Author's Note: I do not own Faking It or any of the characters. PLEASE, review. Let me know what you like, what you don't like etc...Thanks for reading. This chapter is going to be kind of short, but I promise the next one will be longer.
Karma's POV
After she was all cried out, Felix got up and left, presumably to go sleep on the couch. Karma lay in bed, attempting to sleep, but it was no use. Her brain was going a million miles a minute. Okay, so I have figured out that I don't love or need Liam in the way that I totally thought I did. I have a serious crush on Amy...I'm not ready for it to be anything more than that, so yup, sticking with serious crush. But Amy swears that she is over me. How can I have feelings for her now, and mess with her head, if she is moving/moved on? Okay Karma, step one: figure out if Amy is still in love with you. Step 2: decide if you're going to be a woman about it and make a move to be with her, or if you're going to chicken shit out and break her heart…..again. What I need is a setting that has potential to be romantic, but could pass off as platonic if necessary…..how the hell am I gonna make that happen?
Karma finally drifted off to sleep, dreaming of course of Amy and their future together.
Sunday morning came around, and when Karma checked her phone she had a message from Amy:
"Good morning gorgeous I know ur probably upset about the whole Liam thing. wanna hang today? just u and me. no drama allowed :)"
Gorgeous? That's a good start on the she still loves me thing. Oh, yeah. Liam and I broke up. I should be pretty broken up about it I guess. I can fake a total post-boyfriend-why werent-we-soulmates-hold-me-while-i-mope kind of day.
She texts back: "sure. meet me at my fav cafe. 11."
Naturally, Karma puts a little extra effort into her appearance today. She picks out a dress that Amy told her she liked once, picked Amy's favorite shade of lipstick, did her eyebrows, and just on a whim, she grabbed a hat to go with it all. She grabbed some books that her parents gave her about relationships when her and Amy "broke up" and heads out to meet up with her best friend (and new love interest).
Sitting across from Amy with books open to various pages spilled across their table, Karma says, "So according to this book, my love color is teal, while Liam's is more of a magenta." What the hell is a love color? "Of course we couldn't make it work!" Besides the fact that he was only into me in the first place because I was a lesbian, then when he found out I wasn't, he slept with Amy, now, I might actually be a lesbian...or at least Amysexual. "What did you get from your book?"
Amy looks at the page she has been reading, in an unsure voice she replies, "Liam is from Mars, and you're from Venus?"
She really is not enjoying this, but here she is being supportive of me anyway.
"Thanks for doing this with me."
"That's what best friends are for." She's not wrong. This is totally the type of thing platonic best friends would be doing after a breakup. "Just remind me how the hat helps again." Amy inquires as she tilts her head to the side, trying to figure it out, because she's sure she's never seen Karma wear that hat.
"Now is the time for me to be figuring out who I am." And who I could be.. "Like, I didn't think that I used to be a hat person," Or into girls… "but maybe I am." Amy smiles at her and Karma's heart flutters. "And maybe if I had been a hat person, I could have made it work with Liam."
Amy leans forward, her arms crossed on the table. "You don't have to be any kind of person but a Karma person."
"So, I should probably lose the hat?" Karma says to lighten the mood. Did it suddenly get really hot out here?
"Yeah." Amy nods. Karma takes her hat off tries to straighten her hair out so she doesn't have hat hair. As she is looking over her shoulder, she sees a familiar figure sitting at a booth.
"Mom?" Karma questions, very confused. Her mom freezes like a deer in headlights.
"Karma…" She says. "Oh, my God, the Karma!" The woman sitting next to Karma's mom squeals in excitement.
The two ladies at the table with Molly get up and rush to where Amy and Karma are sitting. tries to stop them, but she is not quick enough.
"Wait, no, umm…"
"Oh, my goodness. You must be Amy. We've heard so much about you." As the woman introduces herself Amy and Karma nod along. "I'm Debbie. This is Jackie. We're in your mom's PFLAG group."
You're in my mom's say what? Why is she still in that group?
Debbie continues, "We were just finalizing plans for our fundraiser."
Jackie jumps in excitedly, "It's a hoedown."
"Now Jackie, I thought we agreed we're calling it a square dance." Molly comments.
"Yeah, well, a hoedown sounds so much more fun, doesn't it girls?" Jackie asks looking for backup. "Oh, and you two have to come."
Debbie elaborates, "Everyone's dying to meet you."
Simultaneously, Karma and Amy both ask, "Why?" I don't know anything about these women, or this group. Why would they wanna meet me? Or Amy for that matter?
Jackie answers, "Well, Molly's told us all about you. Karma and Amy, the out proud and madly in love lesbian couple."
If Karma had been drinking her tea, she would have spit it out for sure. She can feel more than see Amy's mouth drop open and she feels Amy's stare like it's burning the side of her face. Woah, woah woah. My mom never told them we broke up? Or that I was straight? Or dating Liam? Why has she been lying to them about me? It's one thing for me to do it, but for her? What the fuck mom?
Karma is staring at her mother with a mixture of anger and confusion. She sees her mother's panic stricken face and immediately has an out for the both of the them.
"Me and Amy will have to discuss with my mother. We actually didn't know about this fundraiser/hoedown thing. I'm sorry, but right now, we really do need to go. Mom, you coming with us?" Karma stands up, putting the books into her bag. Amy gets the hint and stands also, helping with the books. As Molly bids her friends farewell, Karma takes Amy's hand and pulls her towards the exit, not noticing Debbie and Jackie smiling at them.
At Karma's house, or Karma's ex-house/backyard, her mother is trying profusely to not feel like a child in front of Karma's glare. "I know, I'm so sorry."
"I can't believe you haven't told PFLAG I'm not a lesbian." Karma is more upset about her mother lying than about whether or not some group of people she has never met think she's dating Amy.
"That woman Jackie is gunning for my presidency, and her son is actually gay." Molly tries to explain. "If she found out the truth, she would overthrow me and keep me from all the good work I'm doing." Molly hits the rug that is hanging on the line with a tennis racket.
"I mean, it's one thing for you to live a lie, but you can't make us live one too." That's just too many stories to try to keep straight-or not so straight- as the case may be. I'm already dealing with my own lies and guilt, I don't need to add hers to the pile.
Amy chimes in, "Yeah, we're really trying not to do that anymore."
Yeah, trying really really fucking hard to finally be honest with myself, and quite possibly honest with….each other..maybe..hopefully.
"I know. I'm gonna meditate on this, and think about what's led me to this point." Molly says, then she sits down to begin her meditation. Karma walks straight to her dad, who was within earshot of the whole conversation, with Amy hot on her heels.
"Dad, can you just stop powering the house for one second?" Karma asks her father. He stops pedalling on the exercise bike that's hooked up to a generator.
"Don't be mad at your mother." He says breathlessly. "I mean after the year we've had, you know, losing the house, and the business, her PFLAG group is all she has." Shit...a guilt trip. My parents are the masters of this.
"Awww." Amy says. And clearly it's working on Amy.
"Molly's been working so hard on this fundraiser, you know," he continues. "It would mean the world to her if you two would go. Together." He is not suggesting what I think he is suggesting. "As a couple." Really?!
Karma argues, "Dad, do you not see how insane that is?" How could he not realize that this could hurt Amy? Or me? "I mean, Amy, do you-"
"Yeah, we could do it. Mm-hmm." Amy cuts her off.
Karma is dumbstruck. She wants to….pretend to be my girlfriend again….like in a public, gay place. With me as her date...her thinking I'm straight….what is she thinking
"How could you even consider this?" Karma questions.
"Well, your mom's always been there for me, and if us being a couple helps her, then I want to do it." Amy says.
Karma sighs, and drags Amy off away from her dad so they can talk privately. Now for the real questions. "Yeah, but won't it be weird for you?"
"Why would it be weird?" Amy genuinely asks. Karma simply raises her eyebrows thinking Are you kidding me? All the hell we have been through this year, and you can't think of any reason why pretending to be a couple would be weird?
The gears click together for Amy, almost like she could read Karma's mind.
"Ohh. If you're worried about my feelings, there's nothing to worry about. That's ancient history." Hey now...not ancient….fairly recently actually….
Not really knowing how she feels about Amy's answer, Karma shrugs her shoulders, "Okay. Great, then it's not weird for me." Totally weird! Totally weird! More lies! Why can't I be honest with her? Dammit Karma! "Let's be lesbians. Again."
After getting all the details about the event, Karma tells Amy she has a lot to do before the dance. She has to find something to wear, help her mom (even though she has no intention of doing that), and that Amy should give her dad a call and go see him. Karma spends the rest of the afternoon planning on how she could test Amy's in-love-with-Karma-ometer. She tries to remember all the things she had to stop doing around Amy after Farrah and Bruce's wedding. Suddenly, she has the best ideas of what to do.
Walking into the building where the square dance is supposed to take place, Karma asks her mom, "Do we have to do anything?"
Molly quickly responds, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. The important thing is that you're here." Molly smiles and puts one arm around girl. "And if you're moved to, you can lend an ear as people open their hearts and share their experiences."
As the three of them make their way to central part of the dance, they see flashing lights, and cowboy without their shirts on dancing to pop music. Girls in short shorts and flannels tied high enough to expose their midriffs. There's a mechanical bull on one side of the room.
"When does the heart opening start?" Karma asks sarcastically.
Molly sees her rival not far from where they are standing. "Jackie? What is all this?" A person literally rolls by them. "And what on earth is that?"
"A human tumbleweed." Jackie replies laughing. "Isn't it everything.
Clearly irritated, Molly reminds her, "You were supposed to run any changes by me. I'm the president."
Jackie states, "I'm the social chair, so it's my job to put on a fabulous event. It is called a fun raiser for a reason."
"Fund raiser. You forgot the D." Molly says.
"That's a first." Jackie says, looking at the girls, who laugh awkwardly.
Molly looks around, "How is this event supposed to help anyone?"
Jackie asks, "Help them with what? We're should be celebrating. We got the fun kids. Oh, speaking of which, you girls have got to meet my son."
Jackie turns around and places her hand on cowboy in a dark hat behind her. "Honey."
As the guy walks over to join the group with a smile his face, Jackie introduces them, "This is Shane and his friend Liam. This is Karma and her girlfriend, Amy."
FUCK FUCK FUCK
This is not part of my plan. How am I supposed to be able to tell if Amy loves me with Shane whispering in her ear all night and Liam trying to argue with me about a stupid check, that I didn't even end up taking. I can feel Amy looking at me, worried that I might be upset. This whole night just got way more complicated, because Amy won't act like herself around those two. Hell, I don't even act like myself around those two. What the hell am I gonna do now.