Chapter Three: Hey, Hey, You, You
Three weeks of kissing and it bothered Hartley how comfortable she was with it. She even found herself leaning in before Amy did. Or, even worse, stopping her when the villain forgot. This was getting out of hand and Hartley wasn't sure how to deal with it. She couldn't draw this out forever. Amy deserved to know the truth behind what she was doing. That it wasn't as innocent as she thought. Everyone around them thought they were in a relationship. Not that dating Amy was a particularly bad thing. Hartley didn't doubt for a second that her best friend would be an amazing partner.
"Gem just asked me if you were my girlfriend."
Hartley spit out the water she had been drinking and turned around instantly. Feeling anxious, she gently reached out and cupped Amy's face. Then, Hartley lowered her hands until they rested on the villain's shoulders. "Is that so?" She asked, "And, um, what exactly did you say?"
"Yes, of course."
"Oh, my… Okay. Whoo." She let out a deep breath, "Can you tell me exactly what you think a girlfriend is?"
"Two girls who are best friends." Amy answered without a beat, "I mean, why would anyone think otherwise?"
"Oh, Jeez." Hartley bent over and began to hyperventilate. Hartley just knew that Gem was going around telling everyone at school. This was just horrible. There was no more beating around the bush, Hartley had to set things straight. Unfortunately, she couldn't find her voice at the moment because she was literally hyperventilating. She felt two soft hands wrap around her waist and Hartley leaned back without thought. God, Amy was holding her again. She smelled good too, kind of like cinnamon. Her breathing gradually returned to normal, yet Amy refused to release her. She looked so scared.
"... I'm sorry." Amy whispered, resting her chin on a shaking Hartley's shoulder and rocking the two back and forth. "I should have known you'd be uncomfortable with people knowing we were friends."
"No, no!" Hartley panicked, craning her neck up to meet her friend's teary eyes. "That's not… I care about you so much. It's just, "Girlfriend" doesn't exactly mean what you think it means." Hartley cleared her throat, her face flushed red, "It's something a bit more intimate."
"Yeah? Like what?"
"Gem asked you if the two of us were dating." She put it bluntly, "That's what a girlfriend is. Two girls that are seeing each other."
Amy released her hold of her best friend instantly. Hartley turned around, only to see Amy's face a sickening shade of white. Was she grossed out by the concept of girls dating girls? Was she a homophobe?
"Okay." The villain nodded slowly, "What made her ask me that, though? Did people think we were…?"
"Yeah." Hartley winced, "I've been trying to tell you for a while, Ames. I mean, lip-to-lip contact isn't exactly something friends do."
"Wha…?!" Amy gasped, "No, that can't be right, Jake said…"
"Jake? What does Jake have to do with this?"
"I asked him what I could do for you to make you happy." Amy explained, "I wanted to do something nice for you, since you're always nice to me."
"And Jake suggested kissing?!"
"Yeah." Amy was blushing in embarrassment, "He said that's what you're supposed to do if you like someone."
"Oh, no." Hartley bent down on her knees and took a seat in front of the villain. Letting out a shaky breath before uttering the words, "I think we need to have a little talk."
Amy didn't kiss her goodbye this time.
Amy and Hartley still walked home together in silence. The villainess had been angry with herself ever since the truth had finally come to light. She was beating herself up inside and Hartley actually hated it. She reached out and grabbed Amy's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. The short-haired brunette locked eyes with her and smiled shyly.
That smile vanished as soon as she laid eyes on her brother. He was walking inside the Madden house, and Amy took off. Hartley followed suit, extremely winded by the time she met the two inside. The villain was on the verge of bursting, but when she noticed Hartley, the brunette froze. Then, Hartley felt something fluffy covering her ears and she couldn't hear a thing. Panicking, Hartley patted her ears and head, fearing they were one of Vic Madden's devices.
They were just earmuffs.
Sound-proofing ones, apparently.
All she could do was watch the argument unfold between brother and sister silently. Hartley could just imagine all the foul words coming out of Amy's mouth. Wait a second, was that what the earmuffs were for? To keep her from hearing the cuss words coming out of Amy's mouth? The brunette knew she couldn't hold herself back but didn't want to make Hartley uncomfortable. It was kind of considerate, if you thought about it. Smiling, Hartley lowered the earmuffs around her neck to listen in on the conversation.
"-ck You! You stupid liar, manipulator, ugh! Do you know how pissed I am right now?"
"You've made it very clear, yes." Jake nodded, "... It was kind of funny, though." He laughed, earning a slap in the face from Amy. "What do you expect me to say? I'm always the butt of your jokes!"
"Yes, but you dragged Hartley into this!" Amy gestured at her friend, "Imagine how that must've felt, huh? You damned asshole, you really are evil." She shook her head, "Of course, I'm saying that out of the kindness of my heart."