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[ladygiselasencen]

@zoyyanazyalensky @fire-sapphics 1353 words

and as always don’t rb or spoil until i post it please-

Sammie couldn’t believe what had just happened. Had she really just kissed Gina Weathers? How could she do that, when she didn’t know where her own heart lied? Didn’t know who had the key, and how to find them?

She hadn’t planned, it had just happened, and while she didn’t regret it, she wished it hadn’t happened. Her heart was confused, which made her stomach do flips and her head pound. It was unbearable, the way the mental confusion affected her physically, so that as her heart hurt, her body ached too.

Why, why, why had she done that? She liked Gina, sure, but she liked Logan too. And Gina’s adamant stance against Logan only added to Sammie’s confusion. What was up with that? Logan seemed genuinely nice, but so did Gina. What was the history? She needed to know before her stomach got any worse. She already felt like she might vomit.

hey just curious what’s up with you and Gina? we were talking and she acted super weird when i mentioned that you and i talk in english class

She sat down on her bed, looking up at the barren ceiling. If only she knew which box she’d packed her fairy lights and garlands in, she could start decorating her room. Then again, if her clothes were barely unpacked, what was the point in embellishing it?

She felt her phone vibrate in her lap, and she picked it up to see what Logan had said.

it’s complicated

how so? Sammie shot back.

it’s a lot. better if we call

okay you call me

Sammie’s phone rang a moment later, the caller id showing the picture she’d taken during English earlier that week. She accepted the call, and put the phone up to her ear. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey girl,” Logan said, her voice muffled through the phone. “Shut up, I’m on the phone!”

“Is your brother being annoying?”

“He’s never not. Okay, so you want the tea on me and Gina, right?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind telling me,” Sammie said, checking the time. 4:37, meaning her mom wouldn’t be home for a while. Sammie wouldn’t be interrupted if she started wandering the house as one does when they’re on the phone.

“Okay, so you know how middle school sucks? That’s when this happened. It was like, fall of seventh grade and I invited Gina over for a sleepover. We were like, best friends when we were little. My mom has some pictures of me and Gina when we were little, and they’re pretty cute. But anyways, seventh grade. She’s at my house and we’re talking about crushes, and I say I have a crush on Benji, and she gets all mad and says he’s hers.”

“Huh. Okay, keep going.”

“Yeah, so I drop it, and I assume she’s gonna let it go, but she gets pissed, like really pissed. So on Monday she starts spreading rumours that I wet the bed at our sleepover, and I’m gross and I bully her and force her to be my friend. So I just stop talking to her, plain and simple. Then she got all mad and now she hates me. Worked out fine for me, because Benji and I have been dating since right after eighth grade.”

Sammie didn’t know what to say. She’d meandered from her bedroom to the kitchen and was now sitting on the kitchen counter, unsure of what to say. Gina had done that? Were they talking about the same Gina?

“What?” she said. The confusion she’d hoped to abolish through this phone call had only grown.

“Weird, right? Bet she makes it out to be all my fault.”

“Actually,” Sammie said as she slid a bagel into the toaster, “she always avoids talking about it. It’s kinda weird, but I didn’t wanna ask anyone else in the group ‘cause that seemed… weird.”

“Well, it was just between me and her, but she dragged everyone else into it.” Sammie could hear the annoyance and hurt in Logan’s voice. She was trying to hide it, Sammie could tell, but she wasn’t doing a very good job.

“You guys used to be close, right?” Sammie asked, grabbing a jar of jam from the fridge.

“Yeah, we were besties all through elementary school, and all of sixth grade. That’s why this was so weird, because she’d never done anything like that before.”

“Really? That doesn’t seem like Gina at all.” The longer she and Logan talked, the more confused Sammie became. She finished spreading jam on her bagel and took a bite before adding, “She made it seem like you guys had only been classmates, never friends. Like, you were always in the same class but you never hung out.”

“Really.” It wasn’t a question, but Sammie could tell Logan wanted to ask something.

“It always felt weird though. She was avoiding the conversation,” Sammie continued. “I dunno. Felt like she was trying to hide something more.”

“Sounds just like her,” Logan replied, the disdain in her voice leaking through the phone. “Always was one to bury her secrets.”

“What’s that mean?” she asked as she took another bite of her bagel.

“She hasn’t told you? Her mom died right before we started highschool. It was a shock too, a car accident. So my family went to the funeral, because there was a huge turnout and more than half the school was there. And like, I get it, if my mom died I’d be distraught too, but when she saw me she tried to punch me, and I had to leave. It was kinda fucked up.”

Sammie stopped chewing. There were a thousand questions in her head, but she couldn’t put words to any of them. They rattled around in her brain for what felt like a year, but was truly only a few seconds. Finally, she was able to ask, “Why?”

“Dunno.” Sammie could hear Logan’s shrug through the phone. “She just saw me and got mad. On the one hand, she wasn’t thinking clearly, because who would be after their mom died, but on the other hand, it seemed uncalled for.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “But like, you didn’t provoke her? Say anything rude?”

“I’m hurt,” Logan said, sarcastically. “But no, I hadn’t even said ‘sorry for your loss’ before she looked at me and got pissed and tried to punch me. To be honest, I’m still not sure why.”

“That’s… weird.”

“Not who you thought she was, huh?” Logan seemed almost smug. “Makes you think twice. Don’t worry though, you can still hang out with her because I, unlike some people, don’t try to police who my friends hang out with. I might not like it, but I don’t try to dictate friendships.”

“I honestly don’t know what to say,” Sammie admitted after a moment.

“Look, dinner’s almost ready, so I gotta go in just a minute, but let me tell you one thing. There’s more to Gina Weathers than you thought. You can stay friends with her, because we’ve all made mistakes, and you shouldn’t get mad because of things she did to other people. Just…” Logan sighed. “Take everything she says about me with a grain of salt, okay?”

Sammie nodded before realising Logan couldn’t see her. “Yeah, I can do that. Thanks, Logan. Are we still on for next Saturday?”

“Yeah, and Ellison might stop over if you’re cool with that.”

“Not totally sure who that is, but yeah, I’m cool with that.”

“Awesome, see you tomorrow! Bye!” And with that, Logan hung up the phone.

Sammie sat in silence on the kitchen counter, the remaining third of her bagel getting cold. What more could she say, could she do? After kissing Gina and her conversation with Logan, she wasn’t sure how she could face Gina on Monday.

Even after moving five times and attending five different schools, Sammie could safely say she’d never been drawn into the drama so quickly. It had only been a week, but she could tell that her last two years of highschool would be the most noteworthy of all.

[ladygiselasencen]

@honorablescythecurie

it’s 1672 words long btw,,, please don’t like or rb ty!!! <3

Leo couldn’t understand what was going on. Why he’d been made to sit in the backseat, why Sammie had stood outside for almost two minutes after he’d gone in, why the car ride had just seemed… off.

Ever since Sammie’s arrival less than a week ago, Gina had seemed different. It wasn’t a bad different, per se, but it was a side of her that Leo had never seen before. He wasn’t sure if he was the only one who noticed, but he hoped he wasn’t.

As he sat down at the greasy table Andre had saved for them, he put his worries out of his mind. They didn’t matter now. Gina would be there, sure, but it wouldn’t just be her and Sammie. Mally and Andre were going to be there, so Leo wouldn’t be alone. Plus, he might be able to ask the other two if they’d noticed the shift in Gina’s personality as well.

“What’s fresh!” he said to Andre as Sammie joined them. “Gina’s just parking, she’ll be right in.”

“Not too much. I didn’t order yet, figured I’d wait for you guys.” He pulled out his phone. “Mally’s almost here. We can wait for her.”

“Hey, Andre.” Sammie’s voice was gentle and soft, a total shift from how she’d been in the car. To say Leo was confused was an understatement. Sure, Sammie was typically more subdued, but this total flip seemed unprecedented. Had something happened? Had he caused it?

His questions remained unanswered as the bells above the door jingled. Gina and Mally walked in together, Gina explaining, “We ran into each other in the parking lot across the street,” The newcomers sat down in two of the vacant wooden  chairs. “You guys wanna go up and order?”

“Sure,” Leo and Andre stood up. Sammie, he noticed, stayed where she was, smiling at Mally. Although he desperately wanted to, he decided not to say anything of it, and instead headed up to the counter with Andre.

“Yo, what is up with girls?” he asked, glancing back at the table. “Did you notice anything?”

“What? Uh, no, I didn’t see anything,” Andre said as he dug through his wallet. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Huh.” There were a lot of words one could use to describe Andre, but Leo never would have included flustered on that list.

“Is something wrong?” Leo pressed.

Andre snapped out of his searching state. “Oh, it’s fine. I was just looking for Susan.” He whipped out a Susan B. Anthony silver dollar. “I thought I lost her.”

The coin gleamed in the dim light of the shop. Andre had found it in a jar of coins at his house years ago, he’d told Leo, and he’d polished it up and put it in a separate pocket of his wallet. What seemed odd to Leo was that there was no way for Susan to get lost. The pocket had a small zipper, and it was separate from the change pocket. Andre’s dismissal made no sense, but Leo didn’t press more.

Everyone seemed off today, and Leo couldn’t understand why. Gina forcing him to sit in the back, Sammie’s mood shift, the likely lie Andre had told him. At least Mally seemed…as normal as she could get. Even across the cafe, Leo could hear her conversations above the quiet chatter of every table closer to him. Mally’s quiet was most people’s average. But what good did a normal Mally do if everyone else was acting strange?

Leo was so lost in thought that he wasn’t even sure he ordered, but by the time he rejoined reality he had a hot chocolate in his hands, indicating that he must have ordered. However, it wasn’t his drink status that brought him back, but instead someone snapping at him.

“Hey, blockhead. You in there?” Mally was snapping her fingers not two inches from his nose. “Yoo-hoo! Someone asked you a question!”

“Get outta my face,” he said as he swatted her hand away.

“No. Gina asked you a question, you dumbass. Answer her.”

“Uh, what was the question?”

“Oh my-”

“What did I do?” Leo cried, exasperated.

“Doesn’t matter!” Gina said as exasperatedly as Leo. “I said, are we doing anything after this? Or just hanging here?”

“I- uh, I’m not- I mean, why are you asking me?” he stammered. Pulling out his phone, he realised they’d been there almost an hour.

“Andre has work, and Sammie and I gotta get home soon. We weren’t planning on doing anything else, were we?” The annoyance in Gina’s tone couldn’t match the anger and frustration that was apparent in her eyes. Last night when they were texting, she had suggested they go downtown after getting coffee, but Leo decided it was best if he didn’t bring it up.

“No, this was it. If you guys have to go, then go.” He wasn’t sure what had happened, but as Gina, Sammie, and Andre said their goodbyes, he stayed seated.

“What the hell is going on?” he asked Mally after a moment. “Gina’s acting weird, Sammie’s acting strange, Andre brushed me off with what I think was a lie? I don’t get it.”

She took a drink of her nearly-empty water bottle and sighed. “You just don’t get it at all, do you?” The corners of her mouth had turned up into a small smile. “I knew you were oblivious, but this is a new level.”

Mally turned her head just enough that she was facing Leo. “Can you connect the dots yourself, or do you need me to hold your hand?”

Leo wasn’t sure what expression his face had, but clearly, it was a look of confusion, because Mally just sighed again.

“Of course you need me to walk you through all of it.” She paused for a long moment before saying, “Gina has a crush on Sammie, and it’s painfully obvious. Sammie has a crush on Gina, but it’s not as evident. There’s some other stuff going on with Sammie that I shouldn’t get into, but whatever. If you just watch them for a minute, the body language of those two, plus the way they act? Please. It’s obvious.”

Leo sat in stunned silence. That was why Gina had been acting strange? And Sammie…he had to admit that something had seemed a bit off about her too.

“So wait, Gina and Sammie like each other?” He remembered that Gina had said something about that once, liking boys and girls, but it still didn’t make sense to Leo. Besides, she’d said it in middle school, and it hadn’t mattered then. A lot of people were dating, but not Gina or Leo. It was still the same old Gina, and he was still the same old Leo. It had never resurfaced until… now, apparently.

“Yeah, that can happen.” Mally looked at him very pointedly. “You do know I’m a lesbian, right? And I dunno about Sammie, but she seems like one too. Gina’s bisexual, which is… without getting into the complicated discussion about transphobia, it basically means she is attracted to both boys and girls. It’s a bit more in-depth than that, but that’s an extremely watered-down definition.”

“Wait- you’re a lesbian?” He knew that wasn’t what he should be focusing on, but the words escaped his lips before he could stop them.

“I literally told you guys that in fall of freshman year,” she deadpanned. “But that’s not what the issue is right now. Right now it’s about Sammie and Gina. They’re smitten with each other and neither one seems to notice that the other clearly is as well. It’s embarrassing, really.”

“Uh, yeah,” Leo said. “Right- they need to, uh, hang out? Or go on a date? I’m not sure?”

“They need to hang out, yes, but they’re doing that right now. Gina gave you a ride over, right? She left you here with no way home. The pair of ‘em were going to Gina’s, I think. I’m gonna see if I can push them along, maybe, but your best bet is just to not say anything about a relationship. At all. It’ll backfire, trust me.”

Mally’s stoicism had quickly turned to enthusiasm, and she seemed almost breathless. Leo wasn’t sure how he was meant to interpret all of this. “So just...don’t say anything?”

“Yeah, that’s it. By the way, do you need a ride home? Gina kinda dipped without you.”

“Oh, yeah, that would be great. And uh, what was Andre acting all weird?” he asked as he stood up and started gathering the trash left on the table.

“He was? I didn’t notice,” Mally replied as she grabbed her lanyard off the table. “Here, put the garbage in this empty cup, we’ll toss it when we leave.”

“Nuh-uh,” he said. “Don’t brush me off. What’s up?”

“Nothing! Really!” She avoided his gaze, turning to stack up the napkins they hadn’t used.

“That’s bullshit. What is going on?” When she further averted her gaze, he became upset. What was so important that she couldn’t give him a straight answer?

“Mallory Lemmon, you tell me right now.”

“I can’t!” she cried. “He made me promise. He’ll tell you if he wants to. Now, do you want a ride or not?”

Leo took a step back. It wasn’t often that Mally acted like this, so it stood to reason that maybe something really was wrong with Andre. Then again, he knew he couldn’t press more, or he’d lose his ride home.

“Yeah, a ride would be great. Let’s go,” he said, already heading towards the door. He tossed the garbage as he left the building, and stood in the same spot Sammie had barely an hour and a half before. He’d thought it was strange, but now he knew; to stop and stand is to think, to mull over the events that have happened, or will be. Leo knew what had happened, but not what would come. All he knew was that he needed to hope for the best.

[ladygiselasencen]

@fire-sapphics @honorablescythecurie here is it. pls dont rb also its like 30 words shorter than the last chapter-

If Sammie was being honest, she didn’t really want everyone else to come with on Saturday. She’d wanted to spend time with Gina, and only Gina.

She would have said no to Gina’s request, but there was something about their conversation that had seemed…off. Gina had texted her back, but it had been several minutes before she sent the request to invite other people. Something had happened in those few minutes, and so Sammie caved. She let Gina invite the rest of the people from their table.

She hadn’t been lying when she’d said she wanted to get to know them better. Everyone seemed so kind and fun, but they’d seemed a lot like a family. Sammie desperately wanted to be a part of that, but she wanted to spend time with Gina more.

There was also the lingering issue of their discussions about Logan. Maybe Gina was right to shun her, to badmouth her, but Sammie was still undecided. Logan seemed troubled, but not terrible. Sure, they’d had a rough first encounter, but if it wasn’t for Gina butting in…

That kind of thinking won’t get you anywhere, Sammie conceded as she applied her mascara. It was finally Saturday, and Sammie had been wrestling with the upcoming venture all morning.

As much as she regretted allowing Gina to invite more people, she was still excited. In her experience, friendships weren’t fast. This was practically a speed run, and it was a welcome change in Sammie’s unstable world.

They’d ultimately decided Gina would pick her and Leo up and they’d meet Mally and Andre at a coffee shop downtown. Gina was picking Leo up first, so it didn’t look like there would be any elements of, well, a date, at all.

No time for regret now. Sammie grabbed her lanyard and her phone as she slipped on her shoes before heading out into the living room. Her mother had offered her the other upstairs bedroom, but Sammie had let her use it as an office, opting for the smaller bedroom on the first floor with the wide windows towards the backyard. It felt more…magical. Of course, it didn’t feel magical yet, with almost no decoration and several boxes littering the floor still.

She anxiously stood by the kitchen counter, waiting for Gina’s car to pull up into the driveway. The house was quiet, boxes still stacked up two or three high in every corner of the room, making the whole house feel smaller than it really was. She’d been trying to unpack things after school, but with her mother busy and Sammie unsure of where to put things, her progress had been minimal.

Just then, she heard the rumble of the car pulling up in the driveway. Leo was waving at her from the backseat, and the passenger seat was empty.

Oh, Sammie thought as her stomach did a flip. She…wanted a date, too.

It was a strange feeling, knowing that two people had the same regrets, but they’d made it so they both were disappointed. But there was no time to wait. The air was pierced with the noise of Leo reaching up and honking the horn.

Sammie ran outside, slamming the door behind her. Leave my doubts and fears behind, right?

She opened the car door and sat down. “Hey, Gina, Leo.”

“Hey Sammie!” the two greeted her. “Ready to explore?” Gina asked. Her tone was excited, but Sammie could see something behind her eyes, the tell-tale sign of regret.

“Of course,” she replied, matching Gina’s excited tone.

“Then let’s get this show on the road!” Gina turned around and began pulling out of the driveway.

“Uh, hi, Sammie,” Leo interjected with mock annoyance.

“Hi, Leo,” Sammie answered sarcastically. “I’ve been dying to spend time with you all week, did you know that?”

“Oh really?” he said. “You needn’t flatter me.”

“Really, don’t flatter him. His head’s big enough as it is,” Gina laughed.

“Yeah, right,” he scoffed. “And pay attention to the freaking road, Gina, geez! You’ll crash your car!”

“Oh, because my track record shows I have a problem with that, does it?” she added slyly.

“Leo!” Sammie gasped. “You crashed a car already?”

“Yeah he did, and it was stupid, the way he did it too. Tell her,” Gina chided.

“I backed into a cart collector in the supermarket parking lot,” he admitted sheepishly. “The car was old enough that it ended up being totalled. I wasn’t hurt.”

“His self-esteem was, and he wasn’t allowed to drive for a month. Plus, he’d had his license for two weeks.” Gina said, laughing.

“What on earth, Leo. How do you even...what?” Sammie was laughing too.

“Shut up, I bet you’ve been in an accident, too.”

“I don’t even have my license,” Sammie admitted. “I’ve moved a ton, plus things just got…busy.” She sure as hell wasn’t going to tell them about her dad yet. It was too fresh in her mind, and she barely knew these people. They weren’t just at that stage yet.

“I’m sure you’ll get it soon,” Gina assured her after a moment of awkward silence. “Anyways, coffee! Best place in town, local place, not some chain. I mean, the chains are good when you’re crunched for time, because they have drive throughs, but this place is the best.”

“What’s it called?” Sammie wasn’t sure if she’d seen the place before.

“Salt & Pepper. Well, technically it’s Zara’s Salt & Pepper Cafe, but most people call it Salt & Pepper.”

“They don’t even have salt or pepper!” Leo cried.

“Yes, they do. It goes with their eggs and shit, their real food, that you never get,” Gina said as she rolled her eyes. “He’s not the brightest,” she said to Sammie.

“Ya think?” she laughed in response. “We’re meeting Mally and Andre there, right?”

“Yeah. Andre lives further away, and Mally works downtown. She said she’d meet us after her shift, so she might be a couple minutes late.”

Just then, Sammie felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out to the side, so no one would see what it said. It was a message from Logan. Turns out, they had English together, and Logan had slipped a note with her number on it to Sammie. She’d debated texting Logan, but she had during her next class. It felt rebellious, secretive, and somehow…betraying. At the same time, it was fun, having a secret. She opened the message.

heyy are you free this weekend?? we could hang out <<3

Sammie glanced back at Gina. There was no way she’d have time after hanging out with her friends, and she’d made her mom promise they’d unpack some more tomorrow.

no, i’m busy this weekend, but i could find time next weekend. sorry </3

She slid her phone back into her pocket. “So, Salt & Pepper? What’s good there?” It felt forced, her lame attempt at conversation, but luckily, neither Gina nor Leo seemed to notice.

“Their mochas are really good, but I’m partial to an iced latte of sorts,” Gina said.

“I like their hot chocolate, and their mochas are really good,” Leo agreed. “They’re so sweet, but not too sweet, y’know?”

Sammie nodded, relieved they’d grabbed her bait. “So what should I get?”

“Mocha, for sure. And you don’t have to wait long. There it is,” Gina said pointing to a building a block away. “I’ll let you guys out before I park.”

She pulled up in front of the squat building before putting the car in park. “Unload, children!”

“Hey, I’m not a children!” Leo cried as they climbed out of the car.

Sammie turned to Leo. “She didn’t say anything…weird…about this, this excursion, this get-together, did she?”

Leo looked at her quizzically. “No?” He shook his head. “C’mon, let’s go get a table. Andre texted me a few minutes ago and said he’d be here in ten.” He turned and headed into the coffee shop.

Sammie hesitated a moment outside. Step through those doors, and it will all be fresh, all be brand new. She decided not to linger on Logan, or regrets, or would-have-beens. Today was not a day for those, but a day for friends and new beginnings. Later, she decided, she could return to those thoughts, but not now. Time to get a mocha and just hang out. Summoning just a tiny bit of courage, she followed through the doors Leo had entered a moment before. No regrets.