The phone rings twice before Maggie picks up.
"Good morning, Danvers."
A smile tugs at Alex's lips at the sound of Maggie's voice, still rough with sleep.
"Hey, you."
"You okay?" Maggie asks, amused, "It's... six-thirty."
Alex hears her sit up in bed, and she imagines the tired smile on her girlfriend's face. "Mmm, just wanted to hear your voice."
Maggie chuckles audibly, and Alex can almost hear the teasing smile in her voice. "That's gay."
"So you don't like our morning phone calls? You were the one who started it, Sawyer." "No! I like it... it's our thing. Just an observation."
Alex laughs breathily as she rolls over in bed.
"What?"
"You sound all sleepy. It's cute."
There's a short silence as Maggie apparently struggles to think of words. Alex enjoys the knowledge that she can have exactly the same effect on her girlfriend that Maggie usually does on her, if she wants to.
"So soft, Danvers. Anyway, did you manage to tell your Mom yet?" "If I say yes can I stop thinking about it?"
"That's up to you," Alex hears Maggie's Aunt say something in the background, "I have to go, Danvers. See you in English?"
"Definitely."
After a few minutes of deliberation, Alex decides that today is the day. It's one thing telling Eliza about her relationship with Maggie, but what she's truly dreading is when she finds out Maggie knows Kara's secret.
Pulling on a t-shirt, she sends a quick text to Maggie, and the reply comes a few seconds later. Good luck, Danvers. May the force be with you, and all that. ;)
Encouraged by her girlfriend's nerdy reassurance, Alex grabs her bag, and makes her way down the stairs to where Eliza is sitting in the kitchen, reading an article on her phone.
"Good morning, Sweetie," she murmurs absent-mindedly.
"Hi."
Alex stands frozen for a few seconds before deciding it's better to get it over with quickly.
Now or never.
"Maggie and I are dating."
Eliza puts down her phone, looking up at Alex through her glasses with a smile.
"She's your girlfriend?"
Alex blushes, her heart leaping as she nods.
"Yeah. Yes."
"That's wonderful, Alex."
She pulls Alex into a tight hug, taking her daughter by surprise.
"Thank you... I'm glad you're okay with it."
"Okay with it? Maggie's a lovely girl from what I've heard. I'm happy you're happy."
Alex grins at her, pouring some coffee into a mug.
"Hey, you should invite her over for dinner!"
"I don't know... is it too soon for that?"
"You tell me."
"Hmm... I'll mention it to her. I want you to meet Maggie. I think you'll like her."
"I know I will."
"Actually, Mom, there's something else about M-"
Kara bursts into the room with a piece of toast hanging out of her mouth.
"Alex we're going to be late."
Kara looks at her questioningly when she grimaces, wishing her ability to interact with her Mother was better.
"Let's go."
"Alex."
Alex sits up straight, a look of confusion on her face. Maggie chuckles under her breath, probably enjoying distracting her girlfriend a little too much. Their fingers are intertwined under the table – sitting at the back of the classroom has its perks, apparently.
"She wants you to read for Juliet," Maggie whispers, smirking.
"Ugh, why?" Alex groans.
"Maggie, you read for Romeo, please," Miss Grant interjects.
Alex snorts, drawing the attention of a few classmates as Maggie chokes on her laughter. If she has to suffer, then so does Maggie.
"Come to the front, please, girls."
Alex swears under her breath, much to Maggie's amusement. "Please can we just stay here, Miss?"
"No. Hurry up, I don't have all day."
Maggie drags her to the front of the class. There are only a few other students here, luckily, most of them having started their exams already. Alex's cheeks are burning as Maggie passes her a script.
"The significance of this scene," Miss Grant begins, beginning a long introduction to the themes and characters in the play.
Don't look at Lucy, Alex repeats in her head, over and over as Miss Grant talks. Finally, she finishes speaking, and Maggie raises an eyebrow at her before beginning.
"If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this, my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."
Alex chokes on her breath when Maggie's eyes immediately dart to her lips. "Miss Danvers?"
Alex clears her throat, wanting nothing more than for the floor to swallow her whole. Maggie looks oddly calm, a playful grin stretching across her face. Her dimples are distracting, and Alex finds herself getting more and more anxious as Miss Grant coughs loudly to get her attention.
"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."
Miss Grant gestures for Alex to take Maggie's hand, and Alex concentrates hard on exhaling like a normal person when Maggie winks at her.
"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?" Maggie returns easily, her voice hushed in the quiet of the room.
"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer," Alex mumbles, trying not to look at anything except the piece of paper in her hands.
"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; they pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."
Maggie seems strangely comfortable with fifteen or so teenagers watching them read each other what are essentially Shakespearean pickup lines. Alex's wrist trembles from the uncomfortable angle she's holding Maggie's hand at, and Maggie's dimples deepen as Alex blushes harder, but somehow she manages to stutter out her response.
"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."
"Then move not while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is purg'd."
Alex squints at the piece of paper, her heart in her mouth when she reads the following stage directions. She looks at Maggie for a few seconds, a burst of confidence permeating her thoughts as Maggie beams at her, nodding.
"You sure?" she whispers, her voice just low enough that only Maggie can hear. "Go ahead, Danvers."
Alex leans in and kisses Maggie.
It was only meant to be a quick peck, but Alex has no self control anymore, and they only pull apart when Lucy gets half the class to start clapping. Alex steps backwards, her heart racing, to find Miss Grant trying to hide her smile.
"Then have my lips the sin that they have took."
"Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urg'd! Give me my sin again."
Alex chuckles, rolling her eyes at Maggie's tone. She leans a little closer, trying to make Maggie as flustered as she is.
"You kiss by the book."
Lucy continues clapping as they return to their seats, grinning awkwardly as Miss Grant puts on a mock-serious face as the bell rings, and Alex is all too aware that the rest of the school will know by lunch.
"Your first exam is next week, so please study that scene in particular. If you need me to sign any college applications or write you a recommendation, you know where my office is. Now leave."
By the end of school, Maggie is still amused by Alex's perpetual blush, which is mostly due to Lucy and Vasquez's constant teasing for the following five hours. As she fishes her keys out of the bottom of her bag, she feels people's eyes on her, hears them whispering.
You're being paranoid, she tells herself, spotting Alex across the hallway. "Good day?" Maggie asks as they walk.
"Don't push your luck," Alex growls, trying and failing to seem annoyed.
"Are you free to help me fill out college applications this evening?" Maggie suggests, wanting to get away from the other students.
"I'm sure that's all we'll end up doing," Alex says sarcastically, "Like yesterday when we studied."
Maggie flushes at the memory of Alex quizzing her on physics equations for a whole four minutes, until two hours later Rosa had vowed never to walk into Maggie's room again without knocking, despite their insistence that they were only kissing.
"You alright there, Sawyer?" "Shut up."
"No, really," Alex opens the car door for Maggie, "I guess you changed your mind about people knowing about us?"
"It's not my fault you're so cute," Maggie mumbles.
"Mags," Alex says gently, stroking the top of her girlfriend's hand with her thumb.
"I was scared people would say things. They probably will, but I just got sick of pretending to be someone I'm not, even if the alternative blew up in my face last time. But... we should get to be who we are. Screw everyone else."
Alex nods firmly, her eyes shining as she smiles down at Maggie.
"You're right. I just wanted to make sure I didn't push you into something you weren't ready for." "Don't worry about it, Danvers."
"How many colleges have you applied to, Danvers?" Maggie asks in awe, staring at the giant stack of papers on Alex's lap. She passes Alex the mug of coffee in her hands, secretly enjoying the fact that her girlfriend feels comfortable enough to wear her glasses around her.
"Uh, Stanford, University of California, National City University, and... uh, a lot." "I can tell. Actually, I applied to NCU and California too."
"Any responses yet?"
"Nope. You?"
"A no from San Diego."
"Twenty dollars says that's the only no you'll get."
"I'm applying to eleven colleges. You really want to take that bet, Mags?" The bed shifts as Maggie climbs onto it, resting her head on Alex's shoulder.
"Yes, nerd."
Rolling her eyes, Alex leans over to press her lips softly to Maggie's forehead. "Suit yourself."
"So," Maggie begins, sighing as Alex kisses down her jaw, "how did it feel to come out to everyone?"
Alex thinks for a second before replying, picking up on the caution edging Maggie's words. "Good. It felt good."
"Yeah?"
"Mmm," Alex hums, brushing Maggie's hair out of her face with her hand, "What about you?" "So far there's been no graffiti on my locker, I still have a home. Better than last time, I guess." Alex winces, her chest clenching at the uncertainty in Maggie's voice.
"Max was staring at me in the hall," Alex admits reluctantly, "like he wanted to say something." Maggie's jaw clenches, and she draws her knees up to her chest defensively.
"You shouldn't have to-"
"I'm not afraid of them, Mags."
"Alex."
A sigh escapes Maggie's lips, and she lets go of Alex's hand to run her fingers through her hair. Alex sits up slowly, her lip caught between her teeth as Maggie avoids her eyes.
"It's late, Mags. I should get home before Mom does."
"See you around, Danvers," Maggie says gruffly, her jaw set when she pulls Alex into a tight hug, wanting nothing more than to just hold her forever in the safety of the tiny apartment.
Alex pauses silently in the doorway for a heartbeat before Maggie sees her shoulders sag, and she leaves.
Guilt radiates through Maggie's chest, the overwhelming urge to protect her crushing her under its weight. Maggie doesn't leave her room until an two hours later when her Aunt gets home from work, asking if she's eaten.
"I'm not hungry."
"You have to eat something, Mags. Are you sick?"
"I'm going to bed, Rosa."
Maggie's door closes before her Aunt can protest, and the apartment is silent again.