded it up. I figured, well, that you should be the first to know." Alison's shut her eyes, guiltily remembering what she had to tell Beth; that her parents were getting divorced, and her Dad had unwittingly told Alison instead of his own daughter. Beth should have been the first to know that.
Alison took a deep breath, opened her eyes and then unfolded the paper. Most of the page was filled with numbers and graphs she didn't understand, but her eyes quickly flew to the bottom, which read in bold: Subjects not a match.
Instantly, Alison's eyes filled with tears, and she covered her mouth to contain a sob. Beth immediately wrapped her arm around Ali's shoulder, running her fingers through her hair, "Hey, now. Remember what I said, it's going to be okay." Alison buried her face in her hands, choking back another sob, "I- I knew, deep down. I really did. B-b-but it just didn't feel real." Beth rubbed her back, "Sometimes you think you know something, but the reality can still come as a shock. There are some things you just can't prepare yourself for." Alison nodded, wiping her eyes on her sleeve, and shoving the results into her backpack.
"Beth, how… how did the rest of last night go? With your Dad?" Alison asked cautiously. Beth shrugged, "It was fine, I guess. He didn't seem suspicious or anything. Was a bit quiet though." Alison took a deep breath. Looks like the divorce hadn't come up. "Beth, when I was sitting with your father… pretending to be you, he told me something." Beth's scrunched with confusion, with a hint of worry, "What is it?" Alison forced herself to look Beth in the eyes, and said, in a voice uncharacteristically gentle for her personality, "Beth, he and your mom are separating."
Beth turned sharply away, looking out into the street. She chuckled to herself, but not in a happy way, "I mean, I knew it. It's been coming for a long time." She grasped the side of the wall tightly and bit her lip. Alison softly placed her hand over Beth's, "There are some things you can't prepare yourself for."
Cosima was dancing around her lab to a mix tape that Delphine had made for her. Sarah had brought over an old boom box so that they could listen to music while they schemed, but today, it was just Cosima. It almost seemed strange to have the lab all to herself again; she had grown accustomed to sharing it with the three other girls.
"Oh girls, they wanna have fu-un," she sang joyfully as she danced. She couldn't carry a tune to save her life, but that didn't stop her from belting along to the music, "Yeah, girls just wanna have fuuuuuunnnn!"
She heard two knocks on her door, and excitedly rushed over to answer it. Swinging the door open, Cosima threw her arms around Delphine's neck and kissed her passionately, before pulling her inside.
"You are listening to the tape, yes?" Delphine smiled shyly. Cosima nodded her head to the music, "Yep!" she affirmed, grabbing Delphine's hand and pulling her over to her rug to dance with her. Delphine laughed, "You seem to be very happy today, Cosima." Cosima shrugged, "Yeah, I suppose I am," she answered, spinning Delphine around before pulling her into an overly dramatic dip. "Woah, now, easy," Delphine cried through her giggles.
"Your glee…It doesn't have anything to do with that... what do you call it, 'top secret' project that you are working on?" Delphine asked. Cosima hadn't told her girlfriend about her genetic identicals yet. It wasn't that she didn't want to, she just didn't feel like it was the right time. She wanted clone club to be just theirs for a while longer. So, Cosima just smiled coyly, "Maybe. I did have a bit of a breakthrough yesterday." Delphine raised her eyebrows, "Oh? You tell me about it, oui?" Cosima shook her head, "Nice try, but not yet, okay?" Delphine sighed dramatically, but was still smiling, "Okay, if you insist."
The Cyndi Lauper anthem came to an end, and a new song began. A slower one this time, opening with a solo guitar. Delphine had moved to sit down on the couch, but Cosima took her hand and pulled her close. Once Cosima had wrapped her arms around Delphine's neck, Delphine grabbed her girlfriend's waist tightly, pulling their bodies together. As they swayed to the music, Cosima closed her eyes, listening to the words that Delphine had picked out just for her.
"And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't wanna go home right now."
Just then, Delphine leaned in closer to Cosima, so that her lips were up against her ear, and whispered, "Je t'aime." Cosima buried her head in Delphine's shoulder, planting a kiss on her neck. That was the first time Delphine had said that to her, the first time anyone had told her they loved her, at least in a romantic sense. Reaching her head up to meet Delphine's ear, Cosima whispered back, "I love you, too."
This time it was Delphine who pulled Cosima into a kiss, leading her over to the couch as the kiss deepened. As Cosima leaned back into the sofa, Delphine's body pressed against hers as they kissed passionately, she thought that surely nothing could ever be more perfect than this. They were both so caught up in the intensity of the moment that they didn't notice the quiet click of a key turning in the locked door.
A/N: The songs featured at "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper and "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls. I don't own either of them. Thanks for reading!