A/N: Takes place the Tuesday after the last chapter. Includes some minor dialogue taken from The Rainy Day Women episode, but nothing too major.
A/N2: Mentions of sex, but not graphic. Sorry. At least this is the longest chapter so far…and Julie is in it!
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Where We Left Off:
"Marissa's parents don't know that she's not driving stick anymore?!" Jodie questions a little louder than she intended.
After turning to look at Jodie, Marissa and Alex share a look of realization. "Oh shit," Marissa squeaks out at the thought of her mother.
"Sucks to be you," Jodie understates before going to grab a beer.
"Get me one!" The other three call out at the same time, as they all ponder how bad the wrath of Julie Cooper will rain down on Newport once she finds out about her oldest daughter dating the girl who runs the Bait Shop.
Chapter Twenty-One - The Study Session
The final bell of the day rings and the students begin to pile out of their classroom, ignoring the teacher's final order of homework. Once outside of the room, Alex wastes no time taking a hold of her girlfriend's hand, earning a shy smile from the brunette.
"So, what are we doing today?" Marissa asks with a grin.
"Well, I am dropping you off at your palace so that I can take care of some stuff at the Bait Shop," Alex smirks in response.
"'Palace' my ass. Jodie told me that your parents' place is bigger than mine…Princess," the taller girl chuckles, gaining a great sense of pleasure from the fact that that particular nickname irks her girlfriend as much as it does.
The blonde rolls her eyes in response. "Hey, you never got the chance to tell me how you did on the pop quiz from English yesterday," she points out, realizing that they got sidetracked by Seth and Summer when she asked about it during lunch.
"Do you have to take me back to my house? Why can't I just go to the Bait Shop with you?" Marissa whines, deliberately ignoring the question.
"Fine, but I actually have to get some work done this time," Alex replies seriously. She takes a moment to stare at the other girl for a moment. "You totally avoided my question again!"
"I did not!" Marissa indignantly replies. There is a moment's pause. "Okay, maybe I did," she sheepishly admits.
"How bad did you do?" The bartender questions, knowing that it must be pretty bad for the other girl to dodge her question like she did.
"Well…he gave me 20 points for putting my name on the page and-"
"Did you answer any of the actual questions right?" The shorter of the two specifies.
"Um, no. But, in my defense, Mr. Bowen is a jerk and the reading is really stupid," she lamely points out.
"You know, I would've helped if you just asked me to, right?" Alex arches an eyebrow at her girlfriend.
"But you're this big literature geek and-"
"Could you not say that so loud? I still have a reputation to keep," the other girl interrupts, glancing around to see if anyone heard her being referred to as a 'literature geek'.
"Whatever, Lit Girl. I just didn't want you to think that I was a total loser for asking you to help," Marissa finishes.
"Aw, 'Riss," Alex sighs as she pulls the other girl into a loose embrace. "I wouldn't think you were a loser for asking for help. I think you're a loser for failing the quiz," she smirks.
"That's not funny," Marissa grumps as she disentangles herself from the blonde. For a moment, she thought that she was going to get another of those rare glimpses of her girlfriend's sensitive side. She was wrong.
"I'm sorry," Alex apologizes as she unlocks the passenger door of the Jeep for the taller girl before going to the driver's side to get in. They came to a mutual agreement that Alex would be doing the driving for a while.
Marissa chances a glance over in the blonde's direction as she starts the car. She realizes that the other girl is being sincere, eliciting a small smile.
"Hey Alex," she drawls out slowly.
"Yes," the blonde responds in the same tone.
"Maybe when you're done at the Bait Shop, we can go back to my house and you can help me study for the test on Thursday," she suggests.
Alex turns her attention slightly to the other girl as she stops at a red light. She takes a moment to determine whether or not the brunette is serious. "Sure," she simply replies with a shrug.
"Really?" Marissa questions, surprised that her girlfriend didn't try and make a joke out of it.
"Did you think I would say no and tell you to suck it up or something?" Alex chuckles before casting another sidelong glance at the taller girl. "Besides, I've been wanting to see your bedroom again," she smirks.
"All you had to do was ask," Marissa grins cheekily. The girl in the driver's seat merely rolls her eyes, a smile playing on her lips.
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An Hour Later
"I'm bored," Marissa declares from her position seated at the bar as soon as her girlfriend steps out of the storeroom for the fourth time in the last 20 minutes. The brunette is sitting with her head propped up on her hand.
Alex pauses in front of the door. "I distinctly remember telling you that I had to get some work done today," she points out, recalling their brief conversation in the car.
"I know, but you had to 'get work done' yesterday too and we ended up making-out in your office instead," the brunette retorts.
"Which is why I have to finish it today," the shorter of the two chuckles as she walks over to the bar.
"Can I at least have something with alcohol in it?" She questions, earning her an arched eyebrow in response. "Well, you are a bartender," she states.
"And you are under 21," Alex snarks back in the same tone. "You can go to my office and catch up on your reading," she suggest with a smirk, referring to the books in her office, many of which are from the reading list from their English class.
The prospect of invading the other girl's office again piques her interest. "Can I check my email?" She asks hopefully.
"Fine," Alex rolls her eyes good-naturedly as she hands the brunette her keys so that she can unlock the door. "No surfing for porn though," she warns.
"I told you that it wasn't me. Jodie must have been the one that…" Marissa trails off on her defense as she notices the amused look on her girlfriend's face. "Oh, ha ha," she snorts sarcastically before heading towards the office so that her girlfriend can finish up.
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9:00 pm- Marissa's Room
"This is so depressing. What else do we have to read?" Marissa questions as she searches through her notebook for the class outline.
"Of course it's depressing, it's Edgar Allan Poe," Alex rolls her eyes and sighs.
Having already gone over the three short stories and six poems that will be on their test on Thursday, they are just left with "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Raven", both works of Edgar Allan Poe. Marissa is sitting cross-legged on her bed while her girlfriend is comfortably laying on her back with her head hanging over the edge of the bed so that she can stare at the wall.
"I mean, since this guy is all that's left, we can probably just skip him and I'll just hope that there won't be too much about his stuff on the test," Marissa attempts to push the rest of the studying aside.
"Our quiz yesterday was just on Poe. Somehow I doubt that Bowen's going to skip over him on the test," Alex snorts in disbelief .
"I mean, the 'Heart' one I kind of get anyways. We've been going over that one for, like, twenty minutes. Clearly the narrator was crazy and guilty and crap. It was his own heartbeat and all that he was hearing. 'The Raven' is just about some lonely guy thinking about some chick that died who freaks out over some talking bird," the brunette points out, hoping that knowing the basics of the Poe readings will be enough to get the blonde to let her off the hook.
"What style of writing is Poe known for?" Alex asks, deciding to quiz the girl for herself.
Grumbling at the more serious side of her girlfriend, Marissa tries to wrack her memory without having to refer to her notes. "Emo?" She guesses half-heartedly.
At this, Alex can't help but laugh despite herself. "Close," she chuckles, shaking her head.
Marissa smiles as the blonde's body continues to shake with suppressed laughter. "Gothic fiction," she finally replies seriously. "Lex, really, this isn't necessary. I don't want to keep talking about a stupid talking raven chillin' in some guy's house," she sighs after a moment.
"Mocking one of the most famous poems ever written is so not the way to get on my good side," the girl with the purple streak in her hair replies as she shifts so that her head is no longer hanging over the edge of the bed, but she is still laying down.
"I don't know what makes it so great," Marissa scoffs as she goes to lay on her side next her girlfriend.
Alex rolls over on her side to face the brunette as she considers the other girl. "Poe once said that the death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetic topic in the world. To tell it from the lips of the bereaved lover is the way best suited to achieve the desired effect," she quietly explains, brushing a stray lock of hair from her girlfriend's face, her fingers lingering on her cheek.
"Better be careful Alexis," Marissa whispers as she looks into the deep blue eyes of the shorter girl.
"Why's that?" She questions, confusion written on her face.
"Because you're bordering on sounding romantic right now," Marissa replies softly.
"Well, we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Alex smiles tenderly.
"Don't want to ruin your reputation," the other girl gamely responds, her voice still low. She leans close enough to brush her nose against Alex's, their lips still not quite touching.
"Poe wanted a 'non-reasoning creature capable of speech' as the central symbol. Why did he choose a raven instead of a parrot, which can actually talk?" Alex questions in hushed tone, trying not to break out into a grin.
Marissa groans in frustration as she reaches over to grab a pillow. She promptly smacks the blonde in the face with it. "You're such a tease," she accuses her.
"The raven symbolized mournful and never-ending remembrance. There are two ravens in Norse mythology that represent thought and memory," Alex begins to explain. "It gets a reputation as being a bad omen in the book of Genesis by-"
"I can't believe you are such a closet bookworm," the brunette interrupts before straddling the other girl and beginning to tickle her sides.
"He was also inspired by 'Grip' from Charles Dickens' Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of- mmph" the bartender tries to continue through her laughter before the rest of her diatribe is muffled out by her girlfriend's lips on her own.
It doesn't take long for Alex to flip their positions so that she is on top, her fingers dancing lightly on the skin just under the hem of the other girl's top. For her part, Marissa has her left hand tangled in the blonde's hair, the other hand on her shoulder to keep her pulled close. Despite their most carnal senses insisting that the only thing they really need right now is each other, the tightening in their chests insists that the need for oxygen rates a little higher on their bodies' list of priorities. They break for air.
For a brief moment, the only sound that can be heard is the sound of their heavy breathing. Alex simply stares at her girlfriend below her, her fingers unconsciously drawing up and down the other girl's abdomen. Marissa trails her right hand down from the blonde's shoulder and down the upper arm before coming to rest on her forearm.
"Alex?" Marissa manages to whisper, her tone signifying something of a desperate plea.
"Are you sure?" The bartender hesitantly inquires, easily understanding the question being asked by her girlfriend's eyes.
"Yes," is the breathy answer. Marissa brings Alex's lips back down to her own to remove any doubt of her sincerity that may remain.
The next time they break their kiss, it's only to remove Alex's shirt.
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The Next Morning
Alex groans as the shrill cry of an alarm clock rings out against the peaceful quiet of the room. She shifts so that she can reach over and beat the offending object into submission. Her objective is hindered by the weight laying across her body. Looking down, a smile graces her face at the sight of her naked girlfriend strewn over her body.
After a moment of the alarm going off, Marissa moans at the sound as she attempts to bury her face in the other girl's shoulder to drown it out. The shift is just enough that Alex is able to stretch enough to turn it off.
"'Riss," Alex prompts in a soothing tone as she reaches up to lightly nudge the brunette awake. "Time to get up for school," she throws in when there is no response.
"Let's skip," Marissa grumbles, perfectly comfortable where she is.
"Do you really want your mother to come in here to wake you up only to find us naked in your bed?" She queries, her same calm tone never changing.
"No," Marissa sighs before lifting up her head and looking her girlfriend in the eye. "Hi," she finally greets the blonde after a moment.
"Hi," Alex repeats, a lazy smile spreading across her face.
"We should get dressed," Marissa astutely observes, making no move to do so.
"Yeah," the blonde agrees, not bothering to move herself.
"Marissa, Sweetie, are you up?!" Julie calls from outside of the room, her hand on the doorknob in case she has to go in and wake up her daughter.
"Yeah Mom!" The girl in question replies, groaning at the interruption.
"Just checking. I'll see you downstairs," the other woman says before her footsteps can be heard making their way down the hall.
Placing a quick kiss on the blonde's lips, Marissa rolls off of her girlfriend before sliding out of the bed. Alex simply watches the taller girl move around the room, perfectly content to blatantly watch her.
"You know, as much as I would enjoy showing up to school with my hot, naked girlfriend, I really don't want to have to share you with the rest of the student body," Marissa states, not-so-subtly suggesting that she gets dressed as well.
"I just have to get my clothes from yesterday back on. I'll have to run by my apartment to get changed before class," Alex explains.
"You can borrow some of my clothes," Marissa offers as she pulls on her jeans.
The blonde pointedly glares into the other girl's closet. "I think not," she replies in reference to the abundance of pink she spots in there.
"Fine, fine. I'll just get a ride from Summer," the other girl rolls her eyes dramatically as the blonde stands up and begins gathering up her clothes that were scattered haphazardly across the room the previous night. Twenty minutes later they are downstairs and entering the kitchen.
"Hey," Marissa greets her mother awkwardly with Alex in tow.
Julie grins brightly. "Good morning Mar…" she trails off as she spots the blonde with a purple streak in her hair. "Oh, I didn't know you had a friend over last night," is the surprised statement. "I'm Julie Cooper-Nichol," she introduces herself to the other girl.
"Alex," the bartender replies, not seeing the point in offering up her entire name like the other woman did.
A look of realization crosses the older woman's face at the name. "Ah, so you're the feisty young lady that Marissa won't stop talking about," at this, the dark-haired girl blushes slightly. "Well, I was just making bagels. I figure that if the Cohen's can do it, why can't we?" She questions rhetorically, going on as if nothing ever happened.
"Uh, none for me thanks. I don't eat breakfast," Alex replies nervously, she shares a sidelong glance with her girlfriend.
"How very 'punk' of you," Julie says, trying to be supportive of whoever her daughter is friends with, ignoring her daughter's glare. "I used to like the punk in my day," she recalls nostalgically.
"Mom," Marissa whines in embarrassment, much to Alex's amusement.
"Oh, you're right Marissa. It still is my day. I was just being modest," Julie chuckles, earning a smile from Alex, much to the younger brunette's chagrin.
The older woman turns at the sound of the bagel popping up in the toaster. "We'll be keeping kosher in no time," Julie further comments.
As Alex is distracted by Julie's attempt at small talk, Marissa takes the opportunity to throw a grape at the blonde. Alex turns and shares a conspiratorial look with the taller girl before pushing Marissa against the counter and attacking her lips with her own as Julie blathers on about the weird weather. Out of the corner of her eye, Marissa notices her mom about to turn around, she gently pushes Alex away.
Julie turns to see the faint smiles on the two girls. She is somewhat confused when she notices her daughter trying not to laugh about something.
"Yeah, I think I have to go, but it was very nice to meet you," Alex politely says.
"Oh," Julie frowns, a small look of disappointment crossing her face. "Rock on," she offers in an attempt to be cool as she raises her fist in the air.
Alex smirks before leaving, her eyes quickly darting over to make contact with her girlfriend's before she leaves.
"Well, she seems nice," the older woman states as the younger Cooper walks over to the refrigerator.
"Uh huh," Marissa chuckles vaguely.
"And you know that I have no problem if you want a friend to stay over, just let me know beforehand," Julie continues on as if Marissa didn't grunt out a response a moment ago.
"Oh, you didn't get the memo?" Is the sarcastic response.
Julie simply rolls her eyes. "You know Marissa, I don't think it's too much to ask to know what's going on underneath my roof is all," she reasonably points out.
"Oh, you wanna know what's going on with me?" The brunette asks with an arched eyebrow. Julie nods slightly. "I'm going to tell you the truth. No screaming. No crying. Just…the truth," she leads in.
"You have no idea how happy that makes me," Julie smiles with relief.
Yeah, you have 'no idea'. Marissa smirks. "Hold that thought…Alex is my girlfriend," she announces, holding her breath as she waits for a response.
"I know, and I'm so happy that you've made a new friend, although I hope you keep seeing Summer-" the clueless older woman begins.
"No, mom. Not my friend who's a girl. She's my girlfriend," Marissa emphasizes and Julie's jaw goes slack. "Yeah…" she trails off, hoping that her mom gets it this time.
"Oh…okay," Julie replies after taking a moment to let it sink in.
"'Okay'? Is that it?" Is the incredulous response.
"That's it. I can see why you like her. She's a very attractive young lady and once the novelty wears off, you'll get over this little phase. I'm sure that this is all just to piss me off and, well…it doesn't. So…'okay'," she explains herself calmly.
Marissa sighs at her mother's belittling of her relationship. "What if it isn't a phase? What if I really am in love with her?" She challenges.
"Oh Marissa, don't be silly," Julie chuckles before turning her attention back to her bagel.
"Ugh!" The younger of the two groans before turning on her heel and walking to the other room to wait for Summer to pick her up. She can't help but think that she should have expected this reaction from her mom.
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This is how I explain Alex spending the night at Marissa's in my OC-verse. They never discussed how they ended up there. Also, I just loved the part of the episode where they made out behind Julie's back so I had to include it. By the way, this isn't the last we've seen of Julie. Not by a long shot. I have big plans for her.
Sorry about lack of a sex scene. After Madison Woke Up Gay (South of Nowhere), I didn't want to write one again.
Chapter Two of Taking Risks and Tempting Fate (House, MD) is now up. It will probably be a little longer than three days before I update them again. I might update again before Monday, but it's unlikely.
You know, it's weird writing Alex now. I've gotten so used to writing Olivia Wilde as Thirteen from House that I feel like I've been making Alex too serious. Maybe I'm imagining things. Anyways, tell me what you think about that and if you liked the "coming out" part or not.