Adora spent a lot of time now wondering how she had ever existed without a phone.
She had spent almost the entire rest of her Monday shooting messages over to Catra. They had originally just made light conversation as they chatted about the fight and their suspension. Then before Adora knew it, it was Monday night and they were still carrying on a conversation.
Angella had been excited that Adora was enjoying the phone so much. Glimmer had asked Adora what she was doing on her phone so much and Adora had quickly whipped up a lie, claiming she was keeping a digital journal. Glimmer bought the excuse and thought it sounded like a cool past time.
Adora made sure not to text Catra when she was around Glimmer anymore. She definitely was going to tell Glimmer about the whole Catra thing, but she wanted to do it when it was a good time.
Catra seemed to be constantly available to talk. Sometimes, Adora would go dead for an hour before responding, but Catra would reply within mere minutes of Adora sending a message.
Now it was Tuesday morning and Adora was, despite still feeling ashamed for getting in trouble, enjoying her 'day off.' She had been watching a lot of YouTube videos on her phone all morning and hadn't left her room except to go to the bathroom and to get cereal.
Glimmer and Angella had left for school and work before she had woken up, and the large house felt extremely empty without them in it. Adora didn't mind the time alone, though.
She took a big bite of cereal, spilling some milk on herself and pushed play on another video. She sighed contentedly and decided that she could get used to this. It was around this time that her phone buzzed and Adora smiled, instantly knowing that it was Catra.
She pulled up the message and read it quickly. 'Are u awake?' it said simply and Adora laughed to herself.
'Yeah I'm discovering YouTube. Good stuff' Adora typed out. She put in a smiley face and then deleted it, deciding against it. She read her message over again and decided it sounded alright before she hit send.
Adora stayed on the messaging screen, staring at the messages and waiting for Catra to respond. She didn't have to wait long for a new message to pop up.
It read: 'You are soooo late to that party. But I'm glad ur enjoying it! Hey so I was thinking. It's our vacation. You don't get suspended everyday. We should take advantage of this!'
Adora cocked her head to one side, wondering what the girl was talking about.
'WDYM?' she replied.
There was a minute of nothing and then Catra responded. 'What in the world does that mean?'
Adora scoffed and texted back quickly. 'It's slang for what do you mean. I looked it up.'
'I'm gonna pretend u didn't do that. Anyway. How open would you be to leaving the house?' Catra's response read.
Adora was surprised at the question and thought about it for a bit. She didn't know if Angella would be fine with her leaving or not. But then again, her foster mother hadn't told her not to leave the house. Plus she had already finished all of her homework for yesterday and today.
'I'm listening' she texted back, excitedly.
This time, she received a response within a few seconds. 'Good. Get ready. 10 minutes till vacation kicks off for real.'
Adora was confused by the cryptic message. How was she supposed to get to Catra? What were they actually doing? Adora almost asked, but decided to leave it up to Catra and just lean into the randomness of it all.
She then realized the jerk had only given her ten minutes to get ready. She scrambled out of bed and rooted through her closet, cursing herself for having so many t-shirts that didn't fit her. She eventually found a shirt that fit and changed quickly, only now realizing the milk she had spilled on herself.
She groaned and threw her dirty shirt in a bin in the corner. She changed into the shirt and some athletic leggings and then ran into Glimmer's room to use her full-body mirror. She looked herself over and decided it would do for the time she was given. She rushed to the bathroom and quickly brushed her teeth and put on deodorant and tied her hair back.
She was about to leave the bathroom when she spotted a bottle of perfume in one of the drawers. She eyed the perfume indecisively.
"Is this a perfume event or a non-perfume event?" Adora questioned. She had no idea, but figured that smelling extra good couldn't hurt. She snatched up the bottle quickly and, in her haste, accidentally tipped the bottle, spilling perfume all over her arms.
Adora gasped loudly and stood there stunned for a bit, before grumbling under her breath and quickly cleaning up the mess. She washed her arms off, but soon noticed to her dismay that as hard as she scrubbed, she couldn't get the intense flower smell off of her skin.
"What is this stuff!" Adora yelled in frustration, scrubbing at her arm furiously and cursing Catra for rushing her.
She was still trying to get the smell out when she heard the doorbell ring.
"For the love of…" Adora growled as she gave up on the perfume debacle and sped back to her room. She grabbed her wallet and her house key and crammed them into her pockets. She hastily grabbed her favorite hoodie and shrugged it on, hoping it would cover up her overwhelming aroma.
The doorbell rang again and Adora sighed. "I'm coming!" She yelled loudly and looked around the room, making sure she had everything.
"Alright," she said to herself. "Good to go. Wish me luck, Shakira!" She waved goodbye to the poster of Shakira smiling down at her and hurried out of her room and down the stairs, throwing on her sneakers quickly.
She flung open the door and saw Catra going to press the doorbell again. "Do not! Ring! The doorbell again!" She exclaimed, exasperated, and Catra retracted her hand.
She was wearing a tight, black, leather jacket and black skinny jeans with dark red converse. A pair of shades rested on her hair, which she had attempted to control again, brushing it back mostly behind her head. She looked good and Adora could tell that she clearly had much more time to prepare.
"Well nice to see you too," Catra said jokingly, stepping back from the doorbell with her hands raised in surrender.
Adora noticed Catra looking her over and felt a gnawing anxiousness, wondering if she looked bad. Adora was quickly relieved as Catra smiled warmly at her.
She started to speak, but then Adora saw the girl crinkle her nose and sniff at the air a little and Adora immediately knew why.
"Did you put on some kind of perfume?" She asked, raising her eyebrows questioningly.
Adora thought about denying it, but soon realized that it was too late. She exhaled slowly. "I may have had a small problem with the whole…application part of the perfume."
Catra's face slowly morphed into a wide, toothy smile, and then she began to laugh violently.
"I…hey it's not my fault!" Adora exclaimed in protest as Catra continued to laugh. "The cap was faulty and you gave me like no time!"
"You…" Catra managed to choke out in between her fits of laughter, "You smell like an arboretum!"
Adora scoffed at the remark and this just made Catra laugh harder. Adora couldn't help but smile as she watched the girl fall apart on her front porch. It was good to see her happy. And she had a rich, throaty laugh that Adora had learned she loved the sound of.
Catra finally wheezed to a halt and managed to get her wits about her.
"Are you done?" Adora asked with a mocking smile.
Catra sighed deeply. "For now. But, like, wow. I don't know if I'll be able to sit in the car with you! Maybe if I roll down the windows." Catra said snarkily.
"Oh it's not that bad," Adora said, not entirely believing her own statement. "Did you say car?"
"Ta-da!" Catra said and gestured to a large minivan behind her, parked crookedly in the driveway.
"Is that your car?" Adora asked.
"Nah it's my dad's. But he's on a work trip 'til Thursday so for now…it's mine," Catra said with a satisfied look and put her hands on her hips.
Adora chuckled. "Well congratulations. Where are we going?"
"I have some ideas," Catra responded cryptically before strutting off towards the car.
Adora quickly locked the front door behind her and followed Catra to the car, hopping into the passenger seat. "This is a big car," she realized, looking back at all the seating.
"Yeah my dad got it so he could bus his soccer team around," Catra explained and turned the car on.
"Your dad has a soccer team?" Adora questioned.
"Oh he coaches a local youth team. He's like a cliche soccer dad. It's pretty embarrassing." Catra complained.
"I think it sounds sweet," Adora replied. "Maybe that's why Angella likes him so much," Adora said, elbowing Catra with a sly grin.
"Aw man you said you'd stop with that!" Catra whined. "That's so gross. I don't wanna think of my dad having normal human emotions."
Adora laughed. "Well I think they'd be a cute pair," she said matter-of-factly.
Catra grumbled something to herself and quickly pulled out of the driveway. Adora was jolted as Catra hit the brakes suddenly, but not before knocking over a trash can on the neighbor's curb.
"Oops," Catra said nonchalantly, eyeing the trash she had spilled over their lawn and beginning to drive away.
"You're just gonna leave that?" Adora asked, bewildered.
"I mean sure," Catra said as she pulled away. She looked over and grinned at Adora's expression. "Look I don't wanna go picking up someone else's trash on my day off. Besides you that is," Catra leered.
Adora gasped and Catra chuckled maniacally. "Where are we even going?" Adora asked, frowning back at the mess they had made as they drove away.
"Patience is a virtue, Adora," Catra said mysteriously and turned out of their neighborhood onto the main road that wound through a lot of Etheria.
Adora scowled, but honestly she enjoyed the element of surprise. This day had quickly become a lot more than she had anticipated. She watched Catra drive, the sun gleaming off of her shades. A resting, eager smile lingered on her lips.
Adora also noticed that Catra wasn't using her turn signals at all. "Do you drive a lot?" Adora asked innocently.
"Oh you know," she said casually, "when I get the chance. I don't have, like, my own car yet so I just steal dad's."
Adora nodded to herself. "Cool. Yeah me and my foster mom have been talking about starting me driving. It'd be nice to learn. When did you get your license?"
"Uuuhhhmm," Catra said slowly, scratching her chin. "You know…it's less about having the actual license and more about having the skills required."
Adora stared at the girl blankly. "Catra you do have your license, right?"
Catra inhaled slowly, struggling to figure out how to respond. "I do have…a license," she eventually said unconvincingly.
"Is it a learner's permit?" Adora asked bluntly.
"Yes it is," Catra admitted quickly.
"Oh man," Adora said, rubbing her brow. "You are illegal right now. And on top of that you're probably gonna crash and kill us both."
"Woah, woah, woah," Catra said in an attempt to ease Adora. "I really do have skills! Just not…you know…officially licensed skills."
"You did a hit and run on a trash can the second we pulled out!" Adora exclaimed.
"Well alright I blame the neighbors for that. That trash can was waaay too far out," Catra said, shaking her head.
"What if you get pulled over?" Adora asked nervously.
"Pshh," Catra responded carelessly. "Lesson one of riding with Catra is that Catra don't get pulled over."
Adora rolled her eyes, smiling regardless. "Well we'll see I guess. What's lesson two?"
Catra adjusted her shades. "Catra don't mess around with no trash cans," she said in a gruff voice.
Adora snorted and ensured for the tenth time that her seat belt was fastened. "Alright, I'm gonna trust you, but only if lesson three is to actually use your turn signal."
"My what?" Catra responded. Adora's eyes went wide and she stared slack-jawed at her driver. Catra looked over and saw her face and laughed to herself. "I'm just screwin' with you," she said, flashing her sharp canines in a content grin.
"You're the worst," Adora groaned.
"Oh I know," Catra joyfully agreed, and pulled off of the main road, turning down a side street that Adora had never been down before.
"Are you gonna take me off into the woods and murder me?" Adora asked facetiously.
"Eh. We'll see what happens," Catra said mischievously.
Adora sat back in her seat and wondered about where they were going. She also thought about how crazy it was that this was even happening. She was currently suspended. For getting in a fight. And now she was out with Catra, the girl she had been trying to utterly avoid several weeks ago.
Adora also wasn't sure where her and Catra stood. Were they friends? Did Catra want to be more than that? Did Adora want that to happen?
The entire situation was filled with strong emotions and a lot of unknowns, two things that always managed to stress Adora out. So far, she had been putting these questions on a back burner. She figured that things would play out how they would and she wouldn't have to fret about it too much.
But now things were different. They were becoming more real. Adora felt more strongly. These questions were starting to become inevitable. And after talking to Bow, and doing some Googling of her own, Adora was pretty sure that Catra was up to something.
But then again, Adora hadn't known Catra for all that long. Maybe this was just how she treated her friends. After all, Scorpia and her were very close.
But there was something about her. The way she reacted when Adora would get close. Her stares that Adora would sometimes notice.
And then there was the fight on Friday. Catra had been so angry. So protective.
Adora bit her lip painfully and decided that these questions could wait at least a little longer. If she worried about it now she'd have a hard time enjoying whatever they were going to do.
"I'll talk to Bow sometime," Adora promised herself and pushed the thoughts from her head. She realized she was getting a slight headache and figured that it was probably the perfume wafting off of her. She smelled like a Sephora.
Adora cracked the window and Catra looked over. "Thank you," Catra said graciously. "I wasn't gonna say anything, but I was suffocating over here."
"Oh you drama queen," Adora rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad."
Adora paused and slowly brought her arm up to her nose. "Okay it's pretty bad," she admitted.
Catra chuckled. "Oh hey, we're coming up on stop one of Adora's day off! Close your eyes!" Catra said excitedly, wiggling in her seat.
"Stop one?" Adora asked as she slowly covered her eyes with her hands.
Catra didn't reply to her query and Adora felt the car make a rough turn. They drove a bit more before the car lurched to a halt and Catra turned off the car.
"Okay, you ready?" Catra asked, her voice full of anticipation.
"Yeah I'm ready," Adora said excitedly, hands still cupped over her eyes.
"Open!" Catra exclaimed and Adora removed her hands.
She instantly took in the surroundings outside of the car. They were parked outside of a big building in a strip mall. The sign was lit up with purple neon lights that read: 'Etheria Roller Rink'.
Adora's face slowly morphed into a wide grin. "Wow. We're roller skating?" Adora asked with a small laugh.
"That we are," she replied proudly, enjoying the look of excitement on Adora's face. Catra mentally high-fived herself for coming up with this idea. It had only taken a whole night of sleepless contemplation about what Adora would like.
"Worth it," Catra thought as Adora looked at her thankfully.
"And I have some pull around here so we can totally get in for free," Catra boasted and slid her shades up onto her head.
"I can't let you in for free again," the young man at the front desk said regrettably, looking down at the two girls in front of him.
"Aww c'mon Clancy," Catra whined. "What's stopping you?"
Adora looked between the two, staying silent and wondering how they knew each other. The guy working the front desk, Clancy, rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"Oh I don't know, Catra. Maybe the rules? And my boss?" He responded, exasperated.
Catra scoffed and leaned forward against the counter. "Yeah we both know Liz won't find out. Plus, screw the rules! We used to let all our friends in for free!"
Clancy considered this for a moment, his brow furrowing in thought.
"Just this once?" Catra asked, making puppy dog eyes at the man. "For old time's sake?"
Clancy frowned defeatedly and slowly nodded. "Okay fine. There's like nobody here anyway. But if I get in trouble for this…"
"I know, I know," Catra said dismissively. "You'll be fine ya big baby."
Clancy smiled wryly and waved the pair past him into the rink. Adora followed closely behind Catra, looking around at all of the flashing lights. The place was huge. Techno music was playing loudly over the speakers and it was all dark except for flashing neon lights that were placed around the ceiling and walls.
Adora had been roller skating once when she was really young. She had been invited to a birthday party and had spent the whole time falling down. Despite the countless bruises she had gotten that day, she had enjoyed herself. She just hoped that her skating had improved over time.
She followed Catra as they made their way towards the place where you get your skates. "Hey how'd you know that guy anyway?" Adora asked Catra, raising her voice so that she could be heard over the music.
Catra looked back at her. "Oh I worked here last summer. It sucked, but as far as jobs go, I guess it was alright. And Clancy still lets me in whenever I want."
"It sounded like this was the last time though," Adora pointed out.
Catra laughed. "He says it's the last time everytime."
The pair made it to the shoe rack and grabbed their sizes out of the cubbies. The girls sat next to one another on a bench and began putting on the skates.
"So…you're probably pretty good at the whole skating thing if you worked here," Adora reasoned.
"Well I don't mean to brag, but I won the annual employee skate-off by a longshot so I'm kind of a legend," Catra said unabashedly as she tied her skates on.
"Wow," Adora said, surprised. "Well I have significantly less practice with this so we'll see how it goes."
Catra looked over at Adora reassuringly. "Well I'll make sure you don't wipe out too hard," she said with a smirk.
"I hope so," Adora said under her breath as she finished getting her skates on and looked down at her feet.
Catra stood up and reached a hand down to Adora. "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Adora answered and grabbed Catra's outstretched arm, lifting herself up off of the bench. They were on a carpeted area currently and the traction was good enough so that they weren't sliding yet. Adora still struggled a little as she stood up and tried to get used to the unfamiliar weight attached to her feet.
Catra chuckled as she watched Adora clomp around haphazardly. "This was definitely a good idea," Catra reaffirmed to herself.
Adora heard Catra's laugh and shot a look at the girl. "Hey this is gonna have to be a judgment-free zone," she said, wobbling around a little trying to find her balance.
Catra held her arms up innocently. "No judgment here. Just enjoying your little dance."
Adora's face reddened a bit and Catra scooted over next to her. "Okay, okay. I promise that I will not judge you for your ability to roller skate. We'll start slow," she promised and guided Adora out to one of the entryways to the rink.
It was mid-morning on a Tuesday so there was nobody in the entire place except for a few older people. Adora was relieved at this, and felt better that there were less people to see her hobble around.
Adora stopped at the spot where the carpet ended and the rink began and Catra stood beside her.
"See it's kinda like walking," Catra said trying to explain it to Adora. "Except it's like totally different."
"Well that helps. You're a great teacher," Adora droned sarcastically, eyeing the rink in front of her.
"You really just gotta try it," Catra urged the girl. "Do you, uh…I mean you could hold onto my hand if you wanted." Catra tried to say it as nonchalantly as possible, attempting to hide the fact that she had replayed this about a million times in her head the night before.
"Let me try it on my own first," Adora said, building her confidence and slowly starting to step off of the carpet.
As her right foot hit the rink, it slid out a little and Adora caught herself quickly. She steadied herself and put her other foot onto the rink. She grasped the barrier that surrounded the rink and and stood completely still.
"I'm doing it," Adora said in a strained voice, trying not to move and sweating slightly.
Catra laughed. "Yeah you're a regular pro! Skating is one of those things that gets easier when you just kick off and go for it. Like riding a bike!"
"I suck at riding bikes," Adora said nervously as she clutched the side wall.
"Well then nevermind that," Catra muttered. "Just try and kick off."
Adora nodded and steadied her legs, cursing herself for her lack of balance. Then, she pushed off from the wall and rolled out further onto the rink. She laughed in exhilaration as she felt herself glide forward. Catra clapped and cheered beside her. Adora grinned widely as she drifted. Her ancient muscle memory told her to step forward to propel herself ahead.
Her muscle memory was wrong.
Adora stepped out and instantly was thrown off balance. Her right leg flew out from under her and she toppled over backwards. She came down hard, landing on her rear, and sat there stunned for a minute.
Catra was upon her a split second after it happened. She rolled over and knelt down next to Adora. "Are you okay?" She asked, looking her over concernedly.
"Yeah I'm fine," Adora replied, rubbing her lower back. "But I'm starting to think I haven't improved since the last time I did this."
Catra looked down at the girl as she rolled her skates around on the ground helplessly. She offered her hand once again to Adora. Adora looked up and saw Catra, arm outstretched, looking at her in a curious way. The reflection of neon lights danced in her wild eyes.
Adora exhaled softly at the sight of the girl and temporarily lost her fear of falling down again. She quickly grasped Catra's hand and pulled herself up. She immediately began to fall again, but this time in her fear, she latched out and grabbed onto Catra's arm. She steadied herself, using Catra as an anchor.
Catra's heart began to beat quickly and she hoped that Adora couldn't feel the goosebumps that Adora had given her when she had grabbed her. She savored the feeling of Adora being wrapped around her arm, clutching it tightly. For a moment, Catra pondered how nice it would be if Adora was holding on to her because she wanted to and not out of fear of toppling over.
Catra shook herself out of her daze and realized Adora was steady, but was watching her feet closely and struggling to stay upright. "Adora," she said softly, and Adora turned to look at her. "Just follow my lead."
Adora nodded slowly, but maintained her death grip on Catra's arm. Catra began to slowly push forward with her skates. It was harder propelling the weight of two people, but Catra managed to slowly make her way forward, Adora hanging on to her and sliding along with her.
Catra slowly began to pick up speed and got to a steady pace. She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw the white flash of Adora's smile. She seemed to be enjoying the skating now that she was moving and had something to hold onto. She loosened her grip on Catra's arm slightly as she began to ease into the movement.
Catra stayed at a constant pace for a while as they slowly made their way around the oval-shaped rink.
"Is it okay that I've stolen your arm?" Adora asked as Catra pushed the pair of them forward.
"It's all yours," Catra said with a smile as they completed a lap of the rink. Catra continued to drift along with Adora in tow. "You wanna pick up the pace a little?"
Adora bit her lip nervously. She squeezed Catra's arm a little tighter before nodding in affirmation. Catra could hear her heart pounding in her ears as Adora held onto her and she began to pump her legs rhythmically. Adora threw off her balance a bit, but she was able to quickly speed up and soon they were moving quickly around the rink. Adora was just coasting at this point, her wheels flat on the ground beneath her, following Catra's path.
Catra heard the sweet sound of Adora's bubbling laughter as they increased speed and turned a corner. Catra wondered how much of this cuteness she could take and they did a few more laps at this quickened speed.
"This is fun!" Adora exclaimed as they glided around and around.
"I definitely agree," Catra said with a grin. "Did you wanna try skating on your own again?"
Adora thought about it for a bit. "I guess I could try," she said unconvincingly.
"Hey I got no problem if you wanna keep doing this," Catra answered honestly.
"I wanna learn how though. That way I can get real good and we can have skate-offs."
"Ha! Or you could get real good and we could join a roller derby team. You have the muscle for it," Catra remarked and began to slow down their pace.
Adora smiled to herself at the thought of them on a roller derby team. And she liked when Catra complimented her strength.
"Okay you can unhook whenever you feel ready," Catra told her.
Adora focused on trying to match her steps with Catra's. She waited until they were on a straight stretch and cautiously let go of Catra's arm. Catra stayed close, turning around and skating backwards as she watched Adora drift along.
"How. Are. You. Skating. Backwards?" Adora asked through gritted teeth as she tried to focus on her movements.
Catra just laughed and did a small twirl, showing off her skating finesse. Adora just tried not to fall and break her face. She slowly began rolling her feet forward rhythmically like Catra had done. She watched in surprise as she began to push herself forward.
"I'm skating!" Adora yelled in success.
"Yeah you're doing really good," Catra said looking her over. Adora's confidence soared and as she approached the curve in the rink, she began angling her feet and slowly turning.
"Hey look at…" Adora started to say, before she began to slip and fall backwards. Catra slid in the moment she noticed and grabbed Adora by the back before she could topple over.
"Woah!" Adora said, breathing heavily. "Thanks."
"Just call me your skate angel," Catra said with a grin. "And if you ever need the arm again, it's here waiting for you."
Adora looked at Catra thankfully and began to get in her rhythm again. By the time they reached the next curve, Adora was able to swing around it with no problem.
"Hey you're getting the hang of it!" Catra said, impressed. "You mind if I free skate for a little? I miss the rush."
Adora chuckled. "Go ahead. But if you abandon me and I fall, I'm gonna be mad!"
"I'll keep an eye on you," Catra said slowly. Adora saw a familiar look in Catra's eyes. That almost predatory stare. It was similar to when they had first met and Catra had toyed around with her, except it was different now. It was more protective. And more gentle. Adora felt a tingle jolt through her body and she was surprised at the sudden feeling.
Adora watched as Catra swirled around and began to skate away. She was able to gain speed much quicker on her own, and soon she was practically flying around the rink. Her hair blew back behind her and she gritted her teeth as she raced around the turns. Adora found it hard to focus on her own skating when she was watching Catra, but it was hard to look away.
Adora decided that while Catra wasn't the most inclined when it came to weightlifting or strength, she had a lot of balance and grace. She glided past Adora, shooting her a sly grin. Adora watched as she did a small loop and spun around quickly. She began to weave around and do rapid turns and all manner of skate tricks that Adora hadn't even known were possible.
Adora was just coasting at this point and watching Catra move, her legs pumping and propelling her around the rink. Adora sighed as she watched the girl and her mind filled up with thoughts she had been trying to keep under control.
"Well I'm gonna be bruised and sore for a while, but it was worth it," Adora said as she settled back into Catra's dad's car. The girls had skated for another hour or so and Adora had started to get the hang of it. Catra had helped a lot and had saved her from falling several times.
"Definitely worth it to see you floundering around," Catra cackled.
"Hey I got better!" Adora whined and playfully hit Catra.
"Yeah, honestly, you did pretty good there at the end. My little skater girl grew up so fast." Catra wiped a fake tear from her eye.
"Well I'll take that as a compliment," Adora said as Catra began to pull out of the parking space. "So you said there was more than one stop on this 'vacation?'"
"Heck yeah," Catra said proudly. "Stop two isn't too far from here. You hungry?"
"Very," Adora said, having worked up quite an appetite from all that skating.
"Do you have any allergies?" Catra wondered aloud, realizing she had never asked.
"Nope. Immune to all food. And bees," Adora added this last part snidely and Catra grimaced.
"Oh man I forgot I told you that."
Adora smiled proudly. "I know your greatest weakness," she said arrogantly.
"Well I wouldn't say it's my greatest weakness, but it's certainly embarrassing," Catra grumbled.
"Well I think it's cute," Adora said.
Catra raised her eyebrows. "Well that's a new take on it. And I don't mind it at all."
The pair continued to talk as Catra drove. Before long, Catra slowed down and made a turn, using her turn signal now. Adora cocked her head as they turned down an unmarked dirt road that led off into what looked like corn fields.
"You know," Adora said slowly, looking around at the fields surrounding them, "this is the part where you'd kill me and dump my body."
"Well shoot, you figured it out I guess," Catra joked. "I hope you understand. I just couldn't have you showing me up like that in weights all the time. I got a reputation."
Adora scoffed. "I don't know what's more unbelievable. That you'd actually kill me or that you have a reputation."
"Oh dang," Catra said reverently. "That was a good one."
"But really though, I thought you said we were going somewhere to eat?" Adora questioned.
"Did I say that?" Catra asked playfully. "Oh hey close your eyes again."
Adora smiled and put her hands over her face. "Yeah this is getting more serial killer-y by the second."
Catra pulled over to the side of the road. "Okay keep your eyes closed," she advised and Adora heard her hop out of the car. She heard the trunk open and close before Catra ran over and opened Adora's door.
"Can I help you down?" Catra asked politely.
Adora grinned goofily. "Okay but don't let me hit something," she said as she stepped out of the car, eyes shut tight.
It was a pretty warm day and the sun felt good on Adora's skin. Her hair tossed around in the light breeze and she felt Catra gingerly loop her arm around her own.
Catra took a moment to take in the sight of Adora before leading them both down the road a bit and then off of the road through a patch of grass.
"Where in the world…" Adora muttered as they continued to walk.
Catra laughed. "Yeah okay I get that this seems a little weird from your point of view, er, I guess your lack of point of view."
"You're so funny," Adora said sarcastically and Catra chuckled.
They walked up a slight incline and Catra made sure that Adora didn't trip on anything. Finally they got to the top of a small hill and Catra led Adora to a flat part on the top. Catra surveyed the view and smiled.
"You can open now," she said softly.
Adora opened her eyes and muttered a quiet 'wow.' Her and Catra were on a grassy hill covered in fall leaves from the big tree that stood behind them and shielded them from the sun. Looking out from the top of the hill, Adora saw an endless expanse of sunflowers. There must have been thousands, all beaming a bright yellow. They stretched off into the horizon and seemed to grow wildly here.
It was beautiful. Adora looked over to Catra, who was staring at her and smiling. "Not too shabby for some flowers, huh?" Catra asked.
Adora shook her head. "It's beautiful," she said in awe.
"So are you," Catra thought instantly. She almost said it, but managed not to let it slip. She couldn't make a solid move until she was definite that it would work out.
Catra just agreed and looked out at the massive field. She put down the basket she was carrying and began to unwrap a blanket.
Adora noticed what she was doing and smiled widely. "A picnic? We're having a genuine picnic out here?"
"Yeah is that alright?" Catra asked.
"That sounds amazing," Adora said joyfully. "Let me help you with that blanket you're getting it all tangled."
They set up the blanket together and laid back on it, facing the field. "You know, maybe now that we're in an actual field of flowers, your overwhelming floral scent will seem more natural," Catra said with a childish giggle.
"Oh shush," Adora said hastily.
Catra began to rummage around in the basket she had brought and pulled out a bunch of bags of sandwiches, throwing them onto the blanket. "Okay I didn't know what you liked so I made ham and turkey and bologna and then some are on white bread and some on wheat. Oh and I cut all the crusts off cuz I figured nobody likes those."
"Wh…when did you have time to make all this?" Adora asked in awe.
"This morning," Catra answered nonchalantly.
"So...if I had said I couldn't hang out today…"
"Yeah I would've had to eat a loooot of sandwiches on my own. But luckily you're here," Catra said with a grin.
"Luckily I am," she replied, picking up a bag of sandwiches labeled 'turkey' and pulling one out. "Hey thanks for doing all this," Adora said sincerely. "Like this day has been so nice."
"Well I figured we deserved it after last Friday and all. Your face is looking good by the way!" Catra said as she took a bite of her sandwich.
Adora raised an eyebrow and Catra coughed, almost losing her sandwich in the process. "Like your face scar!" She clarified quickly. "Your cut. It's…it's healing nicely. It looks good. Healthy, I mean."
Adora's face scrunched up into a facetious smile and she began to laugh as she choked her food down. Catra just shook her head slowly at the girl.
They spent several more hours at the top of the hill. They stared out at the field a lot, but more often they stared at one another as they chatted and ate. The day flew and by the time Adora remembered to look at her phone she realized how much time they had spent up here.
"Oh man I gotta get home," Adora said looking at the time.
"Well you could…or we could go to my place and hang out. My dad's out of town so we'd have the whole place," Catra said excitedly.
"That sounds fun," Adora said slowly. "But I gotta get back before Glimmer does. Otherwise, she'll wonder where I've been."
Catra deflated visibly at this answer. "Well what if you just told her you were out with a friend?" Catra cringed a little at her own use of the word friend, not wanting to friend-zone herself, but Adora didn't seem to notice.
"She'd wanna know who it was," Adora said dismissively.
"Well just tell her it was me," Catra said plainly.
Adora looked up at the girl to ensure that she was being serious, and saw that Catra had definitely meant it. Adora sighed. "It's not that easy. I mean I can't just be like, 'oh hey by the way I spent all day with literally the one person you told me to avoid.'"
"Why not!?" Catra questioned. "Why should we have to change what we do because Glimmer is too stubborn to change?"
Adora frowned slightly. "She's not…I don't know. I just don't want her to be mad."
"Well you're gonna have to tell her eventually," Catra said bluntly. "We can't just sneak around forever. Man I can't believe it's been years and Glimmer is still managing to mess things up for me."
"She's not messing things up. It's my fault. I just haven't been able to tell her." Catra could hear the guilt in Adora's voice and realized it had been on her mind for a while now.
"Well don't blame yourself," Catra insisted and scooted closer to Adora on the blanket. "Look you can tell her when you're ready. It doesn't have to be today. And I'll even help if you want me to."
Adora nodded to herself and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Yeah that sounds good. I'll find a good time to let her know."
"And hey maybe she'll be super chill about it," Catra considered, lying back and propping herself up on her elbows.
"Maybe," Adora replied hopefully. "I do hate to go though."
"Well this just means we'll have to hang out again sometime soon to make up for it," Catra said as she picked a blade of grass apart meticulously.
"You know, that sounds really nice," Adora agreed, and the pair looked out at the field of sunflowers for a while longer before they slowly packed up their things and drove off together.
It's getting reeaaaall now! Things are happening slowly but surely. This was a super fun chapter to write. Adora slowly realizing she's falling for Catra. While also falling during skating. Classic. I love where it's going. We got some new characters coming up. I think one in the next chapter and then several I'm very excited about in the near future! But none of it will distract too much from this adorable Catradora content so don't worry. Thanks for reading and saying such nice things! Love the support and I hope you all have a great day!