COLD SHEETS STUCK TO WARM SKIN. THE BED WAS EMPTY, which was unusual for an early morning at the academy. The sheets on Madison's side rested neatly, tucked against the pillow that sat with a lonely impression of the back of the blonde's head. Usually, Corey would have to wake an oversleeping blonde when the girl hadn't woke early to check her heart murmur, but this day was different.
The redhead was sure that there was nothing scheduled for the early morning; no morning meeting with Cordelia; no health check-up; no group breakfast; no last minute adventure with Fiona. She groaned, running a hand down her face as she sat up, her eyes scanning the room for the other girl. She sat upright, listening for the sound of the shower running in the bathroom on the other side of her bedroom wall but only found the silence that accompanied an empty room.
She threw the covers off herself as she meandered into the closet to get dressed for the day, her eyes squinting as the light that crept into the white room reflected off the walls, making it more difficult for the redhead to see. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes for a moment before fumbling through her closet.
As she gathered her clothes, she wondered if her outing with Madison the day before was all a dream; an elaborate ruse her mind had made up in her slumber. She let out a chuckle as she got dressed; the pile of Madison's clothes in the corner of the closet gave her all the reassurance that she needed to know the date they shared hadn't been a trick of her mind.
On her way out of her bedroom, she grabbed the pile of papers that sat on a table near the door. The pale yellow sticky note that sat on top of the packet fastened together with a clip had the word Corinna crudely scribbled in black sharpie across it. The redhead's name was underlined multiple times, a sign that whatever was in the packet that was gifted to her in her sleep contained urgent information. She walked through the halls, her eyes rolling as she contemplated whether or not she even wanted to read through the information thrust upon her.
She took one glance at the front page and immediately realized it was a massive 'to-do list' left by Cordelia. Things the headmistress should have done on her own throughout the week now designated to another as 'appointments' and 'time with Hank'seemed to have filled the older witch's schedule. Why Cordelia fell for that man, Corey could never understand.
The redhead shuttered at the thought of having to be in the same room as him; the negative energy that radiated off of the Headmistress' husband always put her in a sour mood. Corey entered her office, her brow furrowed as she continued to flip through the packet of things Cordelia had given her to take care of while she was away for the week.
She couldn't grasp the idea of how the Headmistress expected her to get everything done by herself. Both witches knew that the younger girls weren't going to be around to assist in taking care of the massive array of daily tasks. She wondered if she should pass the list on to Spalding, knowing that it would be easier to just delegate the packet to others.
She shook off the thought as she heard rummaging coming from the corner of her office. Where her bookshelves were once tidy and organized sat a frustrated Madison, scouring the shelves for something particular. What she was looking for, Corey wasn't sure. She took in the sight of the blonde like a breath of fresh air, a feeling she knew all too well washing over her in a matter of seconds.
Corey sat with her legs crossed, facing the back of an amp. She tried, and failed, to figure out where the wires were supposed to be connected. She knew borrowing her mother's equipment for a charity event wasn't the best idea, but it was all the band had to work with for the time being. She huffed, tossing her head back to look up at the ceiling as she felt her hood slip off the top of her head to rest against her shoulders.
"Can I help you?" A soft voice grabbed her attention. The redhead to slowly composed herself. She knew that the last thing she needed was to snap at someone because her bandmates couldn't care enough to set up their own equipment.
"You look like you're having some trouble." Corey held in the scoff she wanted to so badly allow to escape her lips. She didn't want to be known as 'the rock band diva' by whoever was just trying to lend a helping hand. The redhead turned to respond but, the moment her green eyes met the other girl's gold ones, she lost the ability to speak. Her mouth became dry, taking the other girl in as she felt the heat creep up her neck and flow across her cheeks.
She finally understood the words her mother had told her time and time again:
"You'll know you've found that person when you see it.
When you're in a crowded room and you see a kind of person,
and your heart skips a beat— backflips, even;
and the world around you seems to be ablaze in that moment;
and you can't find the words to say even though they're right on the tip of your tongue;
and you feel like you're gasping for air even though you're breathing perfectly fine.
That's when you'll know, Little Bird."
Corey couldn't hold in the chuckle that escaped her lips as she felt the skin around her eyes crinkle. The smile that crept across her features faltered slightly as she realized that this blonde that she had never met was kneeling extremely close to her and awaiting a verbal response. What felt like an eternity of silence between them had been only a slight pause in conversation. A beat of a drum in the tempo of the song that they shared in their quiet moment together.
The redhead let her tongue dip out to wet her lips quickly as she moved the cord to the amp from one hand to the other. She cleared her throat as she shook her head, the loose curls that framed her face outside of her messy up-do bouncing as she moved.
"It's alright," she laughed as she looked back to the girl who dared to distract her from her work. She looked at the amp as she spoke again, needing to break the minimal eye contact she held with the mystery girl. "It really shouldn't seem so difficult, it's just not my personal equipment." She shrugged, turning to look at the other girl again as the blonde let out a laugh.
"Oh, good, I was hoping that'd be your answer. I honestly don't know anything about any of this stuff." She blushed. Her hand moved in a circular motion in the general direction of what Corey had been working on previously. She looked down at the glass in her other hand as she admitted the truth with a shake of her head. Her shoulder-length blonde hair brushed against her heart-shaped face as she moved.
"It was all a sort of ruse to be able to talk to you." Her tongue darted out, wetting her lips as her eyes locked onto Corey's once again. "I saw you walk in through the back room from my spot at the bar," she turned her upper body as she pointed across the room. Her lips tugged upward on one side as her eyes remained locked on the redhead. Her smile to became slightly lopsided. She returned her free hand to her lap anxiously as she turned her shoulders back in the other girl's direction.
"Something was nagging at me, telling me that if I didn't take my chance I'd never get to speak to you and I'd regret it." The wine red lipstick pulled the redhead's attention to the girl's lips for a fraction of a second. The blonde held out her free hand and Corey took it quickly, a little too eager to place her hand against a complete stranger's. She swore she could feel a physical spark when the blonde took her hand, but she brushed it off as a trick of the mind; her mother's words getting to her head.
"Madison Montgomery, movie star," the blonde chirped as she shook the musician's hand. A look of regret flashed over her features as she realized she had added her title to the end of her name as if she was trying to impress someone— anyone— at the industry party full of actors and musicians. She cleared her throat, shaking her head as she looked down at her feet. She let out an awkward laugh as she focused on her red and green Markarian dress for a moment.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, looking back up at the redhead. "Industry thing, force of habit." Corey let out a chuckle, not fully realizing that neither girl truly wanted to pull their hand away, each yearning the touch of the other.
"Corey Luna," she replied. Her slight smile grew larger as she felt the sparks between them growing by the second. She swallowed hard, finally letting go of Madison's hand to return her attention to the project in front of her. "So, what's got a 'movie star' like you so interested in the girl setting up the band's equipment?" She asked, finding the correct spots for the wires and plugging them in. Madison leaned back on her heels, a slight smirk on her lips as she watched the redhead succeed in finishing the set-up needed for the impending sound-check.
"Awe, come on," Madison giggled. She raised a brow at the other girl in a flirtatious manner. "I wouldn't call Daphne Blake 'just the girl setting up the band's equipment'." She smiled to herself, looking away for a fraction of a second before looking back at Corey. The fear that maintaining eye contact would set her world on fire around her caused her to look away.
"You saw that?" The redhead laughed, her hands moving to her lap as she turned to face the blonde in front of her. She'd admit that her cast-mates weren't very quiet about their roles in the upcoming production, but her manager wanted to keep her part in the series a surprise until the first trailer aired publicly. She'd been cropped out of the photos on set that her cast-mates shared, kept out of any promotional photos, as well as having been advised to stay out of any social media take-overs until the official trailer was made public.
"How could I not?" The blonde asked. Her tone peaked in a flirtatious manner as she slowly moved closer to the other girl. She pursed her lips, looking down at her dress again as she ran her hand across the tiny turquoise sequins to calm her nerves.
"I didn't think the trailer was out yet." Corey laughed. She rested her elbow against her knee to lean closer to the other girl, wanting to take in her features from a closer perspective. She placed her chin in her palm as Madison spoke again, watching as the girl continued to avoid eye contact. She quietly hoped that the blonde was feeling the same odd connection between them; that they both felt as if even just looking at one another could cause their world to implode.
"It's not," Madison smirked. She picked at the sequins on her gown as she blushed. The redhead knew it wasn't. The only public hints that she had the role were that her band played the show's theme song— which had no connection to the role on its own— and that her voice could be heard in a short teaser trailer that had released only a few days before. "I may have talked some 'industry friends' into letting me see it early." The blonde looked back up at Corey with a smirk, which quickly became a toothy grin accompanied by a soft giggle.
"Hmm, sneaky, Miss Montgomery," the redhead scrunched her nose. A laugh left her smirking lips as she took in the other girl's body language. A light tap of knuckles against the amplifier behind her caused Corey to sit up taller, turning her head to see the scrawny boy with floppy ash colored locks.
"Corey, sound check in five," Sam, the band's drummer, echoed the orders of their manager who leaned against the brick wall behind him with his arms crossed over his chest. The girl's green eyes found their way to the shadowed man, only able to make out the scolding brows. It was a sheer sign the older man wasn't happy with the fact that the musician was fraternizing with the partygoers instead of setting up the equipment.
"Thank you, five," Corey chirped back sarcastically as she watched the figure in the distance shake its head. She clenched her jaw for a fraction of a second before relaxing slightly, letting out a quiet sigh. She couldn't stand her manager, but she also didn't want her conversation with the blonde to end.
"On that note," she turned back to the actress and reached out her hand, helping Madison onto her feet as they stood together. Again, she felt the sparks leave her fingertips as their hands touched. She grabbed her phone from the top of the amp as she pulled her hand away. "I should get back with the band and get ready."
She moved one hand to her shoulder to pull up her hood but stopped when she felt Madison's fingers gently tap against her wrist that brushed against her hip lightly. The lace of her dress grazed against her pulse point gently as her heart rate quickened.
"Wait," the blonde swallowed hard, mustering up all the confidence she could in her small, frail body. Her hand fell to her side as she held her glass next to her face. Corey held her breath unintentionally, each beat of her heart a threat that it would soon burst from her ribcage and spill out onto the floor before her. "Can I borrow this?" Madison pointed at Corey's phone, her tongue jutting out to wet her lips anxiously, "I misplaced mine."
She held her breath. She waited for a response as she tilted her head to the side to look up at the redhead that now stood much taller than she did. The small stage the musician stood upon added to their already noticeable height difference. Madison swallowed hard as she looked the girl up and down again, her bottom lip slipping between her teeth as she anxiously twisted back and forth.
Corey passed her phone off with a nod and Madison quickly took it into her own hands. She opened up a new contact and programmed her own number into the redhead's phone. Her bottom lip slipped between her teeth as she called herself.
Her phone began to ring, tucked into her maroon colored velvet belt tied around the center of her striped dress. She smirked, looking back up at the redhead in front of her as she ended the call and passed the phone back to its owner.
"Corinna?" Madison's voice shook the witch from her thoughts, pulling her focus back into her office. She clenched the packet of papers in her hand, remembering why she had wandered in that general direction in the first place.
"Hmm?" Corey hummed. She blinked quickly as her eyes found the blonde moving towards her, a concerned look etched into the girl's features. The Montgomery girl folded the paper she had found while rummaging through the girl's things, making it possible to hold the large piece of parchment in one hand as she moved.
"You okay?" Madison asked. Her free hand reached out and fluttered near the redhead's cheek before finding it's place in the crook of her neck. "You zoned out hard." Her features were soft, her brows furrowed as her gold eyes searched Corey's face. Her hand crept up the side of the girl's neck, her thumb making it's nest in the divot between the redhead's chin and bottom lip. The blonde ran the pad of her thumb against Corey's bottom lip slowly as she let her shoulders relax, the initial spark from their touch subsiding to a dull hum.
"Yeah," she shook her head, swallowing hard before she moved her hand up to wrap her fingers around the smaller girl's wrist gently. "I was just thinking about something and must've gotten lost in my own head." Corey let a small smile creep across her face slowly as Madison's concerned features relaxed. The blonde nodded in response, her bottom lip slipping in between her teeth as she smirked up at the other girl, the spark in her eyes causing the redhead to raise a questioning brow.
"Can I borrow this?" Madison twirled as her hand dropped to her side, an innocent tilt to her head only adding to her demeanor. She waved the folded paper near her face quickly as she spoke. "I'll put it back where I found it when I'm done. I just want to pay Zoe back... for dealing with that asshole from the party." She batted her eyelashes as she looked up at the taller girl, the grins on both of their faces matching each other's intensity.
"Mmhmm, sure," Corey hummed as she leaned down to kiss the other girl. It didn't last long as Madison took a step back, her mind set on other things. Corey sucked her bottom lip in as she watched the other girl move excitedly. She was somehow suddenly back to the chipper disposition she'd had before Zoe arrived at the academy just a week before.
"You're a lifesaver, babe." The blonde bounced as she moved to leave the office, making an attempt to get out of the room as fast as she possibly could before Corey could ask questions. She was surprised she managed to get the other girl to agree to letting her borrow the parchment without even knowing what it was. She wasn't going to stick around and risk getting her cover blown. After all, using a 'restricted' spell could get both witches in trouble with the council.
"Just be careful," Corey sighed. She looked back down at the massive list she needed to venture through on her own. She began to flip through the pages as she spoke. "I'd rather not have to deal with another set of detectives sticking their noses where they don't belong."
"No promises." Madison placed a chaste kiss against Corey's cheek before leaving the redhead's office. Her sights were set on finding Zoe and dragging her out on a second adventure. This time, hopefully, would involve fewer casualties than the last.
"She loves you, you know," Fiona's voice caused the redhead to jump, her focus having been on the packet of chores in her hands. "She's just afraid of admitting it." Corey turned to face the Supreme in the doorway, her brows arching up towards her hairline. She thought about asking the woman how she thought she knew the Montgomery girl so well after only having read though her file and never spending any time alone with the blonde.
"Anyone ever teach you to make people aware of your presence before you scare the shit out of them?" The redhead's voice cracked as she spoke. One hand flew into her hair as the other dropped to her side, causing the packet to bounce against her hip briefly. "Or, I don't know, stay out of someone else's personal business when your opinion wasn't requested?" Fiona's hands flew up in surrender, a smug grin taking over her features. Corey was being defensive, which meant that the Supreme had found a weakness in her otherwise impenetrable armor.
"It's fine, I can tell when I'm overstepping my boundaries," she stepped back. Her head tilted slightly as her heels clicked. "I'll just see myself out." Corey rolled her eyes as she watched Fiona leave the room and wander down the hallway. Ahead of her, the front door slammed shut as Madison and Zoe left before anyone could question their outing.
The redhead wondered if she should have been more skeptical of Madison's motives or question what she had been planning before quickly shaking off the notion. She hoped that her eagerness to trust the actress wouldn't cause them to end in rough waters, no matter what the girl had planned.