Zoe ended up sleeping on the couch, once Miles and Tristan finally retreated across the hall to their own apartment. The evening hadn't amounted to much; they ate dinner together, chatted over some music, and called it a night when they all got bored. On the one hand Grace was disappointed in herself for not giving up her bed for her guest, but on the other hand she was under no expectation to bend over backwards for Zoe, whether or not she was famous.
It's not like Grace had even known she was famous until Tristan told her so.
Zoe was an enigma to Grace. She didn't know why she was so interested in the other girl. She didn't know why Zoe had run away. She didn't know what she had run away from. All she really knew is that a girl who was on a teen drama was sleeping on her couch because Grace couldn't keep to herself.
She was lucky that there was someone who might be able to give her some answers.
It was almost 1 a.m., but she knew that Tristan would at least be scrolling through twitter or tumblr on his phone if he was in bed. It wasn't like he would be asleep, and if he did happen to be he would still get back to her in the morning.
Grace C. If you're familiar with Zoe's work, do you know who Amelia Burkhart is?
Tristan M. DUH. She's an actress/model/goddess.
Grace C. Zoe said she tripped Amelia up and she fell into a cake.
Grace C. Also that she doesn't have any friends left after that.
Tristan M. Amelia's kind of bitch, anyway.
Tristan M. wait, they hate each other now?
Tristan M. I guess they're not secretly dating then.
Tristan M. Have you considered asking *Zoe* all these getting to know you questions?
Grace C. You need to tell me everything about her character on West Drive.
Tristan M. Which one?
Grace C. what do you mean which one?
Tristan M. She's played two. She was killed off the show and then they brought her back as her own twin.
Grace C. they needed her that badly?
Tristan M. Hell yeah. West Drive is not the show it once was.
A clattering in the kitchen startled Grace, who immediately tossed her phone down and shot out of bed. She tried not to be too loud as she crept towards the source, realising halfway across the living room that should they be being robbed, she had left her phone and had no way of calling the police. Halfway across the living room she also realised that Zoe wasn't on the couch. She relaxed, and wandered through to the kitchen.
"Hey," she said, and Zoe jumped, knocking all of the stacked pots and pans back out of the cupboard. She spun around, and the relief washing over her was totally visible.
"Oh, hey. It's just you," she said with a soft smile, "you gave me a fright."
"I scared you?"
"Right, sorry about the noise. I was looking for a glass." Grace went to the right cupboard and retrieved a glass to pass to Zoe. She accepted it gratefully, and Grace went about restacking the cupboard.
"Don't worry about it. Tristan was the one cooking in here and he thinks all kitchens should be laid out like his, and somewhere in the midst of all his many talents he missed out on spatial reasoning skills."
"Tristan is the…" Zoe made a gesture that didn't actually mean much of anything.
"The gay one? Yeah. He loves West Drive."
"Oh," Zoe said, lowering her glass, "I didn't think any of you knew anything about… all that."
"Well, I don't know anything," Grace shrugged, "Tris was mad at me that I didn't even recognise you."
Zoe paused for a moment. "I'm not sure whether I'm insulted or relieved."
"Does it matter?" Grace closed the cupboard and stayed on the floor, leaning her back against it. Zoe sunk down next to her.
"Not really."
"Tristan said he thought you and Amelia Burkhart were secretly dating," Grace said with a joking tone, trying to force something lighter into the conversation. She wondered if Zoe saw further behind her asking, somehow knowing that it was actually a prompt to figure out just how right about her Tristan was.
"She's straight," Zoe replied, far too quickly. Grace quirked an eyebrow at her. "And I'm… also… straight?"
"Bullshit," she smirked.
"Okay, I'm not straight. I kissed her at a party during the week and when I tried to talk to her about it the other day she called me a filthy dyke. And that is when I tripped her." She sighed and took another sip of her water.
"You don't think I'm just going to repeat all this to a tabloid?" Grace asked.
"The fact you're asking means you won't," Zoe replied, "I don't know, Grace, you trust me to stay in your house; I think I can trust you to keep quiet about the time I kissed a girl. She was really drunk, and it wasn't much fun."
"Sounds like she's awful anyway." Zoe hummed in agreement.
"I just wish it wasn't her. I couldn't have figured it all out with someone who is actually worthwhile," she said. The moment lingered too long, Zoe looking softly at Grace, until Grace turned away. "Truth or dare?"
"What?" Grace responded. Way to be eloquent.
"Truth, or dare?" Zoe repeated.
"Truth?" Grace answered hesitantly.
"If it isn't West Drive, then what's your guilty pleasure?"
"I don't believe in guilty pleasures. If I'm going to like something I'm not going to be guilty about it," Grace shrugged.
"It's a nineties pop group, isn't it?" Zoe teased, but Grace had a strong poker face. "Okay, ask me now."
"Fine. Truth or dare?"
"Dare."
"I dare you to go into Zig and Maya's room and kiss them both on the cheek."
"That's not fair, I don't even know them!" Zoe protested.
"Are you declining? Do I win?" Grace challenged. Zoe was quick to snap back.
"I didn't say that. Just that it might be inappropriate."
"They'll both be asleep, you'll be fine. Just do it quick." Zoe rolled her eyes as she stood up from the kitchen floor, placing her glass on the counter. Grace stayed sitting, watching as Zoe cautiously opened Zig and Maya's bedroom door and crept inside. Moments later she darted out of the room, being sure to click the door quietly back into place.
"Okay, done," she said, sinking back to the floor. "Your turn. Truth or dare?"
"Am I boring if I choose truth again?"
"Yup."
"Fine, dare."
"Do you have ice cubes?"
Grace paused for a moment. "…no?" Zoe grinned, clambering to her feet and reaching for the freezer door.
"Bingo," she said, pulling out a tray of ice cubes. "I dare you to tuck your shirt in and let me drop ice down your back." Grace couldn't avoid playing along now, and stood to her feet too. She tucked her t-shirt into her pyjama pants, just as requested, and braced herself for the impact.
"Okay, go," she urged, and the cold hit her skin immediately. "Ah, fuck!" Grace cursed, wriggling around on reflex while Zoe cackled at her uncontrollably. "Has it been long enough yet?"
"Not until it stops being funny," Zoe replied.
"Sadist."
"Okay, take them out now before they melt everywhere." Grace pulled the pair of ice cubes out, though she could have sworn there were three or four down her shirt. She held one in each hand as she approached Zoe. "No," Zoe warned, "don't you dare." Grace backed Zoe into the corner of the kitchen counters, and lifted her hands to the other girl's face, holding the ice to her cheeks while she squealed. "No fair!"
Grace laughed, and discarded the ice cubes into the sink, before turning back to Zoe. She was still backed right up against the counters, and Grace only then noticed how close she was standing to her. She didn't hate it. Zoe was a pretty girl to say the least, and they were getting along so well. She went to take a half step back to have the edges of her t-shirt magically wind up in Zoe's hands, pulling her closer. "Grace…" Zoe said, but after a beat Grace returned to stepping away from the girl. She wasn't someone who kissed people the day she met them. Of course, she also wasn't someone who invited girls she met on the bus to stay at her house.
"I want to go to bed," Grace said plainly.
"But it's my turn. You never asked me again."
"Truth or dare, Zoe?"
"Truth," she replied, lowering her hands from Grace, who was still standing remarkably close to her.
"Why won't you call your mom back?" The question was obviously a soft spot. Zoe took a deep breath before she began.
"The simple answer is that I don't want to keep living with her. I told her about what happened with Amelia, because when we kissed she was taking all these pictures, saying they were going to go on her Hastygram. I warned my mom, promised her I hadn't been drinking, and she freaked out; but not because she thought I was drinking, but because I kissed a girl when I wasn't even drunk. Like I had no excuse. I was at Amelia's birthday party when it all fell apart, which is why I haven't been home since."
"I want to tell you that she's your mom and she loves you, but I've lived in the world long enough to know that's not always the right answer," Grace said softly. Zoe nodded.
"Grace?"
"Mm?"
"Can I have a hug?" Zoe asked hopefully, "I'll let you get to bed then." Grace wasn't much of a hugger, but if there was anything she had learnt in the single evening that she had known the other girl, Zoe was strangely hard to say no to.
"Yeah, okay," she agreed, opening her arms. Zoe fell into them, not being half-hearted with the hug. The hug, much like a lot of their interactions that night, went on a moment too long for absolute comfort. Zoe pulled back slowly, her arms still around Grace.
"Can I…?" Zoe asked cautiously, looking at Grace's lips. Grace, someone who didn't kiss people she didn't know, who didn't let strangers stay the night at her apartment, who wasn't a hugger, wanted to kiss Zoe more than she wanted to do a lot of things. More than she wanted to go to bed, certainly.
She bit the bullet before she thought to answer Zoe at all, pressing her lips to the other girl's. Zoe inhaled sharply, having expected to be the one initiating it instead of reciprocating. She wasn't submissive in her kissing though, pushing back against Grace in some effort to be in control. They could follow each other's lead though, and after a few moments they pulled away from one another.
"Go to bed, Grace," Zoe said, slinking away from her to retreat to her makeshift bed on the couch. Grace nodded, still slightly dumbstruck by the kiss. "I'll still be here in the morning."
"I hope so," she replied, cracking just the slightest of a smile. She turned off the kitchen light and padded her way through the dark living room to the dull glow of her still-on laptop in her otherwise dark and empty bedroom.