Laura Hollis was sitting at the breakfast bar in her kitchen when she heard the front door of the apartment across the hall opening. She shot out of her chair so quick that she almost ran in to her dad in the hallway. "Whoa there, Laura-Bear, where's the fire?" John gave his one and only daughter an amused look as he watched her bolt for the door.
She paused long enough with the lock to reply with, "Mail."
"On a Sunday?" Her father wore a puzzled frown, but Laura had her back to him and failed to see it. Going for the mail had been the first excuse she'd thought of for going to the door. Suddenly realizing it was Sunday morning, and there was no mail service today, she had to pause in her doorway, quickly trying to come up with some excuse as to why she'd be going down stairs.
The real reason for her mad dash to the door was her neighbour. Carmilla. Laura had been going over the events of the previous night over and over in her head, and she was oddly sure that Carmilla might have been, maybe, possibly, flirting with her.
It was pathetic, but she was hoping to accidentally 'run in' to her neighbour on her way downstairs. The second she'd heard the door open she'd bolted for it, but now that she was standing there, she suddenly had no clue what she was meant to say or do.
The decision was taken away from her when she glanced up the hall and saw that, sure enough, Carmilla was standing at her door. The philosophy major was a little preoccupied with the blonde girl she had pushed up against the door frame.
The two were kissing like there would be no tomorrow, with Carmilla's hands groping blindly under the other girl's skirt. Laura quickly averted her eyes as the blonde looked her way. Deciding she couldn't just retreat back in to her apartment, and look like the stalker she was, she took off for the stairs, bounding down them two at a time until she reached the second floor.
"Oh, crap." Muttered Laura, as she spotted Danny and Kirsch in a lip lock of their own. The couple jumped apart the second they spotted her. They did that a lot. Whenever Laura was around them they seemed to go out of their way to act like they weren't together, even though Laura already knew. She and Danny had been broken up for almost a year, and yet everyone still treated Laura like she was about to fall apart over it; again.
"Hey guys, don't let me interrupt." Laura tried to sound nonchalant as she tossed them a small wave, but her disappointment at seeing Carmilla with the blonde had seeped in to her usual good cheer, leaving her words sounding hollow and bitter. Kirsch actually took a step further back from Danny, smiling sheepishly.
"Uh, hey Little-Hottie. We weren't doing nothing." Kirsch started, but he was saved the embarrassment of having to continue as a stranger walked down the flight of stairs Laura had just come from, brushing past the younger girl on the way out. She gave Laura an intimidating look, like she was sizing her up, then just carried on walking by.
Laura glared at the woman's back until she disappeared from sight. "Is that a new neighbour?" Asked Danny, trying to fill the awkward silence that had descended over them.
"Nu-uh, bro. That's not the new hottie on the fourth floor. Carmilla is–" Kirsch trailed off, suddenly remembering he was talking to his girlfriend, and not his bro.
"Uh, she's nowhere near as hot as you are, babe." His attempts to dig himself out of that particular hole had resulted in him burying himself even more. Danny rolled her eyes, but gave him a free pass for Laura's sake.
"Kirsch, why don't you head back upstairs to your place and I'll come by in a little while. Laura and I need some girl time."
"Girl time. Sure. Cool. No problem, bro-, uh, Danny." Laura couldn't help but feel sorry for Kirsch as he nervously stumbled over his goodbye. As much as they all insisted everything was fine between them, Kirsch often had the same unsettled look on his face that Laura wore whenever she saw them kissing.
Like he was worried 'girl time' was secret code for making out, and no one had filled him in on it. "C'mon you. I've got some grape soda in the fridge." Danny indicated her partially open front door, and led a reluctant Laura inside apartment 2B.
Sensing her hesitation, Danny added, "Mom's at church. You don't have to worry about her." She gave Laura an almost apologetic smile. There had been a time when they had practically lived in each other's homes growing up, but their relationship had changed all that.
Laura hadn't been able to look Mrs Lawrence in the eye since she'd dragged her out of Danny's bed and slammed their front door in her face
"Shouldn't you have gone with her? You know, if you don't want to end up burning in hell?" Laura teased, though there was an edge to her voice.
"Apparently I'm already going there, so what's the point? I might as well enjoy my Sunday's. Right?" The two girls laughed at that, some of the tension between them slowly melting away. Despite everything that had gone on between them, and with Kirsch, they had a long history and an almost unbreakable friendship.
"So… what's going on?" Danny waited until Laura was settled at her kitchen table, with a soda in her hand, before questioning her. She'd known Laura long enough to guess when something was wrong. "The only time I've ever seen you this cranky is when your blood sugar's dropping. Who was that girl you were glaring at out on the landing?"
"I dunno." Laura shrugged, sipping at the cold soda Danny had given her. She managed a strangled smile as she realised Danny had probably only given her the soda in case her mood actually was something to do with her blood sugar levels.
Sometimes the other girl could be even more overprotective of Laura than her own father; and that took some doing. "I think she might be my new neighbour's girlfriend. Carmilla... the ridiculously hot, gay, and very flirty, neighbour who moved in across the hall last week."
"Oh." Danny rubbed at the back of her neck, clearly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was heading. It was a painstaking reminder that Laura wasn't just talking to her best friend. Danny was also her ex, and that made some subjects between them pretty much taboo. "Do you like her?"
"I hardly know her." Laura shrugged, outright avoiding the question; which was answer enough. Danny ran a hand through her hair, pushing her long, fiery, mane back from her face. She looked like something had left a bad taste in her mouth.
"I'm probably not the best person to talk to about this stuff." She reached over and took hold of Laura's hand, lacing their fingers together.
"Danny." Laura pulled her hand back with a sigh. "Please don't..."
"Sorry. I guess I'm not as good as you are when it comes to just switching off my feelings." It was an argument they'd had a hundred times before. Laura wasn't in the mood. It always ended the same anyway.
"That's not fair."
"Fair? You know what's not fair, Laura? I told my Mom to go to hell! For you! I was ready to move out so we could be together, and you... you just..." Danny shook her head, wiping at her eyes.
Laura had told her to forget about it. She'd been ready to move heaven and earth to stay with her, but Laura had said no. She hadn't fought for them. Hadn't even tried. Laura, the love of Danny's young life, had just told her to forget about it.
"You're with Kirsch now." Laura stated the obvious. Her eyes were downcast, focusing on the grain of the kitchen table, as she waited for the words she knew Danny was going to follow with. She'd heard them enough times by now.
"I like Kirsch… a lot. But I love you. God, Laura, I always have!"
"We missed our shot, Danny." Laura sighed, repeating the same tired, old, excuse she'd been giving the other girl for months.
"What the hell does that even mean?"
"It means you're with Kirsch now! Thanks for the soda." Laura stood, intending to see herself out. There were only so many times she and Danny could keep doing this dance before someone got hurt; and it would probably end up being Kirsch. Laura refused to hurt her oldest friend like that.
"Wait..." Danny stood too, blocking her path to the door. "I'm sorry. I know I keep doing this, and every time I do it just pushes you away, but it's eating away at me, Laura! I just...I need to know. Why wasn't I good enough for you?" Laura's anger dissipated the second she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the other girl's waist; the only place on Danny she could reach without stretching.
"You know it wasn't like that." She sighed, wishing she could put what she was feeling in to words. She loved Danny Lawrence. She'd been in love with her for as long as she could remember, and when they finally got together it had been everything Laura had ever wanted; except it just hadn't been enough.
Mrs Lawrence walking in on them – and going berserk about finding the two girls naked together in bed – had been like a sign. Like a chance for Laura to step back and think about what it was she was actually doing.
"I should go." Laura hastily rubbed at her eyes with the back of her pajama sleeve. She had only intended to start the morning with a not-so-accidental run in with her neighbour, not end up having a heart to heart with Danny at her kitchen table. "And you should get back to Kirsch."
Danny nodded in agreement. She'd give it a minute until it no longer looked like she'd been crying. Kirsch wasn't an idiot. Despite generally coming off as a few sandwiches short of a picnic basket, he was smart enough to know that his girlfriend still had feelings for her ex.
Whatever it was they had together had started off as some strange kind of comfort, like Kirsch was the closest Danny could get to Laura without actually being with her.
It was supposed to be a no strings, no feelings attached kind of thing, but somewhere along the line, strings had started appearing and the feelings hadn't been far behind.
Laura saw herself out. She was just pulling the door of apartment 2B shut when she spotted a flame haired woman walking briskly up the first lot of stairs. She flashed Laura a sincere smile as she took in the sight of the red eyed teenager, standing there in her pyjamas. The teenager probably looked a sight.
Laura returned the gesture, before ducking her head and going for the staircase leading up to the next floor. The woman seemed to be heading in the same direction. It was only as the two of them ascended to the fourth floor that Laura stopped and actually spoke to her. The woman seemed familiar. "I'm sorry, are you here to see someone?"
Laura felt guilty about questioning the woman, but her father had always taught her to be vigilante about strangers in the building. The man had signed her up for krav magra lessons and equipped her purse with a self defence kit that included bear spray, he wasn't likely to leave out the part about stranger danger.
"I don't mean to pry, it's just I haven't seen you around here before."
"No problem at all, dear. You can't be too careful these days. Lord knows this neighbourhood isn't the safest. I'm Lola, Lola Perry." The woman moved the pie plate she was holding in to one hand and held the other out for Laura to take.
She didn't seem like a burglar, or a homicidal maniac, so Laura introduced herself back. Perry's face whole face lit up as she realised who Laura was.
"Oh, so you're the little miracle worker who got Carmilla's hot water working. I can't tell you how grumpy she gets when she hasn't been able to get a nice hot soak. Would you like some pie?"
The woman's abrupt change of subject caught Laura off guard, leaving her staring open mouthed as Perry shoved the pie plate in front of her. It smelled delicious, and looked home made. Laura's stomach rumbled just looking at it. "Perr, stop bothering my neighbours."
Carmilla's gruff voice interrupted before Laura could actually answer. Her attention snapped towards the other end of the hall, where Carmilla was lounging against her open door wearing nothing but a red silk bathrobe.
Laura hadn't gotten a very good look at her before, when she'd been stuck to the face of that blonde, but she had to admit, Carmilla looked great first thing in the morning. Even with a serious case of bed hair and panda eyes, the older girl looked good enough to eat.
"Don't mind her, Creampuff. Perry's harmless." Carmilla shot the teenager a lazy smile. It had her toes curling in her bunny slippers. Perry didn't seem too happy at being accused of accosting Carmilla's neighbour, but she kept her comments to herself as she walked up the hall towards her friend's apartment. Laura missed the pie already.
She made up an excuse when Carmilla asked if she wanted to come in for a slice, it was probably something as clever as telling her dad she was going for the mail, then disappeared back inside of her own apartment.
Carmilla gave her closed door a bemused smile before heading inside to see to Perry. As expected, she'd already put the pie plate down on the kitchen counter and was busy picking up laundry from the floor. Carmilla rolled her eyes, expecting a lecture any second.
"Really Carmilla, would it kill you to pick up after yourself? And it doesn't look like you've unpacked a single thing yet!" Perry went on and on, but Carmilla just tuned her out as she flopped down on to her couch. She'd had years of experience in ignoring Perry's rants about cleanliness being next to godliness. Her head was pounding enough as it was.
Empty beer bottles littered the coffee table in front of her. She and Elsie had really gone for it last night. "Are you even listening to me?"
"No." Carmilla answered honestly. Perry's only response was to start banging the dirty dishes in the sink around.
"Perr, please... I've got the worst hangover, and I didn't invite you over to do the housework."
"You didn't invite me over at all." Perry pointed out, plating up a piece of the pie she'd brought over and pouring a cup of coffee out of the percolator at the same time, like a pro. She took both over to Carmilla.
"LaFontaine has the early shift, so I thought I'd come over here and make myself useful." She gave the empty bottles on the table a disapproving look as she spoke.
"And I love you for that, but please, let's just keep the noise to a minimum right now." Carmilla lay her head down on her friend's lap, spreading out across the couch as she tucked in to the pie she'd brought.
Perry's baking was out of this world, and the perfect cure for a hangover and a night of drunken regrets. Carmilla basked in the silence for the few short minutes it took her to finish off the pie and drink half of her coffee.
That was all the time Perry gave her before starting again. "And who, might I ask, joined you for last night's shenanigans? Please don't tell me it was the girl across the hall. I don't want to have to come visit you in prison."
Carmilla snorted at that, actually inhaling some of the hot coffee in to her lungs. "Jesus, Perry. She's seventeen. I'd hardly be snatching the cradle!" She shook her head in amusement at the constipated look her old room mate was giving her.
"You can unbunch your panties, it wasn't Laura. I called Elsie." She closed her eyes over in anticipation of what adding that last part would result in.
"You what?" Perry screeched, almost breaking the sound barrier. "Are you insane? You got rid of Elsie because she was too clingy, and now you're inviting her over to...for...sleepovers!"
Carmilla tried, and failed, to hold in another snort of laughter. Perry was the only person she knew in their twenties that was unable to say the word fuck. She gave a careless shrug, infuriating her friend even more. Deep down she knew Perry was right.
She'd cut Elsie loose a few weeks ago, after the other girl had started getting too serious about her. Carmilla didn't do serious. She didn't do relationships and dating and all that other stuff that wide eyed girls tended to want from her. "It's fine. She knew it was a one off thing. I was bored, she was available."
"Carmilla, you are talking about a human being! With feelings and emotions! Not a...a..." She trailed off, too flustered to come up with an appropriate comparison. Perry took a deep, calming, breath and tried again; keeping that pleasant level tone that always reminded Carmilla of a school teacher talking down to an unruly pupil. "I know you do not want to get seriously involved with anybody, not after everything with Elle, but–"
"Elsie has feelings. Don't fuck with them. Got it." Carmilla snapped, shutting her down before Perry could really get in to anything she wasn't ready to talk about.
It had been over six months since Elle. The wounds were still raw, and Carmilla didn't care to talk about them with anybody. Perry, sensing Carmilla's thinly veiled anger, quickly changed the topic. "Well, these dishes aren't going to do themselves. I'll just make a start– Oh!"
A gush of water exploded from the faucet as Perry turned it on, spraying her and half of the kitchen. Carmilla jumped to her feet and screamed as the ice cold water reached her.
"Shut it off! Shut it off!"