a/n: hi all,

Here's a mid-week diddy to get us to the weekend. Enjoy!

Cheers,

EQT.95

Kate found herself walking into a small, drabby looking bar that would make even the dingiest English pubs seem like poppin clubs. She double checked the information in the text to confirm she was at the right location when a burst of laughter turned her attention toward the back of the space. The bartender simply nodded at her as she made her way past the only other two patrons in the space - both posted up at the bar and drinking something much harder than beer.

The glow of a space beyond contrasted severely with the dimly lit space she was in, and she hesitated for a moment when a door to her right opened and she ran into Sarah.

"You made it!" she called, wiping her hands onto her pants before pulling Kate into a hug. The gesture felt far too friendly for the few conversations they'd shared, and a part of Kate wondered if she'd made the right choice to stop by.

"What are you drinking?" Sarah asked.

"Uh… whatever," Kate said, doubting the range behind the bar included anything that met her preferences.

She felt Sarah pull her back out to the bar where an order was placed and shortly after a cold beer was set in front of her. In not time at all, she was pulled back from where they came from, this time crossing the threshold into the brightly lit room. Inside were three other women - two of which Kate had become acquainted with the other night.

"Everyone, meet Kate, Kate meet everyone," Sarah introduced.

"We've already met," Peyton clarified, raising her hand in a wave.

"Same," Jessica smiled. "But only in face; I'm Jess."

"And since Sarah is shit at this, let me help you out: I'm Rory," said the third, lifting her hand from the far side of the room.

"How do you know them?" Sarah asked in obvious annoyance.

"Remember when you bailed last weekend?" Peyton shot back with a glare. "When you left me with Alex to lose at pool?"

"Oh… I hadn't made the connection. Ask Jess next time. She's the real shark," Sarah grinned, taking a seat next to Jess.

"Mm nope, we don't play together anymore," Jessica chimed in. "Not after…"

"Are you still sore about that?" Rory asked Peyton who was scowling in embarrassment. "It was one time."

"And they weren't even your worst set of panties," Jessica grinned.

"Strip pool," Sarah explained quickly. "But don't worry, it wasn't a group thing, if that's what you're thinking."

"I wasn't, but thanks for clarifying," Kate said, finding room next to Rory to sit. "Uh, so what, are you all fourth years?" Kate asked, trying to distinguish the faces from the blurred memories of the semester before. Even though Peyton and Jess were at the bar, that didn't confirm anything.

"Everyone but Sarah," Peyton said.

"Right, right, I knew that," Kate said, shaking her head at the mistake. "You're in the training sessions."

"That's where you came from before this, right?" Rory asked.

"Uh, yea," Kate said.

"You shower?" Jess asked, a smirk playing on her face.

"Y-yes… why?"

"Because your hair is frozen," Sarah chuckled, swiping her hands over the bristly tips.

"I can't imagine how you're doing it," Rory noted. "The hours are insane. Reyes has rewritten the levels of hell for you."

"It's not so bad. Sometimes I wish the cadets were a bit more…"

"Committed?" Peyton offered.

"Capable?" Jess interjected.

"Intelligent?" Rory added.

"I'm right here, you guys," Sarah scoffed, earning a round of laughter. "Beside, it's not my fault. I'm flat-foo-"

"Flat-footed, we know. You know who else is flat-footed? 25% of the population," Rory shot back.

"Peyton included," Jess added.

"And even so, it doesn't explain your piss-poor hand-eye coordination," Peyton said.

"Or your marksmanship," Kate chimed in. Sarah's face fell in defeat and betrayal as the other four broke into fits of laughter.

"But really, we're all impressed," Rory continued after a moment.

"We?"

"I'm in the scholars program. What I don't understand though, is how Reyes can make you do this. It isn't exactly in his jurisdiction to assign you this work. You aren't a scholar."

"Right," Kate said, "It… well it's a bit nuanced."

"We've got time," Rory replied.

"And booze," Jess added with a wink.

"in shin shorts offered a scholarship and turned down."

"You what?" Peyton gaped.

"I didn't need the money, and-"

"Is this where you tell us your parents are millionaires who have made all their money in unsanctioned weapons trades?" Jess asked.

"Oh, better yet, are you distantly related to the queen?" Sarah offered.

"Really, Sarah?"

"What? She looks regal enough to pull it off."

"Uh, no, no, uh, I mean… my family has money, but not for any of those reasons."

"Where are you from again?" Jess asked.

"Gotham."

"Kane, right?"

"Yes…" Kate admitted.

"Can I google you later?" Jess continued.

"I don't really think you need to ask permission," Kate replied, "but sure, knock yourself out."

"Already did," Rory chimed in, her nose in her phone. "Holy shit, you're loaded."

"How rich?" Sarah asked.

"You're a billionaire?" Rory gaped.

"Like with a 'b' or a 'm'?" Sarah pressed.

"Does it even matter once you hit the '-illionaire' status?" Jess asked.

"It's not all mine. That's the… the family net worth," Kate tried to explain lamely.

"Ok, so you could basically buy this school." Jess waved away, shooting Sarah a quick glare to quiet her. "But how are you still under Reyes' thumb? Is this because of last semester?"

"No, no… well… no, I don't think so," Kate said. "The argument he used is that even though I turned the offer down, the Academy - specifically Reyes - considers my status as still one of a scholar."

"Well that's some bullshit," Peyton said. "You're working ten times harder than any scholar and you're paying them to boot."

"It'll look good on my resume," Kate defended cryptically.

"Spoken like a rich ivy-league schoolgirl," Rory interjected.

"Be nice," Jess scowled.

"How'd you all find each other?" Kate asked, trying to reorient the conversation back toward something lighter.

Peyton let out a small chuckle. "The same way all lesbians find each other, obviously: once a year we gather in the woods for the annual discovery bonfire."

Kate shook her head more at herself than at Peyton's sardonic response.

"I didn't… I was mostly asking how you all managed to become… friends? Not that I'm against it or anything, but I've never known a monthly get together like this."

"We're kind of the unofficial LGBTQ group on campus," Jess clarified. "The friendship thing is pure coincidence; it helps that we're all pretty awesome in our own right, though," she added with a wink.

"And it's weekly," Peyton said.

"Weekly? These are weekly gatherings?" Kate asked in surprise.

"Attendance is mandatory to keep your position," Sarah smirked.

"Every week? No, no, I can't. I have-"

"Yea, yea, you have the plebes, studies, sleep, and that girl you're trying to get over," Peyton interrupted.

"Excuse me?" Kate choked on her beer, her cheeks erupting with shock. Sarah's unsolicited commentary had suggested enough for her to quickly deduce that she was in familiar company, but she wasn't prepared for this kind of conversation.

"Oh, sorry, was that off the mark? Is it the sleeping or the studies that were wrong?" Peyton teased.

"Be nice," Sarah chastised with a scowl of disapproval.

"Hey, you were the one who wouldn't shut up about it last term," Peyton retorted, surrendering responsibility.

"Last term?" Kate asked, relaxing slightly. If they thought she was secretly dating Chelsea, that would be easy enough to dismiss but if-

"Only because I wasn't here in the spring," Sarah remarked, reigniting Kate's worry. "Maybe if you had let me in the group earlier I could have gotten it out of my system sooner."

"Nope, no second years," Peyton interrupted.

"You made an exception for Kate," Sarah complained grumpily.

"Only because V couldn't keep it in her pants," Rory said, with a knowing look. The remaining members of the group tried but failed to conceal similar glances. "And I believe it was you who invited her here tonight," she continued, directing a scowl at Sarah.

"Uh, look, I can go," Kate said, beginning to feel a creeping sensation of discomfort.

"No, no, the seal has been broken. You're in," Rory said easily, overruling the conversation.

"Where is Nicky by the way?" Peyton interrupted.

"Ronnie had to finish up a paper. Said she'd be late," Jess clarified.

"She's missing out on all the fun," Rory replied.

"That's our Ver," Sarah added before they all broke into laughter.

"Sorry, who are we talking about? I thought V was the only one missing," Kate asked, trying to keep track of all the names.

"Yea, that's who we're talking about," Sarah explained as the laughter died.

When Kate's look of confusion didn't fade, Jess jumped into the story:

"Veronica, or V as she's so adorably told you, hates her name," she began. "So she's tries-"

"-and fails," Peyton interjected.

"-to introduce herself as V whenever she meets someone."

"We hated it," Rory added.

"So obviously we had to come up with our own alternates. There's Ronnie, Nicky, Nica-"

"-oh, don't forget Ver," Sarah added eagerly.

"-and Verona."

"Got it," Kate said, quickly catching on.

"Wait," Sarah said, her attention snapping back toward Kate. "You never answered my question."

"Sarah, drop it," Rory chimed in.

"What? No! This is my chance," Sarah pleaded of the group.

"What question?" Kate asked.

"Were you dating your roommate last semester?" Jess asked.

"I… no," Kate answered half truthfully.

"From last year," Sarah inserted. "You didn't ask it right."

"Now why would she have a different roommate if they were dating at the end of last year?" Jess asked. "They'd still be roommates this year. Only a moron would split that up."

Sarah shook her head. "Riley Thomas."

The two words were enough to kill Jess's counter argument as she stared back in surprise. "You mean-?"

"She came back in the fall and got assigned to Sophie Moore," Sarah explained.

"That name sounds familiar."

"Scholars program," Rory offered, and Jess nodded in understanding.

"Matt has a crush on her," Jess said.

"How do you know?" Rory asked in surprise.

"The boy wouldn't stop talking about her all fall. How do you not remember? I've never known anyone to be that infatuated with someone's organizational skills."

"So Sophie Moore? Was she your roommate?" Peyton asked, reorienting the conversation.

"Uh, first year, yea."

"Ok, same question but with Sarah's qualifier," Peyton said pointedly.

Kate considered denying everything, but the look of genuine curiosity of half the faces compelled her into honesty. "Yes."

"Ha! I knew it!" Sarah exclaimed in excited victory.

"Poor Matt. Someone should tell him she's playing for a different team."

"Not quite," Kate added. She was just as surprised as the rest of the group by her admission. This wasn't something she'd openly talked about since the end of last term, and now it felt like a distant memory coming back to her.

"So what? It was just an experiment, or…?" Jess asked.

"More of a self-fulfilling prophecy," Kate replied ambiguously.

"Meaning…"

"Meaning she likes the closet she lives in," Kate replied.

Kate froze, realizing what she'd just done. While it wasn't entirely truthful, the feeling of bitterness at Sophie's excuse was adding its own flavor to Kate's words. She cursed herself for this. It was one thing to carry Sophie's secret, but it was another thing entirely to tell it. That wasn't for her to do.

"Ouch," Peyton offered in apology. "And that, ladies, is why you should never pursue someone who isn't out."

"Too much drama," Jess added, nodding in agreement. "No woman is worth that. You're practically living two lives at that point."

Kate remained silent as the girls ping-ponged one remark after another highlighting all the reasons any relationship where a member was closeted was bound to end in failure.

"What's got everyone so rowdy?" came Veronica's voice from Kate's left. She handed her beer to Jess who tabled it while she slipped off her jacket and collapsed next to Peyton.

"Closeted relationships," Sarah explained. "There seems to be consensus around it."

"Oh?" Veronica asked, surveying the group as she reached for her beer.

"Would you do it?" Kate asked.

"Date someone in the closet?" Veronica asked, scanning faces for confirmation. "Yea, hell no. Wouldn't touch it with a ten yard pole."

Kate glanced around the rest who all nodded in continued agreement but couldn't help but catch a glance between Veronica and Jess, as though silently communicating something else entirely.

This mentality wasn't something Kate had ever had to contend with: Sophie was her first real relationship. Sure, she'd had other flings, but she never had to worry about the drama of it all once the sun rose and she could slip away, avoiding it entirely. When it came to Sophie, her being in the closet didn't seem like a deal breaker when they started. To Kate, it fell in line with the need to keep the relationship hidden because of school policy.

"Wait, but are any of you dating anyone?" Kate asked, suddenly struck by the potential contradiction of the group: how could they say they'd be unwilling to date someone who wasn't publicly out on a campus where being publicly out could literally end their careers.

"Jess and Peyton are together," Sarah said.

"And V hooks up with anything that breathes," Jess added. A scandalized look from Veronica caused the group to break into another round of laughter.

"I do not," she insisted.

"So which of us haven't you been with?" Peyton accused from next to her.

Kate smirked at this, feeling an odd familiarity in the razzing Veronica was receiving. This had been her in high school, after all.

"But how do you do it with the policy?" Kate asked, honing in on her real question.

Jess scoffed slightly. "It's not a real thing."

"Really?" Kate asked in surprise.

"Well, no, not entirely," Rory clarified. "It's technically a policy just like no underage is a policy, but hardly any of the staff enforces it. As long as you know who to avoid, most everyone just turns a blind eye."

"Seriously? But… but how do you know that?" Kate asked, feeling a lightness by Rory's explanation but still skeptical.

"Word of mouth from previous versions of ourselves. And some less than subtle proof," Peyton added with a slight blush and a knowing look at Jess.

"A good rule of thumb is to avoid anyone above Lieutenant status. Everyone below that is young enough to be pretty chill about it. Anyone above it is too old to follow anything but the commands from their superiors," Rory continued.

"That's not to say PDA is a greenlight, but it's not as serious as the actual military."

Kate nodded thoughtfully as she took a long sip of her own beer. There was something reassuring and bittersweet about learning this news. It certainly would have made her stress level a fraction of what they were the last two semesters.

"Noobs are fun," Sarah said with a laugh.

"You're one to talk. This was literally you three months ago, Sarah," Veronica shot back.

"Last call!" came a shout from behind the bar. Glances of affirmation confirmed they'd stay for a final round, and Peyton quickly jumped up to place the order.

"V, you good?"

"Yep, but I need a coffee break," Veronica chimed in through the commotion, climbing back up.

"You literally just got here," Jess chastised.

"And I thought you quit," Rory called through the group in annoyance.

Veronica waved away the criticism and pointed at Kate. "Join me?"

"For coffee?" Kate asked in confusion.

"Grab your jacket."

Kate complied and followed Veronica outside. She pulled her jacket around her to hide from the winter chill as Veronica pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"Those'll kill you," Kate remarked.

"There are worse things to die from," Veronica replied indifferently as she slipped one between her lips. "So, what do you think?"

"About?"

"Our little crew," Veronica said, gesturing toward the fogged bar-front glass.

"Perhaps a little incestuous," Kate said, earning a smirk from Veronica. "But generally a good group."

"They're alright," Veronica muttered, inhaling to catch the flame from her lighter.

Kate found herself becoming more and more entranced by this character who had come seemingly out of nowhere and pushed her buttons in all the right ways. Kate would deny it, but she knew the last two months had led her down dark paths that were familiar and comforting. She'd spent the better part of her childhood navigating those same halls and knew them well. It was easier to close herself off and sit in her anger than risk getting hurt again.

Veronica intrigued her because she didn't suggest a want for those walls to come down. In fact, there was something familiar in how she played life like a game: engaged fully in the moment but never leaving anything lasting. It reflected the same pattern Kate had grown accustomed to and one she found herself regressing into.

"So you're a bit of a player," Kate said.

"Is that a problem?" Veronica asked.

"No," Kate said. "It's a nice reprieve."

"Not looking for anything serious either?"

Kate shook her head. "Nah. I think I had it right before," she said alluding to her time before Point Rock.

"That's because you're in the middle of a heartbreak," Veronica explained easily.

"It worked fine the first time," Kate said defensively.

"Did it though?" Veronica replied, glancing at Kate through the smoke of her cigarette.

"It's no different than you."

"Perhaps," Veronica said before taking another drag. "If you keep this up, your lone wolf status is going to be revoked," she said in reference to the evening.

"I don't think I'd mind if it means you hang up this metaphor."

"I'd say I've gotten a few miles out of this one."

"And I'd say it needs to retire."

"I suppose I could come up with something else," Veronica said thoughtfully. "How do you feel about Peter Piper?"

"I feel like I don't get the reference. What do I have to do with pickled peppers?"

"Pickled peppers? No, no, who's the one with the flock of rats?"

"The Pied Piper?"

"That's the one. You're the Pied Piper."

"You know he used his powers for bad, right?"

"He got rid of the rats," Veronica explained. "Rat leader, plebe leader; same difference."

"Until the town didn't pay him. Then he took the town people's children."

Veronica paused in thought, slowly exhaling her latest lung full of smoke. "I still think there's something there."

Kate let out a laugh. "I'm not going to help you with that one."

Veronica shrugged, sucking out the last of the tobacco before throwing it onto the ground and stomping it into the snow.

"It's a mischief, by the way."

"What is?" Veronica asked, her attention on the door.

"A group of rats. It's not a flock; it's a mischief."

"What a weird thing to know," Veronica said, pulling at the handle. "How many other weird things do you know?" she asked, stepping back inside the bar as Kate followed.

The last round lasted longer than Kate expected, but it became clear they knew the owner well and were given permission to linger while the rest of the drabby bar was cleaned. When they finally emerged into the cold night, everyone was eager to make quick work of their goodbyes and part for home. For the third and fourth years, it was nearby enough. One small privilege of being a senior cadet was off-campus dorms that included private rooms and beds fit for full-sized adults. For Kate, she had to trek back across campus, and the sidewalk was bright with a fresh layer of untouched snow to guide her way.

"Well, it's just you and me, noob."

Kate turned to see Veronica exiting the bar. She hadn't realized she wasn't with the group and wondered how intentional that move had been.

"What coincidence," Kate remarked and won a knowing grin from Veronica in response.

"Wanna take this somewhere more private?"

"I'd say yes," Kate said, remembering the week prior fondly, "but I have to be up early."

"Right, right. Reyes has you doing that… training thing," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "That's a shame."

"You don't take me for a planner."

"Good intuition. I feel like there's a 'but' though."

"Good intuition," Kate smirked back. "But if you feel like planning, I'm free Friday."

"We'll see how the winds are blowing," Veronica said. "See you around, lone wolf."