Hi! 7th chapter is up. I still have no idea what I'm doing with this fic, but okay...

Thanks EV and rubyredbird for being such loyal readers!

I'm breaking my own promise in this chapter, because I'm switching POV in this one. It contains both Delphine's and Cosima's POV. Enjoy!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas btw :D

They probably don't realize how thin these walls are, because they never had to be quiet when they got into a fight. We just finished dinner and Sally suggested that Cosima and I should watch TV and practically pushed us into the living room, closing the pocket doors behind us. Sally is furious, she's screaming at her husband, her hands flying through the air in anger, while Gene sits stoic and silent at the dinner table, looking unimpressed with his wife's tirade. They wouldn't be fighting if they knew I could hear every word they're saying.

"I can't believe you did this! Behind my back?! Cosima can't have a job!"

"And why is that?"

"Because she has a disability and social anxiety Gene!"

"That's the perfect reason to get job Sal! It will boost her confidence and she'll have to talk to strangers too."

"GENE!" Sally shrieked, standing up from her chair. "Did you not hear me?! Your daughter isn't like other kids. She's different and you need to accept that!"

"And you need to stop treating her like a child! She's seventeen for God's sake! I know it's hard for you that our little girl is changing into a woman, but you're keeping her isolated. She's your daughter, not your best friend."

Cosima let out a soft chuckle, her eyes glued to the TV, completely unaware of the intense fight between her parents.

"And you... you," Sally sputtered before she burst out crying. Gene jumped to his feet and took his wife into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"I just… you know I can't deal with our daughter's hearing impairment Sally. Our friends' children, Delphine, Scott, they all have a part-time job outside of school, they're going out with their friends… to parties, to the movies, sports games, whatever. She doesn't have that Sal! Cosima is being bullied since middle school and I don't want her to be different. How is she ever going to take care of herself without a job? Without friends? I've got sleepless nights and nightmares about her going to college and living on her own. I just can't accept that she isn't like other teens!" he shouted, smashing his fist on the table.

"I know sweetheart, but you have to. I know I'm too soft for Cosima, but you're too harsh."

Sally began to cry even harder and buried her face into her husband's chest. They look broken, powerless and so desperate. I've never thought about it, but it must be hard for them, raising a child with a disability and who is also constantly being bullied by her schoolmates. They'll probably always be worried about Cosima's development and future and it's making me incredibly sad.

"Maybe we need to go back to Catherine, get some more therapy to deal with this," Gene suggested, stroking his wife's hair.

"Again? I don't know Gene."

"But this isn't healthy for our relationship either babe, we've been on the brink of divorce once because of this sweetheart, because we're not on the same page about dealing with our daughter's limitations. We've fought so hard to stay together. You don't want to risk that again, do you?"

"Is that a threat Gene?"

"No honey, it's not, but the older Cosima gets, the more fights we have. It's always about her Sal, she needs to grow more independent. You're sleeping in her bed again, it's not good for our marriage sweetheart. I can't even remember the last time we made love."

Okay, I didn't necessarily need to hear that. Gosh… they're like fifty years old or something. Gross.

"Delphine, you don't like this show do you? You're not paying attention at all," Cosima whispered, locking her eyes on mine.

"Yeah, sorry. Those subtitles are very distracting."

"Okay," she shrugged, using the remote to turn off the TV. "Let's go to my room okay?"

"Yes," I nodded, immensely grateful for the fact that I could escape this awkward situation.

We walked upstairs and I collapsed on Cosima's bed, letting out an exaggerated moan when my back hit the mattress.

"How was your date?" she asked, taking off her shoes before she lay down next to me.

"It was nice, we ordered way too much food for just two people, but it was good."

"Did he kiss you again?"

"Yes, twice."

She giggled nervously, a light flush forming on her cheeks as I rolled my head to the side to look at her.

"Why are you blushing?" I wondered, brushing the back of my hand over her cheek.

"Is he your boyfriend now?" she asked, avoiding my question.

"I don't know, we're not official."

"Okay."

"Are you happy with your first job?"

"Yes," she beamed, nodding vigorously. "It's amazing. I feel a lot more grown up and I'm looking forward to my first day. Peter will be there to help me out. I think this is the first time that I feel like a seventeen-year-old instead of twelve."

"That's great Cosima, I'm so happy for you."

"Hmm," she hummed in agreement. "Delphine? I don't know what you're expecting of tonight. I've never had a sleepover before."

"We can observe our ant colony or we can watch a movie… paint each other's nails?"

"Oh, that's a great idea! Do you wanna paint mine?"

"Sure," I smiled, standing up to check out her nail polish collection.

"It's inside that top drawer," she said, pointing at her dresser.

I opened the drawer and looked at the three small nail polish bottles; black, red and pink. So basic… so cute. It's nothing compared to the thirty different colors I own myself. I reached out to grab the black one and shuffled back to the bed, sitting across from Cosima as I opened a playlist on my phone. The sound of Coldplay's The Scientist filled the bedroom and I instantly felt stupid when I noticed the confused look on Cosima's face. Merde… playing music when I'm with friends is so normal to me, I didn't even think of Cosima's hearing impairment.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, grabbing the device to turn off the music, but Cosima stopped me and took my phone in her hands, turning the volume up to its maximum. Now it's my turn to look confused.

"I like this one," she whispered after a few seconds, pressing her palm flat on the screen, her fingertips covering the speaker.

"What?"

"I like this one."

"Yeah, I heard you," I chuckled, touching her hand. "How do you know you like this song?"

"Oh, I ehm… I can feel the vibrations. The rhythm of the music flows through my body and I just love that feeling so much. I always put my hand over my father's speaker in his car when he drives me to my science club. My mom never listens to music in the car, because it distracts her and I think that's really stupid."

"You can feel music?" I asked, my eyes wide. Wow, she experiences the world so different than other people. It's so fascinating.

"Yeah, I do."

"That's amazing Cosima."

"It's just my way of enjoying music."

"Do you miss hearing songs? The words and melody?"

"No, this may sound crazy Delphine, but I enjoy music a lot more since… you know," she said, touching her ears. "I simply listened to the words when I was younger, but now, I feel it in my whole body, my heart and soul. I can even get emotional sometimes, without hearing the lyrics."

"Amazing," I repeated, still astonished by her sensitivity and adaptive skills. "Do you like going to concerts?"

"I don't know. I've never been to one since I became deaf."

"Mon Dieu," I breathed, stroking my thumb over her hand. "We should go together sometime."

"Seriously?" she gasped, a big grin plastered on her face. "That would be totally awesome, to dance at a concert again."

"You like dancing?"

"Oh yes."

She jumped up from the bed and began to dance with her eyes closed, moving her arms through the air in graceful motions, her feet gliding across the floor.

"Come on," she smiled over her shoulder, reaching her arm back to encourage me to stand up and move my own body to the rhythm as well. I slowly rose to my feet, feeling a bit self-conscious. I'm used to ballet and that's all about technique and posture. I'm not good at improvising, but I began to move my body nevertheless, making Cosima smile even brighter.

"Go Delphine," she laughed, clapping her hands together. We danced to another Coldplay song, Cosima's movements are a little out of sync, but she doesn't seem to care. I think she doesn't even know that she's not moving to the rhythm, but it's beautiful to watch her… so carefree, elegant and confident. I love this version of her, it makes my body tingle all over. The song ended and switched to Fix You by the same British band, but Cosima didn't notice and was still moving around with her arms raised above her head.

"What?" she giggled, her eyes sparkling with happiness. "Why did you stop dancing?"

"This is a slow song Cosima," I laughed, shaking my head in amusement.

"Oh."

Her smile faded and she stopped dancing abruptly before she sat down on the bed again.

"What's wrong? I wasn't making fun of you or anything," I said, taking her hand in mine, pulling her against me.

"Let's dance together," I suggested, draping my arms over her shoulders.

Cosima let out a shaky breath, tickling the skin of my neck as she placed her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my waist. I began to move slowly, swaying our bodies to the music as my heart rate sped up and my throat became dry. She smells like an ocean breeze on a hot summer day and her skin feels like velvet, making me all warm inside. I don't remember feeling like this with Julie or Brigitte, of course we danced together in my bedroom or at parties, but not like this, pressed up against each other and moving my hips so sensually against them. Every cell in my body wanted to push her away, tell her that I'm not interested in her… in girls in general, and cancel this sleepover, but something deep within me held me back from doing so. I can feel her hips, our bellies touching through our shirts and our chests so close that I am able to feel the softness of her small breasts against mine. It feels so absolutely perfect. We danced like that until the song ended, but I held her close. I could kiss her if she lets me…

Mon Dieu, what am I thinking?!

"You're beautiful," I whispered into her ear, knowing she couldn't hear the words.

"What?" she responded as she broke away from my embrace, wearing a shocked expression on her face.

"The song is over."

"Oh, right," she whispered and I can tell she doesn't believe me. "Do you still want to paint my nails?"

"Of course."

"Who initiated the kiss tonight?"

"Excuse me?" I gasped, remembering my thoughts from seconds ago.

"Simon? Or you?"

"Oh, I don't know Cosima, we both kind of did. It just went naturally."

"Naturally… right… okay."

It was silent while I painted Cosima's nails. I was focused on the task and I bet that Cosima's mind is thinking of Simon and me, trying to understand the words I just said.

"Delphine?"

"Yes?"

"Do you… like… do you… wanna have sex with him?" she asked awkwardly, yanking her hand away so she could gesture the spoken words as well.

"Cosima! I know that this is hard for you, but you'll have to keep your hands still while I'm painting your nails."

"Sorry," she chuckled sheepishly, placing her hand flat on the mattress. "But do you?"

"I don't know to be honest. It's not on my mind constantly, but I think I'm more ready than when I was dating Nathan," I said, not looking at her. "Let's just say that I wouldn't stop y… him if it happens."

"So, you want it?"

"I guess."

"O… Okay."

I can't tell if she's satisfied with my answer. She's nibbling on her bottom lip and her brows are furrowed in deep thought. I finished painting the nails of her right hand and switched to the other as Cosima began to speak again.

"You're gonna do it safely right?"

"Of course," I nodded, smiling at her. "You're worried about that?"

"No, I know you're responsible enough, but I just wanted to make sure."

"Don't worry Cosima. I'm on the pill and Simon has a pack of condoms in his nightstand. I've seen it when he asked me to get him a clean pair of socks."

"You stayed over at his house?" she gasped, her eyes widening in shock.

"Non, we were out for lunch and it started raining as we walked back to his house."

"Oh," she whispered as a faint blush covered her cheeks. "That's good, I guess. You don't wanna end up pregnant."

"Exactly," I smiled, closing the nail polish after I was done. "Are you on the pill as well Cosima?"

"No," she shook her head as the light blush on her face grew more prominent. "I wanna wait for a little while, I ehm… I just had my first period a few months ago and it hasn't come back yet, so… I ehm… I just wanna wait."

"A few months ago? That's…"

"Late? I know. I'm always late Delphine," she giggled. "Same reason as why I became deaf."

"Because of the illness you suffered from as a kid?"

"Yeah, well, the treatment is actually the cause of my hearing impairment and delayed puberty."

"Oh… I'm sorry Cosima."

"Don't worry about it," she smiled broadly, waving her hands through the air to dry her nails. "Let's watch a movie okay?"

"Sure."

I peeked through my lashes and didn't recognize my surroundings until I fully opened my eyes and slowly realized I was in Cosima's room… in Cosima's bed. She's lying beside me, her back turned towards me and breathing peacefully, still fast asleep. We watched a movie last night, talked about science and Cosima teached me a few hand gestures before we changed into our pyjamas and crawled into bed with a tub of vanilla ice cream. We fell asleep after midnight with the TV still on.

I left the bed and dragged myself to Cosima's bathroom, closing the door behind me. I sat down on the toilet and closed my eyes, trying to wake up my foggy brain as flashes of my dream came back to me… Simon and I kissing on my bed, undressing each other, touching and stroking, until Simon changed into a naked dreadlocked girl with brown eyes and glasses. Merde! My brain needs to stop this bullshit. I don't understand why it keeps projecting Cosima's interest in girls onto me. It doesn't make any sense.

I reached for the toiletpaper, but didn't find any. Shit! I hate mornings like these. I quickly opened Cosima's cabinet and smiled at the unopened packs of pads and tampons as I grabbed a roll of toilet paper, wiping myself before I flushed the toilet and walked back into the bedroom. I crawled back into bed and sucked in breath when an unconscious Cosima pressed her back against my chest, mumbling something inaudible into her pillow.

This is not okay, I should push her away, but my body had other ideas and completely relaxed against her, scooting even closer. A swarm of butterflies erupted in my stomach when her soft butt came in contact with my pelvis, this feels good… our bodies fit perfectly and it feels natural, almost as if we're made for each other. My skin is tingling all over and I closed my eyes as I instinctively pressed my lips to the shell of her ear, but instantly regretted the action when Cosima stretched her body and let out a big yawn. I gently squeezed her shoulder and rubbed my eyes, pretending as if I just woke up as well.

"Goodmorning," she mumbled, reaching out to grab her glasses from her nightstand.

Goodmorning, I signed, making her laugh.

"That's perfect Delphine. You're a quick learner."

"Girls?" Sally's voice called through the door. "Can I come in? Are you decent Delphine?"

Decent? What is she thinking? That Cosima and I…? Mon Dieu! Did Cosima tell her mom about her sexuality after she told me? Or does Sally usually just burst into Cosima's room? Yeah, she probably does because Cosima can't hear her knocking… and it's different now that I'm staying over.

"Yes, we are," I responded and sat up against the headboard, putting a little emphasize on the word 'we'.

Cosima's mother slowly opened the door and walked into the bedroom, carrying a tray filled with croissants, fresh fruit and tea in her hands. The sight of her reminded me of my own mother and I felt my heart breaking into a million pieces.

"So, how did you sleep girls?"

"Did you and Delphine have fun last night?" my mom asked, her eyes focused on the road.

"Yeah."

"Yes?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," she chuckled, tilting her head to the side to look at me as we drove past Peter's comic book shop. "Tell me sweetheart."

"I don't know what to say," I said, shrugging my shoulders. I feel weird, a strange feeling is swirling around in my stomach and I can't really describe it. Delphine kissed my ear when I was waking up, she doesn't know that I know, and I'm not sure why she did it. I'm not stupid, this is not what friends do in the morning, but Delphine is French, she kisses a lot of people on the cheek. It probably doesn't mean anything. She likes Simon and she was in a relationship with Nathan… and they are boys.

"Okay," my mom smiled, reaching out to stroke the back of my neck with her thumb. "Are you excited to see Scott?"

"Sure."

"Cosima?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have feelings for him?"

"What?" I snorted, rolling my eyes. "No!"

"So this isn't a date?"

"No mom! Jeez, he's just my friend. Obvs."

"Does he know that too?"

"What do you mean?" I gasped, turning my head to the side to look at her.

"I always have this feeling that Scott is in love with you honey. He's always nervous and awkward when he's around you."

"Mom please. Scott is always awkward and nervous… around everyone."

"Okay, if you say so… are you in love with someone right now sweetheart?"

"Nope," I answered truthfully, shaking my head.

"Are you sure? I can totally understand if you do. You're seventeen baby, you're in the middle of puberty and your hormones are raging, it's perfectly natural. Dad and I discussed it last night, and dad told me that Thomas asked him about you. You remember Thomas?"

"Ehm… no."

"That cute blond boy? Our new gardener? Dad hired him last week. He's constantly staring at you."

"Oh," I sighed, rolling my eyes again. "Yeah, now I remember."

"Maybe you should go out with him tomorrow night?"

"NO! Mom! Don't interfere with my love life."

"Love life?" she laughed, squeezing my neck affectionately. "You're so cute."

"Whatever."

"Allright Cosima, if you have any questions about love, your body, feelings or sex, you can always come to me. You know that right?"

"Mom," I groaned, checking the time on my phone. I'm late again. Great…

"Or you could ask Delphine, I can tell she's very mature for her age Cos."

"Right."

"Cosima, do you think I'm too soft for you?"

"No, but you're treating me like a child sometimes."

"I know sweetheart," she whispered. "It's just… you've been through a lot and I'm still so worried about you. You're a teenager now, but to me… you're still that eleven-year-old girl we had to take to the hospital every day."

"Yeah, I get it," I nodded, squeezing her hand. "You're my best friend mom and I love you."

"I love you too honey."

We continued the rest of the ride in silence, counting down the minutes until we arrived at the juice bar Scott invited me to.

"Have fun sweetheart and tell Scott I said hi."

I will, I signed, pressing a kiss to her cheek before I left the car.

Scott is waiting for me outside and gave me an awkward wave when he spotted me.

"Hi," I smiled, opening the door for us. We seated ourselves at a table by the window and I ordered myself a spirulina smoothie after Scott ordered himself a strawberry one.

"How was your sleepover?" he asked, smiling broadly.

"It was great, I really like Delphine, she's a good friend."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

"Cosima?"

"Yes?"

"It's my birthday next weekend, do you wanna come over and play some board games with me and a few guys?"

"Scott," I whispered, taking a sip of my smoothie. "I've got a job."

"You do?!"

"Yeah."

"Wow, that's… unexpected."

"Thanks dude," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes at him. "Is it really that shocking?"

"Kinda," he chuckled, scooting a little closer. "Where?"

"The Rabbit Hole."

"That comic book shop?"

"Yeah," I beamed, my eyes sparkling with excitement. "Four hours a week on Saturday mornings."

"Cool! Does that mean you can get me a few comics for free?"

"Sure, I'll bring you one for your birthday."

"A… awesome," he smiled.

We stared at each other for a second, until Scott did something that I had never expected from him in a million years. He launched forward, cupped my face in his hands and pressed his lips against mine, kissing me without any gentleness, so clumsy and inexperienced. My body froze in its seat and I inhaled sharply through my nose as my eyes grew wide. What… the… fuck! This is not how I had imagined my very first kiss and a feeling of anger bubbled up inside me. I had the right to share my first kiss with a girl who is special to me… a pleasurable first kiss, something that should've been a pleasant experience … consensual. He has ruined that for me.

"SCOTT!" I shouted, pushing him away. "What are you doing?"

"Ehm," he chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as a furious flush crept up his face. "That's obvious isn't it?"

"I… I…" I stuttered, completely taken aback by his action. "I don't want to kiss you!"

"Why not?"

"Because… I'm not into you dude."

"Oh."

He looks hurt, tears are welling up in his eyes and it makes me feel incredibly guilty. My reaction is not good for his self-esteem and I instantly regretted it.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did," I smiled, touching his shoulder. "It's just… I don't have feelings for you. It's not mutual Scottie."

"Yeah, that's clear now."

I wanted to tell him, tell him I'm not into boys, but I couldn't, not ready to come out yet.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, tears filling my eyes at the sight of him.

"It's okay."

"I think I'm going home," I said, standing up. "I'll pay for our drinks."

"Okay," he nodded, grabbing his phone out of his pocket.

I rose from my seat, turned around and walked out of the juice bar, feeling guilty to leave my loyal friend behind. I glanced over my shoulder one more time as I waited for a taxi, and saw Scott crying, his shoulders shaking violently with his head buried in his hands. Fuck…