Some Girl's Office

A/N New Chapter to replace moving SuperCoffee to a new home. Wasn't sure if I had this idea before or not but here is an office Christmas party meeting. (And not like in the movie.)

National City, Earth-19 - 2019

Alex Danvers sauntered into the office, hair swishing in a self-created vortex, heels clapping the floor with every step. A wrapped present sat between her fingers, her contribution to the office Secret Santa. Before entering any party there were three things she had to do. First was to go the bathroom and big herself up. She put her gift down on the remaining dry patch next to the sink. It was for some woman on the other side of the office that she'd never heard of anyway. So it wasn't like it mattered. She'd thought chocolate was a safe bet. Most people like chocolate. She stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, she looked conventionally good. And she knew it. But she didn't especially like it. She liked sweatpants and fuzzy slippers, and her favourite pair of ripped jeans. But tonight was about looking presentable, she had to show them that she was desirable, likeable. Not the volatile, unapproachable mess sitting in the corner of her cubicle giving anyone who dared to look at her, a death glare. No, tonight would be different.

She was just on her way to make sure her desk wasn't a complete mess before party (because there was no chance she was tidying up herself in the morning with a hangover.) When the stall behind her opened. She carried on looking in the mirror, but sneaking glances at the other woman. She wore a smart blazer and a small smile as she approached Alex and started washing her hands. It was like she couldn't help it, every few seconds her eyes would flick to the side of the mirror and stare at her. She was looking down so she'd never see. Alex told herself. She also told herself that she was allowed another three looks before she must cease all thoughts about her until after the party. She wasn't here to make friends, as if this gorgeous woman would ever want to be her friend. Alex kicked herself for using words like 'gorgeous' but she couldn't help it if it was the truth.

She left the bathroom with a quick smile to the woman, and took off down the hall to the main party area. The place was heaving with people she hated. And almost every fibre of her being wanted to run back to that bathroom and hide for the entire evening. But she was determined to press on. She said hello to her boss, and the guy who's cubicle was next to hers. She tried to make awkward small/attempted flirting at him, but he didn't seem to notice. Alex told herself he wasn't that cute anyways, so it didn't matter. But of course it did. She never found anyone attractive. Okay that wasn't strictly true, she admitted to herself, but she wasn't ready to admit to that. So she got herself a drink. And another. And another, until everything was just a little bit more fun.

Miraculously her desk was still in one piece, so she sat down whilst she got her balance back. She laughed along with the crappy jokes now she was intoxicated, everything was just a little bit easier. She was almost thirty, how had she not found somebody by now. And by that she really meant nobody. Unless you counted Brad in college, and she barely did. She tipped her head back and was about to scream because even with the hundreds of people at this party there was no one who wanted to talk to her. Or that was, until she opened her eyes and saw the woman from the bathroom trying to get her attention from over the top of the cubicle. "Excuse me-"

"Yeah!" Alex yelled back a little too loudly over the pounding music.

"Um, you left this in the bathroom." The woman replied, holding up the present she'd left by the sink. Alex internally groaned to herself. How had she been so distracted that she'd left that? And how embarrassing was it that the woman had had to trawl through the entire office just to find her. She probably just wanted to stay with her friends, meet someone, actually have a good time at this party. Her hands rubbed her face until she truly believed the woman was no longer standing there. Until, "what did you want me to do with it? It's for Secret Santa, right? But it has my name on it, do you want me to just keep it?"

Alex dropped her hands, "you?" She asked rhetorically, because of course it was her. She just said it was. "You're Kelly Olsen?"

"Yep." Kelly replied chirpily, clearly not drunk at all.

"Keep it then. It's for you anyway." Alex said half in shock, half trying not to slur her words. "Ke-lly Ol-sen." She said slowly, looking up at the woman who was smiling now. Clearly she thought Alex was a complete idiot.

"Are you okay?" She said instead of running away.

Alex tried to nod but ended up vigorously shaking her head. "I really don't wanna be here," she said.

"Why don't we get you some fresh air?" Kelly said, walking round the side of the cubicle and lifting Alex out of the chair and onto her feet. They waddled together out of the main office floor and into the hallway.

"You don't have to do this. You don't have to be nice to me. You don't even know me." Alex mumbled, but Kelly just helped her to the lobby where there was a myriad of chairs for Alex to sink into.

"Stay here." She said after plopping her down on a hard plastic thing with three legs. She rushed off and got Alex a cup of water. Placing it down in front of her and encouraging her to drink. She really didn't know why she was helping this woman either. But earlier, in the bathroom, she seemed so put together. She seemed to be so confident and like she was going to bolster her way through the party. Kelly actually hadn't seen her before, but she'd only been working there for a few months so she hadn't exactly been introduced to the entire company. Something must've happened to her, if she'd managed to reduce herself to this half-drunk, more-than-tipsy state in under an hour. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked again, because she couldn't help caring.

Alex shook her head again, sipping the water. "Nope. No one likes me, Kelly Olsen. Not even nerdy Brian from accounting." She said, finally meeting Kelly's eyes. "And then I saw you. In the bathroom. I have a secret... I couldn't stop staring at you." She continued, leaning forward ever so slightly so she was nearing Kelly's personal space. Their hands were almost touching, Kelly could smell the alcohol on her breath. Alex immediately recoiled, she was not drunk enough to regret that. "Oh my god. I am so sorry. I was so not supposed to tell you that." Kelly relaxed, letting her shoulders drop and chuckling a little.

"Do you want me to take you home?" She asked kindly, "because this party is awful and you look like you could do with a good night's sleep." Alex probably nodded at that point. But at any rate, they ended up in Kelly's car. When they ended up at Alex's apartment building, Kelly insisted on helping her to the door. So three awkward minutes in the lift later, they were on the fifth floor. Alex fumbled with the keys for a while before busting open the door to her apartment.

"Thank you." She told Kelly now that she'd sobered up a little. She put her hand on her shoulder and looked at her, standing in the doorway, here for all the wrong reasons. How did she end up in this situation? This might be her last chance. What if she'd already royally screwed up the chance of becoming friends with Kelly Olsen? She really had no control over her actions. She leaned down, again in the doorway to her apartment, and planted a kiss on Kelly's lips. Alex expected the immediate recoil, from Kelly and from her brain. She expected screaming that this was totally wrong and she shouldn't be doing it. But she couldn't help it.

Kelly did not, in fact, recoil from the kiss. Instead it took her a minute of kissing back to realise that Alex was drunk and probably didn't know what she was doing. In an attempt to save both of their dignities, she pulled away and told Alex to go to bed. If she wanted to talk about this in the morning, Kelly left her number on a piece of paper and tucked it into Alex's hand. She said thank you back for some unknown, absurd reason and left.

Alex cursed herself for exactly fourteen hours, until she got Kelly's phone call the next day...