Ch. 14
A/N: Thank you to everyone reading and supporting this story, really I can't tell you how much I love hearing from you. Your reviews make my day and make it worth how long it takes to write these updates. Since you all had to wait a little longer for this one, I made it a little longer for you. A few notes:
Purple2015: You're spot on.
Rudy0924: No, you haven't gotten the full story for Gail yet and the dreams are going to pose a bigger problem in the not-so-distant future. As much as I love humor there will definitely be some hurt/comfort, just not sure how long it will take me to get there.
Cass Purser: I hope your Jess wasn't too much like mine, at least as far as this chapter goes, but if so then I hope you enjoy this.
Matiky: I think this chapter has a little of everything you mentioned, so I hope you like it. The relationship stuff is still being sorted out mostly because Frankie and Gail are a lot like Cleopatra...
As always, let me know what you all think...
Gail called shotgun as soon as she was in sight of the car as Frankie dragged her outside.
"Does she always do that?" Holly asked as they made their way to Frankie's car, remembering the blonde pulled a similar stunt outside the hospital the day with her wrist. She had still been kind of out of it with the pain meds but had successfully managed to call dibs none-the-less.
"Yep." Both Frankie and Chloe replied in unison, used to their housemate's antics.
But Gail ignored the comments as she smugly slid into the passenger seat while Chloe climbed in behind her and Holly took the seat behind Frankie who was starting up the car.
"So where are we heading?" Frankie asked the group. Her and Holly had yet to decide when they were leaving but now they had two extra opinions to take into consideration. Well, really only one, Gail was a human garbage disposal and would consume whatever they got as long as there weren't any tomatoes involved. "Any preferences?"
"Somewhere quick, please." Holly requested, she hadn't been planning on taking the break but Frankie wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Relax, you'll be back with plenty of time to study." Frankie told her friend. "Pizza?" She suggested.
"Veto, it's all we eat." Gail complained, not that she didn't love pizza but if they were going to go out then they might as well get something else.
"It's all you eat because you're always over at the boys' house." Frankie corrected. Neither of the girls in the front noticed the slight frown Holly made at that comment.
"Well, they always have pizza," Then Gail added as an afterthought, "And video games."
"Burgers?" Holly recommended, eager to change the subject.
"Nix, unless you want me puking on you." Frankie's stomach recoiled at the thought of that Wednesday; the memory of the burger coming back up was a little too vivid still.
"Chinese?" Chloe piped in.
"Any objections?" Frankie asked as she shifted the car into reverse so she could back out of the driveway. The two other girls shook their heads in agreement, "Chinese, it is."
The drive to the restaurant wasn't particularly far considering it was the same place that delivered to both the girls' house and Holly's apartment and they all agreed it was the place with the best eggrolls. Yet, the car ride felt like it was taking forever.
Frankie focused on driving, doing her best to ignore Chloe watching her out of the corner of her eye, while Gail put her feet up on the dash and closed her eyes for a quick respite. Holly was absent-mindedly staring out the window, mildly regretting inviting Chloe who was talking incessantly to make up for the lack of conversation coming from her companions.
"Give it a rest Princess, or you won't have the energy to chew your food." Gail complained from the front seat.
"Don't worry about me, Roomie, my mouth never gets tired." Chloe cockily replied. She had a perfect view of Frankie to see the reaction her comment provoked.
Frankie's grip on the steering wheel tightened, but she worked to keep her face neutral. She was going to kill Holly later if she somehow survived this meal.
Holly chuckled at the comment and it drew her attention from the passing scenery. She stole a glance at Gail who hadn't opened her eyes but had made a face indicating that she had rolled her eyes even with them closed. She had a perfect view of the blonde's profile. Once her annoyance with Chloe dissipated, the blonde's features relaxed and Holly was taken aback at how soft the blonde looked when she was resting. It was a stark contrast to the piercing intensity that she usually displayed whenever anyone was speaking, or the mischievous giddiness she showed when she was with the kids at the clinic. No, this was a different side to the blonde that Holly had yet to see but wouldn't mind seeing again.
Damn it, Stewart, you're hopeless. You need to stop thinking of her as anything more than friend material. You've been barking up the wrong tree. Holly realized that Chloe had noticed her staring so she quickly averted her eyes back out the window and away from the redhead's knowing look.
Frankie pulled up to the restaurant and the girls all climbed out. Once the waiter showed them to a booth in the back, Frankie shoved Gail onto one side and quickly grabbed Holly's arm to pull her onto the opposite bench with her. She figured this way she would be safe with Gail across from her and Holly next to her, she would be able to minimize contact with the redhead the best she could.
"What the hell, Anderson? You're lucky I'm tired or I'd kick your ass for shoving me." Gail glared at the offender.
"What? I was just giving you a boost, thought you might need the extra momentum the way you're dragging your feet."
Rather than move towards the inside of the booth, as most people would do, Gail stayed firmly seated on the outer spot. She didn't like the inside seat but since she was already sitting, there was no way in hell she was getting up to let the redhead in.
Chloe knew her roommate wasn't going to move so she simply climbed over her and settled onto the inside of the bench without saying a word. She looked up and noticed that Frankie and Holly were watching the pair of freshman with perplexed expressions.
"What? Gail hates sitting on the inside." The redhead explained matter-of-factly.
Frankie and Holly exchanged a look; these two girls were so weird. But now they were each seated across from the girl they were trying to avoid. Well, this plan had backfired for the both of them.
"Why?" Holly decided to be the one who asked, knowing that Frankie was clenching her jaw too tightly to actually say anything.
The truth was that Gail hated feeling trapped when she was sitting on the inside. Her upbringing made it impossible for her to relax without being in sight of the exits and in view of most of the restaurant. Sitting on the inner seat often made that impossible. But they didn't need to know that.
"I prefer the view from here." Gail's response seemed to be made offhandedly even though she looked directly at Holly as she said it. She was trying to gauge the brunette's response but the medical student did not look as amused by the comment as she normally would have.
Holly ignored Gail's flirting and focused her attention on the menu. She wasn't sure if it was just a part of Gail's nature or her playing games but she wasn't going to fall for the blonde's coquetry no matter how much her words caused her heart rate to rise.
Chloe didn't know why her roommate always sat on the outside but she just accepted her idiosyncrasies. She was mildly impressed though with the smoothness of the blonde's comment, even if Holly was trying hard not to react. She was also kind of glad that she got to sit across from Frankie; she was determined to make it impossible for the senior to keep ignoring her. She moved slightly and brushed her leg against the brunette's whose grip on her menu tightened ever so slightly.
Frankie pulled her leg back, hoping it was out of reach of the freshman. Just the slight touch had been enough to send sparks up her leg. But she resolutely focused her eyes on the menu and her thoughts on ways to torture Holly for this.
Both Gail and Chloe frowned slightly at their rejections but they both followed suit and picked up their menus as well.
The silence was a little deafening amongst the girls as they each kept their eyes planted on their menu, no one saying a word until the waiter came to take their order. Each girl ordered a different dish, well Gail ordered two, and they each got an egg roll. Once the waiter collected the menus though they were stuck with nothing left to focus on but each other.
Frankie immediately turned her attention to the paintings on the walls that she had absolutely no interest in but were a safe place to look. If she focused her attention in front of her, she wouldn't be able to control her eyes traveling down the neckline of the redhead's shirt, which was cut just a little lower than was probably appropriate, thus amplifying her cleavage. Not that she had noticed or anything.
Holly had already begun to play with her silverware. She tried to focus her mind on the things she had been studying that day and not on the piercing blue eyes that were locked on her.
The two brunettes were making things extremely awkward and the freshmen had no idea why. Chloe nudged Gail and nodded her head in the direction of the other two to silently ask what the hell was going on with them but the blonde just shrugged in response. She had no idea why her friends were being weird and was too tired to think about it too much. So instead she just rested her head on her hand and watched the silverware as it danced between the medical students fingers, till she realized that she was focusing a little too much on those dexterous appendages so she instead glanced around the room.
Finally, Chloe got tired of the silence and decided to break it. Her voice was filled with its usual cheeriness, "So what were you two up to today?"
The question broke the other girls' from their thoughts. Frankie looked at Holly indicating that she was supposed to answer for the both of them.
Holly rolled her eyes at her friend; this was going to be a really long lunch. But she smiled when she turned her attention back to Chloe, "We were studying. I have an exam this week."
The redhead perked up even more, she was glad someone was willing to talk considering that if left to their own devices, Frankie and Gail could probably beat out a monk in a monastery with their ability to remain silent.
"Oh, what's it on?" Chloe asked with genuine curiosity.
"Hematology, so it's pretty much everything you could possibly learn about blood. Our exam is Friday. It's part of our Structure and Function block." Holly explained, glad that the conversation was on her schoolwork, which seemed like a safe topic to talk about.
"Right." Chloe replied though she didn't really know what that meant.
Holly chuckled a little, "It's basically the school's way of saying anatomy and physiology for the whole body."
"Thought you already took that." Gail pointed out, referring to the anatomy portion. She remembered Steve mentioning that the class was how the brunette had met her idiot brother in the first place.
Holly glanced briefly at the blonde but then focused back on her silverware as she started to ramble, "I did in undergrad but we have to do it again in medical school. We work with cadavers and basically focus on learning all the basics of the human body. Next semester we focus more on metabolism and nutrition then brain and behavior. Then next year it's almost all pathology. Plus, we have courses that run the whole year."
"Oh yeah, so what are those about?" Chloe liked that she had finally met someone else who could ramble like she could. Though she did notice that the other two didn't interrupt Holly like they usually did when she went off on one of her tangents. Whatever.
"There's Clinical Medicine where we learn how to take histories and physical exams, then there's one on public health, there's also courses about medical jurisprudence and ethics."
Well that explained where Holly had learned the spiel she delivered whenever Gail watched her work with a patient. Technically, she had been at the receiving end of it herself when the brunette treated her hand. Dr. Holly had been serious, but still kind and patient. She had also been kind of sexy in her white coat. It was normal to think of her friends as sexy, right?
"That all sounds super intense." Chloe remarked. Her comment startling the blonde from her thoughts, not that she showed it.
Holly shrugged, "It can be."
Chloe started to laugh, "You can handle all that without breaking a sweat, meanwhile I was studying with the boys and all they did was whine about our basic level classes. I couldn't imagine them trying to take on what you're learning."
"That's because they're wimps." Gail interjected, not that she was dismissing Holly's awesomeness, but she couldn't pass up an opportunity to mock the boys.
Frankie smirked, she had been thinking the same thing but with the blonde around she didn't have to make her comment herself, thus protecting her vow of silence.
"It's not nearly as bad as it sounds." Holly reassured them, medical school was tough due to the insane amount of information they were expected to learn but it wasn't impossible.
"Blood and dead bodies, yeah, I don't think they could handle it." Chloe replied, she remembered the day Dov had passed out when Chris accidentally cut his hand trying to clean up a bottle of beer he had dropped.
"But that's the fun."
"Should I change your name to Dr. Death?" Frankie immediately took advantage of the opportunity to mock her friend, forgetting that she was supposed to be ignoring the conversation.
"That's rich, Frankie, considering you want to go into Homicide." Holly sassed right back.
Gail snorted, "Really Anderson, you want to be a member of the Death Squad? Although, that would probably work out well for you, victims are already dead they won't be able to complain about your sparkling personality."
"You're one to talk, Frosty. Have fun in your white shirt." Frankie bit back.
Gail opened her mouth to retaliate but was cut off by Holly changing the focus back onto Chloe.
"So, what were you studying today, Chloe?" Holly tried to defuse the situation and get the two other girls to stop snarling at one another.
"The process of law formation." Chloe explained unaffected by her housemates' barbs at one another.
"That sounds interesting." Holly observed, then again she found learning anything new interesting. The Nerd title really was fitting.
"It's not." Both Gail and Frankie replied.
"Sure it is," Chloe replied before launching into a super long explanation about the Canadian process of creating laws. It was complete with some convoluted analogy utilizing the most random things but the redhead had Holly's attention even if both Frankie and Gail were ignoring her.
The blonde closed her eyes and decided to zone out of the conversation completely in favor of some sleep before the food came. In order to get comfortable she settled further into her seat and stretched out her legs, which brought them in contact with Holly's. When she grazed the other girl's leg with her own she felt that usual tingle of excitement that she was beginning to associate only with the medical student. It was odd, she had never felt like this before, where even the most innocent of situations could set her whole body off. It was getting harder to rationalize the way she felt towards the brunette as just a part of normal friendship.
But she was diverted from the thoughts as Holly's leg jerked away from the touch, her leg recoiling instantly. When they had been studying together earlier in the week, their legs had touched plenty of times under the bench. In fact, Gail was fairly certain Holly had been purposefully letting their legs somewhat tangle together. So now why was she acting like the blonde had physically burned her? She tried to think back to all of their interactions that week, had she done something wrong? There was the incident with the belly ring but if anything that had seemed to spur Holly on, and things definitely hadn't been awkward after, surprisingly so. Yet now, she wouldn't look at Gail and clearly didn't want to be touched by her.
Holly was doing her best to focus on what Chloe was saying and not on the fact that Gail was sitting across from her. Of course, that became impossible when she felt Gail's legs rest against hers. She immediately withdrew from the touch, knowing that it dangerous territory that she didn't want to be in.
"Enough already Price, talk about something else." Gail demanded getting annoyed with the whole situation. She was supposed to be taking a nap, not listening to Chloe prattle, or getting insulted by Frankie, or having Holly ignore her entire presence.
"What do you suggest?" Chloe challenged her.
"I don't care, just stop talking about our classes, it's the weekend." Gail hated having to sit through her criminology classes when she was in them, the last thing she wanted was a replay on her days off.
"I was just answering the question." Chloe pointed out.
"It's been answered, now move on." Gail continued to glare at her roommate who was staring right back. The two were locked in a stalemate.
"Your ass is vibrating." Chloe pointed out as she felt the bench beneath them shake slightly. She knew it wasn't her phone, which was sitting on the table next to her.
Gail retrieved her phone from her pocket and the Star Wars theme music could be heard once it was no longer muffled. This day just keeps getting better, Gail thought to herself as she ignored the call from her mother. She had to let the phone ring, knowing that if she purposefully sent it to voicemail she would really incur her mother's wrath.
"Aren't you going to answer it?"
"No."
"Who is it?" Chloe leaned over and noticed that the caller ID said Superintendent Mom on it. That seemed like a really formal way to refer to her mother, but considering the ringtone was the same one as Darth Vader, they probably didn't have the best relationship.
"Back off, Price. You're invading my space."
Chloe rolled her eyes but settled back in her seat. She returned to talking to Holly about her classes.
Gail waited for the voicemail. When her phone buzzed one more time, she brought the device up to her ear:
"Sweetheart, I really do not know why you are so insistent on ignoring your family, but next Sunday we are going to celebrate your birthday. Steven will pick you up and I expect you both at the house by 5 o'clock sharp. Do not be late."
Great, Gail hated her birthday and she really hated having to go to whatever restaurant her parents picked, where she would be forced to sit through a wonderful recap of her failures and disappointments. At least the year before she only had to deal with a phone call from her parents. Well, if her mood wasn't shitty already, now it definitely was.
"You alright?" Frankie asked, noticing the scowl on the blonde's face.
"Swell." Gail replied sarcastically.
All three girls were watching the blonde carefully, it was clear that whatever the message had been about, it hadn't been something Gail wanted to hear, but they all knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to push.
"What?"
"Nothing," all three replied.
Where the hell was the food? This was taking forever, and what should be a relatively decent lunch with people that she could normally stand (Chloe and Frankie were a hit or miss) she felt like she was stuck in some alternate universe where everyone else was as awkward as she usually felt. Gail looked around for the waiter, but he was nowhere to be found.
The girls were broken from their quiet lull by the arrival of the boys in the restaurant. The rowdy group spotted the girls right away and headed in their direction.
"Hello, ladies." Sammy and the rest of his housemates greeted their neighbors.
"What are you doing here?" Frankie asked the ringleader.
"Same reason as you, for food."
"Lucky us." Frankie rolled her eyes. While she would normally be happy to see the seniors, the freshmen boys annoyed the hell out of her, especially because they had the bad habit of hitting on Chloe. That was probably the one thing that could make this lunch worse at the moment for the brunette.
"You guys want to join us?" Chloe asked, always ready to hang out with more people. Plus, maybe with the guys around they wouldn't have to keep suffering through this awkwardness. At least it wouldn't be so quiet.
"Nah, this is supposed to be an estrogen-free meal. Right boys?" The rest of the guys agreed and they headed for a table on the other side of the restaurant.
But Nick hung back, "Hey Gail, can I talk to you for a sec?"
"No." The blonde glared at her ex. She was still mad at him for the other day. It was bad enough having to pick him up from the bar and drag his ass home, but he actually had the nerve to make another move on her after she had finally agreed to be his friend.
"Please, Gail, it's important." Nick asked with genuine sincerity.
But the blonde was unmoved, "It's two letters, Nicholas, they shouldn't be that hard to comprehend."
"Please, Gail." He tried again, even though he had seen Gail when she was working, this was the first opportunity he had had to talk to her alone. He knew that she would never give him the time of day at the bar but he hoped he would be able to apologize for the other night now.
"Go away, Nick."
"Alright, but I'm just going to bug you later."
"Shocker. This is my surprised face." Gail pointed to her face, which remained thoroughly unsurprised.
As Nick walked away, Chloe turned to her roommate. "You know he isn't a bad guy."
"Whatever, Princess." Gail ignored her roommate and continued to glance around the restaurant for the useless waiter.
"He's not but you treat him like the enemy. You're too hard on him." Chloe had gotten to know Nick over the last few months and he was a good guy. Sure, he could do dumb things like the rest of them but they were just college students. She knew Nick just wanted the chance to apologize for the other night and Chloe was all about giving people second chances.
"Then you hang out with him, I don't have to."
"I already do. Seriously, look at how sad that pretty little puppy dog face is, at least hear him out." Chloe gestured over to the boys' table where Nick was watching Gail dejectedly.
"It's not that pretty and it doesn't make up for the stupid shit that comes out of his mouth."
"Just hear him out."
Gail sighed, obviously irritated, "You're going to keep annoying me about this, aren't you?"
"Yes." Chloe stated simply.
Gail glared at the redhead as she tiredly dragged herself from the booth. She would kill her roommate later after her nap, when she had the energy to really enjoy it. She walked over to the boys and gave Nick a look. He stood up and they stepped off to the side.
"Alright, what do you want?" Gail demanded, she hoped that whatever he had to say was quick so she could go back to sitting. She looked back at her table and watched as Holly got up and headed in the direction of the restrooms. But she returned her attention to the boy when he started speaking.
"I just wanted to apologize for the other night. You were helping me out and I kissed you and it was stupid. I know you don't want to be with me, I have to stop making things weird between us."
"Wow, did the Wizard actually give you a brain?" Gail wasn't really sure where the change of heart came from, she had been half-expecting her ex to try to turn the kiss into another example of how they were perfect together.
"No, someone just pointed it out to me. It also didn't hurt waking up with this," He pointed to the shiner he was sporting. "To remind me that you have one hell of a punch."
"Don't forget it next time."
Nick nodded, "So can we be friends again? You know, go back to normal."
"Nick, you were never normal and we were never friends, but if sucking up to me makes you feel better then knock yourself out." She fired off two guns with her fingers his way as she walked away.
"Well, that went well." Nick muttered to himself as he watched the blonde head off in the direction of the restrooms.
"Yo, Collins, you planning on eating today?" Jerry called out, and Nick headed back to join the rest of the guys.
"Why'd you do that?" Frankie asked after Gail left.
"Do what?" Chloe looked innocently at the senior.
"Forced Gail to talk to him."
"I didn't force Gail to do anything, no one can. I was just encouraging her to talk to him about things. Just because you don't like hanging out with the guys, doesn't mean we all have to be mean to them."
Holly ignored the argument as she watched the blonde walk across the room and then step aside to talk to the tall boy. She didn't think she could handle seeing them together right in front of her, again. She got up from the table, "Excuse me."
Holly ignored the look on Frankie's face that clearly indicated she had died at least ten different, very painful deaths in the other girl's head.
She headed to the restroom and splashed some cold water on her face.
Get it together, Holly. It was just a little crush on a straight girl. She's doing whatever it is she's doing with her ex-boyfriend, so you made a mistake. It's no big deal it's not like anything happened between the two of you.
But she had wanted it to. As much as Holly had been denying it whenever anyone commented, she couldn't help but develop feelings for the blonde. They went beyond the fact that she was ridiculously attractive with her piercing blue eyes, lean body, and supple lips. Holly was drawn to the other girl's wit, her dark humor, her no bullshit attitude, but also the fact that Holly could tell there was more to her than her hard shell. She had caught glimpses of vulnerable Gail and carefree Gail and those were sides of her that just made Holly want to find out more, see more. But now she felt like an idiot. She had seen the blonde with her ex-boyfriend and based on the texts about the pregnancy kits it seemed highly likely that they had hooked up. So the brunette resolved herself to getting rid of any feelings she may have been developing for her friend.
She pushed the thoughts from her head and opened the bathroom door, but she stopped in the doorway when she found Gail waiting for her.
"What's your problem, Nerd?"
"What? I don't have a problem." But Holly wouldn't look Gail in the eye.
"Yeah, you kinda do. You're being weird."
"No, I'm not." The brunette weakly protested.
"Really, so you're not purposefully avoiding any form of contact with me?" Gail inquired.
"What? No." Holly continued her denials.
"And all weekend you haven't been avoiding me?"
"I've been studying."
"Right, with Frankie." Clearly Holly wasn't ignoring the whole world, just her. "Did I do something?"
"No." Holly immediately replied. Well not really, not anything that Holly had any right to be upset about.
"So then, why have you barely been answering any of my texts? And why won't you even look at me today." Gail tried to get into Holly's line of vision.
Holly glanced up from the floor briefly, "I answered your questions, come on let's go back before Frankie kills Chloe."
But Gail refused to budge. "They'll be fine."
The mention of texts had caused Holly's face to close off again, suddenly it clicked, "Is this about the pregnancy test questions?"
"Why would I be ignoring you because of those?" Holly did her best to seem impassive.
Gail shrugged, "I don't know that's why I'm asking. But that's it isn't it?"
Holly didn't say anything; she just tried to walk around the blonde to get back to their table.
"Hold up, are you seriously being weird because I asked you a science question? I always ask you those."
"So it was just your natural curiosity?" Holly asked disbelievingly.
"Even if it wasn't, would you really ignore me because I had a bun in the oven?"
"I'm not ignoring you, clearly we're talking."
"Yeah, but you're being weird. Are you really that judgmental?"
"I'm not judging you, Gail. If you want to get back with your ex that's your prerogative, mine is to get food so I can go back to preparing for my test."
"My ex? Are you talking about Nicholas?"
Holly shrugged and looked down at the floor. She couldn't take the intense glare of blue eyes. Certain that Gail could read her like a book.
"Look, I get it, he's an attractive guy. It just caught me off-guard because you only have negative things to say about him."
"Ok, he is not that attractive and even if he was that doesn't mean I'm still attracted to him anymore. I can barely stand him why would you think I was getting back together with him?"
"I saw the two of you kissing." Holly reluctantly explained.
"What?"
"The other night I was walking back to my apartment and I saw the two of you on his porch. Your hair kind of makes you hard to miss."
"Then did you also see the part where I knocked him out for kissing me?"
"Wait, you did what?"
"Yeah, that bruise on his face was what he got for pulling the stunt on the porch. But hey glad to know that you like to jump to conclusions and judge me just like everyone else."
The guilt immediately hit Holly like a ton of bricks. "Gail, wait, I'm sorry. It really wasn't like that."
"That's exactly what it was like Holly. I just thought you weren't like most people, clearly I was wrong." Gail headed back to the table without letting Holly explain.
Not that Holly knew how to explain to her friend that she had a massive crush on her and thinking that she had gotten back with her ex had felt like someone had kicked Holly in the stomach. But seeing the look on Gail's face just then had somehow felt worse. For being a smart girl, Holly Stewart felt really stupid. She sighed and headed back to the table as well. She would just have to try to apologize later.
With their two tablemates gone, it left Frankie and Chloe on their own for the first time since the two almost started a fire in the kitchen. So the brunette went back to ignoring the redhead but this time it didn't work.
"You're really just going to ignore me again?" Chloe asked, though it wasn't much of a question.
Frankie shrugged.
"Why are you treating me like a leopard?"
"A what?" The malapropism was enough to get Frankie's attention.
"A leopard." The redhead repeated.
"I think you mean leper? Someone with leprosy," Chloe gave the senior a blank look. "Disease, causes disfigurement."
"Ew, no, I mean a leopard. You know, like a big, jungle cat that people try to avoid so they don't get eaten."
"Trust me, Muppet, I've never been afraid to get eaten." Frankie was starting to get some of her usual swagger back.
"Really? Then why did you run out of the kitchen like your hair was on fire." Chloe challenged the girl, glad to see some of the spark back in her.
"That had been a momentary lapse of sanity. Obviously, I hadn't been thinking clearly or I never would've come anywhere near you. I can't stand you." If ignoring the redhead wouldn't work, maybe being mean would.
But Chloe pressed on, "I think what you can't stand is how badly you want me."
"I don't." Frankie deadpanned.
The redhead shrugged, "Fine."
"Fine." Frankie repeated.
Smirking a little, Chloe decided to try a different tactic, "So if you don't want me then you should have no problem being my friend."
"Friend?" Frankie asked a little incredulously, unsure of the game the younger girl was playing now. "I just said I couldn't stand you, what part of that makes it seem like I want to be your friend?"
"Well, we live together so we have to interact."
"Don't remind me." Frankie grumbled.
Chloe ignored her, "And you keep making things awkward by avoiding me."
"I'm not." The brunette immediately protested.
"Good, then we're going to be friends."
"I don't have a say in this do I?" The senior realized that she could try fighting her off as much as she wanted to but the Muppet would just keep bothering her.
"Nope." This time Chloe smiled one of her brightest smiles and Frankie felt herself melt a little bit, she looked away again but this time Chloe knew she had won.
How in the hell did Chloe Price manage to always get her way? Maybe if Frankie put her in the friend-zone that could get her over this desire to rip the other girl's clothes off every time they were alone. It would probably work, there was no way she wouldn't get annoyed with the other girl's incessant chirpiness, that would be enough to extinguish the attraction.
Frankie was relieved when the other two girls returned to the table. Even if Gail looked like she was ready to murder someone and Holly looked like a kicked puppy.
"Where have you two been?" She immediately demanded.
"Bathroom." Holly mumbled while Gail just glared around the restaurant.
"Where the hell is our food?" The blonde angrily demanded.
"Coming this way." Frankie pointed in the direction of the waiter who was carrying a tray with their orders on it.
"It's about damn time."
"So what did Nick want?" Chloe asked after the waiter passed each girl their dish(es).
"To apologize for being an assclown and kissing me when he was wasted the other night." Gail replied, immediately grabbing her eggroll and dipping it in duck sauce.
"Did you forgive him?"
"No, just warned him to keep his hands to himself."
"It was just a kiss, Gail."
"Yeah, because people just love getting kissed by their exes." Gail looked pointedly at her roommate.
Chloe's features tightened a bit; her roommate had a point. Wes kissing her had nearly resulted in a physical fight between the boys and him. She backed off, realizing that she needed to stop pushing her roommate. Then again, since Gail hadn't killed her friend when they were talking, she had probably indeed forgiven him despite her protests. "Well I don't think he's going to try it again. I'm pretty sure you made your point loud and clear."
"Is that how he got that shiner?" Frankie asked, she pointed to her eye with her chopsticks. Both of the freshmen nodded, "Nice one, Peck."
Gail merely grunted in response as she tucked into her food. She refused to look at Holly; she didn't want to see the guilty, apologetic look on her face. She really had thought that Holly was better than that. She had never judged her before but this time she did so without even talking to Gail.
Both Frankie and Chloe gave Holly a silent look asking what was up but the brunette just shrugged sadly and pushed her food around on her plate. The two girls decided to drop it and they all started to eat.
Chloe took over the conversation again, this time switching to random stories about their friends and then turning to celebrities and gossip. Frankie made snide remarks but they just made Chloe laugh or smile. Holly and Gail remained quiet throughout the meal but Holly kept sneaking glances at the blonde, hoping that if she looked up she would realize how contrite she was.
When they finally finished up they got the check and the fortune cookies. Chloe tossed one to each of the girls.
"A smile is your passport into the hearts of others." Chloe read out hers to the group, then smiled brightly at Frankie.
"The object of your desire comes closer." Frankie read aloud as she felt Chloe's leg brush against hers again. This time, she kept her leg planted firmly in its place.
"If you have something good in your life, don't let it go!" Holly read out loud, she chanced a glance at Gail who was looking at her own fortune before tossing it aside.
"What's wrong, Grumpy, didn't like your fortune?" Chloe picked it up and read it for her, "Never give up on someone that you don't go a day without thinking about."
"Shouldn't be too hard, since I only think of myself." Gail replied, though the second she had read the little slip of paper she had thought of the various texts she had sent over the past few days, the ones that had mostly been ignored or replied to with one-word answers. Now she knew why, but it didn't make her feel any better.
Whatever, those fortunes didn't mean anything.
As soon as they got back to the house, Gail took off for her room, slamming the door behind her.
"What happened?" Chloe asked. Her roommate had been pricklier than usual since coming back to the table. The car ride home she had refused to talk at all, she had just closed her eyes and ignored everyone.
"I'm an idiot." Holly replied dejectedly as she grabbed a stool at the breakfast bar.
"Well I'm glad you said it so I didn't have to." Frankie immediately teased her friend, even though she had no idea what she was talking about.
"Don't be mean, Cranky." Chloe chastised as she headed into the kitchen and grabbed waters for all three of them. Holly accepted hers with gratitude. Frankie refused to react to Chloe as the redhead brushed her hand as she passed her the glass.
Instead she focused on the medical student, "What did you do?"
"Said something incredibly dumb based on a misjudgment." Holly still couldn't believe how foolish she had been. She had let her feelings get the best of her and it might have cost her a really good friendship.
"That's not like you." Frankie pointed out. In all the time she had known Holly, she had never been one to judge anyone, even when they deserved it.
"I told you I'm an idiot." Holly muttered dejectedly as she brushed her hands through her hair.
"Did you apologize?" Chloe asked.
The brunette shrugged sadly, "I tried to but she didn't want to hear it."
"You might want to text Oliver." Frankie suggested.
"Why?"
"Because Steve might be your Peck, but she's Oliver's. He'll know what to do."
Holly nodded, "I'll talk to him later, I should probably grab my stuff so I can go back to my apartment and study some more before it gets any later.
"Good luck." Chloe offered as she headed up to her own room to check on her roommate.
"You want to tell me what actually happened?" Frankie asked now that they were alone.
"Not right now, I really do have to study." They started to head towards the stairs when Holly commented, "Looks like things are better between you and Chloe."
"You're still not off the hook. I'm going to get you back for that awkward lunch."
Holly rolled her eyes behind her friend's back. She had no doubt that Frankie would retaliate further.
When Chloe got up to the room, the blonde was already sleeping or at least pretending to be. She decided not to bother her anymore so she quietly grabbed her stuff and headed back down to the living room.
She headed through the downstairs in the direction of the keg. She poured herself a drink and wandered back out into the crowd. She saw Holly standing with McD leaning in closely to her. She watched the redhead brush a strand of dark hair behind her ear before she leaned in slowly. But she had seen enough. She downed her drink and headed up the stairs. She hadn't made it very far when she was blasted by a door.
Gail awoke with a start and reached for her scar. Well, that dream had been a new one, she brushed it away as she did most nights. She propped herself up and glanced around the darkened room. No sign of Chloe. She checked her phone for the time, ignoring the texts from Holly. It was 8 pm. She got up and decided to head downstairs for some food.
"Hey Sleeping Beauty, nice of you to join us." Chloe called out from the couch where she was studying with Andy and Traci.
"You're the Disney character, not me." Gail yawned as she headed into the kitchen to grab her stash of cheesepuffs. She brought her treat with her to the living room and plopped down next to Traci.
"You gonna share those, Peck?" Traci asked as she reached for the bag.
"Get your own, Nash." She pulled the bag out of reach before popping one into her mouth and crunching loudly in the other girl's face.
"Are you actually going to study with us?" Andy asked pointedly.
"Nope." The blonde replied and continued to munch away on her treat.
The other girls went back to studying and despite what Gail said she still answered their questions when they asked. After a while she got bored. She stole some paper from Traci and started to make paper airplanes that she was nailing McNally and Price with.
"Are you really going to do that all night?" Andy asked as another plane hit her in the head.
"Probably." Gail shrugged and created a new plane.
"Why don't you go play video games with the boys?" Traci suggested, even though she was the only one safe from Gail's assault at the moment, she didn't like the distraction and clearly the blonde was bored.
Gail had already texted Chris for that exact purpose but the boys were trying for once to be productive, "They're supposedly studying too."
"Then maybe you should try it." Andy advised.
"Nah."
"Alright, then go bug the seniors." Traci tried to send her in a different direction. She felt like she was back at home and Gail was one of her younger siblings annoying the rest of them and she had to find a distraction for her.
"That's two whole flights of stairs up." The blonde complained.
"Holly left, it's safe to take over Frankie's bed." Chloe offered up the tidbit, figuring the blonde was still avoiding her friend.
"Don't know what you're talking about, Princess."
"Sure you don't, Grumpy."
Gail waited a while, cackling each time one of her planes hit its mark but even that grew tedious. She headed up the stairs and paused at her own room before heading up the extra steps.
"What do you want, Peck?" Frankie asked from her desk.
"Entertainment." The blonde strode into the room, heading straight for the bed. "Did you wash those after pulling a Linda Blair?"
"Of course. So you want entertainment. You finally going to put out?"
"That would be entertaining for you, not me."
"Please, I'm the best you could ever have. You could only be so lucky."
"Whatever." She glanced at her phone, which vibrated, indicating a new message. She saw Holly's name but ignored it.
"Still ignoring Holly." Frankie stated knowingly, it wasn't really a question.
"What makes you think it was her?"
"You started to smile when you saw the name before you remembered that you were supposed to be mad at her. Want to tell me what she said that had you storming around?"
"I was just living up to my name." Gail replied offhandedly, garnering an eye roll from Frankie.
"Ha...ha...Seriously, whatever it was, you do realize she's sorry for it, right?"
"So."
"Look, I'm the first person to hold a grudge, but whatever Holly said she didn't mean it. I saw how upset she was that she had offended you. I don't know what she did, but whatever it was I guarantee you she wasn't being herself."
Gail sighed before confiding in Frankie, "She saw the stupid kiss with Nicholas and she jumped to bunch of conclusions and decided to ignore me and be weird as a result."
"Wait, really? That doesn't sound like her at all."
"Well, maybe you don't know her as well as you thought." Gail pointed out with a shrug. She thought she had known Holly but clearly she had been mistaken.
But Frankie knew there was more to whatever was going on with Holly then just that she had seen some kiss. "Oh, no, I know her exactly as well as I think. Which is why I have feeling I know why she reacted the way she did."
"Why's that?"
"You should ask her." Frankie deflected, she knew that Holly was crushing something awful on the blonde but she also didn't want to betray her friend entirely.
"I'm asking you."
"Did she tell you about her first girlfriend?" The senior asked, maybe she could explain around the topic.
"Yeah, so?" Gail wasn't sure where this was going.
"So you know she went back to her ex-boyfriend and made Holly feel like complete shit and totally disposable."
Gail nodded.
"Well, that's kind of something that sticks with a person. She probably felt like it was happening again."
"We're just friends." Gail reminded the other girl.
Frankie snorted at the blonde's obliviousness, "Keep telling yourself that, Peck."
Gail decided not to fight back. She laid back on Frankie's bed and stared up at the ceiling, lost in her own thoughts.
It had been a particularly long day of classes. Mondays were easily the worst day of the week and Gail's sleep hadn't gotten any better that night when she finally got kicked out of Frankie's bed. She had spent the entire night tossing and turning before getting up early for class.
As she approached the house, she noticed a familiar figure sitting on the porch.
"Holly, what are you doing here?" Gail asked once she was within earshot of the brunette. "Shouldn't you be off somewhere studying?"
"I came to apologize," Holly replied sincerely, she smiled a small shy smile as she offered Gail the box in her hands, "And give you these."
"Doughnuts."
"Yeah, from that bakery across from the schwarma place you took me to."
Holly had gone to Gail's favorite bakery to get her an apology gift. The blonde eyeballed the other girl, "Let me guess, Oliver?"
"He may have mentioned which ones were your favorites."
"I accept the doughnuts but that still doesn't mean I accept your apology." The blonde took the box and looked at the jackpot she had just scored. A dozen of what were indeed her favorite doughnuts and a variety of them.
"Gail, I'm really sorry, that was a shitty way for me to act, I just hadn't expected it. I don't know why I even reacted the way I did."
Gail looked at how remorseful the medical student was. She knew that Holly hadn't meant to hurt her and that she had acted out of character. She also knew that Holly was extremely stressed out for her exam, and yet, she had spent however long that night just sitting around waiting for Gail, and whatever time it had taken to go to the bakery. It was more than she had ever expected from anyone for an apology. "I think the stress of your exam is melting your brain a bit."
Holly smiled her crooked smile, "Agreed. Please, Gail, what can I do to make it up to you?"
Gail contemplated the question for a minute. She already had doughnuts, which would be her usual demands. Finally, she made a decision, "Buy me dinner."
"When?" Holly asked, more than ready to make good on the offer.
"This weekend, when we're watching that list of yours." Gail bit into one of her apology doughnuts, letting the sugary treat dance over her tongue.
Holly's smile became a bit brighter, "You still want to?"
"Well, I can't let you keep doubting me. But I also get to pick some to watch." Gail pointed at her with her half-eaten doughnut and a very serious expression.
"Deal. I am sorry."
"I know, Nerd. Just don't pull that shit again." The blonde polished off the rest of her doughnut and reached for another.
"I won't." Holly promised sincerely.
"Now that that's settled, aren't you supposed to be studying?"
Holly glanced at her watch, it was getting late. "Yeah, I should get back to it actually. Want to join?" She offered a little hopefully.
"My brain is pretty beat, long day."
"Oh, ok. So, I'm not going to the clinic this week, for obvious reasons but I will be studying if you want to join."
"We'll see, I have to work every day this week." That was so she could get Sunday off at her parent's demand. Although, Friday was the lunch shift so that wouldn't be bad.
"Well you know where to find me, I'll see you later, hopefully."
"Catch ya later, Nerd."
Gail watched Holly head back towards her own apartment, and for the first time in the last couple of days she felt a little bit better. Maybe, it was just the sugar coursing through her veins, she tucked into another doughnut as she headed into her house.
"You coming out with us?" Chloe asked her roommate when she got home from work that Friday evening.
"I don't know." The week had gone by pretty quickly but had been tiring. She didn't really want to go out but she knew that her housemates had been planning this all week, especially when they found out that both her and Traci had the night off, which almost never happened.
"Come on we were going to all take Traci out to cheer her up about Dex. You have to come." The redhead pleaded with her big doe-eyes.
Gail glanced down at her phone. Holly and her had gotten back to normal, texting every day, mostly about how Holly's studying was going and if she was eating. In turn, Holly asked about work and school for the blonde. They bantered like usual and had pretty much shaken off all the awkwardness between them. They had even gone for a couple of runs that week since neither was sleeping particularly well.
She had texted the medical student before work to see how her exam had gone which Holly had sent back an indifferent emoticon. But then she had invited Gail again to the party that night despite the blonde's admittance that she really hated parties. The brunette had understood, and was even empathetic as she explained that she hated them as well. In the end, the invitation was still there and Holly had told Gail that she hoped she took it.
But could she? Could Gail handle being at a party where someone else lived? Would she survive being trapped in a building with a ton of medical students who she didn't know? Just meeting Holly and Lisa that first time had been enough so send her running to the bar. Her dreams had already been bad that week but would she risk it all just to hang out with Holly?
Making her decision, Gail turned her attention back to her roommate, "How would you all feel about meeting future doctors?"
"You came." Holly greeted the blonde as she arrived outside the building.
Gail had texted Holly to ask if it was ok if she brought everyone with her, since she was supposed to be taking Traci out to get over Dex, though that seemed pointless when all Traci really needed to do was to acknowledge how she felt about Jerry, or at least realize how head-over-heels the boy was for her. Holly had told her the more the merrier and to text when they got there. But the brunette had already been waiting outside when the group arrived, trying to avoid the party as well.
"I told you I would."
"And so did everyone else." Holly smiled to the gaggle of people accompanying the blonde. It looked like almost everyone from both houses had come.
"I warned you." Gail replied unapologetically.
"You did." After saying proper hellos to the whole group, they followed the medical student into the building.
"OK, so each room has different stuff going on, they have different drinks and games and what not." Holly explained when they reached the fourth floor, which was hosting the party this time.
The group split up and took off to explore the various rooms and grab drinks, leaving Holly and Gail together in the overly crowded hallway. There were people everywhere and music blasting from different apartments.
"So..." Gail tried to grab Holly's attention but was interrupted by strong arms pulling her in for a hug.
"Garbage Pail!" Steve greeted his sister. Holly hadn't mentioned his sister would be there that night.
Gail could smell the alcohol on her brother, he had apparently been there a while. "Steve, why are you here?"
"I was invited." He smiled at Holly. He had texted his friend to see if she wanted to catch up since he had the night off for once. She had told him about the party and invited him and his girlfriend. "What are you doing here?"
"You invited my idiot brother?" Gail looked at Holly incredulously.
"He had asked me what I was doing a couple of hours ago. I wasn't sure you were going to come and figured it wouldn't hurt. Plus, Steve knows a bunch of people."
"I did go to the University with some of these kids." Steve concurred.
Gail already didn't want to be at the party, but now she also had to deal with Steve. "Oh, good this night just gets better." Gail muttered to herself before storming off in search of her housemates who had abandoned her.
Holly frowned as she watched the blonde take off down the hall and into the swarm of people.
Steve noticed the interaction. "Why'd you invite my sister, Hols?"
"We're friends, Steve."
"That's all it is?"
"What else would it be? Am I not allowed to be friends with her?"
"Just be careful, Holly."
Holly leveled her friend with a look, "Are you saying this because I'm a lesbian? I'm not going to hurt your sister, Steve."
"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm more worried about her hurting you. Gail isn't the best person with feelings, including her own. She is super closed off and defensive and cold. I've seen her break her fair share of hearts."
"Aren't you supposed to be the protective big brother?"
"I'm just being honest and looking out for you, Hols."
"Thanks, Steve, but you don't have to worry, I told you we're just friends."
Steve's girlfriend returned from grabbing them both drinks. Holly stayed to chat with them both for a while then she decided to take off in search of a drink of her own and in hopes of figuring out where the blonde had disappeared.
It took a while for Holly to find the blonde and it was by accident. After three failed attempts to locate her friend, and picking up various drinks along way, the brunette had stumbled upon the game room where she had spotted some of the housemates.
"Hey!" Gail stopped Holly with her leg, as the brunette almost passed by her unnoticed. She had been sitting up on the counter watching the rest of her friends play various games in the room they had discovered.
Sam and Andy were facing Traci and Jerry in a game of beer pong. Nick, Juliet, and Frankie were engaged in a game of flip cup against Rachel and some of the other medical students. Chloe, Dov, and Gerald were playing quarters with people Gail had never seen before. While, Chris had gotten sucked into a game of "Never Have I Ever" by a bunch of pretty girls in the far corner of the room. The boy was still rebounding from Denise, so Gail had practically shoved him into the gaggle of girls when she had seen his nervous attempts at flirting. Luckily, thanks to the booze and a lack of man candy in the med school class, those girls had been all over him like a cheap suit.
"Hey, I've been looking for you." Holly immediately smiled a crooked smile at Gail as she took a sip of the drink in her hand.
"Well you found me. I was starting to think you didn't want to see me."
"You were the one that took off." Holly countered.
"Yeah, well, giving my brother any kind of ammunition to use against me with my parents is kind of a poor choice. And having him hover over me at a party didn't sound like much fun."
The brunette frowned apologetically, "Sorry."
"No worries, I'm glad you ditched him."
Holly smiled and took another sip of her drink. It hadn't really been much of a choice for her between the two Pecks. She glanced around before asking, "You're not playing?"
Gail wasn't taking part in any of the games, because she wasn't entirely ready to drink that night. She still felt the need to be on guard, and if she was sober then she could also keep an eye on her friends. Not that she was super worried for them. They were in a big enough group that they would all look out for one another.
"Not right now. I think I found my entertainment for the moment." They were shouting to be heard over the music but Gail noticed the smile that her comment elicited, she was pleased to get a normal Holly reaction to her subtle flirting. It was much better than their awkwardness at the restaurant earlier that week. "So how was your test?"
"Ok, long." Holly said with a deep sigh. She rubbed at her shoulder, which had been killing her between the stress of studying and being hunched over books for nearly two weeks straight, then sitting in an uncomfortable chair and taking the exam for four hours.
Gail noticed the way Holly was holding her shoulder. She was sure the medical student was in pain from the stress of the week. "Come here."
"Why?" The brunette asked a little curiously.
But the blonde reached out and tugged her in with a nudge of her leg. Holly moved closer till she was positioned between Gail's legs. They were standing close together and Gail found her eyes dipping down to look at Holly's lips. She glanced back up and noticed that the brunette was watching her with barely concealed amusement. Clearly she had caught the lip-look.
"Turn around." The blonde ordered and Holly complied before resting her back against the counter Gail was sitting on. She had one of the other girl's toned, jean-clad legs on each side of her.
Gail brushed the long, soft, raven hair away from Holly's neck and shoulders. She slid her hand under the collar of Holly's shirt and began to massage her smooth skin. "Relax", she softly uttered into the other girl's ear and Holly complied, leaning further back into the blonde.
"Oh my God, Gail." Holly moaned as Gail expertly removed the tension from the brunette' body. She got lost in the feeling of the pale hands working into her muscles, completely forgetting they were at a party surrounded by people.
Hearing Holly say her name like that had set Gail's body on fire. So had touching the medical student's skin. It was as soft as Gail had imagined, not that she had spent a lot of time imaging Holly's skin. Oh, fuck it; she had spent a lot of time imagining the medical student's skin in a variety of ways that were more than friendly scenarios.
Gail smirked, deciding to push things a little further, before leaning back into the girl's space, her lips brushing gently against Holly's ear, "What can I say, Nerd, I'm good with my hands."
Holly shuddered slightly at the implications. She wasn't sure if the blonde was just messing with her but the way she was touching her she could say whatever the hell she wanted. It didn't hurt that Holly was a bit tipsy so she let herself enjoy the feeling.
But their little bubble of sexual tension was rudely burst when someone forcefully pulled Holly away from Gail.
"Ow, Jess, what the hell?" Her ex-girlfriend, who had pulled her close, was harshly twisting Holly's wrist. Holly hadn't expected Jess to be there at all let alone grabbing her in the middle of a room surrounded by her classmates. She could smell the alcohol on the redhead. This was not going to be good.
Gail jumped off the counter at the sight of McD roughly handling Holly. "Let her go." She bit out and stepped forward ready to force her if necessary.
But Holly had managed to break free on her own. And had placed a gentle hand on Gail to stop her from getting too close. "It's ok, Gail."
"No, it's not." And Gail was more than ready to protect Holly.
Jess watched the two of them continue to look at each other, "Seriously, Holly I can't believe you were actually cheating on me with this slut. Then you bring her here to rub her in my face."
"What are you even doing here?" Holly turned her attention back to Jess. She knew that the redhead hated these parties and never came to them. It's why she hadn't gone to any when they had been dating. If she had known Jess would be there, she wouldn't have come and she definitely wouldn't have invited Gail. Now she was stuck between the two and at least one of them was drunk.
"I actually go to the same school as you and happen to be friends with most of your classmates. What's she doing here?" She glared at the blonde who was staring daggers right back, clearly not intimidated.
"I invited her." And Holly took a step closer to Gail, who smirked at the incensed redhead.
"Look, you made your point. I admit it, I'm jealous. Come on. Let's just go talk somewhere, alone. I miss you, don't you miss me, Baby?" Jess moved forward, and reached out to grab Holly's arms again, but the brunette stepped out of reach.
Holly rubbed at her wrist, "That's the thing, Jess. I really don't."
"You can't actually be serious about being with the stupid bartender? What could she possibly offer that I couldn't?"
"Leave her out of this. She's not the reason we broke up, that was all you. I told you before we're just friends but you don't want to believe me."
"Well, how could I when she was trying to weasel her way into your bed every chance she got? Clearly, it didn't take that long." She added with disdain.
If Gail wasn't so pissed about the redhead's presence and her touching Holly, she probably would've been amused by how clearly jealous she was.
"This is all your fucking fault." Jess turned her anger directly onto Gail.
But Gail could care less, "Really, because maybe if you actually pulled your head out of your ass long enough to listen to what Holly had to say, you'd realize that I had nothing to do with your inability to hold onto the best thing that's ever going to happen to you."
Jess furiously shoved Gail, sending her stumbling backwards. Before the blonde could retaliate she felt strong arms grab a hold of her from behind. Her brother's voice was in her ear, "Whoa there, little sister."
Gail struggled against her brother's hold, ready to finally teach McD a lesson, "Let go of me, Steven."
"No way, Garbage Pail. I'm not about to explain to the Superintendent, why I had to arrest you for assault."
"She started it."
"Think Mom's going to accept that as an excuse. Especially when she finds out you were at a party."
Gail stopped trying to resist. She knew her brother was right, but Steve didn't let go. Holly placed a gentle hand on Gail as well, "Come on, let's go. We don't need to put up with this any longer."
Seeing the tender way Holly touched the blonde and the way she looked at her was the last straw and Jess snapped. She hauled off and sucker punched Gail right in the jaw while the blonde's brother was still restraining her.
"Hey," Steve pulled his sister back out of harm's way but it was too little too late. Gail could taste the blood her mouth from where the corner of her lip split. She was ready to tear McD to pieces but she didn't have to.
Gail had completely forgotten that she was in a room surrounded by her housemates and neighbors but she was quickly reminded of it when she saw Traci surge forward and shove McD away from her. "You like picking on people who can't fight back?" Traci shoved the girl again, "Why don't you try taking on someone who isn't being restrained?"
Gail hadn't seen her friend come over and she quickly scanned the room for the rest of them. Chloe, and even Andy, had stepped forward to place themselves between McD and her, while Frankie was being restrained by Nick and Juliet, though she looked like she wanted a piece of the action as well. Meanwhile, the boys stood nearby ready to intervene too.
"You're the idiotic waitress from the Penny, oh man it's two for one in the incompetent slut department today." Jess spat as she shoved Traci back.
Traci went to hit the girl but Jerry and Sammy, who didn't want the fight to escalate, caught her first.
"What the fuck is your problem, Jess?" Holly had lost all semblance of her usual calm demeanor when she had seen her ex hit Gail and try to fight Traci. She couldn't believe this was the same girl she had dated for years. She had been foolish to think that Jess had the right person for her. Now, she just wanted her the hell out of her life.
A couple of the guys who lived on the floor and were hosting the party moved forward. "Hey, ladies what seems to be the problem?"
"Jess has had too much drink, I think it's time she heads home." Holly explained to her classmates.
"No fucking way, they should have to leave." The ginger immediately protested.
Steve stepped forward, now that he no longer had to hold onto his sister. "You need to leave now before I get a couple of uniforms over here to arrest you for assault."
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm a cop and the brother of the girl you just attacked. So unless you want to spend a night in jail, I highly suggest you leave on your own."
Jess huffed and stormed off. The guys apologized to the group and headed off to make sure the redhead had a way of getting home, they also wanted to get the hell away from the cop before they got into trouble too.
Everyone turned around to check on Gail but she brushed off their concerns. She wiped away the blood on her lip.
"Come on," Holly said and she gently tugged the blonde's hand to follow her, "We'll be back." She told the group.
Gail snagged a bottle of tequila as she let herself get led out of the room by the brunette. She even let the medical student intertwine their fingers together.
When they got to the top floor, Holly led Gail into her apartment. Gail glanced around curiously. It was the first time she had ever been in Holly's apartment. Everything, unsurprisingly, was neatly arranged. It had a open floor plan with a decent living room and dining room. The kitchen was spacious. From what Gail could tell, it looked like there were two bedrooms across from one another on one side of the apartment and a third on the other side of the living room. She briefly wondered which one was Holly's.
Holly finally let go of the pale hand as she sat the blonde on a stool at the kitchen island, then went to get the first aid kit from the bathroom. She didn't say a word as she returned to the kitchen to grab a towel and some ice.
"Well, that was unexpected." Gail tried to break the tension. She took a sip from the tequila bottle then offered it to Holly who took a bigger sip than the blonde.
"Gail, I am so sorry. I had no idea she would be here or that she would attack you like that."
"Hey, it's not your fault." Gail immediately went to soothe her friend's concerns. "Actually, I was referring to the other girls trying to protect me. We aren't exactly close."
"They clearly care about you." Holly gestured to Gail's phone, which had been blowing up with texts from the other girls since she left the party.
"Maybe they aren't so bad." She took another drink.
"I can't believe you got hurt because of me."
Gail winced slightly, as Holly cleaned up the cut. It didn't take much to get the bleeding to stop luckily and she was gently pressing the ice to the blonde's jaw. The pale skin was already getting discolored.
"Holly, it is not your fault that McD is a crazy bitch with a surprisingly strong fist."
Holly looked at Gail with such concern as she gently traced the uninjured side of her face with the tender caress of the back of her hand. Gail was fairly certain no one had ever looked at her with such care.
"Hey, I'm ok. It was just a punch, don't worry, she hits like a girl." The blonde joked.
Holly smiled slightly, but her eyes were still swimming with tears. "That's not funny. You getting hurt because of me isn't funny."
"It wasn't-"
But Holly cut her off, "It was. If I hadn't dated her. If I hadn't invited you. If I wasn't so obviously..." But Holly trailed off. She was about to say that if she wasn't so obviously crushing on Gail, then Jess wouldn't have gotten jealous and attacked the blonde; the gorgeous blonde who was now bleeding in her kitchen because of her ex.
"So obviously what, Hols?" Gail's eyes drifted down to Holly's lips.
"Forget it."
"I'm not going to forget it. You can tell me."
"Okay. Lis-listen the other day, me acting weird I know I was being stupid. I had seen you with Nick and then you texted about the pregnancy kits and I just jumped to conclusions. But the thing was that seeing that and thinking that you and him were back together sucked. Like really sucked. That's when it hit me that I kind of have feelings for you. I like you as more than a friend and I don't expect you to feel the same way but I feel like I have to tell you. I don't know why I didn't just tell you sooner, we tell each other things, right? That's what's so great about us hanging out but I didn't want to mess things up by telling you about how I felt, and I don't know, freak you out or something..."
Gail launched herself at Holly, catching the brunette completely off-guard as she cut off the rambling with a kiss. Gail's hands firmly gripped Holly's cheeks as she captured the soft lips that she hadn't stopped thinking out since that ridiculously sexy version of duck-duck-goose Holly had played in the bar. But unlike Holly's coy kiss, Gail's kiss was more lustful, hungrier, and filled with the underlying desire that they had both tried unsuccessfully to hide. For her part, Holly kissed Gail back even though she let the blonde dominate the kiss.
Gail finally broke the kiss but she kept her hands exactly where they were, her eyes slowly opened and sought out the big brown eyes hidden behind dark-rimmed glasses. Their faces mere centimeters apart as she softly spoke, "I'm sorry. You just-you just had to stop talking." Gail's eyes travelled back and forth between Holly's eyes and her lips.
"I won't say another word," Holly whispered, looking at Gail's lips before the blonde leaned in for a softer kiss. This one slower, where both girls just enjoyed kissing one another. It was something they had both wanted for far longer than either one would admit.
The kiss deepened as Gail pulled Holly into her. Her hands slipping down to the other girls' hips to tug her closer as she stood up from the stool. Holly was quickly losing herself in Gail's kisses, they were better than she had even imagined. Damn, the blonde could kiss. With as much self-restraint as she could muster she pulled back.
"Gail." She said softly.
"Holly." Gail replied equally softly as she tried to pull Holly back in for another kiss.
The blonde's phone went off for another text, "Maybe we should head back, your friends are looking for you."
"Let them look." She stood up from the stool and caught the brunette's lips again in a searing kiss. She navigated Holly backwards till she reached a wall. She pulled back slightly, "We should stay here and keep kissing." To emphasize her point she went back to kissing Holly like she had been starving for her.
The brunette let her. She had never been kissed like this. She had never been so clearly the object of desire of the other person and she had certainly never thought Gail would respond to the declaration of her crush by kissing her. She reached up to cradle Gail's face and accidentally pressed too hard on the spot where Jess had hit her.
Gail pulled back with a hiss.
"I am so sorry, Gail. Do you want some ice?"
"No, it's ok, but you should probably keep kissing me to make it feel better."
Holly smirked and gently pressed her lips to the tender spot along the blonde's jaw. Then she moved up and kissed the corner of Gail's mouth next to the small cut that luckily wasn't bleeding despite the blonde's use of her lips.
When the brunette pulled back, Gail pouted and pointed back to her lips. Holly couldn't resist the adorableness and kissed the blonde firmly on her lips. Finally, they needed air and broke the kiss.
"I think you should give me a tour." Gail began to steer Holly through the apartment as she continued to kiss the taller girl. She only released the other girl's lips long enough for her to explain each room. After Holly gestured to the kitchen, living room, and bathroom, Gail asked the most important question.
"But which one is your bedroom?" Gail husked against the brunette's lips.
A shiver ran down Holly's spine as she pointed in the direction of her closed door. The blonde steered them in that direction till they reached the wall next to the door. She pinned the brunette to the wall. She traced her lips with her tongue till Holly granted her access. She kissed her deeply earning an appreciative moan from the girl she had pinned. But as Gail reached for the door knob, there was a loud knock on the front door.
Their kiss broke at the interruption.
"Ignore it." Gail told Holly, and she resumed the kissing.
But the pounding continued. Finally Steve's voice rang through the door, "Hey, it's me, open up."
"We should answer it." Holly told Gail, but the blonde was more focused on continuing where they had left off.
"We should definitely ignore it." She captured the other girl's lips again.
"Come on, I know you're in there." Steve shouted.
Holly broke the kiss quickly, "He isn't going to go away."
Gail dropped her head to Holly's shoulder and groaned, "You're going to answer it, aren't you?"
"Sorry," Holly apologized and then pressed a quick kiss to the blonde's pouting lips. Gail finally released her from the wall. The brunette quickly brushed a hand through hair to try to smooth it out a bit after Gail had tangled her hands in the thick locks. She adjusted her clothes and glasses before she went to answer the door.
"What's up, Steve?" Holly asked as she opened the door enough to talk to the boy but not enough to invite him in.
"Where's Gail?"
"What do you want, Traitor?" If Gail hadn't already been annoyed at her brother for holding her back when she got hit, she definitely wanted to destroy him for interrupting her and Holly.
"To see how you were."
"I'm fine, no thanks to you."
"Come on, Gail, you could've killed that girl and I didn't want to be the one to explain to Mom how I let you commit a homicide right in front of me."
"Whatever, Steven."
"Look, I'm sorry, ok. I'm going to head out, I wanted to see if you needed a ride."
Gail glanced at Holly and smiled a small smile, "Nah, I think I'm good."
"Well, you might want to get back to the party, everyone is looking for you."
"I'll think about it."
"Whatever, I'll pick you up on Sunday at 4:30pm."
Fuck, Gail had completely forgotten about Sunday dinner. She groaned, "Thanks for reminding me Steve, can't wait to explain this one to the Superintendent." She gestured to her face.
"Just put some make-up on, you'll be fine."
"You might want to leave before you're the one who needs make-up for dinner on Sunday."
"Alright, sister dear, I can tell where I'm not wanted. I'll see you then."
Gail rolled her eyes and stepped back into the kitchen to grab the ice that was melting for her face.
Holly gave Steve a hug good-bye, "Remember what I said, Hols." He warned.
"See you both later." He shouted and took off for the elevator.
Holly sighed and headed back into the apartment. She saw Gail icing her jaw and checking her phone.
"Come on, let's head back."
A/N: I promised an interrogation-room level kiss, and I always keep my promises...