Getting past the blonde's alpha bitch front was a difficult task, to say the least.
But Peggy knew what she wanted and what she wanted was Amber, so she did it anyway.
She pushed and pushed until the wavy-haired teen finally let her in. Once her defenses were down, it didn't take Peggy long at all to get close to her. Not to say that Amber wasn't high maintenance. Oh she was, she was indeed. She had her expectations and a criteria that those who got past her outer-shell had to meet, or else face her frigid shoulder. But Peggy also had her standards, and met said expectations with ease.
Most of them, anyway.
She refused to change her clothes. The style Amber found 'sinfully outdated' was Peggy's style, and it wasn't going anywhere. Amber would have to deal with that or face her own cold shoulder. Two could play the silent treatment game. But she found she didn't even have to. When she made it clear she wasn't going to budge, Amber dropped the issue. It seemed their friendship was more valuable than wardrobe after all. Not to say friendship was Peggy's goal. It was not, nor did she find complacency with friendship.
But taking one thing at a time was an art the journalist was familiar with.
Baby steps lead to bigger things.
All it took to really reach her goal was spending time with Amber, and Peggy found that to be one of the easiest things she'd ever done. She was sure it was harder for Amber. But maybe not...
When Amber smiled at her and those aqua pools softened with fondness, it seemed to Peggy that it wasn't hard for Amber to care about her either.
They had their first kiss in the school basement. It was hesitant and brief, but it was something neither of them would forget.
The closer they got, the more Amber would start to share little things with Peggy.
She started off with really small things that other people would probably dismiss as insignificant. That she was allergic to nuts. The different perfumes she liked, but how mango was always her favorite. Where she got her favorite earrings from.
The more Peggy listened, the more she shared.
She divulged bigger things that no one would make the mistake of dismissing. That she never really liked Castiel at all, just told herself she did because that would have been normal. The way that sometimes she genuinely wished more people liked her, but she still wouldn't forsake her overbearing impression. Where Nathaniel got his bruises from.
"But it's only Nath? Your father doesn't hit you too?"
"Oh no, never. I'm his favorite..." Reluctance shaded her face and she gazed down to the floor. "I feel guilty sometimes."
Peggy patted her hand and told her that was alright.
They weren't keeping secrets from anyone. They held hands in the hallways and passed kisses in between classes. If anyone ever had to ask, they never lied or made excuses. There wasn't a single person in the school who had a problem with it, with the possible exception of Capucine. But that was only because she liked Amber first and felt like Peggy took something from her. They weren't keeping secrets from anyone.
Or so Peggy thought.
Amber casually mentioned it to her that after seven months of dating, her parents still didn't know about her relationship with the journalist. That turned into a small argument that happened to be the biggest argument they'd ever had; and ended with the assurance that Amber would tell them, tainted only by the scornful remark that Peggy was making a big deal out of something that 'totally wasn't important at all.'
A day after the argument, Amber missed school.
Peggy didn't think much of it, and the fact that Amber didn't text or call her annoyed her more than it concerned her. She figured that the blonde was still angry with her about her supposed overreaction the day before.
The next day Amber was back at school, wearing a stylish lace-fringed turtleneck that somehow seemed out of place in the late-spring weather. She was quieter and dark circles rimmed her eyes as though she hadn't slept. That's when Peggy felt a prickle of worry. But she didn't want to ask about it, because inquiring about whatever was troubling Amber would mean bringing up what was troubling Amber, and that might ruin the rest of her day.
So Peggy waited until school was over and they were alone to ask. "Is something wrong?"
Amber paused. The thin smile she'd been wearing fell away, replaced by a thoughtful expression. "You know what? I don't think there is. I actually think something's right now. I don't have to feel guilty anymore."
"What do you mean?" Peggy studied her dubiously.
Amber tugged out the collar of her turtleneck to reveal the dark impressions her father's fingers left on her neck. "I'm not his favorite anymore."