Chapter Eleven
I'm so sorry for the wait! It's been crazy with school and stuff. I hope this chapter makes up for it!
Sun streamed into the small dorm the following morning. Joanne opened one eye and groaned, turning over. She nearly yelped as she bumped into the unmoving lump beside of her. Suddenly all of the events of the previous night flooded her memory. A grin crept onto her face as she wrapped an arm around her girlfriend once again.
Girlfriend. The term rolled around in Joanne's head. It seemed so final, so possessive. The term fit every emotion the darker female felt for the sleeping form beside her. After all of the drama that had happened between the two, the spark both felt was still as strong as ever before. Joanne knew the responsibility in trying to keep up with a girl like Maureen, but was sure it would be completely worth it.
The lump finally began to wiggle as she aroused. Joanne smirked as she kissed Maureen's neck lightly. Maureen smiled as she turned to face her lover. "Can I wake up like this every morning? Can I wake up here in your arms with a simple kiss of good morning from the most beautiful girl I've ever met?"
"Of course you can, dear," Joanne replied, gently kissing the brunette on the lips. Maureen buried her head in the other girl's chest, mumbling something along the lines of not wanting to ever move again. Joanne giggled as she sat up, dragging Maureen along with her.
"You have to get up. I'm sure Mimi and Angel want an explanation as to why you weren't in their room this morning."
"They won't care. If they see that both of us are missing, then I'm sure they can put two and two together."
"But I'm hungry…" Joanne whined, going for another tactic to get the drama queen out of bed.
Maureen sighed. "Can we just lay here and kiss a little longer? Breakfast will still be served for another hour." The darker girl nodded her approval before capturing the brunette's lips in a heated lip-lock.
Knock knock.
"Joanne? You were supposed to meet me in the lobby thirty minutes ago…" Marguerite popped her head into the unlocked doorway. Joanne immediately tried to spring back but Maureen held her close. Marguerite's mouth hung open as the silence loomed. Finally her face darkened as the image in front of her registered.
"What are you doing with her?" The red-head asked, her scowl deepening. "You told me just yesterday that there was no chance you would ever want to be with her again."
"No," Joanne quickly corrected as she felt Maureen's grip loosen, "I said there was no chance I would ever get to be with her again. At the time, I didn't think there was. But she and I resolved things last night, and are now more than just friends. I hope that doesn't change the friendship I have with you though, Marguerite."
"Of course it does!" Marguerite bellowed, her voice rising loud enough for the entire hall to hear. "I never wanted to be only friends with you! I was just waiting for you to give up on that drama bitch so there would be nothing holding you back from being with me. You and I both know how much she's hurt you, Joanne. She's ignored you for weeks, leaving you miserable. You're lucky you even had me to lean on at all! You're only going to get hurt with a girl like that and you know it. Leave her, Joanne. Leave her and be with me."
"Look, Frenchie, don't you dare attack my—" Maureen began, leaping up but held back by Joanne.
Joanne pushed Maureen back onto the bed and stood up. "I know you don't agree with it, but I've made my decision, Marguerite. Maureen is the one I want. She's the one I've wanted from the beginning. Surely you knew that. If you plan to stand here and attack her, then I'd appreciate and if you would leave."
The French girl stood in the threshold for only a moment longer before storming away. Joanne gently fell back on the bed, directly into Maureen's arms. The brunette rested her head on the darker girl's shoulder, kissing it lightly and murmuring, "I'm so sorry."
"For what?" Joanne inquired, turning to face her.
"For hurting you. I didn't realize what you were going through while I was throwing a queen-sized fit. But I promise to make it up to you. I'll give you hugs and kisses, and trips to the moon, and puppy dogs, and pirate ships, and—"
"What would I do with a pirate ship?"
"Well I've always wanted one…" Maureen groaned. "Ugh! I'm even selfish with my apologies!"
Joanne laughed loudly, kissing her girlfriend affectionately. "Apology accepted. And I'll be expecting that trip to the moon in the near future, but for now I'd just like some breakfast." The two giggled together for a while longer before finally managing to slip out the door.
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"Angel, you've got to eat something."
Mimi and Angel sat alone at a table in the back of the cafeteria, utterly unaware of what was happening in the MoJo dorm above them. Mimi watched as her best friend poked at the food on his plate. Angel was so depressed about all that had happened with Collins he didn't even have the willpower to dress up for the day. Instead, Angel wore a black tank and loose guy-jeans. The lack of makeup mixed with lack of sleep made the Latino look pale and sick.
"Ang, maybe you would feel better if you cleaned up a bit…"
"No, Mimi," Angel deadpanned, "I don't feel like dressing up." Mimi sighed, but nodded instead of causing disagreement. Just as she was about to look back down at her food, a streak of brown hair came hurdling toward her. Maureen grabbed her neck, nearly knocking Mimi to the floor.
"Hold on, Chica," Mimi laughed, pulling Maureen down with her. "What's up with you? You haven't been this happy since…"
Maureen grinned. "Thanks for putting up with me for so long. I know I'm not always easy to handle. But you don't have to worry about me anymore."
"Of course we do," Mimi replied, "If you aren't staying with us, then where will you be staying?"
"With me," Joanne answered, grabbing her girlfriend's waist. "She'll be staying back in our room, where she belongs."
"So you two…" Mimi looked back and forth between the two, piecing the scenario together. Shocked immediately filed her expression. "Oh, my God! So that's where you were last night! And you two…and no more Marguerite…and…and…"
"Stop stuttering," Maureen laughed, settling in next the Latina as Joanne sat across next to Angel. Maureen face grew serious as she watched Angel. "Ang? Are you okay? You're not…yourself."
Angel looked up, as if seeing the couple for the first time. "Um, yes, I'm fine. I'm glad you two are finally together. You deserve each other."
"I'm not buying that bullshit," Maureen said, placing a finger under Angel's chin and tilting his head upward. "What's going on?"
Mimi grabbed Maureen's arm. "Angel doesn't want to talk right now."
"Why not? We're all friends."
"It's complicated," Angel replied before grabbing his plate and standing up. Before the three could look back, Angel was gone.
"What's wrong, Meems?" Joanne asked, genuinely concerned for her friend.
Mimi scowled. "Ask your brother." With that, she got up and followed Angel out of the cafeteria.
Joanne's brows furrowed in confusion. "What does Collins have anything to do with…oh, no."
"What, Joey?"
"I think Collins may have a lot to do with Angel's weird behavior. Go comfort Ang. I'm gonna go talk to my brother." Maureen nodded, utterly confused, and kissed Joanne on the cheek in a quick goodbye. Quickly, Joanne left the building in search of Collins.
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"Yeah, guys, that would be great," Collins spoke through his office phone. "I can get permission to have it at my house for Halloween." He paused to listen. "It would be one night. I don't see the big deal. And besides, I haven't seen you boys since the summer. It's been too long."
Knock knock.
Joanne's head peaked through his door. Collins gestured for her to come in. "Look, guys, I gotta go. I got company. We'll get in touch later once I have more news. Don't get in too much trouble between now and then. Bye."
Joanne took a seat in the chair across from her brother, shoulders tight and posture tense. Collins was immediately uneasy. "What's up, Jo?"
"You remember that talk we had a while back about Angel kissing you as a dare? Remember how I told you to act on the feelings because I thought she might reciprocate?"
"Yea…" Collins meekly replied.
"Did you ever talk to her about those feelings? Or did you just let her like you until she gave up? Because Angel is back in her dorm right now, moping beyond what I thought possible and Mimi seems to think it's all because of you. Do you have some sort of explanation?"
"She's moping?" Collins asked, his heart breaking.
Joanne nodded. "She didn't even bother with drag this morning. What happened, Collins? Why didn't you act on it?"
"I did." Collins sighed, pulling his beanie off his head to occupy his hands. "A while ago. I meant to tell you, but I felt that as your friend, that was Angel's place. We had a fight over something stupid. I had no idea how upset she would get."
"You're together?!" Joanne exclaimed. "And you didn't tell me? As my brother, that is absolutely you're place! I'm happy for the both you. You should've known I would be. Now, what did you say to make her so upset?"
Collins fidgeted in a mixture of anxiety and relief. "I might've insinuated that she was nothing more than my student…but she isn't. She's a lot more than that. She's everything I've never had. I didn't mean to upset her, I was just angry because of the circumstance. I can't lose her, Jo. She's made me the happiest I've been since…"
"I know," Joanne shushed him. "What are you going to do to make things better?"
"Well…" Collins' face split into a grin. "I have some friends coming into town…friends that I believe were friends with Angel back at the boys' school. They're coming in for a Halloween bash next week. Of course, you and the rest are invited. Maybe I can make it up to Ang then. Do you think she can hold out that long?"
"What friends are these?" Joanne inquired curiously.
Collins' grin widened to his ears. "Roger and Mark."
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A/N: Hope the wait was worth it! Read and Review!