A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Thankfully now the exams are over and I'm celebrating by bringing you guys this, I hope you like it!
The loud music from the Montgomery mansion let them right to the entrance. The beat from inside vibrated through the walls and seeped into their bones at the walked up the isle. The light stood out in multicolored beams from the windows. Cordelia looked down at Misty, who stared and craned her neck to get a glimpse of everything.
"Are you still up for this?"
Misty nodded and looked up at her. Her eyes were already growing twice as big from sucking in all the new impressions and an excited grin spread on her face. Cordelia returned the smile. She knew her mother would have her head for this, but she would take that later. She needed the distraction and she couldn't abandon Misty again.
"Alright here goes." She opened the front door and gestured for Misty to step inside the first party of her life. The sound hit them even harder from in here. They threw their coats where there was space and Cordelia guided Misty forward with a gentle hand on her back.
Life in high school was in many ways so similar to all her previous years of school and in other ways an entirely new world. She wasn't bullied anymore. Most of the faces were new and the few that remained had changed their ways. She could live with the haunting so long as the majority allowed her to start over. And they did. It gave her a strange sense of confidence, something she hadn't felt, well, ever. She even had enough of it to attend Madison's parties. While she was one of Cordelia's everlasting ghosts, she was also the town rich kid with a mansion even bigger than Fiona's mostly to herself and she knew how to throw a party. It was crammed with people. Only a fraction were people Cordelia knew, and it was easy to avoid the host. Madison was too busy bragging to everyone about her upcoming career in Hollywood to take notice of her peripheral guests.
Madison threw many open houses, because she was careless about the faces and because she could afford it. And Cordelia felt too bad to leave Misty home alone yet another evening. Cordelia wasn't the center of a party like Madison or her gang, but she did occasionally show up and tonight she wanted Misty to at least see this part of her new world. But more importantly, there was a part of her that didn't want to ever leave her alone again, after what happened the day of Delphine's arrest. Sometimes she couldn't stop her brain from going further down the line, imagine what would have happened, if she hadn't come home then. She hadn't been much help, it was the tortured man who saved Misty after all, despite his poor condition. Her scream had only set things in motion. But what if it hadn't? Would Delphine have killed Misty and the man both? She always stopped before she could imagine what that must look like, because the thought threatened to suffocate her.
Almost a year had passed since it happened, but it didn't feel like such, when the reminders were everywhere. Her mother's drinking, her constant struggle to keep them out of the media. The looks from everyone who knew just a word of the story. Even Myrtle's visits, which had been more frequent, bore a negative aftertaste, because she wouldn't stop talking about it. She insisted on getting every bit of the story, as if vivid details made her process better. On her first day there, she marched right to Laveau's house to offer condolences, but Laveau's rage hadn't settled yet and it ended with Myrtle being banned from the neighborhood. A nasty rumor ran along the streets that they had just let it happen.
"People deal with indignities like this differently. It'll be over soon enough", Myrtle said. She didn't seem bothered at all that the furious rumor had hit her too. Cordelia didn't possess the same levity, not with all the looks she received a school now. The new classmates didn't bully, rarely even mentioned the scandal, but the old ones had new ammunition. They wasn't oblivious to the rumors and they had had years of practice with getting under Cordelia's skin. Luckily, Misty had a way of absorbing all her anxieties. The younger girl didn't seem to linger much with these painful memories. Something else was on her mind though. Cordelia could see it working behind the light in her eyes, but she never dared asking. It felt like it was a secret Misty didn't want to confess. Cordelia sometimes feared that Misty hadn't forgiven her for not believing her, but she insisted on holding her tongue, until the day Misty decided to share her thoughts. The day had yet to come.
Misty clung to her arm as they moved through the enormous hallway towards the center of the party, her neck still craning to see it all. Cordelia chuckled and enjoyed her excitement. Cordelia thought Misty would always be worlds away from every other girl she had ever met, but that didn't mean she shouldn't get the taste of normalcy.
The crowd tightened and Cordelia heard the talks, saw the looks at her and Misty – "What the hell is this kid doing here?" – but she didn't care. She was thrilled at the thought of combining her two worlds for one night. And she felt like she could handle the disproving looks and rude questions of curiosity better with Misty by her side.
Finally she caught a familiar face.
"Come on, Misty", she said. "I want you to meet my friend Queenie."
To Cordelia's immense relief, Queenie hadn't pushed her away, when she heard of the arrest. She waved the rumor off as crazy talk the second she heard it, and Cordelia thought it was nice that she might at least have one classmate, who never turned against her.
Queenie took up quite a bit of the bar space, where she stood and watched the crowd with a glass of something colorful in her hand, while sucking on the straw. When she saw Cordelia, she smiled and waved. Her forehead creased when her eyes fell on Misty.
"What the hell, Cordelia, why did you drag baby sis with you?"
"She's here as my friend, not my adoptive sister. I told you how it is."
Queenie eyed Misty again, who stared back at her with that look of examination, Cordelia knew she used when deciding whether or not to like a person. She had loosened her tight grip on Cordelia's arm until only a light touch remained near her wrist.
Queenie shrugged. "Yeah and I still don't get it. You know, whatever. Hey there Misty, nice to meet you."
Misty nodded. "Nice to meet you too."
"What do you know, she talks. You guys want something? It's all free! Should she even drink?" She looked at Misty as if taking measure of her. Queenie was a bit shorter than Cordelia, so she and Misty aligned. In some way it blurred the age difference that Misty was able to look back with equal measure.
Cordelia looked to Misty. "I'm sure a sip won't hurt. Do you want to try?"
"Yeah okay. What is it?"
"Bit of this, bit of that. What do you think, Cordelia?"
Cordelia picked out a drink for them both and handed a glass to Misty. She hesitated with her own, because she wanted to see Misty's reaction when she took her first sip. Misty eyed the red liquid in her glass with suspicion in her eyes and took a mouthful. She grimaced, squinted and held the drink away.
"Ew it's so sour!"
Queenie burst with laughter and held onto the bar to prevent from falling. "I love rookies. I'll give you, they ain't cheap with the lime. Or the Vodka. You're alright, kiddo."
Misty looked up to Cordelia, who smiled at her before raising her own glass and took a sip. It was a little sour and surely much different from the things Misty tasted. Cordelia had made a mental note to make sure Misty didn't have too much, but looking at her face, she knew she did not need to worry.
Cordelia kept Misty close as the hours grew, and the crowd grew bigger and boozier. They made their way around, usually followed by Queenie, sometimes alone and once Misty wandered off on her own to find the bathroom. Cordelia offered to go with her, but Misty only smiled and announced that she if she could work her way around the foxes and alligators in the forest, she could handle drunk people as well.
Cordelia leaned against a table, felt the alcohol starting to work its way into her body and watched the crowd. Marvin, a boy from middle school, appeared beside her.
"Hey Goode, was that your pet sister? Ain't she's like twelve or something? What the hell she doing here, huh? Couldn't get a sitter?"
Cordelia shot him a disapproving look. "She's fourteen. And she's not like the rest of you. I wouldn't be surprised if she's more mature than all of you combined."
"Uh getting all protective. You know I'm sure there are boys who're into that."
"Go away, Marvin. Don't think I've forgotten that you're scared of her."
He laughed – nervously so, she noticed – and left her. She scolded at his back as he did. Of all the boys who bothered to talk to her, it had to be one of her ghosts. Some of her new classmates had said they would be here too, but she hadn't found them yet. A familiar sense of discourage overtook her. She moved towards the hall, where the dancing and yelling subsided and where she was sure Misty could find her.
While waiting she couldn't help watching the guests hooking up in the corners of the hallway, pressed into the shades or leaning against the stairs. Suddenly Cordelia felt surrounded by boys and girls caught up in making out and Cordelia quietly wondered why she resumed to torture herself like this.
"What're you lookin' at, Delia?" Misty spoke to her as she reached the last step of the stairs and it made Cordelia flinch out of her trance. The alcohol was getting the better of her senses already.
"Them", she shrugged and nodded towards a couples. There was a couple right in front of them, only a few feet away. The boy had the girl locked in a tight embrace and Cordelia caught herself staring with envy.
"Why?"
She sighed. "I just want one of them to like me. Just someone."
"I like you", Misty said. Cordelia turned her head with a smile. She brushed a hand against Misty's arm.
"I know. I like you too."
Misty turned her head away then and Cordelia was about to ask about that look on her face, when a voice cut through to her.
"Cordelia! There you are!" It was the voice of one of her new high school friends. Laura, a tall girl with short blonde hair, glasses and a brain that had saved Cordelia in math on multiple occasions, called out to her. She tried to make her way through the crowd, a mission that proved almost impossible. Cordelia felt a notch at her waist.
"Just go say hi. It's okay."
"You're sure?"
Misty nodded and offered her a smile. "Maybe I'll find Queenie again."
Cordelia promised to find her later and went to enjoy her fresh start.
O0O
Misty lost track of both Queenie and Cordelia rather quickly after Cordelia's high school friend showed up. She caught a glimpse of Cordelia occasionally, talking to that friend or dancing with people. She smiled a lot, but they were different smiles. Misty wasn't sure how, but they were. Her behavior was not the same here as it was at home, when it was just the two of them. Misty suspected some of it was alcohol; she had seen that change on Fiona many times. The swaying, the insecure steps, the carelessness. Misty didn't want that. She had left her drink somewhere and she did not intend to try to find it. She was glad Cordelia had introduced her to her world, but she would much rather be home. At home she didn't feel three years behind, but here she did.
Drunken teenagers, who didn't give anything for Misty's presence or who were perhaps too hazed to notice, stumbled by her constantly and made it hard to stay in one place. Instead of blending into a wall and watch 'her sister' as everyone kept saying, she decided to make an adventure out of it. She began exploring the house. That should keep her occupied for at least a couple of hours. She thought the Goode mansion was huge, but this one took the crown. She went through every room, apart from those that gave away certain noises, which told her she should keep out.
It was almost quiet on the second floor. The bass still vibrated through the floor, but the music was down the volume of a loud radio. She could separate it from her own thoughts and it didn't make her ears ring. She found people talking or kissing in every other corner she saw and she started to wonder what it was like, having a life like this. Did Cordelia prefer this thoughtless, numbing beat and crowds of faceless people to a quiet life with her?
"Hey, you're two-face's pet, aren't you?" The voice was slightly slurred, the tone condescending. It belonged to a girl. Misty turned around to find a tall blonde in a tight dress – Cordelia would never wear something like this, this girl might as well walk around in her underwear – looking down at her. She carried a half empty glass of some colorful liquid Misty assumed tasted just as awful as the one she had tried.
"Who're you?" Misty asked. The room was vaguely lit, enough that Misty could see the girl raise an eyebrow.
She scoffed. "You don't know? Bitch, I'm throwing the party. Oh well, you will soon enough, as soon as I get my movie deal. I'm Madison Montgomery. Better start remembering my name, pet." Madison stopped and looked at Misty, who fought against the urge to growl at her. So this was the girl who had tormented Cordelia for as long as Misty had known her? She wouldn't look so pretty with claw marks on her face.
"Is it true your maid got arrested? What did she do? Come on, you can tell me, I won't tell on you."
Misty said nothing, only stared at her while debating if hitting her would be worth it. Cordelia said she had a lot of power in high school as well.
The blonde laughed, a fake, shallow sound that Misty couldn't connect to an expression of joy at all. She shifted her weight and put a hand on her hip. "Not so chatty, are you? Cat got your tongue?"
"I don't like you."
Her eyes widened and then more laughter followed.
"Well I ain't loving you either, bitch. Why don't you fuck off, back to your little dog house?"
Misty didn't move. She feared that if she did, she wouldn't be going away but right at Madison's face.
"Hey, are you deaf?"
"Misty!" Misty flinched at Cordelia's voice. It had stopped her not a second too late. She could feel the tingle in her fist. Instead of raising it, she looked to the stairs, where Cordelia made her way up. Her steps had the characteristic uncertainty about them. The light in her eyes changed, when she saw Madison.
"Hi Madison", she said in a foreign tone Misty hadn't heard her use before. It sounded like she was giving up a fight already.
"Hey, getting wasted, are we? Will you control your pet? She's about to like bite me or something."
"Don't call her that! Aren't we getting too old for this?" The slur in her voice didn't do much for her authority.
Madison shrugged and walked away with a: "Whatever you say, two-face."
Cordelia didn't answer her, but gave Misty a warning look instead. Rightfully so, as Misty's whole body was itching to push Madison down the stairs. The two of them passed each other and Misty kept her eyes on Madison, willing herself to not run after her.
The urge vanished when Cordelia fell into her. She had little control over her body and the impact made the unprepared Misty take several steps back into the darkening of the hall. This section was empty, but on the other side, past the stairs, there was another of those kissing couples. The notion made Misty feel strange and realize her own grip at Cordelia's waist. It was just to steady her, but Misty couldn't help the very clear acknowledgement that she was holding Cordelia's slim body between her two hands. And Cordelia was almost leaning in, standing way closer than she used to. It made Misty's throat go dry.
"I'm sorry Misty, I didn't mean to get so drunk", she said. "I just hate the way they all look at me since that whole ordeal with Delphine and I can't escape it. I'm horrible. I'm just like my mother." Misty looked up at her hazed, unhappy eyes. Cordelia had grown over her head again, but it wasn't much. If she stood on her toes, they would be the same height.
"You're nothin' like your mother", Misty told her. Cordelia offered her a small smile.
"You don't think so? Fiona always says I take too much after my father. But I never knew him. Did you know your father, Misty?"
Cordelia's hands came up to Misty's arms and Misty didn't know if she did it to steady herself or if it was just because all the alcohol in her blood was blurring the boundaries she normally kept. Misty found it hard to focus on making sentences, because Cordelia's hands didn't keep still. They squeezed a bit or moved because Cordelia's body swayed with the flood of booze in her system.
"No I don't. You know that."
"I do, I'm sorry. I'm a little dizzy. Don't mind me, I won't remember anything in the morning anyway."
"None at all?" Misty thought if it meant she wouldn't remember this moment either.
Cordelia shook her head. "Probably not. I guess this is why my mother drinks."
Could she do it? If Cordelia didn't remember it, what was the harm? Maybe she wouldn't even mind. Misty found herself staring at Cordelia's lips and suddenly her heart was pounding. Heat gathered at her ears. How easy wouldn't it be to close the distance? She was right there, a smile on her face, a fog in her eyes. All it took was a fraction of a step, but if that was true, why was it still so hard?
She took too long. Cordelia's forehead creased and one of her hands left Misty's arm to brush her hair behind her ear.
"What's wrong?"
Misty lost her nerve. She shook her head and put on a smile.
"Nothin'. You wanna go home?"
Cordelia nodded. "That's probably a good idea. I just need to find Queenie and Laura and say goodbye."
Half an hour later, they were on their way home. It was a cold night, but Misty didn't feel one bit of it, because she had led Cordelia out of the house by the hand and she hadn't let go again. They hadn't held hands this long since they were children and Misty thought it might just make her burst.
They snuck into the house, careful not to wake Fiona and Misty followed Cordelia to her room. Cordelia didn't bother turning on the light or take anything but her coat off, before she threw herself on the bed. She made a notch with her head for Misty to come sit, so Misty closed the bedroom door and went around the bed to sit on the free spot. She threw her coat on the floor, because there was persistent fever burning just beneath her skin and she couldn't bear to have it on for one more second. Cordelia chuckled and looked up into the ceiling. Her hand crawled over the sheets and found Misty's. Their hands settled on Misty's leg, fingers entwined. Cordelia closed her eyes for a moment and drew a deep sigh.
Misty studied her as she lay there, marveled over her smooth, milky skin and the contour of her slim body. Her flawless face. She had cut her hair shorter for the past year, so it only went to her shoulder, softly grazing it like the most delicate of breezes. Now it pooled out behind her head, softer than silk sheets. Misty wanted to touch it so bad, but she didn't want to let go of Cordelia's hand and if she moved the other, lost her contact with the solidness of the bed, she might just fall apart.
Perhaps it was best if she left. She started to move, but the hand holding hers tightened and Cordelia opened her eyes.
"Don't leave yet", she pleaded and Misty sat back down.
"Okay."
"Should I not have brought you tonight?" Cordelia then asked. "Maybe I shouldn't, but I just didn't want you back here all alone again."
"I'm glad you did. But I'd rather stay here next time." She regretted it as soon as she said it, because Cordelia's face fell a little. She quickly added: "I just like the quiet better."
That undid a bit of it. Cordelia's body relaxed and her fingers started tracing patterns in Misty's palm. Misty's throat went dry again. The motions made her skin tingle all the way up her arm.
"I'm sorry about whatever Madison said to you. Don't mind her."
"I don't."
"You're not a pet to me. Never think that."
"I don't."
A silence came upon them. It was a different atmosphere and maybe it was because Misty was seldom around Cordelia on the rare occasions, when she was drunk, but she thought it was something else too. They didn't use to touch like this anymore, but now they were. Misty started gathering courage to ask the question and her heart picked up speed again. Her pulse vibrated under her skin.
"Delia, am I your sister?"
Their eyes met. Cordelia didn't betray much hesitation, before she said: "No."
That was the easy one. The next struggled to get out. She felt her pulse drumming in her ears. It was so hard to breathe right all of a sudden.
"What am I to you?"
The finger on her palm stopped, but their gazes remained locked. For a few seconds it looked like the haze in Cordelia's eyes lifted and it made Misty even more nervous. Her heart hammered inside her rib cage, the stirring in her body assembled in the center of her chest. Cordelia moved and her hand spread out flat on Misty's leg, as she used it for support to get up. Misty's muscles stirred, wanting to help her balance, but Cordelia managed and she sat up, bringing them face to face. Cordelia wavered a bit, but her eyes were securely fastened on Misty's and there was a curious gaze in them. Her face was so close it made Misty's heart leap into her throat. She had no words to urge on the answer she was waiting for.
"I'm not sure", Cordelia finally said.
Misty was well aware that the older girl's hand hadn't lost contact yet. Now the other one moved, slim fingers brushed a curly lock out of her face. Cordelia didn't smile, didn't say a thing, but she looked. Her fingers traced Misty's jawline. Misty had no clue where her own hands were; she was frozen in place with the silent hum of the stirring inside her. The only reason she didn't scramble to the floor like a building with its ground pillars blown away was Cordelia's delicate hold under her chin. Her thumb traced the texture of Misty's bottom lip and suddenly Misty felt an entirely new sensation of an insidious, low-burning heat from the bottom of her stomach. It felt alive, it felt like it urged her to lean in. All she could hear was her own frantic pulse in her ears and she had the sensation the room was suddenly fifty degrees warmer.
A hard knock on the door made Cordelia flinch and pull back. It took Misty several seconds to link the action to the sound of the door and by then Fiona had already opened it.
"You could at least turn off the goddamn lights!" Fiona stopped in the doorway and her eyes widened at the sight of Misty. Her gaze made Misty think of animals who eat their young. She uttered only one word: "Out."
Misty didn't hesitate to obey. She jumped off the bed as fast as her dazed body allowed, without looking at Cordelia, and walked out of the room. Fiona caught her before she could flee into her own room. A firm grip on her arm held her in place and Fiona hissed at her: "Don't think I don't know what you're doing, swamp rat. I want it to stop. You're not good enough for her. Stop it now or you're out, you hear me?"
"Yes, Mrs. Goode", Misty whispered. When she let go, Misty ran to her room and shut the door. She collapsed on the floor right behind it. She curled up into a ball behind it and gave in to the tears that had rapidly started building in her eyes. She hated Fiona, she loved Cordelia too much and now that low-burning fire wouldn't go away and the ashes were torturing her.
On the other side of the door she could hear a fight building.
"I'm seventeen!"
"Yes, you're a foolish teenager! What were you thinking, bringing Misty to a party?"
"I was thinking she shouldn't be locked up all the time!"
"Don't get coy with me, child. What were you doing, drinking in the first place?"
"What's wrong with that? I'm just doing what you do?"
Misty heard the slap all the way through the door. She had her hands on the handle, ready to jump out, before she could take a second to think. She stopped there and listened to the sound of Fiona's angry steps retreating. She choked down a sob and tore her hand away from the door to go lie on the bed instead.
Cordelia had said she wouldn't remember anything in the morning. Misty wondered if perhaps that was for the best.
